MAP (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing)
I was hoping to finish this before the season started but didn't make it. This is a map of every D3 football team. Each of the 4 regions has a different symbol, each conference a different color.
If you select a team, you'll get a link to their d3football page, athletic website, street view of the stadium (if available), and a street view of the campus. Street view is at the mercy of google so not every school is equal there.
A few things I noticed while doing this:
1) More schools than I expected play off campus. Some still walking distance away, some are miles away.
2) Lots of cemeteries either next to or across the street.
3) The size difference of campuses. Just knowing that some schools are well into the thousands while others are in the hundreds of students doesn't really sink in until seeing it. There's major universities that look like they'd rival D1 schools, and there's schools that if you didn't know where to look you'd never know it existed.
The map isn't perfect, I'd love to be able to choose individual conferences or schools to show but that wasn't an option. I only had 10 groups I could make so I split each region up and tried to minimize the overlap so if you only have one group selected you can easily see the geographic footprint of each conference.
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on September 12, 2019, 03:45:07 AM
MAP (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing)
I was hoping to finish this before the season started but didn't make it. This is a map of every D3 football team. Each of the 4 regions has a different symbol, each conference a different color.
If you select a team, you'll get a link to their d3football page, athletic website, street view of the stadium (if available), and a street view of the campus. Street view is at the mercy of google so not every school is equal there.
A few things I noticed while doing this:
1) More schools than I expected play off campus. Some still walking distance away, some are miles away.
2) Lots of cemeteries either next to or across the street.
3) The size difference of campuses. Just knowing that some schools are well into the thousands while others are in the hundreds of students doesn't really sink in until seeing it. There's major universities that look like they'd rival D1 schools, and there's schools that if you didn't know where to look you'd never know it existed.
The map isn't perfect, I'd love to be able to choose individual conferences or schools to show but that wasn't an option. I only had 10 groups I could make so I split each region up and tried to minimize the overlap so if you only have one group selected you can easily see the geographic footprint of each conference.
GrizzliesGrad,
What an awesome project....a tremendous amount of work on your part. Thanks for making the Liberty League one of the conferences, now I can see why I think St.Lawrence is too cold and too close to Canada...because it is. Interesting to take a map walk through the entire country. Thanks again for your work.
This is really informative, thanks for putting it together. Brings up all kinds of questions. For instance, how can Maine Maritime and Catholic possibly be in the same conference?
Wow that is an I,press I've project! Thanks for putting this together. Very interesting.
This is very cool! I enjoyed exploring your map and clicking on specific schools.
Since you've included defunct, suspended & former D3 programs (Earlham, Frostburg,Thomas More), here are a few more for your skull & crossbones 'league':
Colorado College (https://www.d3football.com/notables/2009/colorado-college-drops-football)
Mississippi College (https://www.d3sports.com/notables/2012/09/mississippi-college-chooses-d2)
Swarthmore College (https://www.d3football.com/notables/2000/swarthmore-decision)
Really cool!
-Ski
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on September 12, 2019, 03:45:07 AM
MAP (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing)
I was hoping to finish this before the season started but didn't make it. This is a map of every D3 football team. Each of the 4 regions has a different symbol, each conference a different color.
If you select a team, you'll get a link to their d3football page, athletic website, street view of the stadium (if available), and a street view of the campus. Street view is at the mercy of google so not every school is equal there.
A few things I noticed while doing this:
1) More schools than I expected play off campus. Some still walking distance away, some are miles away.
2) Lots of cemeteries either next to or across the street.
3) The size difference of campuses. Just knowing that some schools are well into the thousands while others are in the hundreds of students doesn't really sink in until seeing it. There's major universities that look like they'd rival D1 schools, and there's schools that if you didn't know where to look you'd never know it existed.
The map isn't perfect, I'd love to be able to choose individual conferences or schools to show but that wasn't an option. I only had 10 groups I could make so I split each region up and tried to minimize the overlap so if you only have one group selected you can easily see the geographic footprint of each conference.
Keystone didn't make the map, I think they join the ECFC officially next season
This is fantastic... GREAT JOB!!!
Biggest observation I can make is that the East Region is massive. 148 teams? No wonder that region looks and shakes out so differently each year.
North being the smallest seems just as odd, but because they are all so much closer the committee can shuffle them a bit to avoid conference rematches in the playoffs. I am sure UMHB gets annoyed at having to beat HSU (often another top-10 team) twice a year just get to the Quarterfinals.
This is awesome work.
Just to catch up on stuff...
Former teams I only went back 5 seasons. I could go back and add more later but it was already taking longer than expected and I needed a break. I will try to keep it updated each season with any future changes such as Keystone joining.
My original plan (and work) was to do a basketball map but there's far more schools in that and it's much harder to pinpoint which building houses the court compared to an outdoor field. Maybe next summer I'll go back to work on that.
East: 9 conferences and 74 teams
West: 7 conferences and 63 teams
South: 6 conferences and 56 teams
North: 6 conferences and 54 teams
If you wanted to balance the numbers (without regard to balancing the strength of each region) you could move the PAC to the north, and move the MAC and NJAC to the south to leave each region with 7 conferences and a span of 55-65 teams but the east would be incredibly weak compared to the other three (and that is also including the NESCAC in their numbers).
I've noticed there's 3 natural borders within the dense part of the map... One is along the New York-Pennsylvania border, one is in western Pennsylvania, and one runs through northwest Indiana and eastern Illinois.
Finlandia is a long way from anyone, but it's a reaaaaaaaaaaaly long way from the rest of the north region. I know they want to keep everyone in a conference in the same region, but they'd fit so much better in the west.
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on September 18, 2019, 02:39:03 PM
My original plan (and work) was to do a basketball map but there's far more schools in that and it's much harder to pinpoint which building houses the court compared to an outdoor field. Maybe next summer I'll go back to work on that.
I mapped them all in Google Earth a few weeks ago. I'm not sure how to transfer that to Google Maps.
Update: I figured it out. Here's the map of D3 basketball teams. (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hPY7KNIkVu9E8VigIRuT24EGmLsF3v2-&usp=sharing)
I'm a college football buff and a geography buff, so your map has special meaning to me. Thank you very much for putting it together. :)
I've updated the map (https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing) to the new 6 regions, added Keystone, and moved several to the gone list.
If anyone knows of new stadium locations or changed websites for any team in the past couple years let me know and I'll get it updated
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on August 10, 2021, 08:57:34 AM
I've updated the map (https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing) to the new 6 regions, added Keystone, and moved several to the gone list.
If anyone knows of new stadium locations or changed websites for any team in the past couple years let me know and I'll get it updated
Haha love the skull and crossbones on the fomer D3 schools.
Quote from: crufootball on August 10, 2021, 05:40:26 PM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on August 10, 2021, 08:57:34 AM
I've updated the map (https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing) to the new 6 regions, added Keystone, and moved several to the gone list.
If anyone knows of new stadium locations or changed websites for any team in the past couple years let me know and I'll get it updated
Haha love the skull and crossbones on the fomer D3 schools.
Looking at the map for Region 6, just begs for a winner take all type of tournament in Denver while everyone else plays the tournament as they normally do.
Quote from: crufootball on August 10, 2021, 05:40:26 PM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on August 10, 2021, 08:57:34 AM
I've updated the map (https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing) to the new 6 regions, added Keystone, and moved several to the gone list.
If anyone knows of new stadium locations or changed websites for any team in the past couple years let me know and I'll get it updated
Haha love the skull and crossbones on the fomer D3 schools.
I don't, since one of them was mine. :( >:(
Quote from: crufootball on August 10, 2021, 05:40:26 PM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on August 10, 2021, 08:57:34 AM
I've updated the map (https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing) to the new 6 regions, added Keystone, and moved several to the gone list.
If anyone knows of new stadium locations or changed websites for any team in the past couple years let me know and I'll get it updated
Haha love the skull and crossbones on the fomer D3 schools.
A lot of great work in that map! Thanks FC.
Colorado College (Colorado Springs) should be added to the dropped list. I believe they used to play at Washburn Field (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washburn+Field/@38.8481109,-104.8277918,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xc61a8007e8120531!8m2!3d38.8481109!4d-104.8277918).
It seems like an easy fix for balance would be to move the WIAC (or MIAC) from Region 6 over to Region 5. The WIAC especially sits on top of a whole swath of CCIW and MWC teams already. And it would solve the issue of how overly stacked Region 6 is, which affects Regional Rankings and has Pool C implications.
Also, these maps are freaking awesome. Thanks for doing this!
Quote from: hazzben on August 11, 2021, 12:14:04 PM
It seems like an easy fix for balance would be to move the WIAC (or MIAC) from Region 6 over to Region 5. The WIAC especially sits on top of a whole swath of CCIW and MWC teams already. And it would solve the issue of how overly stacked Region 6 is, which affects Regional Rankings and has Pool C implications.
Also, these maps are freaking awesome. Thanks for doing this!
Also easy would have been moving the ASC from 6 to 3, which would almost totally balance out the discrepancy in teams per division. The ASC and SAA play each other a lot in non-conference play (well, the ASC only has one out-of-conference opportunity, but they still play a lot due to proximity).
Quote from: Ron Boerger on August 11, 2021, 04:41:07 PM
Quote from: hazzben on August 11, 2021, 12:14:04 PM
It seems like an easy fix for balance would be to move the WIAC (or MIAC) from Region 6 over to Region 5. The WIAC especially sits on top of a whole swath of CCIW and MWC teams already. And it would solve the issue of how overly stacked Region 6 is, which affects Regional Rankings and has Pool C implications.
Also, these maps are freaking awesome. Thanks for doing this!
Also easy would have been moving the ASC from 6 to 3, which would almost totally balance out the discrepancy in teams per division. The ASC and SAA play each other a lot in non-conference play (well, the ASC only has one out-of-conference opportunity, but they still play a lot due to proximity).
Sure would. Which begs the question, with two viable options, how did we end up with such an outlier region to begin with?
With the Top 25 coming out I had to take a look and see how the regions stacked up.
Region 1 - 1
Region 2 - 4
Region 3 - 4
Region 4 - 3
Region 5 - 5
Region 6 - 8 (Of the 8, 6 are in the Top 10)
Obviously we hopefully have a lot of football to be played in the few months but no one is going to be surprised if Region 6 has a lion share of the Top 25/Top 10 and there doesn't seem to be a need to cram that many traditional powers into one region.
Quote from: crufootball on August 18, 2021, 12:54:40 PM
With the Top 25 coming out I had to take a look and see how the regions stacked up.
Region 1 - 1
Region 2 - 4
Region 3 - 4
Region 4 - 3
Region 5 - 5
Region 6 - 8 (Of the 8, 6 are in the Top 10)
Obviously we hopefully have a lot of football to be played in the few months but no one is going to be surprised if Region 6 has a lion share of the Top 25/Top 10 and there doesn't seem to be a need to cram that many traditional powers into one region.
Do regions really matter. If you win your conference, you're in the playoff. If your a 1 loss team, your SOS/SOR and region will appropriately rank you. If all at-large bids go to Region 6, so be it.
Quote from: FANOFD3 on August 18, 2021, 02:05:58 PM
Quote from: crufootball on August 18, 2021, 12:54:40 PM
With the Top 25 coming out I had to take a look and see how the regions stacked up.
Region 1 - 1
Region 2 - 4
Region 3 - 4
Region 4 - 3
Region 5 - 5
Region 6 - 8 (Of the 8, 6 are in the Top 10)
Obviously we hopefully have a lot of football to be played in the few months but no one is going to be surprised if Region 6 has a lion share of the Top 25/Top 10 and there doesn't seem to be a need to cram that many traditional powers into one region.
Do regions really matter. If you win your conference, you're in the playoff. If your a 1 loss team, your SOS/SOR and region will appropriately rank you. If all at-large bids go to Region 6, so be it.
I would say they matter even more because of automatic playoff criteria, with only 5 at large spots any thing to hold up your team is concerning.
Another thing that Region 6 has, at least by 2019 standards, is the 3 best conferences in the country, so the 2nd best team, heck even the 3rd place team in those conferences is usually very solid but only one team per region is going to up for debate at any given time so while it is true that all at large bids could come from Region 6 I won't blame teams for being nervous.
Also I think there is going to be a lot of debate on who truly the best in Region 6 is because there will be very little crossover games between the members of that region since we are so far apart from one another.
Either way I just hope we get to have this debate and that COVID doesn't steal another season from the players, I know I will be here next year but there are many players who won't be.
Quote from: FANOFD3 on August 18, 2021, 02:05:58 PM
Quote from: crufootball on August 18, 2021, 12:54:40 PM
With the Top 25 coming out I had to take a look and see how the regions stacked up.
Region 1 - 1
Region 2 - 4
Region 3 - 4
Region 4 - 3
Region 5 - 5
Region 6 - 8 (Of the 8, 6 are in the Top 10)
Obviously we hopefully have a lot of football to be played in the few months but no one is going to be surprised if Region 6 has a lion share of the Top 25/Top 10 and there doesn't seem to be a need to cram that many traditional powers into one region.
Do regions really matter. If you win your conference, you're in the playoff. If your a 1 loss team, your SOS/SOR and region will appropriately rank you. If all at-large bids go to Region 6, so be it.
It matters because Regional Rankings are a criteria, both for Pool C, but also affect seeding. With additional regions, the number of teams ranked in each region will be reduced to 8 teams. But in Region 6, there are both more teams/conferences, and potentially much more depth at the top.
Put another way, all signs point to the hypothetical "team 9" in Region 6, being a really good team that would likely be ranked in almost any other region.
The ball never stops bouncing as Southwestern just announced they were joining the SAA in football effective 2023.
I knew it would never happen but I was actually hoping at some point Trinity who join the ASC so at least all the football playing D3 members in Texas would be in the same conference.
Quote from: hazzben on August 19, 2021, 10:24:43 AM
It matters because Regional Rankings are a criteria, both for Pool C, but also affect seeding. With additional regions, the number of teams ranked in each region will be reduced to 8 teams. But in Region 6, there are both more teams/conferences, and potentially much more depth at the top.
Put another way, all signs point to the hypothetical "team 9" in Region 6, being a really good team that would likely be ranked in almost any other region.
Ah, do we know this for a fact? In at least some other sports with unbalanced regions the number of ranked teams differs between regions.
Quote from: Ron Boerger on August 19, 2021, 04:23:42 PM
Quote from: hazzben on August 19, 2021, 10:24:43 AM
It matters because Regional Rankings are a criteria, both for Pool C, but also affect seeding. With additional regions, the number of teams ranked in each region will be reduced to 8 teams. But in Region 6, there are both more teams/conferences, and potentially much more depth at the top.
Put another way, all signs point to the hypothetical "team 9" in Region 6, being a really good team that would likely be ranked in almost any other region.
Ah, do we know this for a fact? In at least some other sports with unbalanced regions the number of ranked teams differs between regions.
When you say unbalanced, are you talking about quantity or perceived quality? Does the new layout qualify as unbalance in terms of quantity, it isn't prefect but if you squint they aren't that off in terms of numbers.
Excellent work. The absence of teams in the western part of the country (aside from the coast) is glaring.
Quote from: crufootball on August 19, 2021, 04:04:58 PM
The ball never stops bouncing as Southwestern just announced they were joining the SAA in football effective 2023.
I knew it would never happen but I was actually hoping at some point Trinity who join the ASC so at least all the football playing D3 members in Texas would be in the same conference.
So... switching places with Austin?
Quote from: Inkblot on August 19, 2021, 08:08:23 PM
Quote from: crufootball on August 19, 2021, 04:04:58 PM
The ball never stops bouncing as Southwestern just announced they were joining the SAA in football effective 2023.
I knew it would never happen but I was actually hoping at some point Trinity who join the ASC so at least all the football playing D3 members in Texas would be in the same conference.
So... switching places with Austin?
It is interesting to think did the two schools have the same conversations but just come to exact opposite conclusion. Also makes me think back, didn't the old SCAC which is now the SAA (somewhat) break up because they didn't want to travel all the way down to Texas?
Quote from: crufootball on August 19, 2021, 10:08:25 PM
Quote from: Inkblot on August 19, 2021, 08:08:23 PM
Quote from: crufootball on August 19, 2021, 04:04:58 PM
The ball never stops bouncing as Southwestern just announced they were joining the SAA in football effective 2023.
I knew it would never happen but I was actually hoping at some point Trinity who join the ASC so at least all the football playing D3 members in Texas would be in the same conference.
So... switching places with Austin?
It is interesting to think did the two schools have the same conversations but just come to exact opposite conclusion. Also makes me think back, didn't the old SCAC which is now the SAA (somewhat) break up because they didn't want to travel all the way down to Texas?
That was part of it, and perhaps the major part of it for at least some of the schools. There was also an undercurrent (stated baldly by the then-Hendrix president, more subtly by others) that the more recent additions to the SCAC - UDallas, Schreiner, TLU, Centenary (who was in the ASC at the time but had declared for the SCAC) - didn't live up to their academic expectations, and that's arguably true. If I remember some on the boards said the same of Colorado College and Trinity, but you can look at the numbers and disprove that.
Affiliating with the two Texas schools for football only means one out-of-state trip for one sport each season, versus a whole bunch across all sports, and helps preserve the conference's automatic bid. The Texas schools are the ones footing the bill for a lot of football travel with 3 or 4 out-of-state conference trips each season.
MAP (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing)
2022 Updates and corrections (some of which may have been waiting a while and some I thought I had already done):
Added Hilbert
Moved Allegheny to PAC
Moved PAC into Region 2
Moved ASC into Region 3
Changed Capital from Crusaders to Comets
Changed Carthage from Red Men to Firebirds
Changed Crown from Storm to Polars
Changed Kenyon from Lords to Owls
Changed Susquehanna from Crusaders to River Hawks
Changed Western Connecticut St from Colonials to the Wolves
If you know of any changes (such as a new stadium or a new website address) let me know and I'll get it updated.
Belhaven moved from ASC to USAC
Averett moved from USAC to ODAC
Quote from: archgemini24 on September 18, 2019, 12:44:22 PM
Biggest observation I can make is that the East Region is massive. 148 teams? No wonder that region looks and shakes out so differently each year.
North being the smallest seems just as odd, but because they are all so much closer the committee can shuffle them a bit to avoid conference rematches in the playoffs. I am sure UMHB gets annoyed at having to beat HSU (often another top-10 team) twice a year just get to the Quarterfinals.
This is awesome work.
Probably not as annoyed as HSU! ;D
This map is great, and I took a screenshot of it to use in ATN this week. Thanks again for doing this!
I have one other update to suggest -- Thomas More did go to NAIA but now they are NCAA D-II.
Quote from: Hawks88 on September 08, 2022, 07:09:31 AM
Belhaven moved from ASC to USAC
Averett moved from USAC to ODAC
Made the edit.
I was double checking conferences based on the region pages (https://www.d3football.com/teams/region-3) and those hadn't been updated I guess. The team pages are correct though.
Quote from: Pat Coleman on September 08, 2022, 05:12:05 PM
This map is great, and I took a screenshot of it to use in ATN this week. Thanks again for doing this!
I have one other update to suggest -- Thomas More did go to NAIA but now they are NCAA D-II.
No problem :) And updated.
It's not inaccurate to list Thomas More as NAIA this year. This is their first provisional D2 year and they're still an NAIA member and playing NAIA schedules. Next year they'll start playing D2 schedules.
Whittier (SCIAC) has dropped football.
Those SAA road trips to/from Trinity look brutal! Is the 2200 mile round trip between Centre & Trinity typically done by bus? :o
Quote from: ncc_fan on December 15, 2022, 04:47:59 PM
Those SAA road trips to/from Trinity look brutal! Is the 2200 mile round trip between Centre & Trinity typically done by bus? :o
They fly to most SAA schools
TIME FOR AN UPDATED MAP!!! :o :o :o
Quote from: TromboneJB on March 28, 2023, 10:07:27 AM
TIME FOR AN UPDATED MAP!!! :o :o :o
I'll get to it. Be sure to let me know of any little edits to be made. New stadiums, change in links, etc.
Quote from: ncc_fan on December 15, 2022, 04:47:59 PM
Those SAA road trips to/from Trinity look brutal! Is the 2200 mile round trip between Centre & Trinity typically done by bus? :o
For those who haven't been around for a while, before the SAA split from the SCAC this was something everyone in the conference dealt with, in all sports. And with Trinity and Southwestern joining the SAA in a couple of years, they will once again (which surprises those of us remembering that excessive travel was one of the reasons behind the split to begin with).
At one point, both Rose-Hulman and DePauw were also members of the SCAC. Until DePauw left, you had travel ranging all the way from Colorado to Indiana (RHIT departed the year Colorado College joined).
Quote from: ncc_fan on December 15, 2022, 04:47:59 PM
Those SAA road trips to/from Trinity look brutal! Is the 2200 mile round trip between Centre & Trinity typically done by bus? :o
LOL, Almost as bad as from Waco, Texas to Morgantown, West Virginia!
Or Los Angeles to College Park, Maryland...
;D
Quote from: Ralph Turner on March 29, 2023, 04:48:04 PM
Quote from: ncc_fan on December 15, 2022, 04:47:59 PM
Those SAA road trips to/from Trinity look brutal! Is the 2200 mile round trip between Centre & Trinity typically done by bus? :o
LOL, Almost as bad as from Waco, Texas to Morgantown, West Virginia!
Or Los Angeles to College Park, Maryland...
;D
I bet Sul Ross is looking forwards to playing Central Washington University when they go D2 (a short 1800 miles) :D.
Quote from: Etchglow on March 29, 2023, 06:23:47 PM
Quote from: Ralph Turner on March 29, 2023, 04:48:04 PM
Quote from: ncc_fan on December 15, 2022, 04:47:59 PM
Those SAA road trips to/from Trinity look brutal! Is the 2200 mile round trip between Centre & Trinity typically done by bus? :o
LOL, Almost as bad as from Waco, Texas to Morgantown, West Virginia!
Or Los Angeles to College Park, Maryland...
;D
I bet Sul Ross is looking forwards to playing Central Washington University when they go D2 (a short 1800 miles) :D.
... it is even longer than SRSU to Belhaven!
Quote from: Ralph Turner on March 29, 2023, 04:48:04 PM
Or Los Angeles to College Park, Maryland...
;D
Or Los Angeles to New Jersey.
MAP (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing)
As we approach 1 month until kickoff of the 2023 season, I've done a thorough checkup on everything. Updated the links and freshened up the street views.
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on July 30, 2023, 10:01:49 AM
MAP (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cpNOSe5JC7XFuLJnD7fxPyUDqVuZM785&usp=sharing)
As we approach 1 month until kickoff of the 2023 season, I've done a thorough checkup on everything. Updated the links and freshened up the street views.
Lyon is missing.
That is some good work. Thank you very much.
Out of curiosity, is there any way to have a map which allows you to search by driving distance from a school to another. Or have a listing of which schools are within a 500 mile drive from one another. Might be a handy tool for amateurs trying to do a mock bracket.
Also, outstanding work BTW
Quote from: MediaGuy on October 30, 2023, 12:06:49 PM
Out of curiosity, is there any way to have a map which allows you to search by driving distance from a school to another. Or have a listing of which schools are within a 500 mile drive from one another. Might be a handy tool for amateurs trying to do a mock bracket.
Easiest way to calculate that is to use this:
https://web2.ncaa.org/mileage
Quote from: Etchglow on October 30, 2023, 12:12:49 PM
Quote from: MediaGuy on October 30, 2023, 12:06:49 PM
Out of curiosity, is there any way to have a map which allows you to search by driving distance from a school to another. Or have a listing of which schools are within a 500 mile drive from one another. Might be a handy tool for amateurs trying to do a mock bracket.
Easiest way to calculate that is to use this:
https://web2.ncaa.org/mileage
Thanks a bunch...I've been typing so many different schools into google maps lately that the only ads I see on social media are for gas stations, hotels and car insurance... ;D
Quote from: MediaGuy on October 30, 2023, 02:04:03 PM
Quote from: Etchglow on October 30, 2023, 12:12:49 PM
Quote from: MediaGuy on October 30, 2023, 12:06:49 PM
Out of curiosity, is there any way to have a map which allows you to search by driving distance from a school to another. Or have a listing of which schools are within a 500 mile drive from one another. Might be a handy tool for amateurs trying to do a mock bracket.
Easiest way to calculate that is to use this:
https://web2.ncaa.org/mileage
Thanks a bunch...I've been typing so many different schools into google maps lately that the only ads I see on social media are for gas stations, hotels and car insurance... ;D
I feel you there lol. There are some quirks and things that aren't quite right in there I think. Recently looked up two schools and the distance was different depending on the direction. But, that's what the NCAA goes off of to determine mileage.
I went ahead and made the 2024 #d3fb map.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1ctIuk6dHbQ2n9r5xmltwczcK5G6by8M&usp=sharing
Changes from 2023:
1. Sul Ross moved to D2
2. Addition of SCAC Conference (TLU, MCM & AC moved from ASC, Centenary's new program and Lyon from NAIA)
3. Castleton moved from ECFC to MASCAC
4. Hilbert joined E8
5. Calvin adding football and joining the MIAA
Why are no colleges between the midwest and San Francisco area? Only the NWC and SCIAC. Makes out of conference games a long trip for those these two conferences.
Quote from: George Thompson on March 21, 2024, 11:58:51 AMWhy are no colleges between the midwest and San Francisco area? Only the NWC and SCIAC. Makes out of conference games a long trip for those these two conferences.
There is literally only one school playing D3 athletics between the Midwest and California, and that's Colorado College, which discontinued football in 2008 (probably because of the travel costs). The only D3 school in Northern California is UC Santa Cruz and I don't know if they ever have had football.
It takes a massive commitment for both schools to be in D3. Both Colorado College and UC Santa Cruz have to travel far in all sports for their games. Colorado College has to fly to most or all of of its conference games in the SCAC and in most years flies elsewhere a couple of weekend for non-conference games. The only D3 school in realistic driving distance is Nebraska Wesleyan. UCSC is in the Coast-to-Coast Conference because the SCIAC doesn't want to have to travel 6+ hours every other year for conference games when every other team is relatively close by. In many sports, UCSC comes down to SCIAC territory probably three weekends a season and 1-2 teams travel to UCSC every year, while UCSC travels to NWC maybe one weekend a season for a couple of games. The rest of its games are against DII or NAIA opponents in the area since the C2C conference has no conference games - only a year-end tournament.
You have to get a critical mass of schools that want to be in D3 to make it worth anyone's while if they aren't as committed as Colorado College and UC Santa Cruz to going it alone and incurring the travel costs. It basically takes a whole conference of NAIA schools wanting to move to DIII, like Northwest Conference did in 1996, for it to work. The reality is that for a lot of schools in the far midwest and mountain area, NAIA is cheaper, has fewer regulations, and allows them to use athletic $ to recruit students they need to keep their institution going.
I have always wondered about Colorado College's persistence in D3. They have "grandfathered" men's ice hockey and have scholarship women's soccer, so "Scholarship" athletics is not an anathema. It seems travel would be much easier if they went D-2 and played in the Rocky Mountain AC.
Quote from: Ralph Turner on March 28, 2024, 09:47:11 PMI have always wondered about Colorado College's persistence in D3. They have "grandfathered" men's ice hockey and have scholarship women's soccer, so "Scholarship" athletics is not an anathema. It seems travel would be much easier if they went D-2 and played in the Rocky Mountain AC.
I wonder if that grandfathering is part of the issue; the NCAA might not let them go D3->D2 while retaining their D1 sports, and they're too small to go all D1.
I thought this article (https://sites.coloradocollege.edu/bulletin/2019/05/from-college-boys-to-perennial-powerhouse-a-history-of-cc-athletics/)about the history of the athletic program at Colorado College was interesting.
Here is a quote from the former AD about the decision to drop football amidst the 2008 financial crisis:
Quote"In 2008, we had to make vertical cuts after we realized horizontal cuts to programs who were already underfunded would undermine a team's ability to play a nonconference schedule," Ralph says. "We decided to eliminate football because they had the lowest academic profile and performance of any team, worst giving rate of any athletic program, worst retention, and we had just come off an 0-10 season. They only had one winning season in the last 33 years. Then the elimination of softball and water polo allowed us to support quality over quantity."
QuoteThough controversial, the cuts proved successful. In the three years prior to discontinuing football, CC won one conference championship (men's cross country). In the three years after the discontinuation of the three sports, CC won 16 conference championships.
"The worst correct decision I've ever made," Ralph says.
I still wonder why the SCAC teams put up with having CC in the conference. It seems like it would be in a similar position as UC Santa Cruz in terms of needing a Coast-to-Coast Conference plus a lot of non-DIII opponents to survive. Here's a quote from the same AD that suggests the SCAC AD's aren't always happy about the travel either:
"Many SCAC opponents feel that CC doesn't add anything to their own student-athlete experience, because of the travel and the abundance of other Division Three schools in Texas. "It's a bone of contention all the time. Schools don't like coming up here to play us. For many other conference affiliates, it's a major strain on their budget," says Ken Ralph who was CC's most recent athletic director until his departure in September of this year."
In a league without Trinity and Southwestern (two schools that might have cared about Colorado College's academic standing), you wonder who Colorado College's remaining allies are in the SCAC.
Dallas Baptist University plays D-1 Baseball in the Southland Conference and D-2 in the Lone Star Conference for everything else. I do not find a D-1 Women's sport. The school has 7 men's and 7 women's sports at DBU.
Why not let Colorado College move to D-1 for all sports except their current D-1 Men's Ice Hockey and Women's Soccer?
They briefly had a travel partner, but the Denver campus of Johnson & Wales closed after two years in the SCAC.
Quote from: Ralph Turner on April 08, 2024, 06:41:51 PMWhy not let Colorado College move to D-1 for all sports except their current D-1 Men's Ice Hockey and Women's Soccer?
Do they desire to move to D-I?
Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 12, 2024, 10:19:19 AMQuote from: Ralph Turner on April 08, 2024, 06:41:51 PMWhy not let Colorado College move to D-1 for all sports except their current D-1 Men's Ice Hockey and Women's Soccer?
Do they desire to move to D-I?
I assumed that was a typo and he meant move to D-2. A post upthread from Ron Boerger had speculated that they are staying in D3 because the NCAA may not want to let them move from D3 to D2 and still keep their grandfathered D1 sports.
Ahh.
The lack of viable Division II ice hockey would probably leave open the chance for them to do II/I like a number of other hockey programs do. But I don't know that CC really sees the RMAC as peer institutions, and I don't know the D-II landscape well enough to know of another viable option.
Quote from: Kuiper on April 12, 2024, 12:07:15 PMQuote from: Pat Coleman on April 12, 2024, 10:19:19 AMQuote from: Ralph Turner on April 08, 2024, 06:41:51 PMWhy not let Colorado College move to D-1 for all sports except their current D-1 Men's Ice Hockey and Women's Soccer?
Do they desire to move to D-I?
I assumed that was a typo and he meant move to D-2. A post upthread from Ron Boerger had speculated that they are staying in D3 because the NCAA may not want to let them move from D3 to D2 and still keep their grandfathered D1 sports.
Yes, a typo! (Duhhh)
2025 D3 football map is here.
Arbitrary symbols: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?mid=1fjpweMFR_nvzVmWw7HbhVs9DzvtPO4I&usp=sharing
Conference logos: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?mid=1Ynu-AjmiGpeor6RCvkxDHB78XurdIiY&usp=sharing
Team logos: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?mid=1cAmSAab9NRJmOGrU31JuQ5_Yfpj8rcQ&usp=sharing
The previous post has been edited to include versions with conference logos and team logos.