Ferd Lewis: UC San Diego won’t impact Big West basketball race just yet

This coming season the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team will be introduced to a new concept: games against a conference opponent that aren’t conference games.

Wrap your mind around that for a moment.

As of July 1, the Big West Conference will expand by two, adding UC San Diego and Cal State Bakersfield, to become an 11-member conference. As a result, the Rainbow Warriors will play a 20-game schedule against conference foes, up from the 16 it has played the last seven years.

But since La Jolla-based UCSD is in the midst of transitioning from Division II status to Division I in a four-year process laid out by the NCAA, this presents some awkward situations and resulted in some interesting compromises UH hasn’t faced before.

For example, say UCSD, which has been a D-II power in men’s basketball and ranked No. 4 last season, somehow managed to win either the regular-season title or the conference tournament while it was still reclassifying. Then, the Big West could be left empty-handed in the postseason.

Sure, it is unlikely, but the Tritons, who went 30-1 (21-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association) have the nucleus of their team back and the Big West doesn’t want to take even the smallest chances of jeopardizing the few postseason opportunities it does have.

If the Tritons win the Big West regular-title that would mean the conference could forfeit its spot and be unable to send another team to the National Invitation Tournament, which automatically extends a bid to regular-season conference champions who don’t win the conference tournament.

Similarly, if the Tritons win the conference tournament, the Big West’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament and the approximately $1.68 million that goes with it would be in danger since the NCAA would not be obligated to take another team.

Solving the NCAA Tournament part was easy, officials said. The Big West voted not to make UCSD eligible for the conference tournament until it becomes a full-fledged D-I member in the 2024-25 academic year.

But the NIT portion has been more involved and only recently found apparent resolution, officials said. Finally, after much discussion with the NCAA, it was decided that while UCSD would play every conference team on a home-and-home basis, just like everybody else, the results would come with an asterisk of sorts, not counting in the conference standings. They would only count on the overall season record as if UH had played an outside opponent. (UH and other members’ games against Cal State Bakersfield will count since the Roadrunners are a full-fledged D-I member).

Meanwhile, the Triton women will have their games count in the conference standings since the Women’s NIT, which is not owned or operated by the NCAA, has a different selection formula that would not endanger the other conference members.

UCSD accepted the conditions because it sees the Big West has its best launching pad toward a competitive D-I program. The Big West agreed to considerations because it sees the 23-team, well-financed Tritons as a member that, in short order, should be capable of helping lift the conference’s profile.

Which should make for some interesting “nonconference” conference games for a while.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.