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Over Expansion? You Bet
November 7, 2007 | By Benjamin Miraski
I made mention of it in the MRI Says article for today. There are now 341 teams ranked in the MRI for basketball.
This is the eight year of the MRI for basketball, and in that time, the list has grown from 320 teams in that first season. That is a 6.5% increase in the number of teams all trying to get a small piece of the pie which is the NCAA basketball tournament.
That is just the net increase overall. Remember we had that nice team from Birmingham Southern who came and left in a flash when after making it to Division I, the athletic department decided to head back to Division III and actually shut down their basketball program for a length of time. (The basketball program is back now. If you think you are good enough, you can fill out a questionnaire to be considered for the team.) It was strange timing. Birmingham Southern finished second in the Big South to Winthrop that season, and their coach was named the conference coach of the year.
Don't think this is going to stop in the years ahead. Over the next few years, expect to see seven more teams added to the list, including the return of Seattle University and Houston Baptist to the Division I ranks.
However, when the final seven finish their transition, there will be no more, at least for four years. The NCAA Division I committee was so worried about teams jumping into Division I for more exposure and more money, they suspended reclassification in August. They will not accept any more applications until 2011.
The MRI and my hands thank them. I don't have an issue with teams with success at the Division II level making the jump. That is Seattle University. That is UC Davis. I do have an issue when teams come from nowhere, without the same competition level and think that they can make it at the top level. There is a reason so many of them clump at the bottom of the MRI standings. They aren't ready.
At least until 2012 my prep for each season will take a little less time.
Posted November 7, 2007 5:50 PM
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