Worst. Snub. Ever.
I want to start this post by saying I know most of the people at NAQT and to a man I respect them. That said, I can't tell you how mad I am at the organization.
*note* This post is about collegiate quiz bowl. However, even if you don't follow the game, it won't be hard to follow this.
The long and short of it is this: DePauw's team went to a Sectional tournament and finished in second place with a record of 9-and-2. Michigan finished first at 11-0 and Chicago was third at 8-3. To be fair, both of those teams averaged quite a few more points than DPU's team, both overall and per each bonus.
Here's where we stand now: Nationals invites came out today and DePauw didn't get one. They won 81 percent of their matches and got passed over. Why, you ask? Because NAQT has a secret formula that it refuses to give out. No one knows which numbers figure into the formula, but here are two things I do know:
1. You fare better the more games you play
2. You fare better as your strength of schedule increases.
Admittedly, the Division 2 Midwest Sectional was not all that strong, but there was a clear stratification of the teams and DePauw was not on the outside looking in. But let's be honest -- you can't control either of the above two statistics -- it's mostly controlled by geography. Here's what I have learned:
1. NAQT apparently goes to the Steve Spurrier school of winning. It doesn't matter HOW MANY games you win, but rather how much you win by when you do win. In other words, run up the score at all costs. This is a philosophy which will drive people AWAY from the game NAQT claims it wants so badly to build.
2. Somehow, there are more important statistics than what percentage of your games you win -- despite the fact that this is the stat NAQT will use to determine its overall champion in a couple months. Wake up and smell the coffee, NAQT -- the 1906 White Sox won the World Series over a powerhouse Cubs team despite the fact it couldn't score -- it just kept the other team down.
3. The addition of community college teams to the Division 2 draw (despite the fact they compete at the sectional level on much easier questions and only against other community colleges) is a joke. If you're going to include these teams, don't do it by virtue of a double standard. There are several CC teams which have similar numbers to DePauw on questions literally used by some high school tournaments. This is inexcusable. At least force them to score a significant amount more than the teams which are playing on real questions against real competition. NAQT's strategy is akin to giving Triple-A baseball teams a wild card bid to the American League playoffs -- it will never, ever make sense.
Not only was DePauw snubbed, but they're not among the first five teams on the wait list. This is impossible to justify other than to say "That's what our system tells us". Welcome to the BCS of collegiate quiz bowl -- hopelessly flawed and in need of a change. At least own up to how you choose your teams instead of being secretive about your mystery formula. It's a cowardly way to be and it just causes people to be turned off by the way you do things.
*note* This post is about collegiate quiz bowl. However, even if you don't follow the game, it won't be hard to follow this.
The long and short of it is this: DePauw's team went to a Sectional tournament and finished in second place with a record of 9-and-2. Michigan finished first at 11-0 and Chicago was third at 8-3. To be fair, both of those teams averaged quite a few more points than DPU's team, both overall and per each bonus.
Here's where we stand now: Nationals invites came out today and DePauw didn't get one. They won 81 percent of their matches and got passed over. Why, you ask? Because NAQT has a secret formula that it refuses to give out. No one knows which numbers figure into the formula, but here are two things I do know:
1. You fare better the more games you play
2. You fare better as your strength of schedule increases.
Admittedly, the Division 2 Midwest Sectional was not all that strong, but there was a clear stratification of the teams and DePauw was not on the outside looking in. But let's be honest -- you can't control either of the above two statistics -- it's mostly controlled by geography. Here's what I have learned:
1. NAQT apparently goes to the Steve Spurrier school of winning. It doesn't matter HOW MANY games you win, but rather how much you win by when you do win. In other words, run up the score at all costs. This is a philosophy which will drive people AWAY from the game NAQT claims it wants so badly to build.
2. Somehow, there are more important statistics than what percentage of your games you win -- despite the fact that this is the stat NAQT will use to determine its overall champion in a couple months. Wake up and smell the coffee, NAQT -- the 1906 White Sox won the World Series over a powerhouse Cubs team despite the fact it couldn't score -- it just kept the other team down.
3. The addition of community college teams to the Division 2 draw (despite the fact they compete at the sectional level on much easier questions and only against other community colleges) is a joke. If you're going to include these teams, don't do it by virtue of a double standard. There are several CC teams which have similar numbers to DePauw on questions literally used by some high school tournaments. This is inexcusable. At least force them to score a significant amount more than the teams which are playing on real questions against real competition. NAQT's strategy is akin to giving Triple-A baseball teams a wild card bid to the American League playoffs -- it will never, ever make sense.
Not only was DePauw snubbed, but they're not among the first five teams on the wait list. This is impossible to justify other than to say "That's what our system tells us". Welcome to the BCS of collegiate quiz bowl -- hopelessly flawed and in need of a change. At least own up to how you choose your teams instead of being secretive about your mystery formula. It's a cowardly way to be and it just causes people to be turned off by the way you do things.