Post by fanblade on Jun 13, 2007 13:04:29 GMT -5
Interesting article about the Big West's desire to focus on basketball ($$$) over other non-revenue generating sports. A lot of parallels to the WCC. It also highlights the importance of the WCC becoming a multi-bid conference (better if LMU is that second or third bid! 
).
www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070610/A_SPORTS/706100315
By Jason Anderson
Record Staff Writer
June 10, 2007 6:00 AM
The Big West Conference brain trust made a decision three years ago that seemed to cut against the very grains of rich, fertile soil on which its member institutions were founded.
This is California - The Golden State - one of the nation's leading growers of young athletes who excel in everything under the sun. Homegrown talents helped the Big West send four baseball teams, five softball teams and six women's volleyball teams to their respective NCAA tournaments in 2006-07. Much of the Big West's success over the past 20 years has been rooted in these sports, but in 2004, the conference's board of directors launched a strategic plan that emphasized basketball, particularly the men's game.
The board urged each institution to do its part to improve funding, recruiting, scheduling, facilities and attendance. The Big West elected to chase the lights, cameras and cash that accompany March Madness, a move many believed necessary to improve exposure and revenues.
Ratings Percentage Index
A year-by-year look at the Big West's conference RPI in men's basketball:
1997 -- 14
1998 -- 18
1999 -- 19
2000 -- 19
2001 -- 18
2002 -- 18
2003 -- 22
2004 -- 18
2005 -- 18
2006 -- 23
2007 -- 16
"For a conference that doesn't sponsor the sport of football, our national perception, our public perception is driven largely by how we're perceived in the sport of basketball," Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell said.
"We're one of the top conferences in the country in a number of sports - women's volleyball, baseball, softball, men's and women's soccer. We're very proud of the fact that we're nationally competitive in all those sports, but, whether it's right or wrong, in the eyes of the public, in the eyes of the media, our perception is built largely on basketball."
Since then-member UNLV's storied run ended in the early 1990s, though, the conference's greatest triumphs have come in other, less lucrative sports.
Long Beach State, Pacific and former Big West member Hawaii combined to win six NCAA women's volleyball championships from 1985-1998. The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team won a national championship in December with 18 California players on its roster, and the Cal State Fullerton baseball program has been a bona fide Division I power.
The Titans have made 28 NCAA appearances, including 16 in a row. They've won four national championships, and they're on the verge of their 15th College World Series appearance. The Titans are waving the Big West banner proudly this weekend in a Super Regional series against UCLA, but coach George Horton understands why the conference is turning to basketball to find a new flagship program.
"You feel a little bit like the stepchild, but even though it may be a slap in our face, we only need to look as far as what's going to solve our future problems," Horton said. "We've proven no matter how many times you go to Omaha or how many times you win the national championship, it's not going to solve the revenue problems. If we ever get to a point where we have a Vegas or two in our conference, that's a way out of the black hole."
The NCAA men's basketball tournament is an annual money grab, largely because of the NCAA's $6 billion television deal with CBS. Conferences receive one postseason share for each team that reaches the tournament and an additional share for every round each team advances. Shares are presently valued at just over $1.2 million, paid out over a six-year period. There are no postseason shares in women's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer and other lower-profile sports.
The Big West's goal is to send multiple teams to the men's basketball tournament each year, but that has happened only once in the past 10 years. In 2004-05, Pacific and Utah State each received bids, and Pacific defeated Pittsburgh in the opening round, netting approximately $3 million for Big West schools.
"Everybody in the conference understands that the potential for increased revenues really hinges on getting a second team to the NCAA Tournament," Long Beach State athletic director Vic Cegles said.
The Big West improved its conference Ratings Percentage Index - a ranking system based largely on strength of schedule - from No. 23 to No. 16 last season, a dramatic rise that represented the conference's highest rating since 1997. Cal Poly athletic director Alison Cone said it's too soon to tell if the Big West's efforts led directly to the ratings improvement, but she said the movement was significant.
"It's huge," Cone said. "You make another improvement like that, and all of the sudden you're looking at multiple teams in the tournament."
Pacific athletic director Lynn King shares Cone's cautious optimism and said tougher nonconference scheduling will continue to be a key.
"We need to schedule as strong as we can outside our conference, and we have to win as many of those games as possible," King said. "I think we did a better job of that last season, and our nonconference success helped improve our RPI."
The Big West consistently ranks among the top 10 conferences in baseball, softball, women's volleyball and soccer. Those sports have given the Big West some of its greatest moments, but they don't generate the money associated with men's basketball.
