What's the most important thing when adding a school?

[General]

Should we focus on recent success - last 10 years or a larger sample size - 25 or more years of sustained success? How important is the head coach? Sure Stevens and Smart are young studs but does anyone think they'll be at their schools forever? Attendance gets mentioned a lot- how much does that matter? Athletic department success- should having a good volleyball or soccer team influence the much larger more important sports?

I enjoy the board! Would love to know everyone's thoughts.

[Dew]

Who the coach is shouldn't influence the decision at all.

[BillikensWin]

Who the coach is shouldn't influence the decision at all.

As a SLU fan, I am obligated to agree with you.

[Moliva]

I would rank the following as the 3 most important factors:

1- having a lot of money.
2- having an excellent academic reputation.
3- having a unique mascot, possibly one with 8 legs.

[Natty]

Should we focus on recent success - last 10 years or a larger sample size - 25 or more years of sustained success? How important is the head coach? Sure Stevens and Smart are young studs but does anyone think they'll be at their schools forever? Attendance gets mentioned a lot- how much does that matter? Athletic department success- should having a good volleyball or soccer team influence the much larger more important sports?

I enjoy the board! Would love to know everyone's thoughts.

Going down the list...

1. Focus on recent success? - Obviously. Xavier and Butler have pretty much done all of their MAJOR damage over the past decade, both having made the Sweet 16 once before this past decade (Xavier in '99, Butler way back in '62). Also keep in mind Butler hadn't made a NCAA tournament appearance between 1962 and 1997...and the Bulldogs are thought as one of the two "locks", so clearly they are being judged on how people perceive them now. You could say the same about Gonzaga. People say they'd be a lock if they were closer, but they only made their first-ever tournament appearance in 1995, but then sustained that success. So clearly, recent success--based off who are thought as the definites--is a major factor when adding teams.

2. How important is the head coach? - I'd say only really important in the case of Smart and Stevens. Those guys names pop up with every major job opening, yet both are still at their schools. Would they leave if a UNC or Duke offered? Quite possibly. But so far they both appear to be more Mark Few than Anthony Grant/Sean Miller. So that's a risk the league considers. If both stay you've got two bright coaching stars to help market your league. Both programs do have nice histories outside of those coaches as well, and are in a better position to succeed than they were before their recent accomplishments, even if those coaches move on (which I don't think they do).

3. Does attendance matter? - It always matters (gotta sell tickets to conference tournaments), but I think most of the schools mentioned have pretty rabid fan bases that could grow with this new conference. That said, Butler is pretty much a lock, but are averaging fewer fans than Creighton, Dayton, Xavier and VCU (but are ahead of SLU and Richmond), and the Bulldogs are the highest ranked team in the discussion and coming off of two national championship appearances. So I think it matters, but I think their ability to help Fox sell ad space matters more.

4. Do other sports matter? - I understand folks on WANT that to matter, but it just doesn't. You aren't getting UConn women's hoops in this, so it's pretty much a non-factor.

[glen]

It has to be a "basketball school". Some schools are quickly identified as such (Butler-Creighton) and some are not (SLU-Richmond).

[Bostonspider]

It has to be a "basketball school". Some schools are quickly identified as such (Butler-Creighton) and some are not (SLU-Richmond).

How is Creighton more quickly identified as a "basketball school" than SLU? SLU has put their money where their mouth is and BUILT (not rented) a stunning 10,000 seat basketball arena. Spent ridiculous amounts of money to hire a coach (RIP). It is not like they are a football school. Yes they are great at soccer, but so is Creighton. Just because Creighton rents (and fills) a nice civic arena makes them a "basketball school". Creighton has no more recent NCAA tourney success than Richmond, so that is not it, what is it then?

Chaifetz Arena

[glen]

Perception is reality. When I think of Creighton I think of basketball as I'm sure a lot of people do nationally. SLU doesn't have the same recognition for hoops in my opinion.

[Bostonspider]

But that is just your perception... Richmond went to the Sweet 16 in 2011, and has a storied history of upsets in the NCAA's. If I say University of Richmond up here in Boston, guys tend to say, "oh the Spiders." I am pretty sure that is not because of the I-AA title in 2008.

[Jet915]

K, let's just talk about basketball.

NCAA tournament bids: 18 for Creighton (8 in last 15), 7 for SLU (3 in last 15)
Fan Support: 17,000 fans a game for Creighton (12,000 season ticket holders), 6-7K for SLU
Facilities: 18,500 NBA style arena for Creighton, 10,000 College Arena for SLU

There is no way SLU beats Creighton in any aspect related to basketball period.