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Cal Poly Snubbed!!!!! Here is the article from 1AA.org
I-AA Playoff Selection: Pity Poor Cal Poly
David Coulson, Senior Columnist
As a kid growing up in Fresno, Ca., it was only natural to become a Fresno State fan — a school that would eventually become my alma mater.
And as a young Bulldog supporter, you quickly learned to have a strong dislike for San Jose State Spartans, San Diego State Aztecs and Cal Poly Mustangs.
So the next sentence I write is especially surprising to me.
This afternoon, my heart goes out for poor Cal Poly.
It seems like every year there is one team that gets hosed by the NCAA Division I-AA selection committee. Two years ago, it was the Wofford Terriers and it started our tradition of presenting the snubbed team with the annual Woofy Award.
And this year’s Woofy goes to Cal Poly.
The Mustangs finished 9-2, beating three of four Big Sky Conference opponents they played, and won the Great West Conference. But there was no love on Sunday for Cal Poly.
And the main reason the Mustangs were snubbed may have been the recipient of last year’s Woofy Award, Lehigh. Lehigh was the co-champion of the Patriot League and also finished 9-2, but the Mountain Hawks played a weak non-conference schedule that included two Northeast Conference opponents (Stoney Brook and Albany).
Those old Engineers made it easy for the selection committee to leave them out when they blew a 7-0 halftime lead at Lafayette and lost the game and the PL automatic bid, 24-10.
But the biggest reason Lehigh got in was the committee didn’t want to disappoint the Mountain Hawks and deal with the ensuing storm of criticism two years in a row.
Last year, sources told me that there was a faction on the committee that wanted to include Lehigh ahead of Bethune-Cookman, but that another faction didn’t want to deal with the political fallout of excluding the 9-2 Wildcats, the runner-up from the MEAC.
Lehigh had the more solid resume and played a tougher schedule than Bethune-Cookman, but the Wildcats got the bid. It also didn’t hurt that B-CC provided a cheap travel excursion for Florida Atlantic.
So in a sense, Sunday’s vote for Lehigh is the committee’s way of saying “We’re sorry for 2003.” The NCAA saved a truckload of cash with this year’s snub of Cal Poly as well. Instead of carting the Mustangs off to Missoula, Mont., the committee can send James Madison on a short hop from Harrisonburg, Va. to Bethelem, Pa.
It also didn’t help that the Great West Conference, in its first year of competition doesn’t have a member on the selection committee. The Patriot League, like all of the other conferences with the eight automatic bids, has a representative on the committee.
So pity, poor Cal Poly. Just keep in mind that the last two Woofy Award winners have made it into the playoff field the following season.
I-AA Playoff Selection: Pity Poor Cal Poly
David Coulson, Senior Columnist
As a kid growing up in Fresno, Ca., it was only natural to become a Fresno State fan — a school that would eventually become my alma mater.
And as a young Bulldog supporter, you quickly learned to have a strong dislike for San Jose State Spartans, San Diego State Aztecs and Cal Poly Mustangs.
So the next sentence I write is especially surprising to me.
This afternoon, my heart goes out for poor Cal Poly.
It seems like every year there is one team that gets hosed by the NCAA Division I-AA selection committee. Two years ago, it was the Wofford Terriers and it started our tradition of presenting the snubbed team with the annual Woofy Award.
And this year’s Woofy goes to Cal Poly.
The Mustangs finished 9-2, beating three of four Big Sky Conference opponents they played, and won the Great West Conference. But there was no love on Sunday for Cal Poly.
And the main reason the Mustangs were snubbed may have been the recipient of last year’s Woofy Award, Lehigh. Lehigh was the co-champion of the Patriot League and also finished 9-2, but the Mountain Hawks played a weak non-conference schedule that included two Northeast Conference opponents (Stoney Brook and Albany).
Those old Engineers made it easy for the selection committee to leave them out when they blew a 7-0 halftime lead at Lafayette and lost the game and the PL automatic bid, 24-10.
But the biggest reason Lehigh got in was the committee didn’t want to disappoint the Mountain Hawks and deal with the ensuing storm of criticism two years in a row.
Last year, sources told me that there was a faction on the committee that wanted to include Lehigh ahead of Bethune-Cookman, but that another faction didn’t want to deal with the political fallout of excluding the 9-2 Wildcats, the runner-up from the MEAC.
Lehigh had the more solid resume and played a tougher schedule than Bethune-Cookman, but the Wildcats got the bid. It also didn’t hurt that B-CC provided a cheap travel excursion for Florida Atlantic.
So in a sense, Sunday’s vote for Lehigh is the committee’s way of saying “We’re sorry for 2003.” The NCAA saved a truckload of cash with this year’s snub of Cal Poly as well. Instead of carting the Mustangs off to Missoula, Mont., the committee can send James Madison on a short hop from Harrisonburg, Va. to Bethelem, Pa.
It also didn’t help that the Great West Conference, in its first year of competition doesn’t have a member on the selection committee. The Patriot League, like all of the other conferences with the eight automatic bids, has a representative on the committee.
So pity, poor Cal Poly. Just keep in mind that the last two Woofy Award winners have made it into the playoff field the following season.
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