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Changes Open Up Men's D2 College for Fall 2023

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Men DII College, NCR

Changes Open Up Men's D2 College for Fall 2023

IUP vs NC State in the semifinals of last year's playoffs. NC State has now been bumped up to D1AA. Olly Laseinde photo.
08.23.2023 - Alex Goff

The Men’s D2 college playoffs this fall will look quite different from 2022 or 2021.

Oh, sure, the actual number of teams won’t be all that much different, but who those teams are will be.

NCR Finalizes Championship Dates, Venues for 2023-24

Consider the 2021 final four, in which Thomas More, Northern Iowa, Norwich, and Adrian faced off. Both Adrian and Thomas More are now in higher divisions. In fact, of the 20 teams entered into NCR’s D2 playoffs, at least five are now in higher divisions.

In 2022, two more final four teams found ended up moving up a division over this summer. Over the past two years seven playoff teams are now no longer in D2.

Add to that the movement of conferences, including the formation of a Liberty D2 conference that could shake up the seedings, and you’ve got a new-look process.

So as we look to the season we want to keep all of those changes in mind, and also keep in mind as NCR ponders how many seeds go to what conference, it’s worth remembering that sometimes the top-performing teams from those conferences are now in D1 or D1AA. That’s the story for the Gateway and the Southern. And it’s also worth noting that in the quarterfinals last year three of the four games were decided by a try or less. The average score for those three games was 25-21.

OK, so let’s have a quick look at the schedule as far as we have it. Right now we don’t have the games for the West Coast teams or the High Peaks Conference in the West. But we’ve got everything else. So here goes:

(Some of these conferences are hybrid conferences and we've labeled the small-college teams with (SC).)

Some big games to note:

UW-Whitewater at Marquette
Norwich at Coast Guard
UMass Lowell at Vermont
MIami Ohio at Middle Tennessee State
Ferris State at Central Michigan
Chicago at Illinois State
SLU at Washington
Northern Iowa at UW-Whitewater
Boston University at Norwich
Marist at RPI
Coast Guard at Vermont
Marist at SUNY Oswego
Loyola at Chicago
RPI at SUNY Oswego
North Dakota State at MSU Mankato

Also - we had the wrong sequence of games for NEWCRC - we've fixed that. Note that NEWCRC has realigned now with an eight-team conference where all eight teams are in action for seven weeks straight. This is one of the most competitive and difficult conferences out there.
 

