NCAA Division III Sports Summary: Wrestling, Soccer, Football, Field Hockey Introduction The NCAA division III community consists of 451 schools and a multitude of sports. In this evaluation, Gettysburg college looked at four sports (wrestling, soccer, football and field hockey) and ranked them using six ranking methods: Colley, Keener, Massey, Redmond, Weighted Power Matrix (WPM), and Elo. Each method has a unique way to evaluate teams and put them into a ranking system. These methods are compared to one another and for each sport, and are also compared to each other as a whole. 1 Wrestling Division III wrestling consists of 99 teams, all evaluated using the same six ranking methods. Top 5 Ranked Teams and Bottom 5 Ranked Teams: Colley: 1: Wisconsin La Crosse (9,0) 2: Wartburg (19,0) 3: Stevens (21,0) 4: Brockport (5,1) 5: Johnson and Wales (22,1) 95: Adrian (0,10) 96: Penn College(1,12) 97: Mount St. Vincent (1,14) 98: New England College (0,9) 99: Southern Virginia (0,13) Keener: 1: Wisconsin La Crosse (9,0) 2: Stevens (21,0) 1
3: Wartburg (19,0) 4: NYU (17,3) 5: Messiah (17,2) 95: Bridgewater State (3,16) 96: Plymouth State (1,10) 97: Mount St. Vincent (1,14) 98: Hunter (2,15) 99: New England College (0,9) Massey: 1: Wisconsin La Crosse (9,0) 2: Wartburg (19,0) 3: Wisconsin Whitewater (9,6) 4: Johnson and Wales (22,1) 5: Stevens (21,0) 95: Southern Virginia (0,13) 96: MSOE (1,5) 97: Hunter (2,15) 98: New England College (0,9) 99: Mount St. Vincent (1,14) Redmond: 1: Wartburg (19,0) 2: Johnson and Wales (22,1) 3: Augsburg (10,2) 4: Wisconsin La Crosse (9,0) 5: Ithaca (11,2) 95: Lakeland (0,3) 96: Hampden-Sydney (1,4) 97: Southern Virginia (0,13) 98: New England College (0,9) 99: MacMurray (0,2) 2
Weigted Power Matrix: 1: Johnson and Wales (22,1) 2: Wartburg (19,0) 3: Stevens (21,0) 4: Baldwin Wallace (19,3) 5: Messiah (17,2) 95: Adrian (0,10) 96: New England College (0,9) 97: St. Olaf (0,9) 98: Nebraska Wesleyan (0,9) 99: Lakeland (0,3) Elo: 1: Wartburg (19,0) 2: Johnson and Wales (22,1) 3: Stevens (21,0) 4: Augsburg (10,2) 5: Baldwin Wallace (19,3) 95: Hunter (2,15) 96: Mount St. Vincent (1,14) 97: Penn College (1,12) 98: New England College (0,9) 99: Southern Virginia (0,13) Wrestling Summary Out of the six ranking methods, Wisconsin La Crosse was ranked number 1 most frequently. Colley, Keener, and Massey all had Wisconsin La Crosse in the number 1 position. Wisconsin La Crosse was not in the top 5 for Weigted Power Matrix and Elo, but was 4th in Redmond. Wartburg had an arguably better season, getting ranked first in Elo and Redmond, second in WPM, Colley and Massey, as well as third in Keener. They were never unranked with their record of 19 and 0, whereas Wisconsin La Crosse, who had a record of 9 and 0, was. Stevens also had a competitive showing with their record of 21 and 0, but was consistently ranked below both Wartburg and Wisconsin La Crosse. 3
Southern Virginia and New England College battled it out for the last spot. Southern Virginia clinched the 99th position in both Elo and Colley, while New England College took last in Keener and second to last in Elo, Redmond, Massey and Colley. WPM had New England College at 4th from the bottom, but found Southern Virginia s record of 0 and 13 too good to be placed in the bottom five. 2 Men s Soccer Division III soccer consists of 414 teams, all evaluated using the same six ranking methods. Top 5 Ranked Teams and Bottom 5 Ranked Teams: Colley: 1: Tufts (15,1) 2: Drew (19,0) 3: SUNY Oneonta (15,1) 4: Chicago (16,2) 5: St. Thomas (Minn.) (19,1) 410: Wheelock (1,12) 411: Eureka (0,10) 412: Lakeland (0,15) 413: Hilbert (0,16) 414: St. Elizabeth (0,14) Keener: 1: Chicago (16,2) 2: St. Jos. (Maine) (18,0) 3: Drew (19,0) 4: Johns Hopkins (14,1) 5: Rutgers-Newark (20,2) 410: Berea (0,16) 411: Maine-P.I.(0,5) 412: Linfield (0,13) 4
