Consider the college basketball conference tournament.
It’s a gathering, an event that's part reunion, part convention, the continuation of a tradition. It builds over several days to an electric championship climax.
Madness, baby.
Except the Conference USA tournament is none of that.
Trust me on this, Old Dominion fans. I realize not many of you have been able to attend the tournament in the three years the Monarchs have been in the league. The first year ODU was eligible for it, the tournament was in El Paso, Texas – 2,000 miles from Norfolk. The last two have been in Birmingham, Ala.
Fine cities, both, and gracious hosts. But last year’s championship final between the Monarchs and Middle Tennessee had all the atmosphere of a summer league game. Played in front of 1,000 fans in a 17,654-seat arena, it was enough to make one nostalgic for the heyday of the Colonial Athletic Association, and the Richmond Coliseum. Say what you will about the place – and ODU fans had plenty of disparaging things to say over the years – when the Monarchs and VCU got together there, the unsightly relic thrummed with a real March vibe.
Is there a better way for C-USA?
Wood Selig believes so. At the league meetings this week, the Old Dominion athletic director plans to float the idea of scrapping the current format, in favor of a tournament played at campus sites.
VIRGINIAN-PILOT: Why not change C-USA tournament format?