4/4/07 Division B poll is out!

[bulax6]

i agree...some school are simply not getting the recognition they deserve...it's as though only the teams in the top 15 or so are the ones people are talking about...some teams that are ranked lower or not ranked at all are playing some good lacrosse

[scooter]

i totally agree, but when you can't see every team play, sometimes reputation is all you have to go on

[AflacLax]

There's the best and the rest and people are going to talk about the best.

[horn17]

From the refreshing waters of Lake Minnetonka:

UST 9 (B) vs. Univeristy of Minnesota 3 (A)

Very fast first quarter 0 - 0

St Thomas pulled away 7 -1 at one point.....

Gophers just couldnt run with the Tommies last night, but both teams played really hard...

[AflacLax]

From the refreshing waters of Lake Minnetonka:

UST 9 (B) vs. Univeristy of Minnesota 3 (A)

Very fast first quarter 0 - 0

St Thomas pulled away 7 -1 at one point.....

Gophers just couldnt run with the Tommies last night, but both teams played really hard...

I'm starting to be very impressed with St Thomas and guessing this upcoming Tommies v. Johnnies game is going to be intense.

[warri0rlax22]

I cant wait to see the results of that game either, scott. its gonna be a good one

[OAKS]

From the refreshing waters of Lake Minnetonka:

UST 9 (B) vs. Univeristy of Minnesota 3 (A)

Very fast first quarter 0 - 0

St Thomas pulled away 7 -1 at one point.....

Gophers just couldnt run with the Tommies last night, but both teams played really hard...

methinks it might be time for a few teams to look into moving up to the A division.

[AflacLax]

From the refreshing waters of Lake Minnetonka:

UST 9 (B) vs. Univeristy of Minnesota 3 (A)

Very fast first quarter 0 - 0

St Thomas pulled away 7 -1 at one point.....

Gophers just couldnt run with the Tommies last night, but both teams played really hard...

methinks it might be time for a few teams to look into moving up to the A division.

Remember, the definition of A normally means that school has division 1AA football. And yes, normally A also has more talented better teams. But I think it's great that B teams are building stronger so I hope the best smaller B teams stay in B. That way B will continue to get better and more competitive.

St Thomas has an enrollment of < 6000 undergraduate and < 5000 graduate students.

[whitcd]

methinks it might be time for a few teams to look into moving up to the A division.

There was quite the discussion in the UMLL Board regarding this. You can ignore the topic about UWSP.

http://forums.collegelax.us/viewtopic.php?t=7650

[DwinsChamps]

methinks it might be time for a few teams to look into moving up to the A division.

Don't let anyone else hear you say that.

[Brandon Carlson]

"methinks it might be time for a few teams to look into moving up to the A division."

This seems to be a reacurring topic amoung these message boards. As far as I know, the B division is not intended as a "developemental league" or a league for less talented teams. It is intended as a league for schools with smaller enrollment. Just as the NCAA has embraces Divisions I, II, and III (though as I believe I have stated before this tends to be moot as this is based on scholarship offerings just as much as school size)The MCLA embraces the B division as it's smaller counterpart. I have to admit I am a little frustrated that this keeps popping up. The reasoning behind the A-B split is to give teams like St. John's and St. Thomas an opportunity to compete with schools more like themselves, and I don't think that it is either of these school's best interests to even consider a move to the A division. I have seen Duluth play this year (St. Thomas and St. John's most eligible competition besides themselves (and I agree that this could be a fantastic game and will be there with bells on) and I do not believe that either team could compete with Duluth.

[Brandon Carlson]

I'll reply to myself because I am computer illiterate.

"That's not how to do quotes you idiot"

The content of the message should be considered all the same. I am however much looking forward to the UST STU game a week from tomorrow. However, it is most likely only a preview of the UMLL championship game that will decide the higher seed in the national tournament this year.

[cjwilhelmi]

"methinks it might be time for a few teams to look into moving up to the A division."

This seems to be a reacurring topic amoung these message boards. As far as I know, the B division is not intended as a "developemental league" or a league for less talented teams. It is intended as a league for schools with smaller enrollment. Just as the NCAA has embraces Divisions I, II, and III (though as I believe I have stated before this tends to be moot as this is based on scholarship offerings just as much as school size)The MCLA embraces the B division as it's smaller counterpart.

It was originally intended like you describe, however, nationally it is seen as a developmental league and will so until it becomes more defined.

[Jolly Roger]

Corbin,

I think both views are represented nationally. The UMLL, SELC, PNCLL all embrace the idea of a division for small schools. The WCLL has been running on a different model for decades and it may take time for that culture to change. I can't speak for the RMLC and CCLA.

I hope that the GRLC, with the highest percentage of teams eligible to be served by the B Division, would work to embrace the idea of size and resources rather than skill as a definition for B division.

[cjwilhelmi]

Corbin,

I think both views are represented nationally. The UMLL, SELC, PNCLL all embrace the idea of a division for small schools. The WCLL has been running on a different model for decades and it may take time for that culture to change. I can't speak for the RMLC and CCLA.

I hope that the GRLC, with the highest percentage of teams eligible to be served by the B Division, would work to embrace the idea of size and resources rather than skill as a definition for B division.

I agree that both views are seen across our league; however, the predominant one that keeps coming out is that it is developmental. I personally think that it must be a league for smaller schools but there are many things that need to change before that is the predominant national view. The biggest thing is that small schools need to stay in B and not jump to A. I think its fine for smaller schools to play up (Hop in DI, Sonoma, Lindenwood, Duluth in MCLA). There just needs to be a long process for teams to move up and once they do they need to be there for x number of years before they can even think about moving down.

The other big problem is that when we have a new team come in to a conference where do they go? They go straight to Div B. When they get good enough, or developed enough, they go up to A if they qualify for it. Developing A teams in B is the very definition of a developmental league. If we want to get rid of that stigma nationally then we need to 1) move all A teams playing in B up to A immediately, regardless of how good they are, 2) any new teams that come in go directly to A or B depending on the national guidelines, 3) any B size school playing in A must stay there for, lets say 5 years, before they can think about moving down to B and must be there for, lets say again, 5 years.