UMassHoops.com

Gregg Doyel has a great article focusing on schools and conferences trying to shed the mid-major label that seems to get tossed at any school that is not in a BCS conference. Xavier refused an award last week from Rivals.com that would've named Drew Lavender the mid-major player of the week. They also declined an opportunity to contribute to an ESPN the Magazine story about mid-majors. It also mentions that the Atlantic 10 contacted ESPN.com and asked that they stop including our schools in its weekly "mid-major top 10" lists.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/columns/story/10574946/1

Good for Xavier. The mid major label is arbitrary and ridiculous. A team like Penn State is "high major" and Xavier isn't? They should do away with the high/mid/low major labels and start basing classifications on actual results.

Arbitrary is the operative word. It's wherever ESPN and the other powerbrokers decide it is. No one has ever laid out what the criteria for being a major conference is. So, it's what the pundits say it is.

The pundits have some gestalt of college basketball that involves dollars, but also some sense of what represents a consistently strong conference. For example, is the West Coast Conference a mid-major? Yes. Is Gonzaga a mid-major? No. But take a look at the rest of the league. The pundits have colon spasms trying to decide whether Gonzaga is a mid-major.

The A14 looks good this year, but we still carry along our favorite bottom feeders. Last year, we had them, and we didn't look so good at the top, and were definitely a mid-major league. Get rid of the St. Bonnies of our league, and we have a better argument, as a league. X is probably playing the Gonzaga game (small Jesuit powerhouse basketball college stuck in a mid-major league). If it helps the whole league, good for us, but I don't think they're doing it primarily for that reason.

Minutemaniac74 wrote:...It also mentions that the Atlantic 10 contacted ESPN.com and asked that they stop including our schools in its weekly "mid-major top 10" lists.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/columns/story/10574946/1

I like that too. Was that Linda's idea?

Take a look at this list

http://www.midmajortop25.com/

They have the following conferences as mid-major

The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit League, Sun Belt, West Coast.

Loyola (MD) head coach Jimmy Patsos is the chairman of the Top 25 voting panel for the 2007-08 season.

LS71 wrote:Was that Linda's idea?

Linda had an idea

Mid-major seems like an appropriately vague term to describe second tier recruits. Having a top 10 mid-major list reeks of compiling a list of tallest short guys, or fastest slow guys, or division II national champions.

I am glad to hear at least some programs (and the A10 in general) stating that they see themselves competing against the top programs in the country.

it was also nice to see Jay Bilas come out on college gameday and say the A10 is absolutely NOT a mid major conference and for anyone to suggest it is is ridiculous. he's not the be all and end all of college ball but it was good to hear someone on national tv stating it that strongly.

From today's Springfield paper.

http://www.masslive.com/umassbasketball ... xml&coll=1

It is essentially Elite vs. Non-elite. But lumping in 1 bid only leagues with leagues that generally get 2 to 4 is ridiculous, especialy since there is no "Low-Major" leagues - Mid as compared to High/BCS is weird, and there is no Bowl vs,. playoff distinction.

ESPN experts are just the like the Political insiders on 24 hour cable - inventing terms that suit them.

MikeUMA wrote:

LS71 wrote:Was that Linda's idea?

Linda had an idea

Yeah, she decided to resign. Good idea.

Interesting the A-10 is getting all this love from the media after Linda announced her resignation. Coincidence? [/i]

Wonder if all the attention Xavier drew by refusing to be called a mid-major was too much of a distraction.

While I was initially pleased with what Xavier did, in retrospect, they apparently should have spent more time/energy/attention prepping for their Temple game. Sadly, their refusal to be called a mid-major now looks more like hubris than anything else....

In the end, winning is really the only way to shed the mid-major label.

Anyone see the X game? Curious what happened.

econalum wrote:It is essentially Elite vs. Non-elite. But lumping in 1 bid only leagues with leagues that generally get 2 to 4 is ridiculous, especialy since there is no "Low-Major" leagues ... ESPN experts are just the like the Political insiders on 24 hour cable - inventing terms that suit them.

I agree that the terms are concocted by guys who manage to get paid for doing that sort of thing. Still, some of them do it with some detail, and it isn't accurate to say that there are no "low-major" leagues. This from the thread "Mid-Majors Defined" that should have gone in this thread.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/ ... ortCat=ncb

From ESPN
"Just how good is UMass and the Atlantic 10 this season?"
Kyle Whelliston breaks it down in his weekly chat. Insider

Can anyone provide a summary of what was said?