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Topic:  Decline of College Basketball?

Topic:  Decline of College Basketball?
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cbus cat fan
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  Message Not Read  Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/12/2018 6:53:32 PM 
First of in the interest of full disclosure; college football and college basketball are the two sports I follow the most. I have read about college basketball's declining interest in general and at the Convo in particular.

However, this really hit home when I went over to check something on ESPN today. I noticed that even though college football is over there still exists an icon of college football, but there is none for college basketball. You have to scroll down to some sort of miscellaneous index. I get that the NFL, NBA, NHL, college football and soccer icons would be there, but the fact that college basketball is lumped in a miscellaneous icon with auto racing, horse racing, cricket, CFL etc is a bit disconcerting.

I also get the fact that with college basketball's one and done rule, a lot of talent leaves early but it is still appealing to me. Perhaps one and done might explain the dwindling support in general and from the Ozone in particular. I honestly don't know. Even with Ohio State's marketing prowess and their big start including beating #1 Michigan State and playing Maryland on national TV, I was of the understanding that the game against the Terrapins was not a sellout. Is March Madness all that is left for college basketball's ratings, street cred and social media commentariat? Perhaps a lot of young people have many choices and college basketball is just losing it's social appeal. I am just throwing it out there, I honestly don't know.

Last Edited: 1/12/2018 6:59:06 PM by cbus cat fan

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Buckeye to Bobcat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/12/2018 8:48:33 PM 
Few Problems with College Basketball:

Pricing: At the P5 schools, it's getting absurd beyond absurd.
Scheduling: This is a nail in the coffin. How in the hell can football games be decided 5-10 out and yet with basketball we have to wait until September to announce a schedule? I get it, some P5's share venues that do concerts and other sports. But for the MAC, are you kidding me? This should literally be done by August 1. By not having schedules set in advance you compromise any chances of getting fans to set schedules.
Scheduling Part 2 The Flex Games: This to me has been another killer. Flexing games again, kills the demand for games. When you sit there and not sure of game time let alone GAME DATE it screws with everyone.
Lack of True Home and Homes: This is a serious problem. I love neutral site games, but when I watched the CBS Sports Classic this was a serious problem. Lot of empty seats. I mean seriously, why not rotate the Classic site to each of the home schools, give each school a significant block of tix for it but the home team gets majority? This isn't hard to do for an event like this. I mean the Philly Big 5 used to do double and triple headers and never worried about attendance. I hate to say it, but this needs fixed asap.
The 1 and Done Crap: Nuff-Said

There are other reasons but those are mine for why Basketball is hurting badly
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OU_Country
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/12/2018 11:18:07 PM 
My opinion: money. ESPN invests obscene amounts into college football, and the NFL, so that's what you see on their "news" website. Simple as that. I don't see a decline at all. Yeah, maybe in attendance, but that's an issue in many sports.
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Diamond Cat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 10:01:22 AM 
Kant's joint was pretty empty last night. Are they on break? If not, what the hell else is there to do on that campus? Maybe the kids go party on Akron's beautiful campus.
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OU_Country
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 10:25:33 AM 
Diamond Cat wrote:
Kant's joint was pretty empty last night. Are they on break? If not, what the hell else is there to do on that campus? Maybe the kids go party on Akron's beautiful campus.


Kids on break, yes. You are aware of what the weather was like last night, right?

Last Edited: 1/13/2018 10:25:52 AM by OU_Country

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doubledribble
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 10:28:32 AM 
Level 2 and Level 3 snow emegency in most of Ohio, especially in northeast Ohio, killed any chance of a decent crowd at Cant State last night.
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Diamond Cat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 11:02:13 AM 
I don't get that. I walked from Franklin Avenue to the Convo and never missed a home game. Level 2 doesn't mean you can't walk to an entertainment venue. Hell..I'm going to the Xavier Game today just to laugh at Xavier preppies. I could care less about the game but the food and beer are free.

I don't want to get in to a Trump caliber discussion. Just how I rolled. Now get off my lawn :)

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Alan Swank
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 11:26:37 AM 
Diamond Cat wrote:
I don't get that. I walked from Franklin Avenue to the Convo and never missed a home game. Level 2 doesn't mean you can't walk to an entertainment venue. Hell..I'm going to the Xavier Game today just to laugh at Xavier preppies. I could care less about the game but the food and beer are free.

