General wrote:Should we focus on recent success - last 10 years or a larger sample size - 25 or more years of sustained success? How important is the head coach? Sure Stevens and Smart are young studs but does anyone think they'll be at their schools forever? Attendance gets mentioned a lot- how much does that matter? Athletic department success- should having a good volleyball or soccer team influence the much larger more important sports?
I enjoy the board! Would love to know everyone's thoughts.
Going down the list...
1. Focus on recent success? - Obviously. Xavier and Butler have pretty much done all of their MAJOR damage over the past decade, both having made the Sweet 16 once before this past decade (Xavier in '99, Butler way back in '62). Also keep in mind Butler hadn't made a NCAA tournament appearance between 1962 and 1997...and the Bulldogs are thought as one of the two "locks", so clearly they are being judged on how people perceive them now. You could say the same about Gonzaga. People say they'd be a lock if they were closer, but they only made their first-ever tournament appearance in 1995, but then sustained that success. So clearly, recent success--based off who are thought as the definites--is a major factor when adding teams.
2. How important is the head coach? - I'd say only really important in the case of Smart and Stevens. Those guys names pop up with every major job opening, yet both are still at their schools. Would they leave if a UNC or Duke offered? Quite possibly. But so far they both appear to be more Mark Few than Anthony Grant/Sean Miller. So that's a risk the league considers. If both stay you've got two bright coaching stars to help market your league. Both programs do have nice histories outside of those coaches as well, and are in a better position to succeed than they were before their recent accomplishments, even if those coaches move on (which I don't think they do).
3. Does attendance matter? - It always matters (gotta sell tickets to conference tournaments), but I think most of the schools mentioned have pretty rabid fan bases that could grow with this new conference. That said, Butler is pretty much a lock, but are averaging fewer fans than Creighton, Dayton, Xavier and VCU (but are ahead of SLU and Richmond), and the Bulldogs are the highest ranked team in the discussion and coming off of two national championship appearances. So I think it matters, but I think their ability to help Fox sell ad space matters more.
4. Do other sports matter? - I understand folks on WANT that to matter, but it just doesn't. You aren't getting UConn women's hoops in this, so it's pretty much a non-factor.
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 1:41 pm
