Thuggins brilliant idea

[OTRMUSKIE]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/32439931

[GoMuskies]

I would quit college basketball.

[paulxu]

I would quit college basketball.

Vegas would not be happy.

[GoMuskies]

They'd finally have some money to pay everyone else.

[xubrew]

He has suggested this before. Fortunately, no one else but him seems to think it's a good idea.

The difference is the TV deal for the NCAA Tournament is with the NCAA, and Chicago State is as much a part of the NCAA as West Virginia is. It isn't like football where it's individual bowl games that only tie in certain conferences. I think most people on here realize this, but in case some of you don't, the college football playoff really isn't an NCAA Championship event. It's technically nothing more than a postseason scheduling agreement dressed up to sort of look like a playoff. So in order for the power conference schools to do what Huggins is suggesting before 2032, they'd basically have to leave the NCAA. I suppose they could do that. I used to always worry that something like that would happen. But, I don't think any of them really want to. Well, no one other than Huggins.

EDIT: I'm only half kidding when I say this...I sometimes think Huggins is saying this just to annoy Marshall. And, I'm only HALF kidding. I don't think he himself even really wants it.

[GoMuskies]

Wait, this proposal would eliminate Dayton, right? I'm listening, Bob.

[xudash]

Wait, this proposal would eliminate Dayton, right? I'm listening, Bob.

Ha! Love it.

[MHettel]

Someone already implemented this idea. They call it the NBA

[xubrew]

Wait, this proposal would eliminate Dayton, right? I'm listening, Bob.

Well, depending on the day you talk to him, it would eliminate the Big East as well. He once said that he wanted the tournament to be every team from the Power Five. It's hard to do anything other than laugh at that thought. It would render conference tournaments meaningless. It would render the entire regular season meaningless. And the fact of the matter is, ratings indicate that during the NCAA Tournament, people actually do prefer watching the good teams from the non-power leagues play against the power conference teams in those early rounds. Seeing a team like Cal, who was 8-20 last year play against a team like Purdue is far less intriguing than seeing North Texas play against Purdue...and beat them.

[chico]

When he makes statements like that they should test his BAC.

[surfxu]

Coaches really are a different breed aren't they. The guy is like 68 years old isn't he? Why in the world is he still coaching? He's got to have $20MM + in the bank, and he lives in West Virginia. There's of course there are other examples like Boeheim at Syracuse, Izzo at MSU and of course Pitino (WTF)... I'd live off the interest and dividends and enjoy life somewhere within a stones throw of a boat, but coaches really don't operate that way I guess. So that statement about the NCAA tournament probably shouldn't be a surprise. Wonder if the idea came to him when he was coaching at Walsh, Akron or UC... some how I doubt it.

[GIMMFD]

Coaches really are a different breed aren't they. The guy is like 68 years old isn't he? Why in the world is he still coaching? He's got to have $20MM + in the bank, and he lives in West Virginia. There's of course there are other examples like Boeheim at Syracuse, Izzo at MSU and of course Pitino (WTF)... I'd live off the interest and dividends and enjoy life somewhere within a stones throw of a boat, but coaches really don't operate that way I guess. So that statement about the NCAA tournament probably shouldn't be a surprise. Wonder if the idea came to him when he was coaching at Walsh, Akron or UC... some how I doubt it.

Meh, Huggs is at the twilight stage, speculation around WVU is that he's gonna try to give it a shot to get a natty for the next couple years (decent roster, don't think there's a chance in hell though), he's from the state, played at WVU, and generally likes being around WVU. Think he'll end up being in the athletic department in some capacity once he retires. He also strikes me as the type of guy that'd be bored in retirement, and needs to coach to have something to do. Regardless, I think this is an awful take as well. It completely craps on the allure of the NCAA Tournament. It's why March is fun, he probably thinks this due to the uptick in transfers, that's the only sense I can make out of it.

[XU 23]

Must still be upset about losing to Stephen F. Austin in the first round in 2016.

[xubrew]

Okay, this officially has my attention....

