Every year, when college basketball season kicks off, Division I programs fall into the same tired, lazy routine: the early-season non-D1 game. Usually it’s a home matchup, most often against Division II, but some even roll out D3 or NAIA programs if they want to get extra pathetic—sometimes even losing 200+ ranked ones. How pathetic are you if, when scheduling a non-D1, you go find a losing team or a D3 school where they don’t even support scholarships?

It’s supposed to be a warm-up, an easy win, maybe even a little revenue booster because they come cheap. On paper, fine. In practice? You are not a serious program if you play them. For serious D1 programs, especially mid-majors like those in the Mountain West or the American with solid resources, these games are pathetic. They do absolutely nothing for your program other than perhaps make $30–40k at the gate. You could likely accomplish more—and get paid more—going on the road yourself. There is no way that even if you humbled yourself and took a buy game against a P5 or another 2 or 3 instead of playing two or three non-D1s, that wouldn’t do more for your program financially, as well as in recruiting, or in TV exposure.

Why These Matchups Are a Joke

I played D2 athletics, and we played against multiple D1 programs, so I know firsthand how seriously they take these matchups from the D2 side, and I think it’s great for the D2 schools and athletes. They circle the date, prep like it’s a postseason clash or the Super Bowl. D1 teams? Too often, they walk in expecting a tune-up, sleepwalking thinking the lower-division team has no chance. That attitude is a perfect recipe for disaster, and I love it when these lame teams playing non-D1s lose. Justice for D1 fans who despise these games. As a fan of college basketball, they are terrible—they tell you nothing, don’t prepare teams, and bore people until you get the handful of upsets a year.

The problem is the mindset. D1 players subconsciously underestimate D2 opponents, and the coaches do too. They dick around with rotations and lineups in these games because they are so uncompetitive by design. They assume a win is automatic, and most of the time it is—because it’s such a loser game. They don’t treat it seriously anymore than the players in many cases. It’s just a freebie they can experiment usually with no cost.

No one cares about these games—the D1 players, the fans, TV, donors, etc. The NCAA should really police this out of the game if schools are too lazy to do better or too interested in padding stats and win totals with fluff. These aren’t even real games and shouldn’t count. If you want to waste part of your 31-game season, it should be counted as an exhibition, and all stats shouldn’t count in D1 categories.

Boise State: We Laugh at You

What really is annoying are the teams that will now play a D1 like Idaho in an exhibition—like Boise did—only to open the real season against a D2 team. What the hell are we doing here? It makes no sense. That game should be a real game: Idaho vs. Boise. Hell, a home-and-home even would be fine—great even, as an old school rivalry. Do you think Idaho would say no? They would probably play a home and home every season even. There is no excuse to fly a D2 team in from Hawaii instead, and I love that you lost this one.

Look, I’m a fan of Leon Rice—I’ve even written about how impressed I am on this website with the job he’s done at Boise State a couple years ago. I’m not a hater, he’s built a program that competes at a top-50 level, develops talent, and gets respect nationally. That’s what makes this even more frustrating: when a program at his level—or worse Gonzaga’s—schedules a D2 opponent at home. It’s cheap, it’s soft, and honestly, it’s unnecessary. Maybe you are trying to game the system, but you are playing yourself and your fans. You draw attention the the fact you are trying to game the rankings which make people care less about your high rankings when you do it, even if it’s over blown.

I’m glad they lost—or that anyone who schedules these games loses. Especially programs that schedule two, three, or even four D2 games. There is no excuse, even if you are some really low cash strapped program. In that case you need to do what the MEAC and SWAC schools do and just hit the road anyway. Please just find another poor resource school and do a home-and-home if you really want home games. Respect your fans and the game.

Now those Big South or Atlantic Sun schools are far less egregious than the schools with more resources higher up the ladder doing it two or three times—or at all—but no one should be doing it in my opinion. If you are D1 act it.

Resources Are No Excuse

Here’s the thing: the Mountain West and the American have resources, recruiting pull, TV exposure, and a solid conference platform. There’s no reason to take an “easy” early-season D2 game. In fact, all it does is hurt recruiting, TV exposure, and program perception.

The usual excuses don’t hold up:

• “It’s an easy win.” Until it isn’t. Then the optics are ugly. One loss like that can echo all season—and be an abomination. I hope it is for Boise State this year. You always set yourself up for this risk when you choose to play them too.
• “It helps the budget.” Maybe. But at what cost to recruits, media, and even your own fans see straight through it. Do you think your players would rather play a D2 at home or go play a buy game at Duke or somewhere? Scheduling D2 teams signals what you think of your team or of taking them on the road. That’s likely a recruiting and attendance killer. Go the opposite way: actually travel, do a home-and-home with other mid or low majors if you have to.
• “It builds confidence.” Sure, if the competition is real. Beat a D2 team by 30 and who cares including your players? Lose? Disaster. I don’t think it prepares teams either way.

And for schools on the East Coast? Come on. There are dozens of D1 programs within five hours of almost any school on the east coast, of all levels. Home-and-home opportunities, mid-majors, low-majors, P5—it’s all there. There’s no excuse to play a D2 team unless you’re a true low-budget program stuck out in the middle of nowhere, like Idaho State or maybe North Dakota. If you are Gardner-Webb, which also lost to a D2 this wee in a state with 18 D1 programs and dozens more within five hours, What are you doing? You deserve it.

Why These Games Shouldn’t Count

Early-season D2 games mess with stats and some metrics. Wins over D2 opponents inflate records and stats and make it harder to parse out, but do nothing for Net Ratings, KenPom, or advanced analytics—it’s as if they didn’t happen because it’s essentially an exhibition. What’s the point? Lose one? You are a national joke, as you should be. Win one? Who cares. Fans? They’re bored. Recruits? They’re unimpressed and many players and coaches sleepwalk through these games.

It’s the ultimate “cake and eat it too” move: home game, easy win, padded record—but if you lose, all the optics and recruiting fallout hurt more than the “benefit” ever helped, which is very little other than saving a few thousand dollars compared to paying a D1 team $50–60k.

Why Serious D1 Programs Should Stop the Madness

Let’s get real. If your program wants to be taken seriously, these cheap games need to go. Here’s why:

• Recruiting: Players want real competition, exposure, TV time. A D2 home game doesn’t excite anyone.
• Fan and TV engagement: Fans want games that matter. Networks want games that matter. Cheap, window-dressing wins don’t matter.
• Program profile: A schedule full of D2 or low-major opponents screams padding and cowardice.
• Competitive readiness: If you play a D2 game early, how does that help you get ready for real D1 competition?

A better approach? Home-and-home with mid-majors or low-to-mid D1 programs. Buy games against other Power 5 D1 teams if needed.

The Bottom Line

When D1 programs schedule D2 teams at home expecting a walkover, they’re inviting trouble at worst, or missing an opportunity. If you’re serious about Division I basketball, play actual D1-level opponents. Anything less looks like padding and weak. Yes, I’m glad when big programs get caught by a D2. That’s what you get and you deserve it and to be mocked for even playing them to begin with, and especially if you lose.