This year’s conference realignment changes were fairly minimal with just a handful of changes. However, next year is going to see seismic alterations.
The Mountain West is getting a complete overhaul with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State going to the Pac-12. Hawaii, UTEP, Grand Canyon, and UC Davis wreplacing them in the MWC.
The Pac-12 is also bringing back Washington State and Oregon State for basketball and adding Gonzaga and Texas State.
So, with all these moves, it got us thinking… if other mid-majors jump to the power conference level, who could we see and where?
Belmont, Iona and Drake go to Big East
The Big East has 11 teams. That’s an odd number. So, let’s even that up.
What’s the theme in the conference? The original 10 members of this iteration of the conference are all faith-based institutions that focus on basketball (as opposed to football) and are located just about entirely in the northeast quadrant of the continental United States. Then, the league added UConn because that just seems right. (Sorry, I’m a traditionalist, lol.)
OK, so who can fit into the Big East?
Iona
Let’s start with Iona. The Gaels are the class of the MAAC. The men’s basketball team has won the most championships (14) of anyone in the conference. The Gaels were a wagon in the 1980s with Jim Valvano coaching and Jeff Ruland playing and were nationally ranked. Fast forward to the late ‘90s with three titles in four years.
But quite possibly the best era came in the 2010s. In the nine years with Tim Cluess patrolling the sidelines, Iona won five tournament titles (including four straight), claimed the regular season crown four times, played in eight title games and received an at-large bid in 2012. (Yes, it was a two-bid MAAC in 2012.) Then, enter Rick Pitino; two titles in three years. Need I remind you where Pitino now coaches? Natural rivalry right there in New York between Iona and St. John’s.
On the women’s side, Iona has been a perennial contender in a league that has been dominated by Marist and Quinnipiac the last two decades. The Gaels broke through to win it all twice under Billi Chambers. The two most recent former coaches of the program are in the Big East with Tony Bozzella at Seton Hall and Chambers at Xavier. So, immediately there are two interesting storylines right there.
Already mentioned this a little, but you have natural rivalries in the New York City area. Add Iona to St. John’s and Seton Hall. The Big East’s footprint in New York is well documented. See any Big East tourney at MSG.
Drake
Moving west, Drake would make a lot of sense.
We’ll start with the Bulldogs’ recent success. The men’s team has made the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons and four of the last five years. They are coming off their first March Madness win since 1971. Can you say the arrow is pointing up in Des Moines?
The women’s program is similarly strong. The Bulldogs have made two of the last three tourneys, five in the last decade and 15 times in their history.
Des Moines is only two hours away from Creighton in Omaha. The conference has established a footprint in the Midwest, and a team in Iowa would help to bridge the gap between Omaha and Chicago, Milwaukee and Indianapolis. Furthermore, Drake has about 5,000 students, which is about the same size as Butler, Xavier and Providence. It was religiously affiliated at its inception but terminated that in the early 1900s.
Belmont
This one expands the geographic footprint of the league a little, but just go with it. While it’s further south than anyone else in the league, it’s not too far from the Midwest portion of the conference (ahem, Butler/Creighton). It’s also a relatively small Christian university with about 9,000 students, which is similar to Creighton, Seton Hall and Villanova in student population.
Now onto the basketball, the Bruins’ men’s team has made eight Big Dances in the last two decades, including four trips in a five-year span in the early 2010s.
The Bruin women have made six of the last nine NCAA Tournaments. They advanced to the second round in each of their last two appearances (2021, 2022). Under Bart Brooks, Belmont has wins over Oregon, Ole Miss, Gonzaga (twice), Middle Tennessee (three times) and Florida Gulf Coast when each of them was ranked. They also have blowout wins over Vanderbilt (111-74) and Georgia (76-50) as well as Ws over Auburn, Northwestern and Villanova.
