The biggest weekend of college basketball is upon us.
Part of the attraction of March Madness is the idea of the big upset. Everyone watches the first weekend because they hope to see the big upset, unless of course its your team that gets upset! We all remember George Mason and Butler crashing the Final Four and rocking the basketball world. Loyola-Chicago will do the same thing this year.
We all remember the upsets but the reality of the situation is that the underdogs make some noise but the big schools always win.
In basketball this is always true and it is just as true in the world of college softball.
Come on, name a school outside what we call the “Power Five” that has won the NCAA Division I championship. There is one that I can think of, but its hard to really think of Fresno State which was coached by the legendary Margie Wright, as an upset. It was but…
Why?
The big schools have too many advantages to allow the true underdog to sneak in and win a national championship. I know Louisiana Lafayette is the school everyone wants to point to as the example of how a smaller school can compete. But I’m not talking about competing, I’m talking about winning it all, and if they haven’t been able to win a national championship then we can agree that the small school ain’t gonna win it all! Period!!
The big schools have:
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More money
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Big-time football to use to lure recruits and parents
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More television exposure
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Bigger reputations
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Larger salaries to keep high-level coaches
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Bigger salaries to lure coaches at smaller schools that might compete to coach at the BIG School i.e. Mickey Dean
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Better facilities
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Better support staff
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More money which allows them to give players the true cost of attendance money smaller schools can’t.
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Better academic support
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Big beautiful stadiums so they always get to host the regionals
And on and on and on…
Little schools have:
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Hard working players who seem to get poached by the big schools as soon as they accomplish something great at their little school.
I spent my whole career working at little schools and I love the fight they display. While all these schools are DI schools, the differences are so great it isn’t a level playing field and it never will be.
I know life is unfair. Just don’t tell me that the little schools have a legitimate opportunity to win a national championship.
About the Author: Tory Acheson brings a wealth of knowledge to the Fastpitch Prep staff. He has coached at all levels of the game, including the last 25 years at the college level at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside, Tennessee Tech and Kennesaw State. He began his coaching career at the high school level spending 9 years Whitnall High School in Greenfield, Wis. and is now working as a professional softball instructor.
