Good morning to all! Happy Halloween week and amazingly, the week ahead already brings us to November.
On Friday, I attended The Big West Cross Country Championships at Blacklake Golf Resort in Nipomo, Calif., and hosted by Cal Poly to see our student-athletes compete, while also having the opportunity to talk to fans, coaches and administrators. It was a perfect morning for running and I want to thank Cal Poly for serving as a tremendous host!
Let the 2023-24 Big West Championships season begin!
Since it is Fall championship season, "We are the Champions" by Queen leads the song of the week.
Let’s get to This Week in The Big West!
CONGRATULATIONS
CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
A big congratulations to Cal Poly for winning both the women’s and men’s cross country championship team titles! Read more >>> We had a great crowd and the student-athletes were amazing. The Big West Cross Country Championships recap is now available on ESPN+. Please tune at your convenience for this quick recap of the championships!
THE BIG WEST WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Congratulations to Cal State Fullerton for winning the regular-season title and right to host the semifinals and championship game! (LINK) The Big West Women’s Soccer Championship is set to start on Sunday to determine our Final Four! Championship Central >>>
First Round - Sunday, Oct. 29
2 p.m. PT - No. 6 seed Hawai’i at No. 3 seed Cal Poly
6 p.m. PT - No. 5 seed UC Irvine at No. 4 seed Long Beach State
Semifinals - at Cal state Fullerton - Thursday, Nov. 2
4:30 p.m. PT - No. 3/6 winner vs. No. 2 seed UC Davis
7:30 p.m. PT - No. 4/5 winner at No. 1 seed Cal State Fullerton
Final - at Cal State Fullerton - Sunday, Nov. 5
1 p.m. - Championship match
DECISION BY NCAA THAT WILL HAVE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE BIG WEST
While returning from The Big West Cross Country Championships, NCAA Division I commissioners received an e-mail from Dan Gavitt, Senior Vice President of Basketball at the NCAA, informing us of a major change to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Here is the crux of this message:
“….the men’s basketball postseason is becoming more competitive for teams that do not qualify for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Tournament opportunities and alternatives are expected to increase in the future. As we enter the final year of our current media rights partnership with ESPN, the NIT Board agreed that evolving the selection process was an important trial to position the NIT for its optimal media value moving forward. We understand these changes will likely be met with mixed levels of approval among the 32 conferences. However, the NIT Board thoughtfully made the changes to best position this historic postseason event for a viable and successful future. Thank you for your understanding and support of the National Invitation Tournament. We look forward to hosting an outstanding postseason experience for your teams in the 2024 NIT.”
The press release and this e-mail were distributed while I was driving back to Orange County from The Big West Cross Country Championships, and obviously I am very upset with this news from the NCAA. As a member of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee, I received communication angry at the decision. These individuals believe the Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee had influence on this decision since one of the roles of the MBOC is to “enhance the development and public perception of the sport and make recommendations related to regular-season and postseason men’s basketball."
I can directly state this decision was made by the NIT Board and was NOT managed through the NCAA governance structure. Therefore, as a member of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee and NCAA Council, I can assure you the NIT Board decision was made without our opinion, nor our vote.
For The Big West and 25 other conferences negatively impacted, this was the wrong decision by the NIT Board. NCAA Basketball faces significant challenges, and eliminating the automatic qualification for regular-season conference champions will cause even more competitive issues within Division I men’s basketball. For the 26 conferences that are no longer guaranteed “AQ status” to the NIT for their regular-season champion, it is a guaranteed post-season opportunity lost, including for The Big West regular-season champion. Based on the numerous e-mails, texts and social media posts I have read, there are many that love college basketball that are not happy with this decision.
The timing of the decision just prior to the start of the season is as bad as the decision.
The decision by the NIT Board will cause new postseason opportunities to be created that will compete with the NIT for teams. I have gone on record in support of expanding the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships and thus eliminating the NIT events managed by the NCAA. I will strongly support a review by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee to expand the NCAA Division I Basketball Championships in an effort to supersede new events being created and the NCAA Basketball brand to grow stronger under the “NCAA Basketball Championships” umbrella.
I am greatly disappointed and upset with the NIT Board decision Friday, but particularly distraught for the basketball student-athletes and coaches within The Big West. I highly doubt conferences will get the NIT Board to reverse course, considering we were informed moments before the announcement, but know I will provide my voice on this NIT Board decision on behalf of The Big West.
CHAMPIONSHIP BROADCASTING PARTNERSHIP
The Big West announced this week our renewed partnership with Earl Miller Productions to produce championships in 2023-24. This week we announced the broadcast plans for Fall championships. Read more >>>
To our institutions that will produce and broadcast the preliminary rounds of the women’s and men’s soccer championships, thank you!
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IMPROVEMENT
Since the end of the 2019-20 season, The Big West rankings in women’s basketball have improved 11 spots in the NCAA Net conference rankings, from #28 to #17!
Although almost all teams have contributed to this, the success of UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach St, and Hawaii have played a significant role. The average net of those three teams have increased +115 spots in just 3 seasons. Great work by those programs!
Dom Drury, Director of Championships and Basketball Operations, is going to continue to do research on WBB, including strength of schedule, which will take some time, and we are hopeful to provide more as part of the Council meeting materials. Here are a couple of the graphics:
THANK YOU HAWAI'I
I want to thank The Hawai'i Tourism Authority, Outrigger Resorts and Hotels and University of Hawai'i President David Lassner, Lois Manin, Rich Sheriff, Eran Ganot, Charlie Wade and Neal Iwamoto for their tremendous hospitality during our visit to Hawai'i last weekend and the press conference announcing our new partnerships and future volleyball championship sites. (LINK) (LINK) (LINK). I was sorry to have missed Craig Angelos as he was with the football team in New Mexico. It was great to attend the men’s basketball fundraising dinner, the St. Mary’s vs. Hawai'i charitable exhibition game for Maui and the UC Riverside at Hawaii women’s volleyball game. Mahalo no kou hookipa!
UPDATE FROM THE NCAA BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING
The latest meeting of the NCAA Board of Governors included several important updates and discussions.
At its meeting Tuesday, President Charlie Baker detailed his 2023-24 goals and the NCAA business plan, both of which stemmed from the business review that was released in August. The high-level goals President Baker presented were to:
- Elevate the student-athlete and fan experience at every NCAA championship.
- Provide world-class services to student-athletes and member institutions.
- Dramatically enhance our relationship with college sports fans.
- Build on and strengthen operational and financial performance.
- Modernize the governance and policy development model.
I applaud NCAA President Baker’s efforts to improve the student-athlete experience within the NCAA, as this is a major initiative for The Big West, as well. I look forward to learning more how these goals will be achieved, and how The Big West can help lead in these areas.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” Mia Hamm
Have a great week ahead, and thank you for your interest in The Big West!
Dan