Here's the final bid picture! Bring on the Series.
April 8, 2016 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 15 comments
USA Ultimate last night announced the finalized regular season college rankings and bid allocation for the College Championships! Here are the results.
D-I Men’s
Final Bid Allocation
AC: 2 bids
GL: 1 bid
ME: 1 bid
NC: 3 bids
NE: 2 bids
NW: 4 bids
OV: 2 bids
SC: 2 bids
SE: 2 bids
SW: 1 bid
Discussion
After the dust settled, Ohio State, riding a pair of big wins over both Cincinnati and Colorado State, claimed the final bid in the Men’s Division, securing a two-bid Ohio Valley for the second straight year. And, also for the second straight year, that will come with some scrutiny, as Ohio State did little to show themselves deserving of a top 20 ranking (except, of course, in the eyes of the algorithm).
Florida State will also enter the postseason with pangs of frustration after the finished on the bubble, despite getting far more quality wins than the team ranked ahead of them. BYU’s bid staying in the Northwest, rather than falling to them, also has to sting.
But many teams have little claim to complain, after being given a golden opportunity to earn the bid with some old-fashioned wins against other bubble teams at Huck Finn. All came up short, and the bingo balls fell Ohio State’s way. Last year, Cincinnati went winless at Nationals; will this year’s second Ohio Valley qualifier finish the same way?
D-I Women’s
Final Bid Allocation
AC: 1 bid
GL: 1 bid
ME: 1 bid
NC: 1 bid
NE: 1 bid
NW: 5 bids
OV: 2 bids
SC: 3 bids
SE: 1 bid
SW: 4 bids
Discussion
No surprises here — we’ve known the look of the final Women’s bid allocation since the Northwest Challenge, as no top teams competed on the final weekend of the regular season. The strength bid bonanza goes west, with nine of the 10 total strength bids falling to westerly regions (four to the NW, three to the SW, and two to the SC). It will be a dogfight in the North Central as Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Carleton duke it out for one bid. New England also has lots of excitement built up, as Dartmouth hasn’t been the world beater we thought they would be and teams like Tufts, Northeastern, and Vermont are licking their chops.
D-III Men’s
Final Bid Allocation
AC: 2 bids
GL: 3 bids
ME: 1 bid
NC: 1 bid
NE: 2 bids
NW: 1 bid
OV: 1 bid
SC: 3 bids
SE: 1 bid
SW: 1 bid
Discussion
The reinstatement of Indiana Wesleyan into the final rankings yields major fruit for the Great Lakes region, which captures three strength bids, tied for the most with the South Central. That IWU bid comes at the expense of the Atlantic Coast — Davidson’s bid dropped out from under them.
A 16 team Nationals makes earning a strength bid that much harder in DIII, and lots of good teams will be left sitting at home during Nationals. The Atlantic Coast regional will be tremendous. So will the Ohio Valley (can anyone make Franciscan sweat?). Get ready for a wild postseason.
D-III Women’s
Final Bid Allocation
AC: 1 bid
GL: 1 bid
ME: 1 bid
NC: 3 bids
NE: 4 bids
NW: 1 bid
OV: 1 bid
SC: 2 bids
SE: 1 bid
SW: 1 bid
Discussion
No changes to the preliminary end-of-season bid allocation.
New England is the big winner with four bids amongst a lot of one bid regions. A deep and talented North Central may feel underwhelmed by getting only three bids, with St. Benedict and Grinnell (ranked #11 in the Ultiworld Power Rankings last week) missing out on bids.
The Ohio Valley has to feel even more pain, with four teams sitting in the Ultiworld Top 25 (Haverford, Lehigh, Messiah, and Swarthmore) but only one bid to show for it.
