Topic: Two or Three bid league.

[saherdfan]

The announcers talked about how the SBC was supposed be a basketball league when designed.  The way i heard the announcers is that the SPC could be 2 or 3 bid in the future.  Not saying this is going to happen, but hearing announcers talk this way about our SBC league is nice to hear.  Just being on ESPN ups the opportunities to be seen.  I like it.

[gochneaur645]

Maybe when they expand to a 96 team tourney soon.

[GreenDaddy]

This is the advantage of being in a league that is 100% in the ESPN boat. That was a great showcase of our team, school, and conference last night on national tv. The announcers really gave us a lot of praise along with the SBC in general. When they said it could become a 2 bid league in the future, it plants a seed to start changing the perception of SBC basketball. It'll still take time and more investment from the schools, but it can get there with the help of the mothership.

I am still of the opinion that moving to the SBC will be the best thing that could have happened to Marshall sports in a long time.

[Flat Tire 2]

This is the advantage of being in a league that is 100% in the ESPN boat. That was a great showcase of our team, school, and conference last night on national tv. The announcers really gave us a lot of praise along with the SBC in general. When they said it could become a 2 bid league in the future, it plants a seed to start changing the perception of SBC basketball. It'll still take time and more investment from the schools, but it can get there with the help of the mothership.

I am still of the opinion that moving to the SBC will be the best thing that could have happened to Marshall sports in a long time.

ESPN does a nice job of promoting the teams on their payroll. The game before us was Michigan and Iowa which are recognizable teams. To be honest ESPN was promoting the SBC since they are not recognizable names in college basketball to keep viewers that were watching the first game.

Glad to see we won the game, you have to win all of your home games to win the league.

 One thing to remember when it comes to basketball, CBS controls the The Big Dance TV rights. I wonder if CBS has some input on the selection of teams to to The Big Dance since they are paying the bills?

[GreenWhite]

It is going to take some work by all the schools to make the SBC more than a one bid league. OOC scheduling also has to improve some. I'm not saying load up on major P5's, but every school needs to have at least one. They also have to get some good mid-majors on the schedule. It's all about perception. Many people who make these selections only look at paper and the finals of a conference tournament. Also, the expansion will not be a godsend for the SBC and others unless there are some stipulations. I think Danny said it best that each conference should have at least two schools in the tournament. If you didn't read Landon's column yesterday, it was pretty good with Danny touching on this.

[breckjimison]

This is the advantage of being in a league that is 100% in the ESPN boat. That was a great showcase of our team, school, and conference last night on national tv. The announcers really gave us a lot of praise along with the SBC in general. When they said it could become a 2 bid league in the future, it plants a seed to start changing the perception of SBC basketball. It'll still take time and more investment from the schools, but it can get there with the help of the mothership.

I am still of the opinion that moving to the SBC will be the best thing that could have happened to Marshall sports in a long time.

If we had the choice to move to the AAC or the SBC I would 100% choose the SBC. Yes, I know that the TV revenue is much more in the
AAC for now but I wholeheartedly expect that to change at least by the end of our next contract if not sooner. I think that the regional format that the SBC went for is going to pay off bigtime in the long run. Other than ECU I don't really see that many teams in the AAC that we can build a solid rivalry with. Now look at the SBC. We have Appy State. GSU, ODU, JMU, CCU, USM, Troy and Louisiana and much more. These schools will be solid rivalries and ESPN will take notice as will the rest of the country. And with the expansion of the playoffs I think that we picked the ideal time to dump c-usa and join the SBC!

[breckjimison]

Now if VMI and The Citadel can improve their programs and make the move to the D-1 level and join the SBC we could be looking at the old Southern Conference at the A-1 level!

[GreenDaddy]

If we had the choice to move to the AAC or the SBC I would 100% choose the SBC. Yes, I know that the TV revenue is much more in the
AAC for now but I wholeheartedly expect that to change at least by the end of our next contract if not sooner. I think that the regional format that the SBC went for is going to pay off bigtime in the long run. Other than ECU I don't really see that many teams in the AAC that we can build a solid rivalry with. Now look at the SBC. We have Appy State. GSU, ODU, JMU, CCU, USM, Troy and Louisiana and much more. These schools will be solid rivalries and ESPN will take notice as will the rest of the country. And with the expansion of the playoffs I think that we picked the ideal time to dump c-usa and join the SBC!

100%. We also leave out that it is now a fantastic soccer league, and a fantastic baseball league that we get open our brand new stadium in. IMO, the future is bright.

[breckjimison]

100%. We also leave out that it is now a fantastic soccer league, and a fantastic baseball league that we get open our brand new stadium in. IMO, the future is bright.

100%!!!

[breckjimison]

The SBC will by far be the cream of the crop in the G-5 within five years or less.

[MUonium]

Now if VMI and The Citadel can improve their programs and make the move to the D-1 level and join the SBC we could be looking at the old Southern Conference at the A-1 level!

that's nostalgia i can emphatically do without!

[MUonium]

for now and in the near term, no way this is/will be a 3-bid conference unless it's a fluke year.   sure, you will get 2 with a 90 team format/conference guarantees but the announcers were being generous assessing the current SBC.

[wasbarryb]

for now and in the near term, no way this is/will be a 3-bid conference unless it's a fluke year.   sure, you will get 2 with a 90 team format/conference guarantees but the announcers were being generous assessing the current SBC.

Part of the announcer's job is to hype the game and teams they are announcing.  Last night's announcers were very good at that aspect of their job last night. I enjoyed hearing their comments, but I didn't take them seriously. That is a suggestion I'd make to those ofyou thinking we have a real shot at being a two or three bid league.

[GreenDaddy]

Part of the announcer's job is to hype the game and teams they are announcing.  Last night's announcers were very good at that aspect of their job last night. I enjoyed hearing their comments, but I didn't take them seriously. That is a suggestion I'd make to those ofyou thinking we have a real shot at being a two or three bid league.

If we do become a 2 big league, it'll take a while. I think we can all agree that you have to have solid programs and SOS's to go with winning to get to the point of getting an at-large bid.

 I do think there is another part of the equation to make that happen, and that is having the media that matters on your side and pumping your product (like last night). There were a couple years in CUSA that we should have had 2 teams in, but it's like the perception of the league was so bad not matter what the RPI/Net rankings showed we were doomed for one bid.

One could argue it is the same way in football. Yes, you need legit programs that are capable of winning at a high level, but you also need that media push to get you where you need to go. It's really nice being back with ESPN, who in my opinion, carries a pretty big stick.

[Stripeshrt]

GDaddy, you made 3 very well articulated and thought out posts in this thread. I couldnt agree with you more, the move to the SBC will stand the test of time and history in Marshall Sports IMO . Kudos to you, I appreciate you.

[carolinaherdfan]

GDaddy, you made 3 very well articulated and thought out posts in this thread. I couldnt agree with you more, the move to the SBC will stand the test of time and history in Marshall Sports IMO . Kudos to you, I appreciate you.

I believe we are headed to becoming a 3 bid league...

[GreenWhite]

I hope being a 3 bid league happens. We'll just have to wait and see how things pan out if they extend the tournament to 90 teams.

[Tim Hensley]

Amen on the move to the SBC!