I'm normally not one to bash others for disrespecting Tulane's conference, but the AAC has gotten short shrift from the NCAA basketball and baseball selection committees in the short time Tulane has been in the league.
UConn was left out of the baseball field this week despite finishing only one game out of first place in the fourth-rated league. That would not happen if the fourth-rated league was the Pac 12 (which was fifth) or the Big Ten (which was seventh). Someone on twitter tried to tell me UConn feasted on the bottom of the league, but the strength of the AAC was its depth. Going into the final week of the regular season, all eight teams were in the top 100 of the RPI before Memphis fell out.
SMU got cheated out of an at-large basketball bid a few years ago and was under-seeded this year.
This hasn't affected Tulane because the Wave has not been good enough, but there definitely has been a tilt in all sports toward the biggest revenue-producing conferences that is bad for the AAC.
UConn was left out of the baseball field this week despite finishing only one game out of first place in the fourth-rated league. That would not happen if the fourth-rated league was the Pac 12 (which was fifth) or the Big Ten (which was seventh). Someone on twitter tried to tell me UConn feasted on the bottom of the league, but the strength of the AAC was its depth. Going into the final week of the regular season, all eight teams were in the top 100 of the RPI before Memphis fell out.
SMU got cheated out of an at-large basketball bid a few years ago and was under-seeded this year.
This hasn't affected Tulane because the Wave has not been good enough, but there definitely has been a tilt in all sports toward the biggest revenue-producing conferences that is bad for the AAC.