As I see conferences expand and schedules adjust to account for that, I wonder at what level a team becomes somewhat irrelavant - even if they make the NCAA tournament.

On a whim, I tried from memory to list the top 6 teams in the 1) Big 12 2) Big 10 (do they still say the 10?) 3) SEC 4) Big East and 5) ACC.

It's not an easy task (at least for me). And I got to wondering: What level of success is required to allow the deep pocket donors to still feel like it's worth dumping millions into a program?

This isn't a right or wrong thought process - just a point of curiosity. How many years in a row would someone be willing to donate big bucks to a perrenial 7th (or lower) place team?

When conferences get to 14 or 16 teams, it seems that finishing .500 in confernce means a 7th place (or lower) finish. Is a string of those finishes going to pack the arenas?

I know that the landscape has changed already, but I have to admit finishing first in the MWC this past year was pretty special. Andi I hope for more similar results. But somewhere in the MWC fans are going to dwindle if their teams don't regularly compete at the top level -whatever that level means. FSU and Wyoming being examples. When I was in school, both of those arenas were filled regularly. Now they are like ghost towns.

It's just been on my mind.

That's one of the reasons I don't think these mega conferences are not going to be stable in the long term. No conference bigger than 12 teams has survived long term.

LKGates wrote: ↑

April 16th, 2024, 10:45 pm

That's one of the reasons I don't think these mega conferences are not going to be stable in the long term. No conference bigger than 12 teams has survived long term.

Yep. Too many bottom feeders for the top tiers to be content with splitting money with them. You have to have bottom feeders but they will and can limit how many they have.

LKGates wrote: ↑

April 16th, 2024, 10:45 pm

That's one of the reasons I don't think these mega conferences are not going to be stable in the long term. No conference bigger than 12 teams has survived long term.

Unpopular opinion: none of that matters. It’s all about the Big Dance.

Yes, I understand that the conference season plays a part in qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, but your place in the conference standings doesn’t determine the success of the season.

San Diego State finished fifth in the conference regular season, didn’t win the conference tournament, but advanced to the Sweet 16. They had the most successful season in the conference.

Was there 5 or 6 teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament this year? Each of those teams had a more successful season than any of those third place teams when we only sent two teams to the Big Dance.

All that being said, you will still be perceived to be a better team if you’re affiliated with a power conference (for the most part).