in the past I have mostly stayed in D2 because there was general agreement that D1 was inherently flawed and unbalanced. Around the time of the 3.0 I made the jump and took a D1 team (Rupp/Niagra), as we were being told that 3.0 levels the playing field. Worked it up from D to B prestige over a few seasons with every intention of sticking with this program.

This morning I just got a big glob of evidence that it is in no way balanced.

Top 10 Recruit - I ended up with 1750 AP total, on him from the beginning, max visits, promised start. going into the break I was very high, Seton Hall was competing, they were high, no one else was anything but very low. Out of nowhere an A+ team comes and signs him with only a small fraction of the AP's I spent. The final die roll came down to me having 34% chance, and both other teams having 33% chance, and it went to the team that only showed interest in the last couple cycles. (and it's not intangibles, we were at least equal there.)

frustrating. If this is fixed I hate to what broken looked like!

I would never say that the playing field is fully balanced in 3.0. But I would argue that it is much more competitive.

Just to review: you are a B prestige team in a low-to-mid-major conference, competing against A- Seton Hall and an unnamed A+ prestige team for a top 10 recruit.

In 2.0, that A+ team comes along and your chance of landing the player goes down to 0.0. In fact, you would have been a fool to go after him, knowing that some higher prestige teams would eventually go after him.

In 3.0, you ended up with a nearly equal chance to land him (34-33-33). It sucks that you didn't land him, but it was a worthwhile investment.

There really isn't a reform possible that prevents what happened to you (higher prestige team invests less resources than you to achieve a nearly equal chance of landing the recruit) and still allows for prestige to make a difference in recruiting. The only way for it to be truly balanced is to abolish prestige and that's never happening.

It’s “fixed” in that now you have a shot at the recruit. In the previous version, with B prestige Niagra, you’d be foolish to even compete for a legitimate top 10 recruit. You knew some A+ was going to swoop in and spend enough to get him, because they locked in their other recruits for cheap - because no one fights them - they would overtake you with a signing cycle love dump, and there’s nothing you could do about it. All he had to do was inch past you, and he’d win 100% of the time.

Prestige is still very meaningful, don’t let anyone fool you. For recruits that get max visits in a battle, the difference between A+ and B prestige is equivalent to a lot of APs.

if "level playing field" means everyone gets their participation trophy, then you misunderstood.

$100 says he was lurking off the considering list.

But besides that, I don't really see the problem here..

thanks for the responses guys. And yes I definitely had a shot and if I had to do it over I would take that shot again.

The thing is, I really don't want to change teams. I like to stick with the program I build. Is it possible to take a team like Niagra and develop it to be competitive with top teams? I've been to the NT last three years with RPI's in the 30-40 range so I have felt like I was making progress.

Posted by Benis on 12/18/2017 11:51:00 AM (view original):
$100 says he was lurking off the considering list.

But besides that, I don't really see the problem here..

Just a couple of cycles into my first D1 recruiting since 2007, I've already had Washington appear from "nowhere" and snatch a recruit.

Posted by deroches on 12/18/2017 12:19:00 PM (view original):
thanks for the responses guys. And yes I definitely had a shot and if I had to do it over I would take that shot again.

The thing is, I really don't want to change teams. I like to stick with the program I build. Is it possible to take a team like Niagra and develop it to be competitive with top teams? I've been to the NT last three years with RPI's in the 30-40 range so I have felt like I was making progress.

Yes, you can. Since 3.0 came along, teams like Utah, Denver and Sacramento State have won D1 titles. I was/am in a similar situation at Bowling Green in Tark and I feel like I have just now turned the corner (11-0, ranked #15, 7 RPI, 35 SOS). I can sitemail you some insights that I have picked up.

Posted by MikeT23 on 12/18/2017 12:28:00 PM (view original):

Posted by Benis on 12/18/2017 11:51:00 AM (view original):
$100 says he was lurking off the considering list.

But besides that, I don't really see the problem here..

Just a couple of cycles into my first D1 recruiting since 2007, I've already had Washington appear from "nowhere" and snatch a recruit.

Okay...

but that is a bit different since you're starting in 2nd session anyway. So you are also "appearing from nowhere" on any guy you go after.

I am. I'm gonna steal one of zorzi's prospects. Just for fun.

Posted by MikeT23 on 12/18/2017 1:25:00 PM (view original):
I am. I'm gonna steal one of zorzi's prospects. Just for fun.

Make sure to post a picture of his dumb teary eyed face!

jk zorzii, love youuuu

You know I will.

And I'll add "You wanted capped divisions. I'm capping 'em for you!!!"

Posted by deroches on 12/18/2017 12:19:00 PM (view original):
thanks for the responses guys. And yes I definitely had a shot and if I had to do it over I would take that shot again.

The thing is, I really don't want to change teams. I like to stick with the program I build. Is it possible to take a team like Niagra and develop it to be competitive with top teams? I've been to the NT last three years with RPI's in the 30-40 range so I have felt like I was making progress.

Well I hope it continues to be VERY hard to do that.

The original idea of the game was to work your way up the prestige rankings to get to the teams that could actually win a NC. Not that every DI team could win a NC.