If the power 5 were to leave

[Galway Eagle]

Who would then be considered the blue bloods? I mean obviously it's not like Duke and Kansas etc are just dropping their programs but in the NCAA tournament what programs do you think would suddenly be known as the top dogs, head honchos, big cheese?

[GGGG]

None of them.  It would basically become the equivalent of FCS...schools fighting to be the North Dakota State of college basketball.

[EnderWiggen]

None of them.  It would basically become the equivalent of FCS...schools fighting to be the North Dakota State of college basketball.

/thread

[Galway Eagle]

None of them.  It would basically become the equivalent of FCS...schools fighting to be the North Dakota State of college basketball.

But fcs never had any good programs I mean there's still be some pretty big powerhouses left for the NCAA tournament. 

[GGGG]

But fcs never had any good programs I mean there's still be some pretty big powerhouses left for the NCAA tournament. 

But, in a relative sense, no one is going to care.  Sure the first few years it will be interesting, but eventually the Power 5 will generate most of the money and attract almost all of the top prospects. 

[GooooMarquette]

Hard to be a blue blood without ever winning it all...so back to the original question...UConn (4 titles), Cinci (2), San Francisco (2), MU (1), GTown (1), Nova (1), UNLV (1), Loyola (1), LaSalle (1), CCNY (1) and Holy Cross (1) are the only non-"Power 5" teams to have won NCAA titles.  

When you combine this past history with recent success and consistent performance, I think you'd have to call UConn, Cinci, MU, GTown and Nova the "blue bloods."  I could also see an argument for Memphis, which has never won, but was runner up twice and has a long history of being a solid program.  Programs like Gonzaga, Xavier and Butler also come to mind, but would seem like a stretch.  Others I missed?

[JoeSmith1721]

Hard to be a blue blood without ever winning it all...so back to the original question...UConn (4 titles), Cinci (2), San Francisco (2), MU (1), GTown (1), Nova (1), UNLV (1), Loyola (1), LaSalle (1), CCNY (1) and Holy Cross (1) are the only non-"Power 5" teams to have won NCAA titles.  

When you combine this past history with recent success and consistent performance, I think you'd have to call UConn, Cinci, MU, GTown and Nova the "blue bloods."  I could also see an argument for Memphis, which has never won, but was runner up twice and has a long history of being a solid program.  Programs like Gonzaga, Xavier and Butler also come to mind, but would seem like a stretch.  Others I missed?

Dayton

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Haven't really been paying attention to any of this. I understand the power 5 frustration with the NCAA but this would honestly be the worst thing for all college athletics not named football. Really unfortunate amateur athletics has come to this.

[Galway Eagle]

Dayton

Fify

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

It wouldn't be us. We would go with the power 5.

[Galway Eagle]

It wouldn't be us. We would go with the power 5.

How would we manage that? Just say no to football money?

[GoldenWarrior11]

No one, not the P5, not the G5, not the networks, not leagues, will be changing the NCAA tournament.  There is way too much money going around for anyone to tamper with it.  The NCAA is currently in the beginning of a 14-year, $10.8 Billion contract, with over $740 million annually to colleges.

Marquette, as well as the Big East, will not be left behind.  The conference, via athletic directors, presidents and the commissioner, have all gone on record saying they will do whatever it takes to compete with the P5 with regards to benefits to athletes.  With the new Fox contact the schools have, and the huge amount of money each university is making as a result of it, this should cause no concern.

Frankly, my biggest concern regarding Marquette basketball is where the team will be playing after the Bradley Center, but that is a topic for another thread...

Rest easy with the P5 debate, fellas.  It doesn't concern or affect us in basketball.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

How would we manage that? Just say no to football money?

See GoldenWarrior's post. Whatever they offer in basketball we can match and even exceed. I have confidence that the Big East, Atlantic Ten, and WCC would get invites to come with the power 5 if they were to do a full split from the NCAA. I really don't think that the split is happening anyway. The power 5 will get the powers they are asking for and be placated, at least for the next 14 or so years.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Doesn't college football thrive on having as many eyeballs on the screen as possible? I'm just not sure that isolating themselves to the graduates of ~50-60 schools is the best marketing plan.

Look at the NFL. It seems to me that it thrives because every hick in the country associates himself with a team, even if he's 200 or 500 miles away from where they play.

Will an organization that has a fanbase of just the graduates of these schools work? I mean I understand that each of these taxpayer financed public universities has 40,000 students, but still.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Of course I say that knowing that every UW-Waukesha graduate thinks he went to Madison.

[GGGG]

Doesn't college football thrive on having as many eyeballs on the screen as possible? I'm just not sure that isolating themselves to the graduates of ~50-60 schools is the best marketing plan.

