The Zag Zone is the Promised Land for mid majors.  George Mason went to the Final Four in 2006, but the Promised Land is not the presence of achievement for a mid major, it is the absence of doubt.  Gonzaga is given the benefit of the doubt by the media and opponents alike.  The media thinks they are good every year (which may or may not be true), so in turn potential opponents think they are good as well.  More importantly, high majors are no longer scared to play them, since a loss doesn’t damage their precious reputation.  Like it or not, the fate of mid majors is largely decided on the bravery and cowardice of high major schools and their willingness to schedule good mid major teams.  Once you are in the Zag Zone, you can annually schedule nonconference games against high majors, help your RPI, land TV deals, become nationally marketable and invariably draw in better recruits to help your program down the road.  The Zag Zone is a self-perpetuating cycle of college basketball relevance, and a reward for being an outstanding program over many years.  With the release of the first 2009-2010 AP Top 25 poll, Butler is ranked 10th in the country and its ascent into the Zag Zone is complete. 

  I don’t want to get into a lengthy discussion about what a mid major is, since Kyle Whelliston of the Mid Majority has the authoritative definition.  But I am leaving Xavier out of the discussion because I think the A-10 is in a unique position - hovering above mid major level, while still slightly below major status.  They differ from mid majors because of marketability and an absence of doubt, as their teams have enjoyed tremendous success on the national level.  They have already played with and beaten the big boys for years, most importantly getting plenty of attention from the national media.  Temple and UMass have been to the Elite Eight.  St. Joseph’s received a number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  Xavier is a perennial national power, being easily more successful than Gonzaga in postseason play over the last decade.  Xavier’s rise is partly due to the marketability and past success of other teams in the conference.  The A-10 is and has been relevant for the better part of a decade.  Half of the A-10 can point to greater national success than anyone out of the West Coast Conference and Horizon League, making the Gonzaga and Butler stories all the more remarkable.