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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, May 2, 2003

High-fat diet hurts WAC in the end

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

Where would Western Athletic Conference basketball be without Notre Dame de Namur University, Millsaps College, Vanguard University and, of course, Saint Edwards University?

Probably a lot better off.

Indeed, they are a selection of the non-Division I opponents, Twinkies really, that WAC members have fattened up on over the last two seasons and precisely the kinds of teams that would be prohibited from showing up on future schedules.

If the conference's Board of Directors approves next month — and we can only hope it will — the WAC will finally have in place for 2004-'05 a long overdue policy against its members playing Division II, III and NAIA teams in men's and women's basketball.

The proposal, backed by the WAC Council over the weekend, is one of a couple moves aimed at encouraging stronger scheduling and enhancing the number of teams that earn NCAA Tournament berths. Another would reward those who earn appearances with an opportunity to keep more of the money they raise.

The WAC has struggled to land at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament and scheduling has been part of the problem. Too often teams have been inclined to load up on patsies, resulting in a sagging Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the numbers the selection committee uses to help determine at-large entries.

This past season the WAC ranked a sad 14th among 31 Division I men's conferences in RPI, a major reason it received only one berth — the automatic one — in the NCAA Tournament. In the four seasons since the WAC/Mountain West split, WAC men's basketball has never received more than one at-large entry per year.

You need look no further than the schedule for the first clue as to why they've been snubbed. This past season alone, six of the 10 WAC schools played at least one out-of-division opponent. While the wins came easily, they did nothing for the conference.

"Say, for example, UTEP plays three non-Division I (games) and wins and they're 19-8," said Jerry Palm, who operates College RPI.com and advises conferences on RPI strategy. "For RPI purposes, they're 16-8 — and they count at least twice against every WAC opponent. Obviously, it would be better for the other WAC teams if UTEP was 19-8 instead of 16-8 regardless of who (in Division I) UTEP played to get three extra wins."

Apart from the visibility and validation that appearances in the NCAA Tournament provide a conference, there is money to be made. Each game a team plays in the NCAA Tournament earns its conference nearly $800,000 over a six-year rolling period.

For the WAC, that should make compelling reason to swear off the Twinkies on its schedule.