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why MSU? I didn't know they had good attendance. I was thinking about NIowa and ISUred. Oh, and, we have to keep Drake b/c they are the only original MVC member left in the Conference.
MSU had very good attendance w/ their new building and could easily draw 10,000+ if I am not mistaken. You mention MVC but this would not be the MVC and that is why I would not include the teams you mention-although ISU if it drew better and possibly NIU w/ their new facility but I don't believe it is that big). This conference would be a BB only conf. that would be brand new. It would be a combination of mostly BB only schools and possibly a couple of schools that also have football, but not at the top level, that would want to ensure it would be a part of an elite BB conf. such as WSU, MSU, Butler, etc.
You could easily have the Big Midwest Conf w/ 10-12 predominately BB only schools.
Size of TV market and population/demographics do mean a lot but they still want to see the butts in the seat (which BU has and if the conf comp. was better could fill even more seats) as this is the way they make money. One thing BU has going for it is the Comcast TV pkg and the fact they show some games in Chicago which easily could be expanded.
Bradley needs to do everything it can to get alligned with Depaul, Marquette, Butler, SLU, Drake, Xavier, etc anyone who does not play football but plays basketball.I couldn't agree more and have said that for a long time and especially if the BE breaks up which w/ the raiding of conf. going on seems likely, and what seems to be happening w/ the BCS make up of 4-6 major conferences and you're right they will split off from the NCAA and form their own conference w/ their own rules which will open up the dishonesty in recruiting like wwe have never seen it in our life times (much similar to what it was in the 50's & 60's)
Let me ask you a question about attendance. If a conference had the option of Bradley and its attendance but Peoria/BN populuation Comcast etc or Depaul and it terrible attendance but Chicago population who would that conference choose?
Dishonesty not sure that is the right word, I think it is more of freedom to make as much money as possible and not share it with the NCAA or the non BCS's of the world.
Money is the method right now to this madness. But there has to be more. And to me the more is that big March Carrot of the NCAA basketball tourney. That money is huge but these huge BCS super conferences are not going to want to share that money with the likes of the MVC. Why would they want too other then the NCAA mandating it.
I think a spin off of the super conferences for football is the divorcing of the BCS's from the NCAA. If they can do their own thing in Football, Basketball and Baseball why be part of an organization they I bet most BCS's look at as a complete nusience then a viable helpful partner.
4 years from today the whole "college" athletics landscape will be completely different.
Bradley needs to do everything it can to get alligned with Depaul, Marquette, Butler, SLU, Drake, Xavier, etc anyone who does not play football but plays basketball.
I agree but honestly, this is a near-impossible task.
Size of TV market and population/demographics do mean a lot but they still want to see the butts in the seat (which BU has and if the conf comp. was better could fill even more seats) as this is the way they make money. One thing BU has going for it is the Comcast TV pkg and the fact they show some games in Chicago which easily could be expanded.
Bradley needs to do everything it can to get alligned with Depaul, Marquette, Butler, SLU, Drake, Xavier, etc anyone who does not play football but plays basketball.I couldn't agree more and have said that for a long time and especially if the BE breaks up which w/ the raiding of conf. going on seems likely, and what seems to be happening w/ the BCS make up of 4-6 major conferences and you're right they will split off from the NCAA and form their own conference w/ their own rules which will open up the dishonesty in recruiting like wwe have never seen it in our life times (much similar to what it was in the 50's & 60's)
A conference with the current teams PLUS 4 would be a great fit for the Valley gaining more national attention...
Add these teams and they're gold:
Xavier
Butler
WKentucky
Marquette
On the bubble:
DePaul
Loyola (simply a Chicago presence)
Kansas (for obvious reasons)
Baylor
Out:
SLU
Main reason SLU is out...I dont want to lose St. Louis at the tournament site.
A conference with the current teams PLUS 4 would be a great fit for the Valley gaining more national attention...
Add these teams and they're gold:
Xavier
Butler
WKentucky
Marquette
On the bubble:
DePaul
Loyola (simply a Chicago presence)
Kansas (for obvious reasons)
Baylor
Out:
SLU
Main reason SLU is out...I dont want to lose St. Louis at the tournament site.
That last reason sounds pretty selfish. LOL Really doubt if it would change the tournament site as doesn't SLU have their own center on campus that they play in?
Can't fully agree w/ keeping the Valley as it now stands as they have to many weak teams when you could make such a strong BB market w/ some, or all, of the following.
Xavier Butler WKentucky Marquette DePaul (also a Chicago presence) Kansas (for obvious reasons) Would be nice but wouldn't happen unless the BB end was strong enough. Kansas state (better chance they would want to go independent in football) BU CU WSU Dayton SLU
(Kansas & Kansas State would be a long reach but one never knows what these schools are going to thinking.)
The only one of these schools w/o a strong TV market would possibly be WK and I really don't know anything about their market but the people in Kent. love their BB.
These teams would create a BCS type BB conference.
A conference with the current teams PLUS 4 would be a great fit for the Valley gaining more national attention...
Add these teams and they're gold:
Xavier
Butler
WKentucky
Marquette
On the bubble:
DePaul
Loyola (simply a Chicago presence)
Kansas (for obvious reasons)
Baylor
Out:
SLU
Main reason SLU is out...I dont want to lose St. Louis at the tournament site.
Western Kentucky plays football so I dont think they will align with any basketball only conference. I bet though they wouldnt mind upgrading to a better football conference... conference USA?
Kansas has to get into a football also conference. If all the Pac16 happens they will have to work like heck and try and get into something with TCU, Utah, BYU, Boise etc and hope like heck that this conference gets to eat at the big boys football table. If they were not tied to Kstate they would be with the other Big 12rs in the new Pac 16 and TT would be looking in from the outside.
I wonder what will happen to Iowa State, Baylor and Mizzo?
If you were in charge of Bradley what would you do?
I'm honestly not sure. We'd be in no-man's land.
Right now, at this moment, you can't do anything to jeopardize your relationship with the Valley. Pursuing a new conference with no other Valley school can get a bit dicey.
The one thing I'd do is have a little chat with Butler. Like us, they'd be a single school from a conference looking to infiltrate a league filled with current A-10 and Big East members. Sell the two BUs as a package deal. That's probably as much as BU can do right now.
Bradley has to be reactive in this situation. They can't be proactive because they have no clout and the effect could be devastating for us.
If this were to happen, I would like to see it stay Missouri Valley and ISUred stays. Can't imagine BU basketball without ISU-BU match ups each year. I still like SLU, Butler, Iowa State, Kansas, and Kansas State with all but Evansville from the valley.
... At the end, of the storm, there's a golden sky. And the sweet silver song of the lark. Walk on, through the wind, walk on, through the rain, though your dreams be tossed, and blown. Walk on, Walk on with hope in your hearts, and you'll never walk alone!
I'm behind you 100% Bradley Braves, You'll Never Walk Alone! BEAT STATE!
As far as a basketball superconference, here's what you'd see:
Georgetown(1), Seton Hall(2), Providence(3), St John's(4), Villanova(5), Marquette(6), and DePaul(7) would be your 7 Big East leftovers, and they ain't splitting.
Butler( has to be a part of any new league.
The A-10 would be poached. Xavier(9) and Dayton(10) are surefire.
St Louis(11) probably is too - big, big market, western travel partner with Marquette and DePaul.
They'll capitalize a bit on the Philly market - hello, St Joseph's(12)
The Boston market is available - hello, UMass(13)
After this, you begin to have options. Both Richmond(14) and Charlotte(15) are sitting available and help penetrate the south. However, they do play football. But couldn't they play in the CAA in football and the new league in all other sports, including basketball? That's what would happen.
The 16th team could be anyone. I'll take Temple out of the equation for simplicity, since there's a relatively decent chance they could be part of a new Big East. The last A-10 school I could see involved is Duquense. Hofstra for the New York market is technically feasible. Then there's Bradley and Drake.
As much as it'd piss off everyone here, Duquesne(16) would be a more attractive option than Bradley. Pittsburgh > Peoria.
TAS, sadly, is right. Bradley's best hopes now are to find someone willing to go to bat for us as a package deal, and that also plays football.
Our best bets:
Butler-stock will never be higher than it is right now. Has football, which offers leverage. However, Butler and Bradley are directly in competition with one another for name recognition in the region and nationally, and a partnership here is unlikely. It is also rare to see partnerships with schools who are not part of your conference. Also, Butler is likely looking East and the East would likely not want any part of another SLU.
Creighton-Along with Wichita offers the best the Valley possibly can. Both have the same problem: No football. So they are therefore faced with the same fate of possibly being relegated to a lower division when the dust settles without some help.
Drake-Has football. Has an eternal link to Bradley as being the longest standing members of the MVC, shared unity during the Johnny Bright days, etc.
This is all another reason why this decade has been a great travesty for Bradley, despite one great moment. The big picture is important.
Let me ask you a question about attendance. If a conference had the option of Bradley and its attendance but Peoria/BN populuation Comcast etc or Depaul and it terrible attendance but Chicago population who would that conference choose?
Dishonesty not sure that is the right word, I think it is more of freedom to make as much money as possible and not share it with the NCAA or the non BCS's of the world.
Money is the method right now to this madness. But there has to be more. And to me the more is that big March Carrot of the NCAA basketball tourney. That money is huge but these huge BCS super conferences are not going to want to share that money with the likes of the MVC. Why would they want too other then the NCAA mandating it.
I think a spin off of the super conferences for football is the divorcing of the BCS's from the NCAA. If they can do their own thing in Football, Basketball and Baseball why be part of an organization they I bet most BCS's look at as a complete nusience then a viable helpful partner.
4 years from today the whole "college" athletics landscape will be completely different.
Have to agree that MONEY is the reason all of this is happening. It won't take 4 years as the SEC and ACC are already talking and as the B10 & Pac 10 expand to 16 teams those 2 conferences will follow for football reasons which will break up the BE although the BE is a BB Conf but time will tell if the BCS will keep a BB only type BCS school.
As you watch all of this happening it is the Football powers that are driving this frenzy and these conferences will break off from the NCAA in all sports and develop their own TV pkg and tournaments that will bring in more money then we can fathom. Look what the B10 tv network has already done. Each team in the conference are getting several million (I beleive I heard that it is 22 million a piece but not positive of that #). Now enlarge that out to BCS only cable pkg and guess what happens.
Your other comment about about BU to Depaul is if BU expands to include all of thir games to the Chicago market it would really matter as DePaul has lost a lot the luster they once had in Chicago, but honestly I would want a BB only conf. that would include DePaul. Check out an previous post on this subject.
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has to be a part of any new league.
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