The Arch Madness bracket is official

[Stryker]

I think I'd prefer to add another team for next season, despite the nice round robin schedule with 11 teams. If the MVC wants any shot at relativity going forward it should be doing everything possible to add a quality program or really, multiple programs to the conference going forward.

[egib52]

I think I'd prefer to add another team for next season, despite the nice round robin schedule with 11 teams. If the MVC wants any shot at relativity going forward it should be doing everything possible to add a quality program or really, multiple programs to the conference going forward.

We could always kick out an underperforming team

[Da Coach]

We could always kick out an underperforming team

That might do more good than adding another team, IMO. But it won't happen.
What mid-major program(s) would significantly improve the MVC and would want to join?
There would be no shortage of schools who would apply, but it would look like a list of Summit, Horizon, & OVC conference schools. There are a couple that might be OK, but I don't see any that would be great additions.
In the last 12 years, the MVC has added Loyola, Valparaiso, UIC, Belmont, and Murray State. After a few years of mediocrity, Loyola turned out good for the MVC. Belmont is a good choice for most sports, and is a terrific basketball program, even if they draw far less than 2,000 attendance. Murray State is OK, but the jury is still out on UIC.
And Valpo has been a major disappointment. I can't blame the MVC for trying with Valpo. They dominated the Horizon for many years before they switched. And the MVC felt like they needed to replace Loyola with a Chicago area school in 2017.
But, check their records - https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...alparaiso/men/
This is their 8th season in the MVC, and they have never had a winning conference record, and have played on Thursday in all 8 years in the tournament.
I hope things are on the upswing under Roger Powell, but, the MVC can't afford to add another perpetual loser.

[tomahawk chop]

I guess the no. 1 question would be who is interested and who is a good fit. I wish the Valley could add 3 decent teams which I would hope they would be more relevant moving forward.

[yoda]

I guess the no. 1 question would be who is interested and who is a good fit.

There’s one school that wanted in each of the last couple times but it might affect our “pipeline”

personally, I don’t want them. They crossed the line some 20 yrs ago, cheating, tampering with our player, lied about it and their sleazy staff has gone on from then to commit even worse, sleazier violations- and I have a long enough memory that I can’t forget.

[Bradley8792]

Is the MVC just a stepping stone to a bigger/better conference? Should Bradley be looking for something else?

[Tommy]

Is the MVC just a stepping stone to a bigger/better conference? Should Bradley be looking for something else?

Boy, I sure hope not. I consider the MVC the BU conference! And honestly, without a football program, I’m not sure where we’d go.

[Da Coach]

There’s one school that wanted in each of the last couple times but it might affect our “pipeline”

Milwaukee might be one of the better choices of the mid-major schools that would be considered.
After years of mediocrity under Rob Jeter, LaVall Jordan, and Pat Baldwin, they are now relevant again.
This is Bart Lundy's third season at Milwaukee, and he's won 20+ games each season, and this season they have the best NET of any Horizon team. Their NET is 127, and no other Horizon League team is better than 150.
Historical record- https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...milwaukee/men/

[Mikovio]

The only plausible conference to move to would be the A-10, but they’re hardly a step up. They struggle to get 2 bids and have 14 teams, so the revenue pie is split a lot of ways.