8/26 New Mexico State at El Paso RFC NCR Ind.
9/2 George Washington at George Mason Cardinals
9/2 Washington & Lee at George Mason Cardinals
9/2 Colgate at Cornell Non-Conference
9/9 Hampden Sydney at George Mason Cardinals
9/9 St. Louis Univ. at Southern Illinois Gateway
9/9 James Brown at Pitt State Gateway
9/9 Drury at UMS&T Gateway
9/9 SUNY Oswego at Albany Liberty
9/9 RIT at RPI Liberty
9/9 Marist at Cornell Liberty
9/9 East Stroudsburg at Villanova MARC North
9/9 Bucknell at TCNJ MARC North
9/9 Lehigh at Scranton MARC North
9/9 Georgetown at York MARC South
9/9 Towson at Shippensburg MARC South
9/9 Mount St. Mary's Dev. at UMBC MARC South
9/9 Xavier (SC) at Franciscan Non Conference
9/9 SUNY Fredonia at Kent State Non Conference
9/9 IUP at West Chester Non Conference
9/9 John Carroll at WVU Non Conference
9/9 GVSU at Purdue Non-Conference
9/9 ND State at St. Thomas Northern Lights
9/9 MSU Mankato at MSU Moorhead Northern Lights
9/9 UM Duluth at UW Stout Northern Lights
9/9 St. John's at St. Scholastica Northern Lights
9/9 Georgia Tech at Ole Miss SCRC
9/9 Memphis at Valdosta State SCRC
9/9 Mississippi State at Auburn SCRC
9/15 GVSU at U. Notre Dame Non-Conference
9/16 Kent State at Xavier (SC) Allegheny
9/16 Miami OH at Eastern Kentucky Allegheny
9/16 Western Kentucky at Marshall (SC) Allegheny
9/16 S. Indiana (SC) at MTSU Allegheny
9/16 Old Dominion at Hampden Sydney Cardinals
9/16 William & Mary at VCU Cardinals
9/16 St. Louis Univ. at Washington University Gateway
9/16 James Brown at Drury Gateway
9/16 UIC at Loyola Great Midwest
9/16 Illinois State at Northern Illinois Great Midwest
9/16 SUNY Oswego at RIT Liberty
9/16 Cornell at RPI Liberty
9/16 Albany at Marist Liberty
9/16 Bloomsburg at TCNJ MARC North
9/16 East Stroudsburg at Scranton MARC North
9/16 Lehigh at Bucknell MARC North
9/16 UMBC at York MARC South
9/16 Drexel at Georgetown MARC South
9/16 Shippensburg at Mount St. Mary's Dev. MARC South
9/16 New Mexico State at UNM NCR Ind.
9/16 IUP at Rio Grande Non Conference
9/16 St. Thomas at St. John's Northern Lights
9/16 UW Stout at MSU Moorhead Northern Lights
9/16 St. Scholastica at UM Duluth Northern Lights
9/16 Auburn at Georgia Tech SCRC
9/16 Ole Miss at Tennessee Tech SCRC
9/16 Mississippi State at Memphis SCRC
9/16 Western Carolina at Charlotte SoCon Non-Conf
9/16 Vermont at Coast Guard NEWCRC
9/16 UNH at UMass Lowell NEWCRC
9/16 Bentley at Boston University NEWCRC
9/16 Norwich at Maine NEWCRC
9/17 George Mason at Richmond Cardinals
9/22 Longwood at George Mason Cardinals
9/22 Furman at Western Carolina SoCon Non-Conf
9/22 Appalachian St at Wake Forest SoCon Non-Conf
9/23 Western Kentucky at Miami OH Allegheny
9/23 WVU at Marshall (SC) Allegheny
9/23 Eastern Kentucky at S. Indiana (SC) Allegheny
9/23 MTSU at Xavier (SC) Allegheny
9/23 VCU at Old Dominion Cardinals
9/23 Washington University at Southern Illinois Gateway
9/23 Drury at Pitt State Gateway
9/23 Central Missouri at James Brown Gateway
9/23 Ferris at Calvin Great Lakes
9/23 CMU at SVSU Great Lakes
9/23 Oakland at GVSU Great Lakes
9/23 Loyola at Illinois State Great Midwest
9/23 Northern Illinois at UIC Great Midwest
9/23 Marquette at Northern Iowa Great Midwest
9/23 UW-Platteville at UW-Whitewater Great Midwest
9/23 RIT at Cornell Liberty
9/23 Marist at SUNY Oswego Liberty
9/23 East Stroudsburg at Bloomsburg MARC North
9/23 Villanova at Bucknell MARC North
9/23 TCNJ at Lehigh MARC North
9/23 York at Towson MARC South
9/23 UMBC at Georgetown MARC South
9/23 Shippensburg at Drexel MARC South
9/23 New Mexico Tech at New Mexico State NCR Ind.
9/23 UW Stout at St. Thomas Northern Lights
9/23 UM Duluth at MSU Mankato Northern Lights
9/23 St. John's at ND State Northern Lights
9/23 Memphis at Georgia Tech SCRC
9/23 Tennessee Tech at Auburn SCRC
