I really would like someone who knows the economics of basketball scheduling to comment on this, because I don't, but I'm going to offer a scenario for discussion purposes only... Any similarity between this scenario and reality is purely coincidental....
Let's suppose that Louisiana can schedule Mt. Carmel of the Holy Word at home for $5000. It can schedule an away game with Mr. Big's School of Fat Cats, which is a P% school for $15,000. Louisiana has made $10,000 off the two games.
If it can schedule a home and home with another mid-major, would it sell an extra $10,000 worth of tickets for the home game?
I realize finances are not everything, but they are important. And, I don't know that the needle would move enough in perception to make the loss of income worth it.
Buying a home game against a decent midmajor like Belmont might be 100K. A home and home should be free. Considering the OOC schedules that most mid majors in the south seem to have, it is clear to me that they just flat out dont want to play OOC road games against their peers. That is all about padding records.
Their scheduling practices have created the self-fulfilling prophecy that the SBC or CUSA is a one-bid conference. I keep pointing to the WCC, which is crap below the top 3 teams, yet they are usually a 2 bid conference, sometimes 3. Gonzaga, BYU and St. Mary ain't playing the little sisters of the poor OOC.
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