Three years in a row in the sweet 16. Gonzaga continues to collect the scalps of some of the nation's top basketball programs, entering this NCAA Tournament on a roll. Anyone who watches March Madness knows this team can roll right through the first few rounds no matter whom it gets matched up against.
Who is Gonzaga? How can they come into a national championship tournament three years in a row and make a name for themselves? How do you even pronounce Gonzaga?
The NCAA Basketball championship is a unique tournament in itself. There were 319 teams in the Division 1-A NCAA basketball this past year, and in order to crown a national championship, they hold what has become known as March Madness. A tournament of what is considered the best 64 teams in the nation, in a single elimination, winner take all, six rounds of the best basketball you will ever see. For most of the players involved, this is the biggest basketball game they will ever play. Most seniors will never play organized basketball again. And unless you are talking about a few of the powerhouse teams in the nation, for all it might be the only opportunity these players will ever have to be seen on national television.
What does all this mean? It means that every team, all 319, have a chance to shine in the month of March. It means that a no-name school like Gonzaga, a Jesuit school of approximately 4,600 in Spokane Washington, can make a national name for itself. A member of the West Coast Conference, along with schools like Santa Clara and Pepperdine, can compete and beat schools with rich basketball history like St. John's, Louisville, Stanford, and Florida in the past years.
It means that even schools like UB have a chance in Men's Basketball. How far are we away? Nobody knows. How close are we? Very close. Can you imagine a college atmosphere where students camp out over night to get tickets for a sports event? Can you picture a packed arena, where students and the local community are there to cheer on their team? Can you image seeing your college on the front page of the sports pages, of not a local, but national newspaper? How would it make you feel to see your alma mater play a championship game against the best team in the country? Maybe, you can imagine these things, but can you imagine them to be right around the corner?
UB is putting together a Division 1-A athletic department to compete against not the Gonzaga's of the world, but with the UNC's, and the Syracuse's of the world. There appears to a mixed contentment on campus about this move, in the students' views, but in the Administrations mind there is no confusion. It will happen, and it will happen as fast as possible. President Griener, and the entire athletic department, have made a commitment to the students, to serve as a competitive Division 1-A school to UB.
It would be impractical to look in depth at all 16 teams that are funded by the Division of Athletics, but remember, the Men's Tennis team was undefeated in the fall, while the Women's Soccer Team was winning the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in the regular season. At the same time the Men's Soccer team was a mere one goal away from the MAC championship game. This winter the Wrestling team qualified four wrestlers in the NCAA championships. Both the Men's and Women's swim teams finished in the middle of the pack (7th and 6th respectively) during the MAC championships. Not to mention the personal accomplishments of Cross Country, Women's Tennis, and all the other teams here at UB.
The traditional college sports did very well this year as well. The football team was extremely competitive, even if their record didn't show it. A new recruit class, combined with a new coaching staff will surely turn a lot of those close losses into wins next year, and for years to come. The Women's Basketball team had a great season finishing 5th in the MAC regular season.
And Men's Basketball. Yeah, they did finish 4-24 for the season, losing in the first round of the MAC tournament, but remember how many games we were in. Our men's basketball team lost 7 of the 24 games, by 6 or less points. That means with a couple of small changes they could have just as easily been 11-17, not a bad record for being in the league for 3 years.
The most important thing to remember is that we have only been in the MAC for three years (football for two). Our athletes that are graduating this year started in a Division 1-AA school, in the Mid-Continent Conference. A conference a lot like the West Coast Conference. A conference that UB athletics was extremely competitive in.
As for Men's Basketball, we are improving. A new coach is finally appearing to be at home, and new recruits are the top level that we need to compete in the mid-major conference that the MAC is. What needs to be done for success? Who knows? A new group of players that believe they can beat their opponents. A new group that has confidence that they cannot only compete in the MAC, but win in the MAC, might do it. Only a couple of years of good recruiting can test that theory. The MAC is an extremely competitive conference. Referred throughout college athletics as a Mid-major conference, the 13 teams in the MAC are feared in almost all of the sports that they are involved in. What this boils down to is that nobody wants to play a MAC team, because they are traditionally more competitive than they are given credit for. Two years ago Marshall football went undefeated in football with a record of 13-0. An accomplishment that only one other team in the nation (out of more than 110) was able to do in Division 1-A Football. The same year Miami (Ohio) University, lead by Szczerbiak came out of the MAC with an at-large big (they did not win the MAC tournament, but was selected as a national contender to make the tournament), and made it to the sweet 16.
The MAC has produced, and will continue to produce NBA players, like Szcerbiak. The MAC continues to get more and more respect and national coverage because of it's elevated level of collegiate athletes. This year Kent State won it's first round game against an Indiana team, that has been quoted as playing the best it has in five years. How long till UB is there?
What will help you see your team in the national championship? Support. We have 16 varsity teams here at UB. All of them have shown success in the past couple of years. UB's commercial sports (football and basketball) will improve and be Gonzaga's of the future. There is no doubt about it.
I'm sick of telling people that we will be competitive, and that it will only take time, and we will be a strong athletic school. We are competitive. We have teams that win right now, and teams that will continue to win in the future.
