Where the Conference Tournaments Should Be, 2025
Eli opens Google Sheets and Clip Studio Paint again
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A simple Discord conversation…ingested by two friends who received a simple idea, a simple thought so clear and sharp that it cut through their minds like a soft cheese and led them to an invention!
Every now and then, there are new modalities—new ways of being and understanding our world. This invention—our invention—has changed everything! For the better? One hopes. But the good of the scorpion is not the good of the frog, yes?
You must excuse me; I’ve grown quite weary.
Finally, my friends, at long last, the day has come! We have the means, the understanding, the technology…to allow midpoints to talk with maps!
Hello and welcome to the third installment in what has become a yearly tradition of determining where every conference tournament should be held based on the geographic midpoint of all their members.
Of the Division I conferences—of which there are temporarily 31, not 32, due to the Pac-12’s, uh…hiatus—12 realigned prior to the 2024-25 season.1 Most of these realignments were pretty low key, but of course the Pac-12’s implosion also had seismic implications and caused one midpoint to move multiple states away from its previous location.
As usual, 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.
SEC
Midpoint: A forest south of Van Vleet, Mississippi
Closest event venue: Houston Elementary School (5.27 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Houston Elementary School
Gained since 2024: Oklahoma, Texas
Lost since 2024: None
Change from 2024 midpoint: 71.94 miles west-southwest
Fitting as it already seems (to me, at least) that Oklahoma and Texas have joined this league, they are the two westernmost teams in it. Resultantly, their addition moved the midpoint from Alabama to Mississippi, placing it nearly equidistant from the state’s two league members.
I’ve previously stated that this tournament should be held in Atlanta, and I still stand by that. Nashville is fine, and growing quickly, but it still hasn’t overtaken Atlanta as the cultural capital of the South. Atlanta does make slightly less sense now that the midpoint is in a state that doesn’t even border Georgia, but what else are they gonna do? Put it in Memphis? No shot.
Grade: B
Where I’d put it: Atlanta | State Farm Arena
Big Ten
Midpoint: A field east of Last Chance, Iowa
Closest event venue: Lucas Community Center (4.56 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Mormon Trail Elementary School (7.79 mi)
Gained since 2024: Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington
Lost since 2024: Dignity
Change from 2024 midpoint: 402.41 miles west
I still can’t say I’m used to the west coast schools in my conference, and I’m not sure I ever will. Be that as it may, that’s the reality we live in (and at least it’s been a fun one for me so far, as Minnesota swept the L.A. schools in both football and men’s basketball this season).
This is the midpoint that moved two states away. It was previously in north-central Indiana and now it’s all the way in south-central Iowa. Minnesota, the westernmost school in the league in every year prior to 2011, is now east of its midpoint.
For conference tournament purposes, this makes Indianapolis pretty unfitting. It’s historically been the heart of the conference, but this isn’t a midwestern league anymore; it’s a nationwide league that has over the past 15 years added strongholds in or around DC, New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Nowadays, this destination-city conference deserves a destination-city tournament. The closest one to the midpoint is Chicago.
Grade: B-
Where I’d put it: Chicago | United Center
Big 12
Midpoint: A farm field east of Okeene, Oklahoma
Closest event venue: Okeene Elementary School (5.06 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Okeene Elementary School
Gained since 2024: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah
Lost since 2024: Oklahoma, Texas
Change from 2024 midpoint: 200.24 miles west-northwest
The addition of four western schools and the removal of two central schools pushed this midpoint 200 miles to the west, but kept it within Oklahoma.
I have previously suggested that this tournament should be held in Tulsa, but now Oklahoma City is significantly closer. Additionally, now that Oklahoma is gone, there’s not a league member school in the immediate vicinity.
It’s time for the Big 12 to add an O to their KC.
Grade: C-
Where I’d put it: Oklahoma City | Paycom Center
ACC
Midpoint: A residential area east of Lafayette, Tennessee
Closest event venue: Central Elementary School (1.35 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Central Elementary School
Gained since 2024: California, SMU, Stanford
Lost since 2024: None
Change from 2024 midpoint: 307.74 miles west
Like the B1G, the ACC’s addition of multiple Pac-12 castaways (and in this case also one AAC school) moves the midpoint out of the heart of the league and makes potential host cities that previously seemed perfect now look kind of silly.
