TheAthletic.com's plan to save non-conference basketball

dhilk3785 · Post by **dhilk3785** » August 10th, 2020, 11:39 am

Probably behind a paywall, but the gist of it is dividing D-1 basketball into 7 regions, 44 pods, with games played in a round robin format, trying to limit in-conference games (harder in the west) from after Thanksgiving through the start of the 2nd semester. Utah State would be in the West Region, SLC pod, as described below.

Site: Salt Lake City
Arenas: Vivint Smart Home Arena and Huntsman Center
Teams: Boise State, BYU, Dixie State, Idaho State, Southern Utah, Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State
Quick take: Salt Lake City has hosted a Winter Olympics, so it should have the infrastructure for a bubble site. The nine schools include Utah’s seven Division I programs; Dixie State is making the jump this season. That means some built-in rivalries and heated games are on tap. Boise State is the outlier here but still just a five-hour drive away. And we know the nightlife in Salt Lake City isn’t going to lure too many players out of their hotel rooms.

https://theathletic.com/1980558/2020/08 ... ronavirus/

Pacobag · Post by **Pacobag** » August 10th, 2020, 12:05 pm

Those schools could make a great conference for non-revenue generating sports.

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » August 10th, 2020, 12:10 pm

dhilk3785 wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 11:39 am
Probably behind a paywall, but the gist of it is dividing D-1 basketball into 7 regions, 44 pods, with games played in a round robin format, trying to limit in-conference games (harder in the west) from after Thanksgiving through the start of the 2nd semester. Utah State would be in the West Region, SLC pod, as described below.

Site: Salt Lake City
Arenas: Vivint Smart Home Arena and Huntsman Center
Teams: Boise State, BYU, Dixie State, Idaho State, Southern Utah, Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State
Quick take: Salt Lake City has hosted a Winter Olympics, so it should have the infrastructure for a bubble site. The nine schools include Utah’s seven Division I programs; Dixie State is making the jump this season. That means some built-in rivalries and heated games are on tap. Boise State is the outlier here but still just a five-hour drive away. And we know the nightlife in Salt Lake City isn’t going to lure too many players out of their hotel rooms.
https://theathletic.com/1980558/2020/08 ... ronavirus/

I was suggesting just this in a FB MB thread. Good idea.

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » August 10th, 2020, 12:11 pm

dhilk3785 wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 11:39 am
Probably behind a paywall, but the gist of it is dividing D-1 basketball into 7 regions, 44 pods, with games played in a round robin format, trying to limit in-conference games (harder in the west) from after Thanksgiving through the start of the 2nd semester. Utah State would be in the West Region, SLC pod, as described below.

Site: Salt Lake City
Arenas: Vivint Smart Home Arena and Huntsman Center
Teams: Boise State, BYU, Dixie State, Idaho State, Southern Utah, Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State
Quick take: Salt Lake City has hosted a Winter Olympics, so it should have the infrastructure for a bubble site. The nine schools include Utah’s seven Division I programs; Dixie State is making the jump this season. That means some built-in rivalries and heated games are on tap. Boise State is the outlier here but still just a five-hour drive away. And we know the nightlife in Salt Lake City isn’t going to lure too many players out of their hotel rooms.
https://theathletic.com/1980558/2020/08 ... ronavirus/

1. How does this system figure into the kids getting schoolwork and classroom instruction time?
2. Does Utah need seven D-1 schools? What happened to the community colleges and trade schools?

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » August 10th, 2020, 12:32 pm

Yossarian wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 12:11 pm
1. How does this system figure into the kids getting schoolwork and classroom instruction time?
2. Does Utah need seven D-1 schools? What happened to the community colleges and trade schools?

1. While I understand the idea of a bubble, I agree that it takes away from schoolwork and instruction time. I don't really like that. The vast majority of these players aren't going anywhere after college to play.
2. We still have lots of community colleges and trade schools. We have more community colleges than D1s, and more vocational schools than community colleges.

