<p>Like pretty much everybody who has poster here, I’d love to see Emory have a D1 basketball team. While this project is just for a marketing class right now, I’m seriously thinking about pursuing this after we’re done with it for the class.</p>
<p>The biggest obstacle will be an NCAA rule that states:
</p>
<p>I don’t think Emory is willing or interested in going D1 in all of its sports, so the NCAA would have to be lobbied to change this rule.</p>
<p>In terms of which conference Emory would fit into, I can see arguments for both the SEC an ACC. On the one hand, the SEC tends to be one of the least strong major conferences at basketball, so it may be a good initial fit for the program. On the other hand, with the exception of Vandy, the SEC is made up of all large state schools, which doesn’t really fit Emory’s profile. In comparison, the ACC has four private schools, and more of the schools have a high quality of academics. Geographically speaking, I think the ACC is just as good a fit as the SEC Georgia Tech would be cross-town rival, and then Duke, Clemson, UNC, Wake Forest, and Florida State are all within 6 hours (with Clemson being just 2). But getting into a major conference with a newly minted D1 basketball program might be difficult. A mid-major like the Atlantic 10 would probably be a better initial fit.</p>