Big Sky Tournament headed to Reno

[GrizLA]

It takes the event away from fans and puts in a sterile environment while simultaneously cheapening the regular season. It's a penny-pinching move that hurts fans so there's not much leeway for benefit of the doubt.

If the league absolutely must have more notice for travel here are 3 options that I'd prefer:
1) The right to host goes to the regular season champs of the previous year. Keeps regular season meaningful but allows travel time. Makes it more likely that a host loses early but would be fine most years.
2) Conference schedule starts as a round-robin, winner of the 11 game round-robin hosts tournament that year. This year we played out 11th BSC game Feb 7, tourney started March 12. Less travel time with this option but more likely that the best team hosts. Would solve some of this issues with the current unbalanced schedule but it would be weird to reward teams in early February.
3) Just give the bid to the regular season champ. Ensures 18 meaningful games and rewards the best team. No additional costs for teams and ensures good seeding in the NCAA. Obviously it's nice to have the season end with a tournament where a team can get hot and win it but what good is that tournament if no fans go?

Great post dp!

The excitement of the regular season is all but lost on me. Reno is such a 3rd rate town. Fitting for a 3rd rate conference, I guess. Everything about this is so horribly wrong, it would be laughable if it wasn't going to be so sad. Looking back, the best conference tournaments were probably when 3rd & 4th seeds got to host Round 1 of the tourney, and the winners got to meet 1st, and 2nd seeds @ the Host's site. Three teams traveling stopped the schools bitching about lack of accommodations, and travel logistics were only "burdened" on 3 schools. Foolertons grandiose expansion foibles was the undoing of what was certainly the best part of Big Sky basketball. Reno of all places :roll: I've been there a half dozen times over the last 3 years. It is truly nasty, and depressing.

Reno beats anything and everything in "Deseret"!

Actually, Reno would have been in Deseret.

Only physically. Good sense and logic prevailed.

 

[Inland NW Griz]

Haven't heard many zag fans bitching about vegas. I assume it's because they expect to win. I have a bunch of friends that travel. Reno is a little vegas, don't see the problem. If I fly in and UM loses, I not stuck wwondering what to do

 

[Potomac Griz]

If multiple bids were given to the BSC then this would be a different story. It's bad enough when the BCS champion gets pounded in the first round but it's only a matter of time until a lower seed gets hot for 3 days and takes the tournament championship and really gets drilled in the NCAA tournament. The best regular season team should have the opportunity to host. Inviting all 12 teams is a joke as well, really do we need two 7 win teams (ISU, MSU) attending. Or even better in 2013 SUU was 2-27, this isn't a city recreation league where everyone gets a prize, but it sure seems like it is being ran like one.

I haven't really piped up too much on this topic lately, mostly because I think I gave myself a serious concussion facepalming too hard over the prospect of ALL teams being in the tournament AND it being hosted in Reno.... but...... I agree. Well said.

Maybe we should hand out juice boxes and orange slices for everyone after the season is over. Yay, everyone is a winner & goes to the tournament! :thumb:

I hope this bullshit experiment they are trying will end after the 3 year deal and maybe we'll decide to go a different direction. You know, one that doesn't make our conference look like even more of an absolute fucking joke. It'd be nice instead of "hey how can we save money and be even more irrelevant" our conference decided to try to become relevant and and not find ways to out-suck all other conferences in the race to the bottom.

We were #27 out of 32 last year and the interest level in Big Sky Basketball was beyond pathetic....

The Sun Belt, which some here have made fun of was #20.

We were one slot behind the juggernaut known as the Northeastern conference with such powerhouses as St. Francis(PA), St. Francis(NY), and LIU-Brooklyn.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Will having a conference tournament at a neutral location with all teams, including those who are the worst of the worst in ALL of D1 college basketball, with 12 people in the stands pretending to watch while texting on their phones help our conference become more relevant? Or will it look like an even bigger joke, hurt the already very low fan interest and just help push our conference down further?

 

[SWeberCat02]

Great post dp!

The excitement of the regular season is all but lost on me. Reno is such a 3rd rate town. Fitting for a 3rd rate conference, I guess. Everything about this is so horribly wrong, it would be laughable if it wasn't going to be so sad. Looking back, the best conference tournaments were probably when 3rd & 4th seeds got to host Round 1 of the tourney, and the winners got to meet 1st, and 2nd seeds @ the Host's site. Three teams traveling stopped the schools bitching about lack of accommodations, and travel logistics were only "burdened" on 3 schools. Foolertons grandiose expansion foibles was the undoing of what was certainly the best part of Big Sky basketball. Reno of all places :roll: I've been there a half dozen times over the last 3 years. It is truly nasty, and depressing.

