Belmont to Missouri Valley

[Red]

How many at large bids have the rest of the MVC teams received in the last decade?

I'll bite.

Very few MVC at large bids. Probably no Belmont at large bids. But people here are talking like adding
0 + 0 = 1

[VUGrad1314]

Wasn't Belmont the at large in 2019?

Drake did it last year

Other than that the MVC has had nothing in the at large column since Wichita State left. (Northern Iowa came really close in 2020) But I know there were a handful of MVC at larges in the last few years of the Wichita era.

As for Belmont I will reiterate that this is a great add for both school and conference and a massive strength of schedule boost for both (imagine trading non D1s for a Belmont home and home while Belmont trades a bunch of 300+ NET teams for top 200 at minimum teams. It's a win all around especially if Belmont continues to challenge themselves in the non conference. That being said as we Valpo fans found out stepping into the MVC is a whole different animal. It is likely Belmont will struggle even though I believe that the infrastructure is more solidly in place for them to succeed than it was at Valpo (Byrd's handpicked successor is in place keeping the program steady while Valpo hired from the very end of its bench because its top candidates turned the job down and Belmont's facilities are WAY better not to mention they are in a better media market). Belmont will have a stronger schedule and more quality wins\opportunities for quality wins but they will also take more losses. They won't be able to just walk into the finals of their conference tournament anymore. It's a good add but expect more losses if you're a Bruin fan than you're used to and expect some growing pains especially at the start of their MVC tenure. I'm confident they'll get their feet under them in fairly short order though.

But to make this a true grand slam we need to get over ourselves and add Murray State to this conference. They bring so much and they belong here.

[VUGrad1314]

According to Father Harry maintaining Publc\Private balance has been a directive for the new commissioner...

Then why the holdup? We're not going to find a better public add unless we can somehow pull Wichita State back which is very unlikely. If we pass on Murray State to go for some big market public like Milwaukee or Arlington I will be very disappointed. Little Rock I would be okay with but I'd much rather have Murray State. The only other publics on the board I would consider are Northern Kentucky and South Dakota State but there are geographic concerns with both and budgetary concerns with SDSU. They are both way behind Murray State in my pecking order.

https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status ... _&ref_url=

[ColonialBulldog]

https://twitter.com/DaveReynolds2/status/1442885758461911041

Tweet from Dave Reynolds. Academics? Really? I wonder what schools are complaining and coming up with excuses? Cough SIU, Cough Bradley.

Yeah it's really weird that a group of University Presidents would care about *checks notes* academics....

The presidents are the only ones who care. Let’s be honest that the MVC isn’t comprised of elite schools in US News and World Report rankings.

For those who think this makes us a two bid league at a minimum, how many at large bids has Belmont received?

Great question! Belmont has the only at-large bid for the OVC since 1987.

Reality is that the Valley was already getting back to/ trending towards multi-bid status. Adding one of the best mid major programs bolsters the cumulative depth. This pushes the Valley up the food chain for bids, especially as conferences get larger and automatic bids decrease.

[RacerJoeD]

according to Matt Norlander, College Hoops Analyst CBS Sports

"There'd been scuttlebutt about Belmont leaving the OVC for a while. The Q becomes: what about Murray St? It lost to Valpo in getting into the Valley a few years back. The MVC going to 12 and eventually adding Murray should be a no-brainer. A true multi-bid league at that point." (emphasis mine)

[VUGrad1314]

Yeah it's really weird that a group of University Presidents would care about *checks notes* academics....

The presidents are the only ones who care. Let’s be honest that the MVC isn’t comprised of elite schools in US News and World Report rankings.

For those who think this makes us a two bid league at a minimum, how many at large bids has Belmont received?

Great question! Belmont has the only at-large bid for the OVC since 1987.

Reality is that the Valley was already getting back to/ trending towards multi-bid status. Adding one of the best mid major programs bolsters the cumulative depth. This pushes the Valley up the food chain for bids, especially as conferences get larger and automatic bids decrease.

