Mid-Majors May Finally Be Here To Stay In The NCAA Tournament

As recently as 2009, only four of the 34 at-large bids (11.8%) went to teams from mid-major conferences*. The last two years, however, seem to be showing a shift in how the NCAA tournament selection committee views the mid-majors schools.

For the second year in a row, 11 of the 37 at-large bids (29.7%) went to mid-majors. On top of that, Gonzaga, a mid-major, is one of the four number one seeds. And with parity in college basketball at an all-time high, don't look for this trend to change anytime soon.

Here's a look at the mid-major at large bids over the last 13 tournaments...

*Mid-majors are defined as being from a conference other than the "Big Six" (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC).