Feature – NCDA

Who Will End ‘The Streak’?

The state of Michigan’s 11-year national title run will come to an end eventually (maybe even this year). Here’s a look at the teams who came closest to ending ‘The Streak’ in the past, and those best positioned to do so this year:

The state of Michigan has had an unprecedented amount of success in collegiate dodgeball over the past decade or so. In fact, a team from Michigan has won each of the last 11 NCDA Nationals Titles. This 11-year-run has been incredible, but there have certainly been a few close calls along the way.

Here we are, less than a week away from crowning yet another College Dodgeball National Champion, and ‘The Streak’ is still alive and well. Before I dive into which teams have the best shot to end this steak in 2018, here is a quick history lesson on the closest misses that have occurred during the 11-year stretch:

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NCDA Regional Hierarchy – November 2017

The question often arises: “Which Region is the best in College Dodgeball?”. While Michigan has historically had the best region in the country by a large margin, the argument for 2nd and 3rd place was always a big debate.

While reviewing the most recent Power Rankings, I noticed that the race for strongest region is much closer than some may anticipate. In fact, depending on what one determines to be the most important criteria, there could be a case made for several different regions as the best in the NCDA.

Over the past decade, many have accepted the narrative that the Michigan Region is the best in College Dodgeball and that it will never change. After taking a closer look at our current power rankings, the distinction of ‘strongest region’ is more up in the air than people may think.

I used two different methods to analyze the NCDA’s ‘Regional Hierarchy’, both of which were based off November’s Power Rankings. For reference, here is the top 20 for November: Continue reading “NCDA Regional Hierarchy – November 2017”

Standings as of 2017-10-31

The Gonzalez System now includes 260 technical upsets in 1337 (leet) ranked matches. For the 2018 Season, we’re at 24 technical upsets in 87 ranked matches. We’ve also seen twelve JV contests, and four new schools: Midland, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Gonzaga, and Oregon St. All the following data is current as of 2017-10-31.

If you’d like to know more about the Gonzalez System, please refer to our Spec Doc detailing the system. And as always, I’d be more than happy to answer any questions. Continue reading “Standings as of 2017-10-31”

Standings as of 2017-10-11

This feature article was co-authored with Felix Perrone

In three events across a similarly expansive swath of the country as last week, we played 15 ranked matches and three JV contests. This has brought the records to a nice and round 1300 ranked matches. We saw a feature article with Dylan and Felix, in this feature article, Felix and I will present some more fun facts regarding that large chunk of data. Complete records span eight seasons, from the Opening Match on 2010-09-25 to this weekends games of 2017-10-08. While we have a number of matches recorded from 2005-2010, those records are not complete and as reliable so we refer to those as the dark times.

We had three events this weekend at PSU, GSU, and GVSU.

So far:

50 matches played in the 2018 Season (another round number!)
23 teams of our 32 active teams have played (not as round)
just 1 overtime (way under average)
11 technical upsets (about on target)
a historical leader dips (more on that later)

Continue reading “Standings as of 2017-10-11”

NCDA Stats 2011 to Present

With the first month of the season in the books we have already seen 50 games played through 9 events with 282 points being scored. It is still very early in the season but it is already looking like we are on pace to break several records this year, including some big ones like total number of games played and average points scored per game.

President Felix Perrone was bored one day so he ran some numbers and came up with some cool stats about the NCDA. While we have some incomplete stone age records going back to our first season in 2005, these stats use our complete records which date back to September 2010, up through this weekend.

Continue reading “NCDA Stats 2011 to Present”

College Dodgeball’s Winning Formula – Part One: Play Elite Dodgeball

No automatic alt text available. — Looking for dodgeball outside the NCDA? Look no further than Elite Dodgeball.

As we inch closer and closer to the start of another National Collegiate Dodgeball Association (NCDA) season, I plan to begin a series of articles on “College Dodgeball’s Winning Formula”. From my experience as a player and board member within this league, there seems to be no shortage of enthusiasm or commitment among players. But that has not transitioned to on-court success for some teams, especially those in their first year or two as a program.

My goal with this series is simply to provide some insight into what it takes to be a championship level dodgeball player/team in the NCDA. It is no secret that building a club sport at your school is a difficult task. Competing against programs with far more experience makes that process even more trying. This series should help expedite that improvement process. Future topics in this series will be about recruitment of players, practice formats, etc., but this first portion is a bit unique. The reason I am writing about Elite Dodgeball right now is because the Elite season just ended, and I am more convinced now than ever before that this is something NCDA players NEED to be involved in. Now, time for Part One: Play Elite Dodgeball! Continue reading “College Dodgeball’s Winning Formula – Part One: Play Elite Dodgeball”

2016-2017 Women’s All-American Team

This year we will be doing something that we’ve never done before, the women of the NCDA are finally getting the recognition they deserve. There are many talented ladies in the league, as showcased in the Lady’s match at nationals the past couple of years. Every season the match grows in number and talent. The women on this list are not to be taken lightly and are dedicated members of the squads that they represent. Without further delay, the 2016-2017 Women’s All-American Team!

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Review for Kent State’s Matthew Kelsey Fundraiser Tournament

I hope that you all are recovered from a hopefully fun Saint Patrick’s day! While this past weekend did not hold any sanctioned NCDA bouts, I was privileged enough to be able to participate in the Matthew Kelsey Fundraiser 6v6 Tournament held by Kent State on Saturday March 18th. Matt “Kelso” Kelsey was one of Kent State’s original club members and has been recently diagnosed with Leukemia and the proceeds of the tournament went to help Matt with any costs he might have. The tournament was a great success and raised 776 dollars for Matthew with the 10 teams that showed up and the other donations that were made in his honor. Continue reading “Review for Kent State’s Matthew Kelsey Fundraiser Tournament”

A Day With Leski

I decided to interview Jacob Leski for this article. He is the former President of Central Michigan’s Dodgeball Club and current Director of League Expansion and Retention for the NCDA. He is well known in the league for his loud play and great catching ability, but off the court he is a great guy and genuinely loves the league and the sport of dodgeball, and works very hard to see it flourish.

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Power Rankings Poll: Groundhog’s Day Edition

Disclaimer: These rankings have zero impact on seeding for the National Tournament or actual ranking. They provide insight into where teams are currently performing during a given part of the season.

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Alumni Appreciation- UWP

Alumni Appreciation- Founder of UWP Dodgeball

As you may know, January is alumni appreciation month and I thought it would be fitting to write about how Platteville’s club got started. Our club started over ten years ago and I’m so happy that it did. I have met a lot of amazing people and made a lot of great friends because of it. To help tell how the club got started we talked to the founder of the club: Scott Skelly. Continue reading “Alumni Appreciation- UWP”

Director of League Expansion and Retention: Winter Update

The first half of the 2016-17 season is complete. We started the season with 23 active teams in the NCDA and now have 29 with plenty more waiting to get some action in the second half of the season. A total of 119 games were played last semester. That set a new record for the amount of matches played in the first half of the season. One can only predict that this record will continue to be broken for many years to come. This is thanks to the hard work of not just the Executive Board, but the active members of this league who have done an extraordinary job of getting the word out about this great sport. Below is an update on how the newly established member teams are doing this season and how close other prospective teams are to playing in the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association this season.
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Goals for 2017 Nationals

To cap off this already exciting 2016- 2017 season, Nationals will be held at the University of Kentucky. The last time UK hosted Nationals, Candy Crush was popular and Liam Hemsworth broke up with Miley Cyrus. Those were much simpler times. The 2012-2013 season also saw the start of the Grand Valley streak. Will that streak end this season? I have no idea. In my opinion, this year is the most even the league has been since I have been on the court. In my bold predication and entirely unresearched opinion, the 2016- 2017 National tournament will have more upsets than any previous year. You heard it here first.

Putting aside the crystal ball, I have been told that the 2013 Nationals can be used as a template for which other Nationals have been run. Hopefully, we can improve on this template. This year, we have access to UK’s main gym, the Johnson Center, as well as its auxiliary gym, the Seaton Center. We will have access to four courts in the Johnson Center and three in the Seaton Center. All courts have brick walls on both ends and nets that run the length of the court. For the fans, one of the courts in Seaton will have bleachers and the Johnson Center has a track that circles all four courts.

Outside of the gym, Lexington has great bars and restaurants that will be happy to feed +20 smelly degenerates like you. For a nationally ranked hangover cure, try Tolly Ho. If you are looking for quantity, try Gumbo Ya Ya (Delicious Cajun food) and Hibachi Express (Chinese food). And if you are looking for regular drive-thru food, there is a Taco Bell on campus and McDonalds and Chipotle just off-campus. As for bars, I suggest Two Keys and The Stagger Inn (try a John Wall shot).

The University of Kentucky is very excited to host Nationals.

Address for Johnson Center: 434 Complex Dr, Lexington, KY 40502

Power Rankings Poll (Nov. 11th)

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