More bang for your basketball season-ticket buck makes for better team; and postseason
Tuesday, May 8, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- With the announcement Tuesday that Florida basketball season tickets had now gone on sale, it's worth taking a look at what that $315 (plus booster contribution) is buying Gators fans these days, especially compared to just a few years ago.
It's the reason the 2012-13 schedule, in the words of UF Senior Associate Athletic Director Mike Hill, will be the most difficult the program has ever played.
“Hands down,” Hill said Tuesday. “And I'm sure Billy Donovan and his staff will agree.” 
To understand why Wisconsin, a to-be-determined Big East team (don't bet against Louisville) and in-state foe UCF are coming to the O'Connell Center next season -- and why road games at Florida State and Arizona, plus neutral-sight showdowns against Kansas State, Middle Tennessee State, a road game at Yale (a reward for senior Erik Murphy), plus a soon-to-be-named date with a juggernaut foe, are too -- rewind to March 2009.
[Worth Noting: If that last line piqued your interest, good. That was the intent, but I digress.]
Everybody associated with the Florida basketball program recalls the disappointment that year after the Gators went 24-10, including 9-7 in the Southeastern Conference, yet were left out of the NCAA Tournament.
But not only was that team undeserving a bid, circumstances were such that UF made the selection committee's decision a slam dunk by presenting a resume complete with a schedule that was -- How should I put this? -- conspicuous in its lack of competitiveness.
Even the basketball blue bloods face their share of lightweights, but when your bell-cow game is a home date against North Carolina State and the rest of the slate is dotted with the likes of Southern Utah, FAMU, Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson, Longwood and Missouri-Kansas City, the committee is going to take notice; and not in a good way.
[Worth Noting, Part 2: The Gators participated in the CBE Classic in Kansas City that year, losing to Syracuse, then beating Washington in the consolation game, which turned out to be the best non-league win on the schedule. The Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, where UF is now a regular in December, was against -- get this -- Winthrop.]
So it was an easy decision for the NCAA to bypass Florida.
The Gators, in turn, made an easy decision by bulking up the schedule, big time.
“Philosophically, Billy had to be on board, which he was,” said Hill (pictured right). “If we were going to be on the [NCAA] bubble, we weren't going to give the committee a reason to leave us out.”
The next year, Florida went 21-12 with the same 9-7 record in the SEC.
But those Gators won a neutral-site game against No. 2 Michigan State, while losing neutrals to both Syracuse and Richmond to go with a home defeat against a solid Xavier squad. UF also beat NC State on the road.
With those high-profile losses, Florida got its NCAA bid.
Hill remembers getting a call from then Senior Associate AD Greg McGarity the night the bracket was revealed.
“Your tail was on the line, buddy,” McGarity said.
For Hill, it was worth it.
Nothing impresses the selection committee like the willingness of a program to step out and, well, put its team's tail on the line (like Hill did). That's why the Gators scheduled a home-and-home with Arizona last season. Yes, the Wildcats had a down year, but UF's heart was in the right place (plus the Gators looked good on ESPN in December). Same with going to Ohio State and Syracuse for true road games (also on ESPN), while bringing Texas A&M to the Orange Bowl Classic.
Combined with the SEC schedule (and three dates against No. 1 Kentucky), the Gators sent the NCAA a resume packet of 22 wins, a top-20 RPI and no drama.
“What we had before was not acceptable and we understood that,” said Hill, who added the program already has committed to playing in the 2013 Jimmy V Classic in New York to go with a return road game with Wisconsin first of back-to-back home dates against Richmond, a contract that recently was pushed back a year to accomodate a significant last-minute change. “This is the way we're going to go. Not only does it serve the selection committee, but as we saw this year, when you play a challenging schedule, you're more prepared when it comes to playing a Virginia or Marquette in the NCAA Tournament.”
No doubt, the people buying the tickets agree.
