Coaches Rank Best Job in Conference

[MaxyJR1]

https://watchstadium.com/news/big-t...k-the-best-jobs-in-the-conference-10-11-2018/

This is the fourth in Stadium’s “Conference Chain of Command” series in which we polled a handful of veteran coaches in every league to determine the best JOBS in each league, all the way down to the ones that are the most difficult.

This week’s Chain of Command is being published on Thursday instead of Friday due to Big Ten Media Days taking place on Thursday.

Here are the eight categories that were utilized to determine the overall rankings. We did not utilize buy games as a category for the Big Ten because just about every program has the resources to buy a similar number of games.

Tradition – The history of the program
Media Exposure – Games on national television
Game Atmosphere – Includes attendance
Facilities – Not just the arena, but also practice facilities, weight room, locker rooms, etc.
Selling Pros – Being able to sell not only NBA players, but also those who play overseas
Admission Requirements – Ranked from easiest to get into to most difficult
Budget/Resources – Includes coaches’ salaries, recruiting budget, travel budget, private planes, cost of attendance, etc.
Geographical Recruiting Base – Proximity to players

This is how polling in the Big Ten shook out among coaches who voted, with one being the best and 14 being the worst:

 

[Goph33]

At first I thought recruiting base was way off but then I realized how talented the Midwest. I mean Indiana, Ohio, Illinois(Chicago), Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, heck even Iowa. I would say only bad recruiting state would be Nebraska. Could argue other states.

 

[60's Guy]

It's hard to quibble the Gophers are any higher than 10th.
I could argue our selling pros rank higher but the weather does suck...more than several other places? Not sure but the perception probably is that it does.
But, to me our game atmosphere is near the top. When the Gophers are competitive playing a top opponent in a full Williams Arena, the game atmosphere has to be number one.

 

[cjbfbp]

It's hard to quibble the Gophers are any higher than 10th.
I could argue our selling pros rank higher but the weather does suck...more than several other places? Not sure but the perception probably is that it does.
But, to me our game atmosphere is near the top. When the Gophers are competitive playing a top opponent in a full Williams Arena, the game atmosphere has to be number one.

I wouldn't say our selling pros rank higher; we've had only two players drafted into the NBA this century: Humphries and Pryzbilla. That last final four group did have multiple players play in the league but only one really had a career of any length. Our facilities probably should rank higher but the major improvement is pretty new. I will admit to liking the barn because it's a throwback to another time. And, yes, people would perceive Minnesota as having the worst weather. I've lived in four Big Ten states (Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) and the winter in the first two is definitely worse than the last two. I would argue that much of PA has better summer weather than Minnesota as well.

 

[cjbfbp]

At first I thought recruiting base was way off but then I realized how talented the Midwest. I mean Indiana, Ohio, Illinois(Chicago), Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, heck even Iowa. I would say only bad recruiting state would be Nebraska. Could argue other states.

Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and probably Penn State would have poorer recruiting bases than the remainder of the conference. Iowa and Nebraska don't have many players capable of playing high D1 basketball. Minnesota and Wisconsin don't have a boatload more. Penn State is remote and traditionally hasn't been able to leverage the fertile recruiting Philadelphia metro but their current coach has changed that. Remoteness is also a problem for Minnesota. It's at least a 7 hour drive to Chicago.

 

[MennoSota]

Nebraska better than Minnesota? I don't think so. Indiana at number one? Not since 1976.

 

[builtbadgers]

Nebraska better than Minnesota? I don't think so. Indiana at number one? Not since 1976.

What about counting every year ! A full handful of national titles and after 76 they won it in 81 and 87. It is a tremendous job and now they hired a great coach. The statewide passion for it is off the charts.

 

[cjbfbp]

Nebraska better than Minnesota?

Well, if you look at the article and chart, this is a rating BY BIG TEN BASKETBALL COACHES and is a MULTI-FACTOR rating that appears to be UNWEIGHTED (no factor appears to count more than others).

Minnesota ranks only one place lower than Nebraska and can be explained by the following factors:

1) Facilities: 10th place vs. 2nd place. I think this is a function of time lag. The improvements in Minnesota facilities haven't been around long enough to soak in. Also, the Barn isn't everyone's idea of a great arena these days.

