[quote=“dmastinsc, post:14, topic:32378”][quote=“NewNiner, post:11, topic:32378”][quote=“dmastinsc, post:9, topic:32378”][quote=“NewNiner, post:8, topic:32378”]Yeeeeeaaaaah. VCU has had 24+ wins in something like 11 straight seasons (tied with Kansas). They’ve sold out for 4+ years straight, they have a final four and a nice 7 consecutive tournament streak going (all of which will probably end this year, but they’ll still end with a winning record, etc.).
They have the 10th highest winning percentage of all college basketball programs in history (just above Villanova and behind Arizona). BTW, Western Kentucky is 8th. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_teams_with_the_highest_winning_percentage_in_NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_college_basketball
Since the turn of the century they have 10 NCAA appearances (including a final four) and two NIT appearances. Since 06-07 (the first year of Anthony Grant) they have gone:
28-7
24-8
24-10
27-9
28-12
29-7
28-12
29-7
27-9
26-9
26-10
25-11
26-8
(290-100)
during which time they won 4 conference regular season titles (with 4 2nd place finishes) and 4 conference tournament titles.[/quote]
I think this too is a perfect example of sustained success, yet the stars have not aligned in a way that has allowed them to elevate to a P5 conference, and are still a program most casual fans know very little to nothing about. They averaged about 7,400 fans per game the last couple seasons, which we can claim we have done as well for an extended period at one point.
To reiterate my original point, it wasn’t to comparing Charlotte to these teams as far as once upon a time success or even current success, but to highlight the fact that we are right there with every single one of them as schools who have had success at one time or another, yet here we all still are, relatively still peers.[/quote]
They won’t elevate to a “P5” conference because they don’t have a football team. That pretty much ends the discussion. Also 7400 is pretty much the capacity of their arena, as I’ve said - they sellout repeatedly.
Charlotte has had success, but when you’re discussing peers it depends on what your criteria is. They are a large school in an urban environment - thus “peer.” If you asked a casual basketball fan, they would know who VCU is and that they’ve been pretty good for a long period of time (and Shaka Smart, Havoc, etc.) - thus “not peer.” It’s hard to argue that we’re on par with a program that is 10th in all-time winning percentage with the type of success listed above. We both have one final four and no national titles, but their’s is a lot more recent, which cannot be dismissed when discussing the current positioning of the schools relative to each other. If you’re discussing current status, then I would say “not peer.” If you’re discussing ceiling/potential, then I would say “peer” except that we also have football.
I don’t think it’s fair to say that we’re in practically the same position as some of the schools you’re mentioning, though (at the very least, they have one helluva head start on us, even if they’re similar in potential). Old rivals (Cincy, Louisville, Kentucky, Marquette, Memphis) have all outstripped us. Former conference mates have done similarly (Temple, VCU, etc.). CUSA isn’t the A-10’s peer in basketball. It has potential, IMO, but the A-10 has time and again proven itself to be a formidable basketball conference.[/quote]
I agree that VCU is by far the most successful program from the Sunbelt of 85, and to my point, another exception when they have exceeded all these other programs by a wide margin. I can only speak anecdotally on whether a “casual” fan knows much about VCU because I would consider myself a casual fan. Since Charlotte began sucking ballz, I’ve barely kept up with the sport. When I made the original post, I was going on the fact that I knew VCU had been good, but I had no idea if they were still good. Shaka Smart is the last thing I remember about them. I think it’s safe to say Shaka meant a lot more to Charlotte fans than anyone else because they were from OUR conference. When I ask my coworkers who went to South Carolina, Clemson and Georgia, they can’t remember where Shaka Smart came from, nor can they tell me anything about VCU currently, only that they know the name and know they’ve been legit at some point recently.
So, anecdotally, I would say VCU still isn’t that far ahead of us once we figure out how to have a couple winning seasons in the next decade. And that’s after the loooong run they’ve had with their basketball program.[/quote]
I think the reason VCU’s profile isn’t any higher is because they don’t have football. I still think their profile is pretty damn high. Higher than ours was when we were in C-USA 1.0.