Where The Conference Tournaments Should Be, 2024
Conference realignment made me draw more maps
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Eli: The ASUN kicks off postseason action this evening, so welcome to conference tournament season!
During a regular ol’ conversation on Discord last March, David remarked that he personally thought conference tournaments should be held at the geographic midpoint of each conference. Naturally, on a whim, the two of us got to calculating where exactly those midpoints were, then found the nearest venue to each midpoint that could reasonably host any basketball game. I further offered a realistic suggestion on a centralized location at which every conference tournament could be held, then drew a bunch of maps to tie it all together.
Where the Conference Tournaments Should Have Been
If you’re reading this via email, it’s gonna get cut off partway through due to length. We recommend clicking through to the website. Thanks and enjoy! Eli: Conference…
If the Substack popularity algorithm is to be believed, the above is currently our second most popular post of all time. That’s the type of success that leaves you hoping and praying for inspiration like that to strike again, whenever or however it may come.
Thankfully, we don’t need that stroke just yet, because conferences keep realigning and we can just recycle this one for at least three more years!
Of the 32 Division I conferences, 11 realigned prior to the 2023–24 season.1 Some of these realignments were huge splashes, others just small ripples, but all of them resulted in new midpoints, and it is my sworn duty to map them.
Like last year, each midpoint is a straight, unweighted average of the latitudes and longitudes of every league member.
In order of the KenPom Adjusted Efficiency Margin conference rankings, here’s what changed over the summer.
Big 12
Midpoint: A field north of Sallisaw, Oklahoma
Closest event venue: Sallisaw Middle School (4.13 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Sallisaw Middle School
Gained since 2023: BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF
Lost since 2023: None
Change from 2023 midpoint: 46.42 miles southeast
David: Genuinely wild to me that everyone sees it held in Kansas City and is just chill with it. No one has any issues with that?
Eli: Gone are the days of West Virginia being a ridiculous geographic outlier. In are the days of BYU being a ridiculous geographic outlier.
All in all, this realignment was pretty much a wash geographically. The midpoint is now closer to Fort Smith, Arkansas, than it is to Tulsa, but even if we wanted to host the tournament in Fort Smith, they don’t have a suitable venue. Tulsa is still clearly the play. Kansas City still definitely isn’t.
Grade: C-
Where I’d put it: Tulsa | BOK Center
American
Midpoint: A forest east of Louisville, Mississippi (pronounced “Lewis-ville”)
Closest event venue: Winston Academy (11.24 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Winston Academy
Gained since 2023: Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, UTSA
Lost since 2023: Cincinnati, Houston, UCF
Change from 2023 midpoint: 81.59 miles southwest
David: Conference USA remains a significantly superior option in terms of geographically-varied conferences evoking the American image.
Eli: Last year I called the American “a zombie conference no one likes or cares about”. I didn’t even draw their map right; I accidentally put South Florida in Miami instead of Tampa and nobody noticed or commented on it.
Is it weird that I feel more fondly toward them now that they’re unabashedly a mid-major? I’m not bingeing their games on ESPN+ or anything, but it’s much easier to enjoy the product now that they’re not trying in vain to convince everyone they’re a power conference.
And hey, credit where credit is due. Their tournament’s Fort Worth location made absolutely no sense last year—I gave them an F for it—but they’ve done what they can to improve…not by moving the tournament or anything sensible like that, but by adding another team in the Metroplex and two more elsewhere in Texas to make the fit less awkward. If you can’t make one right turn, three lefts’ll do ya just as well.
I suggested Huntsville, Alabama, for last year’s tournament with the caveat that this year’s location “won’t be anything like” last year’s, and indeed, the midpoint moving over 80 miles in the other direction made a return to Huntsville hard to justify. The way it turned out, I ended up on the fence between two college towns: Starkville, Mississippi, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Starkville is about 50 miles closer, but Tuscaloosa is significantly larger and has the superior facility.
The American is routinely among the very last conferences to begin their tournament, so Alabama men’s and women’s basketball would already be done with Coleman Coliseum at least a few days before the American needed to use it. Just make sure you’re not conflicting with a gymnastics meet and you’re good.
