A-10: We're Not Mid-Majors!

Big-time Xavier big-timed Virginia. (AP photo)

This debate has been ~~raging~~ fermenting like smelly cheese for several years now. The A-10, we can all acknowledge, used to be a very strong second-tier basketball conference, coming just after the biggest of the big boys. The last few years have been poorer than usual. At the same time, several other conferences have risen up in those years. And finally, a terminology-and-rankings-hungry media has exploded with ever more rankings and categories in those years.

The result? A Mid-Major frenzy, with some rankings choosing to exclude the A-10 from that category, others choosing to include the A-10, and A-10 fans lashing out at anyone who dared suggest the conference had anything to do with the MM label. Some writers (i.e. Eric Prisbell) seemed to delight in eliciting such a reaction, while some readers seemed to delight in sending me 9,000-word dissertations on how the Atlantic 10 was really God's conference.

Well, the disintegrating cheese has burst this week, with Xavier making a public show of declining a Mid-Major player of the week award from Rivals, saying we're not no damn mid-major and you can keep your stinking award.

Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno backed the Musketeers' stance. "I really am puzzled why anyone would consider us a mid-major," she said. "It's a term you really don't need. It got started because the media use football terms for basketball leagues. Give people credit for what they're good at. The term is derogatory."

Not to take sides, but I'd suggest that the term is meaningless rather than derogatory, and that in fact many basketball fans have decided it's more fun and more wholesome to root for so-called MM's, making the term the opposite of derogatory.

"Mid-major is not an in-depth enough analysis to say that's who you are. We operate here at a very high level," AD Mike Bobinski told the Cincy Enquirer. And while that may be true on several levels (attendance, fundraising, arena size, history, expectations), it's still probably worth looking at some recent NCAA tournament stats, just for fun, and also to try to make A-10 fans angry.

Here are five conferences that aren't BCS but that might aspire to be something other than "Mid-Major," with stats from the three most recent NCAA tournaments. And yes, the A-10 will likely blow these stats up this year, but they still happened.

Missouri Valley - 9 NCAA berths, 7-9 overall record, 3 Sweet 16 appearances

Colonial - 5 NCAA berths, 5-5 overall record, 1 Sweet 16 appearance

Horizon - 4 NCAA berths, 5-4 overall record, 2 Sweet 16 appearances

Atlantic 10 - 5 NCAA berths, 2-5 overall record, 0 Sweet 16 appearances

WAC - 6 NCAA berths, 2-6 overall record, 0 Sweet 16 appearances

Stats aside, Fran Fraschilla is now publicly lobbying against A-10 mid-majorhood:

I am not a big fan of calling the Atlantic 10 a "mid-major" conference. In fact, it's insulting if you follow college basketball closely. Because its schools do not play major college football in the BCS, it's convenient to say that they don't play high level basketball, also. But, if you go by tradition, resources and recent success, the majority of the schools in the Atlantic 10 are "big-time" programs.

Fran cites St. Joe's with Jameer Nelson, which I think is a ridiculous argument, because as strong as that team was, they were a national story all year because of their underdog, is-this-really-happening role. If, say, Seton Hall had been in that spot, would the storyline have really been identical?

Anyhow, I propose at least four DI categories: BCS (self-explanatory), Big-Time (A-10, CUSA, Missouri Valley, Mountain West), Mid Major (everyone else) and Small Major (Longwood).

By Dan Steinberg | January 10, 2008; 11:35 AM ET | Category: College Basketball
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Can't we just label the conferences that are in the middle Undeclared Majors?

Can I copyright that?

Posted by: bryc3 | January 10, 2008 11:52 AM

If C.Cowherd is the Schrutebag, what does that make L. Bruno?

Posted by: smperk | January 10, 2008 11:57 AM

It's all kind of silly really, squabbling over names that talking heads give out. But as a Xavier grad, I'm happy that my school fights these things. We successfully defeated talking heads saying "Eggs-zavier" with a public campaign to rid the world of "Eggs-zavier" - maybe we can beat this rap as well.