I don't want to get in to a Trump caliber discussion. Just how I rolled. Now get off my lawn :)



Have you seen our last few home crowds with decent weather plus Friday night isn't college basketball night plus, drum roll please, you can stay home with "free food and beer" and watch it on TV.
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bigtillyoopsupsideurhead
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 11:38:15 AM 
Alan Swank wrote:
Diamond Cat wrote:
I don't get that. I walked from Franklin Avenue to the Convo and never missed a home game. Level 2 doesn't mean you can't walk to an entertainment venue. Hell..I'm going to the Xavier Game today just to laugh at Xavier preppies. I could care less about the game but the food and beer are free.

I don't want to get in to a Trump caliber discussion. Just how I rolled. Now get off my lawn :)



Have you seen our last few home crowds with decent weather plus Friday night isn't college basketball night plus, drum roll please, you can stay home with "free food and beer" and watch it on TV.


I am so tired of Friday Night college games. There are way too many on our schedule. That is definitely a factor in the declining crowds. Among other things.
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cbus cat fan
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 11:44:55 AM 
Everyone I am not talking about attendance during snowstorms. My main point is that college basketball attendance/prominence/relativity etc is a far cry from what it was when some of us were in Athens in the 80s and 90s. Just look at the cable TV landscape; let me point out again ESPN college basketball icon on it's main page is lumped in with "other" which means auto racing, horse racing, cricket and CFL icons. In other words, people who are trying to find out about the latest news from Pimilco or if the West Indies are beating the Bermudians in an international cricket friendly are lumped in with college basketball fans.

ESPN not only pours money into college football, but college basketball as well. Yet, the NHL and International Soccer attract more interest than does college basketball news. Very telling!

The news isn't much better for Fox Sports 1. Some ten years ago when the Murdochs were mulling over a network to compete against ESPN, college basketball figured prominently into their plans. The thinking was if they get the Big East contract they would be on their way. They got the contract and the revenue isn't nearly what they or anyone else surmised. It seems some of the college basketball games and the subsequent talking head programs are having a hard time competing against Forensic File reruns on Headline News and tales of woe and romance on the Hallmark Channel.

The other day I sat at the Skyline counter and heard some of the general conversation which centered on the college football national championship and English Premier League Soccer. Those doing the talking were millennials, the guy sitting next to me was a few years older than me (I am guessing closer to 60 than 50.) Apparently he was originally from Cincy and wanted to talk UC or Xavier basketball, but the millennials guys politely told him they really don't follow college basketball. "Different world than when I was their age," he chuckled. This coupled with my trying to find the college basketball icon on ESPN/s main page (it used to be there before it was demoted to the other icon) prompted me to start this discussion. My kids watch a little bit of every sport, but at their young age, I am not really sure how to gauge their real interest, again that's why I thought I would start this discussion. I am guessing younger people aren't as excited about college basketball as I was when I was their age, but I I really don't know so that's why I thought I would throw it out to you.

Last Edited: 1/13/2018 11:49:35 AM by cbus cat fan

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GraffZ06
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 12:39:52 PM 
My .02

One-and-done's have turned the elite programs into minor league NBA teams. They may be very talented, but they're all 18 and 19 year old kids. Gone are the days of seeing 21/22/23 year old men wearing Duke/Kentucky/Kansas jerseys. Makes it hard to learn to love OR hate these teams. Most times people just love or hate the tradition, or these days it's the head coach - but not so much the players themselves.

Combine that with the transfer rules (including grad transfers) and the NCAA has created wildly volatile and fluid rosters. It's almost impossible to be a fan of a group of players on a team and watch them grow/play together for multiple seasons anymore. There's the coaching carousel too. Plus conference realignment. Makes it hard to develop that rooting bond/interest with the team - because even if the name on the front of the jersey stays the same - the teams you're playing against and the names on the back of the jerseys are different virtually every year. If you aren't a die-hard fan of a team (like those of us on message boards) you start every fall saying "Who are these guys?" "We're playing who?". Nobody for kids to latch onto and hold their attention from year to year as they grow up and turn into season ticket holders.

Combine those two things and you have a much younger group of players, and much less chemistry between players due to lack of time together/new systems and coaches etc - and the level of play across the board in NCAA is way way WAY down. Like - hard to watch sometimes bad. Which means even less casual observers get drawn in.