I have concerns about a drastically reduced schedule for the players from two perspectives:
- They won't be able to develop as much this year as they would in other years
- Lack of opportunity will stifle some players who might have a future in Europe, but need some exposure their senior year

If we're going to gut NCAAB, at least let's be real about it. Let's do what's best for the players. Keep them in school, however that works. If we play a limited schedule, let's play it, but let's consider possibilities for next year. Are there waivers of any sort for players to gain an additional full year? For many of the players, this is their senior year, they'll graduate with a degree and move on. Others, like Abel, will graduate before they finish eligibility and move on, either as grad transfers or into the real world. This would be staggered over the next few years.

dhilk3785 · Post by **dhilk3785** » August 10th, 2020, 12:56 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 12:32 pm

Yossarian wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 12:11 pm
1. How does this system figure into the kids getting schoolwork and classroom instruction time?
2. Does Utah need seven D-1 schools? What happened to the community colleges and trade schools?
1. While I understand the idea of a bubble, I agree that it takes away from schoolwork and instruction time. I don't really like that. The vast majority of these players aren't going anywhere after college to play.
2. We still have lots of community colleges and trade schools. We have more community colleges than D1s, and more vocational schools than community colleges.

I have concerns about a drastically reduced schedule for the players from two perspectives:
- They won't be able to develop as much this year as they would in other years
- Lack of opportunity will stifle some players who might have a future in Europe, but need some exposure their senior year

If we're going to gut NCAAB, at least let's be real about it. Let's do what's best for the players. Keep them in school, however that works. If we play a limited schedule, let's play it, but let's consider possibilities for next year. Are there waivers of any sort for players to gain an additional full year? For many of the players, this is their senior year, they'll graduate with a degree and move on. Others, like Abel, will graduate before they finish eligibility and move on, either as grad transfers or into the real world. This would be staggered over the next few years.

My understanding is that with most schools going to online only after Thanksgiving, this plan would account for that by starting after Thanksgiving and ensuring off-days for schoolwork.

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » August 10th, 2020, 2:02 pm

dhilk3785 wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 12:56 pm
My understanding is that with most schools going to online only after Thanksgiving, this plan would account for that by starting after Thanksgiving and ensuring off-days for schoolwork.

Perhaps thinking ideally, but a good start.

I don't have an Athletics account, so I cannot read the article. What happens for Spring semester?

dhilk3785 · Post by **dhilk3785** » August 10th, 2020, 2:38 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 2:02 pm

dhilk3785 wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 12:56 pm
My understanding is that with most schools going to online only after Thanksgiving, this plan would account for that by starting after Thanksgiving and ensuring off-days for schoolwork.
Perhaps thinking ideally, but a good start.

I don't have an Athletics account, so I cannot read the article. What happens for Spring semester?

They don't really account for the spring semester in this article. This is just to ensure a non-conference schedule happens, since most schools are thus far anticipating an on-campus spring semester so they'd play some sort of normal conference schedule? However, if spring semester moves primarily online like I'm anticipating, then I'm not sure there's a plan yet.

Post by **aggies22** » August 10th, 2020, 2:47 pm

Yossarian wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 12:11 pm

dhilk3785 wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2020, 11:39 am
Probably behind a paywall, but the gist of it is dividing D-1 basketball into 7 regions, 44 pods, with games played in a round robin format, trying to limit in-conference games (harder in the west) from after Thanksgiving through the start of the 2nd semester. Utah State would be in the West Region, SLC pod, as described below.

Site: Salt Lake City
Arenas: Vivint Smart Home Arena and Huntsman Center
Teams: Boise State, BYU, Dixie State, Idaho State, Southern Utah, Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State
Quick take: Salt Lake City has hosted a Winter Olympics, so it should have the infrastructure for a bubble site. The nine schools include Utah’s seven Division I programs; Dixie State is making the jump this season. That means some built-in rivalries and heated games are on tap. Boise State is the outlier here but still just a five-hour drive away. And we know the nightlife in Salt Lake City isn’t going to lure too many players out of their hotel rooms.
https://theathletic.com/1980558/2020/08 ... ronavirus/
1. How does this system figure into the kids getting schoolwork and classroom instruction time?
2. Does Utah need seven D-1 schools? What happened to the community colleges and trade schools?

Bridgerland had to drop its hoops program due to funding issues. Another victim of the 'Rona.

Jjoey52 · Post by **Jjoey52** » August 10th, 2020, 11:00 pm

If anyone is in T Mobile they are giving a 1 year subscription to the athletic thru thev13th.

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