Standings as of 2017-09-19

I’ll continue my goal of producing standings post every Tuesday of the Season! Working with records and our statistics is a nice, enjoyable hobby for me. I’m happy to continue this. Please keep in mind that there is a Exec Board vote scheduled on the NCDA Ranking Algorithm; so the Gonzalez system as it appears before you today may or may not be the single system we use for Nationals 2018 at VCU. We’ll release information on the vote as soon as it comes up.

This weekend saw 9 matches in a pool play tournament format, with CMU nabbing the title in the Opening Event of the 2018 Season. This event marked the 200th ranked event in the complete records, with accurate records starting 2010-09-25 in the 2011 Season. In the current Gonzalez System, there are now 239 technical upsets in 1259 ranked matches. Continue reading “Standings as of 2017-09-19”

Ohio Preview: A Short Look at Each Team

Tomorrow in East Lansing, Michigan, two of the Ohio teams will begin their 2017-2018 season with Michigan State’s home tournament. This is no small task, as the four Michigan teams in attendance are the same who filled the final four at last years Nationals. Let’s take a look at the Ohio Region. Continue reading “Ohio Preview: A Short Look at Each Team”

NCDA 2017-18 Recruitment Update

Click to check out our interactive Google Map.

 

The start of the 2017-18 season begins this weekend at Michigan State. While no new programs will be playing this weekend, we have quite a bunch of up-and-coming schools we’d like to share with you.  There are more than those that are listed below, but are much further away from being approved in the near future (primarily on the West Coast). The following schools are in different stages of becoming a member team of the NCDA, however they each have one thing in common, they want to be playing in the NCDA this season. Continue reading “NCDA 2017-18 Recruitment Update”

Storylines to Follow this Weekend in East Lansing

Michigan State University will open the college dodgeball season this weekend, hosting a tournament with six schools in attendance.  All four Michigan teams will make their way to IM West on MSU’s campus this Sunday, along with two Ohio schools: Akron and Bowling Green State.

This will certainly be an interesting mix of teams, as we finally get to jump back into dodgeball with this being the first tournament since Nationals 2017.  There are many intriguing storylines to follow at this event.

Below are a few storylines that I think we should all keep an eye on.  But, before I get ahead of myself, here is the schedule / format for the event: Continue reading “Storylines to Follow this Weekend in East Lansing”

East Coast 2017-18 Preview

Next on our region by region previews is the East Coast.  There were a lot of headlines coming out of the East last year, and this year should prove to be no different.  In Kevin Bailey-esque fashion, let’s take a look at our teams to watch out for in the 2017-18 season, and who is likely to emerge as the top team out of the East Coast.

Continue reading “East Coast 2017-18 Preview”

Michigan Region 2017-18 Season Preview

College Dodgeball, welcome back… you’ve been missed!  The 2017-18 season will be underway soon. In the meantime, let’s kick off a series of articles previewing each NCDA Region one by one.  Today I’ll briefly preview what to expect this season in the Michigan Region.  Enjoy:

Continue reading “Michigan Region 2017-18 Season Preview”

2017-18 MVP “Short List”

The start of a new season of dodgeball is just around the corner.  As we gear up for another year of rubber balls flying at our face at 70mph, let’s take a quick look at what players are on my MVP “short list”.  There are so many great players in the league this year.  In fact, I think we enter this year with more established names than we do most seasons.  With that said, there is a top tier of players who have a legitimate shot to win MVP this year, and they are the only ones who made it on my short list.  In no particular order, here are a few players to keep your eye on this season:

Michael Riley (Central Michigan)

Michael Riley was 6th on last year’s All-American list.