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Tuscaloosa | Coleman Coliseum
WCC
Midpoint: The mountains northeast of Camp Connell, California
Closest event venue: Avery Middle School (10.65 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Avery Middle School
Gained since 2023: None
Lost since 2023: BYU
Change from 2023 midpoint: 48.43 miles west-southwest
David: I think Yosemite is also available. Could do.
Eli: Following BYU’s departure, Las Vegas officially makes zero geographical sense as a WCC Tournament host city. The midpoint was just south of Lake Tahoe last year, so I suggested a Reno tournament. Today, it’s closer to Sacramento.
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Sacramento | Golden 1 Center
WAC
Midpoint: A desert northeast of Highland Meadows, New Mexico
Closest event venue: Tóhajiilee Rodeo Grounds (0.51 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Tóhajiilee Community School (4.20 mi)
Gained since 2023: None
Lost since 2023: New Mexico State, Sam Houston
Change from 2023 midpoint: 101.51 miles northwest
David: More! Desert! Basketball!
Eli: I suggested Albuquerque for this tournament last year and it makes even more sense now than it did then. Losing Sam Houston pushed the midpoint significantly closer to the city and losing New Mexico State removed any possible home court advantage.
Just…please. Anywhere but Vegas.
Grade: D-
Where I’d put it: Albuquerque | The Pit
C-USA
Midpoint: A field southwest of Glen Allan, Mississippi
Closest event venue: South Delta High School (13.27 mi)
Closest basketball arena: South Delta High School
Gained since 2023: Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston
Lost since 2023: Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, UTSA
Change from 2023 midpoint: 96.36 miles northwest
David: What a silly conference. Resembles the name, at least.
Eli: The theme for C-USA this year is “disaster recovery”.
The conference itself lost most of its best programs to the American and replaced them with largely uninspiring backfills, plummeting in efficiency metrics as a result.
This midpoint is almost right on top of the Arkansas-Louisiana-Mississippi tripoint. The closest community of note is Rolling Fork, Mississippi, which in March 2023 was struck by an EF4 tornado and damaged so badly that even President Biden made a visit. They’re still recovering, so even though their South Delta High School is the closest gym to the midpoint, it’s probably not in great shape to host a tournament of this stature.
The closest city large enough to host the C-USA Tournament is Jackson. This was also true last year, but I could not in good conscience recommend hosting a tournament there when the city was still recovering from the water crisis of 2022. That whole thing is now some 18 months in the rearview mirror, so I think Jackson is the play this year. But C-USA is adding Kennesaw State this summer and Delaware next summer, so things may change moving forward.
Funnily enough, the actual C-USA Tournament host city this year is Huntsville, the city I recommended for the American last year. I thought that was a somewhat out-of-left-field pick at the time, but at least one conference executive evidently agreed with me that it would be a good place to put a tournament. I’m headcanoning that they got the idea directly from me. I just wish it made more sense with the geography of this particular league.
Grade: C+
Where I’d put it: Jackson | Mississippi Coliseum
Big South
Midpoint: A residential area in Huntersville, North Carolina
Closest event venue: Francis Bradley Middle School (1.60 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Francis Bradley Middle School
Gained since 2023: None
Lost since 2023: Campbell
Change from 2023 midpoint: 12.17 miles due west
David: Is hosting it at a middle school really any different from hosting at High Point?
Eli: Two changes for the Big South here.
Most obviously, the conference lost Campbell to the CAA. This pushed the midpoint slightly to the west, keeping it in the Charlotte area but essentially moving it from Interstate 85 to Interstate 77.
This makes Charlotte the perfect place to continue hosting this tournament, but the conference decided not to do that. Prior to 2022, it was a longstanding tradition to host some or all of the Big South Tournament on the home court of a league member. The 2022 and 2023 tournaments, hosted at a true neutral site in Charlotte, were the outliers. The Big South has returned to their tradition this season in hosting their tournament at High Point’s Qubein Center, which opened in 2021.
