NCDA – Page 17 – National Collegiate Dodgeball Association

Bowling Green State Falcons Pre-Nationals Spotlight

Leading into Nationals, we look to spotlight as many teams as we can in hopes of shining a bright light on standouts from participating teams. These glow-ups include up to 2 of each team’s standout rookies as well as a handful of core contributing players that have gotten their respective team to where they are going into the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s annual finale. Lastly, we get a glance into each participating team’s mindset and expectations going into Nationals.

Miami RedHawks Pre-Nationals Spotlight

Nationals 2022 – All Star Game Draft

Watch as coaches Colby Briceland (Akron) and Wes Peters (Cincinnati) draft their respective teams for the 2022 All Star Game!

A League of Our Own – Elly Schipfer

Dodgettes Navigating a New League

As the 2022 semester kicks off, one thing can be said for certain about the college dodgeball atmosphere: we are amidst an entirely new league. After practices came to an abrupt end two years ago, college dodgeball returned last fall, and with it came an exciting season of close matches, upsets, rookies, and of course, dodgettes (Shout-out to Akron University’s female players for coining the new term).

This article continues to highlight dodgettes across the league: December 2021 graduates, pre-COVID veterans, and new recruits. Stay tuned to hear how they made their name in the league and what they are looking forward to this year; in other words, dodgettes navigating a new league.

Maryland Terrapins Pre-Nationals Spotlight AND East Coast Region Thoughts

Before we get to that, however, our Chief of Content, Kevin Bailey, caught up with Daniel Fernald of the Terrapins. Daniel was asked how this season has gone for Maryland, and the East Coast as a whole, as well as the perception of their region from the outside looking in.

Pages: 12

Standings as of 2022-03-29

In the 2022 Season, we have 35 technical upsets in 127 ranked matches (72.44% success rate) across 20 events.

The Gonzalez System is a computer ranking model similar to Elo and is a rating exchange system based on research performed by World Rugby. It has been adapted by the NCDA to the demands of College Dodgeball, but can be tuned and customized endlessly to incorporate accurate data. It has been used to help determine seeds for the Nationals bracket since Nationals 2014, and was used exclusively for each Nationals bracket since 2017.

Technical Upset Spotlight

A technical upset in the Gonzalez System is when a lower rated team defeats a higher rated team. The overall success rate of the system is currently 79.83% based on 433 technical upsets in 2,147 ranked matches played since 09-25-2010. There were three technical upsets since our last standings update.

Kentucky Wildcats Pre-Nationals Spotlight

Previewing the 2022 Clifton Heights Classic

The last tournament before Nationals west of Maryland (who are hosting the next day) will be on March 26th in Cincinnati, Ohio. Yes, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats will be playing host to a trio of teams as we get one last look at a handful of teams this weekend prior to everyone meeting in Kalamazoo, Michigan for our league’s first National Championship Tournament in three long years.

The Bearcats will welcome the Pioneers of Wisconsin-Platteville, the Wildcats of Kentucky, and the Bobcats of Ohio to town for the Clifton Heights Classic, a tournament they plan to make annual as a perhaps last stop event before April’s winner-take-all affair. There are a handful of good storylines to pay attention to this weekend for each team, so let’s take a look.

February BOTM: Cory Heitmann

2022 Ohio Dodgeball Cup Winner and Assistant Captain for the UC Bearcats

The Baller of the Month for February is Cory Heitmann, Assistant Captain of the Cincinnati Bearcats! Helping lead the Bearcats to an undefeated 6-0 record and the Ohio Dodgeball Cup in the month of February, Cory answers some hard hitting questions, and gives a look ahead for UC at Nationals.

To watch his interview, click on the link below:

A League of Our Own – Nicole Cutich

Dodgettes Navigating a New League

As the 2022 semester kicks off, one thing can be said for certain about the college dodgeball atmosphere: we are amidst an entirely new league. After practices came to an abrupt end almost two years ago, college dodgeball returned last fall, and with it came an exciting season of close matches, upsets, rookies, and of course, dodgettes (Shout-out to Akron University’s female players for coining the new term).

A League of Our Own – Bryce Bathras

Dodgettes Navigating a New League

As the 2022 semester kicks off, one thing can be said for certain about the college dodgeball atmosphere: we are amidst an entirely new league. After practices came to an abrupt end almost two years ago, college dodgeball returned last fall, and with it came an exciting season of close matches, upsets, rookies, and of course, dodgettes (Shout-out to Akron University’s female players for coining the new term).

Comparing Resumes of the NCDA’s Top 5

The following article was prepared by Kevin Bailey, Wes Peters, and Kathryn Mays.

With the March 2022 Power Rankings just released, the top 5 teams in the NCDA deserve a deeper dive. It seems at this point in the season, the top 5 teams in the league have separated themselves a bit from the rest of the pack.

With Cincinnati winning the Ohio Dodgeball Cup, Michigan State winning the Michigan Dodgeball Cup, James Madison putting the hammer down on the rest of the East Coast, Grand Valley State boasting a 13-2 overall record, and Ohio State chugging along as a title contender and up to #3 in the Gonzalez standings, these 5 teams all have had stellar campaigns thus far.

Let’s take a closer look at each team’s resume to get a better understanding of where each squad stands heading into the final month of the collegiate dodgeball season! We will cover these teams in the order in which they were ranked in the March 2022 PR:

Power Rankings: March 2022

Team writeups provided by the NCDA Power Ranking Panel

1) Cincinnati – The Bearcats climb back to the top of our Power Rankings for March, after sitting at 2nd for two straight months. In February, the Bearcats took home the Ohio Dodgeball Cup and dismantled SVSU, Towson, and Cleveland State at their appearance at The War V. This team is one of the deepest teams in the league, and seem poised to make a deep run Sunday at Nationals. One stop left for the Bearcats before Nationals, however, as they host the Clifton Heights Classic on March 26th. Will they be able to close out the regular season sitting atop the Power Rankings and Gonzalez Standings? We shall see, as there appears to be an upstart Bobcats team from Athens, Ohio who may have something to say about that.

Pages: 12

A League of Our Own – Alexis Schultz

Dodgettes Navigating a New League

As the 2022 semester kicks off, one thing can be said for certain about the college dodgeball atmosphere: we are amidst an entirely new league. After practices came to an abrupt end almost two years ago, college dodgeball returned last fall, and with it came an exciting season of close matches, upsets, rookies, and of course, dodgettes (Shout-out to Akron University’s female players for coining the new term).

Standings as of 2022-03-08

In the 2022 Season, we have 32 technical upsets in 118 ranked matches (72.88% success rate) across 18 events.

Technical Upset Spotlight

A technical upset in the Gonzalez System is when a lower rated team defeats a higher rated team. The overall success rate of the system is currently 79.89% based on 430 technical upsets in 2,138 ranked matches played since 09-25-2010. There was one technical upset since our last standings update.