I think what he is saying that the Sunbelt is a slight improvement over the A-Sun. Kind of Scuffing at the Sunbelt (not Markey the reporters)

>>Unfortunately the rest of the country and media see it as a minor improvement to the ASUN.<<

It is a big step up for FAU, but the rest of the country (based on media attention, coverage and the Dance selection decisions this year - especially RPI No. 19 WKU's women being left home, and the snub of the WKU men) does not consider the SunBelt much of a step up from the A-Sun.

Clear?

That is not true. the sunbelt is well known. It may not be the most respected conference but it's an improvement ten fold to what we have now.

The ASUN is embarrasing. I can't wait to get out of this league. There's nobody left. It's being filled with D2 teams. GET OUT!!!!!!

In Women's Basketball, the Sun Belt Conference's RPI is 9th overall. Only the Power $ix leagues, the Mountain West, and the Atlantic 10 are rated higher.

The Atlantic Sun is rated 21st.

I'm telling you what I observed this year. The SunBelt is a much better league but gets very little additional attention than the A-SUN - certainly no more respect when it comes ot the national tourney.

How could the WKU women be left out of the dance with a No. 19 RPI? That's a frigging disgrace.

The A-Sun got more TV coverage of its tourney than the SunBelt did.

I hope it gets better for all of us in the SunBelt.

Check out this column in the Murphreesboro newspaper:

Rivals or not, WKU women got snubbed

By MONTE HALE Jr.
[email protected]

Monday's NCAA women's selection show is proof you better take care of your own business and not put it in the hands of someone else.

As the teams were unveiled one by one, Western Kentucky figured to pop up somewhere as a No. 6-10 seed.

Unfortunately for the Lady Toppers ? and in the bigger picture, the Sun Belt Conference ? the ultimate snub came when they were omitted from the field of 64.

"In my 34 years, it's the biggest injustice done by a selection committee," said Sun Belt Conference commissioner Wright Waters.

One might think Western Kentucky isn't necessarily going to get a lot of sympathy from Blue Raider fans, but even some diehard MTSU faithful admit the Lady Toppers were jobbed by a selection committee that is obviously made up of people who don't know what is going on in the women's game.

Western Kentucky had a No. 19 RPI, which is the best ever for a team that didn't make the tournament.

Selection committee chairperson Jodi Comstock said RPI isn't necessarily what the group used to rate the teams. Well, if it's not, why does everybody ? including the committee when it's convenient ? make such a big deal of it?

Of the at-large teams ranked 12-32, Western Kentucky was second in wins 24), fourth in non-conference wins (10), fifth in non-conference strength of schedule and it has the least number of conference losses (2) among those teams.

Also keep in mind that the Sun Belt has a No. 9 RPI as a conference, and its NCAA Tournament representative this season, MTSU, has won a first-round NCAA Tournament game the past two years.

Comstock spoke of the committee's concern about Western Kentucky not playing well against the top teams. The Lady Toppers were 0-1 against Top 25 teams, yet no at-large team had a winning record against top 25 foes.

Western Kentucky was 2-1 against teams ranked 26-50 and only nine of the 12-32 at-large teams had a winning record against those teams.

Western Kentucky also beat Louisville, a No. 9 seed, 71-61 and Louisiana Tech, a No. 11 seed, 80-59.

The selection committee can try to justify the Western Kentucky snub all it wants, but the bottom line is all they're doing is spewing garbage out their mouth.

"We've told teams to play good people and win, and Western did that," Waters said. "If one our programs asks me what they need to do to get into the tournament, I don't know what to tell them now."

Whether one cares a flip about Western Kentucky is a moot point. However, you should care about your conference and how it is perceived. In this case, the selection committee snubbed its nose at the Sun Belt and said it is inferior.

There are always instances where teams get snubbed, but in this case, the selection committee simply failed miserably in doing its job.

So, the message here is quite simple: Don't put your hopes in the hands of a committee that obviously doesn't get it, much less one that tries to justify its injustice with a bunch of moronic crap.