(Photo by Lance Wendt)

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – In 2010, the selection committee allowed a Colorado team into the MCLA National Championships that had more losses than wins. To that point, it was the first team accepted into our association’s top tourney with a sub-.500 record.

I was covering the MCLA for US Lacrosse at the time, with my main beat being NCAA Division III. As such, I operated under the standard protocol that a team under the .500 mark should not be eligible for a national championship.

When the MCLA committee did choose Colorado, which was only considered because it stopped Michigan’s 30-plus game winning streak during the regular season, I railed against the decision. It was going to open a pandora’s box that would alter how programs scheduled.

RESULTS: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY

Nearly 15 years later, I was proved correct. Oddly enough, however, I’m not sure if I’m of the same mind as I was then.

Maybe sub-.500 teams should be considered?

My hypothesis at the time was that by allowing Colorado to be included in the tournament field based on the one pivotal win would lead to teams over-scheduling in hopes of picking up that lone signature victory that would make the committee swoon.

Of the four ranked RMLC-I teams, who would you put all your money on to win the conference championship? #mcla24
— 2024 MCLA National Tourney (@MCLA_Tournament) March 17, 2024

Look at South Carolina last year. They played a preposterously difficult slate that led to a 1-7 start to the season. Alas, they grabbed a win over Virginia Tech – the eventual No. 1 seed in the bracket – midyear, so their 8-9 record was deemed acceptable by the committee.

In Division II, North Dakota got the nod at 5-8 ostensibly because of their membership in the UMLC and a win over Dayton (and the Flyers ended up a nine seed). Minn.-Duluth, another member of the UMLC junta, was 5-7 when they got a bid thanks to wins over Florida Atlantic and Missouri State.

And you know what? I think all three of those teams deserved to be in Round Rock.

Yes, they were all underwater record-wise, but should we make teams go through the kabuki theater of getting above the win-loss Mason-Dixon line? South Carolina, NDSU and Duluth could have easily taken a weekend visiting any number of conferences, schedule three emerging programs, hang 25 on each and checked the .500 box. Is that really necessary?

To be fair, there is an argument for this. I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn by saying that scheduling amongst Top 20 programs can be rather incestuous. It makes sense – teams are trying to build their best resume for seeding purposes – but it can freeze out squads trying to get their foot in the door. Tacitly forcing tournament-quality teams to hunt non-powers to get enough wins is sort of a plus, I guess.

But that’s about it.

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To bring this issue into the here and now, let’s look at Missouri State. The Bears are 2-5 with their only D-II win coming against unranked St. John’s, but they are the only team to play the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 teams in the nation. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal with the conference automatic qualifying system, but with LSA-II currently operating without an AQ, MoState is going to get thrown in with the at-larges.

Should a bunch of “good losses” be enough, or do the Bears need to pelt one of the big boys to stay in the discussion? Fortunately, they still have three more Top 10 contests on the docket and can make up ground quickly. But they’ll likely have to get at least one.

Let's jump on the other side of the debate. The case for mandating teams in consideration for the MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance to have a winning record is pretty straight forward.

Optics.

Regardless of whether they are worthy or not, having sub-.500 teams in our national tournament is a bad look. There’s just no arguing that fact. That doesn’t mean we should be a slave to appearances, but there probably should be a discussion.

Where do you stand?

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MY TOP FIVES

Division I
1. Utah Valley (6-0) – Chapman on the road is the best win of the season so far.
2. Texas (9-0) – Georgia Tech is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Longhorns now.
3. Brigham Young (6-0) – Northeastern has the same best win as the Cougars. Need more.
4. San Diego State (8-0) – The Aztecs just gave up double-digit goals for the first time.
5. Tennessee (8-0) – A week off to rest up for a hungry Georgia squad. What a ride.

Division II
1. St. Thomas (9-0) – Next three games for the Tommies are going to be bonkers.
2. Air Force (7-0) – Best win is No. 11 now. The Falcons currently on a six-week snooze.
3. UNC-Charlotte (8-0) – Kennesaw on the docket next Saturday. Huge one for Niners.
4. Coastal Carolina (7-1) – The Chants wiped out FGCU. Didn’t see that coming.
5. Montana State (6-1) – Two good-sized trap games upcoming in Logan.

How much do we like winning in “Championship Caldwell?

This weekend:
First 2️⃣ wins for beach volleyball
Four 4️⃣ wins for @yotesoftball
Two 2️⃣ wins for @YotesHoops to advance to the NAIA final site

And today, @yoteslacrosse defeats #7 Montana, 11-10 in 3 OT! #ComeWinWithUs
— College of Idaho Athletics (@CoyoteAthletics) March 17, 2024

SLIDES & RIDES

- Northwest Nazarene was a fun little story after they went down to San Diego and split with UCSD and San Marcos. After breezing past No. 7 Montana on Saturday night, the Nighthawks are a full-blown problem. NNU still has to navigate the PNCLL tournament, which could potentially involve rematches with both Western Washington (the two teams play April 13) and Montana, but they are the presumptive AQ winners at this point. The Nighthawks are going to be an unwelcome draw for somebody in Round Rock.

- There’s nothing like having your fate in your own hands, and that’s what Utah Valley has after beating Chapman on Thursday. The Wolverines now head to Liberty and Virginia Tech this Thursday and Saturday, respectively. You’d have to classify a sweep as unlikely, but UVU has the opportunity to basically lock up a Top 4 seed before the clock strikes April. Any team would take that.

D-I NOTES: The WCLL top seed is going to come down to the Cal Poly-UCSB tilt on April 13. There are three teams that could legitimately walk away with the WCLL crown…Arizona had Chapman right where it wanted the Panthers for 45 minutes, but top-ranked Chaptown refused the lose…Arizona State was a goal away from a glorious weekend in the Peach State. The win over UGA was a nice finish, but a sweep would have vaulted the Devils right back into the mix…it took overtime for Oregon to subdue Utah. The Ducks will continue to climb the polls, but Texas is getting closer…congrats to SELC director David Basile for his induction into the Loyola Marymount Hall of Fame.

D-II NOTES: An under-the-radar result from the weekend is Saint Mary’s knocking off UC Davis. WCLL-II does not have an AQ this spring, so Davis needs to go on a heater to finish the season if it wants to stay in the at-large discussion…if I didn’t know better, I’d think that Grand Valley State was contemplating reclassifying to MCLA D-I…Arizona Christian is still in the hunt for an SLC-II berth. The Firestorm will need to beat Loyola Marymount on April 5…with the forfeit win over Davidson, UNC-Charlotte is the top seed in the ALC South…rough weekend for Montana.

- Nominations from the head coaches are due by noon on Monday for the PEARL Goalie of the Week and Warrior Player of the Week in each division. Send nominations, including game-by-game stat breakdown, to [email protected].