so, i am trying to decide what to do with this ID, and have a couple of free seasons to go. one of my thoughts is to take the worst d1 job possible and see if i can turn it around. by worst, i mean hardest school at which to win consistently at, or maybe hardest to turn into an NT team.

my problem is, i don't want to go to a ghost conference.

Eligible for pretty much all the jobs out there that might fit this descriptio="=" longshot at the Big 12/Big East jobs and a couple of others.

Ideas?

UTEP is one of the hardest places to win at. Plus you are in CUSA which has 6 human coaches right now. Would prob be one of the best that meets your description.

Of the bigger schools, I'd probably say Hawaii. They have to compete in the PAC-10 and recruits are obviously few and far between.

Quote: Originally Posted By mniven on 11/25/2009Of the bigger schools, I'd probably say Hawaii. They have to compete in the PAC-10 and recruits are obviously few and far between.

My bad. Hawaii is taken in Wooden (poor Jennings...).

That was the obvious first choice mniven, but I saw that it was taken when I checked. UTEP is hard because there are so many bigger Texas schools to grab any good recruits in Texas and you are on the Mexico border. You have to hope that there are good Mexican recruits that Arizona does not like or go for recruits in New Mexico with a distance disadvantage to the New Mexico schools.

ya utep sucks

nau sucks

You might want to look at St. Bonaventure in the A10. Its a competitive conference and you have to recruit against both the Big East and a couple of smaller conferences. Even though they've had success, they're at a D+ prestige right now. Also, the roster will have no seniors next year-- 4 JR, 4 SO, all of whom are SIM recruited.

thanks for the ideas. just looked at UTEP, and i'm actually a longshot there, so... what about UCF? seems like recruiting could be a bear there...

i don't really want to go to the northeast (Bonnies), as i've spent a ton of lower-lever time recruiting there. but i guess it could be different/more fun at d1.

Actually UCF is not that bad. In several worlds they are a very competitive team. I guess FL has enough recruits to go around.

Hawaii and UTEP are in a class of their own.

For the next tier I would put:
Montana, Montana St, Idaho, and Maine due to the lack of local recruits.

After that I would put a school like St Louis in the 3rd tier.

I am just listing available schools in Wooden. St Louis is pretty difficult IMO due to Kansas, Arkansas, Mizzou, Illinois, Memphis, UL, IU, UK, etc. being within a couple hundred miles of you. Plus there is the whole MAC and MVC to deal with. There are not enough recruits to go around! Makes the rest of the A-10 seem like a dream job.

Why is UTEP so bad? New Mexico usually has some decent recruits, and El Paso usually has a few decent players.

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Some interesting research done here. If you take one of the really bad ones on the list they will probably be in a bad conference and you it would be too easy to win your CT. At the very least fun to look at.

I just took the #2 worst program in Allen (Vermont) and I'm doing OK with them... but they are, disappointly, 3.75/12 on that list, which is #3 in the Patriot. Apparently, you should consider Tennessee-Martin, Baylor, or Fresno State.

I like my northwest teams but enjoy the 'puzzle' or challenge of getting a weak school in a strong conference. Like Hawaii or my Wyoming squad in the intense Mountain conference in Tark.

I find that if you're a bad coach (like me) you can often create an ok program just with patience. Other coaches leave leaving their schools simmy coached for a year. New coaches at your conference rivals change O or D. At least once in your first decade (hey, I'm talking PATIENCE) you'll get great recruits that you have no business getting but do. Oh, and the prestige of your conference keeps pulling you up since there is little chance of being fired because the boosters (all 3 of 'em) have no expectations. Well, they do have expectations but it's all negative.

Buy a 10pack and go have fun. Think of it like buying the cheapest house on the block. The other houses keep your house overvalued. And with a 10pack, in a little over a year, you will have turned your school from being the worst team in a 12 team conference into a bona fide 6th or 7th best team!