Editorial: No. 1 rank is good for more than basketball

‘ ‘ ‘ For the first time in history, the Associated Press and the USA Today/ESPN Coach’s Poll… ‘ ‘ ‘ For the first time in history, the Associated Press and the USA Today/ESPN Coach’s Poll ranked the Pitt men’s basketball team No. 1 in the nation. Pitt received 70 of the 72 first-place votes in the AP poll, and 30 of 31 in the ESPN poll, beating out former first- and second-ranked North Carolina and Connecticut when they were both dealt losses last week. ‘ ‘ ‘ This is a momentous occasion in the men’s basketball program. Pitt has been a strong contender in the Big East and the NCAA championship for the last seven years but has never made it to a top-ranked position. ‘ ‘ ‘ Now that the team has done so, and assuming the players can hold the ranking long enough to make it count, Pitt could see future bumps in enrollment and have an easier time courting and recruiting top athletes from around the country, which only gives the program more room to grow. ‘ ‘ ‘ Perhaps a more meaningful victory could stem from Pitt’s No. 1 ranking. It provides a first step toward building a meaningful connection between the basketball program and Pittsburgh at large. ‘ ‘ ‘ In a way, the Pitt basketball team is Pittsburgh’s basketball franchise. Despite other successful professional teams like the Steelers and the Penguins, a professional basketball franchise has never taken hold in Pittsburgh ‘mdash; the highest attendance at Pittsburgh’s American Basketball Association franchise, the Pittsburgh Xplosion, was just more than 2,000 people. ‘ ‘ ‘ In contrast, the Penguins averaged about 17,000 people per game in 2007, and the Steelers sat an average of 62,000 per game. ‘ ‘ ‘ Even the Pirates averaged more than 22,000 people per game in 2007. Compared to numbers like that, the Xplosion can hardly compete. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s basketball team is another matter. Men’s games are routinely sold out in the 12,500-seat Petersen Events Center, and students only make up a portion of that figure. ‘ ‘ ‘ Given that Pittsburgh is a city so historically concerned with its sports teams, increasing Pitt’s standings in the community in any way is bound to have positive effects. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Being ranked No. 1 is not going to revolutionize the way that college sports connect to the wider community, but it does provide a good start. From here, Pitt should be able to attract more attention to the program simply because other teams will be ranked against Pitt’s program for the remainder of the season. ‘ ‘ ‘ People also have to be careful not to attribute too much importance to the ranking ‘mdash; if the numbers change next week and the coaches knock Pitt back down to second or third, people aren’t going to think as much of it as if the team had kept hold of the title for a longer time ‘ ‘ ‘ The players shouldn’t let it go to their heads too much, either ‘mdash; this isn’t a mark of invulnerability. On the contrary, other teams are going to be gunning even harder to take Pitt down now that it has finally gotten the top spot. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt deserves recognition for this achievement, because it’s great not only for the team but for the whole University. It certainly isn’t a guarantee of victory, but it is a great way to get people across the city and the country interested.