Bob West: Power conference successes offset by lots of losses

[Guest coachacola]

Lamar athlete director Billy Tubbs, who took Oklahoma to the national championship game in 1988, has no trouble seeing the story beyond the story in the NCAA tourney. He and another former Cardinal coach, Pat Foster, in fact, have a remarkably similar view of how it’s evolved into a political power ploy fueled by greed.

“It’s a giant money grab,†says Tubbs. “It’s about greed, about what works best for TV, about what teams draw best for TV and about placing the teams you want to win in the most advantageous places for them in terms of seeds and location. And what’s really ironic is that the quality of the basketball is not all that good.â€

Tubbs, like Foster, detests all the conference tournaments that open the door for second-tier teams that don’t belong in the field. Foster says if he were in charge NCAA bids would go out at the end of the regular season. He wouldn’t put an end to conference tournaments, he just wouldn’t let them influence what teams receive NCAA bids.

“I like that idea,†says Tubbs. “I despise conference tournaments. I think you should have to win your conference to play in the NCAA. It’s supposed to be a tournament of champions, not a tournament of also rans. But, you know, it’s become the American way to devalue regular-season championships.

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