Big South vs. other conferences
Should Winthrop consider changing conferences?
Ben Henderson
Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
It could be argued that one of the reasons that Greg Marshall left Winthrop to go to Wichita State was that he had reached a glass ceiling at Winthrop. He was frustrated that Winthrop's men's basketball team went undefeated in conference play and their RPI (a computer formula which the NCAA tournament committee weighs heavily) got worse.
Why? The rest of the conference was not very good last year. So even when Winthrop would win, their rank would go down because the Big South foes they had to play were ranked so low.
There seems to be growing sentiment that Winthrop should seek to change conferences. The reason being is that Winthrop not only won the Big South in men's basketball last year, but also in volleyball, men's soccer and softball. Winthrop also won the regular season title in men's tennis, women's tennis and women's soccer. In essence, Winthrop is starting to outgrow the Big South.
Some feel that Winthrop should seek to join the Southern Conference (also know as the SoCon), which houses teams such as Furman, Appalachian State and Wofford. It's a move that would seem to make sense. All the schools in the So-Con are close to Winthrop. Plus, in men's basketball, they were ranked 19th out of 31 conferences last year in average RPI. By comparison the Big South was 29th, which is one of the big reasons people feel it is time to leave.
Changing conferences doesn't just affect men's basketball though, it affects all sports. So far this year, the Southern Conference ranks better than the Big South in men's and women's soccer, which are two huge weak spots in the Big South (men's soccer is 20th out of 22 conferences and women's soccer is 27th out of 31).
However, volleyball in the Big South is ranked better than the SoCon. Going back to last year, the Big South was significantly better than the Southern Conference in softball (which the Big South was 12th out of 31, the SoCon was 22nd). Baseball is another sport in which the Big South was rated very high in last year, coming in at 13th (SoCon was 12th).
Why? The rest of the conference was not very good last year. So even when Winthrop would win, their rank would go down because the Big South foes they had to play were ranked so low.
There seems to be growing sentiment that Winthrop should seek to change conferences. The reason being is that Winthrop not only won the Big South in men's basketball last year, but also in volleyball, men's soccer and softball. Winthrop also won the regular season title in men's tennis, women's tennis and women's soccer. In essence, Winthrop is starting to outgrow the Big South.
Some feel that Winthrop should seek to join the Southern Conference (also know as the SoCon), which houses teams such as Furman, Appalachian State and Wofford. It's a move that would seem to make sense. All the schools in the So-Con are close to Winthrop. Plus, in men's basketball, they were ranked 19th out of 31 conferences last year in average RPI. By comparison the Big South was 29th, which is one of the big reasons people feel it is time to leave.
Changing conferences doesn't just affect men's basketball though, it affects all sports. So far this year, the Southern Conference ranks better than the Big South in men's and women's soccer, which are two huge weak spots in the Big South (men's soccer is 20th out of 22 conferences and women's soccer is 27th out of 31).
However, volleyball in the Big South is ranked better than the SoCon. Going back to last year, the Big South was significantly better than the Southern Conference in softball (which the Big South was 12th out of 31, the SoCon was 22nd). Baseball is another sport in which the Big South was rated very high in last year, coming in at 13th (SoCon was 12th).
Be the first to comment on this story