2. Mid-Major Schools: These would be conferences (and selected schools) that are extremely competitive and which hope for at-large bids in good years. For these institutions, advancing to the Sweet 16 is like a national championship. This makes the recent achievements of the George Mason Patriots (2006) and Butler Bulldogs (2010) all the more remarkable, especially when said schools are typically seeded worse than their high-major counterparts (when they are selected at all, that is). More accurately labeled, this is the middle-third of Division I.


3. The Low-Major Schools: These are the annual one-bid conferences. There is little, if anything, that their members can do to alter that reality. Simply making the NCAA tournament is the goal, almost always via the automatic qualifier, with rare NCAA victories at this level standing out in "One Shining Moment" fashion. When a low-major such as the Davidson Wildcats (2008) or Cornell Big Red (2010) plays into the second weekend, it is rightfully a national story. Conveniently, these conferences comprise the lower-third of Division I.

Hard for me to say. We seem to be on the border between Mid and Low major. We occassionally (actually rarely) get 2 teams in. Western has made the Sweet 16. But we still seem a little closer to a low major right now.

(12-21-2010 04:54 PM)mjs Wrote:  2. Mid-Major Schools: These would be conferences (and selected schools) that are extremely competitive and which hope for at-large bids in good years. For these institutions, advancing to the Sweet 16 is like a national championship. This makes the recent achievements of the George Mason Patriots (2006) and Butler Bulldogs (2010) all the more remarkable, especially when said schools are typically seeded worse than their high-major counterparts (when they are selected at all, that is). More accurately labeled, this is the middle-third of Division I.


3. The Low-Major Schools: These are the annual one-bid conferences. There is little, if anything, that their members can do to alter that reality. Simply making the NCAA tournament is the goal, almost always via the automatic qualifier, with rare NCAA victories at this level standing out in "One Shining Moment" fashion. When a low-major such as the Davidson Wildcats (2008) or Cornell Big Red (2010) plays into the second weekend, it is rightfully a national story. Conveniently, these conferences comprise the lower-third of Division I.

Hard for me to say. We seem to be on the border between Mid and Low major. We occassionally (actually rarely) get 2 teams in. Western has made the Sweet 16. But we still seem a little closer to a low major right now.

I would classify the SBC as a low mid major conference right now. That can change from year to year, but for now, that's where I see us. Take Western out of the conference for the last ten years, and we'd be a low major for sure.

(12-21-2010 04:58 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  

(12-21-2010 04:54 PM)mjs Wrote:  2. Mid-Major Schools: These would be conferences (and selected schools) that are extremely competitive and which hope for at-large bids in good years. For these institutions, advancing to the Sweet 16 is like a national championship. This makes the recent achievements of the George Mason Patriots (2006) and Butler Bulldogs (2010) all the more remarkable, especially when said schools are typically seeded worse than their high-major counterparts (when they are selected at all, that is). More accurately labeled, this is the middle-third of Division I.


3. The Low-Major Schools: These are the annual one-bid conferences. There is little, if anything, that their members can do to alter that reality. Simply making the NCAA tournament is the goal, almost always via the automatic qualifier, with rare NCAA victories at this level standing out in "One Shining Moment" fashion. When a low-major such as the Davidson Wildcats (2008) or Cornell Big Red (2010) plays into the second weekend, it is rightfully a national story. Conveniently, these conferences comprise the lower-third of Division I.

Hard for me to say. We seem to be on the border between Mid and Low major. We occassionally (actually rarely) get 2 teams in. Western has made the Sweet 16. But we still seem a little closer to a low major right now.

I would classify the SBC as a low mid major conference right now. That can change from year to year, but for now, that's where I see us. Take Western out of the conference for the last ten years, and we'd be a low major for sure.

Take Western out, and we'd probably be about the level of the Gulf South, D-2.

(12-21-2010 06:00 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(12-21-2010 04:58 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  

(12-21-2010 04:54 PM)mjs Wrote:  2. Mid-Major Schools: These would be conferences (and selected schools) that are extremely competitive and which hope for at-large bids in good years. For these institutions, advancing to the Sweet 16 is like a national championship. This makes the recent achievements of the George Mason Patriots (2006) and Butler Bulldogs (2010) all the more remarkable, especially when said schools are typically seeded worse than their high-major counterparts (when they are selected at all, that is). More accurately labeled, this is the middle-third of Division I.


3. The Low-Major Schools: These are the annual one-bid conferences. There is little, if anything, that their members can do to alter that reality. Simply making the NCAA tournament is the goal, almost always via the automatic qualifier, with rare NCAA victories at this level standing out in "One Shining Moment" fashion. When a low-major such as the Davidson Wildcats (2008) or Cornell Big Red (2010) plays into the second weekend, it is rightfully a national story. Conveniently, these conferences comprise the lower-third of Division I.

Hard for me to say. We seem to be on the border between Mid and Low major. We occassionally (actually rarely) get 2 teams in. Western has made the Sweet 16. But we still seem a little closer to a low major right now.

I would classify the SBC as a low mid major conference right now. That can change from year to year, but for now, that's where I see us. Take Western out of the conference for the last ten years, and we'd be a low major for sure.

Take Western out, and we'd probably about the level of the Gulf South, D-2.

Ouch!

(12-21-2010 06:06 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  

(12-21-2010 06:00 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(12-21-2010 04:58 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  

(12-21-2010 04:54 PM)mjs Wrote:  2. Mid-Major Schools: These would be conferences (and selected schools) that are extremely competitive and which hope for at-large bids in good years. For these institutions, advancing to the Sweet 16 is like a national championship. This makes the recent achievements of the George Mason Patriots (2006) and Butler Bulldogs (2010) all the more remarkable, especially when said schools are typically seeded worse than their high-major counterparts (when they are selected at all, that is). More accurately labeled, this is the middle-third of Division I.


3. The Low-Major Schools: These are the annual one-bid conferences. There is little, if anything, that their members can do to alter that reality. Simply making the NCAA tournament is the goal, almost always via the automatic qualifier, with rare NCAA victories at this level standing out in "One Shining Moment" fashion. When a low-major such as the Davidson Wildcats (2008) or Cornell Big Red (2010) plays into the second weekend, it is rightfully a national story. Conveniently, these conferences comprise the lower-third of Division I.

Hard for me to say. We seem to be on the border between Mid and Low major. We occassionally (actually rarely) get 2 teams in. Western has made the Sweet 16. But we still seem a little closer to a low major right now.

I would classify the SBC as a low mid major conference right now. That can change from year to year, but for now, that's where I see us. Take Western out of the conference for the last ten years, and we'd be a low major for sure.

Take Western out, and we'd probably about the level of the Gulf South, D-2.

Ouch!

Maybe not that good. Didn't Harding beat us last year? Isn't Harding in the Gulf South?