Bradley "power play" time. . .

[BradleyBrave]

I don't think being 'proactive' is the right thing to do, we could screw ourselves even worse than standing pat. However I don't think being dismissive is either. If someone like a Marquette comes to BU with a proposal, I think we need to listen. I like the MVC, but if we ever were presented the opportunity to take a 'step up', we owe it to ourselves to explore that opportunity.

[tornado]

First of all, I agree that this is all about football and football $$$. ...

football is only intertwined into all these happenings as it regards the $$$$$$

so I disagree..it's not about football, it is about $$$$$$ which is exactly why we are discussing teams moving to smaller basketball arenas, and even teams who are predominately basketball like Duke and Kentucky are in the news with actions that show the revenue end of it...

[wizard1]

Bradley Power Play---MVC

Within a few years, the MVC is going to lose some or all of these members to football conferences, either existing or new ones---Ill. State. Wichita, So. Ill., No. Iowa, Ind. St.---Bank on it!! What happens then?? BU better think this through and be prepared.

[Dubl R 1]

Not when everyone else we'd basically be competing against for those conference slots has (or at least access to) larger arenas.

Maybe..but we did outdraw all these teams last year..

Depaul
Boise St
Colorodo St
Texas Tech
Tulsa
Gonzaga
Notre Dame
Arizona St
Baylor
Saint Louis
Butler

[BradleyBrave]

Within a few years, the MVC is going to lose some or all of these members to football conferences, either existing or new ones---Ill. State. Wichita, So. Ill., No. Iowa, Ind. St.---Bank on it!! What happens then?? BU better think this through and be prepared.

Agreed. We need to be on the high side of the curve rather than the low side.

[squirrelgotdead]

Just being realistic. I think most Bradley fans are.
But what is wrong with the MVC? It has served Bradley just fine for the last 60 years, or so. We need to realize that this is the best option and work to maintain what we have, because it's pretty good.

The MVC needs to draft a new rule that requires a huge buyout for any school wanting to leave, like the WAC did, just before Nevada and Fresno State left.

That is the only way that makes sense to strengthen the loyalties among MVC schools.

BTW, I have heard from a conference "insider" that there are worries among some MVC schools that so-called "proactive" talks with other schools outside the MVC or with other conferences could harm the relationships among the MVC schools, and actually do much more damage than any good that could come from it. Maybe even push some MVC schools to do something drastic like seeking other conference affiliations they wouldn't have otherwise been seeking. Is that something we really want to do?

No way the MVC could establish a buyout penalty. What if Evansville goes to DII or DIII? No way they could afford it.

The WAC Commish also said even if the buyout was steeper than $5 mil (say even 10 or 20) they'd get that back in revenue in a decade. So a BU, CU or Wichita would be foolish not to pay it anyway.

It's one thing to be loyal, but in business, you don't go down with the ship. It's admirable, but stupid.

When I speak of BU being "proactive" it is only in the sense of establishing relationships-not committed to getting out. It never hurts to have friends.

Utah State committed itself in loyalty to the WAC and look what that got them-the potential to be homeless in a couple years.

[tornado]

well...a buyout is clearly to prevent teams from jumping to another conference...so it would be incredibly easy to draw up such a penalty so that it does NOT affect a school that drops to D-II

[Da Coach]

The buyout concept would not come into play for a team dropping down to a lower division, only to a school bolting for another D1 conference. Other conferences are adopting them, and I am sure it will be discussed by the MVC, and some form of it will be instituted. Your own example of the WAC is a great example of how the actions of 1 or 2 members can screw everyone else tremendously. Conferences will need the protection. Maybe a team will still be able to pay the buyout, but $5 million dollars can do a lot to keep a conference from folding.

And again, there are always effects from the "law of unintended consequences" with every move. The WAC will survive OK. They will probably just pick off one or 2 additional schools from the WCC or Big West.

[squirrelgotdead]

Maybe..but we did outdraw all these teams last year..

Depaul
Boise St
Colorodo St
Texas Tech
Tulsa
Gonzaga
Notre Dame
Arizona St
Baylor
Saint Louis
Butler

It's not about how good a school draws now. . .that might help when two schools on paper look about the same.

People forget, DePaul's early years in the Big East, they were drawing over 18,500 easy for games like Syracuse, Marquette, UConn, Georgetown, Nova etc. . .they haven't of late because the team's been bad and they don't have the community following that Valley schools have.

Put a good team on the floor with the ability to see real good teams, you need a bigger arena. All those schools have either bigger arenas than Bradley or at least access to larger ones in their vicinity.

Sure we draw more than DePaul now. . .but with a good team there and the ability to see big names on a near nightly basis, DePaul has the ability to and likely would draw twice what we can because we do not have the place to do it.

[squirrelgotdead]

The buyout concept would not come into play for a team dropping down to a lower division, only to a school bolting for another D1 conference. Other conferences are adopting them, and I am sure it will be discussed by the MVC, and some form of it will be instituted. Your own example of the WAC is a great example of how the actions of 1 or 2 members can screw everyone else tremendously. Conferences will need the protection. Maybe a team will still be able to pay the buyout, but $5 million dollars can do a lot to keep a conference from folding.

And again, there are always effects from the "law of unintended consequences" with every move. The WAC will survive OK. They will probably just pick off one or 2 additional schools from the WCC or Big West.

