(08-16-2019 12:33 PM)Mav Wrote:  

(08-16-2019 11:30 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  In basketball, by conference RPI in 2018-2019, the WAC was ranked #16 and the Summit #27 out of 32 conferences. The WAC won the head-to-head challenge with the Summit, 9-4. The WAC conference RPI ranking in 2017-2018 was #15 and in 2016-2017 was #17. So the conference has established in the past three seasons that it is about in the middle of the 32 conferences.

By Net ranking, NMSU was #40, UVU #90 and GCU #96 last season. The Summit did not have a school in the top 100. By RPI ranking, NMSU was # 43 and UVU #67. The Summit did not have a school in the top 100. Sure, the WAC has the benefit of having NMSU, but they also have the burden of Chicago State. Last season, Chicago State was ranked #353 in Net ranking, which was dead last in D1 college basketball.

Yes, they had a good year last year as a conference, while the Summit had a bad one. I don't think anyone can dispute that. Most of the time they're around the same level, and that's with the well-financed and well-supported FBS school the WAC gets.

Quote:Look at the upside of some of the programs in the WAC. There is nothing close to GCU in the Summit. GCU had a basketball budget of $5.3 million in 2017-2018. GCU averaged 7,170 fans per game in the 12th largest TV market in the country. Denver had the largest basketball expense budget in the Summit in 2017-2018 at $2.5 million. The only other school over $2 million in the Summit was Oral Roberts. Omaha had a basketball budget in 2017-2018 of $1.2 million.

Okay? Again, why would Denver want to compete with that? Their basketball program hasn't exactly been its strong suit, and GCU just came off of being a for-profit school. The city of Denver's not exactly known for its strong support of college teams, either.

Quote:CBU was the only school to beat NMSU in the WAC last season and they are only going to get better. They are the one school in the WAC that can keep up with GCU financially:

https://cbulancers.com/news/2019/7/9/gen...erway.aspx

"The APC will include a 10,800-square-foot weight room, the largest of the NCAA Division I non-football institutions in the state of California. The project will also include a dedicated nutrition space, a basketball practice court and a six-lane, 30-yard training area among other features." CBU has the advantage of being in the 2nd largest TV market in the country and in a market that is loaded with athletic talent.

Seattle is the school that is most like Denver in either conference. They had a $2.9 million basketball budget in 2017-2018. Both Denver and Seattle are highly rated academically, both are private, both have law schools. Seattle is in the #13 TV market in the country.

GCU, CBU and Seattle are private, western schools in big markets. Denver has the largest market in the Summit. They would be #5 in the WAC. Denver does not have anyone on their men's basketball roster from the west. No one from Colorado, California, Arizona, Washington. For a western school, that is ridiculous. Denver is not going to get into the WCC playing in the Summit. They need to recruit in the west and win in basketball. GCU, CBU and Seattle are all in a better position to get a bid an invite from the WCC, if one ever occurs. Denver has alumni chapters in Southern California, Phoenix and Seattle. The "Island of Misfit Toys" phrase really only applies to Chicago State and even Chicago has a alumni chapter for Denver.

If facilities meant wins Nebraska would have won a tournament game under Tim Miles, and markets don't matter at all at this level because neither conference will see any regular season games broadcast nationwide outside of ESPN3. You need a pre-built nationwide fanbase for markets to matter to you, like say, the Big Ten does. Otherwise market ratings are just meaningless numbers. I can guarantee that Washington State basketball gets more interest in the Seattle region than SU does, despite the campus being hundreds of miles away. I also wouldn't be surprised if a good portion of Seattle's basketball budget involved them having to fly down to the Mexican border for most of their conference away games.

Denver's bread and butter as an institution is being a prestigious pre-law and law school. They disproportionately serve the Northeast, which is why they've been able to have the lacrosse success they've had. The school itself generally doesn't look west for its student body, unlike the other schools in the area.

NMSU is a misfit because they're way too well-off and successful for their conference mates, and they really should be in the MWC, but politics are keeping them out. SU is a misfit because again, the WAC is a border-centric conference, and they're up by the wrong border. They should be WCC, but politics are keeping them out. UTRGV is basically on the Gulf Coast, stuck on a geographic island in the Central time zone. They'd be a better fit for the Southland, but the Southland's full, so they're stuck on an island. Again, a misfit. The WAC is still a conference of mismatched parts. There's more to it than Chicago State being a dumpster fire of an institution. I think there are the pieces for a cohesive conference here, GCU being a big one, but right now? It's not.

Quote:As for men's soccer, the WAC has received two bids in the last in 3 of the last 4 seasons to the NCAA tournament. In 2017, Seattle and Air Force both went to the tournament. In 2018, GCU and Air Force were both invited. In 2015, Seattle won the WAC and UVU got an at-large bid to the tournament. UNLV won the title in 2016. Denver has a good men's soccer team but they would face tougher competition in the WAC, which would make the WAC and Denver better.

Denver's a consistent top 25 team in soccer. They made the Sweet 16 in 2015 and the NCAA finals in 2016. They'll be fine wherever they go. Still, moving to a conference with steeper competition would be a bit of a dice roll. Right now they can make the NCAAs on an off year if Omaha doesn't field a good team either. They wouldn't get the same chance in the WAC.

I can guarantee that Washington State basketball gets more interest in the Seattle region than SU does, despite the campus being hundreds of miles away.

This isn't true at all. WSU basketball hasn't had much of a following in Seattle since Tony Bennet left to take over Virginia and even still it wasn't much hype.