I emailed Jamie Pollard this morning about the possibility of a Big 4 tournament possibly in Des Moines which could be sanctioned by the NCAA and include all 4 D-1 schools here in the state. He sent me a PDF on Basketball Scheduling 101 including things they are doing now for scheduling. He responded within 6 minutes and said that
ISU is all for the tournament, but that Bowlsby had denied it and now that there is a new AD at Iowa it will be put up to that athletic director for consideration. I could not figure out how to cut and paste the PDF in, but to summarize here is what they say
Iowa State University is 100% supportive of a "Big Four" basketball event in Des Moines. We believe there is great value for all four institutions to showcase their basketball programs in our capital city. You have our pledge that Iowa State University will take the lead in trying to initiate an annual event in which Iowa State and Iowa would face Northern Iowa and Drake in the Wells Fargo Arena. The Cyclones would continue the annual home and home series with the Hawkeyes. The concept has the potential to be a "win/win" for all parties. Beyond taking center stage as the premiere men's basketball event in our state, playing both Drake and Northern Iowa in Des Moines would allow us to consider converting our home and home series with those schools to a similar series with an opponent from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10 or SEC.
It also goes on to talk of the home and home with Minnesota we have and lining up Bradley University in the Mediacom Cyclone Capital Classic and another home and home with Bradley for 08 and 09. Then they talk of working with the Big XII to make a conference challenge like the Big 10/ACC.
