As college football prepares for its grand opening weekend, excitement is in the air for millions of fans. Ranked matchups, rivalries and five straight days of football await.
If only college basketball could take a lesson in such scheduling.
College hoops has its marquee events early, such as the Champions Classic featuring Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State on Nov. 12. But the problem is there are no epic games at the beginning of the season, as we will see on the first big week of the college football season.
College basketball’s opening night on Monday, Nov. 4, this season features a weak slate of games with no major matchups. Instead, low-major teams get the spotlight.
The next day, Election Day, is even worse: three games total, including Kansas State hosting New Orleans as the headliner. Yawn.
Wednesday and Thursday are more of the same. It won’t be until Friday, Nov. 8 that college basketball provides a marquee matchup: North Carolina at Kansas.
For a sport that exits each season with gusto thanks to March Madness, it’s a huge downer how it enters the season with a whimper.
Here are three ideas that could spice up the first weekend of college basketball season.
1. Champions kick off the season
The sport should showcase major conference champions and one of the nation’s best mid-major programs on opening night.
Winners from the previous season in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC — along with a quality mid-major such as Gonzaga — should play an annual tripleheader at a neutral site. The conferences could rotate each year to mix up the matchups.
In today’s era of mass transfers and roster overhaul, teams often look completely different than they did the previous season. But at the very least, this idea puts a tripleheader with big-name teams on opening night.
2. Raise a banner
In professional sports, the defending champion usually takes center stage to open the following season. The champs raise a banner, get their rings and are toasted one more time before a new season begins.
College basketball should follow suit. Last year’s champion should face another quality high-major team with a banner-raising ceremony before tipoff.
3. Include the women’s game
The popularity of women’s college basketball has soared to new heights, so why not feature the men and women on the same night to open the season?
An opening-week slate that featured doubleheaders of elite schools facing off in both men’s and women’s basketball would generate huge interest. UConn, a national power in men’s and women’s hoops, playing against Baylor, which also has strong programs, would be must-watch TV.
Scheduling is always a challenge and, yes, football presents major competition at the start of college basketball in early November. But there’s no reason college hoops can’t do a much better job trumpeting the arrival of its new season.