If you read last year’s piece, you know I’m not a huge fan of letting one league member host the entire tournament. I’m willing to lighten up a little in this particular case because the Qubein Center is still new and High Point has never made the NCAA Tournament, but I still wish the league stayed in Charlotte.
Grade: C-
Where I’d put it: Charlotte | Bojangles Coliseum
CAA
Midpoint: In the Chesapeake Bay south of Scotland, Maryland
Closest event venue: St. Michael’s School (8.20 mi)
Closest basketball arena: St. Michael’s School
Gained since 2023: Campbell
Lost since 2023: None
Change from 2023 midpoint: 17.16 miles southwest
David: Getting it wrong twice—that’s Coastal excellence.
Eli: Campbell fits neatly in the conference footprint of the CAA, where the C now stands for Coastal. Unfortunately, their addition to the league still didn’t push the midpoint onto a coast, as it’s still mired in the Chesapeake Bay, this time landing almost right on top of its confluence with the Potomac River.
Washington is still the correct location for this tournament. The league knows what they’re doing.
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: Washington | Entertainment and Sports Arena
Summit
Midpoint: A farm field northwest of Martinsburg, Nebraska
Closest event venue: Hartington-Newcastle Public School (7.96 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Hartington-Newcastle Public School
Gained since 2023: None
Lost since 2023: Western Illinois
Change from 2023 midpoint: 34.90 miles northwest
David: Put it in Monowi, Nebraska (population 1). Why not?
Eli: The loss of Western Illinois shifted this midpoint from one side of Sioux City to the other, but as a Sioux Falls resident of seven years, I still refuse to acknowledge Sioux City’s existence.2
Sioux Falls remains the place to be, with the same caveat as last year: the tournament should be at the Sanford Pentagon, not the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The Pentagon hosts multiple high-profile neutral site games every year and is simply a better venue for basketball.
Grade: A-
Where I’d put it: Sioux Falls | Sanford Pentagon
ASUN
Midpoint: A forest in South Fulton, Georgia
Closest event venue: New Manchester High School (1.74)
Closest basketball arena: New Manchester High School
Gained since 2023: None
Lost since 2023: Jacksonville State, Liberty
Change from 2023 midpoint: 26.17 miles southwest
David: You ever wonder if that whole ASUN expanding to 20 teams thing is gonna come to fruition like the conference said it would in about 2019 or so?
Eli: As with last year, the ASUN does not have any centralized tournament location, instead having the higher seed host every game in every round.
As with last year, this is unfortunate given that the midpoint remains in metro Atlanta, a region overflowing with tournament hosting options. Losing one member slightly west of the midpoint and one significantly northeast of it resulted in a decent shift southwest, but not enough to leave Fulton County.
As with last year, the ASUN is a second rate conference that would never host their tournament in an expensive urban arena if a suitable suburban locale existed at a fraction of the price. Last year, that cheaper location was Gwinnett County. This year, we just gotta move it to the other corner of the metro.
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: College Park | Gateway Center Arena
OVC
Midpoint: A farm field northeast of Mitchellsville, Illinois
Closest event venue: Harrisburg Middle School (4.02 miles)
Closest basketball arena: Harrisburg Middle School
Gained since 2023: Western Illinois
Lost since 2023: None
Change from 2023 midpoint: 22.72 miles northwest
David: Riverboat tournament? Riverboat tournament.
Eli: Last year’s OVC midpoint was conveniently right next to the Ohio River. This year’s is a little farther from the river but still easily within the Ohio Valley.
I’m still not ecstatic about keeping this tournament in Evansville now that Southern Indiana is a league member, but there’s still not a good venue for it in Paducah and there still aren’t any other noteworthy cities in the immediate area. Evansville will have to do.
Grade: B+
Where I’d put it: Evansville | Ford Center
NEC
Midpoint: Forest hills northeast of North Highland, New York
Closest event venue: St. Joachim School (3.43 mi)
Closest basketball arena: St. Joachim School
Gained since 2023: Le Moyne
Lost since 2023: St. Francis Brooklyn
Change from 2023 midpoint: 21.76 miles northwest
David: They killed the wrong St. Francis.
