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Post by ESTRELLA on Sept 24, 2004 9:54:47 GMT -5
I keep on reading about how the Big Ten and West Coast Conferences are doing , but hardly read anything about a conference that I think should not be considered a Mid Major. What do you folks think about the MAC. I will say that with OU, Ball State, WMU, Marshall and some others this conference has arrived. ESTRELLA
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Post by GeorgeW on Sept 24, 2004 18:44:58 GMT -5
TEXTI agree. Ohio has come a long way. What's up with that? I suppose they have a pretty new coach. But how can a program turn around that much? Amazing.
Ohio vs. Ball State tonight. Should be a great match.
I think most people on this board are from the west coast and for the most part are completely oblivious to volleyball anywhere else in the US!
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Post by Island on Sept 24, 2004 18:51:11 GMT -5
Here's a question. What are the mid-majors in the college volleyball world and how do they stack up against each other? Let's not forget the insular leagues that serve up NCAA first round fodder for the tournament.
Let's go with a preliminary list
Big Twelve Big Ten Pac-10 BW WCC MWC SEC Conference USA WAC Missouri Valley MAC Big East Sun Belt Southern Ivy League Big Sky Atlantic Ten
Did I miss anything? What do you guys think? This is off the top of my head just to get the discussion going.
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Post by Island on Sept 24, 2004 18:53:47 GMT -5
A lot of us are from the west Coast but we are aware. We even watch this board to keep an eye on East Coast volleyball. There is also a lot of midwest vb fans here as well. Also people have been mentioning Ohio's rise in previous threads, particularly after their trouncing of Pepperdine. TEXTI agree. Ohio has come a long way. What's up with that? I suppose they have a pretty new coach. But how can a program turn around that much? Amazing. Ohio vs. Ball State tonight. Should be a great match. I think most people on this board are from the west coast and for the most part are completely oblivious to volleyball anywhere else in the US!
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Post by Island on Sept 24, 2004 18:55:18 GMT -5
Not to mention Eascoaster, Gator VBall and the other East Coast fans who talk up the ACC, Conference USA and the SEC.
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Post by TheSantaBarbarian on Sept 24, 2004 18:58:31 GMT -5
"a conference that I think should not be considered a Mid Major."
You are think that the MAC should be considered a major conference? Not close I'm afraid, but the WCC is also a mid-major. The "majors" by definition are the conferences that are in the BCS and field Div I football programs.
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Post by Island on Sept 24, 2004 19:10:31 GMT -5
Really? I thought most volleyball fans agree that the Big West is at least in the major conferences for volleyball. Also, if WCC is a mid-major then all conferences afterward including MWC and CUSA are mid-majors. Also SEC and ACC is not up there with the BCS conferences in strength despite the fact that they are BCS conferences as well. I thought a more appropriate way to think of them is how they are treated in basketball. It's better fit and the non-BCS conferences are graded by relative strength rather than just on their school's football reputation.
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Post by TheSantaBarbarian on Sept 24, 2004 19:34:39 GMT -5
Really? I thought most volleyball fans agree that the Big West is at least in the major conferences for volleyball. Also, if WCC is a mid-major then all conferences afterward including MWC and CUSA are mid-majors. Also SEC and ACC is not up there with the BCS conferences in strength despite the fact that they are BCS conferences as well. I thought a more appropriate way to think of them is how they are treated in basketball. It's better fit and the non-BCS conferences are graded by relative strength rather than just on their school's football reputation. In basketball, The Big Wset is a mid-major. As a matter of fact, our men's fans usually use the mid-major polls in place of the Top 25 (you can guess why.) I don't knw exactly how you would decide what were major and what were mid-majors in Women's Volleyball. I guess you could start by using the Pablo rankings and use say < 100 average as a cutoff point. If you do that you get: ACC 86.7 Big 12 41.3 Big 11 43.7 Big West 69.1 Pac 10 42.9 SEC 72.9 WCC 71.4 WAC 86.2 The MAC is at 125 so they are not far out from this measure. BTW: Is there such a thing as a low-major? I have never heard that term of anything related.
