Creighton and Evansville to leave the MVC

[TheAsianSensation]

Bradley has been the better and more prominent basketball school (between CU & BU) for the better part of 100 years (I haven't been around that long but I have studied the past!)
...but in the past few years, now....
Creighton is headed to a bigger and better conference and we're down 4K in attendance and not being invited anywhere -
I am not laughing about it.....I think it hurts...

That is the depressing part about all this: actual on-court performance helps, but if enough other things are against you, it doesn't matter. And history means nothing anymore.

Bradley has disadvantages on the national radar (market, location) that means that Bradley has to significantly outperform the likes of Creighton, Wichita, St Louis, et al, in order to be the better overall option in realignment.

[Bravesfan]

That is the depressing part about all this: actual on-court performance helps, but if enough other things are against you, it doesn't matter. And history means nothing anymore.

Bradley has disadvantages on the national radar (market, location) that means that Bradley has to significantly outperform the likes of Creighton, Wichita, St Louis, et al, in order to be the better overall option in realignment.

That's what myself and others have been saying. Short of 6 Valley championships and 6 NCAA Tournament appearances over the past decade, there's no way Bradley would be invited to this new conference. And even if they did win the Valley regularly, that still probably wouldn't be enough. That's why all the discussion about Bradley's on court performance over the past few years is probably a waste of time anyway.

That's why I would rather look for more logical teams to fill in any possible opening in the Valley than worry about us being invited to this new conference. It ain't going happen, and I would rather see Bradley being the king of a smaller conference than becoming a bottom feeder in the newer conference, and making a decision that they may regret later on.

[tornado]

a lot of the changes and moves that led to the 8447 were not made by the people who are no longer there -- and actually 8447 will be a pipe dream Monday & Wed...

[OrangeandBlack74]

a lot of the changes and moves that led to the 8447 were not made by the people who are no longer there -- and actually 8447 will be a pipe dream Monday & Wed...

OK, we get it...attendance is down. There are probably a number of reasons why, including the change in head coach.

But, the attendance issue is NOT going to impact what happens to BU with respect to conference affiliation. We are not going to be a player in the new Catholic conference, and it remains to be seen if there will be any other movement in the MVC or other potential mid-major conference.

[tornado]

so you think all this downer stuff woulda happened anyway?

[lake Camelot]

so you think all this downer stuff woulda happened anyway?

Can you clarify what you mean? If you mean attendance by downer stuff. Then I would say it had already happened.

[Braves4Life]

Can you clarify what you mean? If you mean attendance by downer stuff. Then I would say it had already happened.

And because it had happened, and was happening, changes HAD to be made. Our "Fallout" of today (if that's what the naysayers want to call it) is a direct result of the BU Administration's failed policies and lack of attention to the men's basketball program for the past thirty plus years. BU got left behind the rest of the basketball world by being slow to react during the 1970's.

[DeltaBrave03]

Bradley has been the better and more prominent basketball school (between CU & BU) for the better part of 100 years (I haven't been around that long but I have studied the past!)
...but in the past few years, now....
Creighton is headed to a bigger and better conference and we're down 4K in attendance and not being invited anywhere -
I am not laughing about it.....I think it hurts...

So instead of taking corrective action we should have just let the trend continue? Some of us who get labeled anti-JL don't like to waste time wondering what could have been, and would rather move on and look forward, the past is gone, JL is gone, Geno is here, BU will be in a vastly new conference in a few years with probably lesser competition and absolutely none of that will have anything to do with whether or not JL or GF was coach.

[Gary the Gargoyle]

Bradley would not be in the discussion regardless. Creighton has a better basketball program. They have committed more resources for the past few decades. Previous admins at Bradley could have put Bradley in position for this but nothing was going to change in the past 2 or 3 years.

Creighton has been more successful over the past 10 years and now has a recognizable brand. They also have the Jesuit affiliation with many of the schools. The Omaha market is also a top 75 tv market. Peoria is somewhere around 115-120.

Keep in mind that Bradley is in the 116th largest TV market in the country, and shares it with a large state university. Since 25%-30% of the DMA comes from Bloomington-Normal, Bradley's TV market is even less relevant.

[bake]

BU to the catholic 7

Other than obvious why not BU to the C7?

[thefish7]

Other than obvious why not BU to the C7?

Depends on how many and in what regions the C7 are looking for. If they want their conference to end at Creighton and want 16+ members, then we could be in. I think it's incredibly unlikely.

[srw]

whatever decision is made will be perhaps the single most important move made within our athletic department in 75 years...
Given how our teams are doing poorly, attendance is way, way down, and there's been a massive turnover everywhere - are we capable of making yet another decision that's 1000 times the magnitude of all the ones that are backfiring?

The mens hire isnt backfiring in the least.

[wily coyote]

The mens hire isnt backfiring in the least.

Agree that is just plain crazy to think it is. This movement would have happened wheather we had JL or GF.lol

[BUFanatic]

Other than obvious why not BU to the C7?

Hey! St. Mark's is right on the corner A little talk to the Bishop, a little covenant signed, bada bing bada boom, Catholic endowment