Tim Jankovich admits there was a time in his professional life that he would have asked mid-major basketball coaches if they'd like some cheese with their whine.

A player at Kansas State, Jankovich's coaching résumé includes stops as an assistant at Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt, Illinois and Kansas. All are members of three of the six largest conferences that dominate major-college football and basketball.

Now in his third season as Illinois State's head coach, Jankovich sees things from a different perspective. He now champions arguments about more equality in the distribution of NCAA tournament at-large bids.

“We all have a great capacity to see things through our own eyes,'' Jankovich said. “Having spent most of my time on the other side, you just feel you deserve what you get and then some. We all do that.

“I'm on the other end of the coin now. Last year, it was nearly impossible to get an at-large bid if you were a mid-major. I don't see how that's good for the game. On this side, it's not whining. If I were on the other side, I'd probably be like, ‘There they go again.'”

The diminishing number of at-large bids for schools outside the six conferences affiliated with the Bowl Championship Series in football is a hot topic whenever members from mid-major leagues congregate, as Jankovich and his fellow Missouri Valley Conference coaches did last week in St. Louis for the league's media day.

The Valley has been a one-bid league each of the past two seasons, advancing only its tournament champion (Drake in 2008, Northern Iowa in 2009) to the NCAA's field of 65. Prior to that, the conference had earned multiple bids for nine consecutive seasons, including placing a record four teams in the 2006 tournament.

Nationally, the number of mid-major schools earning at-large bids has dropped from 12 in 2006 to four in 2009. Thirty of the 34 available berths last season went to schools from the six largest conferences.

“That's a disturbing trend,'' Bradley's Jim Les said.

Why is it happening? The Valley coaches have a variety of ideas on the subject, some of which carry overtones of conspiracy.

“Hopefully, some of the folks from last year and the year before are going to be graduating off the (NCAA basketball) committee,'' Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said.

Not one prone to espouse the radical side, Creighton coach Dana Altman does have his own questions about committee representation.

“We all know at-large bids are difficult to get,'' he said. “In the last four or five years, they've become even more difficult to get. Those things are decided by who's on the committee. Whether we're represented fairly on the committee, I'm not sure, but I think it starts there.

“The BCS schools also have done a good job of getting to the media and stating their case. Whether it has had any effect or not, I'm not sure. I do think we need to do a better job of promoting ourselves, as do the conferences like us.''

Valley Commissioner Doug Elgin spent four seasons on the basketball committee, and he said more times than not it gets things right. He steers clear of pointing fingers, preferring to focus on what leagues such as his, the Atlantic 10, the Colonial Athletic and the Mountain West can do to strengthen Selection Sunday arguments.

“I don't want to sound negative toward our members but it's easy to whine and say you didn't get a fair shake,'' Elgin said. “The one thing I'll never stop harping on is the need for our teams to get good schedules. If you don't have a very strong non-conference schedule, you diminish your chances of getting into the tournament.''

Many mid-major coaches complain that it has become increasingly difficult to schedule games on an equal footing against teams from the power conferences. Two-for-ones and one-time “buy'' games are available but most schools prefer trying to secure home-and-home arrangements.

In St. Louis, many of the coaches agreed that whenever they do get opportunities to play power-conference teams, it's vital to make the most of them.

“The bottom line is that we have to take advantage of our opportunities when they arise,'' said Kevin McKenna, the former Creighton player and assistant coach who now is in charge at Indiana State. “For our level of schools, the margin of error is so slim.

“When you get an opportunity, you better take advantage of it.''

The nonconference schedules of Valley teams this season are dotted with prove-it chances against BCS teams. McKenna's team plays LSU of the Southeastern Conference in the Preseason NIT. Creighton plays Michigan of the Big Ten and possibly teams from the Big East, the Big 12, the Atlantic Coast and the SEC at a November tournament in Orlando.

Drake and Northern Iowa each will get their annual shots at Iowa and Iowa State. Wichita State will play host to the Big 12's Texas Tech and has a tournament game scheduled against Pittsburgh of the Big East. Les' Bradley team will play Oklahoma State at a tournament in Las Vegas.

“There are factors that we can control with scheduling,'' Drake coach Mark Phelps said. “And when we take the court, it's up to us to make our statements.''

In 2006, Valley teams posted several marquee victories against teams from the power conferences that helped them on Selection Sunday. Such wins were lacking the past two seasons, which probably contributed to an Illinois State being passed over in 2008 or a Creighton missing out in 2009.

Altman's team won 26 games prior to last season's tournament and shared the Valley's regular-season title. Those credentials weren't enough to land the Bluejays an at-large bid.

“You'd like to think the last seven or eight spots are going to the best teams,'' Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said. “You would hope there is not a lot the BCS conferences can do in getting those last bids for the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-place teams as opposed to a team that has finished second or third in a real good conference.

“That's not happening now. At the same time, we all realize that now you have to have a special year to get a bid. You have to be consistent throughout the year and you have to win some (nonconference) games.''

The debate has raged for years whether a sixth-place finisher from, say, the Big 12 is more worthy than a second- or third-place team from a mid-major conference. The power conference advocates say yes, because their sixth-place team faced a higher level of competition night-in and night-out than those other teams.

Another argument that's championed is which team would you least rather face: one from a power conference loaded with blue-chip athletes that might have underachieved, or a gritty band of overachievers from a mid-major league.

“It's easy to sit around and talk about that just like it's easy to sit around and talk about was Wilt better than Shaq?'' Jacobson said. “You could argue that to the end of time. I'd rather say who deserves it more. It's not about which team you think would win.''

Of course, the debate is not just about conference pride. The amount of money a conference receives from the NCAA tournament depends on the number of teams it places in the event and the success those teams have on the floor.

The Valley's Elgin said that 72 percent to 75 percent of the league's gross revenue comes from the tournament distribution. Last season, he said, the Valley received $4.3 million, about $420,000 less than the year before.

Elgin said the Valley is in a position to reverse that downturn, primarily because of the experience it returns this season. A projected 31 starters return for the 10 teams, and all 10 coaches return for the third time in the past 20 seasons.

“You win with juniors and seniors,'' Elgin said. “I think you're going to see our league much better this year, and probably even better a year out.

“In a league like ours, you have to take calculated risks, and playing the high majors early is a good risk. Most of our programs in a potential position to make a (NCAA) tournament run are going to have opportunities to win some of those games this year.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com