The Gem City Jam was a men’s basketball game played between the University of Dayton (UD) and Wright State University between 1988 and 1997.
It’s been over twenty years since these cross town rivals played each other in men’s basketball, and many might wonder why.
Scott Nagy, the head coach for the WSU men’s basketball team, says he would like to see the game played, but notes that a decision on playing a game between the two schools would most likely come from administration.
“It’s a game we would like to play,” Nagy said. “But because so many people feel certain ways about it, it has less to do with the basketball programs and more with the institutions making those decisions."
Neil Sullivan, athletic director of UD, believes it does not fit their scheduling model.
“We have tremendous respect for Wright State and their men’s basketball program," Sullivan said in a statement. "However, for a variety of reasons, we do not believe it’s a game that fits our scheduling model for an at large selection."
An at large selection refers to being selected for the NCAA tournament. If a team doesn’t win their conference, a certain number of teams get selected based on their Rating Percentage Index (RPI) and strength of schedule.
The RPI is used to rank all 347 division one basketball teams.
Nagy said he understands why UD would not want to play Wright State, but thinks WSU is better than advertised.
“I can see from their standpoint where they think it’s a no win situation,” Nagy said. “But they claim that we need to get a higher RPI in terms of putting us on their schedule, but last year our RPI was much higher than some of the teams they play."
One such team that UD is playing this year is Tennessee Tech University. According to NCAA.com, TTU finished last season with an RPI of 274. Wright State finished last year with an RPI of 118.
What this suggests is that WSU is the better team, but also that if UD lost to WSU it would have less of a negative effect on them than losing to TTU. If UD were to win against Wright State, it would look better on a NCAA tournament resume than beating TTU would.
As for the 2017-2018 season, UD and WSU will not be playing each other. In order for the renewal of the Gem City Jam to come to fruition, it seems that UD will have to take the next step.
WSU and UD compete in several other sports on a yearly basis, including baseball, where they play each other usually twice a year.
