Xavier shuns award, mid-major label

By Chris Littmann
Last season, while writing the mid-major report, I talked about the fact that the term itself -- “mid-major†-- doesn’t have to be an insult.
If this week has taught us anything, it’s this: Xavier University and the Atlantic 10 do not agree.
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Rivals attempted to bestow the “mid-major player of the week†honor to Musketeers guard Drew Lavender. Lavender plays for the team that, oh by the way, happened to be in the top 10 of the RPI when this call came in. They also were coming off three wins against schools from the big six conferences by an average margin of 29 points. Doesn’t sound “terribly†mid-major to me. Neither does the fact that Xavier has been to an Elite Eight and produced a national player of the year within the last five seasons.
So let me give you the short version of Xavier’s response to Rivals: No thanks.
And this isn’t the first time it has happened to Xavier this season. ESPN tried to put Xavier into its mid-major top 10. The Muskies were not fans of this one, either.
After spending an entire season writing a regular feature with the phrase “mid-major†in it, I can see why schools are so sick of the term. What does it even mean? I used to feel like I had an answer, but I’m not sure it’s even an applicable term anymore. I often felt like it was meant to describe budget-challenged schools, but that’s not always the case -- some just don’t spend well. Is it the size of the school’s student body? Tradition of success? Perhaps it’s a lack of reach across national media outlets through poor or non-existent TV deals?
Ultimately, it’s an overused term that needs some fine-tuning. Somehow “upstart school outside the traditional base of power†doesn’t seem like it will fit in a neat and pretty headline. Should we just ditch the term and try to think beyond these traditional labels. I say the time is now for an intellectual renaissance in college hoops -- I just demand that someone come up with a short phrase to encapsulate this feeling.
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