I think a lot of the schedule argument(s) have to do with one or both parties being unable to see the issue from the others perspective. I sympathize with the season ticket holders who want to see a better non-conference schedule, and it certainly isn't too much too ask for ONE high major game every year. From the Gopher fan/non season ticket holder perspective, it's very easy for me to see why Pitino isn't scheduling a high major at home this year and I personally agree with the strategy. The neutral game with Louisville and the preseason NIT should provide enough of a challenge for a team that brings back just 7 players and (as of now at least) is projected to very thin at the 1-3 spots. I feel like Pitino really needs to make the tournament this upcoming season or (hopefully and) have a very good 2015 recruiting season. We don't want to be going in to year 3 losing three or four of our top five players and looking at "rebuilding" with 3 star kids. Now it's VERY easy for me to say that I am fine with a softer schedule this upcoming season as I am not faced with the decision of spending 3-3 1/2 hours of a weekday night to see the latest incarnation of Maryland Eastern Shore OR eat the cost of the tickets and do something else. A lot of the non-conference games, I don't even watch live as I just avoid the score and catch them on the DVR if I have something else to do. The season ticket holders have suffered through enough weak non-conference seasons that it's hard to ask them to give Richard "time" to beef up the schedule. As much as I love Gopher hoops, I think I'd have been frustrated enough by the lack of overall success of the program to give up season tickets at some point. Those that have hung on for every year post-Clem are the true die-hards who deserve to be celebrating B1G titles or at least top 3-4 finishes much more than a fan like me.
A separate point on scheduling that I think has to be pointed out is that we need to schedule smart when looking for a high major series. A series with Marquette would make a ton of sense for both the Golden Gophers and the Golden Eagles as we both have interests in the others recruiting turf. A series with Iowa State is great for the Cyclones, but makes no sense for the Gophers. A series with a blue blood program would be great, but are we at a point to feel like that home game would be a great shot at a win over a UNC or Kansas? Also, those schools can pick who they want to play and I am sure they see some downside to a game at Williams Arena where the Gophers were pretty good last year. On the other end of the spectrum, would a Wazzu, Wake, Mississippi State, Oregon State, DePaul, or other high major that is currently down have interest in a home and home when they could just as easily schedule Penn State, Northwestern, or Purdue? I would assume those schools would rather either play a top of the conference team for drawing power/chance at a program boosting win OR schedule a bottom of the conference team for a better chance at a win.
Potential good fits that would benefit both schools:
1. Marquette- Only question here is whether the Golden Eagles would want to play both the Badgers and the Golden Gophers every year
2. Washington- Similar big city market, would seem like a natural out of conference fit
3. Missouri- Though I think the Tigers would prefer playing old Big 12 rivals all things being equal and they already play Illinois
4. Colorado- Similar to Missouri in that the Buffs might prefer playing Big 12 teams
5. Cincinnati- Would be great to renew that series and the Bobcats could benefit given the state of their league
6. Xavier- Would rather play Cincy if we were going to get a series going with a team from that city
7. USC- Enfield and Pitino took over their squads the same year and we recently played a series.
I am sure someone could come up with some more options that would make sense for both schools to schedule a series. What I'd personally love to see is for the Gophers/School X to agree to like a 6 game contract. I think a real rivalry of sorts would develop between the schools that could be beneficial to both schools. I could see Minnesota and Washington being a great fit for a series like this. Neither of us has a number one rival from out of conference, so I don't think it would take much for both schools fans to get up for a series like this.
