How big a deal is VCU reaching the Final Four? It varies, but in each case, it’s very big.
The obvious is that it’s the first time it’s happened in school history. In fact, the Rams had never even been to the Sweet 16 prior to this season. And for fans, well, all you need to know is that not long after the game was over, there was basically nowhere to walk on Broad Street in downtown Richmond. Joey Rodriguez said that by the time the press conference began after Sunday’s game, he already saw a picture illustrating this.
How about for the attention it brings to the program? Well, SID Scott Day said he had nearly 200 media requests from Saturday through noon on Monday alone. Reaching the Sweet 16 brought on a media rush, but nothing quite like this. And as head coach Shaka Smart is about as accessible as they come, one can be sure he took care of every last request that was for him.
Speaking of Smart, here’s a great stat for the second-year head coach: he is now 10-0 in postseason play as a head coach. VCU won the CBI last year, sweeping the best-of-three championship. Now he’s 5-0 in the NCAA Tournament. And related to it, in the first year of the First Four in the NCAA Tournament, the Rams have also become the first team to reach the Final Four starting from the First Four.
People around the country can now find out that this success is no accident. VCU’s athletic department is well-run all the way around, and it starts at the top as Norwood Teague is a top-notch athletic director. Assistant athletic director Mike Ellis is the man behind Villa 7, which Smart attended while an assistant coach and has turned into a major event. The Rams play in a nice downtown arena where they get good crowds on a regular basis, which certainly helps attract good talent. Smart has proven to be a terrific hire, winning 55 games in two years including the aforementioned postseason success. He has a terrific staff that has played no small role in this success as well.
For the Colonial Athletic Association, this is just the cherry on top of what’s already been a banner year. The conference saw three of its teams reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, for starters. Now VCU has joined George Mason in 2006 as a team that has reached the Final Four. And what VCU’s run has helped is another milestone for the conference: CAA teams will finish this season the most games above .500 in non-conference play in at least the last 20 years. CAA teams are now 90-62 in non-conference play including the postseason. In 2005-06, CAA teams were 76-52, just 24 games above .500.
And because of how the matchups work out, it guarantees that there will be a mid-major in the national championship game for the second year in a row. Before 2006, a mid-major reaching the Final Four was basically unheard of. Now, while it’s certainly not something one should count on all the time, at least one mid-major has reached the Final Four the past two seasons and come Monday night, one will be playing for a national championship for the second straight year.
So while it isn’t as big a deal as it might have been five years ago, when George Mason became the first mid-major in nearly 30 years to reach the Final Four, VCU’s run to the Final Four is a big deal.
