Fox Discussing Post-Season NIT Alternative w/ BE, Big 12, B10

[Dooooooomed]

Fox Sports is in negotiations with several power conferences to hold a postseason men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas featuring teams that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament, multiple sources told The Messenger.

Discussions are ongoing, but the current vision is for the event to include 16 teams that would play at T-Mobile Arena during the final week of March following the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight games. If the tournament happens, Fox plans to encourage its corporate partners to set up Name, Image and Likeness deals for players who are competing; the network will not be able to pay players directly due to NCAA rules.

Under terms of the proposed arrangement, the top 16 teams in the Big 12, Big East and Big Ten that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament — as ranked by the NET — would be required to play in the Fox event even if they are invited to the NIT. Those three leagues have rights deals with Fox.

Fox Proposes New Vegas-Based College Hoops Tournament

 

[gwhuskyfan]

At least Georgetown will always have a postseason tourney to play in

 

[Ha Who]

Fox Sports is in negotiations with several power conferences to hold a postseason men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas featuring teams that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament, multiple sources told The Messenger.

Discussions are ongoing, but the current vision is for the event to include 16 teams that would play at T-Mobile Arena during the final week of March following the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight games. If the tournament happens, Fox plans to encourage its corporate partners to set up Name, Image and Likeness deals for players who are competing; the network will not be able to pay players directly due to NCAA rules.

Under terms of the proposed arrangement, the top 16 teams in the Big 12, Big East and Big Ten that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament — as ranked by the NET — would be required to play in the Fox event even if they are invited to the NIT. Those three leagues have rights deals with Fox.

Fox Proposes New Vegas-Based College Hoops Tournament

Well, the newbie isn’t a power conference

 

[navery12]

In practice this sounds great, in reality I'm not sure how interesting it really is. This is what it would have been last season.

1) Rutgers vs N/A
2) Oklahoma State vs 15) Georgetown
3) Ohio State vs 14) Minnesota
4) Michigan vs 13) DePaul
5) Texas Tech vs 12) Butler
6) Oklahoma vs 11) Nebraska
7) Villanova vs 10) St John's
8) Wisconsin vs 9) Seton Hall

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Who thought bringing the stupid selection dynamics of bowls to college basketball was a good idea? It will destroy the NIT by taking three of the most important conferences out, and none of the teams invited to it, or their fans, will give two deuces about it, because they won't have earned their invitation. If not for the potential NIL consequences, no top players will want anything to do with this.

It also raises the issue of breaking off the top conferences for the NCAA Tournament. That would be catastrophic for college basketball. It would turn a tournament that is almost perfect in every way and is watched by people all over the world, into a basketball version of the Holiday Bowl that no one will give a crap about.

 

[Waquoit]

This reminds me of the attempt to put together a tournament of all the teams that didn't qualify for 2018 World Cup. It was quickly called the World Crap by fans and never went anywhere.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

As @Storrs South noted in a different thread about Big East and Fox..this bodes well for their interest in reupping with the league.

 

[Rocktheworld]

This is the first step of colleges leaving the NCAA. They’ll test it out in basketball, and with the NIT. Good. The sooner, the better for us.

 

[Waquoit]

The sooner, the better for us.

Magic 8-ball says: "Don't count on it"

 

[uchusky32]

Though situation for the conferences. If they they felt this isnt a good idea how do they tell Fox no?

 

[Tyler2Rings]

It will destroy the NIT by taking three of the most important conferences out, and none of the teams invited to it, or their fans, will give two deuces about it,

TBF when is the last time you cared about the NIT? Its not even in MSG anymore

 

[aburks41]

A tournament of losers is always great for TV

 

[nelsonmuntz]

TBF when is the last time you cared about the NIT? Its not even in MSG anymore

I am a basketball fan, so I will watch a lot of games from all the tournaments.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

This is the first step of colleges leaving the NCAA. They’ll test it out in basketball, and with the NIT. Good. The sooner, the better for us.

That would destroy college sports. Basketball and football would become like college soccer or baseball. Only hardcore fans would care. You would be able to cut viewership by over 50%, and revenues by over 75%.

