D3hoops.com Daily Dose

As I mentioned back in April, I’m back in the Washington, D.C., area this season rather than Norwalk, Conn. While the nine months I spent in exile from Northern Virginia, working at another job and planning to move my family, were tough on everyone, it was great for basketball.

So I’ll miss the trips to Amherst and NYU this year. Don’t expect I’ll get up to Keene State again. Not likely going to see Worcester Tech play, though I hear they’ll be a little more exciting this year. Don’t foresee any Skyline games, no trips to Stevens that I call in sick at work to make. But it was a good time getting to see all those new places and meet new people. Hope to get out to as many new places in the upcoming years.

As I mentioned back in April, I’m back in the Washington, D.C., area this season rather than Norwalk, Conn. While the nine months I spent in exile from Northern Virginia, working at another job and planning to move my family, were tough on everyone, it was great for basketball. So I’ll miss the trips to Amherst and NYU this year. Don’t expect I’ll get up to Keene State again. Not likely going to see Worcester Tech play, though I hear they’ll be a little more exciting this year. Don’t foresee any Skyline games, no trips to Stevens that I call in sick at work to make. But it was a good time getting to see all those new places and meet new people. Hope to get out to as many new places in the upcoming years.As I mentioned back in April, I’m back in the Washington, D.C., area this season rather than Norwalk, Conn. While the nine months I spent in exile from Northern Virginia, working at another job and planning to move my family, were tough on everyone, it was great for basketball. So I’ll miss the trips to Amherst and NYU this year. Don’t expect I’ll get up to Keene State again. Not likely going to see Worcester Tech play, though I hear they’ll be a little more exciting this year. Don’t foresee any Skyline games, no trips to Stevens that I call in sick at work to make. But it was a good time getting to see all those new places and meet new people. Hope to get out to as many new places in the upcoming years.

Baptist Bible, Keystone and Philadelphia Bible from the NEAC to the PAC. Earlier in the fall, the NEAC lost D’Youville to the AMCC. As previously detailed in this category, the Mid-Atlantic Region is all over the place. The Centennial is the only league in the region untouched for all sports, though it did accept two football-only members, which started play this year.

The MAC? The new PAC, really. Now they have Alvernia, Arcadia, Eastern and Misericordia.

The Landmark? The new MAC, with Drew, Juniata, Moravian, Scranton and Susquehanna.

The NEAC? They’re left with Cazenovia, Keuka, Penn State-Berks, Penn State-Harrisburg, Wells and Wilson. They recently added SUNYIT (a full Division III member) and SUNY-Cobleskill (a future provisional member).

What a mess.

Lincoln’s term in Division III is over, as the Lions are officially moving into their Division II membership starting this season. Lincoln might still play Division III schools, but we will no longer be tracking their schedules and results and they will no longer be eligible for the postseason.

Lincoln struggled to find games as an independent in Division III and was unable to gain conference affiliation.

The Lions hit our radar strongly on Feb. 8, 1999, when a broken backboard at Marymount forced the suspension of their game with approximately eight minutes left. I went down to Marymount for the conclusion on a Sunday afternoon shortly thereafter, which was the last time I saw Lincoln play until the Sweet 16 at Virginia Wesleyan in 2006.

Lincoln was part of some epic games in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, as well as some infamous games.

Best of luck to Lincoln after moving down to Division II.

Another domino falling in the seemingly never-ending Mid-Atlantic shuffle. The Middle Atlantic Conference is looking more and more like the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference, and the PAC is looking more like the North Eastern Athletic Conference.

The Skyline is looking NEAC-y as well, though, aside from Mount St. Mary at the top, it will be better balanced in most sports.

As the pieces shuffle in the middle, you have to wonder about some of the schools remaining in their original conference. The MAC’s Lebanon Valley, Messiah and Elizabethtown have seen the shape of their league change significantly in the past couple of years. Similarly with the PnAC and Cabrini and Gwynedd-Mercy. The NEAC … well, maybe not there. There weren’t many fully staffed athletic departments in the league before, and with Villa Julie gone, there are going to be fewer.

Is there another change in store for the teams mentioned? Is the area finally going to be at peace?

With the loss of Bard and Polytechnic to the Skyline, the North Eastern Athletic Conference is digging further down to fill the gap. The league announced this week it was adding Penn State-Harrisburg, Wells and Wilson.

Penn State-Harrisburg will apparently begin its provisional four-year period in Division III in the fall of 2007. Wells and Wilson are already Division III members and are refugees of the Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference. Wells has started admitting men and will add basketball in 2008-09, for both genders. Wells was one of the few schools in Division III without basketball. Wilson remains women-only.

The NEAC will be losing Bard, Chestnut Hill, Polytechnic, SUNY-Purchase and Villa Julie at the conclusion of this academic year. So for those who have lost track (and let’s be honest, that’s gotta be most of us), here’s the NEAC 2007-08 lineup:
Baptist Bible, Cazenovia, D’Youville, Keuka, Keystone, Penn State-Berks, Penn State-Harrisbug, Philadelphia Biblical, Wells and Wilson.

Unfortunately, this group will get an automatic bid.

It’s hard to imagine this group won’t change again. They’re all over the map, geographically and philosophically.