National Invitation Tournament scam

[Southpaw]

Now I have an idea why a team like Syracuse didn't make it into the field of 64.

Last June, a group of coaches endorsed doubling the NCAA field from 64 to 128. While that sounds unmanageable, the reality is that it means only one more round of games. That's the magic of a single-elimination tournament - the field is halved with every round. But 128 seems a bit much. The NCAA's objection is that an expansion of that size would add another weekend to the tournament. And the NCAA, as you know, is way too concerned about academics to have its basketball players miss that much class time. They're only missing about a month's worth now. The real reason the NCAA objects, one suspects, is a little less noble. Two years ago, the NCAA bought - that's right, the organization spent more than $50 million to purchase - the National Invitation Tournament. The other tournament, March Not-So-Madness, had gone along very nicely for years by hosting the NCAA's rejects in a separate-but-unequal shadow tournament. Now the NCAA owns it. Now the NCAA has incentive to make sure some attractive teams are available for the NIT field. The committee can't get away with sending Wisconsin and Pittsburgh to the NIT - even Dick Vitale would figure that scam out - but it can send a few big programs from a few big markets. Drexel and Syracuse, Kansas State and Florida State. They will draw nice crowds and decent TV ratings to their NIT games. A 128-team NCAA field would destroy the NIT, unless it were held as kind of a consolation tourney for the 64 first-round NCAA losers.

 

[boisesuns]

Interesting thought. I don't think i'd watch the NIT no matter who was in it. They are crowing a champion of "the best of the rest" If you have a NIT champs banner hanging from your schools gym it's like one of the ribbons you got in school that said "Participant"

I'm sure they will put the teams in the places to make money. That's how it works for ND in football. They have a HUGE following, and weather we like it or not, they make bowls money.

 

[Southpaw]

Interesting thought. I don't think i'd watch the NIT no matter who was in it. They are crowing a champion of "the best of the rest" If you have a NIT champs banner hanging from your schools gym it's like one of the ribbons you got in school that said "Participant"

I'm sure they will put the teams in the places to make money. That's how it works for ND in football. They have a HUGE following, and weather we like it or not, they make bowls money.

For the last few years the NCAA and networks have used the NIT to fill in the travel days and no schedule days of their own tournament. By filling in the blank days with decent games they maintain/capture the market and have the built in ability to cross promo their prime time games. The NCAA is big money BB and some schools will have to learn bite the bullet for their TV bucks.

 

[Dback Jon]

Syracuse had no business being in the NCAA tournament. If your conspiracy theory held any water, then teams like Appalachian State, Missouri State and Drexel, which were more deserving of a NCAA bid than Arkansas or Stanford, would have made the NCAA, and Stanford and Arkansas could have "headlined" the NIT.

 

[Dback Jon]

BTW - pre NCAA NIT was horrendous for ignoring small market teams, and loading up on big market schools.

 

[Southpaw]

Syracuse had no business being in the NCAA tournament. If your conspiracy theory held any water, then teams like Appalachian State, Missouri State and Drexel, which were more deserving of a NCAA bid than Arkansas or Stanford, would have made the NCAA, and Stanford and Arkansas could have "headlined" the NIT.

It is not my conspiracy theory. It was a quoted article as food for thought. I might agree with it, but I did not author it.

BTW your argument is debateable.

 

[Southpaw]

BTW - pre NCAA NIT was horrendous for ignoring small market teams, and loading up on big market schools.

Agreed. It has long been about marketing the product for maximization of revenue. In a perfect world every team would qualify and play in a vaccuum. One and out. The NCAA and member schools get rich off this tournament. It's just entertainment.

 

[Renz]

I can't see the NCAA shafting teams to try and make $ on the NIT, considering the billions they make on the NCAA Tournament.

It would be like Bill Gates worrying about the $100 bill he lost.

 

[boisesuns]

People were arguing today on Sports Radio that if you win your conference you shouldn't get an auto bid becuase you played well for a few days. I don't agree with that.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

It makes zero sense for the NCAA to voluntarily lose money by taking big names out of the heavily-watched basic cable Tournament to put them in the ESPN2 televised NIT. This is like suggesting the Fiesta Bowl Committee forcing USC in the Insight.com Bowl instead of the Fiesta Bowl so they could increase Insight revenues.

 

[Southpaw]

It makes zero sense for the NCAA to voluntarily lose money by taking big names out of the heavily-watched basic cable Tournament to put them in the ESPN2 televised NIT. This is like suggesting the Fiesta Bowl Committee forcing USC in the Insight.com Bowl instead of the Fiesta Bowl so they could increase Insight revenues.