 

[Rocktheworld]

A tournament of losers is always great for TV

March is a great time to go to Vegas. Much worse reasons for fans of the invited schools to go

 

[Rocktheworld]

That would destroy college sports. Basketball and football would become like college soccer or baseball. Only hardcore fans would care. You would be able to cut viewership by over 50%, and revenues by over 75%.

I’m just saying this is a practice run for eventually making their own March Madness and CFP

 

[superjohn]

I’m just saying this is a practice run for eventually making their own March Madness and CFP

A tournament of Big 12, Big East, and Big 10 losers. I can tell them how it will turn out.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

A tournament of Big 12, Big East, and Big 10 losers. I can tell them how it will turn out.

I can't imagine it'll be any different than the NIT, maybe a ratings bump not exposing yourself up a North Texas UAB final?

I only watch if UConn is playing. After consuming college hoops for like 40 hours Th-Sun there's not much appetite for the consolation tournament.

 

[Rocktheworld]

A tournament of Big 12, Big East, and Big 10 losers. I can tell them how it will turn out.

If UConn didn’t make the tournament but were playing a mini tournament with teams from the other two top basketball leagues on a similar level (top 35-41 for a 16-team tournament) and it was happening in Vegas in March, I could take that excuse to visit. Again, it’s a great time to go.

And if I didn’t want to pay to go to Vegas, I would absolutely watch on TV with nothing else going on in March. I feel like I would watch it over the final rounds of the NCAA tournament. Usually by then Cinderella is out, and I never really cared about Cinderella in the first place; I feel like mainly the general public and fans of schools outside the top 75 are those who care about Cinderella.

And once again it’s just a test. If it performs anywhere near as well as the NIT does, then they know they have something, the public isn’t necessarily beholden to NCAA events, and they could consider starting a new March Madness (and a new CFP).

 

[Rico444]

This is bad for college basketball, but a good sign for UConn. This is Fox dipping their toe in the waters of eventually breaking away from the NCAAs, but the fact that the Big East is being included in those plans (at least right now) means we're likely to be part of the breakaway assuming we're still in the Big East.

 

[Waquoit]

If UConn didn’t make the tournament but were playing a mini tournament with teams from the other two top basketball leagues on a similar level (top 35-41 for a 16-team tournament) and it was happening in Vegas in March, I could take that excuse to visit. Again, it’s a great time to go.

You would be by yourself. UConn fans wouldn't go watch this if they held it at Gampel.

 

[Rocktheworld]

You would be by yourself. UConn fans wouldn't go watch this if they held it at Gampel.

It wouldn’t be North Texas and UAB. It would be Wisconsin, Michigan, OKState, etc.

Maybe I just like Vegas more than most here

 

[WrenchFan69]

You would be by yourself. UConn fans wouldn't go watch this if they held it at Gampel.

For reference, the first round NIT game at Gampel in 2015 only had 6000 in attendance. That was gross

 

[Rocktheworld]

For reference, the first round NIT game at Gampel in 2015 only had 6000 in attendance. That was gross

Oh wow, what a shock, nobody went to Storrs CT in March, basically the polar opposite of Vegas.

Actually 6k in Gampel should be celebrated lol

 

[cohenzone]

Who thought bringing the stupid selection dynamics of bowls to college basketball was a good idea? It will destroy the NIT by taking three of the most important conferences out, and none of the teams invited to it, or their fans, will give two deuces about it, because they won't have earned their invitation. If not for the potential NIL consequences, no top players will want anything to do with this.

It also raises the issue of breaking off the top conferences for the NCAA Tournament. That would be catastrophic for college basketball. It would turn a tournament that is almost perfect in every way and is watched by people all over the world, into a basketball version of the Holiday Bowl that no one will give a crap about.

Someone still cares about the NIT? The NIT became pretty much an afterthought when the NCAA expanded to allow more than the conference champ into the Dance. There are teams in the Dance now that would never have been invited to the NIT when it rivaled the NCAA. And that in no way is an endorsement of this uninteresting contraption of a proposal.