Eli: Replacing a New York City school with a Syracuse school moved this midpoint away from the Big Apple, but I still think New York is the move for this league.
The NEC still has the higher seed host every game in their tournament, which is fair enough, but if they were to put the tourney in a centralized location, there are just too many league members in and around New York to consider putting it anywhere else.
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: New York | Carnesecca Arena
But that’s not all! Three more conferences retained their same membership as last season, but moved their tournament. Let’s check them out.
Big Ten
Midpoint: A cornfield northeast of Warsaw, Indiana
Closest event venue: Harrison Elementary School (2.68 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Harrison Elementary School
Eli: Last year’s tournament was in Chicago, a regular host city for this event. This year, the tournament will be played in Minneapolis for the first time ever.
I’m a Minnesota alum who lives in Minneapolis, so subjectively I think it’s great that the Big Ten Tournament is in my backyard. Objectively, this makes no geographic sense. At least…not yet.
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Indianapolis | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
ACC
Midpoint: The mountains northeast of Ararat, Virginia
Closest event venue: Blue Ridge Elementary School (3.34 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Blue Ridge Elementary School
Eli: Last year’s tournament was in Greensboro, a regular host city for this event and the perfect location for this iteration of the conference.
This year’s tournament is in Washington, a place the league visits when they wanna switch it up a little bit; the ACC most recently played their tournament here in 2016.
Geographically, this is questionable. Culturally, a lot of ACC alumni do gravitate toward Washington, so this isn’t that farfetched. Greensboro is clearly the best option, but Washington gets a pass.
Grade: C+
Where I’d put it: Greensboro | Greensboro Coliseum
Ivy
Midpoint: A park in Sherman, Connecticut
Closest event venue: The Sherman School (1.28 mi)
Closest basketball arena: The Sherman School
Eli: The Ivy League lets a different member institution host the conference tournament each year. Princeton got it last year; Columbia gets it this year.
New York is closer to the midpoint than Princeton, but it’s still not ideal.
Grade: C
Where I’d put it: Hartford | XL Center
Finally, for all the completionists out there, here’s a brief recap of the other 18 conferences—the ones that have the same membership and are playing their tournament under the same circumstances as last year.
For more information on these, I highly suggest reading last year’s piece.
Big East
Midpoint: A residential area in East Palestine, Ohio
Closest event venue: East Palestine Elementary School (0.71 mi)
Closest basketball arena: East Palestine Elementary School
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Pittsburgh | PPG Paints Arena
SEC
Midpoint: A forest west of Natural Bridge, Alabama
Closest event venue: The Barn at Coleman Farms (2.15 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Brilliant Elementary School (6.96 mi)
Grade: B
Where I’d put it: Atlanta | State Farm Arena
Pac-12
Midpoint: A desert southwest of Austin, Nevada
Closest event venue: Gabbs School (52.44 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Gabbs School (52.44 mi)
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: Las Vegas (Paradise) | T-Mobile Arena
Mountain West
Midpoint: A desert northwest of Milford, Utah
Closest event venue: Milford High School (10.10 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Milford High School
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Provo | Marriott Center
A-10
Midpoint: Forest hills northwest of Flintstone, Maryland (in Pennsylvania)
Closest event venue: Flintstone Elementary School (3.21 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Flintstone Elementary School
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Baltimore | CFG Bank Arena
Missouri Valley
Midpoint: A farm field southeast of Clarksdale, Illinois
Closest event venue: Taylorville Junior High School (5.70 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Taylorville Junior High School
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: St. Louis | Enterprise Center
SoCon
Midpoint: Forest hills southwest of Travelers Rest, South Carolina
Closest event venue: Forestville Baptist Church (0.26 mi)
Closest basketball arena: George I. Theisen Family YMCA (1.90 mi)
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: Asheville | Harrah’s Cherokee Center
Big West
Midpoint: The Pacific Ocean southwest of the Channel Islands
Closest event venue: Lompoc Valley Middle School (139.18 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Lompoc Valley Middle School
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Anaheim | Honda Center
