NCAA Tournament Opponent Wish List

[TennZip]

I sent this to the contact on the NCAA Men's College Soccer committee (not holding my breath for an response but I feel a little better now)

Ms. Keller,

As one of many angry Akron soccer fans, I would like an explanation how the University of Akron was given a #5 seed in this year’s NCAA Men's soccer tournament. As I look at your website, Akron is ranked number one in the coaches poll and number 2 in the RPI however when it came time to seed the teams and reward them with home field advantage for your NCAA tournament they were given a #5 seed.

Akron has ended their regular season by winning their last 14 games (giving up only ONE goal and posting 13 shut outs). They made it to the 3rd round of the NCAA tournament in 2011, WON the National Championship in 2010 and tied Virginia in the National Championship in 2009. In addition to all of this we have an incredibly loyal (and disappointed) fan base that consistently averages in the top 5 in attendance year after year. I realize past records do not dictate this years seedings but the point is that we are not a flash in the pan team.

How can you explain this? What is the point in having a coaches poll or a RPI ranking if the decisions will simply be made subjectively?

I would appreciate a response,

A Zips Fan

very well written....thanks for taking the time to do this

[MDZip]

So what did TW say he would do? He must have made some comment. What was his reaction to the #5 seed?

I talked to Tom about this tonight. He said he did contact the selection committee and was told that Connecticut and Georgetown both had 3 top 30 wins where Akron only had one and both had beaten St. Johns when Akron only tied them. When he pointed out that they both also had a loss outside of the top 30 and Akron lost only the the top RPI team, he was told perhaps they should have looked a little deeper into it. He did attempt to get an explanation but that was a pretty poor one. Water under the bridge now. Go Zips!!! Beat Michigan (yet again)! Maybe we're in their heads now.

[UAZipster0305]

I talked to Tom about this tonight. He said he did contact the selection committee and was told that Connecticut and Georgetown both had 3 top 30 wins where Akron only had one and both had beaten St. Johns when Akron only tied them. When he pointed out that they both also had a loss outside of the top 30 and Akron lost only the the top RPI team, he was told perhaps they should have looked a little deeper into it. He did attempt to get an explanation but that was a pretty poor one. Water under the bridge now. Go Zips!!! Beat Michigan (yet again)! Maybe we're in their heads now.

Very insightful. Thanks for following-up, MDZip.

What an exhausting and circular conversation this must be with the selection committee. The RPI takes into account opponents' strength and W-L-T record. We were #2 in the RPI. End of story. Any argument based on these same factors that puts UConn and Georgetown ahead of us is illogical propaganda.

[a-zip]

I had one more thought around the 5 seed selection by the NCAA (bear with me because I live right in the middle of ACC country). All agree there is not logical or mathematical reason for the 5 seed based on our RPI and Coaches Poll ranking....the big win comment made to our AD is total BS.

How about this........Caleb Porter is leaving UofA and the NCAA. He has been great for NCAA soccer and brought popularity to the game. As I said, I live in the middle of ACC and my friends talk about loving to watch my team play.

Now that Caleb is leaving, is this a bit of an F U to UofA (we are going to put you back in your place type thing). Seriously, think about why Ken Lolla left. He could not win a championship at Akron and the MAC, but Caleb did it. What conference is Lousville in? What conference got 3 of the top 4 seeds.

Just sayin'