The A10 (and MWC) conferences typically have higher conference prestige, which I believe makes it more difficult to get a job there from D2.

A10 jobs are extremely hard to get out of D2, I'd bet you'd need a final four or a national championship at D2 to get an A10 job.  I'd expect you wouldn't have to cut your teeth at a D baseline school with that D2 record, so you're probably looking at a C prestige mid-major for a few seasons (MAC, MVC, WCC, CUSA, Horizon, MWC).  After a couple seasons, you'll probably be able to move to a higher mid-major (the like of the A-10, Gonzaga, Memphis, Marquette, etc.).

a few more seasons and you can make the jump. you need a long resume.

as far as your original question...the answer is Nyles Grande. Also, Simmy Simpkins wouldn't hurt.

Thanks Jet.  I already have the F4 and E8 appearances, so success obviously isn't the issue.  A+ rep and loyalty combined with an A prestige certainly helps.  The only thing I could figure is that I just hadn't been coaching long enough in Rupp.  I've been in Smith for awhile and just felt like having a 2nd team and trying to get to DI as quick as possible, but I don't want to take some ****** team in DI just to be in DI.  I was thinking I may need at least 10 total seasons on my resume. 

And Im sure tzent wouldn't hurt either for good measure...

That would be a pretty quick jump to the A-10 given the limited number of seasons on your resume.  Definitely on the right track though.  I would guess that two more good seasons may be enough to get you there. 

I know I'm nitpicking, but OP only has two seasons with an RPI under 50.

Yes, the NT runs are great and valuable, I'm just spitballing about possible reasons.

NT appearances and success are more valuable than RPI.  And as stated, the reason for me not being qualified is "more experience needed"...  Its a matter of how many seasons appear on the resume and I was curious if anyone knew how many seasons it may be. 

As you figured out, 5 seasons total isn't enough in HD-land to get into the A10.  It'll take a few more seasons in D2 and more success along the lines you're already having.  You should take a look at the current A10 coaches (or even historical ones) in both worlds you're in and see if you can make a determination based on the strongest coaches in that group.  Specifically, I'd gauge how many seasons until they made it to the A10, and how many total wins they had when they did make it.  Of course, win% and NT runs also factor in, but I think total seasons and career wins plays a big part in these kinds of circumstances.

its not that hard to get qualified for an a10 job from d2 - it just takes time. getting 200 wins is a MAJOR threshold in getting to d1, and i think each 100 wins after that, at least up to 500 or something, is another boost. experience and success are the two major factors in getting to d1 - you are great on one front - but have almost nothing on the other. experience is what is holding you back.

I didn't think total wins counted, just the last ten seasons on your résumé. I qualified for Washington State in the PAC 10 out of D2, you can take a look at my résumé for an idea fireman.

I went through Smith and there's 6 A10 humans.  The quickest anyone got there was on their 14th season.  So it took 13 seasons with little postseason success.  I'm sitting at 5 seasons right now.  I think somewhere in the 7-10 range with sustained postseason success could be a winning recipe/

Agreed with the above, the 200 win threshold did seem to unlock the A10 for me. Might be a bit quicker for you since you have more NT success.
This resume took 9 seasons to get to the A10:

D2

67	stinenavy	24-5	12-1	11-2	1-2	14-2		64	198	A	Conf Champion NT At-large Bid NT (2nd Round)
66	stinenavy	28-4	11-2	12-1	5-1	15-1	10	17	46	A	Conf Champion CT Champion NT (Sweet 16)
65	stinenavy	24-6	10-1	12-3	2-2	14-2	21	26	57	A	Conf Champion NT At-large Bid NT (2nd Round)
64	stinenavy	28-3	10-1	14-1	4-1	16-0	14	17	77	A	Conf Champion CT Champion NT (2nd Round)
63	stinenavy	26-5	12-1	11-2	3-2	15-1	20	26	62	A-	Conf Champion NT At-large Bid NT (2nd Round)
62	stinenavy	24-7	10-3	11-2	3-2	15-1		30	41	A-	Conf Champion NT At-large Bid NT (2nd Round)
61	stinenavy	20-10	9-2	9-6	2-2	13-3		54	66	B+	Conf Champion NT At-large Bid NT (1st Round)
60	stinenavy	22-7	13-1	8-4	1-2	13-3		45	98	B+	Conf Champion NT At-large Bid NT (1st Round)

D3 

59

stinenavy

27-6

7-1

15-3

5-2

14-2

13

7

10

A+

Conf Champion NT At-large Bid NT (Elite 8)