There is a Special Convention next month regarding a possible "new division" in the NCAA. This press statement really doesn't say anything, but the fact that their is a special convention, and the fact that many within the P5 have said they either want their own division and/or want to leave the NCAA entirely is at least worth taking note of. This has been a threat for almost 30 years, and probably longer. It's been a threat for so long that it's hard to take it seriously whenever it comes up. But...this I'm taking kind of seriously. I hope it doesn't happen. I don't think it will. But, the main reason I don't think it will is simply because I'm so used to it not happening. That doesn't mean that it never will. It may play out the way Huggins has suggested. They may leave. If they do, then it will totally ruin college sports for me. I don't think I'll really even care anymore. If teams outside the P5 are shut out of the basketball tournament, or have their paths to the tournament narrowed to the point to where it becomes the way football is where there is such a disadvantage that they have no practical chance, then I won't want to watch it anymore. Screw that.

https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/general-di-board-of-directors-outlines-plan-for-division

[GoMuskies]

Imagine a scenario where they're shutting Gonzaga out of the Tournament. That somewhere between ludicrous and hilarious.

[xubrew]

Imagine a scenario where they're shutting Gonzaga out of the Tournament. That somewhere between ludicrous and hilarious.

Yes. It is. And they'd be shutting out Villanova who has won two national championships in recent years. And, maybe that's why they're suddenly in such a hurry to get more control and get their own division or leave the NCAA entirely. They don't want to be equalled or outperformed by non-P5 "outsiders."

I'm not trying to sound alarm bells (well, I guess I am because I want people to be alarmed and to see how bad this is for the sport), but the Crosstown Shootout, if it were to continue, would be essentially a D1 v D2 game (or whatever they'd end up calling the divisions).

[GoMuskies]

I can't believe that any such move wouldn't include the Big East. I mean, otherwise you're keeping UConn's women out of the Tournament, which is completely insane.

[xubrew]

I can't believe that any such move wouldn't include the Big East. I mean, otherwise you're keeping UConn's women out of the Tournament, which is completely insane.

I seriously doubt they have any plans at all to include the Big East. Why would they?? The Big East isn't included now. The Big East doesn't have autonomy now the way the P5 conferences do. (or Autonomy Five if you refer to them the way the NCAA does).

This isn't about the non P5 leagues not being good enough. It's about the P5 wanting to grow their power and control, even if it means leaving everyone else behind so they can do their own thing and have complete control over it. Their whole goal is to be exclusive, not inclusive. For that reason alone I see them not including anyone else that isn't already included. The whole point is to keep everyone else down.

[GoMuskies]

I understand that, but I assume they will also want to preserve the legitimacy of their sport so that people will actually watch.

[xubrew]

I don't think the ones within the P5 who are pushing for them to leave look at anyone who isn't autonomous as having any legitimacy, nor do they want them to gain legitimacy. That's why they're wanting to leave.

[GoMuskies]

I mean, hard not to think UConn, Villanova and Gonzaga are about as legitimate as they come. At least in college basketball.

[xubrew]

I understand that, but I assume they will also want to preserve the legitimacy of their sport so that people will actually watch.

Just to be clear, for all practical purposes I am totally with you. This will KILL the sport. I think they are GREATLY underestimating the impact that the non-P5 schools have on the popularity of the NCAA Tournament. People love the opening rounds because they want to see the good teams from the small conferences play against P5 caliber teams. If that goes away, then it will substantially impact the intrigue of the tournament. I truly believe that. But, there's no convincing them of that. They think it's all about them, and that it will be a bigger deal if it is only them. Or, at least that's how they want it to end up.


I mean, hard not to think UConn, Villanova and Gonzaga are about as legitimate as they come. At least in college basketball.

I agree. And in their minds this is a way to make it so those teams are no longer legit.

[xudash]

In a very large sense, it doesn’t matter what Huggy thinks or what any of his counterparts think. The media market value of the NCAA tournament is determined primarily by the television executives.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind about what the television executives think. It has been running the way it has been running since CBS took it over decades ago. They get it. They understand the importance of the current format and of being inclusive. It may sound better to some P5 fans and a few P5 coaches to cut away and shrink it to a P5-like field, but I truly believe the vast majority of people who care about the sport get it.

The Denominator would go down, but the dollar value of a “NCAAT“ Unit would drop like a rock. Ill will and tanked casual viewership would make that happen.