So what is the trigger for this preference? I was just glancing at my Nebraska Wesleyan team which is now in its second session of recruiting and noticed that I'm sitting at "neutral" on this. This confuses me a little. My four seasons at the school look like this:

91 -- 25-5, NT 1, RPI 44, NR
92 -- 29-2, NT 2, RPI 39, 23
93 -- 23-7, NT 1, RPI 53, NR
94 -- 29-2, NT 2, RPI 30, 13

I am guessing this is strictly an RPI-based preference? It hardly seems like it could be based on record if 106-16 isn't getting it done for the kids. Ditto for national tournament appearances. And having finished in the national rankings 2 of the last 3 years doesn't seem to have had an effect either.

Even if it's an RPI-based metric, shouldn't more than the top 10/bottom 10 percent of teams at D3 have it?

Am I missing something obvious here with regard to this preference? Anyone have a theory?

I'm guessing it has something to do with D-3 vs higher division recruiting. It's possible that D-3 could have too much of an advantage with this preference against a D-1 school, so they've decided to either keep it neutral or make it very hard to move it from neutral.

Also, prestige is a very small factor at D-3, so it's possible their thinking with success/rebuild should reflect that.

Posted by thewizard17 on 4/17/2017 2:03:00 AM (view original):
I'm guessing it has something to do with D-3 vs higher division recruiting. It's possible that D-3 could have too much of an advantage with this preference against a D-1 school, so they've decided to either keep it neutral or make it very hard to move it from neutral.

Also, prestige is a very small factor at D-3, so it's possible their thinking with success/rebuild should reflect that.

Hadn't thought along that route, but that would make sense. BUT...that doesn't seem the case as my Emory team which is between sessions is showing a host of Good's and Bad's in that same category with the following seasons...

91 -- 22-9, NT 2, RPI 27, NR
92 -- 23-6, NT 2, RPI 21, NR
93 -- 26-7, E8, RPI 9, 9
94 -- 26-6, E8, RPI 5, 10

So, slightly worse record, better overall RPI and better NT performance. But really not looking like something THAT substantial to go from a neutral to a Good for wants success. The only other difference I can see is that I've been at Emory for considerably more seasons, but I wouldn't think longevity would play for that specific preference.

Emory is way more successful in the NT. By a lot.

Posted by rednu on 4/17/2017 3:12:00 AM (view original):

Posted by thewizard17 on 4/17/2017 2:03:00 AM (view original):
I'm guessing it has something to do with D-3 vs higher division recruiting. It's possible that D-3 could have too much of an advantage with this preference against a D-1 school, so they've decided to either keep it neutral or make it very hard to move it from neutral.

Also, prestige is a very small factor at D-3, so it's possible their thinking with success/rebuild should reflect that.

Hadn't thought along that route, but that would make sense. BUT...that doesn't seem the case as my Emory team which is between sessions is showing a host of Good's and Bad's in that same category with the following seasons...

91 -- 22-9, NT 2, RPI 27, NR
92 -- 23-6, NT 2, RPI 21, NR
93 -- 26-7, E8, RPI 9, 9
94 -- 26-6, E8, RPI 5, 10

So, slightly worse record, better overall RPI and better NT performance. But really not looking like something THAT substantial to go from a neutral to a Good for wants success. The only other difference I can see is that I've been at Emory for considerably more seasons, but I wouldn't think longevity would play for that specific preference.

I know for certain overall record has very minimal or no effect on prestige, so I'm guessing it would probably be the same for success. I remember one season with Auburn, we were in a very tough conference, ended up going 11-16 with a fairly low RPI and we went from C to a C+. That would lead me to believe that success is mostly driven by RPI and more importantly NT wins over a four year period.