Here, that host city was Greensboro, which used to be just 50 miles southeast of the midpoint and which has hosted the ACC Tournament on several occasions.2 Now, the midpoint sits 50 miles northwest of Nashville.
The SEC is currently hogging it for no good reason, so this probably isn’t realistic, but I actually kind of love Nashville as an ACC Tournament site. There’s no obvious ACC presence in the region, but it’s a destination city that is relatively reachable to most of the league’s member fanbases and that they would likely be glad to have a reason to visit. It sounds weird saying it out loud (and typing it on screen), but if we’re gonna live in this wacky reality where Palo Alto is on the Atlantic Coast, we might as well embrace it.
Grade: B+
Where I’d put it: Nashville | Bridgestone Arena
WCC
Midpoint: The mountains south of Loyalton, California
Closest event venue: Loyalton High School (1.37 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Loyalton High School
Gained since 2024: Oregon State, Washington State
Lost since 2024: None
Change from 2024 midpoint: 91.90 miles due north
Joining this league on a temporary basis, Oregon State and Washington State double the WCC’s Pacific Northwest footprint and push the midpoint to the other side of Lake Tahoe.
In 2023, this midpoint was somewhat farther east due to the presence of BYU, and I proposed a Reno tournament. Last year, BYU left and the midpoint became closer to Sacramento than it was to Reno. This year, the two northern refugees have pushed the midpoint closer to Reno than it’s ever been.
No matter what, Vegas continues to make no geographic sense.
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Reno | Lawlor Events Center
C-USA
Midpoint: A forest east of Silver City, Mississippi
Closest event venue: Humphreys Academy (6.54 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Humphreys Academy
Gained since 2024: Kennesaw State
Lost since 2024: None
Change from 2024 midpoint: 38.25 miles east-northeast
I honestly don’t have much to say here that I didn’t already say last year. This midpoint moved from the Mississippi Delta to the Mississippi Delta. Huntsville is still a pretty weird choice for this particular league but I enjoy that they’re giving it a shot. Jackson is still the move.
Grade: C+
Where I’d put it: Jackson | Mississippi Coliseum
American
Midpoint: A forest southwest of Aliceville, Alabama
Closest event venue: Aliceville High School (5.85 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Aliceville High School
Gained since 2024: None
Lost since 2024: SMU
Change from 2024 midpoint: 35.32 miles east
The American really stole all of C-USA’s good programs and then immediately became worse than C-USA. Consistently hilarious league.
They continue to hold their tournament in Fort Worth for…reasons? And this year they’re not even holding the whole thing in Fort Worth. For both the men’s and the women’s tournaments, the first round (which is just one game between the 12- and 13-seeds) is being hosted by North Texas. The women’s tournament is starting on the day I’m publishing this, so as I type this, instead of hosting some women’s action between Charlotte and Florida Atlantic, Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena is hosting Life Surge, a Christian finance bro scam conference featuring appearances by Tim Tebow and Emmitt Smith. I have no idea which event was scheduled first, but I am choosing to believe that conference somehow pre-empted this tournament.
In any case, this midpoint moved even less than C-USA’s did, but it was still just enough to push it from Mississippi to Alabama. Last year, I was on the fence between suggesting Starkville and Tuscaloosa for this tournament, landing on the side of Tuscaloosa even though Starkville was 50 miles closer. This year, the midpoint moved precisely in Tuscaloosa’s direction and it’s now about as equidistant as you can get from the two cities (40.50 miles from Starkville; 41.42 miles from Tuscaloosa). Ergo, Roll Tide.
Grade: D-
Where I’d put it: Tuscaloosa | Coleman Coliseum
WAC
Midpoint: A desert south of Round Rock, Arizona
Closest event venue: Many Farms High School (8.61 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Many Farms High School (8.61 mi)
Gained since 2024: None
Lost since 2024: Stephen F. Austin, UTRGV
Change from 2024 midpoint: 162.69 miles northwest
The WAC lost its two southeasternmost schools back to the Southland, so naturally their midpoint moved northwest a ton, crossing from New Mexico into Arizona. The more realignment butchers this league, the more sensible it becomes for them to hold their tournament in Vegas.
