I was curious if anyone had a take on the best D1 jobs with potential for success due to recruiting advantages (proximity / lack of competition) conference affiliation (too difficult? Not hard enough?) etc.

look forward to hearing back

The 2 best non-elite D1 coaching jobs IMO are Temple and Rutgers. The Big East has no elite teams, so it is the most balanced GD 'Power 5' conference. And there are a ton of recruits to pick from in the northeast. The only elite team you really have to be wary of is Penn State. Although sometimes Ohio State will venture over into that region.

If you're not ready for a Power 5 conference yet, the Sun Belt is a good conference, with North Texas, Army, and Navy being good coaching jobs.

Thinking back, I liked my time at Miami of Florida. Pretty isolated down there, with really only Florida and FSU to fend off, but they're 300+ miles away. Tough conference though.

utah and sometimes other schools in that area can be really good, it kind of depends on the area and how full it is, but basically there can be recruits who aren't close to many BCS schools and it seems like that creates opportunities. i also like texas schools, someone else just said this recently but a school like texas or a&m can be among the best in the game. it varies by world, which coaches are where and how many, where the recruiting honeypots are. but when texas is one, its as good a place as any. and when its not, its still pretty decent, and lower end teams can do well there for sure not just the top ones.

It really varies by world, it all depends on what coaches are occupying the posts around any given position.

Of the Power conferences, the SEC is pretty good for “under the radar” status, in that there is only one A+ team (UK, on the northern border of the conference), so there’s a lot of parity, and as a conference can kind of dominate the gulf coast up into the southern Carolinas and Tennessee-Arkansas. But if it’s full of good coaches, it can be hard to stand out, as you’re all packed in pretty tight.

I cringe at the thought of Rutgers being mentioned here. Obviously it’s possible given the right circumstances, but in my experience, Syracuse and UConn have eaten their entire lunch in conference, and then you constantly have the power of the ACC coming up on your south as well. And with the A10 becoming en Vogue as a powerful mid major, Rutgers is rightfully one of the first posts abandoned (from what I’ve been seeing). But as always, it depends on the world and the coaches. The right coach in the right situation can absolutely make it work.

Those mountain west schools are usually good, if the conference isn’t too crowded. Air Force, Utah, etc.

I’ve long been convinced that Fresno State is a better job than it gets credit for, and while I have to deal with the GOAT in Piman at UCLA, I’m making some progress now in the first half-dozen seasons, and should have them established as a perennial S16 *caliber* team in the next couple seasons. Recruiting in Southern California while playing in the Pac10 north is helpful, only playing the powerhouses (UCLA and Zona) once per season.

I also really liked the Big Sky, and overall, I think geographically that has the most potential for the kind of “under the radar” teams you mean, if you get the right coaches in the right spots. Get 8 coaches in there, so the conference RPI gets up in the top 10, and you can get 3 teams in the NT pretty easy I think, more with the right coaches. And since it’s so spread out geographically, everyone can kind of naturally do their own thing, fight their own battles.

Posted by bjschumacher on 12/14/2021 6:34:00 PM (view original):
The 2 best non-elite D1 coaching jobs IMO are Temple and Rutgers. The Big East has no elite teams, so it is the most balanced GD 'Power 5' conference. And there are a ton of recruits to pick from in the northeast. The only elite team you really have to be wary of is Penn State. Although sometimes Ohio State will venture over into that region.

If you're not ready for a Power 5 conference yet, the Sun Belt is a good conference, with North Texas, Army, and Navy being good coaching jobs.

"The Big East has no elite teams....."

Huh?! UConn and Syracuse are both A+ baseline schools and super elite schools and locations.

Posted by gillispie on 12/14/2021 7:07:00 PM (view original):
utah and sometimes other schools in that area can be really good, it kind of depends on the area and how full it is, but basically there can be recruits who aren't close to many BCS schools and it seems like that creates opportunities. i also like texas schools, someone else just said this recently but a school like texas or a&m can be among the best in the game. it varies by world, which coaches are where and how many, where the recruiting honeypots are. but when texas is one, its as good a place as any. and when its not, its still pretty decent, and lower end teams can do well there for sure not just the top ones.

If the question is referring to Big 6 schools then I agree 100% here. Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, even Baylor and a few others...... Texas as a state is excellent for recruiting grounds!

