Standings as of 2016-02-20

With so many teams playing this Sunday, we have a shakeup in the top 7… into an apparent top 6. I wouldn’t count anyone out. While it would be big news if GVSU gave up their now 6 game lead, the ratings of the rest of the top 8 are competitive. Plenty of weeks left and a few Nationals games to go before we truly see the shaping of a Championship bracket.

Nine of our 29 active member teams played this Sunday:

Team Pre Post Change
SVSU 47.267 48.708 1.441
JMU 48.016 49.161 1.145
GVSU 55.440 56.356 0.916
Towson 47.768 47.972 0.204
UVA 37.284 37.425 0.142
CMU 49.615 49.624 0.010
UMD 37.437 36.909 -0.528
VCU 43.937 42.975 -0.963
MSU 48.171 45.804 -2.367

There were five technical upsets in the day (of 14 games), two at Border War and three at the MDC. All of the three Overtime games on Sunday were technical upsets as well.

CMU def MSU 2-1  (1.024 exchange)
SVSU def MSU 4-1 (1.012)
SVSU def CMU 3-2 OT (0.596)
JMU def Towson 3-2 OT (0.523)
UVA def UMD 3-2 OT (0.508)

The greatest technical upset of the day was SVSU def CMU in Overtime. Saginaw gained a solid chunk of rating off of Central, but had they defeated CMU in regulation we would have seen SV at #2.

The largest rating change across the day was the CMU/MSU technical upset, but still pretty minor compared to the history of technical upsets across the Gonzalez system. All five of these matches can be considered strength adjusting upsets; allowing for upsets like these is crucial to maintaining the balance of the system. An allowable tolerance for the overall system success rate. Continue reading “Standings as of 2016-02-20”

How Can Each Michigan Team Win MDC

By Kenneth Mize (SVSU)

Every team has a chance to win this tournament for the first time in a long history of MDC’s. Numbers 1-3 and 7th ranked teams will be in attendance. Each team is on a different path that has led them to this tournament. This is a short article describing where these teams are and what they need to do to win.

The 2017 MDC will be one of the most intense tournaments in the history of this prestigious tournament.

Continue reading “How Can Each Michigan Team Win MDC”

MDC Preview: Predictions, Predictions, & more Predictions

In case you haven’t paid attention to anything the past few days, the Michigan Dodgeball Cup takes place this Sunday at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.  #3 Michigan State will host #1 Grand Valley State, #2 Central Michigan, and #7 Saginaw Valley State in an epic late-winter showdown.

I will be continuing the trend of preview articles for this much anticipated tournament.  My article will be filled with predictions for everything from tournament winners, to what each team’s strengths and weaknesses will be on Sunday, to who is most likely to get a red-card.  Lots to discuss. Continue reading “MDC Preview: Predictions, Predictions, & more Predictions”

Border War Could Prove Important for Nationals Seeding

Don’t let the Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC) distract you from everything else going on this weekend.  Over in Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) will be hosting the Border War, consisting of teams exclusively from neighbor states Virginia and Maryland.

Why should anyone pay attention?

Well, 3 of the top 10 teams in the country will be present which includes #4 James Madison University (JMU), #5 Towson University (TU), and #9 VCU.  The University of Virginia (UVA) and University of Maryland (UMD) both have an opportunity to move up 2-3 spots in terms of seeding with a win. There will also be three JV teams playing which means we will have the opportunity to see the future of the league.  Here are some headlines to watch out for this coming weekend.

Continue reading “Border War Could Prove Important for Nationals Seeding”

MDC Preview: What Each Team Can Gain and Lose

To say this weekend is big is an understatement. There is no weekend other than Nationals that Michigan teams look forward to more than the Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC). Hearts are broken, dreams are made. This is a weekend full of yelling, regrets and obviously, dodging. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. Continue reading “MDC Preview: What Each Team Can Gain and Lose”

MDC Preview: Reviewing the Season’s Michigan Match-ups

The Michigan Dodgeball Cup takes place this Sunday in East Lansing, MI. The MDC is often regarded as one of the most premier tournaments of the year (the most premier tournament in the minds of any player from the mitten). With a slate of previews coming in preparation of Sunday, the first delves into the Michigan match-ups that have taken place already in the 2016-17 season (Spoiler Alert: there were some overtimes).

What each team covets come Sunday

Continue reading “MDC Preview: Reviewing the Season’s Michigan Match-ups”

BOTM: 2017 January

BOTM: January 2017 – Jeff Schwartz (PSU)

Our very first Baller of the Month award for 2017 will go to Penn State University’s Jeff Schwartz.  Jeff has been a major influence for their program for a long time, and helped organize the team’s first ever home tournament on January 14th.  He is being recognized for his play on the court, as well as for the contributions he has made to his program.

