PACE recognizes Junior Varsity and Small School teams at the NSC. These teams will not compete in separate divisions.
The number of titles in the JV group or the Small School group will depend on the number of teams in that group:
- If there are at least 5 teams in a group, then the top three teams in that group will be awarded group titles.
- If there are 2 to 4 teams (inclusive) in a group, then the top team in that group will be awarded the group title.
- If there are fewer than 2 teams in a group, then no titles will be awarded in that group.
A JV team consists entirely of players in 10th grade or below.
A “small school” is a school with fewer than 700 students in 10th through 12th grades that is a public school and has a non-selective admission policy. Please note that non-selective is not the same as non-magnet. Eligible schools are schools from systems where every school is a specialized center and students may choose to attend any school.
A team can be eligible for both the JV and small school title.
JV and small school teams will still need to qualify for the NSC through the regular qualification process. If a small school or JV team does not qualify through the regular means, they can still apply for qualification through the wildcard process. The wildcard approval committee will consider JV and small school status.
FAQ
Q: Why is PACE awarding JV and small school titles?
A: PACE hopes to encourage more national tournament participation among small schools (especially those in rural areas) and underclassmen.
Q: We qualified two teams for the NSC. Neither of these teams were JV teams. Can I bring one varsity team and one JV team to the NSC?
A: Yes, the normal NSC qualification rules still apply. The team you send to the NSC does not need to include any of the same players you qualified with.
Q: Will JV tournaments be eligible for NSC affiliation?
A: PACE does not consider tournaments with fields exclusively aimed at novice and/or JV teams to be NSC qualifiers. However, we will consider wildcard bids from teams that have performed well at JV tournaments, and will take their JV status into account.