(04-29-2019 02:42 PM)Monarchblue Wrote: 1. It is the commissioner's job to lead the members in the right direction. The requirement of holding the men's and women's tournaments in the same location at the same time is a terrible idea that inhibits good locations from making a bid and should be at the top of the commissioner's list of things to change.
Presumably there's a reason that the league administration wants this; CUSA has used the two-site, one-city setup since 2010. Personally I don't get it, but that doesn't mean it's not to be gotten. If she was insisting on the status quo in the face of overwhelming or unanimous opposition without a good reason, then that's a major concern.
Quote:2. The tournament situation at the football practice field was not a gamble that didn't pay off. It was an obvious bad decision, that never had a chance of "paying off". Bad decisions do not equal bad luck.
It was a high-risk attempt to do something different and it hasn't worked out the way we wanted it to. I gave it a chance but was unimpressed and can't imagine that changing in the next two years. But at the same time, I highly doubt that they knew it was a bad idea but decided to do it for funsies. They were trying something different. It almost certainly will be remembered as a failure barring anything miraculous. But they're professional administrators who work at the pleasure of the conference's school presidents, they're not going to make knowingly stupid decisions just because.
Quote:The basketball league has done enough in recent years to have improved its perception. Prior to this year, CUSA had 3 consecutive 1st round upsets.
That's enough to make people think of CUSA as an incubator of NCAA upsets, but it's not enough to elevate them to the level of the A-10 or AAC. When you're losing a large chunk of your OOC games while getting few quality wins, that speaks to the quality, of lack thereof, of the league.
Quote:Let's face it, many people, including "experts" don't pay any attention to leagues like ours until March. If you are playing in the Booplex with 12 people in attendance when they tune in, that affects perception.
At this level, a lot of conference-tournament games play out in front of sparse crowds unless they involve the home team and/or a team that travels well. I wish the title game got a far better butts-in-seats crowd, but short of playing it at the site of the higher seed, I don't see how that happens no matter where you play the tournament. And as we've seen with the football title game, even that's not always enough.
Quote:To further explore the point, do you think that if we were playing to a sold out MSG in our conference tournament that the league's perception would not get a huge bump from that? Of course it would.
If CUSA could attract MSG as a tournament host, its perception would already be beyond question.
Quote:By the same token, finding a way to present the league's product in a better light, with full stadiums that look like places where college basketball should be played would, to a smaller degree, improve the overall perception of the league. Winning games in November leaves an impression that is not nearly as lasting as putting on a good show when the eyes are actually on the league.
Full stadiums are the responsibility of the schools, not the conference. Everyone should either increase their attendance or play in smaller arenas so their crowds look better. Meanwhile, being consistently better in all metrics helps reputation, but you're underestimating what a strong start can do to build credibility in football and basketball. If March was all that mattered, CUSA would already be considered an upper-mid-major. It takes more than a string of first-weekend upsets to get there.
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Jones gets a two year extension
