The Rules

Any good fan lives by a set of rules. Just ask Bill Simmons. As such, this quest needs some guidelines with regard to what counts and what doesn't. With no further ado:


1. The membership of Division 1 is in an almost constant state of flux. As of 2010-11 when I started this project in earnest, there were 345 teams.* Centenary dropped down to Division 3 in 2011-12. Nonetheless, the total I will need to see is 345. And I must see games all schools while they are Division 1. That is to say, I had to see Centenary in the 2010-11 season.** If a new team rises to D1, then I have to see that team too. So, if some theoretical future reader is wondering why my total is more than the actual number of D1 teams, here's your answer.

2. Conference tourney games only count if I see the host school play at the court where they play regular season games. That is to say that, it counted for Mercer when I saw the Bears host ETSU in the 2009-10 A-Sun championship, but it would have not counted for Weber State if I had seen Montana and Northern Colorado play at the Dee Events Center during 2009-10 Big Sky championships.

3. If a school changes venue, my visit to the previous venue still counts. For example: even though UT Arlington gets a new venue in 2011-12, my trip to Texas Hall counts. I will make an effort to get to new venues, however.

4. Each venue will be reviewed in the following format, followed by a two paragraph review and photographs:

School: School Name (Conference)
Arena: Arena Name (Capacity)
Chill Factor: Graded from 1-10, assessing the overall atmosphere of the physical building.
Crowd Factor: Graded from 1-10, assessing crowd involvement, with an emphasis on the student section.
Cost Factor: Graded from 1-5, the overall affordability of the venue. Parking, food, ticket, everything.
Food Factor: Graded from 1-5, the food options available at the venue.
Mascot Factor: Graded from 1-5, the school's in venue mascot.
PA Factor: Graded from 1-5, the Public Address Annoucer
Total: Those five factors added up. Perfect score = 40.
Result: Score of the game I attended.


*Ken Pomeroy doesn't count New Orleans, so neither do I.
**This little point will add a little drama, as it could potentially force me into some more difficult trips.