Memphis and North Texas to Big 12
Memphis
Memphis is the elephant in the room. The school has been the talk of so much conference realignment (such as rumors that it is Pac-12 bound for what feels like years), and yet, it is still in the American. So, let’s put them in the Big 12. The move would make a lot of sense. The Tigers have football and would naturally fit there coming off an 11-win campaign and No. 24 AP poll finish. There were only three Big 12 schools ranked ahead of them in the final poll. But, enough about the pigskin.
The men’s hoops program needs no introduction to its illustrious history. From its time in the MVC to the Metro, Conference USA and the American, the Tigers have been a part of the national landscape for decades. They’ve made multiple national title games and a couple of missed free throws and a Mario Chalmers 3-pointer from a championship in 2008 (and a vacated run because of NCAA rules violations but we digress).
While the women’s program does not have the same history, it would also benefit from the move.
North Texas
This move makes a lot of geographic sense. The state of Texas is still deeply rooted in the conference with Baylor, Texas Tech, Houston and TCU, and formerly Texas. The Mean Green would fit in with this group.
The men’s squad has won 20 games in six of the last eight seasons, including at least 25 in three of the last four years. The Mean Green won the NIT in 2023 under Grant McCasland, who is now the head coach at Texas Tech. Bingo, immediate in-state rivalry with a juicy storyline.
The women have posted consecutive seasons with at least 23 wins and trips to the WNIT. They went 25-9, finished top two in the AAC with a 15-3 mark and reached the second round of the WNIT last season.
James Madison and FGCU to ACC
James Madison
Another geographically logical move. JMU has in-state rivals with Virginia and Virginia Tech. The state of Virginia is a hotbed for lacrosse, and the Dukes’ women’s team won the 2018 national title. And you have North Carolina as the reigning champ. Now onto hoops.
Who can forget the 2023-24 season for the James Madison men? They went 32-4, started the season with an upset win at Michigan State, won the Sun Belt championship and knocked off Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The women have a strong history. They’ve won at least 23 games in 18 of the last 20 seasons. One of the exceptions was 2021 when they only played 24 games. They have seven NCAA Tournament appearances in that stretch. The Dukes have been at least an 11 seed five times.
FGCU
Though Florida Gulf Coast does not have football (a probable hole in this idea), the school would be a fit in the ACC. It would have natural in-state rivals in Miami and Florida State.
Dunk City has been flying high since its 2013 Sweet 16 run. That was the program’s first 20-win season and has had six more and a pair of trips to the Big Dance since then.
But it’s the women’s program that could provide even more value to the ACC. The Eagles have made 11 NCAA Tournaments in the last 14 years, including the last eight Dances. They have advanced to the second round four times. FGCU has finished ranked in the final AP Poll three times. The program has won at least 30 games seven times in its 18-year Division-I history.
Saint Mary’s and San Francisco to Pac-12
Saint Mary’s
Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga are intertwined. The two have been the class of the WCC for years. With the Zags’ move to the Pac-12, let’s keep this rivalry alive. We’ll all be worse off if we don’t have the Zags playing in Moraga or the Gaels traveling up to Spokane.
SMC has been strong under Randy Bennett. They’ve made four straight Big Dances and 11 under Bennett. They’ve been a single-digit seed six times, including a five seed in three of the last four years.
The Gael women went a stretch of eight straight years where they won at least 20 games last decade.
San Francisco
Another California school. The conference used to have four schools in the state and will have only San Diego State in its new iteration.
The Dons’ men 20 games in eight of the last nine years with the lone exception 2021 when they played just 25 contests. Though that has only resulted in one NCAA Tournament appearance, they have made the NIT the last two years.
The women’s team hasn’t had as much success but has finished .500 or better in the WCC in each of the last five years.
While the Pac-12 is looking to reestablish itself as football power conference, it’s already adding Gonzaga, so it would from other basketball-centered programs. Plus, USF and SMC established rivalries with Washington State and Oregon State this past season on top of their existing rivalry Gonzaga.
Conclusion
Though we here at Mid-Major Madness don’t want to see any mid-majors jump up to the power conference level (and, look, we don’t know if the new Pac-12 is a power conference or not). This was just a fun little exercise.
