Spot on, RSB and OUC. A-10 sent 3 teams to the NCAA tourney. When's the last time the MAC sent more than one?
People will disagree and I respect that, but in basketball, there are no mid majors. Only "majors", defined as multiple bid leagues, and "minors" who only get an automatic qualifier. The MAC is a minor league.
I hate to totally hijack a recruiting thread, but....
In a way, don't you think it's that way kind of by design? As in the design of those who select the teams, broadcast the games, etc?
Think about the last time a smaller conference magically got an at-large besides the WCC, who has seen the rise of Gonzaga, and St. Marys together, but otherwise isn't incredibly strong. The last small conference I can think of that got the second bid is the CAA in the form of George Mason. Sure, we can talk til we're blue in the face about how to schedule to get an at-large out of the MAC, but the facts are, the system is set up to exclude conferences like the MAC from getting an at-large.
And while your point is factually accurate in the number of bids - the A10 is massively different than the MAC. That helps them in budget, scheduling and recruiting. The majority of the A10 doesn't have big dollar football, so hoops is their primary focus. They also have TV deals that help their funding that's solely for basketball. And lastly, the majority of the A10 are in major metro areas some of which are college hoops hot beds during the winter.