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Automatic Qualifiers and At-Large Teams

The Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship consists of a maximum field of 20 teams, of which 14 are determined by conferences (Pool A) that receive automatic qualification (AQ).  The 20 teams are placed in two brackets and are geographically paired whenever possible.  The AQ conferences are:
North Evaluation Region
Commonwealth Coast Conference
Empire Eight Conference
Liberty League
Little East Conference
New England Small College Athletic Conference
North Atlantic Conference
Pilgrim League
Skyline Conference
State University of New York Athletic Conference

South Evaluation Region
Capital Athletic Conference
Centennial Conference
Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation
Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
See conferences for members and current standings.

Two berths (Pool B) are reserved for true independents and teams from conferences that do not receive an automatic qualification.  Four berths (Pool C) are reserved for teams remaining from automatic-qualifying conferences that did not win their AQ berth.  There are no set minimum or maximum berths from one region.  Evaluation regions are as follows:

North Region
Conferences with AQsPool B Teams
Commonwealth Coast
Empire 8
Liberty
Little East
NESCAC
North Atlantic
Pilgrim
Skyline
SUNYAC 		Cazenovia
Daniel Webster
Keuka
Medaille
Mitchell
Mount St. Vincent

South Region
Conferences with AQsPool B Teams
Capital
Centennial
Middle Atlantic
ODAC
PAC 		Christopher Newport
Colorado College
Denison
Fontbonne
Greensboro
Kenyon
Mount St. Joseph
Oberlin
Ohio Wesleyan
Washington & Jefferson
Whittier
Wittenberg
Wooster

Pool B and Pool C berths are determined by the Division III Men's Lacrosse Committee by examining results within the evaluation regions outlined above.  Berths from Pool B and Pool C will be selected on a national basis, using regional selection criteria. There will be no predetermined regional allocations for Pool B and C.

Primary Factors for Selecting At-Large Teams

All of the following primary criteria are considered, but not in priority order:
  1. Win-loss percentage against regional opponents
  2. QWI - only contests against regional opponents – see current QWI percentages
  3. In-region head-to-head competition
  4. In-region results vs. common regional opponents
  5. In-region results vs. regionally ranked teams
  6. Conference postseason results


    7. QWI is computed (using only contests vs. regional competition) by adding all points and dividing by the number of games. Neutral games are treated as away games for both teams. The QWI is calculated for ratings at the time of the ranking calls and using final results for selection purposes.

    The point system employed is as follows:
    Win on the road vs. a team at or above .667
    Win at home vs. a team at or above .667
    Win on the road vs. a team at or above .500, but below .667
    Win at home vs. a team at or above .500, but below .667
    Win on the road vs. vs. a team at or above .333, but below .500
    Win at home vs. a team at or above .500, but below .500
    Win on the road vs. a team below .333
    Win at home vs. a team below .333
    Loss on the road vsa a team at or above .667
    Loss at home vs. a team at or above .667
    Loss on the road vs. a team at or above .500, but below .667
    Loss at home vs. a team at or above .500, but below .667
    Loss on the road vs. vs. a team at or above .333, but below .500
    Loss at home vs. a team at or above .500, but below .500
    Loss on the road vs. a team below .333
    Loss at home vs. a team below .333
    Points for tied contests = (points for a win + points for a loss) / 2     		15
    14
    13
    12
    11
    10
    9
    8
    7
    6
    5
    4
    3
    2
    1
    0
Secondary Factors for Selecting At-Large Teams

If an analysis of the primary selection factors listed above does not result in a decision by the committee regarding at-large selections, the following secondary criteria are evaluated (although not in priority order):
  • Out-of-region head-to-head competition
  • Overall Division III won-loss percentage
  • Results vs. common non-Division III opponents
  • Results vs. Division III teams ranked in other regions
  • Overall win-loss percentage
  • Results vs. common out-of-region opponents
  • Overall Division III QWI

Miscellaneous Selection Information

Teams must play at least 8 regular-season games again Division III opponents in order to be considered for selection.

Although teams are assigned to evaluation regions, the NCAA considers games versus Division III opponents located within 200 miles of its campus to be "in-region" and part of the primary selection/ranking criteria.

Tournament Pairings

Once selected, teams will be grouped in clusters according to natural geographic proximity and then paired on that basis. A team may be moved to numerically balance the bracket if geographic proximity is maintained.

Teams may be seeded on a regional basis using the regional selection criteria. However, geographic proximity takes precedence over seeding.

Teams from the same conference do not have to play one another in the first round as long as geographic proximity is maintained.

The highest seeded team that meets all selection criteria will be selected as the host institution, provided that geographic proximity is maintained.


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