Addition by subtraction. The NCAA big show is so attractive, I doubt they will lose viewership, but by adding quality, big name teams, to the NIT, they will increase advertising revenues by increased viewership of the NIT games. They ain't dummies.

BTW, the NCAA owns both of the tournaments and now they are attempting to maximize advertising revenues. They love the " David beats Goliath" games early in the NCAAs, so they won't lose any revenue there. Those are mid day games. The big names will still make it to the sweet 16, by moving teams around the country to get the best pairings that will lead to the biggest names. The national audience did not watch the NIT in the past when the mids and minor conference teams were the only ones playing. Now they can sell advertising with the bigger audiences on the in between days when the NCAA has no scheduled games. How many people will now tune into the NIT to see if Syracuse, FSU and Drexel belonged in the big show? More than if Central Connecticut and Winthrop were the top NIT seeds.

 

[ajcardfan]

I heard Boeheim whining on the radio yesterday about how his S.O.S. was so much better than so many teams that did make the tournament. Yes, but they played only one road game before Janurary! So, I totally agree with them not being in. But, the NCAA committee opens itself to all criticism with ridiculous choices like Arkansas and Stanford.

 

[Southpaw]

I heard Boeheim whining on the radio yesterday about how his S.O.S. was so much better than so many teams that did make the tournament. Yes, but they played only one road game before Janurary! So, I totally agree with them not being in. But, the NCAA committee opens itself to all criticism with ridiculous choices like Arkansas and Stanford.

Pac 10 and SEC have clout with the committee.

 

[Dback Jon]

BTW, the NCAA owns both of the tournaments and now they are attempting to maximize advertising revenues. They love the " David beats Goliath" games early in the NCAAs, so they won't lose any revenue there. Those are mid day games. The big names will still make it to the sweet 16, by moving teams around the country to get the best pairings that will lead to the biggest names. The national audience did not watch the NIT in the past when the mids and minor conference teams were the only ones playing. Now they can sell advertising with the bigger audiences on the in between days when the NCAA has no scheduled games. How many people will now tune into the NIT to see if Syracuse, FSU and Drexel belonged in the big show? More than if Central Connecticut and Winthrop were the top NIT seeds.

Some may love the David vs Goliath match-ups, but the Committee didn't. They matched up a number of the Davids together in first round action. The Big boys do NOT want a repeat of last year, with Bradley, George mason, Wichita State doing so well.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

drexel isn't a big money school though - the NIT committee did make a money grab with them however

the rounds leading up to the semis are played at the higher seeds gym - drexel was definitely one of the last 4 teams left out of the NCAA tourney - but they pulled a 3 seed and the # 2 seed in their group, OK St has a passthrough game against marist

this means that drexels gym that holds about 3,000 is pretty much guaranteed of only getting 1 game and to me this has to be because of the size of the gym/revenues granted

Air Force holds 6,000 - Miss St holds over 10,000 - Clemson is around 11,000 - West Virginia 14,000 ..... those are you 4 #1 seeds the only one I could see losing is Miss St. and that would leave the probably second game at Bradley with a capactiy of 10,000

the #2 seeds are Ok State with a capacity of over 13,000 - Flordia St holds over 12,000 - Kansas St 13,500 - the carrier dome holds 33,000

 

[Russ Smith]

Pac 10 and SEC have clout with the committee.

Part of why Stanford got in is they beat Virginia at Virginia, and Virginia of course is well represented on the selection table.

But I do agree with AJ it's hard to defend Stanford getting in, and I like Stanford. When they had their team intact they were very good, but that was maybe 10-12 games.

 

[Dback Jon]

Part of why Stanford got in is they beat Virginia at Virginia, and Virginia of course is well represented on the selection table.

But I do agree with AJ it's hard to defend Stanford getting in, and I like Stanford. When they had their team intact they were very good, but that was maybe 10-12 games.

Beating Virginia sure didn't help Appalachian State, who also beat VCU and Vanderbilt.

 

[Skkorpion]

Pac 10 and SEC have clout with the committee.

Crap. ACC and Big Ten do.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

well my dragons season ends after a hard fought game against NC State - was a great environment and they were some made FTs down the stretch from advancing

c'est la vie

need to get a couple shooters in there to help elegar and i don't think they have that in their incoming class

 

[Rivercard]

If you have a NIT champs banner hanging from your schools gym it's like one of the ribbons you got in school that said "Participant"

You can almost hear the fans chanting "We're #65"........

 

[Rivercard]

the NCAA committee opens itself to all criticism with ridiculous choices like Arkansas and Stanford.

As a Louisville fan, I'd like to thank the committe for selecting Stanford.