Read the opposing argument from Bleacher Fan.
I am all for a mid-major team making a deep run into the NCAA Tournament every so often. And yes, I am still calling Butler a mid-major. In this year’s case, having Butler in the Final Four could add to the buzz of the event since the Bulldogs call Indianapolis home. (As an aside, I think buzz is very much needed at this year’s Final Four.) But Butler, the mid-major, having a presence in the Final Four is a onetime exception and not par for the course. Perhaps due in large part to college football, as Sports Geek pointed out in the intro, there still is a mental separation in the minds of most fans between power conferences and mid-majors. That is the way it should be.
Take this year’s Final Four teams as an example. Duke, West Virginia, Michigan State, and Butler. Butler you say? Hmmm. To the true college basketball fan, Butler is recognized as a solid team who has built up its credentials over the past few season. During the past four seasons the Bulldogs have won 119 games. Mid-major or not, that is quite impressive. But if you look at those four teams in the Final Four as the average fan, or even the non-fan (you know, that person who is probably leading your office pool right now), they have absolutely no clue who the Butler Bulldogs are, or that they are even located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Doesn’t that tell you something about the lack of respect that mid-majors currently have?
It is one thing for a “Cinderella” to make the Sweet Sixteen. Kudos to Northern Iowa and St. Mary’s for doing that this season. However, it is quite another for a Cinderella team to make it to the Final Four.
Counting this season, let’s look at the past ten Final Fours and see how many of them are mid-majors. Obviously, George Mason and their magical run from four years ago comes quickly to mind. But with the 40 teams that have made it to the Final Four over the past decade, only three (this season’s Butler team, the 2008 Memphis team – whose victories are now vacated – and that 2006 George Mason team) are from conferences outside the so-called power six, which are the BCS conferences in football. That is much less than ten percent of all the teams that have made it to the Final Four.
There is no doubt that there are mid-major teams that are capable of pulling off upsets come tournament time. We have seen that this year, haven’t we Kansas and Villanova? There are even some mid-major teams, like Butler and Gonzaga, which have begun to thrust themselves into the upper echelon of college basketball. But mid-majors need to have success on a larger stage with more Final Four appearances and possibly even a championship or two before we even considered lifting the “mid-major” label.
To answer the question Sports Geek posed in his intro… NO! The term “mid-major” should not be dropped from college basketball terminology. Fans and media need to see more before we consider doing that.
[...] Read the opposing argument from Loyal Homer. [...]