Mid-Major Scheduling Challenges

[Stosh]

Folks concerned about improving the level of competition in the schedules of mid-majors may be discouraged to see that even making the Final Four doesn't help much - it may even be detrimental, according to a story on Loyola in CBS sports with the lede below:

"Loyola is going to follow up a fantasy Final Four run with less fanfare because the game is still rigged against mid-majors"

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... -ramblers/

Furman is mentioned peripherally in the story as excerpted below:

"[Loyola head coach] Moser found himself stuck in the worst possible place: having a talented mid-major team, but not established enough over the long-term to get good programs to schedule you. That meant Loyola had to look across the landscape and try to find a team to schedule that hopefully wouldn't torpedo its team rating.

"We, like everybody else, have a chance to buy games," Moser said. "Instead of buying a 300-350 team, we were trying to buy the best possible team we could buy.


"So that's Furman, which won 23 games a year ago but, like Loyola, loses three key players."

> > >

The article concludes

"For Loyola and so many mid-majors like them, the scheduling game feels as rigged as ever."

[apaladin]

Any mid-major is not going to get the big boys to come to their place except on rare occasion. They do not want to give them an opportunity to beat them. Scheduling road games is not near as tough even though Furman seems to not be good at it. Counting this season Furman will play 5 games in four seasons against the major conferences while Wofford on the other hand has 6 this coming season alone.

[dinhead]

Any mid-major is not going to get the big boys to come to their place except on rare occasion. They do not want to give them an opportunity to beat them. Scheduling road games is not near as tough even though Furman seems to not be good at it. Counting this season Furman will play 5 games in four seasons against the major conferences while Wofford on the other hand has 6 this coming season alone.

We should play two more away games against major conferences instead of the two D-2 home games. These games are not hard to schedule. Major colleges pack their non-conference schedule with poor and average mid-majors and Furman is certainly in that category. Instead Furman chooses to play 3 meaningless home games against non D-1 teams in front of a few hundred people. It's all about padding our schedule to get cheap wins and it hasn't gotten us anywhere.

[Flagman]

It gives us an opportunity to run our offense and defense in game situations and lets the team develop a team concept. It can also help build confidence, even if it's against perceived inferior competition. The schedule is what it is. I'll be there, even if we play Berea Middle School's JV team.

[gman]

I’m glad the big names don’t think of playing us as being a meaningless game.

[tya1]

Loyola went to the Final Four and was only able to get one game this year against a "power conference" team - Maryland ( which didn't made the NCAAs last year.) And Maryland would not agree to a home and home. The game will be played in Maryland. Loyola only has one game against a team that made the NCAA tournament last year - Nevada. The Nevada game was mandated because it is part of the MVC-WAC challenge - which ends this coming season.

They asked two dozen or more "power conference" teams for games. The rest of the them refused. Those guys really don't like losing to mid-majors.

Major colleges pack their non-conference schedule with poor and average mid-majors and Furman is certainly in that category.

Furman finished ranked 95 of 351 in the Pomeroy rankings . That is not poor and average even compared to all teams. Of the non "P5" teams we finished approximately 30 of 286

Counting this season Furman will play 5 games in four seasons against the major conferences while Wofford on the other hand has 6 this coming season alone.

We have also played, or will play - Villanova (national champ), Loyola (Final Four), Butler (#20 in the Pomeroy rankings last year,twice national runner-up), Connecticut ( multiple times national champs), and Dayton (quality mid-major opponent.) Within a three season span we have played, or will play four teams in Pomeroy's top 13 from last season and six of the top 31.

[apaladin]

Any mid-major is not going to get the big boys to come to their place except on rare occasion. They do not want to give them an opportunity to beat them. Scheduling road games is not near as tough even though Furman seems to not be good at it. Counting this season Furman will play 5 games in four seasons against the major conferences while Wofford on the other hand has 6 this coming season alone.

We should play two more away games against major conferences instead of the two D-2 home games. These games are not hard to schedule. Major colleges pack their non-conference schedule with poor and average mid-majors and Furman is certainly in that category. Instead Furman chooses to play 3 meaningless home games against non D-1 teams in front of a few hundred people. It's all about padding our schedule to get cheap wins and it hasn't gotten us anywhere.

As you know I completely agree!