Conference Shakeups in College Hoops for the 2020-21 Season

The college basketball season ended with a whimper a few months ago thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there was no national champion crowned, and in several power conferences, there wasn’t even a conference tournament champion before the season was effectively wiped out. It changed the college basketball landscape as guys that were chasing a final moment of glory on the hardwood had that ripped from their fingers, while others looking to bolster their resumes to potentially be selected in the NBA Draft had those chances dashed. Now, the way that the landscape for college hoops is going to be different in 2020-21 than in 2019-20 as there were plenty of schools that have switched conferences leading into this year.

Let’s take a look at all the schools that will be taking the court against some new conference foes when the season gets underway this fall.

Teams Making the Jump to Division I

Tarleton State: Tarleton State had been playing at the Division II level in the Lone Star Conference before making the transition to the Division I level this season. The Texans finished the 2019-20 season 18-12 overall and 13-9 in the Lone Star Conference. Their season came to an end with a 60-52 loss to then-#9 St. Edward’s in the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Conference tournament, which also led to the end of their tenure as a Division II program. It will be a transition to Division I and Tarleton State lands in the WAC, where New Mexico State was a perfect 16-0 in conference play last season. The Texans do have one big name that has experience at the Division I level as the school hired Billy Gillispie, who coached at Texas A&M, Kentucky, UTEP and Texas Tech, back in March.

Dixie State: Dixie State went 23-7 in their final season at the Division II level, including 17-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. They were beaten in the semifinals of the conference tournament by Colorado Mesa. It’s going to be a move for the Trailblazers, who had qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament as a #3 seed in the South Central region before the season was canceled. They, like Tarleton State, will step into the WAC this season.

Bellarmine: Bellarmine has been a force in Division II over the last decade as they won the national title in 2011. The Knights have been to the Division II Final Four three times since that point, in 2012, 2015 and 2017 along with a Sweet 16 appearance in 2019. In 2019-20, the Knights were 20-8 overall, including 13-7 in conference play, with tough battles against Division I programs Louisville and Notre Dame, each of which ended in 10-point defeats. They move to the Atlantic Sun this season, which will at least cut down on the travel they dealt with in Division II.

UC-San Diego: The Tritons were a force to be reckoned with at the Division II level and they are going to be tested in their transition. UC-San Diego went 30-1 on the year and went 21-1 in conference play en route to winning the California Collegiate Athletic Association crown. The Tritons won 22 straight games down the stretch and their lone defeat was an 81-73 home loss to Chico State on December 5. After claiming the conference title, they won the conference tournament title. The Tritons were slated to be the #1 seed in the West Region of the Division II Tournament before the season was canceled. They now move to the Big West Conference to face a new slate of opponents.

It’s important to note that while all these schools are transitioning to Division I, even if they have success, they are ineligible to play in the NCAA Tournament until the 2024-25 campaign.

Mid-Majors and Smaller Conference Moves

NJIT: The Highlanders struggled most the season in 2019-20 as they finished the year 9-21 overall and 6-10 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Their season came to an end before the pandemic shut things down as they were defeated 55-49 by top-seeded Liberty in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. This is a program that dropped 51 straight games after moving to the Division I level back in 2007. There won’t be a major jump in competition level as they move from the Atlantic Sun to the America East but the travel will be much easier. Whether that helps the Highlanders put more games in the win column remains to be seen.

Robert Morris: The Colonials are moving on up as they leave the Northeast Conference for the Horizon League next season. Robert Morris was 20-14 overall in 2019-20 and went 13-5 in the NEC. They won four straight to close the year and would have been part of the NCAA Tournament as the conference champion after they beat St. Francis (PA) 77-67 in the conference tournament title game on March 10. If Robert Morris has some success in the Horizon League, at least they’ll have a better shot at not being a 16 seed in March Madness.

Purdue-Fort Wayne: The school formerly known as IPFW and now known as Purdue-Fort Wayne makes the move from the Summit League to the Horizon League next season. The Mastodons are going to have their work cut out for them in the new 12-team look of the Horizon League after never making the NCAA Tournament in the Summit League. Purdue-Fort Wayne was only 14-19 last season and 6-10 in the Summit League, losing in the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament 73-56 to North Dakota.

CSU Bakersfield: It was a tough final season for the Roadrunners in the WAC as they went 12-19 overall and 6-10 in conference play. The Roadrunners will ply their craft in the Big West next season and will have to contend with teams like UC-Irvine and an improving Hawaii team, among others. CSU Bakersfield has had some success at the Division I level in the WAC, taking the conference tournament crown and the regular season title one time each. On the plus side, almost all of their conference games will be in the state of California, barring their trip to Hawaii.

UMKC: The Roos were up and down last season in the WAC, finishing 60-52 loss to then-#9 St. Edward’s0 before the season was canceled. UMKC makes their return to the Summit League this season in hopes of getting things going. The Roos won four straight games before the season came to a close but missed a chance to extend that run thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. UMKC will cut down on their travel with the conference change, which, as many schools have said, is beneficial in the era where schools are trimming athletic budgets due to lost revenue from the pandemic.

Power Conferences

UConn: We talked about this at length yesterday as the Huskies made the announcement last summer that they were 60-52 loss to then-#9 St. Edward’s1, where they were a charter member when the league began back in 1979. While football is going to be an independent, the basketball program gets a chance to square off with old rivals like Villanova, Providence, Seton Hall and Georgetown. It keeps them more grounded travel wise instead of having to bounce all over the place in the far-flung AAC.

Will any of these teams have success with new conference foes this season? We’ll have to wait and see. It’s going to be an interesting season for sure and things could shake out in a myriad of ways.