It’s still not where I would put it. Albuquerque is now 180 miles away from the midpoint (instead of right next door like it was last year), but Vegas is still 320 miles away. Even Phoenix, at 250 miles away, would make more sense if it wasn’t also the home city of a league member (for now).
I’m gonna say Albuquerque is still the best of a list of bad options at this juncture. And next year the league loses both Grand Canyon and Seattle, so the midpoint will move significantly to the east and somewhat to the south…toward Albuquerque.
Grade: B-
Where I’d put it: Albuquerque | The Pit
Southland
Midpoint: A farm field southeast of China, Texas
Closest event venue: China Elementary School (1.43 mi)
Closest basketball arena: China Elementary School
Gained since 2024: Stephen F. Austin, UTRGV
Lost since 2024: None
Change from 2024 midpoint: 29.00 miles southwest
♫ Get your ass back to schoooooool! China Elementaryyyyyyy! ♫3
There’s still not a great option for the Southland. The league continues to host their tournament on McNeese’s home court in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It’s a new venue and it’s got a lot going for it—enough for the league to plan on returning to it every year until at least 2029—but I still hate always holding the conference tournament on the home court of the same league member.
For the past two years, I’ve suggested the league return to Katy, Texas, an exurb of Houston that hosted the tournament from 2008–2022. Now that the midpoint has moved closer to Houston, that suggestion has even more merit.
Grade: C
Where I’d put it: Katy | Merrell Center
ASUN
Midpoint: A forest west of South Fulton, Georgia
Closest event venue: Arlington Christian School (3.39 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Arlington Christian School
Gained since 2024: West Georgia
Lost since 2024: Kennesaw State
Change from 2024 midpoint: 3.66 miles southwest
Pretty much nothin’ doin’ here, but it did move the midpoint from within South Fulton municipal limits to just outside of them.
The ASUN still hosts all of their tournament games at the home court of the higher seed, but this will be their last year of that practice for the foreseeable future. The league is finally putting their tournament in a centralized location starting next year! And given that this league pretty much always centers on Atlanta, it’s only natural that they picked…Jacksonville?
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: College Park | Gateway Center Arena
MAAC
Midpoint: Forest hills northwest of Cuddebackville, New York
Closest event venue: Hamilton Bicentennial Elementary School (2.43 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Hamilton Bicentennial Elementary School
Gained since 2024: Merrimack, Sacred Heart
Lost since 2024: None
Change from 2024 midpoint: 23.53 miles east-northeast
Two New England schools went from the NEC to the MAAC: two leagues casual fans often confuse for each other or conflate into one league. The vibes are essentially no different and the midpoint is still in the Upper Delaware Valley (albeit crossing from Pennsylvania into New York).
Geographically, Atlantic City is still a nonsensical host for the MAAC’s tournament. I suggested Westchester County two years ago and I’m sticking with it today.
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Westchester County | Westchester County Center
NEC
Midpoint: Forest hills north of Laporte, Pennsylvania
Closest event venue: Sullivan County High School (4.29 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Sullivan County High School
Gained since 2024: Chicago State, Mercyhurst
Lost since 2024: Merrimack, Sacred Heart
Change from 2024 midpoint: 133.95 miles due west
The “Northeast” Conference lost two unquestionably northeastern teams to the MAAC, but they can’t be picky about whom they admit if they want to stay afloat, so they replaced them with Chicago State (obviously in the Midwest) and Mercyhurst (in Erie, arguably also in the Midwest if you’re feeling spicy). As a result, their midpoint more or less switched places with the MAAC’s, moving from New York to Pennsylvania.
When I started doing this in 2023, the NEC had three schools in New York City, one right across the Hudson in Hackensack, New Jersey, and another not too far away in Fairfield, Connecticut. As such, I proclaimed that New York made the most sense as the host for this tournament. Since then, one of the NYC schools shuttered athletics and the Fairfield school left the league, all while the league’s three newest entrants have been nowhere near the Big Apple.
So it might be time to move this tournament but, like…where? Scranton? I considered that for the MAAC two years ago and discarded the possibility out of hand because it’s convenient to nobody and it’s not a destination city. Who would go to that? Other somewhat close options include Binghamton, Williamsport, and the Lehigh Valley; those aren’t any better (coming from someone who grew up in Easton).
This has suddenly become a league with no great options. Maybe we’ve found the scenario in which campus sites are actually the best option. As far as centralized hosts go, I’ll stick with my status quo, but I don’t love it anymore.
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: New York | Carnesecca Arena
And that’ll do it for this year’s realigned conferences. But, as with last year, we’ve also got a few more conferences—four to be precise—that kept their same alignment but moved their tournament. Let’s check them out.
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
For the past two years, this tournament had been held in Brooklyn, which was geographically an awful choice. This year, it’s moved to DC, which is probably the best realistic option. I still think it should be Baltimore.
Grade: B
Where I’d put it: Baltimore | CFG Bank Arena
Ivy
Midpoint: A park in Sherman, Connecticut
Closest event venue: The Sherman School (1.28 mi)
Closest basketball arena: The Sherman School
The Ivy carousel continues: Princeton in 2023, Columbia last year, Brown this year. Providence is about as unfitting a host city for this as Princeton was two years ago, so I’ll give it the same grade. I’m still pushing for Hartford.
Grade: C
Where I’d put it: Hartford | XL Center
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
I just don’t get this one at all, even after reading the press release. Johnson City? What the hell are we doing? That release even boasts about how convenient it is to everyone: “located an average of three hours from the Big South’s nine member institutions”.
You know what was even more convenient? Charlotte, where you held your tournament two years ago, or even High Point, where you held it last year.
This change makes about as much sense as holding the NEC or MAAC tournaments in Scranton. Actually, no, it makes even less sense because it’s not even centrally located. Did they really have no better options?
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Charlotte | Bojangles Coliseum
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)
For the second consecutive year, a conference has moved their tournament to an arena I suggested for a different conference. In 2023, I suggested the American move their tournament to Huntsville, and then last year C-USA did just that. Last year, I suggested the ASUN place their tournament in College Park, and this year the SWAC said “don’t mind if I do”.
As with C-USA’s Huntsville tournament, this move is geographically baffling, but it does allow me to assume yet another conference commissioner is reading my work!
I would still put this tournament in New Orleans, for the record.
Grade: D-
Where I’d put it: New Orleans | UNO Lakefront Arena
That leaves 15 conferences which have the same membership as last year and are playing their tournament in the same location. For the sake of completion, I’ll recap them below and link to the sections where I originally wrote about them.
Big East
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
Mountain West
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
Missouri Valley
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
Big West
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
SoCon
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
Summit
Most recent commentary: 2024
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
Grade: A-
Where I’d put it: Sioux Falls | Sanford Pentagon
CAA
Most recent commentary: 2024
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
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: Washington | Entertainment and Sports Arena
Horizon
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
Sun Belt
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
Big Sky
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
America East
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
Patriot
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
OVC
Most recent commentary: 2024
Midpoint: A farm field northeast of Mitchellsville, Illinois
Closest event venue: Harrisburg Middle School (4.02 miles)
Closest basketball arena: Harrisburg Middle School
Grade: B+
Where I’d put it: Evansville | Ford Center
MEAC
Most recent commentary: 2023
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
The United States of Conference Tournaments
Here’s where I’d put every 2025 conference tournament if I had to choose one centralized location. As usual, a few repeat metro areas, but no repeat cities or arenas.
Miscellaneous Midpoint Stats
All distances are in miles and all population figures are from the 2020 census.
Final thoughts
Well, the big power conference realignment is finally in the rearview mirror (mostly) and the effects were as seismic as it seemed like they’d be. Now we get to wait and see what the aftershocks do to the mid- and low majors in the years to come.
Next year’s known conference realignments (so far) include Delaware and Missouri State joining C-USA, Grand Canyon joining the Mountain West after reneging on the WCC, Seattle joining the WCC in a move that has been long overdue, and UMass joining the MAC.
I’ll be back around this time next year with more maps. See ya then!
And the Independents also technically realigned themselves into nonexistence. Welcome back to the maps, Chicago State!
It’s still hosting the women’s tournament this year.
I’ve never watched this show in my life so I have no idea if it’s problematic or something. I just heard this commercial a few times a decade ago and it’s still stuck in my head. Please don’t cancel me.