[NU Sports] The Big Dance

[inaugurationbook at yahoo.com]

I'll take the bait. In the old days, prior to 1975, you had to win your conference to get into the tournament. In fact, when the tournament began in 1939, it was subtitled "the tournament of champions."

Nobody called it the Big Dance then. The tournament wasn't big at all, at least with reference to the number of teams that got in. 

Football was the same way. When I was a kid, there were exactly five bowl games for major colleges. The Gator Bowl took place shortly before Jan. 1st, then we had the Sugar, Orange, Cotton and Rose Bowl games on New Year's Day. That's it - only ten schools played bowl games each year.

Football is not going back, and neither is basketball. Dennis is right: the standards for getting into bowl games and into the NCAA tournament have indeed been lowered. 

Sure, we'd like our first NCAA bid to be which has been richly earned. But, speaking reality rather than fantasy, most of us will take a tournament invitation in this lifetime anyway we can get it. 

Jim B. 



On Mar 9, 2012, at 7:48 PM, "Dennis W. Brandt" <tbng at comcast.net> wrote:

> If we get in, shake your head in dismay that such a team as ours, 1 - 10 against top 50 ranked teams and 7th seed in the league, can make it to post-season.  That only points out how low the standards have become in the NCAA.  We do not deserve a bid and should not receive one.  Let's get in the right way - by WINNING. 
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