I also agree this question is "world specific" tho. If you pick a school like Rutgers in Smith, you're going to get swallowed up by the powerful A10, an elite group of coaches there (just had 3 of the 4 F4 teams). Where as if you pick a team like Fresno in Rupp, you're not going to have much luck because the WCC has a 12 man conference that has been ranked in the top 3 as a group every season and as high as number 1. And the Pac 10 has been the best conference for years.

Having said that, I am liking Portland as a great location. Always seems to be a few 4*/5* players in your backyard and the Pac10 Oregon schools aren't high baseline to deal with.

I believe generating recruits is affected by the number of D1 schools in a state amongst other things. It seems to me that HD treats the state of Alabama like the mecca of hoops (which is super weird!) as that state always has a ton of elite players and no elite schools to warrant that. I see similar things with the state of Iowa and Colorado as well. Just random things I've kicked around.

Colorado definitely gets way more elite (and also solid) recruits than you would think. In my opinion, Colorado is probably the best school for location and recruit generation.

Posted by topdogggbm on 12/15/2021 4:23:00 AM (view original):

Posted by gillispie on 12/14/2021 7:07:00 PM (view original):
utah and sometimes other schools in that area can be really good, it kind of depends on the area and how full it is, but basically there can be recruits who aren't close to many BCS schools and it seems like that creates opportunities. i also like texas schools, someone else just said this recently but a school like texas or a&m can be among the best in the game. it varies by world, which coaches are where and how many, where the recruiting honeypots are. but when texas is one, its as good a place as any. and when its not, its still pretty decent, and lower end teams can do well there for sure not just the top ones.

If the question is referring to Big 6 schools then I agree 100% here. Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, even Baylor and a few others...... Texas as a state is excellent for recruiting grounds!

I also agree this question is "world specific" tho. If you pick a school like Rutgers in Smith, you're going to get swallowed up by the powerful A10, an elite group of coaches there (just had 3 of the 4 F4 teams). Where as if you pick a team like Fresno in Rupp, you're not going to have much luck because the WCC has a 12 man conference that has been ranked in the top 3 as a group every season and as high as number 1. And the Pac 10 has been the best conference for years.

Having said that, I am liking Portland as a great location. Always seems to be a few 4*/5* players in your backyard and the Pac10 Oregon schools aren't high baseline to deal with.

I believe generating recruits is affected by the number of D1 schools in a state amongst other things. It seems to me that HD treats the state of Alabama like the mecca of hoops (which is super weird!) as that state always has a ton of elite players and no elite schools to warrant that. I see similar things with the state of Iowa and Colorado as well. Just random things I've kicked around.

agree dogg.

the thing about recruiting generation - what is taken into account is not the number of d1 schools - but the number of d1 open scholarships. which obviously will in general correlate pretty significantly with the number of schools. but its the openings that drive the number of recruits generated. its sort of by state, i believe its aggregated by the state level, but there is also consideration for neighboring states, and some special logic around the edges of continental US where there are fewer borders with recruits.

“am liking Portland as a great location”

I agree from a geography standpoint, although I like Portland St. in Big Sky better than Portland in the WCC, if the goal is to stand out quickly as a mid-major powerhouse school. In the Big Sky, everyone has equal baseline prestige, and the conference is even more spread out geographically. In the WCC, you have Gonzaga with a significant baseline advantage right in your back yard, and the conference is a *little* more packed in.

LOL, you know what? I posted my thoughts thinking that I was in the GD forum. So pay no attention to what I said. Geez.

Posted by bjschumacher on 12/15/2021 3:05:00 PM (view original):
LOL, you know what? I posted my thoughts thinking that I was in the GD forum. So pay no attention to what I said. Geez.

Haha, if I had read past the first paragraph, I would have guessed that.

the Montana schools can sometimes string some good seasons together.

There usually are many more prospects in Montana HD than in real life. If you can fend off the Washington/Oregon/Utah/Colorado schools.
You also can venture into Idaho and Wyoming/Colorado.

Last season in Allen Montana had 4 of the overall top 65.

I second the NW schools. I don’t know if Gonzaga is under the radar but it tends to be good in Phelan.

The NE is brutal. I got my dick kicked in at Rutgers and just can’t seem to get G’town passed barely keeping my job level.

I’ve seen Hawaii be successful as well but it is heavily dependent on recruits on the island and the skill to master international recruiting.

Non Big 6 jobs that seem good to me are the schools in Mountain West as well as Southern Mississippi. Loved my time at Southern Mississippi because I could recruit Texas, Florida, and up through Kentucky and South Ohio