9/23 Valdosta State at Mississippi State SCRC
9/23 Coastal Carolina at College of Charleston SoCon Non-Conf
9/23 UNC Wilmington at Elon SoCon Non-Conf
9/23 Coast Guard at Norwich NEWCRC
9/23 Bentley at UNH NEWCRC
9/23 Vermont at UMass Lowell NEWCRC
9/23 Maine at Boston University NEWCRC
9/29 MIami OH at IUP Allegheny
9/30 Kent State at WVU Allegheny
9/30 MTSU at Eastern Kentucky Allegheny
9/30 Marshall (SC) at Xavier (SC) Allegheny
9/30 S. Indiana (SC) at Western Kentucky Allegheny
9/30 William & Mary at Old Dominion Cardinals
9/30 George Mason at William & Mary Cardinals
9/30 VCU at Longwood Cardinals
9/30 Central Missouri at Drury Gateway
9/30 Pitt State at UMS&T Gateway
9/30 CMU at GVSU Great Lakes
9/30 SVSU at Calvin Great Lakes
9/30 Ferris at Oakland Great Lakes
9/30 Northern Illinois at Loyola Great Midwest
9/30 Illinois State at UIC Great Midwest
9/30 UW-Whitewater at Marquette Great Midwest
9/30 UW-Milwaukee at UW-Platteville Great Midwest
9/30 SUNY Oswego at Cornell Liberty
9/30 RIT at Marist Liberty
9/30 RPI at Albany Liberty
9/30 Bucknell at Bloomsburg MARC North
9/30 Villanova at Lehigh MARC North
9/30 Scranton at TCNJ MARC North
9/30 Shippensburg at York MARC South
9/30 Mount St. Mary's Dev. at Towson MARC South
9/30 Drexel at UMBC MARC South
9/30 New Mexico State at UTEP NCR Ind.
9/30 Southern Illinois at Lindenwood B Non-Conference
9/30 MSU Mankato at UW Stout Northern Lights
9/30 MSU Moorhead at St. John's Northern Lights
9/30 St. Scholastica at ND State Northern Lights
9/30 Georgia Tech at Valdosta State SCRC
9/30 Memphis at Tennessee Tech SCRC
9/30 East Carolina at Appalachian St SoCon D2
9/30 Western Carolina at UNC Wilmington SoCon D2
9/30 Bentley at Coast Guard NEWCRC
9/30 Boston University at Vermont NEWCRC
9/30 UNH at Norwich NEWCRC
9/30 UMass Lowell at Maine NEWCRC
10/1 George Mason at Old Dominion Cardinals
10/6 Bloomsburg at Scranton MARC North
10/6 TCNJ at Villanova MARC North
10/7 Eastern Kentucky at Western Kentucky Allegheny
10/7 IUP at Kent State Allegheny
10/7 MIami OH at MTSU Allegheny
10/7 S. Indiana (SC) at Marshall (SC) Allegheny
10/7 Richmond at VCU Cardinals
10/7 Pitt State at Central Missouri Gateway
10/7 SVSU at GVSU Great Lakes
10/7 Ferris at CMU Great Lakes
10/7 Calvin at Oakland Great Lakes
10/7 UIC at Northwestern Great Midwest
10/7 Chicago at Illinois State Great Midwest
10/7 Northern Iowa at UW-Whitewater Great Midwest
10/7 UW-Milwaukee at Marquette Great Midwest
10/7 Lehigh at East Stroudsburg MARC North
10/7 Georgetown at Towson MARC South
10/7 UMBC at Shippensburg MARC South
10/7 Drexel at Mount St. Mary's Dev. MARC South
10/7 Buffalo at RIT Non-Conference
10/7 Lindenwood B at St. Louis Univ. Non-Conference
10/7 ND State at UM Duluth Northern Lights
10/7 MSU Moorhead at St. Thomas Northern Lights
10/7 St. Scholastica at MSU Mankato Northern Lights
10/7 Ole Miss at Memphis SCRC
10/7 Mississippi State at Georgia Tech SCRC
10/7 UNC Wilmington at Coastal Carolina SoCon D2
10/7 Appalachian St at Western Carolina SoCon D2
10/7 Coast Guard at Boston University NEWCRC
10/7 UMass Lowell at Norwich NEWCRC
10/7 Vermont at UNH NEWCRC
10/7 Maine at Bentley NEWCRC
10/13 Northwestern at Chicago Great Midwest
10/13 GVSU at Trine Non-Conference
10/14 Kent State at Miami OH Allegheny
10/14 Western Kentucky at MTSU Allegheny
10/14 Marshall (SC) at Eastern Kentucky Allegheny
10/14 Xavier (SC) at S. Indiana (SC) Allegheny
10/14 Old Dominion at Longwood Cardinals
10/14 VCU at George Mason Cardinals
10/14 GVSU at Calvin Great Lakes
10/14 Oakland at CMU Great Lakes
10/14 SVSU at Ferris Great Lakes
10/14 Northern Iowa at UW-Milwaukee Great Midwest
10/14 Marquette at UW-Platteville Great Midwest
10/14 Albany at RIT Liberty
10/14 Marist at RPI Liberty
10/14 TCNJ at East Stroudsburg MARC North
10/14 Scranton at Bucknell MARC North
