IMHO, the prestige changes they made a few cycles back overcorrected for D3.  My CNU just made the Sweet 16, yet dropped from an A to an A- in prestige.  Last 4 seasons are:
52:  Sweet 16 - RPI  32  (A-)
51:  1st round - RPI 27  (A)
50: NT championship game - RPI 1  (A+)
49:  Sweet 16 - RPI 5   (A-)

The season that dropped off was a PI championship and a 37 RPI.

I understand they placed a greater emphasis on recent seasons, but it seems to be too great at D3.  The school averages a Sweet 16 over the last 4 seasons, a 16 RPI, and made the Sweet 16 in the last season.  There are more than 16 A+ prestige teams.  At a minimum, I'd think this resume would be A and I could understand that, but one shouldn't go to the Sweet 16 and drop unless the season that leaves the 4 year window is a better season than a Sweet 16.

http://wisjournal.com/hd/TeamProfile/History.aspx?tid=14727

FWIW, this is not a complaint because I feel I got screwed over.  My prestige this season has no impact on my team because we are not recruiting this cycle.  It's just a vivid example of an observation I've noted since the prestige adjustment.

While I think you've probably got a solid argument for an A, it's got a fair amount to do with your win totals as well. 14 & 17 the last 2 seasons after 28 & 26, which now count a lot less than they did 1 season ago.

You mean like when this happened:

57	ike1024	18-12	7-6	11-5	0-1	10-6		57	A-	PI (3rd Round)
56	ike1024	35-0	11-0	15-0	9-0	16-0	1	1	A+	Conf Champion CT Champion National Champion
55	ike1024	33-2	12-0	12-2	9-0	14-2	1	3	A+	Conf Champion CT Champion National Champion

Not saying I had a stellar season 57, but this seemed a little extreme.

Posted by isack24 on 10/1/2012 12:17:00 PM (view original):
You mean like when this happened:

57	ike1024	18-12	7-6	11-5	0-1	10-6		57	A-	PI (3rd Round)
56	ike1024	35-0	11-0	15-0	9-0	16-0	1	1	A+	Conf Champion CT Champion National Champion
55	ike1024	33-2	12-0	12-2	9-0	14-2	1	3	A+	Conf Champion CT Champion National Champion

Not saying I had a stellar season 57, but this seemed a little extreme.

Exactly.  Similar happened to a conference mate too - Shenandoah

Season 50:  1st round, 37 RPI  A-
Season 49:  Final 4, 14 RPI, A+
Season 48:  Final 4, 3 RPI, A+
Season 47:  2nd Round, A

CNU's results are in line with current prestige calcultions, I just think they overcorrected.  From what I recall, they were trying to encourage MORE upward movement of prestige by allowing the hot teams to move up and not be held down so much by really bad seasons 3 years ago.  The change, however, also made it more likely for more downward movement too, even for very successful recent programs, which I think was an unintended consequence.

They should perhaps allow the hot team to capitalize on the most recent season with a decent bump, but still look at a longer 4 year window more evenly weighted before dropping teams.  Again, how many teams go to a Sweet 16 and (one of the top 3 seasons in school history, all in last 4) and drop in prestige.  It's just weird.

Did they change D2/D3 prestige? I feel like it has always worked this way. I have seen teams go from NC to B+ after missing PI/NT.

Here's how WIS explained prestige at D2 and D3 to me:

Current season is valued at 50%
Your current prestige level is valued at 50%.

Since your current prestige is an accumulation of previous seasons, each of those seasons is counted much less than 50%

Example:
Assume prestige is figured on the most recent 5 seasons.  Seasons #1-4, COMBINED, account for 50%. So they average at about 12%.

So, you have
Season #5   50%
Season #4   12%
Seasons#3   12%
Season #2   12%
Season #1   12%

See the problem?? The most recent season is worth 4 TIMES any of the others. That's why prestige can drop so quickly in one season

Prestige has been screwed up for a long time at D2 and D3.  I had a team that won 18 NT games in 6 seasons (averaged at Elite Eight round)  but had the same prestige as a team that had only won ONE.  Why? Because, in the last season, I went to the PIT and the other school made the 2nd round of the NT

D2 and D3 prestige never even used the 4-year window.  They just use a floating value that places ~50% on the most recent season.  This is not new at all.

