Chattanooga and the SoCon's Dream? Could It Happen?

The Southern Conference Tournament is in Chattanooga this year. And the Southern Conference and Chattanooga could be getting their dream.

What would be the best thing for the tournament? If the teams that help the conference sell the most tickets are all good enough to make people want to make the trip to Chattanooga. What constitutes "good enough"? Probably finish in the top two in either division.

So what would sell the most tickets?

First of all, Chattanooga needs to be good. The Moc fans will show up for the tournament if the perception in Chattanooga is that the Mocs have a real shot to win it. They need to finish first or second in the North. They are 3-0 and well on their way to doing that if they can keep on winning. They need to win some big games coming up, and it is possible. It's also possible that the Mocs don't get it completely turned around and can't finish that high in the division.

The other North team that would probably attract the most fans is Appalachian State. The Mountaineers probably bring plenty of fans all things considered. And they are a traditional power in the conference, so the perception would certainly be high that they can win the title if they finish that high in the division.

From the South, Davidson brings plenty of fans and plenty of attention if they are good enough. They are a traditional power and would bring plenty of fanfare to the tournament.

The other team from the South probably needs to be College of Charleston. They have all the media love, and they have the recognizable head coach, and they have the fan base to help fill up the arena.

Ironically, those are probably the four most tradition rich programs in the SoCon. Wofford certainly has enough cache to help with the national perception, but they are not quite as tradition rich, and would probably not draw quite as many fans.

The irony is that so far, those appear to be the five best teams in the SoCon, with the lone exception possibly being Furman, depending on whether or not you happen to believe that this is the year the Paladins finally keep it all together for the whole year. It is very possible that the four teams listed above get the four byes, which will make for a lousy Friday, but a fun quarterfinals...and potentially an even more enticing Semifinal Sunday. Can you imagine Charleston-Chattanooga and Davidson-Appalachian State in the semis? Can you imagine Charleston-Appalachian State and Davidson-Chattanooga in the semis? Either one would be unbelievable and the hype in Chattanoogs would be easy to get excited about.

Here's to hoping that happens, because that is probably the best thing for the city of Chattanooga, and the SoCon as a whole.

GO MOCS!