What is your definition of Mid Major?

[mvfcfan]

Anyone in a power 5 conference is clearly not a mid major, but what about teams from the Big East and the American Athletic?

It's hard for me to say with a straight face that Butler is not a mid major, and even a radio guy in Indianapolis said after they lost their coach to a power 5 team (Ohio State) that "That's life as a mid-major." I would also highly doubt that a Kansas fan would say that they think Wichita State is at the same level as them now that they are in the American Athletic.

Quite frankly I view the AAC as below the Big East and I view the Big East as a really good basketball conference, but they are by no means "Power 5".

I personally view teams from both leagues (B.E. and AAC) as "mid-majors". The only difference between them and us is that they have a lot of money or are very good at basketball (or both); and in both cases they have pretty good TV contracts.

Kind of interested to hear everyone else's thoughts on this too.

[Dean Wormer]

For starters, there really is no such thing as defined mid-major. The term is something that media and members of the P5 conferences started using as a term to differentiate them from the rest of us. The NCAA does not have a classification for mid-major, therefore, it shouldn't be recognized as legitimate.

For me, if you want to draw a line, I would say it is anything below a P5 conference, since that is where the line will be drawn if the P5 ever get to split themselves from the rest of D-1. Of course, even with that line, it can be fuzzy..is Northwestern really a major, or higher up the pecking order than Gonzaga or even Wichita of late?

I wish the mid-major tag would go away, and certainly not be used by our members...it only helps solidify the line between the P5 and the rest. Unless you favor a FBS/FCS split for baskteball, it has no purpose.

[Rambler63]

I would say a large part of the calculation is the budget. In 2015-16, Marquette-- in the Big East-- had the 10th highest men's basketball budget in Division 1 at $11.3 million. Providence, Creighton, and Gonzaga were also in the top 50. The highest budget from the A-10 was St. Louis at $6.4 million, which is actually higher than a lot of SEC and Pac-12 teams.

WSU's budget in 2015-16 was $6.9 million, just a bit higher than Iowa State, Notre Dame, Kansas State, Florida, and University of Washington. And WSU's recent on-court success is comparable or better than those teams as well.

[IWokeUpLikeThis]

Everyone not named:
ACC
Big East
Big Ten
BXII
PAC
SEC
American
Atlantic 10
Mountain West
Gonzaga

The line between 'POWER' and 'MAJOR' is drawn between the SEC and American.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

The problem is trying to pigeon hole every team into just three categories. It really needs to be at least four categories: high major, major, mid-major, low major. Teams like butler aren't a high major but they aren't a mid-major either. They're in between. They are a major program but their program is not on the level of high majors, despite recent success. Also, teams like Georgia Tech aren't high major programs but get lumped into that category based on conference affiliation when they should be lumped into the in between category with the butler's and wichita state's. There might need to be a fifth category in between mid-major and low major, as well.

[TheAsianSensation]

To me conferences should get the mid-major labels, not individual programs. Once you start separating Gonzaga from the rest of the WCC, you create an impossible-to-enforce line of how to define mid-majors. If Gonzaga isn't, what about St Mary's. If not St Mary's, why not UNI? If not UNI, why not Middle Tennessee. If not MT, why not New Mexico St? It gets dicey quick.

The Power 6:
ACC
$EC
B1G
Big 12
Pac-12
Big East

These 6 belong in their own tier. If you don't accept the Big East in this tier.....don't know what to tell you anymore. They're in here, you gotta accept it.

Upper-majors:
'Murican
A-10
MWC

'Murican isn't to the level of the top 6 in terms of money and revenue, but obviously too many good programs to keep down. Mountain West is similar in money to the AAC, and has similar expectations minus the national championship contenders. The past couple years have been harmful though, and they can lose this position if they don't rally soon. A-10 is getting close to losing this status too, especially if they lose Dayton and VCU, but they're expecting 3-4 bids every year so that keeps them here.

Mid-majors:
WCC
MVC
Colonial

These 3 conferences are pretty much alike, minus the Gonzaga thing.

I don't think anyone else is a mid major anymore. They're low majors, with different tiers within themselves:

Tier 1 (conferences that expect to make noise every tournament regardless of who makes it, and conferences who don't dip below 20 in the CRPI often): Horizon, Ivy, CUSA, MAAC

Tier 2 (conferences with solid teams, but who occasionally send duds to the tourney and occasionally have trouble staying out of the 20s in the CRPI on a down year): Summit, Fun Belt, SoCon, Big West, MAC

Tier 3 (conferences who have one or two programs carrying the rest of their carcass around): WAC, OVC

Tier 4 (mostly rubbish conferences): AEast, Patriot, A-Sun
Tier 5 (rubbish conferences): Southland, MEAC, Northeast, Big Sky, Big South
Tier SWAC: SWAC

[C0|db|00ded]

The Big Pee can't be a power conference... they don't have football.

The American is part of the Power 6. Don't believe me? We have helmet stickers to prove it. Seriously though, the American put more players in the NFL draft than the B12 this year... that isn't going over well with the establishment.

Wichita State is the red-headed step-child but appreciates the scheduling upgrade. The Big Pee might be slightly more strong on average from top to bottom in basketball, but they have no brand names except Villanova and Georgetown - Georgetown being lost in the wilderness. With the AAC having Cincy, UConn, Memphis, Wichita State, Temple, and SMU... we're looking good in the branding department. The Big Pee is mostly filled with the dregs of the old Big East as well as some respectable mid-majors in Creighton, Butler, and Xavier. Now that we've strengthened their basketball product, the American won't be giving anything up to the Big Pee in at-large bids. Expect the AAC to pull home at least 4 this year.

On a side note: It's interesting how we've been treated in the AAC. I didn't realize how big our brand had become. They've really made a big deal out of Wichita State joining the conference... a conference with multiple national championship winners. While we hold our own on the forums, we get hammered too. You'd think someone like myself would feel uncomfortable having smack laid down on my school with authority but you'd be wrong. It feels good.


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[BEARZ77]

Sorry but the AAC isn't an equal to the Big East in basketball, and the little benefit it gets with it's subgrade football will disappear when the Football schools bolt with the first chance any of them gets to join a power 5. It was a good and timely move for WSU, but has some real risk with the football schools chomping to leave. Creighton was able to leverage a much safer and better route.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

That's why I said couple posts ago you can't go by conference, although some disagree. Wsu is a major program. Connecticut is a major program. cincy is too. In the AAC Duke is a high major but Georgia tech is a major not a high major. They need to add in another category. High major, major, mid-range, low major.

[Dean Wormer]

That's why I said couple posts ago you can't go by conference, although some disagree. Wsu is a major program. Connecticut is a major program. cincy is too. In the AAC Duke is a high major but Georgia tech is a major not a high major. They need to add in another category. High major, major, mid-range, low major.

More categories? Please.... How about these categories, Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3?

20 years ago, we didn't have this silly term. 20 years ago, Illinois State would have been a lock with the record they had this year, Murray would have been a lock with what they did a few years back and so on. I don't think it is a coincidence that the number of bids from so called mid-majors has decreased as the use of this term has increased. The A-10 doesn't allow their coaches to participate in these types of polls, therefore, their image rises. If Elgin had a sack, he would forbid any of our coaches from voting in those polls, or even uttering the word.

As you illustrated, there is no clear definition and adding more labels will not eliminate that.