413: St. Elizabeth (0,14) 414: Caltech (0,16) Massey: 1: Chicago (16,2) 2: Rowan (17,3) 3: Calvin (19,0) 4: North Park (16,1) 5: Messiah (18,2) 410: Green Mountain (2,13) 411: Eureka (0,10) 412: Lakeland (0,15) 413: Maine-P.I.(0,5) 414: St. Elizabeth (0,14) Redmond: 1: Chicago (16,2) 2: Rowan (17,3) 3: Calvin (19,0) 4: North Park (16,1) 5: Messiah (18,2) 410: Green Mountain (2,13) 411: Eureka (0,10) 412: Lakeland (0,15) 413: Maine-P.I.(0,5) 414: St. Elizabeth (0,14) Weigted Power Matrix: 1: Tufts (15,1) 2: Messiah (18,2) 3: SUNY Cortland (15,3) 4: Middlebury (12,6) 5: Springfield (14,1) 5
410: New Rochelle (0,4) 411: Caltech (0,16) 412: Maine-P.I. (0,5) 413: Berea (0,16) 414: Lakeland (0,15) Elo: 1: Tufts (15,1) 2: Otterbein (17,2) 3: SUNY Oneonta (15,1) 4: Lycoming (18,2) 5: Rutgers-Newark (20,2) 410: Hilbert (0,16) 411: Eureka (0,10) 412: St. Elizabeth (0,14) 413: New Rochelle (0,4) 414: Maine-P.I. (0,5) Men s Soccer Summary In Division III Men s soccer this year, the highest ranked position was between two teams, Tufts and Chicago, who both had 3 number one spots. Tufts took first in WPM, Elo, and Colley, while Chicago took first in Redmond, Keener and Massey. Surprisingly, the only method where both teams show up is Colley, which had Chicago ranked number 4. Drew College had a record of 19 and 0, but only showed up in Keener and Colley. Similarly, Calvin College had a record of 19 and 0, but only showed up in Redmond and Massey. St. Elizabeth proved its dedication to men s soccer with its record of 0 and 14 coming in 414th place in Redmond, Colley, and Massey. They also placed 413th in Keener as well as 412th in Elo, but didn t make it in WPM. Maine-P.I., going only 0 and 5, showed up at 414th in Elo, while also making appearances in all but Colley. Comparatively, Caltech had a record of 0 and 16, but only showed up in Keener, taking the last spot, and WPM at the 4th from the bottom spot. 6
3 Football Division III Football consists of 250 teams, all evaluated using the same six ranking methods and also Minimum upsets method. 3.1 Top 5 Ranked Teams and Bottom 5 Ranked Teams: Colley: 1: WI Oshkosh (11,0) 2: Brockport St (13,0) 3: Mt Union (13,0) 4: M Hardin-Baylor (13,0) 5: Wartburg (12,1) 246: Wm Paterson (0,10) 247: Wilkes (0,10) 248: Grinnell (0,9) 249: Crown MN (0,10) 250: Earlham (0,10) Keener: 1: Mt Union (13,0) 2: Delaware Val (12,1) 3: Brockport St (13,0) 4: Springfield (10,1) 5: M Hardin-Baylor (13,0) 246: Greensboro (1,9) 247: Wm Paterson (0,10) 248: Becker (1,9) 249: Grinnell (0,9) 250: Occidental (0,3) Massey: 1: Mt Union (13,0) 2: M Hardin Baylor (13,0) 7
3: WI Oshkosh (11,1) 4: Brockport St (13,0) 5: Delaware Val (12,1) 236: Grinnell (0,9) 237: Luther MN (5,5) 238: Iowa Wesleyan (2,8) 239: MN Morris (1,9) 240: Crown MN (0,10) Redmond: 1: Mt Union (13,0) 2: M Hardin Baylor (13,0) 3: WI Oshkosh (11,1) 4: Brockport St (13,0) 5: Delaware Val (12,1) 246: Grinnell (0,9) 247: Luther MN (5,5) 248: Iowa Wesleyan (2,8) 249: MN Morris (1,9) 250: Crown MN (0,10) Weigted Power Matrix: 1: Johns Hopkins (9,2) 2: Brockport St (13,0) 3: Frank and Marsh (10,1) 4: Susquehanna (8,3) 5: Ursinus (6,4) 246: Finlandia (0,2) 247: Earlham (0,10) 248: Crown MN (0,10) 249: Carleton MN (0,10) 250: Bowdoin (0,9) 8
