Why are there no scholarship D4s ??

That question, or variations of it, is perhaps the most commonly asked about D4. At the moment there are no scholarship D4 teams, although it is not prohibited. Schools simply don't need to award them. The D4 rule book is as follows:

No player (I say player because student-athlete isn't applicable to D4) may be on the payroll of a member institution, nor may they receive gifts or compensation from anyone that is.

End of rule book. We figured one rule was enough.

At the heart of D4 philosophy is athletics and making money from it. The more rules you have the more likely you are to need a compliance office to make sure that taking a letter to the post office for a player is not a violation of some kind. Boosters, Alums and "Friends of the Program" are the ones that pay the bills by coming to the games. So with only one rule, these people pretty much run the programs. Which is how we want it at this level.

A key ingredient to any efficient program is to not ask too many questions, especially when it comes to money and where it came from. Since the players are not being compensated by member schools, or by anyone that is, we preserve the integrity of the sport and amateur status of the players. If a Booster wants to buy a kid a Lexus, we don't care. The IRS then becomes our compliance office. Whether you have to walk around campus or roll in an $80,000 ride, it in no way effects the outcome of sporting events so it is not a concern.

Most of the players in the LNCUTMV have Lexus, Hummers, Escalades and the like. However, Bugtussle State Alums tend not to be so affluent but you will still see a few tricked out Kias and Hyundais with spinners around campus. Schools have the option of simply looking the other way by claiming that they don't support such practices so everybody wins.

An unwritten rule of D4 is that "if tuitions paid, you're cleared to play". High GPAs don't put as many people in the stands as a 30 ppg average player does.

Why 3 games in 3 days works.

The 2005-2006 season has just ended and the 60, 61, 62 or 63 teams have been selected for the field. I'll use the theoretical Midwest Region as an example, although I think similar scenarios would play out elsewhere; probably not in the West though. North Park and Wheaton make it from the CCIW while Beloit and Carroll make it out of the MWC. All other teams in those conferences were declared ineligible for awarding non-athletic athletic scholarships per the new NCAA rule. Although Wheaton would have likely made it anyway. Transylvania gets the Heartland, Edgewood from the LMC, Aurora from the NIIC (Pool B) and Washington U. gets the UAA birth and stays in region. If I missed a conference this is all in fun anyway.

Now The Roop acts as tournament director and seeds the region as economically as possible. North Park hosts as it is the most centrally located, that way only Washington U. and Transy will need hotel rooms Wednesday night. Beloit and Edgewood might need rooms, but only if they won on Thursday, everyone else is within an easy commute. Since I don't want to spend more money than I have to on housing Washington will play Transy in the opening round and Edgewood will face Beloit. That way 2 of the 4 teams that may need hotels will be eliminated. These will be the Thursday afternoon games so the losers will be home by normal bedtime. Thursday evening will feature Carroll vs. North Park and Wheaton vs. Aurora. None of those teams will even miss a class.

1st round: Washington over Transylvania, North Park over Carroll, Aurora over Wheaton and Edgewood over Beloit. So far I've only spent money on 10 rooms for one night. I'm just guessing that 5 rooms is sufficient for a team. As an NCAAA official I am secretly upset that Transy lost because they are the closest team to Salem in this region, it would have been cheaper for me if they advanced to the Elite 8.

2nd round: Washington downs North Park, woops, the host is gone and Edgewood sends Aurora home. Since Edgewood inherited Transylvanias rooms at the hotel I have now only spent money on 10 rooms for two nights.

Championship game: With the host and all other immediately local teams ousted, nobody will want to see this game so it will be a 1:00PM start on Saturday. That way I don't have to spend anymore of the NCAAs money on housing. Edgewood wins, they are going to Salem for what would be the Elite 8. Housing cost for the regional is 10 rooms for 3 nights. Which would be what ? $1,500 maybe.

Since none of the teams had to be flown here the only other expenses are a few bucks a team for gas money and a little per diem. Tournament t-shirts and pizza after each game for the players, etc. Two nights the arena was packed so the 150 in the stands for the championship game didn't really hurt. We took in $15,750 (3150 attendance x $5 a person) for the 3 day regional and our expenses were only about $4000. So we made $11,750 for this event which should more than cover flying Edgewood to the finals. More importantly only 8 class days would need to be missed for an average of one day per team. Washington would miss 3, Transylvania 2 (they travel the farthest but would be home in time Thursday evening to easily make class on Friday) Edgewood 2 and Beloit 1.

Winning teams were determined by a coin toss. For entertainment purposes only in other words.

D4 talks Turkey

Negotiations went well this weekend and the Springstead 3D Archery range, home of Wisconsin A&M-Springstead, has been renamed Lowermyphone.com Arena. One name change deserves another and WAMS is considering a new mascot as well. Porcupine numbers are down in the area thanks to a stocking of Fishers. Wild Turkey numbers, however, are on the rise thanks to the State of Wisconsin not doing anything other than claiming that Wild Turkeys don't live north of Hwy 8.

