2021 NCAA Tournament Field Factoids
As we await the start of the 2021 NCAA Division III men's and women's championship tournament, let's take a look at the tournament field.
PART 1 - THE PARTICIPANTS
Who's Back from the Previous (2019) Tournament
MEN: 31 of previous year's 64 participants (thirteen Sweet 16 teams, five Elite 8 teams, all Final Four teams)
WOMEN: 29 of previous year's 64 participants (eleven Sweet 16 teams, six Elite 8 teams, all Final Four teams)
First Ever Tournament Appearance
MEN (6): Concordia (Texas), Mount St. Vincent, North Central (Ill.), Rosemont, Trine, Washington College (all by AQ berth)
WOMEN (11): Beloit, Bryn Athyn, Chatham, Covenant, Fontbonne, Gordon, Penn State-Harrisburg, UW-Superior (by AQ berth) and Franklin and Marshall, Trine, Wesleyan (by Pool C at-large berth)
D3Soccer.com Top 25 Ranked Teams Not Participating
MEN (0): --
WOMEN (0): --
Undefeated Teams in the Tournament
MEN (0): --
WOMEN (4): Loras (18-0-1), Christopher Newport (16-0-1), Scranton (16-0-1), TCNJ (16-0-2)
Previous Champions Participating
MEN (11): Messiah 11x (2000-02-04-05-06-08-09-10-12-13-17), Tufts 4x (2014-16-18-19), Babson 3x (1975-79-80), Ohio Wesleyan 2x (1998, 2011), Rowan 2x (1981-90), Amherst (2015), Middlebury (2007), Trinity (Tx.) (2003), St. Lawrence (1999), Kean (1996), Bethany (1994)
WOMEN (8): Messiah 6x (2005-08-09-11-12-19), TCNJ 3x (1993-94, 2000), Wheaton (Ill.) 3x (2004-06-07), William Smith 2x (1998, 2013), Ithaca 2x (1990-91), Washington U. (2016), Lynchburg (2014), Hardin-Simmons (2010)
Most Tournament Appearances, incl. this year (2021 participants only)
MEN (out of 47 total championships): 42 - Ohio Wesleyan | 31 - Messiah | 29 - Rowan | 27 - Babson | 24 - Trinity (Tx.), Washington U. | 23 - St. Lawrence | 20 - Bethany, Cortland St., Montclair St., Rochester
WOMEN (out of 35 total championships): 31 - William Smith | 30 - TCNJ | 28 - Ithaca | 26 - Trinity (Texas) | 23 - Wheaton (Ill.) | 21 - Messiah | 20 - Chicago, Hardin-Simmons, Lynchburg, Scranton, Washington U.
Most Consecutive Tournament Appearances, incl. this year (2021 participants only)
MEN: 19 ('02-'21) - Trinity (Tx.) | 15 ('06-'21) - Amherst | 8 ('13-'21) - Franklin & Marshall, Kenyon | 7 ('12-'21) - Calvin, Chicago, Tufts | 6 ('13-'21) - Washington & Lee
WOMEN: 21 ('00-'21) - Messiah | 18 ('03-'21) - Hardin-Simmons | 16 ('05-'21) - Johns Hopkins | 15 ('06-'21) - Washington U. | 14 ('07-'21) - William Smith | 12 ('09-'21) - Trinity (Tx.) | 10 ('11-'21) - Centre | 8 ('13-'21) - Chicago | 6 ('15-'21) - Stevens
Most Consecutive Years Advancing to Sectionals (Sweet 16) (2021 participants only)
MEN: 10 ('10-'19) - Amherst | 6 ('14-'19) - Tufts | 5 ('15-'19) - Calvin | 4 ('16-'19) - Messiah
WOMEN: 16 ('04-'19) - Messiah | 5 ('15-'21) - Washington U., William Smith | 3 ('17-'21) - Wheaton (Ill.)
