NCAA Basketball: Why do mid-majors get less respect than power schools?

Limitations

While the disrespect many of these teams get is unwarranted, there are reasons for it. The power schools are larger schools and they have more exposure naturally. Why do they have greater exposure?  The power schools play in mostly high market areas and have alumni all over the country. Many mid-major schools have alumni everywhere, but the one thing that sets the power schools apart from the rest of the pack is money.

The fact of the matter is the power schools have the money and many of the smaller schools don’t. For example, coming out of the global pandemic the power schools are all solvent enough to be able to survive for a while without the revenue generated from sports. There have already been some smaller conference schools that have had to chance conference affiliation or drop other sports in order to make ends meet. These are all things that are done by the smaller schools to maintain their operating budget and guide their way through the pandemic.

The power schools are not having to drop sports, and many of them would survive if sports ultimately do not get played this season. The push to play is needed to make money and is needed for the smaller schools to survive. Money is the reason that a lot of these schools get a bad rap as well. The records of many smaller schools are going to look lopsided on the scoreboard. Why?

The schools must take buy games or games in which they are going to go into get blasted by a team for a paycheck. Those paychecks that those teams get goes toward keeping their athletic department budgets alive. It also allows those schools to update their arenas to help improve the fan experience. Anyone who follows recruiting knows how important arenas and facilities are to recruit. The power schools get the top talent because they have the exposure and the state-of-the-art arenas, weight rooms, practice facilities etc. Even the worst power teams have better facilities than most mid-majors.

Until these gaps are closed, which they likely won’t be, due to the money discrepancy. Many mid-major schools are going to not earn the respect they deserve. Money talks as the saying goes, and that is none truer in the lower ranks. Everyone has seen it right; a team has a great coach and has led the mid-major school to one of the best seasons in school history and makes a run in March. That coach usually goes and takes a job as a lower-tier power school coach because they are going to make more money at the power school than they ever could have dreamed of at the mid-major school. Again, Mark Few from Gonzaga is not included in this.

The monetary discrepancy can be further reinforced when looking at head coaches who leave their schools to go be the top assistant at a power school. The money is so much better, and it is much more advantageous for the coach to go take the assistant job. Why?  As I said more money and less pressure to win, they are not the head coach but the assistant, and in some cases may be the head coach in waiting. Doc Sadler left Southern Mississippi as a head coach to take the top assistant job at Nebraska when Fred Hoiberg was hired. Recently David Patrick, the upstart head coach for the UC Riverside Highlanders left the school to take the top assistant job for Arkansas. That occurrence is becoming more common.

How does the money even out?  Right now, it doesn’t until some of these schools are going to get a guaranteed TV Deal with either ESPN, Fox Sports, or any other national network that can afford to pay the conference. As mentioned earlier without the commitment to show their games like ESPN canceling the marathon and the bracket busters it doesn’t seem like an end to the monetary discrepancy is coming any time soon.