MAC Men's Basketball Decline...A New Perspective

Graham Couch is one of the leading writers who cover the MAC, and he has written extensively about the decline of the Mid-American conference in men's hoops.  I've blogged on his 2007 and 2010 articles about this topic.

He posted another interesting article this week which I think is worth reading.  In it, he interviews Saddi Washington, a WMU great in the 1990s.  Washington believes that what is driving the MAC's decline is AAU recruiting, which gives players greater national exposure and more options, and means the MAC is less likely to have a hometown advantage.

It is an interesting perspective and I commend it to you.  A few of my own comments.

I support all efforts to ban July recruiting.  I believe AAU ball is a corrosive influence on college basketball, and presents an opening for agents and AAU coaches to be corrupting influences.

It can't be the only factor in the MAC however.  First, I would have enjoyed the article more if there were some specific examples of players that would have gone to WMU, CMU or EMU, but went to Xavier instead.  Second, in the 1990s, the MAC was considered the equal of the MVC, for example, and now it isn't close.  The MVC has thrived in the era of AAU basketball, and the MAC has not, but clearly it can be done.

What has made the MVC successful where the MAC has not been?  That's been covered before--investment in coaches, facilities and scheduling.  So, it just seems to me that the AAU thing is part of some existing larger trends, but is yet another one that is not breaking in our favor.

Food for thought.