Innovative college hoops scheduling model proposed to non-Power Six conferences

NCAA Tournament resume building could get a little easier for teams not in the Power Six conferences. Matt Norlander shared a new non-conference scheduling proposal that’s making the rounds in the college basketball world. Simply put, teams from leagues not in the Power Six (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) would take a break from their conference schedules in February to play two opponents from other conferences, one game at home and one away. Teams would be paired competitively to provide more Quad 1 or Quad 2 opportunities ahead of Selection Sunday.

Here are the details:

For one week in February, a slew of leagues would pause their conference schedules and instead have all their members play two nonconference opponents. The model would have every team involved play one home game and one away game, with the majority of those games happening three days apart — many on Wednesday and Saturday — with the window commencing after Valentine’s Day. 

The matchups would be decided by an algorithm that would ensure the best teams play the best teams. The games wouldn’t be determined until the end of January. Think of it like a mini-Selection Sunday within the regular season. You could even build a television show around it. How fun would that be?

Matt Norlander, CBS Sports

Norlander reports that the idea was sent to 26 of the 32 conferences in Division I and so far, 22 have been receptive. Why weren’t the Power Six included? In addition to TV contracts and 20-game conference schedules, Norlander said the folks behind the concept didn’t think the Power Six would be interested because they don’t need it as much as other leagues. There are already interconference series like the Big 12/SEC Challenge and ACC/Big Ten Challenge to provide marquee matchups/resume opportunities.

Still, all here for creative scheduling in college basketball. If agreed to, this concept would become reality in the 2023-24 season.