Black Colleges Receive Bids to NCAA Division II National Basketball Tournament
Courtesy of Onnidan.com, here’s the rundown of historically black colleges and universities receiving automatic and at-large bids to the 2010 NCAA Division II National Basketball Tournament.
Automatic bids allowed men’s teams from St. Augustine’s (CIAA), Tuskegee (SIAC) and West Virginia State (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) to earn playoff bids while women’s teams from Fayetteville State (CIAA) and Benedict (SIAC) got playoff nods.
Clark Atlanta‘s men, Fort Valley State‘s women, Virginia State’s women and Central State‘s men round out the slate of HBCU moving on to Division II’s version of the Big Dance.
While it’s all well and good to celebrate the achievements of these teams, the seeding and placement of these teams shouldn’t go without some criticism. On the men’s side, St. Augustine’s, West Virginia State, Tuskegee and Clark Atlanta have the chance to clash no later than mid-way through the tournament. West Virginia State and St. Augustine’s are both playing out of the Atlantic region, and could meet in the Sweet 16.
Tuskegee and Clark Atlanta, two schools out of the SIAC, could meet in the second round of the South region.
On the women’s side, Virginia State and Fayetteville State are playing out of the Atlantic region, while Benedict and Fort Valley State are playing out of the South. All four have a chance to meet their conference counterparts in the Sweet 16.
This isn’t to say that these teams have been unfairly seeded, but it is to say that selection committee could do a much better job of insuring that HBCUs aren’t in positions to bounce each other out of the chance for a national title.
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Sadly, you have a point. It’s unacceptable for any college, basketball champions or not, to have an unappealing website or one without recent updates. The web presence is the first thing a potential student sees, and if not done correctly, it will be the last.
St. Augustine’s might have the worst website I have ever seen. The school has a team in the NCAA playoffs. You would think SAC would invest more money into its website. People all over the country will be checking it out and shaking their heads. Unfortunately, there are people who expect that kind of website from an HBCU. The Falcon faithful need to donate some money to help the cause.