Rule Proposal – Game Clock Format

Rule Proposal by Jude DuPart

Current: Two 25 minute halves (5 minute break in between), point is scored by eliminating all players on opposing team.

Proposal: 5 – 10 minutes periods. A point is scored by eliminating the other team OR Having the most players on the court at the end of the period. A team wins best of 5 but all points are to be played for record keeping (similar point system as exists) and to allow equal playing time. Additionally later points can be forgoed for sake of time or at discretion of captains.

One of the most antiquated policies in the NCDA is the game clock. Originally designed to ensure that everyone gets equal play time is getting cut short during games of extreme disparity and influences stall ball in close games. This makes games drag on and are not only boring, but stall growth.

This change would not only promote game speed (an incentive to actually throw a ball with the intent of getting people out, players stepping out when there’s no chance of scoring a point), but promote equal playing time of newer players (putting in B team for last two points after match is decided) and reduce the loss of enthusiasm from getting stomped 7-0. Additionally it would assist in keeping tournaments on schedule and would remove the need for an overtime scenario.

This might be unpopular because of the “comeback mentality”. I haven’t looked at the data but I doubt there are many instances where a team has been down 3-0 and won the match, but since this is a huge overhaul I’m interested to hear other opinions.

As previously mentioned this is a very loose proposal that has plenty of gaps. For instance, this does not currently as written address a tie in remaining players at the end of 10 minutes. But my intent is to start the discussion.

Policy Proposal – Abolish Graduation Eligibility Clause

Policy Proposal by Felix Perrone

Abolish the eligibility clause that allows seniors graduating in December to play at the succeeding Nationals. Only a couple of schools allow this, per policy, it isn’t fair that some schools would allow these students to participate and others do not. Plus it is a lot of extra work for the already overworked eBoard. If you graduate you should be done. This is a collegiate league, there’s plenty of other types of dodgeball graduates can play out there.

Rule Proposal – Yellow/Red Card Continuation

Rule Proposal by Adam Pfeifer

Rule proposal: yellow and red cards carry over. Too many times I have seen people acting like a fool at the end of a match with no consequences of their actions. If you recieve a yellow card at the end of a match it carried over to your next match. This would include the first match at a new tournament if said card is assigned at the end of a tournament. Red cards issued in the second half of a match will carry over to the first half of the next match. Your team will play 1 player down if this happens. If a red card is issued at the end of a match the red card will count for the entire next match.

Rule Proposal – Shot Clock Length

Rule Proposal by Kenny Mize

Shot Clock moves from 15 to 12 for (when there is more than 5). Stays at 10 for 5 and under.

Rationale: Well what is the biggest complaint from outside the league. Speed of play. Burden ball. shorter throw line, hard boundaries and so on have all been voted down because they changed the league so much. More balls being thrown, quicker counters and less of that sitting up for 4-6 seconds debating on who to team throw at. Why are OT games so much more intense? Well, throws are needed to be quicker there is less strategy and more just going out there and throwing or catching outs. I think the speed of play does need to increase but we need to do things are own way instead of following other dodgeball leagues and molding our gameplay after another league.

Tear it up if you would like but after 6 years in this league I view this as a very effective but minimal change to how our league functions.

March Madness Baller of the Month Bracket

Happy March everyone.  As we have done in the past, the Baller of the Month for March will be determined through a “March Madness” bracket.  We have narrowed our list of candidates for BOTM down to the 8 most deserving, and will now leave it up to you to determine the winner!  Before we get into the matchups and voting procedure, here are your 8 finalists:

  • Nick Hazergian (SVSU)
  • Evan Eschenburg (JMU)
  • Jordan Watt (Towson)
  • Tyler Paalman (Kent)
  • Wayne Shortt (VCU)
  • Reid Manger (BGSU)
  • Alex Jonauskas (GVSU)
  • Ethan Kraus (UCF)

Continue reading “March Madness Baller of the Month Bracket”

Nationals 2018 – Hypothetical Brackets

  • The following article was co-authored by Kevin Bailey and Hunter Ford.

Below, Chief of Content Kevin Bailey and Director of Nationals Hunter Ford take a stab at what the bracket will look like for Nationals.  The two will dive into this discussion from two different angles.  Kevin will take a look at what the bracket would look like if Nationals happened today, while Hunter is giving a projection on what the bracket will look like on the day of Nationals.  Take a look below for the two brackets, and feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts or predictions:

*To be clear, neither of these brackets are official, people.  This is just our projection.  The official Nationals Bracket is determined after pool-play on day one of the event…

Continue reading “Nationals 2018 – Hypothetical Brackets”

Future Stars of the East Coast

There are a lot of big names that have come out of the East Coast over the years, but today we’re giving you a preview of those who are on their way.  Each of these young players have shown the talent and drive to eventually become leaders of their team, and prominent dodgeballers in the NCDA for years to come.  Let’s take a look at some of these prospects.

