Belt Has A Plan To Use Basketball For Financial Security

[MeanGreen61]

From the Sun Belt board.

Sunday, 06/03/07

Sun Belt sees basketball as financial security

League has a plan to increase revenue from tournament

By ADAM SPARKS

Gannett Tennessee

MURFREESBORO — The Sun Belt has chosen its path out of mediocrity. It's following the money.

The conference once touted among the nation's best men's basketball leagues is returning its focus to the hardwood in hopes of swimming in the NCAA Tournament's deep revenue stream.

"We're concentrating on the revenue sports, and the revenue for our conference is especially in the (NCAA) men's basketball tournament," MTSU Athletics Director Chris Massaro said. "Getting a second bid to the NCAA or pushing teams through the tournament is where we can make an immediate impact in our conference's revenue.

"In football, the BCS money is better, but the pot of gold is in the men's tournament. That's where we're missing out every year."

Such rhetoric has been exchanged in the Sun Belt in recent years, but it's now being put into action as part of a conference-sanctioned initiative to be released later this summer.

"We've talked around the issue for many years and discussed ways of backing up our level of commitment," Western Kentucky Athletics Director Wood Selig said. "We just never committed anything in writing or formally agreed to follow the same plan."

The first draft of the plan was passed 13-0 by the league's presidents at the recent Sun Belt meeting in Destin, Fla.

"That's a mandate," Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters said. "A 13-0 vote shows that everyone understands that getting additional dollars from men's basketball is huge."

Missing the money

The Sun Belt has not placed multiple teams in the tournament or won a tournament game in more than a decade, leaving money on the table for other leagues to claim.

Each conference is awarded units of revenue in the tournament based on performance, with one unit equaling one team's appearance in each round. One team losing in the first round equals one unit. Two teams losing in the first round is two units. Two teams advancing to the second round is four units, and so on.

One unit's worth increases slightly each year based on the tournament's TV contract, and that same amount is paid annually for six years to each conference. Last year, one unit was worth about $190,000 and was divided between the league office and member schools.

According to a revenue study introduced at last year's league meeting, the Sun Belt was awarded six units worth a total of $983,988 of tournament money from 2001-06.

During the same six-year period, the Mid-American Conference earned 11 units for $1.8 million and the Big 12 raked in $14,430,355 from 88 units. Conference USA amassed 44 units, and the Western Athletic Conference had 20 units.

"We're all trying like heck to win, but it's hard to get two teams in (the NCAA tournament)," MTSU men's basketball Coach Kermit Davis said. "It's got to start with smarter scheduling. You've got to play more home games, you've got to win nonconference games and you've got to raise your season-ticket sales."

Plan of action

The Sun Belt's newly-adopted initiative results from a study by a league committee appointed by MTSU President Sidney McPhee, who is also the Sun Belt president.

The plan requires member schools to meet athletic and academic standards ranging from scheduling to APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores. But the crux of the initiative is in men's basketball.

The initiative's final draft will require member schools to play at least 50 percent of its basketball games at home or at a neutral site. A similar rule for football has each school playing a minimum of 11 home games in a two-year period.

"At all levels, statistics show that teams have a better chance of winning home games," said Massaro, a member of McPhee's appointed Sun Belt committee. "In football and basketball, this is a concentrated effort not to sell ourselves so many times and reduce the buy games."

Mid-major schools routinely choose between cashing in on high-paying road games with little chance of victory and playing more competitive home games while forfeiting the aforementioned pay day.

Waters said there's not enough scheduling balance.

"The concept is if an AD has a pistol to his head and he needs to balance the athletic budget, the easy thing to do is play guaranteed games and get a big check," Waters said. "They can sleep at night, but they don't have to worry about success as much. Eventually, that will kill your program and when your team finally does come home for a game, no one will be there. You'll lose your fans.

"Good programs find a balance between playing guaranteed games and good competitive home games. You want to succeed on your own nickel, not somebody else's nickel."

