Another Expansion/Realignment Thread

[Buxcies]

I agree with most of VUGrad1314's post but I think some of the dynamics are changing with the Group of Five football conferences. It really feels like the Sun Belt has stabilized and found their footing as a conference with small but passionate fan bases. I think the AAC is going to need to find their footing after the recent upheaval of schools, before Sun Belt teams would want to join the conference (I am aware that a future AAC team just made the Final Four). SMU to the Pac-12 seems to have a lot of traction and Memphis will leave the conference at any chance they can get. Do schools want to leave the Sun Belt for the AAC without those 2? I'm not sure they do.

That being said, money talks and if the TV contracts are still substantially higher for the AAC than the Sun Belt than this is moot point.

[PretzelDawg]

The Big 10 isn't done picking off PAC 12 schools yet. Cal and Stanford will end up in the Big 10 along with Washington and Oregon. After that, it will be a free for all in the Big 12 deciding which other schools to add. After this, the Valley might be picking up chips from out west and in the east.

"chips" such as?

No idea...I like some of the teams that have been mentioned in this thread, but I don't think we really know how this plays out until the Big 10 and SEC jump again.

[BEARZ77]

For mids just a lot of rearranging chairs; not on the titanic, but certainly a dock bound house boat with a permanent view of the cruise lines leaving port.

[BCPanther]

For mids just a lot of rearranging chairs; not on the titanic, but certainly a dock bound house boat with a permanent view of the cruise lines leaving port.

Just have to make sure you're on the right boat that can at least see the back end of the luxury liners as they speed for the horizon.

[PretzelDawg]

For mids just a lot of rearranging chairs; not on the titanic, but certainly a dock bound house boat with a permanent view of the cruise lines leaving port.

Just have to make sure you're on the right boat that can at least see the back end of the luxury liners as they speed for the horizon.

I'm not sure it really matters. At some point, NCAA basketball will be like football. There will be the top 80-120 teams playing in one D-1 division and the other 200 schools playing in another D-1 division. We really are now, but think we need to come together for the NCAA tournament. I'm ready right now to just let the big dogs play in the NCAA tourney along with any mid-majors feeling uppity to just play in one tournament and then have the NIT for the mid-majors with no high majors in the field.

[TheDrake]

For mids just a lot of rearranging chairs; not on the titanic, but certainly a dock bound house boat with a permanent view of the cruise lines leaving port.

Just have to make sure you're on the right boat that can at least see the back end of the luxury liners as they speed for the horizon.

I'm not sure it really matters. At some point, NCAA basketball will be like football. There will be the top 80-120 teams playing in one D-1 division and the other 200 schools playing in another D-1 division. We really are now, but think we need to come together for the NCAA tournament. I'm ready right now to just let the big dogs play in the NCAA tourney along with any mid-majors feeling uppity to just play in one tournament and then have the NIT for the mid-majors with no high majors in the field.

The wording is ambiguous so I’m not entirely sure what you’re suggesting but it sounds like a strange take for someone who presumably cheers for a mid-major team.

[MissouriValleyUnite]

I'm not sure it really matters. At some point, NCAA basketball will be like football. There will be the top 80-120 teams playing in one D-1 division and the other 200 schools playing in another D-1 division. We really are now, but think we need to come together for the NCAA tournament. I'm ready right now to just let the big dogs play in the NCAA tourney along with any mid-majors feeling uppity to just play in one tournament and then have the NIT for the mid-majors with no high majors in the field.

The wording is ambiguous so I’m not entirely sure what you’re suggesting but it sounds like a strange take for someone who presumably cheers for a mid-major team.

And the Final Four just had 2 teams from mid-major conferences in it.

[Mikovio]

And the Valley has sent 2 representatives to the Final Four the last decade. Granted each time thereafter the school felt too big for their britches.

[TylerDurden]

For those of you who think the MVC needs to expand, why? What exactly do you think adding any of the schools mentioned in this thread does to benefit the conference?

[BEARZ77]

And the Valley has sent 2 representatives to the Final Four the last decade. Granted each time thereafter the school felt too big for their britches.

It's not about performance , it's about opportunity. The fact the Valley has had a pair of FF participants or that the FF had a pair of MM only underscores the problem of fewer opportunities for teams that have proven capable. As long as the major criteria is Q1 wins and there is no mechanism for standardizing schedules, it's a losing battle. And you can't standardize schedules in college basketball, so what's the answer. When a bad P5 team plays 15-20 Q1 games and half at home, and good MM plays 5-8 at best with 75% road or neutral, it's just