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SHSU and the rest of the SLC gets in next year. Wish we could get in these games this coming February. Regardless, it'll be nice in the future for the Kats, Bears and SLC to get some guaranteed home-and-homes with some solid teams, probably from the Sun Belt, but home-and-homes with anyone Div I is great considering SLC home scheduling issues with sub Div I teams.

From the Southland.org web site...
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Southland Conference Men's Basketball to be Part of 2006 Bracket Buster Saturday

Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin to participate in the February event.
Sept. 15, 2005

PLANO, Texas - The Southland Conference today announced Northwestern State University and Stephen F. Austin State University men's basketball programs will be a part of the 2006 ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday.

Now in its fourth year, Bracket Buster Saturday is an ESPN television property that was tremendously successful with its first three events in February of 2003, 2004 and 2005. The event has allowed Division I conferences to participate in a cutting-edge format that involves "wild-card" pairings for the pool of participating teams, with half of the Bracket Buster Saturday teams pre-designated as "home" and the remaining half as "road" teams. With its initial involvement in the event, both Southland Conference teams will be road teams.

"We are very proud to be included in the ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday pool, and feel we are very deserving of consideration," Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett said. "Both Northwestern State and SFA have enjoyed success over the last three years, and we feel they will represent us very well. We thank our good friends at ESPN for their interest in Southland Conference basketball."

Northwestern State returns all five starters and more than 90 percent of its scoring and rebounding from last year's regular-season co-championship squad. Head coach Mike McConathy has three winning campaigns in his first six years at NSU as the Demons posted their best Southland Conference win total (13) in 18 seasons since joining the league in 1987-88.

In his sixth season at Stephen F. Austin, head coach Danny Kaspar powered the `Jacks to 21-8 and 21-9 records in 2002-03 and 2003-04, respectively. The Lumberjacks' back-to-back 20-win campaigns marked the first time since the mid-1980s that they had consecutive 20-victory seasons.

What sets the Bracket Buster Saturday Series apart from other made-for-television events is that the pairing of teams is not pre-determined. The actual pairings take place three weeks in advance of the event, and those match-ups are determined on the basis of regular-season play. Another important component for Bracket Buster Saturday participants is future scheduling. Each team that participates in the Bracket Buster Saturday series any given year agrees to enter into a home-and-home series with its to-be-named opponent. The return game of each series is made in November or December in the season following the Bracket Buster Saturday game; this return game allows for the completion of the two-game series contract and is not part of the Bracket Buster Saturday event in that second year.

Next February 18, the 2006 Bracket Buster Saturday will take place with a total pool of 100 teams representing 18 conferences in a 50-game, one-day event. In an effort to provide a greater opportunity for NCAA Tournament-caliber teams, the event has expanded its pool of teams (18 in 2003, 46 in 2004 and 64 in 2005) each year to produce a better cross section of squads for the basketball bonanza.

A total of 11 games will be televised, including six games on ESPN or ESPN2, and the remaining five games on ESPNU -- ESPN's new collegiate network that was launched on March 4, 2005. The remaining 39 games will not be televised.

The Bracket Buster Saturday Series pool is defined as the original 100 participating teams prior to the pairing of teams for the television package. The Bracket Buster Saturday Series field is defined as the 22 teams chosen for the 11 games televised on the ESPN family of networks (ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU).

The pool of teams in the 2006 Bracket Buster Saturday Series represents five Sweet Sixteen squads, including one team -- Kent State (2002) -- that advanced to a regional final in the last five NCAA Tournaments. In all, the Bracket Buster Saturday pool boasts a total of 71 team appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including 54 team appearances and five Sweet Sixteen squads -- Kent State (2002), Southern Illinois (2002), Butler (2003), Nevada (2004) and UW-Milwaukee (2005) -- in the last four NCAA Tournaments.

The evaluation and pairings of teams for the ESPN television package will be made by the staff of ESPN, in consultation with the commissioners of participating conferences. Consideration will be given to avoiding match-ups of conference teams and match-ups of any teams that have already met during the current season. ESPN, in consultation with the conference commissioners, will make pairings decisions on Sunday, January 29. Pairing decisions for the remaining games that will not be televised will be announced by Thursday, February 2, 2006.

It could be interesting if we could pull in some teams such as Tulsa, SMS (Missouri State) or possibly even Memphis.