The strength bids have been handed out for the 2024 College Championships.
April 5, 2024 by Keith Raynor in News with 0 comments
With the regular season concluded, USA Ultimate has released the final bid allocation, laying out the arrangement of strength bids for the College Series across all divisions.
The final bid picture for each division:
| Region | D-I Women's Div. Bids | D-I Men's Div. Bids | D-III Women's Div. Bids | D-III Men's Div. Bids |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Coast | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Great Lakes | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Metro East | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New England | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| North Central | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Northwest | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| South Central | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Southeast | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Southwest | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
In the D-I Women’s division, as expected, the Evil Empire has returned, with the Northwest conquering six bids, tying their own record. BYU is set to participate in the Series, keeping a bid in the Northwest and holding out Northeastern and the NE. Only three other regions have multiple bids: the Southwest, with a healthy four, and each of the South Central and New England with a pair. The Western portion of the country will be well represented at Nationals.
The South Central earned a surprise third bid in the D-I Men’s division, with Washington University beating out the projections going into the week. BYU would have brought it back to the Northwest but will not compete in the Series. They cleared teams from New England (Northeastern, Tufts, McGill), the Northwest (Washington, UBC), and Southwest (UCLA) by well over 30 rankings points to take the final bid.
Wellesley was the last team in for the D-III Women’s division, edging Trinity in the rankings by a single point; they finished about 20 points ahead of Lewis & Clark. Somehow, New England managed three bids without the help of three-time reigning champion Middlebury; this number is still below the four and five bid years they’ve had recently.
In D-III Men’s division, New England led all bid-earners with three. The Ohio Valley pulled in two bids, joining North Central, Northwest, and South Central in that club. Should make for a very competitive tournament in SC, with the reigning national champions Colorado College also failing to pull in a strength bid.
