Think of how different the landscape is from the turn of the century. We just finished a playoff for college football, something unfathomable at the turn of the century as we cried each year when the BCS didn't provide the matchup we wanted.
We'd never or barely heard of Boise State, Butler, Gonzaga or Wichita State.
And now rivalries are dying, a victim of realignment as schools like Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska, Utah (!), West Virginia, TCU and Missouri are where? Spread out, overbloated (or seeking members for the Big 12) and confederated TV associations.
Amazing to see what's happened in 20 years.
how about the fact that LSU just won it's 3rd championship this century already. For where LSU was back then- that's remarkable.
VCU is a name I forgot to mention in the middle paragraph. They hadn't been heard of since they were left out of the Metro/Great Midwest merger (original C-USA ).
Liberty just said “hold my (insert whatever they drink instead of beer)”
(01-15-2020 01:37 PM)esayem Wrote: [ -> ]Liberty just said “hold my (insert whatever they drink instead of beer)”
Sugar free kool-aid
Butler hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1962.
11 years later, they had been to back-to-back national championship games.
North Dakota St was in Division II. Incredible.
The Centenary Gents and the Gold Dome in Shreveport were still D1.
The Mid-Continent had the following members:
- Youngstown
- Oakland
- Valparaiso
- IUPUI
- Chicago State
- Western Illinois
- UMKC
- Oral Roberts
- Southern Utah
Today, the same league rebranded to the Summit and has these members:
- Western Illinois
- St Thomas
- UND
- NDSU
- USD
- SDSU
- Omaha
- UMKC
- Oral Roberts
- Denver
Same league, completely different geography.
are there any schools that 20 years ago were D3 and now are D1?
(01-15-2020 01:39 PM)Garrettabc Wrote: [ -> ] (01-15-2020 01:37 PM)esayem Wrote: [ -> ]Liberty just said “hold my (insert whatever they drink instead of beer)”
Sugar free kool-aid
Why do Baptists never make love standing up? Because people might think they're dancing.
I repeat, Boise State was unheard of. 7 years late they were the next big thing with a huge bandwagon.
(01-15-2020 02:28 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: [ -> ]Butler hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1962.
11 years later, they had been to back-to-back national championship games.
Think of the 2011 Butler-UConn national championship game and the paths of those two schools since then. UConn was in the power conference Big East while Butler was the epitome of a midmajor Cinderella. However, by the end of 2012, the old Big East would get destroyed and Butler then joined the new Big East. Now, UConn is joining *Butler's* conference next season.
(01-15-2020 08:56 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote: [ -> ] (01-15-2020 02:28 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: [ -> ]Butler hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1962.
11 years later, they had been to back-to-back national championship games.
Think of the 2011 Butler-UConn national championship game and the paths of those two schools since then. UConn was in the power conference Big East while Butler was the epitome of a midmajor Cinderella. However, by the end of 2012, the old Big East would get destroyed and Butler then joined the new Big East. Now, UConn is joining *Butler's* conference next season.
Frank, you just had to remind us all of that 2011 Butler vs. UConn game. The ugliest national title tilt ever. Huskies won 53-41 after shooting a terrible 35 percent. But the Bulldogs shot a mere 19 percent from the field, making UConn's horrendous play seem acceptable. That game was more difficult to watch than it was for my high school buddies to watch the gangly then-18-year-old Bill Dazzle ask multiple young ladies — rejections each time, no less — to the senior prom.
^
I was in person for it. It was awful.
March 9th, 2000 is one of five occasions when I have cried as an adult.
Cincinnati basketball was #1 almost the whole year. The roster was stacked with 3 NBA players as well as all-time Bearcat great Steve Logan. We were the pundits' favorite pick to win the national title.
Then on March 9th, 2000, Kenyon Martin broke his leg three minutes into the first game of the conference tournament.
Kenyon was our irreplaceable player, averaging 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. He was unanimous national player of the year and despite his injury was still picked #1 in the NBA draft. As soon as he broke his leg, Bearcat fans knew our national title hopes were gone in smoke.
How about this.... Who would have thought that in 2000 that 20 years later, Joe Paterno would be viewed by a lot of people as something other than a Saint.
(01-14-2020 01:25 AM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ]And now rivalries are dying, a victim of realignment as schools like Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska, Utah (!), West Virginia, TCU and Missouri are where?
The rivalry issue is exaggerated, and not entirely that recent.
The Big 12 let the Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry die in the 1990s after OU said, "We don't want to play Nebraska every year; our real rival is Texas."
Utah still plays BYU almost every year, TCU still plays SMU, WVU could still play Pitt any year if both teams wanted to, and very very few people ever cared about any football "rivalries" that Rutgers, Maryland, or Missouri ever had. Well, maybe Rutgers-Princeton.
(01-15-2020 02:39 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: [ -> ]North Dakota St was in Division II. Incredible.
Not quite incredible -- NDSU won 5 national titles in D-II before moving to D-I FCS, and like their current run, won those titles with 3 different head coaches.
Who would have thought between the Big East and ACC in football, the ACC would have been the survivor. Make the CFP every year of it's existence and win two Championships with a team not named FSU.
(01-16-2020 10:44 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote: [ -> ]March 9th, 2000 is one of five occasions when I have cried as an adult.
Cincinnati basketball was #1 almost the whole year. The roster was stacked with 3 NBA players as well as all-time Bearcat great Steve Logan. We were the pundits' favorite pick to win the national title.
Then on March 9th, 2000, Kenyon Martin broke his leg three minutes into the first game of the conference tournament.
Kenyon was our irreplaceable player, averaging 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. He was unanimous national player of the year and despite his injury was still picked #1 in the NBA draft. As soon as he broke his leg, Bearcat fans knew our national title hopes were gone in smoke.
In 2000 if you would have told me UC would have played in the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl within the next decade I would have called you a liar.
In 2010 if you would have told me in a few years UC would be playing in a conference that was mostly schools we formerly played with in USA I would have punched you in the face.
UC fans have had a great 20 years, yet at times turbulent.
(01-16-2020 10:44 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote: [ -> ]March 9th, 2000 is one of five occasions when I have cried as an adult.
Cincinnati basketball was #1 almost the whole year. The roster was stacked with 3 NBA players as well as all-time Bearcat great Steve Logan. We were the pundits' favorite pick to win the national title.
Then on March 9th, 2000, Kenyon Martin broke his leg three minutes into the first game of the conference tournament.
Kenyon was our irreplaceable player, averaging 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. He was unanimous national player of the year and despite his injury was still picked #1 in the NBA draft. As soon as he broke his leg, Bearcat fans knew our national title hopes were gone in smoke.
My brother was a UC grad student at the time, living in the Clifton-Ludlow district. I was pumped about the tourney and then ... what a horrendous blow to Martin, the program and UC fans. I truly think Cincy could have won it all with Martin. Now we'll never know.
(01-15-2020 11:01 PM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ]^
I was in person for it. It was awful.
I initially read this as you being in person for Bill's rejection from the ladies in high school.
Also of note: who would have thought that a top 5 ranked Michigan would have lost to an FCS team most people hadn't heard of. Of course now that FCS team has upgraded and is fairly well known and at the very least respected in FBS circles.