Realignment and the balance of power

by **matter_of_fact** » May 31st, 2013, 11:26 am

Past success is not an accurate predictor of future success but, with the realignment effective for the 2013-14 BB season, I thought it would be interesting to see which members of those re-aligned traditional “power” conferences and “high mid-major” conferences were in the 2013 NCAA basketball tournament:

AMERICAN ATHLETIC (4)
Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Temple

ATLANTIC 10 (3)
LaSalle, St. Louis, VCU

ATLANTIC COAST (7)
Duke, Miami (FL), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse

BIG 10 (7)
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Wisconsin

BIG 12 (5)
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

BIG EAST (5)
Butler, Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova

CONFERENCE USA (0)

MISSOURI VALLEY (1)
Wichita State

MOUNTAIN WEST (5)
Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV

PAC 12 (5)
Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, UCLA

SOUTHEASTERN (3)
Florida, Mississippi, Missouri

WEST COAST (3)
Gonzaga, Pacific, St. Mary’s

**Sponsor**

by **Aargh** » May 31st, 2013, 10:00 pm

The MWC has Hawaii as a FB-only school and has 11 teams for basketball.

Right now, the MWC appears reluctant to add a school without FB. 3 or 4 years ago, who would have thought that Butler would be an attractive get for a better conference than the Horizon.

The Shox getting an invite to the MWC is probably just a fantasy WSU fans enjoy thinking about. Continued success in the post-season could change that.

by **AndShock** » May 31st, 2013, 11:24 pm

The MWC only cares about getting teams in the tournament, not making runs in the tournament. Creighton would've been a good add had the Catholic 7 not picked them up.

by **rlh04d** » June 1st, 2013, 3:17 pm

AndShock wrote:The MWC only cares about getting teams in the tournament, not making runs in the tournament. Creighton would've been a good add had the Catholic 7 not picked them up.

The MWC is only CAPABLE of getting teams in the tournament rather than making runs. Another season or two of failing to make a run might make them more willing to look at non-football members.

However, I think Gonzaga would be the primary non-football school they would look at.

by **Mike** » June 3rd, 2013, 11:48 am

My views on the balance of power . . . . . the number of high majors for BB will go from 6 to 5 with the demise of the old Big East. It appears, as a poster suggested in another thread, that realignment may result in Conference USA losing its national relevancy. As a consequence of the break-up of the old Big East, there are now two new high mid-major conferences (Big East (new) and AAC). The MVC is at risk of going the way of Conference USA unless the conference can consistently get more than one NCAA bid moving forward.

by **KCfan** » June 3rd, 2013, 5:13 pm

The new Big East won't have football but will be a power league. At least 4 regular bids and as many as 6 this year certainly qualifies a league as a "power" in my opinion.

by **rlh04d** » June 3rd, 2013, 7:51 pm

KCfan wrote:The new Big East won't have football but will be a power league. At least 4 regular bids and as many as 6 this year certainly qualifies a league as a "power" in my opinion.

It remains to be seen how many bids they'll receive as a conference.

Thus far, they've received zero.

They probably will be a power league ... but they're not yet.

by **Redbird Recon** » June 4th, 2013, 12:45 pm

rlh04d wrote:
KCfan wrote:The new Big East won't have football but will be a power league. At least 4 regular bids and as many as 6 this year certainly qualifies a league as a "power" in my opinion.

It remains to be seen how many bids they'll receive as a conference.

Thus far, they've received zero.

They probably will be a power league ... but they're not yet.

Power leagues were built on football money. For a few years the OBE teams will still be stacked with players who signed up to play Louisville, UCONN and Syracuse. What will it look like when those recruits are gone?

by **C0|db|00ded** » June 4th, 2013, 12:58 pm

There used to be 6 basketball powers (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, Big East), now there are five with the Big Priest being the best of the mid-majors. In the coming years, the remaining 5 basketball powers will gain in marketability and separation while the non-powers will continue to fight for equality. The destruction of the Big East has in effect widened the wealth-gap between the haves and the have-nots.

T

... :cool:

by **rlh04d** » June 4th, 2013, 5:36 pm

Redbird Recon wrote:
rlh04d wrote:
KCfan wrote:The new Big East won't have football but will be a power league. At least 4 regular bids and as many as 6 this year certainly qualifies a league as a "power" in my opinion.

It remains to be seen how many bids they'll receive as a conference.

Thus far, they've received zero.

They probably will be a power league ... but they're not yet.

Power leagues were built on football money. For a few years the OBE teams will still be stacked with players who signed up to play Louisville, UCONN and Syracuse. What will it look like when those recruits are gone?

On the other hand, the majority of football money goes to football. Even the ACC's commissioner recently (if I remember correctly) stated that more than 75% of the conference's TV contract was from football.