Most Years Since Previous Tournament Appearance
MEN: 15 yrs. (2006) - Bethany | 12 yrs. (2009) - Denison | 9 yrs. (2012) - Webster | 8 yrs. (2013) - Eastern Connecticut, SUNY Poly | 7 yrs. (2014) - Covenant | 6 yrs. (2015) - Mount Aloysius, St. Olaf
WOMEN: 13 yrs. (2008) - Rhodes | 6 yrs. (2015) - Calvin, UW-Oshkosh | 5 yrs. (2016) - Hanover, MSOE, Nazareth
Most Tournament Wins All-Time (2021 participants only)
MEN: 87 - Messiah | 66 - Ohio Wesleyan | 45 - Trinity (Tx.) | 34 - Calvin, Rowan | 33 - Amherst | 30 - Babson | 29 - St. Lawrence, Washington U. | 27 - Tufts
WOMEN: 70 - Messiah | 65 - TCNJ | 61 - William Smith | 56 - Wheaton (Ill.) | 42 - Washington U. | 41 - Ithaca | 32 - Trinity (Tx.) | 31 - Amherst | 30 - Chicago, Lynchburg
Highest Tournament Winning Percentage All-Time, min. 10 games (2021 participants only)
MEN: .829 - Messiah (87-16-5) | .824 - Tufts (27-5-2) | .688 - Loras (26-11-3) | .674 - Trinity (Texas) (45-21-3) | .670 - Amherst (33-14-9) | .667 - Oneonta State (15-7-2) | .644 - Ohio Wesleyan (66-35-7) | .633 - Otterbein (9-5-1) | .627 - Calvin (34-19-6) | .621 - Redlands (16-9-4)
WOMEN: .843 - Messiah (70-9-10) | .766 - Wheaton (Ill.) (56-15-6) | .738 - Carnegie Mellon (13-3-5) | .716 - TCNJ (65-24-6) | .710 - William Smith (61-22-10) | .705 - Washington U. (42-15-9) | .684 - Amherst (31-13-5) | .667 - Pomona-Pitzer (7-3-2) | .654 - Ithaca (41-20-7) | .653 - Middlebury (23-12-1)
Most Tournament Appearances Without a Tournament Win (a.k.a. Most Desperate for First Tournament Win)
MEN: 6 - Baruch (0-6-0) | 5 - Webster (0-5-0) | 3 - Pacific Lutheran (0-3-0), SUNY Poly (0-3-0) | 2 - Hanover (0-2-0)
WOMEN: 11 - Penn State-Behrend (0-11-0) | 9 - Cabrini (0-9-0) | 7 - Lesley (0-7-0), Westfield St. (0-7-1) | 4 - UW-Oshkosh (0-4-1) | 3 - Johnson & Wales (0-3-0) | 2 - Dominican (0-2-0), MSOE (0-2-0)
Longest Active Winning Streaks Entering the Tournament (tournament participants only)
MEN: 13 - St. Joseph's (Me.) | 11 - UW-Superior | 9 - Lynchburg, Mount St. Vincent | 8 - Cabrini, Carleton, PSU-Harrisburg | 6 - Knox, Loras, Redlands, Trine
WOMEN: 15 - Loras, PSU-Behrend, William Smith | 12 - Messiah | 10 - Misericordia, Westfield St. | 9 - Dominican, UW-Oshkosh | 8 - Lesley, Penn State-Harrisburg
Longest Active Unbeaten Streaks Entering the Tournament (tournament participants only)
MEN: 14 - Covenant, Nazareth, PSU-Harrisburg | 13 - St. Joseph's (Me.) | 11 - John Carroll, UW-Superior | 9 - Lynchburg, Mount St. Vincent, Cabrini | 8 - Carleton
WOMEN: 23 - Scranton | 21 - Loras | 18 - TCNJ | 17 - UW-Superior | 16 - Fontbonne, Johnson & Wales, William Smith | 15 - PSU-Behrend | 13 - Amherst, Centre
Highest 2021 Overall Winning Percentages (tournament participants only)
MEN: .925 - North Central (Ill.) (18-1-1) | .917 - Trinity (Tx.) (16-1-1) | .912 - PSU-Harrisburg (15-1-1) | .905 - Webster (18-1-2) | .895 - Messiah (16-1-2) | .895 - St. Joseph's (Me.) (16-1-2) | .882 - Mount St. Vincent (14-1-2) | .882 - Washington & Lee (14-1-2) | .875 - St. Olaf (17-2-1) | .868 - Cortland St. (16-2-1)
WOMEN: .974 - Loras (18-0-1) | .971 - Chris. Newport (16-0-1), Scranton (16-0-1) | .950 - PSU-Behrend (19-1-0) | .947 - Misericordia (18-1-0), Western Conn. (18-1-0) | .944 - TCNJ (16-0-2) | .929 - MIT (19-1-1) | .921 - McDaniel (17-1-1) | .917 - William Smith (16-1-1)
Lowest 2021 Overall Winning Percentages (tournament participants only)
MEN: .536 - Baruch (7-6-1) | .583 - Bethany (10-7-1) | .588 - New England Col. (9-6-2) | .625 - Trine (12-7-1) | .632 - Catholic (11-6-2), Mount Aloysius (10-5-4) | .639 - Centre (10-5-3) | .650 - Stevens (12-6-2) | .656 - New York Univ. (10-5-1) | .658 - Concordia (Texas) (10-4-5), St. Lawrence (12-6-1)
