OT: Rules For Hanging A Banner
Are there any rules (formal or otherwise) regarding hanging a banner? For example, if Michigan loses today (very hypothetically), would it be acceptable to hang a "2014 - Elite Eight" banner in Crisler? I think in general, you need to actually win something (Regular Season, B1G Tournament, NIT, NCAA Regional, National Title) to hang a banner.
It just seems to me that an Elite Eight is something that should be commemorated. I don't know if Michigan has much of a history with this. The 1977 team lost in the regional finals (don't know if it was called "Elite Eight" back then) and I don't think there's a banner for that so the precedence may already be set. I was just curious to see what the board thinks.
This comes up because I used to live near NC State and they hang a banner for EVERYTHING. In fact, they'll probably hang a "2014 NCAA 2nd Round" banner because they won the play-in game this year.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:35 AM ^
Only non-championship banner that's acceptable is a Final Four banner.
Unless you're Indiana.
you won the regional championship if you go to a final four. It's just that you could win in different regions. Hence final four instead of Michigan being "Midwest Regional Champs" because what region were they last year? It's never the same. . .
March 30th, 2014 at 11:35 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
Banners should be for real accomplishment. Winning the Big Ten - yes. Winning Big Ten Tourney - yes. Winning NCAA Tourney - yes. Everything else, not so much. Wouldn't mind a single banner to summarize lesser accomplishments, e.g., "NCAA Tournament, Years X,Y,Z" or whatever.
I frankly hate the celebration of Final Fours, because what other sports congratulate the semifinal competitors so much? It is just dumb. Of course, I may be biased by all the Izzo-related love on this topic.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
Trophies? sure. Should the team that loses in those games raise banners for getting to the game?
Did Michigan add a banner that said "2012-13 National Runner-up"?
At Ryan Field they have year banners on the apron between the upper and lower levels. There are many more years shown there than memorable Northwestern Football seasons...
March 30th, 2014 at 11:50 AM ^
Getting to the Final Four is a huge accomplishment and definitely banner-worthy. I'd take getting to the Final Four any year over winning the Big Ten tourney. If you would hang a banner for a conference tourney win, you should definitely hang one for getting to the Final Four.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
But it's not. The Final Four is an event that those teams get to be a part of. It is the championship of the sport, akin to the Super Bowl spread out over three days and three games. Coaches, players, teams are judged on how many times they get to that event; getting there, of course, requires winning a difficult tournament in itself that players and coaches often celebrate by cutting down the nets. There is no equivalent in football. It's just different.
I know it's weird that only in college basketball is a near-miss finish so celebrated. I think it partially has to do with the chaotic nature of the whole single-elimination tournament. Survival here is nothing like what it takes to say, coast through an easy football schedule and finish fourth in the polls.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
Anyone who wins a BCS bowl celebrates the hell out of it.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
This debate makes me wonder if we/others will commemorate reaching the new football playoff "final 4." I do see a clear distinction between the two, though. In football, in the years to come, some committee, using a combination of objective and subjective measures, will choose the lucky 4, whereas in basketball, your spot is earned on the court.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^
If you make a Final Four, then you are the Regional Champion. They even give out an MVP award. You're a champion, in the eyes of the NCAA.
Final Fours are definitely banner worthy.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^
However, I feel the opposite about the EE. I actually think that there should be no banners for the final four. I think you should hang a banner for winning something, not for coming in third even if it is hard to do.
Should football teams hang a banner or flag outside the stadium for finishing the season third in the polls? What about teams the make the four team playoff? How about finishing second in the conference?
March 30th, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:42 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
Sorry, it's still not making sense. If Rutgers or Maryland come in next year and are (Okay this is a bit unrealistic) somehow really good, should they not be able to hang their championship banners because it's their first year? When are you in a conference long enough to hang banners? It's sports, half the accoplishments are based on seemingly meaningless qualifiers, that doesn't make them any less impressive or worthy, though. Especially in this case.
In any case, that's not the point. I guess I don't really see what your problem is with hanging Final Four banners, it's a huge accomplishment for the team and the program. It's really not like Michigan as a program is "above it" either. No team is and there's a reason for that.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:54 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
Accomplishment are great. But championships are what are and should be remembered the most and have a special place in the rafters to themselves.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
How about the Rose Bowl? Yeah that wouldn't be trophy worthy because we didn't win it all.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
It's not equal footing, though. Having a Rose Bowl trophy next to your National Championship trophy isn't taking away from the National Championship at all. The two banners hanging from the rafters don't have to invite comparisons between the two, and in almost all cases they won't.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
My reading of your original point was whether winning a region warranted a banner at all.
However, I feel the opposite about the EE. I actually think that there should be no banners for the final four. I think you should hang a banner for winning something, not for coming in third even if it is hard to do.
I tend to agree that national championship banners deserve top billing, but let's not move the goalposts here in our friendly discussion.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:41 PM ^
If only basketball had a polling system you could finish in the top five for. Then we could make a direct comparison.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:38 PM ^
It's also not on equal footing because the 1989 National Champions banner is set off by itself in the Crisler rafters, highlighting its greater significance.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:38 PM ^
They cut nets if they win today? I think that's kinda dumb, actually...
March 30th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^
Why not a banner?
You have to win the Regional Championship to advance to the Final Four. The NCAA gives you a trophy and rings to commemorate it. Why wouldn't you put a banner up for it?
March 30th, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^
There is no "national runner-up" banner. It's not really about finishing second, it's about qualifying for the championship of the sport. It's surely a bigger accomplishment than winning the Big Ten tournament, for example, and I'd argue it's a bigger accomplishment than winning the Big Ten period.
You keep focusing on the idea that this is just a banner for a high finish. It's not that simple. If it was, last year's banner would be a national runner-up banner, not a Final Four banner. I can understand being opposed to a FF banner but these examples are not comparable.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
For the record, Michigan used to hang "NCAA Finalist" banners—that's what some of the banners taken down said. When they redid all the banners, they decided to limit the banners to "National Champions" and "Final Four."
March 30th, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
Different schools handle this in different ways. Indiana groups them on one Final Four banner (as they do Big Ten titles):