Interesting. I have to say, I'm not a fan. I don't think whatever additional chance this creates for at-large NCAA berths (pretty small) is worth unbalanced conference schedules.
For this strategy to work, everyone has to crush their non-conference schedules, which is possible in the northeast where there are a ton of D3 teams to choose from, but out here there are only so many schools to play without traveling far. The WIAC is much better, the ARC is better, and the UMAC is worse. I don't see it.
I guess you can go to more in-season tournaments if you have the budget now.
I was just going in to see if anyone had posted recently and was hit by this conference comparison. What intrigues me is WHY the WIAC is that much better than the MIAC and others (I don't think the ARC is better than the MIAC by the way in quality or depth).
Is the WIAC better because:
- Tradition?
- Facilities?
- State school tuition and larger enrollments that attract players from WI, MN and IL?
- Coaching?
- Lack of a D2 conference which might pull worthy WI players?
I think it might have to do as much with the in-state and reciprocity tuition which provides a financially viable option for many. Also, kids that want to have an experience at a larger institution and play ball won't consider MIAC schools even if the basketball would be a good fit). That has fed a tradition where kids look to the WIAC as a viable option.
To the UMAC/MIAC debate, UNW and BL have arguably had quality years recently and have competed with the top of the MIAC (BLs transfers last season really bulked them up), but the depth overall is not what the MIAC has.
I don't think the WIAC is doing well just because they're taking Minnesota recruits. College basketball is about getting the right coach who can attract a pretty small number of elite recruits. Nothing is guaranteed for any of those WIAC schools and the MIAC will continue to produce teams that are better than many WIAC programs. As for the MIAC vs UMAC being about depth, Martin Luther has really been the only school that's below anything from the MIAC as Northland did beat Scholastica last year.
I apologize if I made it sound like WIAC superiority is because MN kids are playing for WIAC schools. They have high quality WI kids that are not coming to MN and, in the case of a school like Whitewater, can do well from IL (plus they have high quality coaching and recruiting).
I agree that on any given night, the MIAC can take on much of the WIAC. However, there are two perennial programs (Oshkosh and Whitewater) and usually good LaCrosse that put the WIAC up above the MIAC. RF will come in and be good in many years. In terms of perception, the MIAC was a higher rated conference when UST and SJU were both in the top 10. With the lack of those national powers, the MIAC suffers in perception. However, I'll state here, it is marvelous basketball to watch if the refs don't mess it up. Even Scholastica (mentioned above) improved significantly over its first MIAC season.
That gets into the topic of MIAC parity with UST gone. I don't know if this will remain, but SJU has dipped while schools like MAC, SMU and Carleton rose up. Granted, these schools had/have superior studs leading them the last couple of years. SJU lost high quality players to other schools due to, what I'm hearing, not exactly up front communication by the staff. It will be interesting to see if a new balance of power builds over time and what that means for the conference overall.