As long as we keep beating ACC schools by 38, people can call us what they want.

Posted by: Kev | January 10, 2008 12:02 PM

Kyle Whelliston can not have this post go any further than us.

Posted by: ScottVanPeltStyle.com | January 10, 2008 12:10 PM

Come on ST. Bonaventure is no way a mid major team....we are not major in any way....

;-)

Posted by: bona land | January 10, 2008 12:24 PM

Derrick Brown has a package for Kyle Whelliston's chin...

http://assets.espn.go.com/media/apphoto/fa3f420b-7345-4a0b-914f-5819c93fcf04.jpg

Posted by: Kev | January 10, 2008 12:26 PM

Hey Kev, thanks for proving that the A-10 doesnt deserve the Major classification. If a top ranked Big East team, say, Georgetown, had beaten UVA by the same margin its a non-story, except locally. When Xavier does it its a huge win.

Posted by: ADLC | January 10, 2008 12:26 PM

Dominating Indiana on a neutral court was a huge win, beating THE University by 38 was just hilarious.

Posted by: Kev | January 10, 2008 12:32 PM

ahem. how about some Caps Love again? They are in town, ya know.

Posted by: me again | January 10, 2008 12:48 PM

I say we call L. Bruno...Revolutionary de Irrelevant!

If she was a man, I'd probably say, "The A-10's president is a real J.O."

Posted by: WaPoLiveFan16 | January 10, 2008 12:49 PM

there are 32 conferences including the Independents, so it seems like you could call the top 10 the high majors, the middle 12 the mid-majors and the bottom 10 the low majors.

but nobody thinks that way, and the problem is that there can be a huge difference between the top and bottom of these conferences (Xavier vs. the Bonnies or Memphis vs. anyone else is CUSA). would anyone call Memphis a mid-major school?

Posted by: jamie | January 10, 2008 12:51 PM

What's funny is that I don't hear the same things comming any more out of the CAA anymore. They had a team go the final 4 and had a string of teams that created upsets, but this year they aren't that good and they are content with their mid major status. Upsets don't make you a high major, you become one when they become expectations

Posted by: zzzz | January 10, 2008 01:22 PM

I thought Longwood was a minor.

Posted by: B.A. | January 10, 2008 01:35 PM

A few years back (seems like eons ago, but I guess it was the 05-06 season) when GW had their incredible 27-3, number 6 in the nation season, there was a poll in the Post. It had the Top 5 Mid-Majors. I think, but can't be sure, that GW was ranked 1st. However, my roommate took exception with this fact, because hey! Memphis should be considered a mid-major too! And certainly if they had rightly be considered as such, they would have been ranked higher than GW. So, he decided to call the Post. It took him nearly 30 or 40 minutes to get through to anyone who would speak to him at the sports desk, but eventually some timid intern (guessing here) took down his message of him ranting against the use of the term mid-major, how we weren't a mid-major, how Memphis should thereby also be considered a mid-major, I could go on.

Fast forward to next week. The same poll is included in the post. However, this time it came with the qualifier that "For purposes of conversation, Memphis has been excluded from this poll".

I guess they do listen at the Post. Bastards.

Posted by: Ben | January 10, 2008 01:43 PM

Congratulations to GW and St. Louis for a new Division 1 record?

Posted by: sitruc | January 11, 2008 03:27 AM

Man, no love for the CAA...

We knock out Duke in the most memorable game of the tourny last year, and send a team to the Final 4 the year before that...and this is the thanks we get?

sheeesh.

Posted by: Mat | January 22, 2008 09:29 AM

The previous two seasons, the A-10 should have been a one-bid conference, but the top team tanked in the conference tourney both times, so they wound up with two. Sounds like mid-major to me. This year, admittedly, a different story.

Posted by: Sloan | February 16, 2008 02:15 PM

A-10: We're Not Mid-Majors!

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