What’s In a Name? Summit League is 4th Best According to USA Today

The Summit League may only be a mid-major when it comes to its place in college basketball nationally, but the Summit is in rare air on one new list.

In a ranking of the 32 college basketball conferences competing in the NCAA Tournament, USA Today says the Summit League is the fourth best name for a conference in the country.

So what makes a good name?  According to USA Today:

The names that sound the best and make the most sense go at the top. If your name shows an inability to count or a disdain for all geographic conventions, it goes at the bottom.

Which explains why the Big 10, Atlantic 10, and Big 12 are the bottom-feeders on this list.

Another big no-no?  Compass points (North, South, East, West) and geography (Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley)

So what works?  Apparently names that show some sort of creativity.  The top three: Colonial Athletic Association, Sun Belt Conference, and Patriot League.

Here's what USA Today said about the Summit League:

Formerly the Mid-Continent Conference, which sounds like the time period in between disaster and Pepto Bismol.

 

Too bad the NCAA selection committee doesn't take this list into account when they're seeding teams for the tournament this weekend.