Jeff Schwartz #10

Continue reading “BOTM: 2017 January”

Top Tweets of January 2017

It’s pretty clear to see which college dodgeball teams are strong on the court.  We have records and rankings for that.  But now we take the time to measure some off the court success.  Kevin Bailey and I have taken a look at what we view as the top tweets for the month of January.  Below, we have listed our top tweet, and the the rest of the list in no particular order.

*Keep your levels of savagery as high as possible if you want to make the list next month!

Continue reading “Top Tweets of January 2017”

Standings as of 2017-02-14

The end Gonzalez Rating changes for each participant following the Bobcat Bash:

Team Pre Post Change
BGSU 40.679 42.168 1.489
CMU 48.594 49.615 1.021
Ohio 34.768 35.044 0.276
Kent 44.893 45.139 0.246
BW 36.571 36.630 0.059
Akron 35.366 35.343 -0.023
WKU 42.564 41.906 -0.658
Miami 34.438 32.028 -2.410

There were no technical upsets in the Bobcat Bash, but there were a number of decent weight matches. Five teams increased their ratings, if only slightly in some cases. BGSU gained the most points over the weekend, owing to their three wins against comparative opponents.  Bowling Green had about 5 rating points on each competitor, which relates to about a 0.5 point gain for each win. Solid, steady gains.  Continue reading “Standings as of 2017-02-14”

Nationals 2017 Registration Forms

–Important Nationals News–

Okay friends, here is the stuff you’ve been waiting for. As you know, the official apparel sponsor of Nationals 2017 is SAVAGE Apparel. We need to have our shirt order turned into them no later than March 1st, which means we also need your team’s information.

There are four tasks to complete before March 1st concerning Nationals:

  1. Captains: Register your team for Nationals 2017 in Lexington, KY at University of Kentucky.
  2. Captains: Submit your team’s all stars for the 7th Annual NCDA All Star Game presented by SAVAGE. Each attending team is eligible to submit two all stars to compete in this year’s ASG. Each all star will receive a complimentary jersey from SAVAGE. This year’s format will be a draft. All Star coaches for this year’s event are Kevin Bailey and Jacob Leski.
    1. (Teams not competing at Nationals, but sending representatives, can still participate in the All Star Game. Submit your All Stars!
    2. (Teams not attending Nationals can also submit All Stars and will have the option to purchase a jersey at a cost TBD).
  3. Lady Dodgeballers, register for the 6th Annual NCDA Ladies’ Match. There is no limit to the amount of participants each team can have in the match. Each team is entitled to two ladies match shirts each for free, if they have ladies interested in playing (teams with no ladies cannot submit requests for shirts; they cost money). Additional Ladies’ Match shirts can be purchased for $10/shirt, but they MUST register in order to receive a shirt. We will NOT be purchasing any extras.
  4. Alumni, if you would like to officiate at any point during the weekend, register here. There are benefits for officials including: receiving a free event shirt once you’ve officiated 3 full games, receiving a hotel stipend for officiating 60% of the total rounds, and getting paid per game (see registration form for additional details).

ALL OF THESE FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN MARCH 1ST IN ORDER TO RECEIVE SHIRTS. If your team is not registered by March 1st, you will NOT receive event, ladies’ match, or all star shirts/jerseys.

Nationals fees are also due no later than March 15, 2017. You should have received an invoice last week in your email. If you did NOT, please let us know ASAP. Registration fees are $300 this year and will go toward paying for: Officials, tshirts, balls, court tape, and camera equipment.

Let your favorite Board member know what questions you have, because I know you have some.

Gonzalez System Home Court Advantage Update

The Executive Board had voted on 2016-12-10 to move exclusively to the Gonzalez system, which will determine the seeds for the Nationals 2017 tournament bracket. During peer review with the Content Team, the value of Home Court Advantage was questioned and initiated a full review on home court advantage in the NCDA. This review was based on objective data from past matches (1114 ranked matches as of 2017-02-10) and determined that +1 was more appropriate than the +3 used by the system.

HCA +3 = 231 technical upsets of 1114 matches (79.26%)
HCA +1 = 208 technical upsets of 1114 matches (81.33%)
Variance: 23 in 1114 (2% or about 1 in 50)

The Executive Board has voted to update the Home Court Advantage modifier to +1.

Motion to adjust the Home Court Advantage variable from the current +3 to +1 point for the home team. This increases the accuracy of the system and is more realistic indication of home court advantage.

5/5 approve, with assent of Director of Nationals. Motion caries 2017-02-06 22:40 CST.

The Gonzalez system will use +1 point in the case of home court advantage and the system variables are frozen for Nationals 2017. The Gonzalez system will determine the seeds for Nationals 2017 tournament bracket. The current success rate with this variable is 208 technical upsets of 1114 total ranked matches (81.33%).