Reno beats anything and everything in "Deseret"!

Actually, Reno would have been in Deseret.

Only physically. Good sense and logic prevailed.

Come on, LA, SLC wouldn't be that bad. Easy to get to, still good skiing in March, and Nevada gaming is only an hour away. And no one's going to make you go to Temple Square.

 

[grizindabox]

If multiple bids were given to the BSC then this would be a different story. It's bad enough when the BCS champion gets pounded in the first round but it's only a matter of time until a lower seed gets hot for 3 days and takes the tournament championship and really gets drilled in the NCAA tournament. The best regular season team should have the opportunity to host. Inviting all 12 teams is a joke as well, really do we need two 7 win teams (ISU, MSU) attending. Or even better in 2013 SUU was 2-27, this isn't a city recreation league where everyone gets a prize, but it sure seems like it is being ran like one.

I haven't really piped up too much on this topic lately, mostly because I think I gave myself a serious concussion facepalming too hard over the prospect of ALL teams being in the tournament AND it being hosted in Reno.... but...... I agree. Well said.

Maybe we should hand out juice boxes and orange slices for everyone after the season is over. Yay, everyone is a winner & goes to the tournament! :thumb:

I hope this bullshit experiment they are trying will end after the 3 year deal and maybe we'll decide to go a different direction. You know, one that doesn't make our conference look like even more of an absolute f***[*] joke. It'd be nice instead of "hey how can we save money and be even more irrelevant" our conference decided to try to become relevant and and not find ways to out-suck all other conferences in the race to the bottom.

We were #27 out of 32 last year and the interest level in Big Sky Basketball was beyond pathetic....

The Sun Belt, which some here have made fun of was #20.

We were one slot behind the juggernaut known as the Northeastern conference with such powerhouses as St. Francis(PA), St. Francis(NY), and LIU-Brooklyn.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Will having a conference tournament at a neutral location with all teams, including those who are the worst of the worst in ALL of D1 college basketball, with 12 people in the stands pretending to watch while texting on their phones help our conference become more relevant? Or will it look like an even bigger joke, hurt the already very low fan interest and just help push our conference down further?

Potomac, do you think the Conference gets better if only 4 teams go to the tournament? Does it get better if the Conference winner hosts the tournament? Does fan interest Conference wide get better if the tournament is not hosted on a neutral court? You have legit arguments about the Conference being basketball terrible and having a lack of support, but the location and setup of the tournament is not the reason. Having the tournament in Reno will not have an effect either way.

 

[GrizWhiz]

There were over 7000 fans in attendance for this year's finals (Griz vs. EWU.) The semi-final session drew over 5000 fans. I seriously doubt either session will draw in excess of a thousand fans when the tournament is held in Reno. I have a problem with an arrangement that guarantees laughable and embarrassing attendance for the conference tournament!

 

[EverettGriz]

There were over 7000 fans in attendance for this year's finals (Griz vs. EWU.) The semi-final session drew over 5000 fans. I seriously doubt either session will draw in excess of a thousand fans when the tournament is held in Reno. I have a problem with an arrangement that guarantees laughable and embarrassing attendance for the conference tournament!

TOTAL attendance won't be 7,000.

But the bsc brass no doubt will get some very nice comps. And really, at its core, isn't that what college athletics is all about?

 

[statler & waldorf]

......and Nevada gaming is only an hour away. [/quote-]

Sarcasm?
Have you ever been to Wendover?

 

[WAaggieFan]

......and Nevada gaming is only an hour away. [/quote-]

Sarcasm?
Have you ever been to Wendover?

Well, evangelicals don't recognize abortion. Catholics don't recognize divorce. And Mormons don't recognize each other in Wendover. So, probably yes! ;-)

 

[statler & waldorf]

:lol: :lol: :lol: Brought years to my eyes! Well done! You are GOOD! :thumb:

 

[SWeberCat02]

......and Nevada gaming is only an hour away. [/quote-]

Sarcasm?
Have you ever been to Wendover?

Well, evangelicals don't recognize abortion. Catholics don't recognize divorce. And Mormons don't recognize each other in Wendover. So, probably yes! ;-)

:lol:

 

[Yukon]

I didn't read through this entire novel, so I am just giving my opinion.

This is a good move. Almost all other conferences do this and it hasn't destroyed college ball. Reno is a great choice as other's have mentioned. Local's will come out for the games.

TV deal will be coming. Even if it is ESPN3 or Root. The TV host will have plenty of time to set up what they need in advance. Plenty of time to make a deal, because you know where the darn thing will be. (and it will have 12 teams with 12 fan bases=more tv viewers)