I predicted this man would be 2017 MVP at the start of last season, and while he didn’t get the #1 spot due to a rough first semester for himself and his team, Riley did come on strong in the second half of the season.  That strong finish to the NCDA season, along with a great summer of Elite Dodgeball, gives me reason to believe he is once again poised to be in the MVP race in 2018. Continue reading “2017-18 MVP “Short List””

NCDA Partners with Save The Children

Thanks to a new partnership with The National Collegiate Dodgeball Association (NCDA) and Save the Children, a day of friendly competition can help change the world.

This new collaboration will bring together fun and fundraising to help support Save the Children, which gives children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm both in the United States and around the word.

Continue reading “NCDA Partners with Save The Children”

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

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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”

NCDA in Elite: A Pre-Nationals Check-In

 

Although the NCDA is still a little over a month away from its first games of the season, the biggest dodgeball tournament of the year for us NCDA alums still itching to play begins a week from today: Elite Dodgeball National Championships 2017. The NCDA’s participation in Elite has grown consistently over the past few years, with this season having more schools and players represented than ever before. As we are just seven days away from Elite Nationals, I thought it would be the perfect time to check up on how the NCDA has performed this season in the Elite North Region.

Although the East Region has begun to see some NCDA participation this season (shout out to Klutch Mode), nearly all of the current and former NCDA players that play Elite are in the North Region. The North is currently the only region that offers a pinch tournament in addition to the standard open 8.5 tournament outside of Elite Nationals, and thus it especially draws the attention of NCDA players. (Hey East Coast players, the more of you to start playing Elite the sooner the East Region will be forced to have a pinch tournament.) Not only have NCDA alumni and players continued their success this season in the North, but this season also saw the formation of several new NCDA-based Elite teams. Nearly every North team now has at least one NCDA player on the team and over half of the teams that competed this season are entirely or nearly entirely composed of NCDA players. Due to this surge, I thought I would interview most of these NCDA-based teams to get their perspective on the Elite season. I first asked them to list all the NCDA players, including alumni, on their team. I then asked each captain the following four questions.

  1. How would you rate your overall success in Elite? Do you think it’s improved your and your teammates overall dodgeball ability? What can you take from the Elite season and bring into the NCDA season (for those that are still playing, or for when you were still playing)?
  2. Who would be your MVP from your team for the Elite season and why?
  3. What was your favorite moment from the Elite season?
  4. What do you like more about Elite vs the NCDA and/or what do you like about Elite in general?

(The respondent for each team is italicized in the team list, in most cases it was the captain.)

Continue reading “NCDA in Elite: A Pre-Nationals Check-In”

Which Region is Most Likely to Take Down Michigan?

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People are getting pretty sick of seeing this… but who are the most likely teams to take down the state of Michigan?

A new season of College Dodgeball is only a few short months away.  As we gear up for another year of the best sport known to man, I want to take a quick look at where each region stands when it comes to their chances to take down the Michigan Region.

We all know Michigan is the dominant state in Collegiate Dodgeball.  11 consecutive National Titles is hard to ignore.  With that said, the streak must come to an end at some point.  Some out of state team will eventually steal it from the Michigan Region.  Let’s take a quick dive into that discussion today.  Which region is most likely to achieve that feat, and what team might it be?  Here are the three most likely regions in my eyes… one region at a time:

Continue reading “Which Region is Most Likely to Take Down Michigan?”

President’s Thoughts on Recent Rule/Policy Changes

I’ve received several inquiries for my thoughts on the rule changes for the 2017/2018 season. Rather than answering everyone individually, I thought this may be a better option. If you have any questions about my responses, please comment below! I’ll be happy to delve into this deeper.

Continue reading “President’s Thoughts on Recent Rule/Policy Changes”

Results of the 2018 Pre-Season Proposals

CHICAGO – Office of the Director of Officiating:

Below are the results of the preferential election for the 2017/2018 NCDA Rulebook and select Policies. The Rulebook is scheduled to be released prior to the start of the 2018 Season. Extra special thanks to the 30 Member Teams that submitted ballots, with only two Member Teams missing.  Continue reading “Results of the 2018 Pre-Season Proposals”