10/14 York at Drexel MARC South
10/14 Mount St. Mary's Dev. at Georgetown MARC South
10/14 Towson at UMBC MARC South
10/14 Washington University at Lindenwood B Non-Conference
10/14 MSU Mankato at St. John's Northern Lights
10/14 UW Stout at ND State Northern Lights
10/14 MSU Moorhead at UM Duluth Northern Lights
10/14 St. Thomas at St. Scholastica Northern Lights
10/14 Georgia Tech at Tennessee Tech SCRC
10/14 Valdosta State at Ole Miss SCRC
10/14 Coastal Carolina at East Carolina SoCon D2
10/14 Boston University at UNH NEWCRC
10/14 UMass Lowell at Bentley NEWCRC
10/14 Vermont at Norwich NEWCRC
10/14 Coast Guard at Maine NEWCRC
10/15 Loyola at Chicago Great Midwest
10/15 Northwestern at Northern Illinois Great Midwest
10/15 Villanova at Bloomsburg MARC North
10/20 Illinois State at Northwestern Great Midwest
10/20 Chicago at UIC Great Midwest
10/21 Allegheny East #3 at Allegheny East #2 Allegheny
10/21 Allegheny South #3 at Allegheny South #2 Allegheny
10/21 Allegheny South #4 at Allegheny South #1 Allegheny
10/21 Richmond at Old Dominion Cardinals
10/21 George Mason at Hampden Sydney Cardinals
10/21 UMS&T at James Brown Gateway
10/21 Oakland at SVSU Great Lakes
10/21 Calvin at CMU Great Lakes
10/21 GVSU at Ferris Great Lakes
10/21 UW-Platteville at Northern Iowa Great Midwest
10/21 UW-Whitewater at UW-Milwaukee Great Midwest
10/21 Cornell at Albany Liberty
10/21 RPI at SUNY Oswego Liberty
10/21 Bloomsburg at Lehigh MARC North
10/21 Bucknell at East Stroudsburg MARC North
10/21 Scranton at Villanova MARC North
10/21 York at Mount St. Mary's Dev. MARC South
10/21 Georgetown at Shippensburg MARC South
10/21 Towson at Drexel MARC South
10/21 New Mexico State at Albuquerque RFC NCR Ind.
10/21 ND State at MSU Mankato Northern Lights
10/21 St. Thomas at UM Duluth Northern Lights
10/21 St. John's at UW Stout Northern Lights
10/21 St. Scholastica at MSU Moorhead Northern Lights
10/21 Auburn at Ole Miss SCRC
10/21 Tennessee Tech at Mississippi State SCRC
10/21 Coastal Carolina at Appalachian St SoCon D2
10/21 Boston University at UMass Lowell NEWCRC
10/21 Norwich at Bentley NEWCRC
10/21 UNH at Coast Guard NEWCRC
10/21 Maine at Vermont NEWCRC
10/22 Loyola at Northwestern Great Midwest
10/22 Northern Illinois at Chicago Great Midwest
10/28 Allegheny South SF vs Allegheny South SF Allegheny
10/28 Allegheny East QF Winner vs Allegheny East #1 Allegheny
10/28 Hampden Sydney at VCU Cardinals
10/28 Gateway SFs at Gateway SFs Gateway
10/28 GMW South 2 at GMW North 1 Great Midwest
10/28 GMW North 2 at GMW South 1 Great Midwest
10/28 Liberty 4 at Liberty 1 Liberty
10/28 Liberty 3 at Liberty 3 Liberty
10/28 MARC Semi-finals at TBD MARC
10/28 MARC Semi-finals at TBD MARC
10/28 GVSU at Michigan Non-Conference
10/28 Auburn at Memphis SCRC
10/28 Ole Miss at Mississippi State SCRC
10/28 Tennessee Tech at Valdosta State SCRC
10/28 Western Carolina at Coastal Carolina SoCon D2
10/28 UNC Wilmington at East Carolina SoCon D2
10/28 Coast Guard at UMass Lowell NEWCRC
10/28 Bentley at Vermont NEWCRC
10/28 Norwich at Boston University NEWCRC
10/28 Maine at UNH NEWCRC
10/29 Gateway Finals at Gateway Finals Gateway
11/4 Allgheny Final     Allegheny
11/4 GMW Final at   Great Midwest
11/4 GMW 3rd-4th at   Great Midwest
11/4 Liberty Final at   Liberty
11/4 MARC Finals at TBD MARC
11/4 MARC 3rd Place at TBD MARC
11/4 UNM at New Mexico State NCR Ind.
11/4 Valdosta State at Auburn SCRC
11/4 NC State at Lander SoCon D1
11/4 Appalachian St at UNC Wilmington SoCon D2
11/4 East Carolina at Western Carolina SoCon D2
11/4 NEWCRC #2 at NEWCRC #1 NEWCRC
11/11 NCR Play-in vs NCR Play-in NCR Playoffs
11/18 NCR Round of 16 at TBA NCR Playoffs
11/20 NCR QFs at TBA NCR Playoffs
12/9 NCR SFs at Houston NCR Playoffs
12/11 NCR Final at Houston NCR Playoffs

 

Men DII College, NCR