MTSU is near such balance.

The Blue Raiders' 17 home and neutral site games this season will mark the most for the program in 20 years.

"We're not saying eliminate guaranteed games, but be smart with who you're playing," Waters said. "(The major conferences) gain momentum from their non-conference schedule and carry that momentum into their conference schedule. It effects the RPI and the polls. We've got to do the same thing.

"(Sun Belt) baseball is a great example of putting together a tough non-conference schedule that still gives you a chance to win. That's why we got three baseball teams in (NCAA Regionals)."

On notice

Waters would not elaborate on possible consequences for member schools not adhering to the new standards set. However, he said expulsion from the league was not an immediate option.

"A conference is a family, and we're not looking to kick anyone out of the family," Waters said. "We're going to try to help them grow with the conference, not eliminate them.

"There are a series of consequences, if that's what you want to call them. But they're monitoring and nurturing in nature, not cutting off your arm."

McPhee agreed that there are consequences, but that no school is under more scrutiny than another.

"It puts all member institutions on notice, and annual reports will be submitted from the member institutions in each of these areas," McPhee said. "It will hold member institutions accountable. It's not singling out anyone. But collectively, it's putting everyone on notice."

Gridiron gains?

While football may be king in the south, it doesn't offer as many money-making opportunities for mid-major conferences as hoops.

Sure, guaranteed games in football can pay more than $500,000 each, but football expenses are similarly inflated.

Two Sun Belt teams went to bowls last season (Troy to the New Orleans Bowl, MTSU to the Motor City Bowl) — signifying the conference's football improvements — but neither found a financial windfall.

"It's a popular misconception that going to the Motor City Bowl brings in millions of dollars," Waters said. "Television contracts only bring in a lot of money for the SEC, Big 10 and those types of conferences because they have a lot of football tradition and packed stadiums."

MTSU monetarily broke even in its Motor City Bowl bid, and even netted a $50,000 loss after purchasing Sun Belt championship rings for the football team.

Villarreal, whose North Texas football team played in four consecutive New Orleans Bowls from 2001-04, saw more opportunities for financial gain in his school's NCAA tournament appearance last season.

"I don't think any mid-majors make a lot in bowl games or first-round NCAA tournament games because both require a lot of expenses," Villarreal said. "A bowl game is a reward for a great season and an opportunity for exposure, but it's not a money-making effort.

"... But the conference and the schools can make a lot more from success in men's basketball, especially in the short term."

The Sun Belt and other mid-major conferences began receiving BCS (Bowl Championship Series) revenue two years ago to begin a four-year contract. BCS money for the Sun Belt is comparable to one unit of NCAA tournament money, but the latter can be more easily doubled or tripled with multiple bids.

Furthermore, BCS money rarely reaches member schools. Last year's payout went to assist MTSU's at-large bowl bid. In 2005, it paid for standardized instant replay equipment of member schools.

"BCS is a four-year contract, and short of one of our teams playing in a national championship game, that revenue will not change in the short term," Waters said.

Added Selig: "Basketball gives you a truly legitimate opportunity to cash in if you can take action. We've expanded our league to 13 teams, and that leaves more chance for a weak link. We're committed to this, and this is a more important time than ever for us to raise our standards."

ARTICLE

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar.../706030392/1037

[NT80]

Added Selig: "Basketball gives you a truly legitimate opportunity to cash in if you can take action. We've expanded our league to 13 teams, and that leaves more chance for a weak link. We're committed to this, and this is a more important time than ever for us to raise our standards."

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar.../706030392/1037

It's hard to win a first round Tourney game when you always get pegged as a 14 or 15 seed, and that happens because of the conference teams you have to play with low RPI's. Catch 22.

[CMJ]

It's hard to win a first round Tourney game when you always get pegged as a 14 or 15 seed, and that happens because of the conference teams you have to play with low RPI's. Catch 22.

But everyone's RPI's are so low because of OOC scheduling to begin with.