Realignment of the Missouri Valley Conference

[tornado]

Just one fan's opinion, but if we have to add a member - then let's go for a big change ....
and make the MVC a mid-major conference that is bigger & stronger and gets headlines!

If one of the MVC members leaves, then I say add at least THREE MORE and split into Conference Divisions
based on geography with either 6, 7 or 8 teams in each Division!

East Division of MVC
Evansville
Indiana State
Valparaiso
SIU
Loyola
Belmont, Oakland, Milwaukee, Middle Tennessee, Akron and/or Green Bay - whichever works best given other sports as well

West Division of MVC
ISU
Bradley
UNI
Drake
Missouri State
SLU, North Dakota State, UMKC and/or South Dakota -- whichever works out best (or maybe FGCU or UC-Davis )

Then all scheduling is home & home within division, with at least one game vs. each opposite division team - keeping any & all long time rivalries in mind..

[wily coyote]

Just one fan's opinion, but if we have to add a member - then let's go for a big change ....
and make the MVC a mid-major conference that is bigger & stronger and gets headlines!

If one of the MVC members leaves, then I say add at least THREE MORE and split into Conference Divisions
based on geography with either 6, 7 or 8 teams in each Division!

East Division of MVC
Evansville
Indiana State
Valparaiso
SIU
Loyola
Belmont, Oakland, Milwaukee, Middle Tennessee, Akron and/or Green Bay - whichever works best given other sports as well

West Division of MVC
ISU
Bradley
UNI
Drake
Missouri State
SLU, North Dakota State, UMKC and/or South Dakota -- whichever works out best (or maybe FGCU or UC-Davis )

Then all scheduling is home & home within division, with at least one game vs. each opposite division team - keeping any & all long time rivalries in mind..

Like your idea can you make it happen.

[LongTimeFan]

The problem is getting the ones we would want interested in joining the MVC. Some of these were mentioned the last time we needed to add a new school.

[tornado]

Well, as every conference does - using FB, revenue, bigger crowds, more TV contracts...

EVERY conference USES their strong suit...


If the MVC has strong suits, then certainly they are...

-We are bigger and regularly better than the Horizon, OVC & Summit
-More revenue than those conferences
-More attendance - especially at the Tourney -
-more recruiting prowess, bigger recruiting budgets
-Generally the cities are larger and media coverage better (certainly better than a Martin, TN, Edwardsville, IL or Vermillion, South Dakota!
-history, legacy, and reputation
-we put way more players into the NBA and pros over the years than those smaller conferences
-the MVC "graduates" far more coaches up to Big Conference positions on a pretty regular basis

Hope Doug Elgin is on the phone and using all those reasons to lure some candidates to be the next MVC member.

[carter]

Is it a done deal that Whitcha St will not be in the MVC next year?

[tornado]

no, but some are talking as if it is a done deal just waiting for the announcment

[Vent]

I would say merge with the Horizon and go to divisional play. I don't believe any of the schools in the Horizon play football at the level of the MVFC. This would protect Bradley, Drake, Evansville and Loyola in the event any of theschools that play football in the MVFC, make an eventual move to the FBS. You would also be adding some private schools.

[wizard1]

Realignment.....

T....I cannot agree with your suggestion at all. This would weaken the MVC. I stand by my earlier post regarding the need for establishing and enforcing stronger standards for MVC members. If WSU leaves, the only 2schools on your suggestion that would be OK with me are St.L and Valpo. I still would support an 8 member conference after encouraging Evansville to leave but if it must be 10, add St.L and Valpo.
Wiz

[tornado]

Eat or be eaten

[Da Coach]

IMO, the MVC has declined enough in the last 4-5 years, that we don't want to do anything that would drag it down even more.
And other than Valparaiso, and maybe Oakland, the other teams in the Horizon are below the average level of MVC teams.

And here are the attendance figures for this year in the Horizon. Only 1 team averaged over 3100 attendance,
and their league average is about half of the MVC's, and their top attendance team would rank 8th in the MVC!
All but 2 of the 10 Horizon League schools are large state schools, yet basketball doesn't seem to be important to them.
Is this what you want?



Here are the MVC teams' attendance. Only 2 are significantly below 4000- one of them is the poor-drawing Loyola
that the MVC added in 2013 when Creighton (who averaged 16,000+) left, and the other is Drake, which has dropped
due to many poor years. Yet, even with the decline in attendance in recent years, basketball is still a more important
sport in the MVC with better fan following and a lot higher national respect level.

[tornado]

so attendance is the factor we should use over strength of their basketball program or their historical success in recent
Then why did we pick Loyola, whose attendance was 1/3 that of Valpo or Green Bay?

Heck, when Joanne Glasser & Mike Cross flew out east to try to beg a spot in the newly forming Big East a few years ago (2012-13 when we were still drawing 9,000-10,000) - those were the factors they looked at and we didn't make the cut..

[Da Coach]

I never said attendance should be the #1 factor, but it needs to be considered. Otherwise, just add Quincy or Lewis. They draw well. All factors should be looked at.
And the effort to try to interest the Big East in Bradley was a complete joke. Enough said.
But when the MVC added Loyola for the 2013-14 season, I was not a big fan of that choice, mainly because of how low their attendance was. Everyone said it would get better when they joined the MVC, but it actually got worse, even in these last couple seasons when the teams have gotten better.
But the only 2 finalists were UIC and Loyola because the MVC wanted a Chicago team, and they picked Loyola to maintain 4 private schools in the league.
This season they averaged 1,872 per game, 1,000 less than the next worst Drake, and almost 4,000 less than Bradley.

[Vent]

The conferences Wichita is considering joining are represented in the NCAA and NIT as follows: American Athletic: NCAA 2, NIT 2 Mountain West: NCAA 1, NIT 3

Even the Horizon League is better represented than the Valley: NCAA 1, NIT 2

This is just one year but the Valley is going in the wrong direction.

[Da Coach]

Sports Illustrated seems to think Wichita State to the AAC is a done deal

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/03/16/wichita-state-conference-realignment-american-athletic

[tornado]

no, but some are talking as if it is a done deal just waiting for the announcment

It is being reported by Shocker fans that ESPN's &CBSSports' Doug Gottleib said this on a radio show
"..he has heard WSU to the AAC in 18-19 season.."
***

also reportedly tweeted something similar..