Gabe's mention of conference tourneys in his Ten Thoughts made me think of the historical context of these events.
In the days before wall-to-wall sports coverage, ie. pre-ESPN, basketball games weren't just television inventory.
Most of my youth through my college career ('67-'71) and beyond, the NCAA tournament had 22 participants. Invitations were extended to conference champions and some independents; there were no at-large berths. Schools or conferences were assigned to set regions; the Big 8, Southwest Conference, and the Missouri Valley conference comprised 3 of the 4 entrants into the Midwest region.
With one exception, conference championships (and the automatic tourney bid) were determined by the regular season winner. That exception was the ACC which had a post-season conference tournament. With the one and only ACC bid going to the winner of that tournament, the ACC tourney was a compelling event, both in person and on television; it eventually became the model for most other conferences, who were envious of the dollars, excitement, and attention.
The Big 8 (and its predecessors) annually hosted a holiday conference tournament, and for several years after the post-season tourney was established, Kansas City hosted both events. That meant it was conceivable that teams could play a conference rival 4 times in one season, not counting a possible NCAA matchup. That possibility led to the demise of the holiday event, along with more and more early season tournaments in more exotic locales.
I understand the need for television inventory during "Championship Week" and the dollars flowing therefrom. At one time, arenas were pretty full, also, meaning ticket revenue, but I think these events aren't nearly the draw they once were.
So, even setting aside the considerations this year in dealing with the pandemic, i would prefer doing away with the conference tournaments. If the concern is getting more mid-majors in (the large conferences already get multiple bids that are merit-based), expand the field to 96 or 128. Nashville, for example is a great destination (I've gone there for our Vandy football games and our NCAA appearance a few years ago), but if I'm going to travel in March, I'd rather save my shekels and go to an NCAA game than the SEC tourney.
I'm not necessarily advocating for bringing back the conference holiday tournament, especially with most, if not all, conferences having more than 8 teams. But for the old Big 8, it was a helluva lot of fun. A major difference from the post-season tourney was that if you came to Kansas City, you knew your were going to be able to see your team play 3 games. And if you were a basketball junkie, you knew you would see 4 games on each of 3 days. The 4 teams that lost in the quarterfinals were relegated to "The Sunshine League". Downtown Kansas City, particularly around the Municipal Auditorium and nearby hotels, was alive with fans from all over the Midwest. You could hobnob with players and coaches from all teams in the hotel lobbies and make enduring friendships with tourney regulars from all the schools. That's not going to happen again, but I have some very pleasant memories from those days.
In the days before wall-to-wall sports coverage, ie. pre-ESPN, basketball games weren't just television inventory.
Most of my youth through my college career ('67-'71) and beyond, the NCAA tournament had 22 participants. Invitations were extended to conference champions and some independents; there were no at-large berths. Schools or conferences were assigned to set regions; the Big 8, Southwest Conference, and the Missouri Valley conference comprised 3 of the 4 entrants into the Midwest region.
With one exception, conference championships (and the automatic tourney bid) were determined by the regular season winner. That exception was the ACC which had a post-season conference tournament. With the one and only ACC bid going to the winner of that tournament, the ACC tourney was a compelling event, both in person and on television; it eventually became the model for most other conferences, who were envious of the dollars, excitement, and attention.
The Big 8 (and its predecessors) annually hosted a holiday conference tournament, and for several years after the post-season tourney was established, Kansas City hosted both events. That meant it was conceivable that teams could play a conference rival 4 times in one season, not counting a possible NCAA matchup. That possibility led to the demise of the holiday event, along with more and more early season tournaments in more exotic locales.
I understand the need for television inventory during "Championship Week" and the dollars flowing therefrom. At one time, arenas were pretty full, also, meaning ticket revenue, but I think these events aren't nearly the draw they once were.
So, even setting aside the considerations this year in dealing with the pandemic, i would prefer doing away with the conference tournaments. If the concern is getting more mid-majors in (the large conferences already get multiple bids that are merit-based), expand the field to 96 or 128. Nashville, for example is a great destination (I've gone there for our Vandy football games and our NCAA appearance a few years ago), but if I'm going to travel in March, I'd rather save my shekels and go to an NCAA game than the SEC tourney.
I'm not necessarily advocating for bringing back the conference holiday tournament, especially with most, if not all, conferences having more than 8 teams. But for the old Big 8, it was a helluva lot of fun. A major difference from the post-season tourney was that if you came to Kansas City, you knew your were going to be able to see your team play 3 games. And if you were a basketball junkie, you knew you would see 4 games on each of 3 days. The 4 teams that lost in the quarterfinals were relegated to "The Sunshine League". Downtown Kansas City, particularly around the Municipal Auditorium and nearby hotels, was alive with fans from all over the Midwest. You could hobnob with players and coaches from all teams in the hotel lobbies and make enduring friendships with tourney regulars from all the schools. That's not going to happen again, but I have some very pleasant memories from those days.
