Mid-major

Mid-major is a term used in American Division I college sports, especially men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the major six conferences (the ACC, SEC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, and Pac-12, the programs of which are sometimes referred to as "high majors" by comparison). While many believe the term "mid-major" was originally coined by the sports media in order to distinguish between BCS and non-BCS conference teams, it was actually coined in 1977 (more than two decades before the development of the BCS) by Jack Kvancz, head coach of Catholic University's men's basketball team. Indeed, such a distinction is not officially acknowledged by the National Collegiate Athletics Association, nor does the NCAA use the terms "major" and "mid-major" to differentiate between Division I athletics conferences.