Changes coming for Arch Madness?

Is the Valley keeping with the times or overreacting with proposed changes

There’s little question Arch Madness is the crown jewel of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The annual men’s basketball tournament has been held in St. Louis every year since 1991 and draws rave reviews around the world of college basketball as one of the best postseason tournaments in the country.

So why is the Missouri Valley Conference about to mess with the format?

It’s complicated.

To be clear, the Valley has yet to make an announcement of any changes, but the March to the Arch Podcast reported earlier this month the league was reviewing at least one proposal to change the Arch Madness format. It’s unclear if there is more than one proposal on the table.

Among some of the key details in the proposal reported by March to the Arch included reducing the Arch Madness field from 11 teams to 10 teams, giving the top two seeds a double bye to the semifinals, and moving the women’s tournament to St. Louis during the same weekend.

Reaction on Twitter came fast, fierce and furious as Valley fans (or at least social media bots) expressed outrage. Multiple fans tweeted they’d never return to St. Louis for Arch Madness, or at the very least, wouldn’t come to town unless their team made the title game. One fan tried to explain the league was only trying to protect best opportunity for multiple bids. He was shouted down quickly.

Using the boulevard that is social media as a gauge, it appears no one is a fan of this change. Yet it feels like change is inevitable.

I don’t love it. I also don’t hate it.

Let’s take a look at the three major changes in reverse order.