They are in the Horizon league right now and only get one bid for the NCAA tourniment. Should they switch leagues or stay in the one they are in?
2007-03-05 11:39:43 · 5 answers · asked by Mike 4 in Sports ➔ Basketball
i've already explained this once to someone else, i guess i have to explain again...
when a school considers changing conferences, they take into account their entire athletic program, not just one sport...is it true that most conference changes are triggered by the well-being of one sport, yes, but athletic departments spend a lot of time making sure that other sports will not be drastically affected in areas such as competitiveness and travel...for butler to move to a bigger conference would be poison for its other programs which are not as developed, and they would end up being crushed under the heat of big conference pressure in small sports that no one discusses, like swimming or things like that
and by the way, butler is in for sure no matter what, there is no chance of them being left out because of the power conference teams they have beaten
2007-03-05 11:50:26 · answer #1 · answered by sabes99 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first question is which "major" conference would take Butler?
They could not join the Big Ten- no football. The only big conference which might consider them is the Big East, which is too big as it is.
They may fit in the Missouri Valley Conference. The only problem is that most if its members have long traditions in the conference such as Indiana State and Evansville, which would be logically rivalries but it would cause an oversaturation of second tier Indiana schools in the conference.
I don't think Butler would want to join the MAC, not because they couldn't compete there- and football would still be an issue since the basketball teams play football as well- but the MAC really is helter skelter in terms of how many at-large bids they get in a particular year.
2007-03-05 21:23:50 · answer #2 · answered by Patrick M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
STAY
It's not like they totally owned the conference. They lost at least 3 or 4 times in conference play so the talent level isn't that much of a difference. Once their talent players like A.J. Graves leaves, they won't be as good and you won't even hear their name anymore. If the NCAA placed them in a power conference, they would just get annihilated every year (in like 5 years from now). Plus their location is perfect for the conference they are in.
2007-03-05 19:45:04 · answer #3 · answered by Hank 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Switching leagues wouldn't affect them that much. If they want to have a chance at any at learge bids, they should simply pick a harder out of conference schedule...leagues aren't limited to one bid, unless the league is bad, it's all about your out of conference schedule, and they did pretty good: Tennesee, ND and Gonzaga... i'd say even if they lose their tornament, they MIGHT get in anyway...
2007-03-05 19:47:37 · answer #4 · answered by 100% Dukie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if you're one of maybe the 7 total butler fans, then you should be begging for them to not switch. because in any other major conference they would be crushed.
2007-03-05 19:55:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