Posted by dahsdebater on 10/1/2012 1:42:00 PM (view original):
D2 and D3 prestige never even used the 4-year window.  They just use a floating value that places ~50% on the most recent season.  This is not new at all.

I am not questioning your statement, but how does the math work in, for instance, my team, which had an A when the most recent season was a 1st round exit and then dropped to an A- when the most recent season was a Sweet 16?  To the extent multiple seasons matter, prestige went to A- even though the four year window improved.  Maybe its nots a new problem, but I had not noticed it until the last few seasons when I took over this rebuild.

Posted by dukenilnil on 10/1/2012 2:52:00 PM (view original):

Posted by dahsdebater on 10/1/2012 1:42:00 PM (view original):
D2 and D3 prestige never even used the 4-year window.  They just use a floating value that places ~50% on the most recent season.  This is not new at all.

I am not questioning your statement, but how does the math work in, for instance, my team, which had an A when the most recent season was a 1st round exit and then dropped to an A- when the most recent season was a Sweet 16?  To the extent multiple seasons matter, prestige went to A- even though the four year window improved.  Maybe its nots a new problem, but I had not noticed it until the last few seasons when I took over this rebuild.

seble also believes that your record is just as important as your tournament results. So, while you made the 2nd round, you were only 17-14.   In my discussion with him, we compared Murray St, 2012 with VCU from 2011.

Murray won 30 games and lost in the 2nd round.  VCU barely made the NT but advanced to the Final Four. seble believes those results are equally prestigious

Because the emphasis on the most recent season is so over-inflated, you get results like this:

season 1...........19-12, PIT 3rd round
Season 2...........  13-16
Season 3............  15-15
Season 4............27-5, Sweet 16

This team's prestige went from C+ to A- in one season

Posted by dukenilnil on 10/1/2012 2:52:00 PM (view original):

Posted by dahsdebater on 10/1/2012 1:42:00 PM (view original):
D2 and D3 prestige never even used the 4-year window.  They just use a floating value that places ~50% on the most recent season.  This is not new at all.

I am not questioning your statement, but how does the math work in, for instance, my team, which had an A when the most recent season was a 1st round exit and then dropped to an A- when the most recent season was a Sweet 16?  To the extent multiple seasons matter, prestige went to A- even though the four year window improved.  Maybe its nots a new problem, but I had not noticed it until the last few seasons when I took over this rebuild.

Four-year window improved is irrelevant since, again, it doesn't exist.  There's just some floating prestige value that's adjusted at the end of each season.  That said, I'm surprised you went to a S16 and dropped, you were probably a low A and are now a high A-.

But why would he have dropped?

If 50% of the weight is the most recent season, and his most recent season is undeniably better than the season before, and there couldn't be anything that "fell off" because he has gotten better every season but 1, then it makes no sense that he would have gone down unless the other 50% prestige weighs recent seasons more heavily such that the NC game season was weighed more heavily in the second-most-recent season slot than the third.  But that would seem to imply that the the second-most-recent season slot is a decent % of the "other 50%."

Posted by isack24 on 10/1/2012 3:38:00 PM (view original):
But why would he have dropped?

If 50% of the weight is the most recent season, and his most recent season is undeniably better than the season before, and there couldn't be anything that "fell off" because he has gotten better every season but 1, then it makes no sense that he would have gone down unless the other 50% prestige weighs recent seasons more heavily such that the NC game season was weighed more heavily in the second-most-recent season slot than the third.  But that would seem to imply that the the second-most-recent season slot is a decent % of the "other 50%."

It has to be his record.  14-15, followed by 17-14.  Seble wants the prestigous teams to win a lot of games, even if it trumps post-season results.

I remember a team that was 29-1, SOS 320,  a 1st round loser, and made a BIG jump in prestige. This school had won ONE NT game in it's entire history

From the Developer Chat for this change:

Can you expand on how prestige has been changed? How much did baseline / conference prestige factor into team prestige before and after the change? Did anything change for prestige calculations for D2 and D3 teams? (reinsel - Hall of Famer - 2:09 PM)

Probably should clarify that the changes to prestige only apply to DI. There will be no change at this point to how DII/DIII prestige is calculated. I would still like to review that at some point though.