Bengal visitor said:
EverettGriz said:
BV, we all get that. But let's be brutally honest: the reason the tournament is being held in Reno is NOT so Frank and Myrtle from Blackfoot, ID can go watch Junior play. It's nice that they can, I guess. Whether they do or not is another huge question.
But let's not kid ourselves that the bsc did this for the benefit of the student-athlete's families.
I think the Big Sky made these changes for a number of reasons: they wanted travel certainty for teams, staff, fans and parents and families of athletes. They wanted a neutral court. I know that drives the fans in Montana and Weber crazy, but if I'm a coach at Idaho State or NAU, I'm going to make the case for a neutral court because it's in my interest. You may disagree with it, but the bottom line is the conference ADs and presidents agreed. And I think the league knew in advance this would be an uphill climb as far as attendance is concerned, but they believe they can grow it over time -- just like other leagues have done over time.
Oh, and don't kid yourself: the Big Sky will not be the only small conference whose tournament will be played before scores of empty seats in March. Watch most of the Non-Power 5 tourneys and you'll see all the empty
But even if they did, it still abdicates the primary responsibility of the Conference: to protect it's members, particularly its top members.
seats you want to see.
I don't think it's going to be the end of the world as we know if the Big Sky happens to send a .500 or below team to the NCAA tournament. Sure, we'd all like to see a team that's capable of getting a 13 or 12 seed go to the tourney and win a game or two, but I remember when Idaho State, a sixth seed with a 12-15 record, got hot and won the tourney in Bozeman back in 1987. They got the last seed and got blown out by No. 1 ranked UNLV, but you know what? The league did not fold from embarrassment. That rare occurrence 20 years ago didn't stop Weber from beating North Carolina or Montana winning an NCAA game in 2006.
So the powers that be are willing to trade off a crowd of 6,000 or 7,000 fans at Missoula or Ogden and a home court advantage for the regular season champ for the things they value more: travel certainty and neutrality. Again, you can disagree with those priorities, but I can at least understand them.
No doubt having a location in advance is helpful. But I've got to call BS on the remainder of the travel arrangements. For the most part, other than UM and Weber, teams still don't know if they'll be playing Tuesday or not. So do parents/fans/teams book travel in for Tuesday or do they wait for Thursday? It really doesn't solve a problem, other than where they're going. My hunch is that very, very few travel arrangements have been made by anyone yet.
And again: I understand completely why sac state, psu, unc and others want a neutral floor. Hell, I would too if I were them. Why wouldntcha? But as I've stated many times, that's just the typical BSC bullsh*t of catering to the lowest common denominator. Imagine the response if say, Pacific, told the WCC that they no longer want their tournament held in Vegas because too many Zag fans go and give them an unfair advantage, so they request it get moved to Sacramento. The WCC brass would fall right out of their cushy leather chairs laughing their asses off. They GET it, in other words. They understand where their bread is buttered, and it ain't with Pacific. Why the bsc, with far more to lose as a one-bid league, caters to those teams never ceases to amaze me. It's 180 degrees back-assward. The WCC has basically told their members, you want the same benefits Gonzaga gets? You want a level playing field? Great. Get as good as Gonzaga. Get as big as Gonzaga. That's what real conferences do. That raises the level of the entire conference. The bsc forces everyone down to the lowest level.
And I guess we can disagree about whether a team with an RPI in the mid 300s getting blown out in the play-in rounds is embarrassing and damaging for the conference or not. I can guarantee this: It will further degrade all teams' in the conference ability to recruit. And I don't think I need to explain to you that most of these teams can't afford that.
, but also for parents and families of kids. If you think about it, the tournament is the last game of the season for most of these teams. And the last games of the career for most of the seniors. Not knowing if your kid is going to play in the tournament until the last minute is a huge issue for parents and families of players. And no, I don't see this as "everybody gets a ribbon" stuff. I see this as sincere concern by the conference for the student athletes and their families. I know most of you guys don't give two Xhits about the athletes or their families, but I submit that's REALLY what this stuff is supposed to be about -- even if it rarely is.
