DudeAnon wrote:The problem with gaming the system is there are no guarantees that teams are going to behave as you expect. Also there are no guarantees that the committee is going to behave (SBU had an RPI of 30 last year and was still left out.) Expansion should only be done if there is a program that is consistently competitive at a high level and has a good brand. After that you let the chips lay where they may.
When NBE was formed they could've added more mid-tier schools to inflate their records but they went with the best available schools. And luckily they did because without the 3 new schools this conference would be dismissed entirely.
Your 1st paragraph is not quite accurate... 1st JP's example of Xavier2 and DePaul2 outline precisely how the other major conferences operate and how we would optimally operate with more members. Folks wonder how the B1G, ACC get so many bids-this is how its' done.
There ARE guarantees - we see them every March as the bigger sized conferences have followed JP's outline to a "T" and routinely get 6-9 bids annually. The middle teams only play the top teams once per year, while the bottom plays everyone in top/middle twice.
He also explained the issues with only obtaining "the best available" teams...as they will not lift your middle tier into the dance, whereas 1 or more bottom tier teams (rising tide) will lift all teams above them with 1-2 more W's. If StL and Richmond had been added originally - Creighton and Marquette would've danced last season with those 4 additional W's. All of our top & middle teams would've added 2 to 4 more w's to their records. No harm done and 7 teams in the dance.
Your paragraph 2...is now our collective history. This debate is not about rewriting the record book or recent history. This conversation is about elevating our collective competitiveness irt getting more NCAA bids and receiving more money from that particular revenue stream.
Moderators/Admin: Please unshackle JPSchmack's account. He is no Stever, no troll. His inputs are very germane to this particular thread, and with his hands untied, perhaps in other threads. You - as the power brokers here, can always put the cuffs back on should JP, Stever, gtmoBlue get totally out of hand.