The NAIA is returning to Our Town
Posted: Monday, December 01, 2008
Think of this corner as a cornucopia of victuals to devour this week as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics once again opens its northern office in Sioux City.
Coming this week to the Tyson Events Center is the 2008 NAIA national volleyball tournament.
That's right, volleyball, not the NAIA Division II national women's basketball tournament. That event, more and more looking like a permanent fixture in Our Town, isn't until next March.
Staff at the Tyson were diligently working Sunday to prepare the venue for the competition in the 24-team tourney that begins Tuesday morning.
The first three days are devoted to pool play divided into six four-team pods. Beginning Friday, eight teams advance to a one-and-done format when you lose.
Morningside, qualifying for the tournament for the first time in school history, plays in a pool that includes unbeaten No. 1-ranked defending champion Fresno Pacific.
Coach Rick Pruett's Mustangs open play Tuesday against Point Loma Nazarene, another of the six California schools in the tournament.
The Tyson will be divided into three sport courts separated by towering nets. Tuesday at 6 p.m., while 12th-seeded Morningside and Point Loma clash on court No. 1, 10th-seeded Northwestern duels Olivet Nazarene on the adjoining court.
If you like familiarity, Fresno State and Columbia (Mo.) are each appearing in the tourney for the 15th straight year and each have won three national titles.
Drifting away from the world of kills, arm swings, digs, sets, liberos and California cool, what a mess the University of Iowa football team has made of this national championship thing folks are grinding their molars over.
If Iowa's Daniel Murray hadn't booted a 31-yard field goal with one second left to let the Hawkeyes upset then-unbeaten Penn State 24-23 on Nov. 8, discussion of who will play for the national title would be clear cut.
No Texas, Texas Tech or Oklahoma in the conversation.
Had Penn State won, the Nittany Lions would be playing either Alabama or Florida in the BSC title game. At the time it lost, Penn State, now 11-1, was ranked third, Alabama first and Texas Tech second.
An unbeaten Penn State would have moved ahead of Texas Tech to No. 2.
Furthermore, to paraphrase a former colleague. What's the big deal over this Oklahoma-Texas thing anyway?
Just simply separate the wheat from the chaff. Each team is 11-1 and when they played each other Texas won by 10 points. The rest is pap.
And, as for Missouri.
After falling off the yellow brick road just a record Nebraska field goal distance away from Kansas, show me any way it can do anything but come down from its high horse and plow a furrow to the Big 12 outhouse.
It'll be Mizzou versus the Okies in the Big 12 title game. If the Chase is on, Missouri has a chance.
Difficult as it may be to find, somewhere in the basketball rulebook it must stipulate that college women's basketball coaches are not permitted to sit down during games.
The best bowl game out there will be, appropriately, the Rose with Penn State meeting Southern Cal. They very well might be 1-2, anyway.
Coming this week to the Tyson Events Center is the 2008 NAIA national volleyball tournament.
That's right, volleyball, not the NAIA Division II national women's basketball tournament. That event, more and more looking like a permanent fixture in Our Town, isn't until next March.
Staff at the Tyson were diligently working Sunday to prepare the venue for the competition in the 24-team tourney that begins Tuesday morning.
The first three days are devoted to pool play divided into six four-team pods. Beginning Friday, eight teams advance to a one-and-done format when you lose.
Morningside, qualifying for the tournament for the first time in school history, plays in a pool that includes unbeaten No. 1-ranked defending champion Fresno Pacific.
Coach Rick Pruett's Mustangs open play Tuesday against Point Loma Nazarene, another of the six California schools in the tournament.
The Tyson will be divided into three sport courts separated by towering nets. Tuesday at 6 p.m., while 12th-seeded Morningside and Point Loma clash on court No. 1, 10th-seeded Northwestern duels Olivet Nazarene on the adjoining court.
If you like familiarity, Fresno State and Columbia (Mo.) are each appearing in the tourney for the 15th straight year and each have won three national titles.
Drifting away from the world of kills, arm swings, digs, sets, liberos and California cool, what a mess the University of Iowa football team has made of this national championship thing folks are grinding their molars over.
If Iowa's Daniel Murray hadn't booted a 31-yard field goal with one second left to let the Hawkeyes upset then-unbeaten Penn State 24-23 on Nov. 8, discussion of who will play for the national title would be clear cut.
No Texas, Texas Tech or Oklahoma in the conversation.
Had Penn State won, the Nittany Lions would be playing either Alabama or Florida in the BSC title game. At the time it lost, Penn State, now 11-1, was ranked third, Alabama first and Texas Tech second.
An unbeaten Penn State would have moved ahead of Texas Tech to No. 2.
Furthermore, to paraphrase a former colleague. What's the big deal over this Oklahoma-Texas thing anyway?
Just simply separate the wheat from the chaff. Each team is 11-1 and when they played each other Texas won by 10 points. The rest is pap.
And, as for Missouri.
After falling off the yellow brick road just a record Nebraska field goal distance away from Kansas, show me any way it can do anything but come down from its high horse and plow a furrow to the Big 12 outhouse.
It'll be Mizzou versus the Okies in the Big 12 title game. If the Chase is on, Missouri has a chance.
Difficult as it may be to find, somewhere in the basketball rulebook it must stipulate that college women's basketball coaches are not permitted to sit down during games.
The best bowl game out there will be, appropriately, the Rose with Penn State meeting Southern Cal. They very well might be 1-2, anyway.
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Mitch Cumbstien wrote on Dec 12, 2008 7:59 PM: