This thought is related to my experience in Knight. We have 169 human coaches in DI and I'm in a packed northeast. It's super competitive but I'm enjoying it.

Once the firing logic kicks in, I theorize that teams in strong mid major conferences will be hot commodities. They're "under the radar" right now. But it seems to me that taking a team in a strong mid major rather than a bottom feeder at a power 6 school is a recipe for better success. Why? You don't have to deal with as many elite schools in your conference AND you can't get fired.

However, I think this shift towards strong mid major conferences will be more prevalent in fuller DI worlds.

i think it depends what kind of success a coach is looking for. bottom feeder BCS rebuilds have always been tougher than solid situations in mid major or low major confs, but folks still gravitate to the BCS because when you want to compete for final 4s and championships, its the place to be, and most BCS schools are workable from that standpoint even if their current situation is crap.

with the current version of firing requirements, which have been pretty much de-fanged (which i mostly think is good), i don't really see it making a huge difference to the BCS vs non-BCS population.

Posted by gillispie on 12/21/2021 11:46:00 AM (view original):
i think it depends what kind of success a coach is looking for. bottom feeder BCS rebuilds have always been tougher than solid situations in mid major or low major confs, but folks still gravitate to the BCS because when you want to compete for final 4s and championships, its the place to be, and most BCS schools are workable from that standpoint even if their current situation is crap.

with the current version of firing requirements, which have been pretty much de-fanged (which i mostly think is good), i don't really see it making a huge difference to the BCS vs non-BCS population.

Perhaps I missed the de-fanging? Is there a link? Is this it? https://www.whatifsports.com/forums/Posts.aspx?topicID=528307

To be clear, there are some mid major jobs on the firing list (Gonzaga, Utah, a few A-10 schools and conference USA schools), and a few power conference programs not on that list (Rutgers, Fresno, Northwestern, etc). Apart from those exceptions, I think the idea is that the B baseline power conference schools in “doormat” condition are higher risk, but also potentially higher reward than the mid majors. Mid majors on the firing list might be some of the “worst” jobs, by certain standards, as they come with the risk of termination, and without the benefit of strong conference baseline even if the conference is full and humming along.

Posted by shoe3 on 12/21/2021 3:19:00 PM (view original):
To be clear, there are some mid major jobs on the firing list (Gonzaga, Utah, a few A-10 schools and conference USA schools), and a few power conference programs not on that list (Rutgers, Fresno, Northwestern, etc). Apart from those exceptions, I think the idea is that the B baseline power conference schools in “doormat” condition are higher risk, but also potentially higher reward than the mid majors. Mid majors on the firing list might be some of the “worst” jobs, by certain standards, as they come with the risk of termination, and without the benefit of strong conference baseline even if the conference is full and humming along.

I wasn't referring to those particular mid major schools. But there are some mid major conferences slowly gaining depth and strength in Knight that I think could stand to benefit once firing begins.

I like Texas a lot. LSU also seems like a good place because you can go into Texas and Louisiana itself tends to have a lot of good recruits. I also agree about Colorado and Utah, but that depends on how full the Mountain West is. I personally like being in the Philadelphia or Baltimore area also because you can reach into the Northeast, but you can also go to the midwest or the Carolinas. That was one reason I picked Delaware State, and I had success at Villanova. But, like numerous people have mentioned, a lot depends on who else is in the world with you.

I've had really good luck at W. Kentucky and E. Kentucky for mid majors. I don't know how it will be if and when I am able to get them to the next tier and try to fight for 5* players against the blue bloods, but as far as building a strong mid-major I would say Kentucky is a nice state to build a team. Lots of 3 and 4* players that get somewhat ignored while the top schools fight for the strong 4* and 5* players.

I've been a big fan of MVC, all the schools are C baseline. So you can really choose what direction you want to recruit in. Currently Missouri State and it just appears the MVC is just overlooked and really under the radar for me. However I agree with everyone else, depending on landscape the MWC is solid, had a good stint at TCU.

Posted by tiweav01 on 12/21/2021 12:42:00 PM (view original):

Posted by gillispie on 12/21/2021 11:46:00 AM (view original):
i think it depends what kind of success a coach is looking for. bottom feeder BCS rebuilds have always been tougher than solid situations in mid major or low major confs, but folks still gravitate to the BCS because when you want to compete for final 4s and championships, its the place to be, and most BCS schools are workable from that standpoint even if their current situation is crap.

with the current version of firing requirements, which have been pretty much de-fanged (which i mostly think is good), i don't really see it making a huge difference to the BCS vs non-BCS population.

Perhaps I missed the de-fanging? Is there a link? Is this it? https://www.whatifsports.com/forums/Posts.aspx?topicID=528307

well, that was their 2nd proposal - so i don't think you missed anything. but the original firing proposal was way more intense, so i look at the current model as a largely de-fanged version. which i think is good.