Conference realignment

[Da Coach]

... It's too bad Minnesota only has the one Division 1 school, Minnesota State would fit right in with all the other x-State Universities we have.

For the record, Minnesota now has 2 Division I schools. University of St. Thomas just became the first school to jump from Division III to Division I. and they joined the Summit League for the 2021-22 season, though they are not a realistic candidate for the MVC at this time.

https://spokesman-recorder.com/2021/07/29/tommies-make-the-leap-to-division-i/

U. of St. Thomas dominated their D3 conference in most sports for years, but it is yet to be seen how that success will translate to Division I. I suspect they will struggle for a few years. Since the Summit League does not have football, they have joined the Pioneer League for football. In their first 2 games as a D1 FCS football school, both non-conference games, they defeated Division II Michigan Tech 12-9, and lost to a pretty good Northern Iowa team 44-3.
In other fall sports-
In volleyball, they are 1-9 so far as a D1 school.
In men's soccer, they are 0-6-1.
In women's soccer, they are 2-5-1.

[Fetz86]

Yeah I just found out about them a couple hours after I posted that. D3 to D1 has to be a tough transition

[egib52]

Some potentially big Valley news circulating. Sounds like Belmont might announce intentions to join next week.

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/conference-realignment-mvc-belmont-ovc/

If true, I am sure Murray State isn't far behind if true.

[Big Mike]

I like it if its true.....

[BUfan17]

I would gladly accept Belmont into the MVC, their profile fits in with the rest of the MVC fairly well. Nashville is a large and growing market too. I feel like this is the right way to expand.

[LongTimeFan]

Conferences pursuing Belmont and Murray State.

https://www.williamsonhomepage.com/brentwood/report-belmont-to-join-missouri-valley-conference/article_3ef86903-4c34-5249-974f-9240568988e7.html

[Da Coach]

It does make sense for Belmont and Murray State, and would be good for the MVC, and will likely happen, all the reports on the internet about this story are all based on one source- Matt Brown's post on this ExtraPointsmb.com website
https://www.extrapointsmb.com/confer...c-belmont-ovc/
No official reports or confirmation exist as far as I can find. Every story I can find on the internet reporting this all attribute their information to Matt Brown and his ExtraPointsmb.com website. I hope it's true, but....

He says: "Multiple industry sources confirm to Extra Points that Belmont University is also expected to depart the OVC, and could announce a move to the Missouri Valley Conference as early as next week."

To his credit, Matt Brown has broken a number of stories that have turned out to be true. BUt, he does not reveal who the "multiple industry sources" are who have confirmed this story. One would think that if there are multiple industry sources willing to report such news, why would they only tell Matt Brown? I just find it odd that so far, he is the only source on this.
If anyone can find another source for this news, let us know. Meanwhile, we'll wait until one of the schools or conferences involved actually give some official confirmation.

[BravesWinINStyle]

Things are getting very interesting, Da Coach, and you think something has to give this week. It does have a “calm before the storm” feel. I can’t even think at work since this story broke because this has been on my mind.

I’m really hoping it’s Murray State

[Da Coach]

Maybe we will hear something from the MVC this week, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The MVC historically has been very tight-lipped about expansion plans. Maybe it will be different under new commissioner Jeff Jackson. In any event, the most we might expect is an acknowledgement that the MVC will re-form an expansion committee, similar to in 2013 and 2017. Then it would take months for the evaluations and decisions to be made. The earliest anything might actually happen would be for the 2022-23 season.

The officials at the top of the Missouri Valley have been very quiet about expansion plans since the addition of Valparaiso in May, 2017. But at that time, there were hints there were plans to eventually expand with 2 more schools to reach a total of 12 teams, split into two 6-team divisions.
The same MVC expansion committee that was formed in 2017 with representatives of MVC schools said they were going to continue to meet and would release a report about further expansion. However, nothing further was said publicly.

https://twitter.com/ClifSmart/status/861959323613876226

In 2017, the MVC visited the campuses of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Murray State, and Nebraska-Omaha, in addition to Valparaiso. It was reported that they also were in contact with Belmont, but Belmont told them they were not interested in changing conferences at that time.

https://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/college/msu/2017/05/09/missouri-valley-conference-invites-valparaiso-join-league/101464606/

[Da Coach]

Here is another possible future MVC candidate... University of Southern Indiana, a successful NCAA Division II men's basketball program, is now considering a move to Division I. USI is located in Evansville, Indiana, about 8 miles west of the University of Evansville.

https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/2021/09/27/university-southern-indiana-explore-moving-division-athletics/5889669001/

USI won the 1995 D2 National Championship, and finished runner-up in the 1994 and 2004 D2 NCAA Championships. They also made it to the Final Four in the 2019 D2 Tournament. Since joining NCAA Division II, their overall record is 861-416, and they have made the NCAA Tournament 23 times. They have won the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Championship four times (2005, 2007, 2012, and 2014).
They do not have a football program, so if they do join Division I, they would more likely be courted by a conference like the Summit League.

[KillerB]

Belmont newser called for 1pm tomorrow
Don't know what it's about.. but this could be a pretty good guess.
And I'm pretty sure the Valley will not add just one

[64NIT]

Chatter on the SIU board has Murray State coming to the MVC along with Belmont but, it's just that, chatter.

[Da Coach]

Murray State is considering the MVC, but they are also considering following Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, and Austin Peay and joining the Atlantic Sun Conference, which has grand plans to become an FBS football conference in the future. If they can make that happen, they would get a share of the lucrative FBS football pie.
https://forgotten5.com/2021/01/30/th...-d1-landscape/

I think in the end, they will probably join the MVC.
However, there are also rumors that the MVC is not unanimous on accepting Murray State. The MVC Expansion Committee visited Murray State in 2017, and chose not to extend them an offer to join. There were concerns from some MVC members about the academics, which still persist today.

[Da Coach]

This has been reported for a while, but is now official...
Texas A&M-Commerce (formerly known as East Texas State University) will transition to Division I and join the Southland Conference-

https://lionathletics.com/news/2021/9/28/general-texas-am-university-commerce-accepts-invitation-to-southland-conference.aspx

Texas A&M-Commerce has had very successful sports programs (see article).

[Da Coach]

Another Division II school that reportedly is looking into moving to Division I...
Queens University of Charlotte, NC is reported to be in communication with a some D1 conferences, among them the Atlantic Sun and Colonial Athletic Association, about making the move to Division I and joining a D1 conference.

Last year (2020-21) they were 16-6, and were 1-2 against Division I teams, and in 2019-20 they were 24-7.
Queens University played in last year's Paradise Jam, which was moved from St. Thomas to Washington DC. When the organizers were unable to get enough Division I teams, they added D2 Queens. They lost to George Mason by 1 point, beat Howard University, and lost to Belmont 73-61.

https://queensathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2020-2021