Scheduling Basketball Isn’t Easy – From the Bird’s Nest

It’s nothing but conference games the rest of the way for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.  The Cajuns have navigated non-conference play.  The Cajuns have a 6-5 record.  Home (5-0) has been so much better than being on the road (0-4).  And, the Cajuns are 1-1 in games played at neutral sites.

It’s not easy to schedule in basketball.  Mainly because there are so many things to consider.  I’ve been asked many times about scheduling.  The Sun Belt used to have a limit on the number of non-Division I games that can be scheduled, but no more.  And the reason for that is how hard it is to get home games in non conference play, especially if you have a reputation of playing well at home.

A team can schedule 29 games.  If they play in an exempt event (as the Cajuns try to do), they can schedule 31.  The Sun Belt plays twenty conference games, with everyone playing everyone else twice. (This is NOT a good idea, but that’s another blog…and it’s coming).  That leaves nine, or eleven games left to schedule.  And, when scheduling those games, a lot has to be taken into consideration.

BALANCE THE BUDGET—Every year, most teams in the Sun Belt play a couple of guarantee games; games where the team goes on the road to play an opponent who gives them a healthy check for participating.  The team is almost always a big underdog, although upsets do happen.  Coaches will tell you it’s pretty satisfying to take a team’s money and beat them in the process.  The exempt events help because there are two guarantee games built into the event.  This year it was Auburn and Tulsa.

BALANCE THE SCHEDULE—Gone are the days (thank goodness) where a team was playing 11 home games and 18 on the road.  We’ve seen that in the past.  Now, the idea is to take the number of home games plus neutral site games and have that number be either one more or one fewer than games you play on an opponents’ home court.

WHERE’S THE MONEY?—Since you are playing two guarantee games, that means you have to find at least two home games where you turn around and pay someone else to come to your place.  For many mid-majors, that’s a problem.  Division I schools aren’t coming to your place for any less than $50,000 and in some cases more.  Big schools will pay as much as $80,000-100,000. Conversely, a school can bring in a lower division or NAIA school for about $5,000-10,000.  And, that’s why you see not only UL, but other schools around the league, scheduling non D1 opponents.  It’s not to get easy wins.  It’s to get home games to balance the schedule.

GET YOUR NEIGHBORS INVOLVED—Now, in our hypothetical situation we have two guarantee games, two other schools that are part of the exempt event (more often than not a neutral sites, although sometimes it’s one home game, one road game.)  We’ve also scheduled a couple of non-D1 games to help balance the schedule.  Now there are five more to go.  You want two of those games to be part of a home and home series with someone reasonably close by.  In Louisiana, there are loads of schools to choose from.  The catch is getting them to agree to play.  The dates have to work out.  Where to begin the series has to work out.  If both teams are looking for a home game, that can be a deal breaker.  But in a perfect world,  McNeese (every year) along with Northwestern State, Louisiana Tech, Southeastern, UNO and Lamar could be a part of a rotation that would make fans happy.

OK, you’ve worked that one out.  The final game can be the first game of a home and home, preferably starting at your place (you’d be amazed at how stubborn some coaches can be about that. )  Or you can schedule another non D-1 school.

This year the Cajuns have fifteen home games, fourteen road games and two games at a neutral site.  It took scheduling three non D-1opponents to get that done.  Ragin’ Cajuns basketball coach Bob Marlin made it clear he would have rather started a home and home series with a regional opponent (Lamar?  UNO?  Southeastern?) but none of those schools were interested in playing.

Not all schools choose to play in the exempt events.  In the Sun Belt conference, several are playing just 29.  But I’ve never met a coach at a mid-major who didn’t say how hard it is to schedule non-conference games (which is the argument for playing twenty league games).

When schedules come out every year, you’ll see fans complain about the home schedule.  Whether it’s the number of non-D1 games, the people you’re playing home and home with, or the lack of attractive names on the schedule, not everyone is going to be satisfied.

But, in the case of the Cajuns, the coaches will do their best to balance home and road, schedule regional opponents in a home and home whenever possible and use non-D1 opponents to balance the guarantee games.

Unless of course, they get more money in their budget.