It's the nature of the beast in Division II Lacrosse, with only four teams total and one at-large bid, some qualified teams are bound to be left out.
Enter the Le Moyne Dolphins.
Le Moyne was ranked #1 in the most recent polls, but suffered a Northeast-10 tournament semifinal loss to Merrimack on Friday, dropping their record to 12-2 on the year. That loss was apparently the clincher, as the at-large bid went to Mercyhurst, a team with the exact same record as the Dolphins
Coaches and players were not available for coment after the announcement.
What do you think? Should Le Moyne have earned that at-large bid. Is the Division II selection process too narrow with only one at large spot? Let us know in the comment section below.
Or vote in the poll. To help your decision, here's the press release from Le Moyne College:
Currently ranked #1 in the country, the Le Moyne men’s lacrosse team was not selected to the four-team tournament. Fellow Northeast-10 Conference member Adelphi University earned the North bid with a 15-2 overall record.
This will be the first time since the 2002 season the Dolphins have not been part of the NCAA post-season tournament.
If you are not familiar with the process, one member from each of three regions is awarded a spot in the tournament with the fourth at-large team coming from the entire division. Below is a short description of the selection process the committee employees.
To be considered for rankings and the selection process, a team must have an overall won-lost-record of .500 or better versus
Division II opponents.
Bylaw 31.3.3.1 – Countable Competition. For NCAA team-championship selection purposes, competition is countable only when the teams played are varsity intercollegiate teams of four-year, degree-granting institutions that conduct a majority of their competition in that team sport against varsity intercollegiate teams (see Constitution 3.2.4.4) of United States four-year, degree-granting institution. Competition against service teams, professional teams, semiprofessional teams, amateur teams, two-year colleges and club teams shall be excluded.
Selection Criteria. The following criteria shall be employed by a governing sports committee in selecting participants for NCAA championships competition [Bylaw 31.3.3; criteria for selection of participants]:
• Won-lost record;
• Strength of schedule;
• Availability of student-athletes for NCAA championships; and
• Nullification;
In addition to Bylaw 31.3.3, the NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse Committee has received approval from the NCAA Division II Championships Committee to consider the following criteria in the selection of at-large teams for the Division II Men’s Lacrosse Championship (not necessarily in priority order):
• Overall won-lost record;
• In-region won-lost record;
• Overall strength of schedule (average opponents’ winning percentageand opponents’ opponents’ average winning percentage); See Appendix L for explanation of strength of schedule calculations.
• Head-to-head competition; and
• Results against common opponents.
If the evaluation of the primary criteria does not result in a decision, the secondary criteria will be reviewed. All the criteria listed will be evaluated (not listed in priority order).
• Results against Division II out-of-region competition.
• Results against common opponents.
• Results against teams already selected.
Additionally, input is provided by regional advisory committees for consideration by the Division II Men’s Lacrosse Committee. A Division II governing sports committee must contact a regional advisory committee prior to making its final selection of teams or individuals if the committee selection differs from the regional advisory committee’s. Coaches’ polls and/or any other outside polls or rankings are not used as a selection criterion by the Division II Men’s Lacrosse Committee for selection purposes. All games, including conference tournament games, will be used for selections.
Minimum Number of Contests. A team must play a minimum of eight games during the traditional season against Division II opponents to be considered for selection.
