(03-13-2018 09:38 PM)Mister Consistency Wrote: Eventually, it will be extremely difficult to get mid-majors and power schools to play one another except in postseason tournaments. I do fear we're moving toward a I-A/I-AA dichotomy in Olympic sports, where the FBS leagues plus the Big East, A10, and maybe the Missouri Valley (but they're a stretch) form the top division and leave everyone else behind to compete for a separate championship that doesn't give them nearly the revenue or national TV access.
I think this might be inevitable--the Georgetown athletic department is not the same type of business operation as the George Washington athletic department. Maybe The Powers That Be--on all sides--need to come to terms with that, and figure out how much welfare the lower half-to-three-fourths of Division I needs to keep the Tournament healthy and keep the lower half of the BCS conferences supplied with reasonable buy-games.
By "keep the tournament healthy" I mean provide the power conference teams with plausible contenders for those first-round games--the 64 team bracket is magic, and you do not let too much daylight shine on it. A bunch of teams you've never heard of, or only hear of once a year at tournament time, but with glittering records, one or two of which actually makes some noise, is the formula that has worked for March Madness over the last 30 years.
Not a separate championship which would provide the lower tier of Division I with zero business benefits, but a few more at-larges anyway, would preserve the illusion that the lower-tier leagues matter and that beating them in a 5-12 or 6-11 game means anything.
(03-14-2018 05:17 AM)Kittonhead Wrote: This is where being in a G5 puts you ahead of the game.
UT-Arlington realized it and got into the SBC.
Wichita St. realized it and joined the AAC.
Gonzaga sees the writing on the wall and is proposing to join the MWC.
Just being in a G5 doesn't get you squat. The Sun Belt hasn't gotten an at large bid in how many years? I don't see the Blue Raiders in my bracket. MAC has about as many at-large bids as BCS/NY6 games the last 10 years.
Gonzaga is exploring teaming up with UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State and to some extent Nevada and Boise State, which have the history (or recent success) which creates the donor base to try to keep up. But the Mountain WEst has been more of a one-bid league than a power conference since the last wave of realignment.