As noted previously: “Obviously more points-eligible sports are better”.
For the record, JHU men’s and women’s lax do qualify for DIII Director’s Cup points, even though these sports are DI. In practice, it is rare for DIII schools to field DI sports teams, and even rarer for those teams to be competitive enough to earn Director’s Cup points at the DI level. However, JHU lax is an example: the men’s team made the NCAA DI playoffs last year and thereby earned DC points, which were applied to their total score in the DIII rankings.
@corbett, what is it that we are arguing about? Are you supporting the assertion that the Director’s Cup results show the NESCAC is the most dominant D3 conference? Or are you just saying that JHU sponsors a number of NCAA sports similar to the bottom half of the NESCAC?
@hotglass re:51, avg times can be deceiving. In the race you cite, Williams (nescac xc champ) would have been swept by all but Harvard (last place at Heps), to whom they lost. In other words: the top Williams runner in that race would not have been in the top 5 for any of the Ivy teams except Harvard. Of course, it could be that Williams was using the race as a tune up, as Princeton clearly was. Hard to know.
I applaud you for looking directly at results, which is exactly what recruits should be doing. Nescac strength in soccer or lax really has little correlation to distance running, so using tfrrs.org is a must. The differences are pretty clear.
That’s what I am saying. I would add that in recent years JHU has emerged as a top contender in the DIII Director’s Cup rankings, and might be more likely than Emory or WUSTL to displace Williams in the #1 slot, in part because it sponsors a larger number of points-eligible sports.
JHU has an interesting split personality in terms of athletics. On the one hand, it competes in the Centennial Conference with schools like Bryn Mawr College (which may not have ever accumulated a single point in the history of the DIII Director’s Cup award). On the other hand, it plays lacrosse as an associate member of the Big Ten, with schools like Michigan and Ohio State.
Agree @politeperson. @hotglass (and the OP) you can see the difference in the level of competition of last season’s men’s winners from each league:
2016 XC:
Ivy League men’s 8k winner: 23:47
NESCAC men’s 8k winner: 24:58 (would’ve been 48th place in Ivy League)
2017 Track:
Ivy League men’s 5k winner: 14:13
NESCAC men’s 5k winner: 14:51 (would’ve been 16th place in Ivy League)
It clearly shows the Ivy League is more competitive in the events the OP would probably compete in. That’s not bashing any NESCAC school at all as choosing a school is such a personal process.
The OP hasn’t listed any of his stats so maybe his inquiry is a moot point, idk. if he’s planning to get recruited for XC it’s a bit late at this point. But let’s assume he’s qualified with academics and his marks. My advice to him is take as many OVs as allowed and only to those schools that have your major, is financially viable and fits you the best athletically with your times. Meshing with the coach is nice but don’t get too attached to a coach because they can leave in a heartbeat. You should love the school even if you end up not doing your sport.
It is interesting how clear it is in track where one stands relative to the competition, both within the team for spots at away meets etc. and relative to athletes on other teams. Definitely a different dynamic than in many other sports.
@bluewater2015 yes that was my point to bring the discussion back to XC/track. Once athletes are in college they don’t care about other varsity sports at their schools in terms of who’s more competitive between them and another league (they don’t even compete with). They are too busy and ensconced in their own sport and classes to ponder that.
Forgot to add, the Ivies for T&F are a part of ECAC and compete at the IC4A championship meets. The athletes must meet a qualifying standard to be able to compete in ECAC/IC4A.
^yes, that is correct. I was talking about the NESCAC vs other D3 schools. I would be surprised if there were many sports (except maybe Trinity squash I guess) where NESCAC schools would consistently hang with the top half of the Ivy.
@Ohiodad51
Don’t worry! I’ve seen strapping young men doubled over vomiting after an erg session. You are brave to even get on that machine of torture!
