(03-11-2013 10:18 PM)Title Wrote: There just isn't enough viable programs to get to 14, unless of course that ACC blow-up happens earlier than expected.
Depends on how far the conference wants to get away from Catholicism, and whether or not any of the outlandish teams have merit. Outside of the basic 5 (which have been discussed enough), you have:
Gonzaga: Travel Problems
VCU: Fit
Richmond: Basketball
Siena: Not quite good enough
Detroit: Not good enough, no fan support
BYU?: Football (add for Gonzaga partner)
UConn: Football
Cincinnati: Football
Memphis: Football
Notre Dame: Only temporary + Football
Wichita State: A little of everything *homer inclusion
Maybe they just decided to go with VCU and Richmond + the Thamel 5. Or maybe decided to grab Gonzaga. Maybe you grab some football schools. Maybe ND gets a spot.
There are options, is all I'm saying. Are they unlikely? Yeah. Every team has problems. But outside of Butler and Xavier, you have:
Creighton: Travel + few NCAA wins
SLU: Virtually no tournament success in the last 50+ years
Dayton: Currently on a down swing + market duplication
So it isn't like other programs don't have there own problems.