Chris, you keep citing the last few years non conference schedule strength. You were a part of that and I applaud you for the effort. My concern continues to be that model has been blown up and what has been done in the past won't work anymore.
You were atleast honest about the $ aspect. My counter argument is UD is enjoying the windfall from NCAA money for the next few years. Is that considered part of the budget? If it is, what happens when/if that $ goes away? UD got a larger windfall because they made the elite eight. That is hard to do consistently from an 11 seed. Maybe a few wins on the road helps move that seed line up to where sweet sixteens aren't always because we beat higher seeded teams. Maybe the U needs to cut in other places and invest in their cash cow a little instead of always milking from it?
St. Bonaventure barely made the tournament last year and the article that started all this discussion clearly stated that if they hadn't beaten Syracuse they probably don't make the tournament. They won a lot of games yet barely got in. That risk is real for UD. What happens if UD wins a lot of games and loses in the semi final of the A10 tournament and doesn't make the tournament again and again? The death spiral begins...less attractive recruiting begets fewer wins which begets a new coach which begets a reset. Rinse, repeat.
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