Murray State still helps us in that mission though. It would push us even further up the food chain in a way other realistic adds would not.

according to Matt Norlander, College Hoops Analyst CBS Sports

"There'd been scuttlebutt about Belmont leaving the OVC for a while. The Q becomes: what about Murray St? It lost to Valpo in getting into the Valley a few years back. The MVC going to 12 and eventually adding Murray should be a no-brainer. A true multi-bid league at that point." (emphasis mine)

Absolutely! No argument here. Makes too much sense on both sides not to happen. I think the MVC's mission is twofold:

1. Multiple bids

2. Possibly (though unlikely) coaxing Wichita State back into the conference if they have no other alternative. I still think they either stay in the AAC (assuming the AAC can pull together enough basketball quality and the reports that they might be able to poach some Mountain West schools make that feel more likely than it did before or end up in the Mountain West alongside Gonzaga. The two schools rumored to be leaving are Air Force and Colorado State. Ditching Air Force's program is a win for MWC basketball but losing CSU hurts a little as Medved really has them moving in the right direction. Boise State might still be a candidate for the Big XII as well. Losing one or both would hurt the depth of the MWC which of course helps the MVC.

Adding Murray State would help us with both. Especially if the MWC is losing a quality basketball program. Adding Murray State alongside Belmont would help us potentially put some distance between us and the MWC who is probably our most direct competitor right now for at large bids.

[VUGrad1314]

According to the first post of page 10 of this thread that I have linked the academic argument is bunk. I hope the MVC presidents read and understand this and vote accordingly. Murray State is in the middle of the pack of the MVC in admissions standards not far off from everyone but the top 3 (LUC Bradley and Drake)


https://csnbbs.com/thread-930417-page-10.html

[RacerJoeD]

I truly believe that while Murray would give up an easy path to auto bids, I think it absolutely would increase the level of play of my Racers and increase the number of bids for the MVC. In fact, I think there is a very real shot that my Racers end up in the NCAA tourney just about as often as they do now. And when they get there, maybe there will be a seed far more fitting the team’s performance.

[letsgoAces]

Wasn't Belmont the at large in 2019?

Drake did it last year

Other than that the MVC has had nothing in the at large column since Wichita State left. (Northern Iowa came really close in 2020) But I know there were a handful of MVC at larges in the last few years of the Wichita era.

As for Belmont I will reiterate that this is a great add for both school and conference and a massive strength of schedule boost for both (imagine trading non D1s for a Belmont home and home while Belmont trades a bunch of 300+ NET teams for top 200 at minimum teams. It's a win all around especially if Belmont continues to challenge themselves in the non conference. That being said as we Valpo fans found out stepping into the MVC is a whole different animal. It is likely Belmont will struggle even though I believe that the infrastructure is more solidly in place for them to succeed than it was at Valpo (Byrd's handpicked successor is in place keeping the program steady while Valpo hired from the very end of its bench because its top candidates turned the job down and Belmont's facilities are WAY better not to mention they are in a better media market). Belmont will have a stronger schedule and more quality wins\opportunities for quality wins but they will also take more losses. They won't be able to just walk into the finals of their conference tournament anymore. It's a good add but expect more losses if you're a Bruin fan than you're used to and expect some growing pains especially at the start of their MVC tenure. I'm confident they'll get their feet under them in fairly short order though.

But to make this a true grand slam we need to get over ourselves and add Murray State to this conference. They bring so much and they belong here.

Excellent post!!!! Completely agree. Could not have said any of this better

[BCPanther]

Why the AAC isn't pushing for New Mexico makes no sense to me. Major market, basketball tradition, lots of cash.

I think that Boise and Memphis both end up in the Big 12 which is a big ding to both the MW and AAC at the same time. NDSU ends up in the Mountain West which is fine for football but they don't bring much on the basketball side.

I still think we end up at 14. Arlington and Little Rock are about to be homeless and markets are just too attractive to not bring in. I think 14 comes down to Murray and a newly orphaned South Dakota State and, to me, I go South Dakota State simply because of the massive money they've put into facilities. Look at their new performance center and check out the arena renovation they're doing plus Sioux Falls brings more in terms of market than Murray/Paducah.

https://www.backthejacks.com/capital-pr ... allery-2-1