Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mid-Major fans and fans across the country.
We’ve been teased with some MTE fields for this upcoming season.
The Maui Invitational has a pair of mid-majors: VCU and Colorado State. Sadly, Division II fan favorite Chaminade University is not one of the eight teams.
The Battle 4 Atlantis has both men’s and women’s pools. The Memphis men and Davidson women will be making their ways to the Bahamas in November.
Moving up north. Like way up north. There’s only a women’s Great Alaska Shootout this year, and a pair of mid-majors will be making the trek up The Last Frontier: Seattle University and Chicago State. Plus, shoutout to host Division-II Alaska Anchorage.
This season we’ll see the return of the early season marathon as the Field of 68 will have games around the clock at multiple locations. One of those sites is the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., which will host two games: Murray State vs. Tennessee State and UTEP vs. Northern Kentucky.
So, in anticipation of all these matchups, plus the rest of the MTEs this season, we had to ask: what’s your favorite destination MTE of all time?
Maui Invitational, Battle 4 Atlantis, Great Alaska Shootout or Crossover Classic (in Sioux Falls)
Maui has an illustrious history. The Hawaii tournament dates back to 1984 and has featured national powers year in and year out.
All but one year saw a power-conference team win it all (plus two titles for Gonzaga). Shoutout to the 2003 tournament: Dayton beat Hawaii in the championship.
Mid-majors have made other notable runs in Maui. First off, DII Chaminade lost to Providence by just two in the first title game. Two years later New Mexico finished runner-up to Vanderbilt. Then-WAC member BYU fell to Duke in the title game in 1992. Ball State suffered a similar fate in 2001. Butler, in its one year in the A-10, lost to Illinois in the final in 2012.
San Diego State came in second to Arizona by a bucket in 2014. Wichita State lost by a slim one point to Notre Dame in 2017. Dayton took Kansas to overtime in the 2019 final. Saint Mary’s fell in the 2021 final to Wisconsin, and Memphis was runner-up to Auburn in 2024.
The Battle 4 Atlantis has a shorter history and dates back to the 2011-12 season. Harvard beat UCF (of Conference USA at that point) in the first title game. The Crimson are the only mid-major to win it.
Northern Iowa fell to eventual national champion Villanova in the final of the 2017-18 rendition of the tourney. Memphis reached the final in 2023 but also lost to Nova. Saint Mary’s came in second to Vanderbilt this past year.
The women’s version of the Battle 4 Atlantis was scheduled to get off the ground in 2020 but was canceled because of COVID. The only mid-major to win was Princeton, which topped Maryland Eastern Shore in the final last season.
The Great Alaska Shootout was first held in 1978, but it’s been nearly a decade since we had a men’s tournament, with the last one being held in 2017. That’s sad it’s been so long, especially since it’s been such a hotbed for mid-majors.
The last seven champions were mid-majors. And they each beat mid-majors in the final, except Harvard, which topped TCU, which was in just its second year in the Big 12. The likes of Murray State, Charlotte, Colorado State, Middle Tennessee, Iona and Central Michigan also won it in that stretch.
The women’s tournament began in 1980 and missed 1998 as well as 2018-2021 but made a return in 2022. Mid-majors have dominated the tournament. Power conference teams have won just seven of the 17 titles since the turn of the century. DII Alaska Anchorage has seven championships in that span.
Crossover Classic (in Sioux Falls)
The Sanford Pentagon is such a historic venue, we needed to include it somehow. The Crossover Classic was held twice: 2020 and 2021.
West Virginia knocked off Western Kentucky in the first championship. The following year was a round-robin format with South Dakota State, Nevada, George Mason and Washington. The Wolf Pack, Huskies and Jackrabbits each went 2-1. The Patriots dropped all three of their games.
