By Michael Kelley ’14 & Brett Billings ’12
photo courtesy of sharonlovesmarchmadness.wordpress.files.com
Lehigh University’s CJ McCollum ’13 crossed up Duke University’s All-Atlantic Coastal Conference guard Austin Rivers ‘15 and effortlessly drove to the basket. Time and again. On national television.
The fifth leading scorer in the nation gashed Duke for 30 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds in the second round of the NCAA tournament and propelled both Lehigh, a small liberal arts college of 4700 undergraduate students, and the Patriot League into the national spotlight.
No one thought a No. 15 seed could upset a national powerhouse such as Duke. Prior to the game, only five No. 15 seeds had ever defeated a No. 2 seed. Lehigh became only the third Patriot League team to ever win in the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, Bucknell University, the Patriot League tournament runner-up, played in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and defeated No. 1 seed Arizona by a score of 65-54.
While the wins can be seen as upsets, could it be that the Patriot League really can compete at the national level? “There is a perception that any one of these wins is a huge upset, and frankly, some of them are not,” Lehigh Athletic Director Joe Sterrett said.
Officials agree that Lehigh and Bucknell will benefit the most from their postseason success, but they maintain that the rest of the league will too (American, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Navy). Questions remain, however, to what extent?
Sterrett referenced Bucknell’s 2005 NCAA tournament victory in the first round over then-No. 3 seed University of Kansas. “I think that we all benefited from Bucknell’s success. Obviously, maybe not as much as them directly … Anybody in our league on any given day can be as good as anybody else.”
Media across the country has taken note of the Patriot League, “and proclaimed to the world that not only is Bucknell and the Patriot League committed to the scholar-athlete model of intercollegiate athletics, but that we can play basketball with the best,” Bucknell athletic director John Hardt said.
Last year, the Patriot League entered into a new partnership with CBS Sports Network. “This will provide more television exposure for our athletic programs, particularly our men’s basketball programs,” McCutcheon said.
Based on Lehigh and Bucknell’s postseason success, next year’s Patriot League champion will have more momentum and notoriety heading into the NCAA tournament. “Any time you demonstrate that you are able to compete at that level, there is improved credibility as a league,” Sterrett said.
Officials see the need to strengthen schedules to ensure future postseason success for the Patriot League and “have spent a lot of time discussing overall league ratings percentage index (RPI),” McCutcheon said.
Additionally, recruiting is an area that will improve significantly because of the new exposure and “will make kids look at the league in a away they would not look at before,” McCutcheon said.
Hardt added, “In particular, student-athletes that are looking for the best opportunity in both the classroom and on the court now know that Patriot League schools offer both.”