I've heard several people in recent years say that they had them on their property. A few months back my uncle said he had a mother and 10 chicks in his front yard. This morning I was able to catch them crossing the road and had a camera handy. I couldn't count, drive and photograph at the same time but it looks like all 11 are alive and well; even though they're not supposed to be there.

So for the 2005-2006 season Wisconsin A&M-Springstead will cease to be the Porcupines and become the Gobblers. The name change is not Sith related.

Champs roll in Russia

Defending D4 Champ Alaska-Adak continued their winning ways by capturing the First Annual PowerNet Global International Exhibition Tournament in Omsk, Russia. In a rematch of last years D4 Championship game Alaska-Adak took care of E.I.E.I.O. 97-86, then upended fellow LNCUTMV Conference member Pigs Knuckle Hollow-Creekside 78-70 to capture the title.

Pigs Knuckle Hollow-Creekside reached the championship game by ousting the host, and a very outclassed, Omsk State Pedagogical University 112-56. O.S.P.U. rebounded in the consolation game and downed E.I.E.I.O. 67-64. E.I.E.I.O. had a commanding halftime lead but substituted freely in the second half allowing their bench to gain valuable experience.

It's hard to take a lot from an exhibition tournament, but it was a very good showing for D4 and the LNCUTMV Conference in general. Pre-season rankings are as follows:

Lower North Central Upper Tennessee Middle Valley

Daisy Moses Medical College
Southern NAIA Tech-Hooterville
Mount Pilot Central State
Alaska-Adak
Bugtussle State
Pigs Knuckle Hollow-Creekside
Southern NAIA Tech
Bodine Military Academy

University Conference of Wisconsin and Illinois

Wisconsin A&M-Springstead
Exeland Institute/Edewater Institute @Ojibway
Duane Churkey School of Engineering
University of Illinois-Nottingham County

Madison approves of D4 Russia trip

I knew it wouldn't take long folks. The Peoples Republic of Madison have expressed their support of D4s trip to Russia. The evidence is clearly seen in the "left turn" only sign in the propaganda photo they provided.

East meets West when D4 travels to Siberia

In the most unlikely match up since Rocky Balboa faced Ivan Drago. 3 D4 teams have been invited to the Former Soviet Union to participate in a Goodwill Exhibition Tournament. Defending D4 Champ Alaska-Adak and fellow Lower North Central Upper Tennessee Middle Valley Conference member Pigs Knuckle Hollow-Creekside, along with Exeland Institute/Edgewater Institute @Ojibway (EIEIO) from the University Conference of Wisconsin and Illinois will be traveling to Russia for an event to be hosted by Omsk State Pedagogical University.

I know it might have been better for OSPU to come here and defeat the D4 runner up, then play Alaska-Adak in Russia as a sort of revenge match, but that would be too much of a cliche.

Despite their emphasis on academics the OSPU Irtysh River Pirates have managed to recruit a line up consisting entirely of 7 footers. However, this is their first season at the varsity level and it will be interesting to see how they handle the seasoned veterans from the D4 teams. Two of the three D4s have at least four 6th year seniors so experience will have to go to the Americans.

Typically D4 teams don't compete against "real" Universities, but since this blog doesn't get many visitors, I don't think The Roop will be liable for mentioning them. Similarly, the tournament is sponsored by Power Net Global. Official long distance provider of The Roop.

The first game will feature Alaska-Adak vs. E.I.E.I.O. on Friday at 7:00AM C.S.T. OSPU and Pigs Knuckle Hollow-Creekside will square off approximately 20 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Consolation and Championship games will be on Saturday.

Can Point 3-Peat ????

I don't think about Point much these days but I had no choice as I passed both exits on my way home today. Actually there are 3 exits that will get you there but only 2 are "official" Stevens Point exits.

What will their season hold for them. Are they rebuilding or reloading ????? Coach Bennett had a good comment on that subject at the end of last season. "We lose some key players but keep in mind that the underclassmen have been practicing against the National Champs everyday for two years". A very good point indeed. Love it or hate it, when the WIAC is strong they generally produce the National Champion.

Platteville is on the rise and Whitewater is also very good. If they can avoid the early season upsets they might grab a Pool C and be headed to Salem to cut down the nets this year. Hopefully the expanded field will allow more than one team in. That probably knocks out any chance of the MWC getting multiple teams in, but is it that likely anyway; hard to say............

From memory there have been 30 D3 Tournaments now and the WIAC has 11 Championships I believe, when you consider that they've only had consistent representation for the past 20 years, the conference wins it about half the time. Back in the WSUC days it was a mixed bag of D2, D3 and NAIA and therefore, no automatic bid. So until somebody stops the Pointers I think they are still the favorite.

I haven't perfected my time machine yet, so there is no way of comparing the 3-peat North Park teams with todays Stevens Point teams. Talent would have to go to North Park, but how would they handle the shot clock, 3 point basket and alternate possession ???? These are questions that nobody seems to consider when making comparisons. What about TV time outs if the game were televised ????? Seems ESPN may throw some more bones to small college ball in the future so that is also something to keep in mind. What if what it what if...........