orumbb_insider Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Per USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2014/03/06/summit-league-offers-highly-underrated-conference-hoops-tournament/6113673/ Milwaukee Bucks point guard Nate Wolters regularly plays in front of 20,000 fans, traveling from one NBA city to another. Yet the former South Dakota State standout admits he hasn't taken in the same type of atmosphere that he experienced in the Summit League Championships when he played for the Jackrabbits for four years. "The environment was just crazy," Wolters recalls. Since 2009, Sioux Falls, S.D., has housed the one of country's most underrated college basketball conference tournaments. With no major professional sports teams in the state, fans have gravitated toward the Summit League Championships in the state's largest city the way residents of small towns across America flock to high school football games on Friday nights. "Sioux Falls has absolutely rabid basketball fans," said mayor Mike Huether of the community support. "It's the talk of the town for months. "We take an old-fashioned 50-plus year arena and turn it into a heart-pounding, memory-making basketball wonderland." Last season, the Summit League finished 12th in conference tournament attendance out of 31 total league events in NCAA Division I, averaging 5,928 spectators per session. With an overall mark of 44,868 fans for the combined men's and women's sessions, the 2013 Championships shattered the previous record by 4,000 fans. This year's Championships tip off on Saturday with North Dakota State the No. 1 seed in the men's tournament and South Dakota State the No. 1 seed in the women's tournament. "I think it's one of the best kept secrets in conference tournaments," said Summit League commissioner Tom Douple. "Teams can't go anywhere without there being a sign in the window. The players are treated like celebrities." One factor that makes the tournament so successful is the dual staging of both the conference's men's and women's field. The Summit League ranked sixth in the nation in women's conference tournament attendance last season with an average of 5,290 fans, trailing only the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten and West Coast conferences. Douple said other leagues, seeing the Summit's success, have reached out to him when pondering whether a similar format would work for their tournaments. "The Summit League Tournament is a family affair," said fan Jill Johannsen. "The kids have loved getting out of school early for the women's championship for years. ... I am so happy to have shared the (memories) with my kids, parents and siblings." The arrangement of 6,113-seat Sioux Falls Arena, a barn-like venue with fans positioned against the court in every direction, stokes the environment. "Very few collegiate women's basketball players will ever get the chance to experience this level of excitement and energy," said Aaron Johnston, the women's basketball coach at South Dakota State. The Summit League's tournament produced record revenue in its 2009 Sioux Falls debut, and revenue and payout to schools has trended upward by 58% since. The 2009 men's championship game was the first nationally-televised event to emanate from South Dakota, and since 2010, every men's and women's tournament game has been televised. All of this success is helping propel the tournaments to a new venue in Sioux Falls next season, the 12,000-seat Denny Sanford Premier Center. The new building could also give Sioux Falls an even stronger March foothold: Huether has set a goal of having Sioux Falls host an NCAA tournament round, now a possibility with the larger arena slated to open in 2015. "We're not exactly the same as what you'll see in the movie, Hoosiers. But you do get a sense of some scenes when you take in a game," Huether said. "And not only do people get pumped for the (tournament), but we also have people lining up outside the door for tickets to next year's tournament. In Sioux Falls, this is big time." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 TheEagleman can't wait to get back to the Summit League.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenj Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 That conference tourney may never leave there as the conference is making a bundle from that location. Maybe Denver? Not sure what type of crowds they get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 You are correct, Darren....the tourney ain't leaving Sioux Falls any time soon....it's a cash cow...those people in the Dakotas have nothing better to do in winter than drink Old Milwaukee/Busch Light and go to the Summit League Tournament..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Hard to see the Summit League tournament leaving any time in the next decade or so. Not with that new building and such an aggressive civic group backing it in Sioux Falls. Only other mid-major tournament I can think of that's as successful in a neutral site is "Arch Madness": the Missouri Valley tournament in St. Louis. Speaking of The Valley: heard a rumor that Wichita State may be looking to make some hay from its lofty status of late, and bolt for the AAC (same league as TU, SMU, Memphis, etc.) Makes sense geographically, but a bit of a head-scratcher since the Shockers don't play football. They might get in there and feel the same way ORU did in the Southland: red-headed stepchild status. But, if WSU does make a move, wonder who those goofy Valley presidents will pick as a replacement this time around, after their bizarre Loyola (Chicago) pick last year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Without Creighton and possibly Wichita State, the Valley would seem to be a more plausible spot for ORU. Plus, without those two, it would be easier to be competitive in that league. Up until now, the reason I have been anti-Valley is that I thought we'd be an eternal cellar dwellar. And, that sure wouldn't be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I have heard that it is very important for the University Presidents in the Missouri Valley Conference to maintain an even balance between private and public schools in the MVC. I don't know that it would make sense for Wichita State to leave the conference in the first place, but if they did, being a private school, they would look for another private school to replace WSU. If they have had some pushback from their Loyola choice then it is possible that they would consider ORU as a private school replacement. At least they talked to us last time around, but it never felt like they were strongly considering us. Then again, it is difficult to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Isn't Wichita State a PUBLIC school (as in Wichita STATE)? If the MVC wanted to maintain public/private balance, our chances of replacing WSU would be diminished. However, we would be a good fit geographically to be a travel partner with Missouri State. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUIllini Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Wichita State is public....right now in the Valley the ratio of private to public is 4 to 6.....so if the Shockers were to leave, replacing them with a private institution would make it 5 and 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Isn't Wichita State a PUBLIC school (as in Wichita STATE)? If the MVC wanted to maintain public/private balance, our chances of replacing WSU would be diminished. However, we would be a good fit geographically to be a travel partner with Missouri State. I don't think The Valley is concerned with the whole travel-partner thing - they space their games out by 2-3 days and alternate home-and-away within those spans. The school I'm afraid may get the nod is Dallas Baptist: huge metro footprint, brings the baseball element, looking to move up. Seems to meet all the presidents' criteria... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 wouldn't the A10 be a better fit for Wichita St than the AAC? DBU is also already playing valley baseball...so that would help their cause also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Back on track: here's a preview from goofy Gary Parrish at CBS Sports: Summit League Tournament Preview In other Summit League news, IUPUI has fired head coach Todd Howard, who was an assistant for (and replaced) Ron Hunter. I think we all agreed at the time is was a weak hire, and the results have proven us right. They need to get another guy like Hunter who can/will find and develop the lower-level high school talent in-and-around Indy, such as NBA starter and homegrown star George Hill. IUPUI Fires Coach Todd Howard (ESPN.com) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 In case you missed it: the Summit League tournament quarterfinals (Sunday night) and semifinals (Monday night) are being televised on Cox Channel 271 (Fox College Sports - Central). Watched South Dakota State dismantle Western Illinois last night, before a sold-out crowd of Jackrabbit fans. At halftime, the coach from Denver had some interesting comments about their first year in the Summit League: "This is our third conference in five years. When we went from the Sunbelt to the WAC, we had no problem with the transition - we won the WAC with a perimeter-style team, which is the way most teams play in those two leagues." "But, in the Summit this year, we ran into a different style that poked some holes in our weaknesses. One, it's a post-oriented league instead of a perimeter league. And, a lot of these teams are true "programs" that develop four- and five-year players, instead of using a lot of junior college players. There are some very experienced teams in this league". That speaks volumes toward ORU's struggles the past two seasons, playing a Summit-style (and Sutton-style) post-oriented game - with an inexperienced roster - in the guard-heavy Southland. It simply has not been a good fit for ORU's personnel and style of play. Here's hoping the return to the Summit is also a return to ORU matching up better with its conference opponents on a night-in, night-out basis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Black Monday for SDSU in Sioux Falls: after the top-seeded Lady Jacks lost their first-ever Summit League tournament game this afternoon to arch-rival South Dakota, the 2-time defending champion men fall in the nightcap to IPFW, 64-60. The Dons were led by a freshman sharp-shooting guard named Mo Evans, a name to remember for next season. Another Summit League flashback from a couple of years ago: one of the Simpson brothers (Lamont or Lamar*) called the game, and was his/their usual awful self. (*I went back and looked at the box score; it was Lamont. Like it matters...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Both SDSU teams gone already?....that's priceless.....probably record amount of Old Milwaukee consumed last night by the home fans to deaden the pain..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Will be interested to see the crowd size for the championship games, without the bunnies in either game... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Will be interested to see the crowd size for the championship games, without the bunnies in either game... Pretty surprised that SDSU isn't going to have a team in either championship game. I bet there will be a fairly large attendence drop off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titansforever Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Mo Evans--that must explain why IPFW was atop the standings for at least part of the year. But boy, I'm surprised at SDSU--both teams out! Were they victims of global warming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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