"It's tremendous that we've had the success in those other sports," King said. "Nobody has any intent of debilitating those sports, but the reality of it is that our revenue streams in this league change significantly based on what we're able to do in men's basketball."
). www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070610/A_SPORTS/706100315
By Jason Anderson
Record Staff Writer
June 10, 2007 6:00 AM
The Big West Conference brain trust made a decision three years ago that seemed to cut against the very grains of rich, fertile soil on which its member institutions were founded.
This is California - The Golden State - one of the nation's leading growers of young athletes who excel in everything under the sun. Homegrown talents helped the Big West send four baseball teams, five softball teams and six women's volleyball teams to their respective NCAA tournaments in 2006-07. Much of the Big West's success over the past 20 years has been rooted in these sports, but in 2004, the conference's board of directors launched a strategic plan that emphasized basketball, particularly the men's game.
The board urged each institution to do its part to improve funding, recruiting, scheduling, facilities and attendance. The Big West elected to chase the lights, cameras and cash that accompany March Madness, a move many believed necessary to improve exposure and revenues.
Ratings Percentage Index
A year-by-year look at the Big West's conference RPI in men's basketball:
1997 -- 14
1998 -- 18
1999 -- 19
2000 -- 19
2001 -- 18
2002 -- 18
2003 -- 22
2004 -- 18
2005 -- 18
2006 -- 23
2007 -- 16
"For a conference that doesn't sponsor the sport of football, our national perception, our public perception is driven largely by how we're perceived in the sport of basketball," Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell said.
"We're one of the top conferences in the country in a number of sports - women's volleyball, baseball, softball, men's and women's soccer. We're very proud of the fact that we're nationally competitive in all those sports, but, whether it's right or wrong, in the eyes of the public, in the eyes of the media, our perception is built largely on basketball."
Since then-member UNLV's storied run ended in the early 1990s, though, the conference's greatest triumphs have come in other, less lucrative sports.
Long Beach State, Pacific and former Big West member Hawaii combined to win six NCAA women's volleyball championships from 1985-1998. The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team won a national championship in December with 18 California players on its roster, and the Cal State Fullerton baseball program has been a bona fide Division I power.
The Titans have made 28 NCAA appearances, including 16 in a row. They've won four national championships, and they're on the verge of their 15th College World Series appearance. The Titans are waving the Big West banner proudly this weekend in a Super Regional series against UCLA, but coach George Horton understands why the conference is turning to basketball to find a new flagship program.
"You feel a little bit like the stepchild, but even though it may be a slap in our face, we only need to look as far as what's going to solve our future problems," Horton said. "We've proven no matter how many times you go to Omaha or how many times you win the national championship, it's not going to solve the revenue problems. If we ever get to a point where we have a Vegas or two in our conference, that's a way out of the black hole."
The NCAA men's basketball tournament is an annual money grab, largely because of the NCAA's $6 billion television deal with CBS. Conferences receive one postseason share for each team that reaches the tournament and an additional share for every round each team advances. Shares are presently valued at just over $1.2 million, paid out over a six-year period. There are no postseason shares in women's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer and other lower-profile sports.
The Big West's goal is to send multiple teams to the men's basketball tournament each year, but that has happened only once in the past 10 years. In 2004-05, Pacific and Utah State each received bids, and Pacific defeated Pittsburgh in the opening round, netting approximately $3 million for Big West schools.
"Everybody in the conference understands that the potential for increased revenues really hinges on getting a second team to the NCAA Tournament," Long Beach State athletic director Vic Cegles said.
The Big West improved its conference Ratings Percentage Index - a ranking system based largely on strength of schedule - from No. 23 to No. 16 last season, a dramatic rise that represented the conference's highest rating since 1997. Cal Poly athletic director Alison Cone said it's too soon to tell if the Big West's efforts led directly to the ratings improvement, but she said the movement was significant.
"It's huge," Cone said. "You make another improvement like that, and all of the sudden you're looking at multiple teams in the tournament."
Pacific athletic director Lynn King shares Cone's cautious optimism and said tougher nonconference scheduling will continue to be a key.
"We need to schedule as strong as we can outside our conference, and we have to win as many of those games as possible," King said. "I think we did a better job of that last season, and our nonconference success helped improve our RPI."
The Big West consistently ranks among the top 10 conferences in baseball, softball, women's volleyball and soccer. Those sports have given the Big West some of its greatest moments, but they don't generate the money associated with men's basketball.
"It's tremendous that we've had the success in those other sports," King said. "Nobody has any intent of debilitating those sports, but the reality of it is that our revenue streams in this league change significantly based on what we're able to do in men's basketball."