I also think NCAA has expanded D-1 way too far. There's currently 351 D1 college basketball schools. In what world is Incarnate World, Sacred Heart, Longwood, Mississippi Valley St, Texas A&M Corpus Christi branch, South Carolina Upstate regional campus, Presbyterian, New Jersey Institute of Technology in the same stratosphere as Michigan St, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA, Louisville etc. I'm not naive. I know it's all about the $$$, but these are NOT D1 schools - and it's watering down the competition.

Not only is the NCAA expanding D1 way too far, causing the difference between the top and bottom to be so wide it's funny - but the gap between high majors and mid majors is widening. Again it's all about $$$. Mids are doing their best, but can't keep up with the Jones'. That's not the fault of the big boys, but it IS the fault of the NCAA for not even remotely trying to level the playing field. If they aren't going to - then why even bother playing in the same division? It's two different worlds (maybe three if you consider the low end). Might as well just split apart.

If you're a fan of a 2nd tier mid-major or even worse one of those 3rd tier low end D1 schools - is there any reason to get excited about the basketball season if A) You don't know all the players B) You don't know half the teams on your schedule C) You don't know the coach and D) You know you have literally 0 chance of winning against the "big boys"? Answer - you don't.

EXCEPT ---

March Madness. One magical month. And guess what? NCAA basketball gets front and center attention - even on sites like ESPN - during March Madness. Office brackets hum with discussions of whether 14 seed North Dakota State might just be a sleeper to watch. Everybody has a chance, and everybody is relevant, and every game matters. For one month. And therefore everybody cares. From networks to websites to office coolers to message boards to Johnny Casual Fan to iPhone zombie college student.

But the sad thing is. Now it's the ONLY thing that matters. November-February are essentially NFL pre-season football. Nobody cares. March, however, is NFL playoffs football. It's must-see TV. Even with younger teams and decreased level of play.

But you don't build loyal fans who buy season tickets year after year and attend games in Level 2 snow emergencies on Tuesday nights - when only one month a year matters, and 9/10 years your team doesn't even take part in the party.

It's why I say on here every year. Literally nothing matters except the MAC tournament. We could go 0-28 for all I care. Win the MAC tourney? Means you're playing in March. That means people care. That means people will watch/attend. That creates buzz. That means it's a successful season. Go 28-0 but lose in the MAC? Ho-hum. Nobody cares. Move onto next year.
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FearLeon
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 12:43:19 PM 
GraffZ06 wrote:
My .02
It's why I say on here every year. Literally nothing matters except the MAC tournament. We could go 0-28 for all I care. Win the MAC tourney? Means you're playing in March. That means people care. That means people will watch/attend. That creates buzz. That means it's a successful season. Go 28-0 but lose in the MAC? Ho-hum. Nobody cares. Move onto next year.


Bingo...nobody remembers Akron's great run under Dambrot. But everyone remembers Ohio beating Georgetown, Michigan, South Florida and taking UNC to OT in March. #RealityOfMACHoops


#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT

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Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 12:57:19 PM 
One thing to add here: the on-the-court product's declined pretty substantially over the last few years. If I recall correctly, there were some officiating changes last season designed to open up the game a bit more, but on the whole I think for various reasons college basketball's on-court product just isn't very strong right now.

The first few things I'd do to remedy that are pretty simple. First, move the three point line back. There's really no good reason that the college and NBA games should differ from one another there. A longer three point line would improve spacing and let perimeter players get into the paint more, and show off/further develop a wider range of skills. More space is a good thing.

Second, the college game is too physical and perimeter defenders are allowed to get away with much more than NBA players are. Combine that with the above, and the game becomes about who can make more contested threes.

Lastly, the one and done rule's hurt college basketball. The best programs lack continuity. The Kentucky's and Dukes of the world are basically integrating 5-7 new rotation players every single season. While I am opposed to requiring players to stay longer, and hate the NCAA, I think college basketball would be greatly improved if the NBA had a functioning minor league system and the best players, the guys who are guaranteed lottery picks, were able to skip college altogether and college programs focused their recruiting efforts on players who were likely 3-4 years away from a pro career.
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Alan Swank
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 2:41:49 PM 
According to the TV listing in today's Dispatch, there are 34 games that you can watch today starting at 11 am with the last one starting at 10. Could that be part of the problem? Also, no MAC games on that list of 34.
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greencat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 2:56:54 PM 
350 is too many D-1 teams. I agree. They need to make a dividing line, like football had D-1 and 1aa (aka FCS). Then SIU-Edwardsville can have a shot at playing a 1aa basketball championship against CSU-Bakersfield. These schools have no shot at an NCAA D-1 basketball title as it stands.

I know that won't make more students show up to the Convo, but it just seemed like a good time to mention the idea.

Last Edited: 1/13/2018 2:57:44 PM by greencat

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Alan Swank
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 3:51:09 PM 
greencat wrote:
350 is too many D-1 teams. I agree. They need to make a dividing line, like football had D-1 and 1aa (aka FCS). Then SIU-Edwardsville can have a shot at playing a 1aa basketball championship against CSU-Bakersfield. These schools have no shot at an NCAA D-1 basketball title as it stands.

I know that won't make more students show up to the Convo, but it just seemed like a good time to mention the idea.


Better pick a couple of different schools. SIU has an RPI of 218 and Bakersfield is at 182. We are at 214 unless you want to banish us to D 1 - AA.

Last Edited: 1/13/2018 3:51:32 PM by Alan Swank

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GraffZ06
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 3:52:15 PM 
Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:
Lastly, the one and done rule's hurt college basketball. The best programs lack continuity. The Kentucky's and Dukes of the world are basically integrating 5-7 new rotation players every single season. While I am opposed to requiring players to stay longer, and hate the NCAA, I think college basketball would be greatly improved if the NBA had a functioning minor league system and the best players, the guys who are guaranteed lottery picks, were able to skip college altogether and college programs focused their recruiting efforts on players who were likely 3-4 years away from a pro career.


Agree here, but I'd tweak it. I don't think you need a minor league system.

We live in a free capitalistic America (for now). You shouldn't be able to tell 18 year old kids that they CAN'T go earn money in the NBA. So - do away with this stupid one-and-done rule. Go back to allowing kids to jump straight from HS to the NBA. (Yes that means the NBA actually has to provide mentoring programs for these kids to teach them how to stay out of trouble and not blow all their new-found money or get into trouble as an 18/19 year old - the real reason the NBA favored making them go to college for a year so they could "grow up" a year and let the NBA off the hook).

But, for every LeBron James and Kevin Durant, or more recent examples guys like Anthony Davis or Marvin Bagley III - there are 20 guys who will declare and NOT be ready. They might not even be worthy of a first round pick.

So...make it so that if a player declares for the NBA draft and doesn't become a first round pick (aka not a guaranteed contract) - whether that's a 2nd round pick or not drafted at all - then they are allowed to reclassify as an amateur and open up recruiting to go to NCAA. If you're good enough to be a lottery pick at 18 - go play in the NBA, but there's only a handful of those every year. Everybody else come on down.

NBA Draft is in June. Open up a recruiting schedule from mid-June to mid-August to recruit those reclassifiers. Would it possibly delay other recruits? Yeah possibly - but the recruits don't have to wait until August to see if Kentucky really wants to offer them if they have an offer to Butler/Dayton etc already in hand. My guess is people would make a big deal about this, but we'd realistically only be talking about a dozen or so players each year.

Next, what you say is - if you go the NCAA route, instead of this crazy 1-and-done structure where there is ZERO continuity for anybody - go back to a minimum of 2 years in NCAA before you can be eligible to be drafted again. No different than the 3 year limit on NCAAF.

Finally, I tweak the transfer rules to go back to forcing a player to sit a year - INCLUDING grad transfers. Again, it's a free country. Don't like the coach/new coach/school/academic program - you're certainly free to change your mind. Player movement is inevitable. BUT you don't get to hop skip and jump wherever you want. You sit a year. That will bring more 3-5 year guys back into the fold from all the transfers. One year older. One year stronger. One year smarter = better basketball product on the floor. Grad transfers is the same thing. They "claim" (wink-wink-nudge-nudge) that's it's about academics. Certainly if a guy graduates in 4 years and still has eligibility left - and wants to pursue an advanced degree he should be able to do so. No problem with that. But want to play athletics while doing it? Fine - but sit out a year. The vast majority of graduate academics programs (supposedly the reason you are transferring) are two year programs anyway. Sit out that first year and focus on your studies. Second year - suit up. And force the "student-athlete" to actually attend classes and maintain a decent gpa during the first year of grad school too. No "specialized studies" masters degrees where Bowling 450 on Friday afternoons counts for your degree. My guess is you'd see less grad transfers this way. Means more 5th year guys at their original schools. Again more continuity, more talent, better product.

That would have a trickle down effect on all of college hoops. The 1-and-dones are all gone. Those few elite guys will just go straight to pros. The big boys can then go after the guys who declared but weren't lottery picks and those 5 star guys who didn't declare - and are guaranteed at least 2 years with them to actually BUILD a team. The mid majors and lower tier guys get significantly less roster turnover as well (less transfers) and the entire product level goes back up significantly.

You can do all this while allowing guys to go make their $ AND let the NCAA still get their $ too. Much like free market economics - it's not a zero sum game.

Last Edited: 1/13/2018 4:00:32 PM by GraffZ06

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BillyTheCat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 4:49:47 PM 
According to this board and the panel of experts, within 20 years college football and basketball will be extinct. Maybe we should get ahead of the curve and expand the stadium for our new soccer team and XBox team.
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GraffZ06
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 4:58:40 PM 
BillyTheCat wrote:
Maybe we should get ahead of the curve and expand the stadium for our new soccer team and XBox team.


Obviously your post was tongue in cheek, but - and I'll preface this with I'm the biggest soccer hater there is, I don't even think it's a sport but rather more like glorified cross-country - HOWEVER, based on number of participants in youth leagues (which turn into college athletes and fans) and eyeballs already in attendance at games and on TV, then expanding our soccer program probably isn't the worst idea in the world.

Last Edited: 1/13/2018 4:59:26 PM by GraffZ06

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mcbin
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 7:19:43 PM 
BillyTheCat wrote:
According to this board and the panel of experts, within 20 years college football and basketball will be extinct. Maybe we should get ahead of the curve and expand the stadium for our new soccer team and XBox team.

Don't forget the bass fishing team sailing in the Hocking!
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BillyTheCat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 8:14:39 PM 
mcbin wrote:
BillyTheCat wrote:
According to this board and the panel of experts, within 20 years college football and basketball will be extinct. Maybe we should get ahead of the curve and expand the stadium for our new soccer team and XBox team.

Don't forget the bass fishing team sailing in the Hocking!


They have a championship Archery team.
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cbus cat fan
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 8:14:55 PM 
Alan Swank wrote:
greencat wrote:
350 is too many D-1 teams. I agree. They need to make a dividing line, like football had D-1 and 1aa (aka FCS). Then SIU-Edwardsville can have a shot at playing a 1aa basketball championship against CSU-Bakersfield. These schools have no shot at an NCAA D-1 basketball title as it stands.

I know that won't make more students show up to the Convo, but it just seemed like a good time to mention the idea.


Better pick a couple of different schools. SIU has an RPI of 218 and Bakersfield is at 182. We are at 214 unless you want to banish us to D 1 - AA.



Wow never thought of like that, if we did relegate teams to Division I-AA or in soccer parlance second division; we could have a version of college basketball purgatory. Let's say of the 351 Division I basketball teams, the bottom 100 would be sent to Second Division or I-AA the follow season. Therefore, mid-major schools would never want to have more than one of their schools in basketball purgatory. It would really put a great deal of pressure on your teams to do well.

Imagine if year in and year out the MAC had two or three teams sent to Second Division or I-AA. There would probably be a great deal of pressure on that school to either improve, or move along to another conference. Each conference, especially mid-majors would have some serious nail biting going on as the season progressed.
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Mike Johnson
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 8:23:27 PM 
cbus cat fan wrote:
Alan Swank wrote:
greencat wrote:
350 is too many D-1 teams. I agree. They need to make a dividing line, like football had D-1 and 1aa (aka FCS). Then SIU-Edwardsville can have a shot at playing a 1aa basketball championship against CSU-Bakersfield. These schools have no shot at an NCAA D-1 basketball title as it stands.

I know that won't make more students show up to the Convo, but it just seemed like a good time to mention the idea.


Better pick a couple of different schools. SIU has an RPI of 218 and Bakersfield is at 182. We are at 214 unless you want to banish us to D 1 - AA.



Wow never thought of like that, if we did relegate teams to Division I-AA or in soccer parlance second division; we could have a version of college basketball purgatory. Let's say of the 351 Division I basketball teams, the bottom 100 would be sent to Second Division or I-AA the follow season. Therefore, mid-major schools would never want to have more than one of their schools in basketball purgatory. It would really put a great deal of pressure on your teams to do well.

Imagine if year in and year out the MAC had two or three teams sent to Second Division or I-AA. There would probably be a great deal of pressure on that school to either improve, or move along to another conference. Each conference, especially mid-majors would have some serious nail biting going on as the season progressed.


FYI...England's Premier League relegates the bottom 3 finshers at the end of each season and promotes the top 3 from the next highest division. Some teams have bounced back and forth.


http://www.facebook.com/mikejohnson.author

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GraffZ06
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/13/2018 10:38:35 PM 
In this hypothetical - I don't think you could base anything off of one season. Way too much noise to make a sound statistical judgement. Plus, coaches have to be willing to take "flyers" on guys in recruiting - otherwise you'd never find Gary Trent like jems. However, for every Trent there's an Ellis Dozier - and you can't expect any program to bat 1.000. No, I think it would make more sense to make it based on a 4 year or 6 year average. Give new guys a chance to recruit their guys - build a system and reap the rewards for a season or two before making a final judgement.

But yes, it would force some serious soul-searching for the bottom half of mid-major leagues because they'd fall squarely on that 1A vs 1AA bubble - and they probably SHOULD BE! Of which, certain years, our program would squarely land. However, statistically on average I think we'd be okay.

Of course I'd also base it on more than just winning percentage - but also things like RPI or Sagarin, attendance, facilities/amenities, coaching salaries, post-season record, tournament wins etc.

But lets face it - this hypothetical is never going to happen. It's a pipe dream. The reality is Western New Mexico Technical Institute of Gemology is more likely to be a D1 school in the future than this happening.



Back to the main topic of the thread, #threaddrift, I think some of the other areas I laid out are real issues and explanations for the lack of interest in NCAA basketball on the whole, especially at non-majors and specifically at OU. Making some of the other changes I described would actually help and might (emphasis on might) actually be considered for implementation.




Side note - I really miss seeing post players worth a squat in NCAA outside of the blue bloods. If you're 6'8/6'9 or taller with remotely any skills/athleticism you're immediately going to a major regardless of your actual basketball ability because their rosters of post players are getting drafted every year regardless of results. I mean look at freaking Harry Giles. Dude couldn't stay healthy. When he DID play he was awful and couldn't earn minutes to get off the bench. But, he's big - came into school with hype, and therefore has a high "ceiling" - which of course made him a first round NBA draft pick (after averaging 3 ppg at Duke). What that means is - all the "decent" HS bigs are picked over every year by the majors (instead of every 2/3 years etc) - which always leaves nothing but projects, flyers, guys who grow after signing, or guard-centered "small ball" for everyone else. I really think it's another reason for the decline in play (and a widening in the gap) between mids and majors. In today's NCAA Jason Terry would be playing for Ohio St or Cincinnati not OU. Gone are the days of teams who actually work and are patient to get a GOOD shot and play inside-out. Today we'd rather reduce the shot-clock, make sure the games are over in 90 minutes, and watch a bunch of kids jack up 25-30 3's. It's just not sound basketball. /endrant.

Last Edited: 1/13/2018 10:41:38 PM by GraffZ06

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Andrew Ruck
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  Message Not Read  RE: Decline of College Basketball?
   Posted: 1/15/2018 8:28:16 AM 
cbus cat fan wrote:
However, this really hit home when I went over to check something on ESPN today. I noticed that even though college football is over there still exists an icon of college football, but there is none for college basketball. You have to scroll down to some sort of miscellaneous index. I get that the NFL, NBA, NHL, college football and soccer icons would be there, but the fact that college basketball is lumped in a miscellaneous icon with auto racing, horse racing, cricket, CFL etc is a bit disconcerting.


Are we sure this isn't personalized somehow? The icons showing at ESPN for me go - MLB, NCAAM, NFL, NCAAF, Golf, NBA, ...

This is perfect for me, probably even in that order. But to your point, it has NCAAM on it.


Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

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