Essays I wrote on the history of mid-major college basketball for the final season of The Mid-Majority.
Here in the Mid-Majority, our definitions of success are more malleable than the usual. They’re shaped according to the team and the time, and with ten seasons’ understanding of the uphill nature of our battles.
Anyone who’s read this site knows that we don’t put much stock in the old saw that “sports are an escape from real life.” On the contrary: sports are played, coached, and officiated by real people. Fans experience real joy …
Here in the frozen Midwest, temperatures have spent more time below zero than above over the last two weeks; the rare respites on the thermometer usually just mean the clear, cold skies are replaced by another coating of slick, wet …
Penn vs. Princeton: One Year, Two Rivals, Three Games Read more »
As Ray pointed out last week, Season X has finally bid adieu to one of the Mid-Majority’s betes noires: the guarantee game, in which one of our own earns a much-needed paycheck (and a likely loss) for visiting a power-conference …
In the early years of NCAA basketball, Our Game had its unquestioned capital in New York City. The finest players and smartest coaches came up through the five boroughs, and an NIT victory at Madison Square Garden was the pinnacle …
I know it’s not scientifically proven, but everyone who’s spent a decent chunk of time with an iPod on shuffle knows that the little music robot has some kind of psychic connection with its owner’s mood. It was no surprise, …
I’ve carried on a lifelong love affair with New Orleans, and at least part of it has to do with Ledell Eackles. It’s also been inspired by a love of jazz and an affinity with cocktail culture and proximity to …
It had to be Dayton. A joyous start to our first NCAA tournament gave way to a brutal, wrenching weekend of mid-major losses. The magnificent Shockers were upset in a championship-level struggle; the first round victors from the Atlantic Sun …
Wherever you may be, Thanksgiving inspires thoughts of home. For me, that’s also inspired a lot of thinking about the Northern Iowa Panthers in the last week. As I’ve mentioned, my current home is almost as far from a mid-major …
Though the NCAA’s various Corporate Champions and Official Broadcasting Partners would have us believe that no Shining Moments can or will happen until next month, those of us who’ve been mainlining basketball for most of the last two weeks know …