Elo: 1: Brockport St (13,0) 2: Mt Union (13,0) 3: WI Oshkosh (11,0) 4: M Hardin-Baylor (13,0) 5: Delaware Val (12,1) 246: Finlandia (0,2) 247: MN Morris (1,9) 248: Earlham (0,10) 249: Grinnell (0,9) 250: Crown MN (0,10) Minimum Upsets 1: M Hardin Baylor (13,0) 2: Wartburg (12,1) 3: Trine (11,1) 4: St Thomas MN (11,2) 5: Mt Union (13,0) 246: Capital (1,9) 247: Wm Paterson (0,10) 248: Grinnell (0,9) 249: Austin Col (1,7) 250: Bowdoin (0,9) Football Summary The division III football rankings are also accompanied with a 7th method of ranking in the form of the Minimum upsets method. The three leading teams this year were Mt Union (13,0), M Hardin Baylor (13,0), and Brockport St (13,0). Mt Union finished first in Redmond, Keener and Massey, second in Elo, third in Colley, and fifth in minimum upsets. M Hardin Baylor ranked first in minimum upsets, second in Redmond and Massey, fourth in Elo and Colley, as well as fifth in Keener. Brockport St. ranked first in Elo, second in WPM and Colley, third in Keener, and fourth in Redmond and Massey. The only team to show up on other rankings from 9
WPM was Brockport, while Johns Hopkins came in first. In this method, Gettysburg college came in 25th with a record of 3 and 7. Odd. On the other end of the spectrum, Crown college had three last place finishes in Elo, Massey, and Redmond. In Colly, Crown finished in second to last, and in WPM they finished third to last. Bowdoin, with a record of 0 and 9, came in last place for minimum upsets and WPM, but did not show up in Elo, Redmond, Massey, Keener, and Colley. Grinnell was the last notable team to mention, as they showed up in all methods except WPM. 4 Field Hockey Division III field hockey consists of 165 teams, all evaluated using the same six ranking methods. Top 5 Ranked Teams and Bottom 5 Ranked Teams: Colley: 1: Messiah (17,0) 2: Chris. Newport (16,0) 3: Kean (19,1) 4: Middlebury (14,2) 5: MIT (14,2) 161: Becker (2,18) 162: Drew (0,15) 163: Notre Dame (Md.) (1,13) 164: Sweet Briar (0,12) 165: Bay Path (0,15) Keener: 1: Messiah (17,0) 2: Chris. Newport (16,0) 3: Kean (19,1) 4: MIT (14,2) 5: St. John Fisher (15,0) 10
161: Drew (0,15) 162: Becker (2,18) 163: Bay Path (0,15) 164: Oberlin (0,19) 165: Sweet Briar (0,12) Massey: 1: Middlebury (14,2) 2: Messiah (17,0) 3: TCNJ (14,3) 4: Tufts (11,5) 5: Salisbury (12,3) 161: Bryn Athyn (2,12) 162: Becker (2,18) 163: Notre Dame (Md.) (1,13) 164: Bay Path (0,15) 165: Sweet Briar (0,12) Redmond: 1: Middlebury (14,2) 2: Messiah (17,0) 3: TCNJ (14,3) 4: Tufts (11,5) 5: Salisbury (12,3) 161: Bryn Athyn (2,12) 162: Becker (2,18) 163: Notre Dame (Md.) (1,13) 164: Bay Path (0,15) 165: Sweet Briar (0,12) Weigted Power Matrix: 1: Middlebury (14,2) 2: Williams (12,4) 11
3: Tufts (11,5) 4: Babson (16,3) 5: Trinity (Conn.) (11,5) 161: Notre Dame (Md.) (1,13) 162: Drew (0,15) 163: Oberlin (0,19) 164: Sweet Briar (0,12) 165: Bay Path (0,15) Elo: 1: Chris. Newport (16,0) 2: Messiah (17,0) 3: Middlebury (14,2) 4: Kean (19,1) 5: Catholic (14,2) 161: Bryn Athyn (2,12) 162: Notre Dame (Md.) (1,13) 163: Becker (2,18) 164: Sweet Briar (0,12) 165: Bay Path (0,15) Field Hockey Summary NCAA division III Field Hockey saw a few teams dominate the nation. Messiah went 19 and 0, finishing first in Colley and Keener, second in Massey, Elo, and Redmond. Middlebury went 14 and 2, but finished first in WPM, Redmond and Massey, third in Elo, and fourth in Colley. Chris. Newport, with a 14 and 2 record, finished first in Elo, and second in Keener and Colley. On the bottom side, Bay Path, who s record was 0 and 15, proved to the world that they suck more than a second semester senior at coming to class. They fished last in Elo, WPM, and Colley, second to last in Redmond and Massey, and third for Keener. Sweet Sweet Briar did equally as bad, finishing last in Redmond, Massey, and Keener and second to last in Elo, WPM, and Colley. Besides Colley ranking Oberlin (0,19) in second to last, Bay Path and Sweet Briar held the last two spots for all the methods. Notre Dame is also an honorable mention, making it into the 12