I would not expect CU, BU, Illinois State or Wichita to flinch at paying it if a better offer comes along. It's a nice thought, but it isn't much of a deterrent. JMO.

The schools it would deter are the ones who either wouldn't have an offer to go elsewhere, or couldn't afford to pay it when their one opportunity to save themselves by finding another conference home may present itself.

So I can see the bigger and smaller schools both not supporting it.

[JMM28]

I would not expect CU, BU, Illinois State or Wichita to flinch at paying it if a better offer comes along. It's a nice thought, but it isn't much of a deterrent. JMO.

The schools it would deter are the ones who either wouldn't have an offer to go elsewhere, or couldn't afford to pay it when their one opportunity to save themselves by finding another conference home may present itself.

So I can see the bigger and smaller schools both not supporting it.

Looks like Temple is going to CUSA for football only. Probably no difference to the A10, but who knows.

[ph]

Within a few years, the MVC is going to lose some or all of these members to football conferences, either existing or new ones---Ill. State. Wichita, So. Ill., No. Iowa, Ind. St.---Bank on it!! What happens then?? BU better think this through and be prepared.

Exactly. While the MVC may be good for us now, the MVC may not always be like this.

Unfortunately, loyalty is worthless in today's world. An employee's loyality to an employer and a buck will now get you a Coke at McDonalds and an unemployment check. But if you want still want to be 'loyal', then partner with the MVC to talk build relationships with other schools and help grow the MVC. If you seek nothing. That's what you will get.

[BUBrave28]

First of all, the WAC imposed this $5 million penalty to leave the conference and then FSU and Nevada just proved that it's not a deterrent whatsoever! It's like saying the death penalty is a deterrent for crime, it has been shown time and time again that it does nothing! If a school has an offer to move conferences that helps them in the long run, they are going to do it. Period. Universities are much more long run oriented than many businesses and are much more willing and able to take a short term hit to improve their standing in the future as opposed to the status quo.

I also don't buy into the idea that the MVC is the best we can do and we can only hope that it stays in tact and at the level it's currently at. That is the exact sentiment that will leave us standing around wondering what in the hell happened when there are suddenly 8 or 6 teams left in the Valley. Every school should have some sort of contingency plan. The MVC should have one, too.

Reaching out to other schools that have values and similar situations to ours and starting to build that professional relationship and trust is something we need to do. Just because we are feeling out the situation with other schools does not make us any less loyal to the MVC or its members. I would even say it is part of the schools fiduciary duty to do these types of things.

And the notion that it's all about football and we can't do anything about that is also foolish. Certainly we aren't in the conversation about conferences that are making moves because of football. BUT, we aren't alone in that regard. There are plenty of schools in the same boat as us. It's up to us and those similar schools to get our own place at the table and be brought into the overall conversation. If it ends up being 12 team football major conferences, why couldn't we band together with 3 other basketball-only schools and propose a 16-team basketball conference?

Creighton, Butler, Marquette, SLU, DePaul, etc. Why would a major conference not want to add Indy, Omaha, St. Louis, and Peoria to their market?

There are ways to approach this with new, creative ideas. We need to be the ones attempting to secure our future, not waiting to have it decided for us.

[Da Coach]

First of all, the WAC imposed this $5 million penalty to leave the conference and then FSU and Nevada just proved that it's not a deterrent whatsoever! ....

First- the penalty voted on by the WAC was not for a $5 million penalty. The President of University of Nevada have been quoted as saying it was much less than the $5 million, and the WAC Comissioner has been quoted as saying he wished they had made it $5 million. The actual figure may be closer to $2 milllion.

Second- Nevada says they have not yet signed this agreement regarding the penalty, therefore they believe it does not apply to them.-

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3131475

So it is entirely possible that this penalty had something to do with driving Nevada out of the WAC. Again, as I have said before, sometimes things tend to have the opposite consequence that they are intended to have.

And all fans are welcome to their opinions- but maybe you don't remember that this same subject of Bradley realigning with a new conference has been discussed over and over for the past 40+ years. And we are still in the MVC. Here is a little history--
There were a lot of people who pushed for Bradley to leave the MVC and join the Midwest Cities Conference in the early 1980's. If we had listened to those people we would have really screwed ourselves. The MCC eventually morphed into the Horizon League, but it has been an inferior conference to the MVC for the last 30+ years. Many of the original members have moved on to other conferences (5 of them are in the Atlantic-10).
Also, when the MCC/Horizon was originally formed in 1978-1979 Bradley was involved from it's start, but pulled out and remained in the MVC. It's good that they did, as the key schools Bradley was counting on joining- DePaul, Illinois State, Xavier, and Dayton, also did not join the new conference, and Bradley would have been stuck again in an inferior league. -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon_League#Foundation

The admins at Bradley have considered a number of other moves, but none have been very serious, and thankfully, IMO, they continue to realize that the MVC is the right place for Bradley.

[SFP]

Sometimes the best move is to do nothing but not planning for contingencies is never a good move. Back room deals are done all the time and are done on a handshake. If XYZ happens then we do A and if LMN happens we do B and if the staus quo remains then we lost nothing, but to not put all you ducks in a row would be foolish. BU on its own right now is not in a great position but with a coalition of like minded schools then we have something. The MVC is fine but if it stays pat it will never be great. Sorry, to many programs have not put the necessary resources to become an elite basketball conference. I'm sure there are a few other schools out there who feel like they are in the same boat in their conference.