MVC Tournament Format Could Be Changing ... But Why?
Shockwaves cascade around the league's fans as a proposal involving byes and one team missing the tournament among potential changes.
Editorial Note: This entire story is based upon the premise that a podcast that covers the league that got a scoop that beat writers either haven’t gotten or aren’t choosing to say anything publicly yet. This could be nothing in the end, but it’s an interesting enough topic that I had to hurriedly write about it.
Well, I did say I was getting back to work. I just didn’t expect that I’d have to turn things around this quickly.
It’s not the time for a lengthy introduction, let’s just get into the topic.
Format Change Details
Here’s where the news broke earlier in the afternoon yesterday (6/3):
For those who don’t know this podcast, it’s two guys who have been talking about the league for a long time. They have a decent following and have talked with different people across the MVC so I’m willing to accept the possibility about this rumor versus ignoring it as just random speculation or trying to get clicks.
Here are the key points that are being discussed:
The current 11-team league would have one team not make it to St. Louis for the tournament as only 10 invites would be given.
Seeds 3-10 would play two games in order to get to the semifinals (usually Saturday).
Seeds 1-2 would get a double bye into that semifinal round, needing to win only twice to take the tournament and the NCAA automatic bid.
The Men’s and Women’s tournament would be held at the same time in St. Louis. Currently these are split across two different weekends and in different locations (St. Louis for the men, Evansville for the women).
What Has Been Good about Arch Madness
Without getting into the individual points yet, let’s first look at what has been good about what the league has had in place:
Tradition: “Arch Madness” has been played in St. Louis for 35 years since 1991 and even as the league has had different numbers of teams in it, the format has generally stayed the same, where everyone in the top part of the league has had to win three games to take the title. People like having something to plan on each March and they know the format well.
Fan Presence: Another part of what makes the tournament great is the turnout you see from the different schools and seeing all of the team colors throughout the arena, especially on Thursday and Friday. You can see some of that in the lengthy story I wrote this season:
A Weekend in St. Louis: Basketball & So Much More
I found the energy after a long night to write about the quarterfinal game against Valparaiso. In case you missed that, it’s here:
Attendance: With most teams having equal footing going into the tournament, you’re maximizing the fan turnout and increasing the likelihood of people getting all session tickets. The tournament always has crazy things happen, including last season’s unprecedented run by Northern Iowa from Thursday night to win four in a row and take the championship.
There’s more here but some of that will come out as I look at the different aspects of the proposal.
My Reaction (Broken Down)
If you’ve read anything I’ve written by now, you know that I am a traditionalist by nature. It’s one of the reasons Bradley basketball has resonated with me for as long as it has. Watching the Braves take the floor is steeped in it, from Dave Snell’s incredible run of broadcasts on the radio to the school’s rich traditions spanning back across generations at this point.
I’m not Grandpa Simpson, though.
If there’s something worthwhile to be gained by changing things, I’m willing to listen and consider.
Let’s look at the proposal and each of the points.
Not Allowing All Teams to Qualify
Why would this scenario be considered?
This is purely a scheduling nuance. It’s already really complicated to get two tournaments played across the same weekend at the same venue. So, reducing the amount of entrants by one eliminates a couple games from the total needing to be played, making this new format more logically possible.
What do I think?
It’s bad. For one, you’re excluding the bottom team of the league any chance of making the NCAA tournament. Why have 11 teams in the league if there’s a chance your season ends even before Arch Madness? There’s lost sales on tickets and hotel rooms, even if it’s more minimal for a team in last place. You’re eliminating that “what if” allure and it’s almost assuredly just from a scheduling perspective.
Seeds 3-10 Now Must Win Four Games for Title; Top 2 Seeds Get Byes to Semifinals
Why would this scenario be considered?
It’s two points tied together and the rationale is that the teams with the best seasons should get a better opportunity to secure the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It could quickly get called the “Belmont Rule” as I read someone say, since Belmont got dropped in shocking fashion on Friday’s quarterfinals by Drake last season. Since the season is difficult enough to earn a high seed as it is, the argument would be made that some other leagues already do this to pave the road more for the top teams. There is an argument to be made that making the top two teams only have to play two games it insulates them more from an upset and by getting to the championship game more easily can get the league another bid. There may be some in the league circles thinking that Belmont could have gotten a bid if they get to Sunday and lost last season (I don’t think that’s realistic, but some may believe it.)
What do I think?