Continue reading “Future Stars of the East Coast”

Standings as of 2018-03-06

Standings are aimed to be released by the end of every Tuesday. 

There was one event this weekend: the Gold Rush. Check out the recap by Hunter.

In the 2018 Season, we have 50 technical upsets in 203 ranked matches (75.31% success rate) across 31 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 the Nationals 2017 bracket.  Continue reading “Standings as of 2018-03-06”

BOTM: 2018 February

Akron’s Colby Briceland is your February BOTM.

Sorry for the delay, but I am happy to finally announce that our Baller of the Month for February is Colby Briceland from University of Akron.  Colby had a very eventful month of February.  Here’s a quick recap:

On Feb. 10, Colby hosted the largest collegiate tournament of the season at his school, Akron University.  “The War” lived up to the hype as one of the most significant tournaments of the NCDA’s regular season and Colby played a major role in making sure this two-day event took place.

Just one week later, Colby put together a team of college dodgeballers from various teams throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan to travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the GR Open.  They played under the team name “Ohio Legacy” despite only a few of the players being regulars on that team.  Colby did a great job introducing these players to a new format of dodgeball with a new community of players.

The following week Colby was again in action on the dodgeball court as he led his Akron team to a very solid showing at the annual Ohio Dodgeball Cup.  Continue reading “BOTM: 2018 February”

North Georgia Takes Home the Gold…Rush

The University of North Georgia hosted Georgia Southern University and the University of Central Florida this past weekend at the UNG Gold Rush.  For UNG, it was a chance to flex their muscles and prove once again they are the top contenders in the South.  GSU looked to add to their win total for the year, and prove they could compete with their in-state competition.  As for UCF, this was a great opportunity for them to get their feet wet, as it was their first match in program history.  Overall, it was a fun and simple event which gave us some insight on the younger programs in the country.

Continue reading “North Georgia Takes Home the Gold…Rush”

4 Rule/Policy Proposals

Rule/Policy Proposals by Hunter Ford

 

Rule Proposal – Each team is given 1 warning per match on false starts.

Rule Proposal – No running starts prior to the start of a point.

Rule Proposal – Should a team decide to argue a call with an Official that forces the Official into a stoppage of play, the team which initiated the discussion shall be charged a timeout.

Policy Proposal – A six year eligibility limit for each player per school.

Power Rankings: March 2018

Less than two months left in the 2017-18 College Dodgeball season, and things are really starting to heat up.  The month of February was the most chaotic of the season, and teams continue to jostle for positions in the rankings.

Below is the official Power Rankings list produced by NCDA Executive Board members Jacob Leski (Director of Recruitment and Retention), and Kevin Bailey (Chief of Content).  Along with giving our opinions on each team, this month we have added some extra team info to provide readers with a better idea of how each school fared over the course of the last month.  Please keep in mind: these power rankings have no impact on the actual NCDA Standings.

1) Grand Valley State

Kevin Bailey: After an underwhelming first half to the season, GVSU finally showed us a glimpse of what they’re capable of at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup, where they dismantled previously unbeaten Central Michigan to take home the title.  They then traveled to JMU to win the BEAST (thanks to some late-game heroics by Alex Jonauskas).  This team is the hottest in the country at the moment, but will be tested a lot over the final two months of the season.  They will host CMU, SVSU, MSU, and many more top-level teams on March 25th.  That will be a great preview for Nationals.

Jacob Leski: I highly doubt KB or myself was surprised to see GVSU come back in style as they seem to always do after winter break. They deserve the #1 spot in this month’s power rankings without question. Does that mean they deserve to be the #1 team in the nation? I am not yet convinced, but I am sure that will be answered very soon. Shout-out to Coach Dylan Fettig for instilling an incredible work ethic for this program, which is why I believe they are playing so well. Continue reading “Power Rankings: March 2018”

Zanderthon Throw-Down Recap

Zanderthon Throw-Down Recap 3.0

On Saturday February 24, one of the great tournaments of the semester occurred between two teams, University of Wisconsin- Platteville and University Nebraska- Lincoln.  It was another matchup between the Cornhuskers and the Pioneers and UWP got the best of UNL.  Here is how the games went overall this weekend.

Another fine group picture from the Midway Conference!

Continue reading “Zanderthon Throw-Down Recap”