Looking to make a move in Phelan Div. 1 and considering 3 (general) options.  Interested in thoughts on most desirable.

1) Marquette: PROS: B- Baseline prestige, 6 schollies this year so the rebuild starts today, presume the location is pretty decent in terms of recruiting talent (Milwaukee/Chicago/etc.), empty Horizon League means a likely easy path to Conference Titles. CONS: Horizon League being so bad means bad RPI and little recruiting cash.

2) New Mexico: PROS: B- Baseline Prestige, MWC is loaded in Phelan (routinely beats out at least one of the BCS conferences in Conf. RPI) so recruiting cash and RPI boosts. CONS: Only 2 scholarships, Double-edged sword on conference quality means I could be a ways away from NT bids but mostly I'm afraid of the location, New Mexico seems like it could be a terrible place to be in terms of nearby talent.  Anybody have any experience and can confirm or deny?

3) A-10 School: This is the middle ground and probably the direction I'll go.  A-10 isn't empty like the Horizon League but it's not jacked like the MWC.  7 humans and 5 sims means it will never crush my RPI as long as I schedule well in the non-con.  From a recruiting perspective, any of the places i'm considering (GW/Richmond/St. Bonaventure/UMass) are going to be somewhere that is very dense in terms of talent.  I *think* all those schools also have baselines that match up with Marquette and NMU also.

Does anyone have any thoughts?  Any experience at these schools or in similar situations?  I'm really tired of Davidson where I brought them up from a D- to a C but have totally hit a ceiling and need a change of scenery.

Thanks!

As a quick follow-on, I'm looking for a school where I can compete at least to the point where an occasional at-large bid isn't a total pipe dream.  I could stay there a long time or move on to a Big 6 school if I became qualified -- that part isn't of primary importance to me.  I want to recruit competitively and get postseason berths.  I want to pick the school that will be the best option in, say, Season 5 of my time there, not necessarily the one where I'll win the most games right away (though I obviously wouldn't mind that either).

I am not familiar with Phelan's D1 structure so this is a general statement on D1 recruiting.

I would go New Mexico.  The northeast is a tough social ladder to climb.   At  a B-/B level midmajor you're gonna be in about the 3rd or 4th tier.   There are the A+'s (probably 3 or 4 north of Maryland), the A/A-'s (another 5-8) and then the B/B+ BCS schools with hunks of cash.   You have to beat the big boys AND the Seton Halls/Providences that have more money. It's a hard climb up.  It'll be a struggle to get the near elite recruits (most cores in the 90's).  

Out in the SW there are less recruits but less competition.   I would suspect you'd be in the 2nd tier of the pecking order.  After the B12 Texas schools, Colorado and Arizona, there ain't nobody who should be a ton better than you.   If you're getting BCS type recruiting cash you should be in really solid shape.

So, I don't know anything about Phelan, but generally, as you noted, New Mexico can be a very difficult place to recruit, with low recruit generation, competition up north (Colorado, among others), and the hulk that is Arizona west.

As to the others, one thing to consider is the conferences with whom you would compete for recruits.  I'm sure you've thought of that already, but it's worth noting that GW and Richmond likely will compete with the ACC (and parts of the SEC), the Bonnies and UMass with the Big East, and Marquette with the Big Ten.  Not sure which of those conferences rules in Phelan.  In Crum, there are D1 openings at places like South Carolina, but I'd be loathe to consider that job (as good as it may be) because the ACC is absolutely dominant in Crum (as is Clemson itself).  

Good luck with your choice! 

I wouldn't go to Marquette as you'd be located smack in the middle of Big 10 territory.  We are the top D1 conference in Phelan right now by a very large margin and send 8 to 9 to the NT and a couple to the PIT (some seasons everyone is making the post season).  You'd be at a severe $$$ disadvantage in recruiting battles for any decent recruits.  

If you are trying to use this as a stepping stone to a Big 6 gig, then I'd go for one of the open A-10 schools as you wouldn't be at a huge disadvantage versus the others in conference to grab the CT title (versus there are some better teams in MWC that New Mexico can't just compete with at the moment).

hey buddha!  been a while.  hope you are well and glad you have come farther from the desolate Minn. IAC than I have.

You've essentially stated my full thought process here.

To all who have responded, thank you.  I've been stuck behind the ACC beasts for my whole time at Davidson and probably stayed too long already out of stubbornness and a desire to at least make one tourney run before I bailed.  I'm very sensitive to diving into another situation where I can't get decent recruits either because they're too far away (New Mexico) or because there's too much competition (all of the others I'm considering).  A bit of a rock and a hard place.  I like shafty's idea of seeing which Big 6 conference has the least depth and living on its fringes.  Whether there looks like a decent soft spot near an open A-10 school or whether all of them are so stacked that the desolation of NMU seems inviting by comparison will likely determine my choice.  Very interested if any others have input but this has all been really helpful.

A follow-up: What do people think of GW vs. Richmond from a location perspective.   GW actually seems like a pretty solid option in Phelan: currently Georgetown is a B+, Virginia is a C+, West Virginia is a C+, Villanova is currently a Sim.  Maryland is an A+ but c'est la vie.  If I can get GW up to a B- and barring a major shift in the balance of power, that's not awful.  Richmond doesn't have 2 schools like GTown/Maryland right on top of it but I think it gets a bit too deep into ACC territory (even though most of the NC schools aren't elite in Phelan there are just too many of them and Virginia Tech is an absolute beast).

I'm gonna mull it for another 20 but I think I'll apply to GW and if that doesn't work throw apps at both Richmond and New Mexico and hope one of them hits.

BTW my top choice initially was Xavier but after taking buddha's point on the power of the Big Ten it might be a blessing in disguise that someone else grabbed them.

What are they , 80 miles apart? They are so close location is irrelevant.

The New Mexico thing really is the Wild Card here and I don't know what to make of it.  There won't be many nearby recruits but damn, the closest school is UTEP 270 miles away (a "C" in Phelan), then Texas Tech 360 miles away (a "C+"), and then Arizona at 450 miles away (and shockingly only a "B-").  Gives me a huge advantage over anybody in Albuquerque (where NM is).  To the north, the Colorado schools are 400+ miles away and while Air Force is a very very good mid-major in Phelan (#7 last year and a B+ overall) the cushion is pretty big as long as those teams aren't exclusively recruiting out of NM and southern CO.

It's tempting; probably raises the odds of lucking into the occasional elite guy while also increasing the number of years that the pickings will be really slim.  For a mid-major, though, that might be a worthy tradeoff...

D3.....WIAC...Bring it