MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[titansrus]

OshDude, didn't mean anything by it-just find it interesting you think it'd be better to play Platteville.

Do you think they'd have a better chance of beating Platteville or EC?

[stormy]

PS -- thanks for the link the interview was worth listening to

[OshDude]

OshDude, didn't mean anything by it-just find it interesting you think it'd be better to play Platteville.

Do you think they'd have a better chance of beating Platteville or EC?

Eau Claire, by far. To me those are the two toughest teams for UWO. Stevens Point, Whitewater (perhaps La Crosse and Superior, too) are better teams than EC in terms of the entire nation, but they don't present the specific challenges the Blugolds do, namely a scoring big man in a multifaceted offense and long, talented perimeter defenders.

My whole point was if you have two teams that are going to be potential problems (admittedly to varying degrees), I'm from the camp that would rather take on the tougher opponent first.

Cubs win the World Series than to not make the playoffs this season.

I would literally like the Cubs never to win the World Series, so us White Sox fans can still rub it in! 

Do the Sox still play in Chicago? I know they tried to spend money on crap players this offseason to remain in the papers and on the minds of Chicagoans, but I wasn't sure if the town still had two teams.

I hope for a Cubs/Sox series just once in my lifetime (____ fill in some lame Cubs joke here). Then I would know the Cubs would finally win another WS, albeit over a second-class nine.

[Gregory Sager]

Cubs win the World Series than to not make the playoffs this season.

I would literally like the Cubs never to win the World Series, so us White Sox fans can still rub it in! 

You folks need a real rival, one that actually plays in your league. The Cubs already have a rival: The Cardinals. That's the team we Cubs fans are trained to hate. You people and your team are merely an annoyance for two weekends every season. Go find an American League team to hate, willya?

[titansrus]

I'm not even a White Sox fan, but at least they've won a World Series in the past 100 years.

Cubs on the other hand can only blame a billy goat and a Bartman. Too funny.

[Gregory Sager]

Not really the point, Titansrus. This is about White Sox fans and that inter-city inferiority complex of theirs that leads so many of them to be such intense Cubs-haters, in spite of the fact that the Cubs aren't even an American League team.

[Mr. Downtown]

Well, seeing that you are Cubs fans, I'll have to excuse your lack of baseball knowledge. ( I kid I kid... )

The White Sox DO have an American League rival, The Minnesota Twins. Believe it or not, I HATE (strong emphasis on HATE) the Twins more then the Cubs.

The Cubs are like a good joke that you pass around to each new person you've met. No matter what, you'll always get a good laugh. 

Plus, The Cell serves Miller Products. Enough said Wrigley, enough said.

[Cody-1-Kastern]

Since were off-track,

Minnesota Viking's running back Adrian Peterson was the Star of Star's on Sunday.  He was named the Pro-bowl's MVP after scoring 2 TD's. 

[Stout survivor]

I know that 4 teams  are ranked in the top 25 but I have some concerns heading in to the post season.  The difference between the top and bottom of the league leads me to beleive that the WIAC teams are not as tested as they used to be.  Not that they are weak by no means but week in and week out it seems that there is not the upsets that we are used to seeing. (other then Stout... that makes me upset )

Also getting back to the same topic every year, why wont the WIAC play the semifinal and championship games at a neutral site on a saturday and sunday... like somewhere is Madison.  Both mens and womens games? I always thought that would be a great way to build fan support and show what our league is made of to new fans.

[Just Bill]

Also getting back to the same topic every year, why wont the WIAC play the semifinal and championship games at a neutral site on a saturday and sunday... like somewhere is Madison.  Both mens and womens games? I always thought that would be a great way to build fan support and show what our league is made of to new fans.

It's been discussed many times, but without a sponsor to foot the bill for rent for the Fieldhouse or AEC or similar venue it won't happen.

Plus, the league makes healthy money from hosting on campus, especially when the higher attendance teams host.

[cubs]

Another sign of just how good WIAC basketball is...... 

D3hoops.com released their "All Decade Team" and is is littered with numerous players representing four of the nine WIAC schools.

1st Team
-None

2nd Team
Merrill Brunson-UW Platteville
Jason Kalsow-UW Stevens Point

3rd Team
Tim Dworak-UW Oshkosh

4th Team
Rich Melzer-UW River Falls

Honorable Mention
-None

If you go to the front page, it has a nice little bio for each player.  Congrats to each of these fine individuals.

[badgerwarhawk]

I'm probably alone on this but DIII athletics are about the student/athletes and the universities they represent so my feeling is that these types of events belong on campus.   

[John Gleich]

I know that 4 teams  are ranked in the top 25 but I have some concerns heading in to the post season.  The difference between the top and bottom of the league leads me to beleive that the WIAC teams are not as tested as they used to be.  Not that they are weak by no means but week in and week out it seems that there is not the upsets that we are used to seeing. (other then Stout... that makes me upset )

Also getting back to the same topic every year, why wont the WIAC play the semifinal and championship games at a neutral site on a saturday and sunday... like somewhere is Madison.  Both mens and womens games? I always thought that would be a great way to build fan support and show what our league is made of to new fans.

I'm probably alone on this but DIII athletics are about the student/athletes and the universities they represent so my feeling is that these types of events belong on campus.   

I agree with BW.  I think if they want to generate fan support, then the conference should publicize the tournament more, on local TV and radio stations.  The teams already get coverage in the papers, and during the Sports section of TV, but unless you watch the news, there isn't too much in the way of publicity.

[OshDude]

I'm probably alone on this but DIII athletics are about the student/athletes and the universities they represent so my feeling is that these types of events belong on campus.   

I agree with you. I was happy the WIAC decided to return the baseball tournament to a campus, and I would be disappointed if the WIAC were to take basketball away from campuses.

[Mr. Downtown]

How about what Women's Volleyball and Soccer do. Play the semi-final and finals at one WIAC Venue? That way, your lower half bracket (assuming the #1 seed wins the first round game) would be playing on a neutral court.

Fans flock to one campus for the semi-finals and finals, could generate into extra cash for the university and city. Just a thought.

Problem with "lack of publicity" the WIAC gets is that Green Bay is always about the Packers, and you can tell with the lack of coverage that D-I UW-Green Bay gets. Madison is all about the Badgers and Milwaukee is all about being as National as possible, seeing it is the 18th biggest Media Market.

When the WIAC struggles in one of its bigger cities (Oshkosh), it's going to be hard for them to expand to the bigger markets, and have those markets actually care about D-III basketball.

I know in Oshkosh, they now have a daily show sports show, coaches show, a 30 minute TV show, games broadcast via live TV and radio, also streamed over the internet from two different radio stations.

Yet, the city of Oshkosh can't muster to fill 2/5th of there home venue regularly.

Then you consider you have very small cities that have universities (Superior, River Falls, Platteville, and Whitewater), and two (La Crosse and Eau Claire) that are closer to Minneapolis than to Milwaukee, and one can see how difficult it is for the WIAC to grab attention of folks in the state.

The conference has a plan, and it's just waiting to happen. Last time I talked to the Comiss,  he had hoped that a marketing company would come in, and do the work for the WIAC. So who knows, perhaps things will change next year and there will be more publicity.