CSNbbs

The NCAA tournament is over at least for mid-majors. With only 4 at-large bids to the tournament mid majors are looking at a reduction in money received from the NCAA for next season.

Conference USA (1,236,120)
2003-2008 units=44
2004-2009 units=38

With Memphis only making a sweet 16 this season and the conference picking up only 3 units this season to replace 9 from 2003 this conference is looking at over 1 million dollars less for next season.

More disturbing for CUSA is the long term trend. If Memphis is going to drop back to a sweet 16 type program w/ coach cal leaving within 3 years CUSA will lose 4 million dollars. In 2004 this conference earned 11 units. In 2005 the conference earned 10 units. It would take CUSA two participants in the final four next season to replace that cash flow and I'm not seeing it.

Mountain West Conference (412,040)
2003-2008 units=20
2004-2009 units=18

It was a down year for the Mountain West in the tourney with 2 one and dones in the tourney. Fortunately, given that the conference has received 2 NCAA bids every year since its inception it should have no problem maintaining, perhaps even growing its revenue in the future if teams start making sweet 16 runs.

Missouri Valley Conference (206,020)
2003-2008 units=21
2004-2009 units=20

The MVC had a fairly solid regular season this year, the difference once again is only 1 bid for the conference. In 2006 this conference earned 8 units while in most seasons the average is 2-4. Given there is not really a sweet 16 program in this conference, the MVC will probably slide back to the 15-16 unit range in a few years.

Western Athletic Conference (206,020)
2003-2008 units=15
2004-2009 units=14

This conference needs to be concerned about facing an exodus of units over the next few seasons. At one time the WAC was a lock for 2 bids to the NCAAs now this is very possible a 1 and done conference in most years. This conference would lose 5 units in the next 2 years with 1 and done performances.

Horizon League (206,020)
2003-2008 units=16
2004-2009 units=15

2009 looks like a good year for the Horizon on bracket paper with Cleveland State to the second round and Butler also in. The problem though is that 2003 was even a better year with 4 units so the conference actually moved backwards.

Given that the conference does have a sweet 16 program in Butler and has averaged almost 3 units over the last 5 tourneys it should be able to maintain current unit levels.

Mid American Conference (206,020)
2003-2008 units=7
2004-2009 units=6

All the NCAA wins the MAC accumulated in the 90's and early 00's have now passed through the revenue stream. The good news is the MAC can only go up from this point and with talented new coaches in the conference like Orr and Groce the future looks bright to return to a multi-win, multi-bid conference.

West Coast Conference
2003-2008 units=16
2004-2009 units=16

As long as Gonzaga is a sweet 16 program the West Coast Conference is going to be considered a strong mid major conference that will in some years get 2 teams into the dance.

Sun Belt Conference 206,020
2003-2008 units=9
2004-2009 units=10

This is a mid major conference on the rise in both major sports. The traditional sweet 16 program for this conference is Western Kentucky and fortunes for this conference have risen and failed with them.

The Sun Belt is talking about dropping a few underperforming programs like Denver and New Orleans as its gradually becoming more of an all sport conference and this should help improve RPI.

Atlantic 10 Conference 412,040
2003-2008 units=27
2004-2009 units=29

In 2009, this conference placed 1 school in the sweet 16, 1 in the second round, and 1 in the 1st round. That was better than the performance for the A10 in 2003 the year that its replacing.

Traditionally, this has been the strongest non-BCS basketball conference but it was eclipsed by CUSA in the mid-2000's when that conference started placing 5-6 schools in the NCAAs every year. Over the last 5 tourneys though this conference has only averaged about 4 units so the gains of this season may be short lived. The last big A10 year was in 2004 with 10 units and that is probably not replaceable next year for a conference that hasn't placed a team in the final four since the mid 90s.

There was a net transfer of 1,854,180 dollars from non-BCS conferences to the hands of BCS conferences due to the results of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

KC, I just wanted to thank you for the tremendous information you gather on Bowl games, NCAA tournament, cash distrubution, etc. To me, it is the most valueable information on this site. I have found it to be very accurate. Thanks for the time and effort for gathering this information, and the very readable and organized way you present it.

So... they start by making sure that less mid-majors play in the tournament, and then they use their own decision as proof that the mid-majors don't need as much money.

I appreciate the time AKC has to do research. Perhaps some of it could be devoted to the payments mid major conferences got from the BCS Bowl series over the last 5 years.

Also, unless the MAC gets serious about basketball with tight schedule requirements, no coach who thinks he could do better will stick around this one bid league when some of those BCS schools come calling. Take a picture of those talented young coaches now.

(03-28-2009 11:31 AM)DICK Wrote: [ -> ]KC, I just wanted to thank you for the tremendous information you gather on Bowl games, NCAA tournament, cash distrubution, etc. To me, it is the most valueable information on this site. I have found it to be very accurate. Thanks for the time and effort for gathering this information, and the very readable and organized way you present it.

You're welcome.

I do it for the conference. The question to me is always not where things are but where they are going and thats why I try to break down the numbers and the trends.

Its hard to stay on top of the trends and I find posters on here behind the times often in analysis.

Drop the bottom feeders?

-Buffalo and Akron traditional football bottom feeders have won 2 out of the last 4 MAC Championships. Every school has beaten BCS competition in the last 4 years with the exception of EMU. Still to this day some think advantage could be gained by dropping "bottom feeders"

The truth is there is not much to be had the MAC doesn't so cuts wouldn't advantage...the MAC was rated ahead of CUSA all season long in the computer standings.

Weed Eater Bowls?

-The MAC is now playing Big Ten, Big East opponents in bowls w/ over 40,000 attendance. MAC with January bowls? Who would have ever dreamed that possible.

The MAC was the red headed step child of D1A college football that played in the 1 lowest level bowl. The new red headed step child is the Sun Belt Conference.

I can think of 7 or 8 bowls at least that are crappier than the MCB, GMAC, and International. The MAC has 3 mid-tier bowls. None of them are played at on-campus stadiums. All of them sold 40,000 tickets last season. The MAC has the best post season of any non-BCS conference.


I hate ranting on here but the time for complaining was 10 years ago and boy did I complain but now there isn't really a sense in my mind the MAC is getting screwed, we are screwing ourselves by not playing better, by not winning when the opportunity against a national power presents itself.

(03-28-2009 11:36 AM)uakronkid Wrote: [ -> ]So... they start by making sure that less mid-majors play in the tournament, and then they use their own decision as proof that the mid-majors don't need as much money.

Yep it sure looks like a conspiracy to me also. Look at the non BCS teams that played in the NIT:

1) George Mason who made it to the final 4 a few years back. Lost to PSU on the road in OT in the NIT.

2) Creighton: 26 wins and a program that made to the Sweet 16 at least twice this decade.

3) Davidson: didn't they make it to elite 8 last year or the year before? They have 26 wins and wind up in the NIT! Beat So Car on the road in the NIT

4) St. Mary's: another program that has advanced past the 1st round in prior NCAA tourneys. Had 26 wins this year and again in the NIT.

If a nonBCS team with 26 wins and a track record of performing well in the NCAA in past seasons can't get a bid this year; how will conferences like the MAC ever get 2 teams in the tourney?

The only solution I can see to this is expanding the NCAA to 128 teams and adding one more round. 20 of the top 65 teams in the RPI ratings didn't play in the NCAA this year, that's s a situation that demands a change.