And don't say look at how one team has done the last few years ... Cabrini was a power for several years, did that mean the CSAC was a Top 15 conference? Yeshiva was an incredible team this year. Does that mean the Skyline is Top 15? I don't even know if I would put the Centennial in the Top 10 (off the top of my head, in no particular order: WIAC, CCIW, NESCAC, UAA, ODAC, SUNYAC, NEWMAC, NCAC, OAC, ARC are probably in my top ten before I consider CAC or Centennial ... and that leaves out MIAC [top heavy this season], NWC [three-teams deep on top this season], and others).
This is my general point. The CAC deserves to be rated close if not above some of the conferences you mentioned.
CNU has made 2 final fours in the past 5 years (and had a home game against Hobart to go back to Fort Wayne).
York has won NCAA tournament games in 3 straight years.
The Mid-Atlantic Region should be considered one of the top 2 or 3 regions in the country.
The D3Hoops Top 25 poll and D3 All-American and D3 All-Region Selections do not reflect the general strength of the CAC conference, this is my overall point. If I am not accurate in my points I would to hear a solid argument why I am wrong!
You aren't going to listen to any argument and won't indicate it is a "solid" one unless it somehow makes you stop arguing. Considering I don't think the later is going to happen, I'm not inclined to continue discussing something with a recently graduated player who probably hasn't seen the national score of the division outside of the games he played or maybe watched occasionally.
The CAC is a good conference. You keep making it seem like "we" think it is a lousy conference. You seem to think the only way we "respect" the conference is if "we" agree with your opinion and move them into some level you have determined.
And you seem to both ignore my point while highlighting another. Cabrini was a powerhouse team and made it to the championship game .. didn't prove the CSAC was suddenly a top ten conference, right? Yes, CNU has made some great runs. They have been a very well coached team, but tournament success is not just based on a team's ability, but also the road and bracket before them. Sometimes teams have tougher trips than others, so trying to use that as a barometer is flawed at best.
F&M for years tried to portray themselves as one of the best teams in the country because of their final four appearances, but the tournament process at the time meant they were coming out of the easiest quadrant almost every year. Interesting that once the system has gotten somewhat more competitive in terms of spreading teams out, that same success hasn't been there. CNU hasn't had the same road to hoe as Central teams for sure and even Great Lakes and West teams. But because they are in the final four that means the conference is somehow a top ten? Because YCP has won games in the NCAA tournament that means the CAC is somehow a power? Nothing against YCP who I voted for quite often in the Top 25 this season, but this year they played an average at best SJF team and last year played DeSales which hasn't been a power or strong team in a number of years. Three years ago they beat up-and-coming Yeshiva without it's best player and that was probably one of the best YCP teams I've seen.
A measure of a conference isn't how the first round does, it is how they do further than that. CNU is the only team to get out of the first weekend in now six years when Mary Washington pulled off a miraculous season and run. The last time Salisbury got to the second weekend since 1997 (and once more in 1992). Any other success has to go back to when Catholic was in the league.
CAC is competitive for sure, but it isn't some power. I think until recently the MAC Commonwealth has been one of the most underrated conferences in the country. It has a beast from top to bottom, but they have never been able to get into the "top" anything conversation because they never produce strong teams that can compete nationally. CAC at least has CNU and YCP now in the mix (though, about to lose YCP so this going to be a moot point). But outside of CNU, the national mantle has never been able to rest on any other shoulders. That doesn't make for a power conference.
WIAC has had a number of teams compete for national championships just in this century (and decade) alone along with other teams that have proven themselves to the second weekend routinely. Same goes for the CCIW. The ODAC has slipped a bit, but usually produces powerhouse programs and sees multiple teams be a threat. The NESCAC's resume speaks for itself. The NEWMAC has more threats every year than the CAC ... and I could go on and on.
The CAC has had CNU and now YCP. That's it. Mary Wash was far more competitive this season, but they also haven't been able to get over the hump to cause people to take notice. Salisbury has been all over the place for years. Southern Virginia isn't turning any heads. PSU-Harrisburg finally turned some heads, but they did it once out of the CAC.
I am sorry if you don't think the conference is respected, but I am telling you as one who talks DIII basketball quite a bit ... you couldn't be more wrong. Just because awards aren't handed out as much as you feel they should has no bearing on the respect level. I don't look at a player and dismiss them because of the team and conference. It is one of the things that has had me appreciate how much good talent is around this country on so many different teams. We named the best player in the country on LeTourneau this season. The Coach of the Year from Yeshiva. The All-America teams had only two teams that saw multiple players (just one on the women's side). We are naming a LOT of schools and by default a number of conferences. But there isn't room for everyone.
And telling us "we don't respect the CAC" isn't going to suddenly have us change our minds, either. It is a lazy argument based on nothing factual or actual. It is all based on assumptions that I have told you is inaccurate (especially considering two of the four main people at D3hoops.com came up through then-CAC schools).