WOMEN: .553 - Wittenberg (10-8-1) | .579 - Stevens (9-6-4) | .600 - Wheaton (Ill.) (11-7-2) | .605 - Nazareth (10-6-3) | .611 - Beloit (8-4-6) | .632 - Cabrini (10-5-4) | .643 - John Jay (9-5-0) | .647 - Maine Maritime (11-6-0) | .656 - Connecticut College (9-4-3) | .676 - Carnegie Mellon (11-5-1)
Highest 2021 Strength of Schedule (SOS = 2/3 OWP + 1/3 OOWP) (tournament participants only)
MEN: .649 - Chicago | .641 - Chris. Newport | .638 - Amherst | .637 - Emory | .634 - Tufts | .633 - New York Univ. | .620 - Washington U. | .616 - Washington Col. | .608 - Franklin & Marshall | .607 - John Carroll
WOMEN: .658 - Washington U. | .655 - Brandeis | .650 - Emory | .640 - Stevens | .631 - Middlebury | .628 - Carnegie Mellon | .622 - Chicago | .621 - Wheaton (Ill.) | .612 - Misericordia | .609 - Va. Wesleyan
Lowest 2021 Strength of Schedule (SOS = 2/3 OWP + 1/3 OOWP) (tournament participants only)
MEN: .432 - Baruch | .445 - Bethany | .449 - Rosemont | .450 - New England Col. | .463 - Salem St., SUNY Poly | .472 - Nazareth | .480 - Mount Aloysius | .484 - Cabrini | .491 - UW-Superior
WOMEN: .431 - Lesley | .433 - Beloit | .443 - Westfield St. | .453 - Bryn Athyn | .461 - Maine Maritime | .465 - UW-Superior | .466 - Cabrini | .494 - PSU-Harrisburg | .497 - PSU-Behrend | .504 - John Jay
Highest 2021 Goals Per Game (tournament participants only)
MEN: 4.59 - UW-Superior | 3.59 - PSU-Harrisburg, Rosemont | 3.45 - Calvin | 3.38 - Webster | 3.28 - Trinity (Tx.) | 3.26 - Messiah | 3.24 - Washington & Lee | 3.17 - North Park | 3.11 - Kenyon
WOMEN: 4.11 - Chicago | 3.95 - Misericordia | 3.90 - Westfield St. | 3.78 - William Smith | 3.76 - Trinity (Tx.) | 3.65 - PSU-Behrend | 3.60 - MSOE | 3.29 - Amherst | 3.26 - Fontbonne | 3.17 - Hanover, Hardin-Simmons | 3.16 - Loras
Lowest 2021 Goals Against Average (tournament participants only)
MEN: 0.39 - Tufts, Middlebury, North Central (Ill.), Washington U. | 0.42 - Amherst | 0.45 - Messiah | 0.46 - PSU-Harrisburg | 0.48 - Babson | 0.52 - Pacific Lutheran | 0.53 - Calvin
WOMEN: 0.21 - McDaniel | 0.22 - TCNJ | 0.23 - Scranton | 0.25 - PSU-Behrend | 0.27 - Centre | 0.30 - Pacific Lutheran | 0.33 - Chris. Newport | 0.38 - MIT, Geneseo St., Pomona-Pitzer
Most Shutouts Posted in 2021 (tournament participants only)
MEN: 14 - Pacific Lutheran, North Central (Ill.), SUNY Poly | 12 - Calvin, Montclair St. | 11 - Washington U., Amherst, Middlebury, Tufts | 10 - PSU-Harrisburg
WOMEN: 16 - McDaniel, PSU-Behrend, MIT | 15 - TCNJ | 14 - Scranton, Centre, Messiah, Pacific Lutheran | 13 - Hardin-Simmons, William Smith, Franklin & Marshall
PART 2 - REPRESENTATION
Most Represented Conferences
MEN: 5 - Centennial, UAA | 4 - NESCAC | 3 - NJAC, NCAC | 2 - six conferences
WOMEN: 6 - UAA | 5 -NESCAC | 3 - Centennial, MIAA | 2 - seven conferences
Representation by Region
MEN: 9 - Region V | 8 - Regions VII, VIII | 7 - Regions I, IV | 6 - Regions III, VI | 5 - Region IX | 4 - Regions II, X
WOMEN: 9 - Region VIII | 8 - Region I | 7 - Regions V, VI, VII, X | 5 - Regions II, III, IV | 4 - Region X
Most Represented States
MEN: 9 - New York | 8 - Pennsylvania | 5 - Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio | 4 - New Jersey | 3 - Virginia
WOMEN: 10 - Pennsylvania | 7 - New York | 6 - Massachusetts | 5 - Wisconsin | 3 - Illinois, Ohio, Virginia
Schools Represented in Both Men's and Women's Tournaments (26)
Amherst, Cabrini, Calvin, Centre, Chicago, Chris. Newport, Connecticut Col., Covenant, Dominican, Emory, Franklin & Marshall, Gordon, Hanover, Johns Hopkins, Loras, Lynchburg, Messiah, Middlebury, Nazareth, Pacific Lutheran, PSU-Harrisburg, Stevens, Trine, Trinity (Tx.), UW-Superior, Washington U.
Comments or feedback for the author? Email Christan Shirk.
