@LabMaster
1. New staff doesn't necessarily mean drastic improvements. Who's to say that the changes in staff will be the right changes for the future of BAC? Chemistry takes time to build and many people are jumping the gun in assuming that new staff will correlate to a drastic improvement in placement. It is ultimately up to the kids to bring home the end result. Comparatively, 2016 was a more uncertain year than 2015 for BAC, with them being on the verge of not performing on Saturday night. This could cause a drop in member retention and certainly wont do anything drastic for recruitment purposes.
2. Academy is coming off of a stellar year with they first finals appearance in their history as a corps. Member retention will likely spike and I would expect recruitment to be at a peak for this corps. They had their first taste of what its like to perform on Saturday night and I doubt they are ready to give that up. They're going to come out swinging and show DCI that they belong in the top 12. With their phenomenal show design and staff, they certainly have the potential to be a top 5 contender within the next 5-10 years.
3. You would be crazy to assume that Madison hasn't learned from their mistakes after this season. They are historically phenomenal musicians and performers, and it would be outrageous to assume that they wont push back in to finals after last season. They certainly have some lost ground to make up, but there is no reason to believe that they wont get back in the game come 2017.
4. Troopers will remain more or less the same, hovering on the cusp of finals like for the last 5 years. There is no reason to expect anything different this year. And with the loss of Tim "The Rock" Snyder, who knows who will pick up the slack?
And my mistake, here is my revised order:
9. Stars
10. Acad
11. Madison
12. Crossmen
13. BAC
14. Troop