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Full Version: My Proposal: NIT only takes Mid-Major Clubs
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Something I've thought about for a while, and I was wondering if this would interest the MAC fans or not. What if the NIT only took mid-major clubs (we'll use the conferences that participate in the Mid-Major Top 25: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Continent, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Sun Belt, West Coast). Most of these conferences are only going to get one bid. Even in the up year for the MAC is Miami well-positioned for an at-large bid.

Now, if the NIT would go back to its roots (remember that, for a long time, only the conference champion made the NCAA tournament, so the NIT was a legit big-time tournament taking on the second and third place clubs of major conferences) and took the next 40 best teams out of conferences only getting one or two bids, it could be very exciting.

On the other hand, many would be perceive this to be a minor league tournament and not particularly interesting?

So, I'm wondering, would this excite you or would you have the same level as the current NIT?
The NIT takes a lot of mediocre majors that are .500 overall and have losing confernce records. This years prime example Virginia. They were once ranked and now are a celler dweller in the ACC. Paring up a 20 plus MAC team against an undercheiving major gives the MAC a chance to show that they too have teams that can compete against a major program. In 1995 Ohio beat George Washington in the Nit and lost to Iowa in the second round. This was a strange paring since Ohio had played both earlier that season. The Nit had the same result in both those games as the regular season. An all Mid-Major NIT would be like the bracket buster, but without the crap games (emu vs youngstown state). We would see a lot of Toledo vs Valpo or Xavier vs Ball State. A Toledo vs Marquette matchup seems more exciting than Drake and Austin Peavy. The current NIT setup gives MAC teams a chance slay a giant while that giant is still licking its wounds from getting beat by UNC by 50pts in their conference tourney. The thought of another MAC team beating an always overated Virginia on tv is always fun.
The NIT would have absolutely no interest in this proposal. And that would be the end of that.
The NIT wants big name programs with lots of east coast alums to fill MSG. They reluctently take good mid-majors to fill out the field, but give them almost impossible road hurdles to get to NYC. They don't want SIU or Wichita or Kent State or Miami or Ball St. in the semis because they won't draw flies in NYC. They would rather have a mediocre ND or Mich. St., or a BE or ACC school.
There is no market for a national mid-major tourney because the teams are regional in a way the big six conference teams are not.
You find out quickly in the NIT that the quality of your team means nothing to the organizers. They seed based on their perception of who will draw the most interest. They make the path to the semis easiest for the 6-8 teams they want the most.
And you can't blame them for that. Attention is their goal, crowds and money the means. A Utah St. from last year will have a next to impossible chance of actually getting to NYC, no matter how good they are.
wont ever happen..
While the reasons for why this wouldn't fly have already been mentioned, why would we want to play in anything that reinforces the mid-major label. The MAC and others have to do it in Bracket Buster because it's the only way they can get some notice. Who cares if you are the best mid-major?
B - O - R - I - N - G
03-puke
WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT THAT?????

Why don't you go ahead and just make the mid-majors Divison I-AA in basketball, geez. The big schools would love it, they'd keep all the NCAA money.

This only makes official what several schools and writers are trying to do... a second tier of basketball in Divsion I.

HORRIBLE IDEA!!! 03-banghead

:mad:
WKU Topper Jeff Wrote:WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT THAT?????

Why don't you go ahead and just make the mid-majors Divison I-AA in basketball, geez. The big schools would love it, they'd keep all the NCAA money.

This only makes official what several schools and writers are trying to do... a second tier of basketball in Divsion I.

HORRIBLE IDEA!!! 03-banghead

:mad:
Ok, this sums it up. 0 for, 7 against. No one likes the idea.

Thanks for participating.
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