2) Admission Requirements: 12th place vs. 3rd place (ranked from the easiest to most difficult admission standards). Most people thinking outside of sports would consider Minnesota's ranking to be a positive here. Pretty impressive actually; Minnesota is ranked as having tougher admission standards than all but Northwestern and Michigan.

3) Game Atmosphere: 9th place vs. 6th place. What else is there to do in Lincoln? It shouldn't be that surprising to anyone posting here that Twin Cities residents aren't the most devoted to college sports. The newness, design, and technologies of Nebraska's facilities could also play a part here.

4) Budget/Resources: 10th vs. 7th. Nebraska doesn't have a hockey team that competes with the basketball team for resources and donations.

 

[60's Guy]

I wouldn't say our selling pros rank higher; we've had only two players drafted into the NBA this century: Humphries and Pryzbilla. That last final four group did have multiple players play in the league but only one really had a career of any length. Our facilities probably should rank higher but the major improvement is pretty new. I will admit to liking the barn because it's a throwback to another time. And, yes, people would perceive Minnesota as having the worst weather. I've lived in four Big Ten states (Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) and the winter in the first two is definitely worse than the last two. I would argue that much of PA has better summer weather than Minnesota as well.

NBA wise we have nothing to sell except we do have an NBA team in town along with the Fortune 500 companies, job opportunities following graduation, the Mall of America, pro sports teams, all the Twin Cities has to offer in entertainment, culture, diversity, etc etc... all those kinds of selling points versus most others without all those and more opportunities.

 

[bga1]

Interesting study-thanks for posting it! Pitino's average finish in conference- 9th. Let's hope he improves his average this year- but for now he is performing at the level the program is ranked. I still think he is a guy that can lift our program in the next five years. He needs a big year and then we are off and running.

 

[bga1]

Well, if you look at the article and chart, this is a rating BY BIG TEN BASKETBALL COACHES and is a MULTI-FACTOR rating that appears to be UNWEIGHTED (no factor appears to count more than others).

Minnesota ranks only one place lower than Nebraska and can be explained by the following factors:

1) Facilities: 10th place vs. 2nd place. I think this is a function of time lag. The improvements in Minnesota facilities haven't been around long enough to soak in. Also, the Barn isn't everyone's idea of a great arena these days.

2) Admission Requirements: 12th place vs. 3rd place (ranked from the easiest to most difficult admission standards). Most people thinking outside of sports would consider Minnesota's ranking to be a positive here. Pretty impressive actually; Minnesota is ranked as having tougher admission standards than all but Northwestern and Michigan.

3) Game Atmosphere: 9th place vs. 6th place. What else is there to do in Lincoln? It shouldn't be that surprising to anyone posting here that Twin Cities residents aren't the most devoted to college sports. The newness, design, and technologies of Nebraska's facilities could also play a part here.

4) Budget/Resources: 10th vs. 7th. Nebraska doesn't have a hockey team that competes with the basketball team for resources and donations.

The Barn is partly dependent on success- more so than most arenas. When we have a good team, it would be hard to find a tougher arena to walk into. Back in the Musselman days when the Barn was truly a dump, it was rated one of the very best in the country. Considering the performance of the program in the last 20 years the atmosphere has been as good as can be expected.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

So they award points for being a crappy school they can get anyone into, but no bonus for being able to sell a quality education?

 

[60's Guy]

So they award points for being a crappy school they can get anyone into, but no bonus for being able to sell a quality education?

Yeah, because all they are talking about is the opportunity to win basketball games, not talking about post college careers. (different category) I also don't think just because of the school's ability to allow marginal athletes to gain entrance....that, that automatically makes it a crappy school.
Being able to get recruits into school is definitely not the same every where and is a factor in a coaches ability to winning games.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

Yeah, because all they are talking about is the opportunity to win basketball games, not talking about post college careers. (different category) I also don't think just because of the school's ability to allow marginal athletes to gain entrance....that, that automatically makes it a crappy school.
Being able to get recruits into school is definitely not the same every where and is a factor in a coaches ability to winning games.

Yeah, but quality of education is a selling point that a coach can use to sell a program to recruits, thereby helping them win games. I think the Stanford coach who recruited Reid Travis would agree.

 

[jovs]

So they award points for being a crappy school they can get anyone into, but no bonus for being able to sell a quality education?

That's not what it is measuring, it is measuring the flexibility a school uses while admitting athletes, Illinios is rated 5th with similar admission requirements and usually ranked higher academically than Minnesota.