{"id":25769,"date":"2003-04-18T21:32:59","date_gmt":"2003-04-19T02:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2003\/04\/18\/the-last-change\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:55:28","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:55:28","slug":"the-last-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2003\/04\/18\/the-last-change\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
The college hockey community has, by and large, embraced a purely objective-based system for selecting the field for the NCAA tournament. Fans like it, coaches like it, we like it.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Well, all subjective systems are open to biases — even subconscious ones — that can skew results. Further, it is the belief of the large majority of the hockey community that even a perception of political decision-making is not worth the hassle that a subjective system brings.<\/p>\n
Still, no objective system is perfect — and some are less perfect than others.<\/p>\n
In the current system, there is frustration with some of the built-in injustices — many of which we’ve addressed in the last few months and years. To address these, the committee has tried many times over the years to tweak things. But the tweaks, and the continual changes in interpretation, only create more frustration.<\/p>\n
Not wanting to beat a dead horse any longer, we present our proposal for a system that can stand the test of time — something that we can all live with in peace and harmony for years to come.<\/p>\n
Our approach to this proposal is to guide the process, not dictate. College hockey coaches and the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee should be able to choose the things that are most important to them. Our role, then, is to help everyone understand the implication and ramification of each decision, and how they interact with each other. And to clearly spell out the options.<\/p>\n
Introduction<\/h4>\n
Given the desire for a purely objective system, it is imperative to ensure the “correct” objective system is used. If not, you become a slave to numbers that are faulty.<\/p>\n
By starting from the ground up, we free ourselves from being tied to the old system. Instead of tweaking the old system, and “fixing” things by plugging round pegs into square holes, we can reevaluate everything from the start.<\/p>\n
This is not to suggest the current system is a disaster. The current system has managed to choose a good field, and create an outstanding tournament. Further, no system is perfect, and it should not be assumed perfection can be achieved.<\/p>\n
However, we believe it is possible to create a system that is on much better logical footing.<\/p>\n
By the same token, everything in this proposal should be familiar. We are just reevaluating each step in a logical, orderly fashion. This proposal can help sift out the truly debateable issues, from the points which should be absolute. For example, it should be up to the hockey committee and coaches to decide which methods and criteria to use … while we can help create the most logical implementation of those ideas.<\/p>\n
This proposal is meant to be followed, step-by-step. By making a series of choices, the committee will have, in the end, the system they want, that also works well.<\/p>\n
The Steps<\/h4>\n
Step I. Do we want an objective-based system?<\/span><\/p>\n
If the answer is no, stop now; the rest of the article is meaningless. If the answer is yes, continue.<\/p>\n
Step II. KRACH vs. RPI<\/span><\/p>\n
RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) is the foundation for which selections are made in nearly every NCAA sport. Some sports use RPI as a guide, then jump off with a number of subjective ideas to help choose the field (like men’s basketball). Others take RPI and then build onto it with other objective criteria (like ice hockey).<\/p>\n
If, however, this foundation is flawed, it’s like trying to calculate a trip to the moon using textbooks from the ancient Greeks.<\/p>\n