In Reply to: More like a conference championship posted by Dr.Bruin on May 13, 2024 at 09:21:52
As women's sports continue to ascend in popularity (and the SEC tosses big bucks into all sports (led especially the last five years or so by strong pushes in softball and beach volleyball, competition from across the country will pick up. Right now the very best water polo is played in the west to far west especially the four traditionally top west coach universities UCLA, SC, Stanford and Cal plus Hawai'i - states where swimming is a major part of life for many so I think the "glass half full" concept applies - whether you're measuring a lack of outside competition at the very top or the overwhelming strength of those above-named programs which have emphasized this sport for a very long time.
Softball has had a similar evolution. By far the most successful softball programs historically have been UCLA and Arizona trailed by Stanford. Today, the Big 12 leads the list of top seeds led by Texas and Oklahoma which has had a hammer lock on the honors the last half decade or more. And the SEC school's money for recruiting is paying off also as the sport has rapidly become more nationally based.
Thing is your post denigrates the NC - for the logical reason you state - but the other factor is the incredibly high level of competition that teams in west have faced just to reach the post-season competition. UCLA's third undefeated season since the NCAA actually started sponsoring water polo as an NCAA championship sport is an amazing accomplishment given the incredibly high level of competition with which it must compete regularly.
It's still a national championship. Every school in the country has the chance to compete for it. i take your point but wouldn't put down winning a NC in an NCAA-managed sport