Sun Belt
Midpoint: Forest hills northeast of Anniston, Alabama
Closest event venue: Miller Sports Arena (2.45 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Miller Sports Arena
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Birmingham | Bartow Arena
Horizon
Midpoint: A farm field east of Napoleon, Ohio
Closest event venue: Campbell’s Soup Warehouse (2.32 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Liberty Center School (3.62 mi)
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Toledo | Huntington Center
America East
Midpoint: A field north of Worthington, Massachusetts
Closest event venue: The Worthington Inn (0.33 mi)
Closest basketball arena: R.H. Conwell Elementary School (1.19 mi)
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: Springfield | MassMutual Center
Big Sky
Midpoint: A ranch field northwest of Shoshone, Idaho
Closest event venue: Lincoln County Community Center (6.72 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Shoshone Middle-High School (6.99 mi)
Grade: A+
Where I’d put it: Boise | Idaho Central Arena
MAC
Midpoint: A farm field southeast of Haskins, Ohio
Closest event venue: Wood County Fairgrounds (4.00 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Bowling Green Jr/Sr High School (4.04 mi)
Grade: C-
Where I’d put it: Detroit | Little Caesars Arena
MAAC
Midpoint: A field west of Greeley, Pennsylvania
Closest event venue: Lake Owego Camp (0.28 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Lake Owego Camp
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Westchester County | Westchester County Center
Southland
Midpoint: A field north of Texla, Texas
Closest event venue: Oakwood Baptist Church (0.83 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Mauriceville Elementary School (4.01 mi)
Grade: C+
Where I’d put it: Katy | Merrell Center
Patriot
Midpoint: A field southwest of Buttzville, New Jersey
Closest event venue: Buttzville United Methodist Church (0.30 mi)
Closest basketball arena: White Township Consolidated School (0.93 mi)
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: Newark | Prudential Center
MEAC
Midpoint: A riverbank west of Horseshoe, Virginia
Closest event venue: Old Church Community Center (2.71 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Battlefield Park Elementary School (6.43 mi)
Grade: D-
Where I’d put it: Richmond | Siegel Center
SWAC
Midpoint: A field southwest of Magee, Mississippi
Closest event venue: St. John Church (0.64 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Magee High School (5.86 mi)
Grade: D+
Where I’d put it: New Orleans | UNO Lakefront Arena
The United States of Conference Tournaments
Here’s where I’d put every 2024 conference tournament if I had to choose one centralized location. Like last year, we’ve got a few repeat metro areas, but no repeat cities or arenas.
Miscellaneous Midpoint Statistics
All distances are in miles and all population figures are from the 2020 census.
Final thoughts
Eli: This round of realignment was kind of an appetizer to the main course that’s coming this summer.
Most of the changes were small fries: four of them came from two individual teams moving from one conference to another, and a fifth came from an NEC member quitting sports and being replaced with a D2 call-up.
Even the larger changes in this slate didn’t really do much. The Big 12’s new members were geographically diverse and didn’t pull the midpoint too far in any one direction. The American and C-USA each shuffled about half of their membership and neither midpoint moved even 100 miles. The WAC’s just barely did, but only because their conference footprint is so vast that altering any data points is bound to shift the geography on a large scale.
This will not be true next year, when several midpoints will shift drastically and one will cease to exist altogether.3 Next year I’m gonna have to draw a map that says “ACC” and includes two schools in the Bay Area.4
Despite it all, I can’t wait. I’ll see you then!
Technically, the independents also realigned, as Hartford dropped from Division I to Division III, leaving Chicago State as the only D1 independent. You can’t calculate a midpoint with just one data point—or hold a tournament with just one team—so Chicago State will unfortunately not be represented in this piece. They will return next year, as they’re set to join the NEC on July 1.
Please ignore that I spent that entire paragraph and this entire footnote acknowledging Sioux City’s existence.
I haven’t yet calculated the distance from the Pac-12’s current midpoint to Null Island but it’s at least a few thousand miles.
This is weird—and in case my position on this is not clear, I think it’s a bad weird. It’s ridiculous in ways you’ve already said and heard a thousand times and which are outside the scope of this feature.
The ACC tournament belongs in Greensboro; surely they don't have BBQ to eat after in DC.