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Post by Island on Sept 24, 2004 19:36:41 GMT -5
Again this off the top of my head but this what it lloks like to me using the basketball analogy(MWC and even the WAC are often referred to by analysts as major conferences even though they are often treated like Mid-Majors at times). Big Twelve Big Ten Pac-10 BW WCC MWC SEC Conference USA I'm sorry Estrella, GeorgeW, I didn't even put the WAC as a major conference and even if I did, I would have to put the MVC along with the MAC to get you guys in the majors. However, that said, I think I will put MAC ahead of the Big East. "a conference that I think should not be considered a Mid Major." You are think that the MAC should be considered a major conference? Not close I'm afraid, but the WCC is also a mid-major. The "majors" by definition are the conferences that are in the BCS and field Div I football programs.
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Post by IdahoBoy on Sept 24, 2004 19:37:54 GMT -5
I hate the term "Mid-Majors" as referred to in volleyball.
How about tiers?
I Like that term.
Tier 1: Pac-10, Big 11's, Big West (border currently) Tier 2: WCC, WAC, SEC, ACC, MVC, Conference USA, Big East Tier 3: Sun Belt, Southern, Atlantic 10, Big Sky Tier 4: the others
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Post by TheSantaBarbarian on Sept 24, 2004 19:44:38 GMT -5
I hate the term "Mid-Majors" as referred to in volleyball. How about tiers? I Like that term. Tier 1: Pac-10, Big 11's, Big West (border currently) Tier 2: WCC, WAC, SEC, ACC, MVC, Conference USA, Big East Tier 3: Sun Belt, Southern, Atlantic 10, Big Sky Tier 4: the others So you have the majors, the high mid-majors, the low mid-majors, and the low-majors. ;D
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Post by Island on Sept 24, 2004 19:47:44 GMT -5
Sorry I forgot Ivy League. As far as the tiers go, then does that mean that the MAC are in the second tier? I guess that makes sense and gives them a measure of respect being grouped in conferences who have also had good success in the NCAA's. IB, did you intentionally leave out the Big Ten? I would think they are first tier.
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Post by TheSantaBarbarian on Sept 24, 2004 19:49:25 GMT -5
Sorry I forgot Ivy League. As far as the tiers go, then does that mean that the MAC are in the second tier? I guess that makes sense and gives them a measure of respect being grouped in conferences who have also had good success in the NCAA's. IB, did you intentionally leave out the Big Ten? I would think they are first tier. He ws playing off my calling them the Big 11. I thought he missed the Big 12, but his Big 11s is plural.
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Post by Island on Sept 24, 2004 19:55:04 GMT -5
Yes, I know they are but the reference was to volleyball. Both the WAC and the MWC are border Major teams(I think that the MWC are now pretty even in terms of strength although MWC still holds the advantage). Conference USA and Atlantic Ten are not considered mid major they are considered powerful conferences that are just outside the PAC-10, Big Ten and Big 12. Big East is actually a much stronger basketball conference than they are a football conference. In basketball, The Big Wset is a mid-major. As a matter of fact, our men's fans usually use the mid-major polls in place of the Top 25 (you can guess why.) I don't knw exactly how you would decide what were major and what were mid-majors in Women's Volleyball. I guess you could start by using the Pablo rankings and use say < 100 average as a cutoff point. If you do that you get: ACC 86.7 Big 12 41.3 Big 11 43.7 Big West 69.1 Pac 10 42.9 SEC 72.9 WCC 71.4 WAC 86.2 The MAC is at 125 so they are not far out from this measure. BTW: Is there such a thing as a low-major? I have never heard that term of anything related.
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Post by IdahoBoy on Sept 24, 2004 19:55:22 GMT -5
He ws playing off my calling them the Big 11. I thought he missed the Big 12, but his Big 11s is plural. YOU Calling them the big 11?!? I call both the big 10 and 12 the Big 11's and have been doing so for 2 years here!
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