A while back, I posted a dream schedule. The goal of the schedule was to give us enough quality non-conference games to (1) help us recruit better; (2) give us a shot at an at-large tourney berth if we don't win the Big West Tourney; and (3) give us some exposure. The plan was that we could schedule just enough "big boys" and some of the better mid-majors to give us a shot at improving our lot in the basketball world.
Now, back to my idea. If you recall, one of my suggestions was to make sure the Gauchos attend at least tournament in the pre-season because a tournament counts as one game, no matter how many you play. The idea dawned on me: UCSB should put on a Gaucho Invitational each year. Hey, if Chaminade (Maui is nice, but so is SB) and University of Alaska can do it, why can't the Gauchos?
What better way to excite the student body than to invite some of the big boys to the Gaucho Invitational? If you invite 7 of the top teams in the country and have an 8 team tournament (and give each team 3 games), the student body would be stoked. Can you imagine if the likes of UCLA, Kansas, Duke, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, Florida, Texas, Michigan State, etc... showed up at the Thunderdome? The place would be nuts!
I realize that UCSB probably wouldn't be able to get all those teams, every year. However, I bet a lot of the Midwest and East Coast teams would be dying for a trip out to Santa Barbara. It's cold out there and it's mild here in October (or whenever the tournament would be held).
A second advantage (I alluded to above) is that a tournament field with those teams would ensure student interest in the team. If you get the ball rolling early in the season, you can energize the fan base and keep them coming back. Besides, who wouldn't want to see a team play that has national championship potential? The Gauchos could rig the schedule, so they get the weakest team in the first round (just kidding). Regardless, I think this idea is terrific.
The third major advantage I can see to hosting a tournament is money. That's the name of the game, right? The tournament surely would generate television fees, advertising fees, ticket sales and concessions. Not to mention that the whole Santa Barbara economy would benefit. A lot of the more popular teams (see: UNC, Duke) have a loyal fan base who will travel to see their team play. This is money that the athletic department could use to finance other teams, better locker rooms, more recruiting, the list goes on and on.
I don't know much about hosting an event of this magnitude, except for a couple of parties my roommates and I threw back in the day, so I don't know about how hard and what negatives there are to an event like this. However, it sure seems like the positives outweigh any negatives.
If anyone familiar with the workings of such an event knows why or why not an event of this size could happen, I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment.
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