November has come, and with it the NCAA Championships for all fall sports. Over the course of the month, teams from across the nation will place their hats in the ring to compete for a spot in a national tournament or meet, then take on the challenge of winning a national championship. This article will primarily focus on how the process works in Division III.
Soccer : On November 9, 64 men’s and women’s soccer teams will be selected for the NCAA Soccer Tournament. Opening rounds will be played November 14. The tournament is a single elimination bracket composed of 4 rounds to whittle down the teams from 64 to 2. The final teams standing will play in the national championship match in Columbus, Ohio. Men will play on December 5 and women on December 6.
Forty-three teams that win their conference tournaments will receive an automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament, and the remaining 21 spots will be awarded to at-large teams based on the NCAA Power Index (NPI).
By the time you are reading this article, selections will have been made and the field will be set.
Volleyball : Like soccer, 64 teams will be selected for a tournament to compete for a spot in the volleyball national championship game. Selections will be announced following conference tournaments on November 16. Tournament play will begin the weekend before Thanksgiving with the regional brackets and will conclude with the championship game on December 5 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Also like soccer, there are 43 teams that will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, leaving 21 teams to be selected by the NPI. Covenant Volleyball has a shot at qualifying for the tournament, as they will host the CCS tournament as the No. 1 seed. Additionally, as of November 4 they are ranked #45 in the NPI.
Cross Country: Unlike volleyball and soccer, cross country does not utilize the tournament format — that would be brutal. Instead, 10 regional meets will take place across the country on November 14. Teams that place first overall at these regional meets will receive automatic qualification to the NCAA National Championship Meet in Northfield, Minnesota on November 21. The remaining 22 at-large spots in the national meet will be determined by a committee. Selections will be made based on placement in the regional meet and overall performance over the course of the season.