I’m mixed on it, but mostly negative. Winning a regular season title (or even finishing second) is an incredible achievement and should get emphasized more. By giving a massive advantage to teams who are at the top does appeal at least a little bit in terms of rewarding the top teams. But, on the other hand, Belmont getting knocked out on Friday is what conference tournaments should all be about, right? That’s nothing against Belmont specifically, but they could have just as easily gotten dropped by Drake if that game happened Saturday, too.
This isn’t good again for attendance. Why would someone of the top two schools, unless you just really love basketball, come to St. Louis before Saturday? Everybody loses out on more ticket sales, concessions, merchandise. Generally your top teams are going to be the biggest fanbases, so you’re severely cutting into a big portion of your attendees.
I think it’s harsh reality for the 3rd and 4th place team as well. Usually this is a separation of a single game in the Valley standings. Even if they get matched up against the lower seeded teams, why should they have to play twice as many games as the top two teams?
The Women’s Tournament is Held During the Same Weekend
Why would this scenario be considered?
Everything comes back to money these days. Instead of having some people needing to travel to multiple places across two weeks, everyone is stationed in the same place. You’re likely going to save on costs having just one venue, one group of concession workers, etc. Teams could potentially save on travel costs heading down together in one bus instead of two. It also provides an opportunity for the women to get more exposure for basketball fans already in the area for the men’s games.
What do I think?
I could love it, but how? Giving the women’s teams a better chance for people to watch them is a great concept. You may make up for some of those losses by dropping one team by having some basketball junkies in the arena all day to watch the women and men all at once. But, the logistics just don’t make sense. It’s complex enough it needs its own section.
How Do You Hold Two Tournaments At Once?
Here’s my version of the proposed format that has been making the rounds:
This would be possible until we start making the other logical assumptions:
The tournament is expected to be played at the Enterprise Center alone.
A single venue can only realistically hold 4-5 games in a day. The existing format has games at 12, 2:30, 6 and 8 pm. You could theoretically have a game at 9:30 in the morning, but that seems very unrealistic.
The women and men have to play four first round games in this format. If you start the same day, that’s eight games and even if you stagger it, one day would have six games, all of which is impossible.
If you get down to six teams for both the men and women, you could have four games, four games and two games and you’d be able to wrap the tournament the same day.
How can this even happen? Well, something would have to deviate from the original idea:
Scenario 1 (Multiple Venues for Round 1): I doubt St. Louis University (which has a great 10,000 seat arena) is going to host a round of the tournament for another conference. I guess if the money is right, anything is possible but just seems unrealistic. Your only other option is the Dome at America’s Center (the old Rams football stadium). Again, is this worth the cost of setting up a basketball court for a single day and then having everyone go over to the Enterprise Center for the next day? With money being so much a factor in all of this, that doesn’t fit even though it could solve your day one problem.
Edit on 6/4 AM: Someone made a really good suggestion that a few of the first games could be played at Washington University in St. Louis as well. I never think of WashU as anything but a really acclaimed academic institution but they do have a gym that would be more than good enough if say they hosted the first round of women’s games: Wash U Bears - Field House
Scenario 2 (Multiple Venues for Entire Tournament): You could solve the teardown issue by just having the men or women play the entire tournament in the football stadium. But, viewing that is going to be miserable and then you’re paying double people for security, concessions, etc. Almost impossibly a no.
Scenario 3 (Eliminate the first round entirely in St. Louis): You basically take the Horizon League model and you move all of those first games to the campuses of the higher seeded teams. These games get played Tuesday of tournament week (four for each the men and women) and you then are actually only sending six schools to St. Louis. For the now five schools that don’t make it, you miss out on those school’s fans attending in St. Louis but you also save on the travel costs for all those teams.
This is the only scenario I can see happening with the information that we have. It solves the idea of having the entire tournament on the same weekend. It gives the 3-6 seeded teams in the tournament a chance for one more game at home where they can draw revenue from that game. St. Louis only has to have one venue in this scenario and while three games would be lost from Thursday night’s current format (6 v. 11, 7 v. 10, 8 v. 9), the venue gets these mostly back in the form of women’s games (two extra games Saturday and one extra game Sunday).
The more I type it out, the more I can see this as the actual plan that could happen. Here’s what it’d look like:
Closing Thoughts (For Now)
I find logistics interesting, especially on a topic like this one. So, even if this rumor blows over and nothing actually changes, it’s still a fun exercise to explore. And if it does happen, I’m really curious to see if they will go with what I’m suggesting above in my scenario three.
I did want to get my best guesses out there on this idea but I admit it was a bit of a rush, so there’s certainly a chance I missed something here. From what I’ve read about different reactions so far, it’s been extremely negative overall.
This is apparently going to be discussed tomorrow, so we’ll have an answer soon.