Much was made this college-basketball season about computer ratings that showed the Missouri Valley to be the nation’s sixth-best conference — ahead of the mighty Big 12, which came in seventh. This evidence seemed to support the conclusion that the MVC had joined the ranks of the big boys, and should no longer be considered a “mid-major.” But perhaps the opposite was true: perhaps the Missouri Valley is still a mid-major… and so is the Big 12.
This year’s version of the “coaching carousel” certainly seems to support that notion, as two of the Big 12’s most promising up-and-coming coaches were poached by better teams. First Bob Huggins abandoned Kansas State after just one year West Virginia, and now Billy Gillispie has left Texas A&M for Kentucky.
Isn’t this what routinely happens to successful mid-major schools? They have a good season or two, and then their coach gets stolen away by a major-conference school? Like the Air Force coach going to Colorado*, or the Butler coach going to Iowa? Welcome to the party, Big 12. Heh.
The Missouri Valley Conference, meanwhile, is doing a surprisingly good job of retaining its top coaches. Southern Illinois re-signed Chris Lowery to a seven-year, $5 million deal. And Creighton’s Dana Altman, after initially deciding to leave for Arkansas, had an abrupt change of heart and decided he belongs in Omaha. So he’s staying. Moreover, the bottom teams in the MVC are also acting like big-conference schools, firing their coaches for failing to meet expectations.
In other coaching news, former Gonzaga head coach Dan Monson, who recently resigned from the Minnesota job that he left the Zags for (thus starting the whole Tubby Smith-Billy Gillispie chain of events), has been hired by Long Beach State as its new head coach. Hmm, I wonder if a Gonzaga-LBSU game could be scheduled? Mark Few vs. his former boss? That’d be fun. Of course, Few will have a more immediate version of that when the Zags play San Diego in the WCC next year.
*Pay no attention to the fact that Colorado is in the Big 12, thus disrupting my theory.
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Categories: NCAA Basketball & Pools
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April 7th, 2007 at 12:05:05 pm
Huggins left to go to his alma mater (which you cant really blame him, Kansas State gave him an opportunity to get back in teh game but he has no ties to K-State and so while the timing was poor he couldnt pass on the opportunity to coach his alma mater because it might not have come again), and Gillepsie left to go to one of the most storied programs in country, and both left from football schools in their conference, so to call Big 12 a midmajor in terms of coaching based on those two coaches is pretty inaccurate.
In fact Kansas poached their current coach from the Big Ten after they lost their coach to North Carolina so does that make the Big Ten a midmajor, but wait the Big Ten plucked Beilein from the Big East so that must make the Big East a midmajor, but then they got Huggins from the Big 12. See your logic doesnt fly on this one Brendan.
Until the MVC gets a coach to leave a major conference program to coach in the MVC and not just choose to stay in a situation where they are already comfortable, they are still left out of this circle. And Dana Altman changing his mind about Arkansas doesnt count as leaving Arkansas for Creighton.
April 7th, 2007 at 12:38:46 pm
You should post the video of Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera screaming at each other immediately.
April 7th, 2007 at 4:35:03 pm
GR, I wasn’t being entirely serious with this post. :)
April 7th, 2007 at 7:12:07 pm
Just had to put the midmajors in their place, theyre ruining college basketball :)