(02-22-2012 12:31 PM)QSECOFR Wrote:  How is the present different in the past?

In the past, ALL big schools scheduled cupcakes. the big schools were able to set the price since if a little school wasn't happy with the price, there was always another school who would take the payday at the price offered.

Then, the world changed.

The NCAA changed the RPI formula and selection criteria such that, very few of the big schools wanted to play 250+ RPI teams. EVERYONE now wants to play the teams in the RPI 150 range. Well, demand went way up and the the supply stayed static. therefore, the price of cupcakes in the 150 range went way up in order to balance out supply and demand. The price for 250+ cupcakes stayed the same.

The bottom line is that it is far more expensive to "schedule right" today than it used to be. There is no valid comparison of how we used to do things versus what we do today.

On top of that the RPI 150 range teams are using their popularity and being more selective with who they play. Mike DeCourcy mentioned that they all want the ESPN games against teams like Duke. He also made some great points to Paul Dehner Jr. about how non-conference scheduling is not a level playing field and the selection committee should never tell a school to schedule better because maybe they can't. The selection committee's only response to teams that didn't make the field should be to win more games.