bottom five in Elo, WPM, Redmond, Massey, and Colley. Trends Throughout the Ranking Similarities: It is hard to identify similarities, but Redmond and Massey, for three of the four sports, had the exact same rankings for the top five and bottom five positions. For Wrestling, Colley, Keener, and Massey are very similar in predicting the nation s winners and losers. For soccer, Massey and Redmond had the exact same results for the top and bottom teams. Football also had Redmond and Massey with the exact same results for top and bottom teams. Football also had fairly consistent overall rankings with all methods except minimum upsets and WPM having at least three of the same teams in the top positions. There was not the same amount of consistency with the bottom teams. Field hockey again showed Redmond and Massey with the exact same results. In general, the field hockey rankings were consistent with multiple teams showing up in all methods except for WPM. Differences: The method that has the most outliers is the Weighted Power Matrix method. Although there were some similarities with the other methods, WPM would consistently produce teams not seen in the other rankings. Field Hockey had Williams (12,4), Babson (16,3), and Trinity (11,5) all show up, which are not in any of the other top five lists. Soccer WPM had SUNY Cortland (15,3), Middlebury (12,6), and Springfield (14,1) all in the top 5 that were not found in any of the other methods. Football had the most inconsistencies with Johns Hopkins (9,2), Franklin and Marshall (10,1), Susquehanna (8,3), and Ursinus (6,4) all making it to the top with no mentions anywhere else. Wrestling was the only WPM where all of the top ranked teams showed up in other methods. The bottom teams in WPM method were much more consistent than the top teams. Wrestling had St. Olaf (0,9) and Nebraska Wesleyan (0,9) show up for the WPM as the only teams not found anywhere else. Soccer and football only had New Rochelle (0,4) and Carleton MN (0,10) respectively as new teams to show up. All the low rated teams in field hockey showed up in the other methods. Conclusion Division III sports are a roller-coaster of emotions. The four sports looked at here, wrestling, men s soccer, football and field hockey, were all ranked using six methods. A seventh method, minimum upsets, was also used to rank football teams. In 13
each sport, there were always a couple teams that fought it out for the first and last spot. There was never one team that showed a perfect appearance for all of the methods. The ranking methods themselves had a couple major consistences, with Redmond and Massey having 3 perfectly exact ranks. The weighted power matrix method was the most diverse in its winners, but was consistent with the other methods for its losers. Over all, ranking methods are very varying. Although there are some large consistencies in each sport, with teams undoubtedly having extremely good and bad records, rankings will always vary depending on what aspects of a team you are looking at. 14