The following is an open letter to outgoing Athletic Director Gary Strickler:
Director Strickler, first off, congratulations on a wonderful tenure at BU. The athletic department has made some great strides under your conservatorship. However, one item desperately needs your attention prior to your retirement… BU needs to join a new athletic conference.
America East (and the old Northern Athletic Conference) has provided some good competition for BU teams of the past. The truth was for a long time, that BU just could not put up the type of opponent from year to year to be good enough to join a more prominant conference. This is no longer the case. Both BU’s men’s and women’s teams are at the forefront of their conferences in a number of sports. Of late, men’s and women’s hoops have dominated their conference foes.
Prior to its loss to Stony Brook over the weekend, the men’s basketball team reached the number 67 spot in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) used to calculate entry into the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Sadly, BU reached this lofty position with only the 253th best strength of schedule (there are 326 total teams playing Division I basketball). Even ESPN.com rated BU as it’s No.9 Cinderella team last week. I submit that had BU been in a better conference, and faced better opponents, it would have had a much higher strength of schedule, thus a better RPI, and would be a likely at-large bid to the tournament. As it stands, mens hoops will be on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday due to its loss in the America East tourament.
Let’s take a look at the current state of our conference foes. BU plays twice each 5 teams ranked Nos.200 or worse in the RPI: Albany (308), UMBC (295), Stony Brook (282), UNH (277), and Hartford (250). The remaining opponents don’t even crack the top 100: Binghamton (199), Maine (170), Northeastern (144), and Vermont (130). As a conference, America East is ranked 22nd (out of 31 conferences plus a group of independents).
Add into the equasion that BU plays out of conference against two other teams ranked below 300: Cleveland State at 309 and Harvard at 307; and three teams ranked in the 200s: Youngstown State (252), Ohio (237), and Holy Cross (215); and Fordham at 194, BU just cannot make up the lost ground by playing St Joe’s (2), BC (26), and Michigan (53).
The Terrier Nation cries out for better competition. When the conference lost Drexel (92) and Delaware (129) a few years ago, the University should have begun examining a move a well. Within the last year, we have seen such high-profile programs as Miami, Cincinnati, and even that school further up Com. Ave. switch to better conferences. Isn’t it time for BU to move up? Isn’t it time we gave Rhett’s Roadies the opportunity to see the best competition we can bring in? With a new building set to open, wouldn’t the best way to fill it be to have great competition coming in every night?
Director Strickler, I implore you to leave a lasting mark on Terrier athletics. The fans and the Terrier teams to come will thank you for it.
-Douglas Marrano COM ’96/LAW ’99