(04-03-2014 01:23 PM)chiefsfan Wrote: (04-03-2014 01:20 PM)FloridaJag Wrote: (04-03-2014 01:08 PM)Liberty22 Wrote: (04-03-2014 01:06 PM)chiefsfan Wrote: Oh dear.
Well hell...if we are going to discuss Liberty on every thread the why not VCU. VCU basketball >>> Liberty basketball.
Yes, and you are off your medication if you really think that VCU would leave one of the best basketball conferences in the country to move to the SBC.
Has anyone seen how much those A-10 schools make from their basketball NCAA shares and their TV deal? Hint - its a lot. And the A-10 doesn't share equally either. You divide the money up based upon how well you perform (another of the A-10 policies that really work in getting the basketball product to work well). So for a school like VCU, their A-10 membership is really lucrative. Their conference tournament is held in front of thousands and thousands of fans (even though it really is at a neutral site).
Since 2008, the A-10 has put TWELVE of its teams in the big dance. 12. They've run up 10 NCAA tournament wins in the last two years. 11 bids in the last two years. One of the teams not included in that list was a participant in the 2006 Final Four. They run from strength to strength. Next year, most of the A-10 schools are gonna be stacked. Again. A usual also ran, GW, won 25 games starting 4 sophomores. The last place team in the league beat LSU. In Baton Rouge. There are exactly two easy outs in that league (Fordham and Duquesne). The sixth place team in the league went to the Elite 8. The conference has incredible depth. Its a raucous and exciting loop. The tournament is always a monster. "Okay, we're gonna play UMass, then if we beat them we get VCU, and then maybe St Louis or Dayton" Most of the schools have been in the conference a while too. Which helps (sure VCU, Davidson, and Mason are newbies, but they fit very well in the league).
UMass has spent tens of millions of dollars on moving their FBS program to the MAC. But when presented with a choice of leaving the A-10 for a pretty good MAC conference to preserve their football participation in the league, they said....Nope. We'll try life as a FBS independent. I want you to think about this. A-10 basketball is more lucrative than MAC football (and they had 5 bowl bids last year and have had 4 teams crack the top 25 in football in the last 2 years).
A low performing A-10 school, LaSalle, will probably earn more from their A-10 membership than any CUSA school will for their football and basketball.
UNCC left the A-10 because of football dreams and the fact that they could never compete in that conference. Temple, Xavier, and Butler left for an even more lucrative deal. But the A-10 just keeps backfilling with best of the best, because they are the best destination for basketball only besides a Big East with which they are competitive. If the NCAA ever splits apart and the AQ schools move to a new organization, the A-10 and the Big East will be going with the SEC, ACC, etc.
VCU is rolling in exposure and money. They have 5 conference mates within a 3 hour drive of the school. Their games sell out. Their rivals games sell out. They have almost every game televised (and not on the internet). They sent 5000 to Brooklyn for the Conference Tourney. They don't need to worry about Title IX They aren't going anywhere.