The 2012 NCAA Championship fields are set in Division I, Division II, and Division III. All three defending team champions have earned the right to defend their 2011 title: DI's Brown, DII's Western Washington, and DIII's Williams.
Top DII seed Western Washington will be seeking a record seventh consecutive title, while DIII's Williams is also on the lead as they chase a eighth title, and their seventh in a row (and, for good measure, under their fourth different coach).
For DI, Cal and Virginia enter as the early favorites, along with USC, in the V8, but Cal and Big Ten contenders Michigan and Ohio State may have the edge across the board, with strong entries in all three of the events that make up the DI Championship: I Eights, II Eights, and I Fours.
DI Selections - Watch Selection Show
The DI Championship features sixteen teams, from five regions. Each team fields two eights and a four. The DI field was announced by heat, in the following order.
Heat #1
Virginia (South - ACC Champion/V8 winner)
Washington (West)
Harvard (New England - Ivy V8 winner)
Yale (New England)
Brown (New England)
Heat #2
Michigan (Central - Big Ten Champion/V8 winner)
Southern California (West)
Cornell (Mid Atlantic)
UCLA (West)
Michigan State (Central)
Heat #3
California (West - PAC-12 Champion/V8 winner)
Ohio State (Central)
Princeton(Mid Atlantic - Ivy Champion)
Wisconsin (Central)
Stanford (West)
Notre Dame (Central - BIG EAST Champion/V8 Winner)
By Region, the West and Central received the most bids (5 each), the South received the fewest, just top-seed Virginia. The New England region received three bids (and all three will race in the same heat), while the Mid Atlantic got two team bids for the first time in a number of years. By conference, the PAC-12 and Ivy League tied with five bids each, the Big Ten received four, and the ACC and BIG EAST got one bid each--and five conference champions were invited (there are 11 eligible D1 rowing conferences at present)
One early read on the favorites in the points race could come from a look at the top three seeds in the II Eight and Four events. In the II Eight, Cal, Michigan, and Ohio State will be the top seeds in their respective heats; in the heats for the Four, California, Virginia, and Ohio State got the top-seed nod.
DII Selections - Watch Selection Show
The DII Championship features four teams, from three regions. Each team fields one eight and a four. The four teams selected are the same as last year, but Humboldt State's V8 briefly held the #1 spot in the D2 polls this season and has one win and one loss against Western Washington.
DII also selects two At-Large eights, which race at the championships but are not eligible for the team title. Barry returns as an At-Large eight, while Central Oklahoma will be making its first appearance at the NCAAs.
Team Selections:
Humboldt State (West)
Mercyhurst (East)
Nova Southeastern (South)
Western Washington (West)
At Large Selections:
Barry (South)
Central Oklahoma(South)
DIII Selections - Watch Selection Show
The DIII Championship features six teams, selected thusly, each of which fields two eights. The field is largely the same this year, with Marietta, an At Large bid in 2011, moving up to take a full team bid this year.
DIII also selects two At-Large eights, which race at the championships but are not eligible for the team title. Coast Guard returns to the championships this year as an At-Large bid.
Team Selections:
Bates (Pool B/C)
Marietta (Pool B/C)
Trinity CT (Pool B/C)
Wellesley (Pool B/C)
William Smith (Pool B/C)
Williams (Pool A-Automatic Qualifier)
At Large Selections:
Coast Guard
Puget Sound
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