Look at the NFL. It seems to me that it thrives because every hick in the country associates himself with a team, even if he's 200 or 500 miles away from where they play.

Will an organization that has a fanbase of just the graduates of these schools work? I mean I understand that each of these taxpayer financed public universities has 40,000 students, but still.

Most major college football fanbases are much larger than its alumni base.  The Power 5 probably get 90% of the eyeballs that watch college football.

[Galway Eagle]

Most major college football fanbases are much larger than its alumni base.  The Power 5 probably get 90% of the eyeballs that watch college football.

Yes but before TCU went to the big twelve it was probably only 85%

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Most major college football fanbases are much larger than its alumni base.  The Power 5 probably get 90% of the eyeballs that watch college football.

They do now, but would that continue? Are people who have no affiliation with the school going to resent that these schools have separated themselves from the unwashed masses?

Maybe it's a question of whether people are dumb enough to buy into being a fan of an elite organization that has set itself apart.

One of my non-MU roommates in college (fellow Wisconsin native) was a supposed UK fan, so I guess the answer is yes.

[GGGG]

They do now, but would that continue? Are people who have no affiliation with the school going to resent that these schools have separated themselves from the unwashed masses?

Of course.  Do you think most college football fans care that the likes of Middle Tennessee is getting left behind?

Maybe it's a question of whether people are dumb enough to buy into being a fan of an elite organization that has set itself apart.

I'm a fan of college football.  I enjoy watching the top teams playing in front of the big crowds on a Saturday afternoon and evening.  I will continue to watch that regardless of the fate of the Sun Belt, CUSA and MAC.

[Aughnanure]

Of course.  Do you think most college football fans care that the likes of Middle Tennessee is getting left behind?


I'm a fan of college football.  I enjoy watching the top teams playing in front of the big crowds on a Saturday afternoon and evening.  I will continue to watch that regardless of the fate of the Sun Belt, CUSA and MAC.

I agree in principle, but I think you're missing something. Yes, many people are graduates of schools that are in the P5, but there are many many many more that are not. If the Power 5 really do just say F- You and Go Home, there is going to widespread resentment and backlash directed at them. There's a lot of schools, particularly in the West that would be cut out of this, like Boise St, BYU, Wyoming, Memphis, Cinci, UAB, East Carolina, with large alumni bases that DO care about their team.

There's a point where cutting too much will prove to be too much, and actually damage the overall product and interest.

[GGGG]

I agree in principle, but I think you're missing something. Yes, many people are graduates of schools that are in the P5, but there are many many many more that are not. If the Power 5 really do just say F- You and Go Home, there is going to widespread resentment and backlash directed at them. There's a lot of schools, particularly in the West that would be cut out of this, like Boise St, BYU, Wyoming, Memphis, Cinci, UAB, East Carolina, with large alumni bases that DO care about their team.

I simply don't think the resentment and backlash would be all that widespread. 

[Groin_pull]

The Big East will probably survive this shakeout, but it will slide down in the pecking order. Get ready to hear a lot of "Big East is a mid-major" from the talking heads at ESPN, etc.

I'm sure it has already started on the recruiting trail. I would guess that coaches from the Big 5 conferences are constantly reminding our recruits that MU is now on a lower tier. The Big East is being lumped with the A-10, MWC, and AAC.

I thought the goal of every sports league—college and pro—was to draw as many fans to stadiums and TVs as possible. Hard to see how all of this is good for the long-term health of college sports.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I'm sure it has already started on the recruiting trail. I would guess that coaches from the Big 5 conferences are constantly reminding our recruits that MU is now on a lower tier. The Big East is being lumped with the A-10, MWC, and AAC.

I'm sure it is, but it doesn't seem to be working, at least not yet. BEast came in second (behind the ACC) for most RSCI Top 100 recruits in 2014. And that's with only 10 teams. Recruits aren't fooled.

[Groin_pull]

I simply don't think the resentment and backlash would be all that widespread. 

If I was running college sports, I'd be worried less about resentment and backlash and more about a rising disinterest.

As more schools—and their fans—get squeezed out of the picture, those same fans will find something else to spend their time and money on.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I thought the goal of every sports league—college and pro—was to draw as many fans to stadiums and TVs as possible. Hard to see how all of this is good for the long-term health of college sports.

It's not about the league. It's about the conferences. Right now most college football fans watch the power 5 but millions more don't. They watch the MWCs, AACs, and CUSAs of the world. You cut out those conferences and all of the sudden everyone has to watch the power 5 if they want any college football at all. The conferences can then charge more.

That's a dumbed down version, but that's their hope in a nutshell. All about the benjamins.