The Southeastern Conference will transition from a two-division format to a 12-team arrangement for men”s basketball for the 2011-12 season.
The lingering issue is the number of conference games teams will play.
Under the previous format, teams played 10 of their 16 league games against division opponents.
Earlier this month at the SEC summer meetings, league coaches voted 11-1 to do away with divisions. The new format also will change the seeding in the SEC tournament. Previously, the SEC tournament seeded by division standings and awarded first-round byes to the top two teams in each division. Prior to the move, the SEC was the only major conference that used a division format.
Now, coaches must decide whether to keep a 16-game schedule or raise it to 18 — like the majority of conferences – or 22 games.
Some of the coaches discussed the possibilities Monday on a SEC coaches teleconference.
“Eighteen seems like a number that may be logical,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “It would require some scheduling alterations. I”ve even suggested 22 to have a complete round-robin. I don”t anticipate that”s where we”ll end up, but that would give us a true sense of a conference champion.”
Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury isn”t keen on moving to a 22-game league schedule. As the only coach who voted to keep the division format, he was expectedly bullish over the switch.
“I just think it takes away from your fans in February when there”s more teams involved in competing for championships,” Stansbury said. “My biggest argument is for the fans. It”s great for student-athletes. Give them a chance to compete for another championship.”
Stansbury, like the majority of the SEC coaches, expressed concern about the logistical and financial headaches that could arise from a 22-game league schedule. However, they agree, at least theoretically through the new format, it”s the only true way to determine a conference champion.
Auburn coach Tony Barbee said Alabama, which won the Western Division last season, would have made it to the NCAA tournament instead of the NIT if the SEC didn”t have divisions. Barbee feels the Eastern Division”s recent dominance, which has created an imbalance in the league, made Alabama a NCAA bubble casualty .
To balance the league and to get more teams into the NCAA tournament — all five of the SEC”s 2011 bids came from the East — the vote to adopt a single table went from a 6-6 split in 2010 to a nearly unanimous vote.
The SEC hasn”t set a timeline for when it”ll vote to resolve the schedule, though it”s expected to be finalized by August.
Still, the greater impact of increasing the number of league games could come in non-conference scheduling.
Decreasing the number of non-league dates affects the number of teams a schedule can accommodate, which could affect non-conference RPI. That figure is one of several the NCAA tournament selection committee uses to determine a team”s strength.
“Leagues that have gotten tons of teams in the tournament, it”s your non-conference and RPI,” University of Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “You have to win an play a really strong schedule. If you play a really strong schedule, and the winning percentage of the teams is 60, you”re gonna have the number one RPI schedule in the country. If the schedule you play is a 52 and you win 12 games, you”ll be in the top 50.
“The power ranking between divisions was the discrepancy. The 16 or 18 games isn”t as big a deal as non-conference.”
Coaches against proposed recruiting ban
July serves as a mass recruiting exodus for college basketball coaches, who can see hundreds of prospects in a tournament setting.
The 20 days coaches are allowed to recruit are economical and effective, as most of their evaluations come during a a string of Amateur Athletic Union tournaments.
The only downside, at least from the coaches” perspective, is the strain it puts on the athlete. Prospective student-athletes often compete five or six days in a row and might not be at their best physically as the coaches evaluate them, Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin said.
The NCAA and conference commissioners believe the July recruiting period is negatively affecting college basketball through the “third-party” influences, namely AAU coaches.
The conferences hope to eliminate July recruiting by the start of 2012.
SEC coaches are against the move, especially if the recruiting restrictions in April aren”t changed.
“Not having April, you push that work into July,” Martin said. “If you have weekends in April, and in July if you have weekends, it”ll help the players to that they”ll be fresh.”
Said Stansbury, “(The NCAA) keeps wanting to take away opportunities for us coaches who want to work in recruiting.”
If the college basketball coaches lose the July recruiting period, there”s no guarantee the shady elements will disappear, Barbee said.
He believes the limited summer access to players already on teams” rosters affects the transfer rates, which affects a program”s APR figures. Poor graduation percentages could cause a team to lose scholarships.
“They”re talking to somebody and probably somebody we don”t want them talking to,” Barbee said. “I”m more for access to recruits, and hopefully that”ll eliminate the third-party presence.
Calipari”s new contract at Kentucky worth $36.5M
Kentucky has given Calipari an extension that makes his contract worth $36.5 million and will keep him coaching the Wildcats through 2019.
In his first two seasons at Kentucky, the Wildcats have gone 64-12 and last season earned their first trip to the NCAA Final Four in 13 years. They are 33-0 at home in Rupp Arena under Calipari.
UK added two years to Calipari”s current contract and reworked the compensation so he is guaranteed $3.8 million for the next eight seasons and retention bonuses of $1 million in five of the next eight years and $1.1 million in the final year. He is also eligible for up to $850,000 in annual incentives, based mostly on the team”s performance in postseason tournaments.
“What John Calipari has done on and off the court in the past two years to reunite and rejuvenate this fan base has been magical,” Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said in the statement. Barnhart said Calipari “wants to be at Kentucky for a long time.”
Associated Press reports were included in this report.
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