Castleton, which was ranked ninth in the East Region by the NCAA last week, was left off this week’s rankings because the school did not report its scores to the NCAA.
“The rules require teams to report scores by the (Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Committee’s) conference call on Monday,” said Keisha Campbell, NCAA staff liaison for Division III Men’s Hockey. “There have been warnings issued in the past, and the process calls for teams to be left off the rankings if they don’t report their results. The committee followed the process.”
The NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Committee releases rankings each Tuesday beginning four weeks before the end of the season, using the criteria it will employ to select at-large teams and seed the field for the NCAA tournament. One-third of the institutions from each region are ranked. Teams are ranked based on the following primary criteria:
• win-loss percentage against regional opponents;
• quality of wins index (only contests versus regional competition);
• in-region head-to-head competition;
• in-region results versus common regional opponents; and
• in-region results versus regionally ranked teams.
The committee has the leeway to apply the criteria as it see fit, and does not have to consider them equally, according to Campbell.
“The committee is encouraged to look beyond the numbers,” she said.
Campbell said that she had been contacted by Castleton’s athletic department and expected the issue to be resolved by next week. Those rankings will be the last ones before the committee makes its selections on Sunday, March 4.
