OT: Do you consider Gonzaga still a mid major?

[Reppin_Jerz]

what constitutes a mid major? The conference you play in? Even if you routinely beat power conference opponents? Is it the school's fault we are a small school without a DIV I football program and therefore aren't In a power conference?

I have always loved the way Gonzaga recruits certain types of players, big guys that can shoot a jump shot (many time European or Australian) and smaller uber-athletic guards that can drive and defend. Is this a receipe that Rutgers can use? Can they play a certain system and recruit to that system?

 

[MozRU]

If the Big Boys say you are mid major, then you are mid major. This is even the case when you are BC and are awful in BBall.

Get in line mid major.

 

[mdk01]

A little bit like Hopkins in lacrosse before they joined the B1G for that sport. The school is at best a mid major, but the program, in this case basketball, is up there with the big boys.

 

[brista21]

Overall they play in a midmajor conference with an overall midmajor athletic program, but when it comes to men's hoops they are anything but midmajor.

 

[RedTeam01]

No matter how well a team preforms, conference affiliation seems to be the marker for mid-major status. Even Cincy and Uconn are now considered mid-majors thanks to their membership in the AAC. I'm not sure what to make of the Big East. They're pretty strong top-bottom, but can't really match Power 5 $$. Maybe in the end, high-, mid-, and low- major status has to do with how much money a conference pulls in.

 

[jmc11201]

In all honesty, is the American or A-10 or the Big East any worse than the SEC in hoops? As we learn every year, college basketball talent is way more spread out.

 

[mildone]

It sounds like it should be a cheese. Or when used in the plural, maybe slang for boobies.

 

[RUfinal4]

on the app called "The Score" they have top and mid

Top is comprised of: AAC, A10, ACC, B10, B12, BE, P12, and SEC
Mid is the rest

They are like Boise in football. Many of the top schools go 8-2 to 10-0 in non-conference play but when conference play starts it gets very tough for the next 18 or so games. For the mids they may only have 2-3 teams in their conference at a level to beat them so they don't have the tough competition. Rutgers in that conference may have produced 6-8 more wins.

 

[jay_hq]

If youre a mid major, major teams take your great head coach.

If youre a major, you poach good head coaches from mid majors.

 

[RU82]

Gonzaga is absolutely a mid major. They're just the most consistently successful one of late.

 

[srru86]

If you are a "major" team TV distributors pay good money for your regular season games broadcast rights. If you are mid major no-one much cares what you do until you play the big boys in the NCAA Tourney.
So yes, Gonzanga is still mid major.

 

[PhDKnight]

The SEC is a mid-major basketball conference based on results. UK is the only team keeping that league afloat from a competitive perspective. From a revenue perspective they are major of course though.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

yes terrible academic college

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

yes of course. They are really good at MBB but that changes nothing.

 

[Upstream]

Mid-major refers to any school that is not part of a P5 conference. Previously it referred to any school that wasn't BCS, so it included Big East schools. It is debatable whether current BE and AAC schools from the old BE are considered mid-majors or not. If you want to argue that Villanova and UConn are not mid-major schools, even though they aren't P5 schools, you'd have a good case. But Gonzaga is clearly a mid-major by definition.

 

[Reppin_Jerz]

Mid-major refers to any school that is not part of a P5 conference. Previously it referred to any school that wasn't BCS, so it included Big East schools. It is debatable whether current BE and AAC schools from the old BE are considered mid-majors or not. If you want to argue that Villanova and UConn are not mid-major schools, even though they aren't P5 schools, you'd have a good case. But Gonzaga is clearly a mid-major by definition.

I'm glad you brought up Villanova, academics aside, I think nova is the east coast equivalent to Gonzaga at this point now that the big east is no longer a power 5 conference...they might be the two best basketball programs to not be classified as a major conference teams...I understand Gonzaga is what the media calls mid major; my question was more so should Gonzaga be treated more like Villanova when it comes to tourney selection, where they don't necessarily have to win their conference to get into the tourney. I realize the big east is still a far superior conference and I wish Gonzaga could afford to do what West Virginia did in football and join a conference no where near the traditional geographic footprint.

 

[LadyRU09]

Mid-majors are pretty straightforward in football, with the P5 as the high-majors, G5 as the mid-majors, and FCS as the low-majors.

In basketball, it's trickier. Are there any low-majors in basketball to compare the mid-majors?

 

[bac2therac]

Gonzaga is a mid major

the AAC, A10 and BE are not mid majors, they arent power 5, not sure what to call them but those 3 are a tick below power 5 but way too solid to be mid majors

 

[brista21]

Mid-majors are pretty straightforward in football, with the P5 as the high-majors, G5 as the mid-majors, and FCS as the low-majors.

In basketball, it's trickier. Are there any low-majors in basketball to compare the mid-majors?

For basketball, the high-majors or majors are the P5 football conferences, Big East, A-10 and AAC. The mid-majors are basically the G5 conferences not named AAC and the FCS/non-FB conferences that semi-regularly get multiple bids. The low majors are everyone else.