February 26, 200818 yr I see Gonzaga as more successful over the last decade than X, but they're still a mid major. The Zags haven't missed the tournament since 98, whereas X has missed 3 times in the same span. Now that probably lends itself to the fact the A10 is a all around better conference than the WCC, but those two are still, IMO, mid-major schools. By strict definition, no, XU, Gonzaga, and Memphis are not majors but I think GT's point makes more sense. It doesn't really matter what you want to call them, the non-Big 6 Conference teams that rise into the Top 10-15 can play with anyone in that given year (St. Joseph's, Gonzaga, Memphis, Xavier, etc. in recent years).
February 26, 200818 yr Which shows you know little to nothing about X. They were the only non BCS school to make the Forbes list of the top 20 most valuable mens hoops programs. I'm the farthest thing in the world from an X fan, but they belong in the major category... :thumb: I agree with you besides not being an X fan.
February 27, 200818 yr I don't like the term mid-major. Not even a little bit. It was a term that described certain programs and leagues on the low-end of the Division I-A spectrum (typically the ones the could only ever get one team in the tournament). Then the BCS was invented and it suddenly became well-defined. I would not consider the Missouri Valley or the Atlantic 10 mid-major leagues nor would I have placed the pre-realignment C-USA in that category and none of those are BCS conferences. In fact, the pre-alignment C-USA often made the case that it was better than a couple of the BCS leagues.
February 27, 200818 yr I don't like the term mid-major. Not even a little bit. It was a term that described certain programs and leagues on the low-end of the Division I-A spectrum (typically the ones the could only ever get one team in the tournament). Then the BCS was invented and it suddenly became well-defined. I would not consider the Missouri Valley or the Atlantic 10 mid-major leagues nor would I have placed the pre-realignment C-USA in that category and none of those are BCS conferences. In fact, the pre-alignment C-USA often made the case that it was better than a couple of the BCS leagues. The A 10 and Valley are most certainly mid major leagues...
February 27, 200818 yr The A 10 and Valley are most certainly mid major leagues... They are the definition of a mid major IMO
February 27, 200818 yr The A 10 and Valley are most certainly mid major leagues... That's fine. Where does the line end on the bottom side then? I've heard teams in leagues ranging from the A-10 to the Patriot to the Sun Belt referred to as mid-majors before. Where does that stop on the downside? Is there such thing as a minor team?
February 27, 200818 yr That's fine. Where does the line end on the bottom side then? I've heard teams in leagues ranging from the A-10 to the Patriot to the Sun Belt referred to as mid-majors before. Where does that stop on the downside? Is there such thing as a minor team? Tough call as well... I would start win conferences that are ALWAYS one-bid and have zero chance for at large bid teams.
February 27, 200818 yr That's fine. Where does the line end on the bottom side then? I've heard teams in leagues ranging from the A-10 to the Patriot to the Sun Belt referred to as mid-majors before. Where does that stop on the downside? Is there such thing as a minor team? Id say there are roughly 15 or so mid major leagues IMO. The A 10, Valley, WCC and CUSA sit at the top and I'd cut it off around the MAAC, Big West, Patriot and WAC...
February 27, 200818 yr That is what I have always considered it. But that brings me to the next question, why the name "Mid" Major if there is not a lower version (i.e. Low Major)? I would like to punch the moron that coined that phrase. That is a good question bugatti. We should find this person and ask them that. Seems to me if they are going to call them mid majors that they would classify them some way.
February 27, 200818 yr Here is a definition. I couldn't find out who coined this phrase. http://mid-major.totallyexplained.com/ Mid-major is a term mainly used in American college basketball and, to a lesser extent, college football, to describe schools not affiliated with a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conference. (External Link) Though not always the case in the past, the term today has basically the same meaning in basketball that it has in football. It should be noted that the term "mid-major" was originally coined by the sports media and has no official status. The NCAA recognizes no distinction between so-called "major" and "mid-major" conferences in either basketball or football. (External Link)Still, "mid-major schools" face different dilemmas in each sport. There has been much debate, especially in the last decade, as to the true definition of the term "mid-major" as it relates to college basketball. Some still believe that the term has an arbitrary litmus test of sorts, such as how many teams a conference qualifies for the NCAA tournament in a "good" year, or how much success said conference has in the NCAA tournament, or even conference revenue, attendance, and so on. In recent years conferences such as the Missouri Valley and Horizon League have either a) received two, three, or four NCAA tournament bids every single year since the 1990's (MVC), or b) had a higher NCAA tournament winning % than all but one non-BCS conference over the last four years (Horizon League). The Horizon League is also one of only two non-BCS conferences that has had a Sweet 16 team in three of the last five NCAA tournaments (with C-USA being the other). Possibly even more telling, for 2005-06 the MVC had an average attendance of nearly 2,000 more people per game than the A-10, and outdrew C-USA by over 2,000 per game. NCAA D-1 attendance figures, 2005-2006 It is quite possible that the parity shown in the 2006 NCAA tournament is a reflection that, outside of being BCS members, higher-rated conferences can no longer be differentiated from each other with any clarity when it comes to the "mid-major" and "major" labels.
February 27, 200818 yr America East ACC Atlantic Sun Atlantic 10 Big 10 Big 12 Big East Big Sky Big South Big West Colonial Athletic Association Conference USA Horizon League Ivy League MAC MAAC MEAC Missouri Valley Mountain West Northeast Conference Ohio Valley Conference Pac 10 Patriot League SEC Listing Southern Conference Southland Conference Summit League (Mid-Continent Conference) SWAC Sun Belt Conference WCC WAC Someone divide them up, but my definition of Mid-Major is the cut off line of being relevant or not. Some of those conferences would have a hard time competing with the likes of the Mid-South in NAIA
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.