Isolated as I am down here in the alternative universe known as Florida, the news from Athens arrives only sporadically. Thus, I just recently read of Coach Jim Christian’s lament about the general perception of the Bobcats’ men’s basketball team’s post-season berth in the CIT (Collegeinsider.com Tournament). Yes, dear reader, I sense your question even from this distance: “What in the world is the CIT?” From the article in question I have learned what it is not: it is not the NCAA, not the NIT and not the CBI. Coach Christian, much to his credit, defends his players from “the snark, cynicism and sarcasm during this time of the year — by media, pundits and fans.” (That is, just about everybody except the Athletic Kingdom.)
In order to refute the notion that maybe the CIT is a fourth-rate tournament, coach Christian compares the football post-season (apples) to basketball post-season (oranges). Whereas, in football, “56.5 percent of sub-division teams” participated in bowl games and only 42 percent (148 of 349) of basketball teams are chosen. Says coach Christian: “You get in the tournaments that you can; you’re fortunate to play in the postseason — period.” (Ah yes, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.) He asks: How does that perception (of not playing in the better-known post-season tournaments) change? The answer: “As coaches, you have to keep talking about it.” That is, if you repeat something often enough, it will become true. If only the coaches at Indiana (who turned down the CBI) and Buffalo (who turned down the CIT) had been more concerned about the conference and their players’ feelings, they would have accepted the invitations to relatively obscure tournaments. (Well, that is a supposition on my part: Coach Christian says he didn’t have “any specific knowledge about why the Bulls would have turned down a postseason opportunity.”)
Since I haven’t seen any information recently about Ohio coaches’ salaries and bonus structures, I don’t know if there is a graduated scale for making the top post-season tournament, or the second most prestigious; and then whatever is left over. But I am sure that coach Christian’s first thought is for his players and their self-esteem, and he should be commended for caring about them and their college basketball experience.
Barry Thomas is a professor emeritus of German at Ohio University.
