Our League is Braindead

[valleydays]

It’s happened twice. The OVC was founded in 1948. And it’s happened twice. I’m not a big gambler, but the odds sure don’t seem in favor of it happening again any time soon.

And a conference is a means to an end. The end is that our program is successful, respected, serves as a great advertisement for our university, is a point of unifying pride among our community, our alumni, and our students. The means in this case is to join a group of like-minded programs who see investment into quality basketball as a good way to achieve the ends stated, while understanding the existential threat posed by a power structure that wishes to distill college athletics into a single, large school, money machine that neglects the smaller, locally and regionally focused schools, despite a greater level of success.

We currently do not have a group of like minded schools working towards a common goal.

You bring up two schools that are a type of model for overarching success for MMs; Gonzaga and Butler.

Gonzaga has chosen to stay in the WCC and the WCC has invested in being better than they were 30 years ago. Their reward is that St Mary’s is a quality program, San Francisco has had success, Pacific, Santa Clara, Pepperdine and Portland have all gotten better. So much so that the conference has added BYU, a good program in their own right.

Butler took a very different road. After being suspect in the years between 1963 and 1996, they seized upon success, used it as a tool for engaging their school and community, and moved up to more difficult conferences as it fit their goals. They Grew with the MCC (later the Horizon) and when the opportunity to advance they took it.

There is no fool proof recipe for success. For every Butler there is a DePaul. But a program has to not get complacent. You have to push, to challenge, for growth to occur. In today’s college basketball world, you either grow or die. There is no third option.

I'm just not so sure the MVC with its "We're satisfied with 10, don't touch our pie" attitude is the path to growth anymore.

[RacerJoeD]

It very well might not be. But having been in the OVC for 70 years, beginning as a founding member, I don’t think the OVC is either. So you push for change and keep pushing until change happens.

[Bulldog2323]

Until CBS decides to stop broadcasting the Arch Madness title game, no change will happen.

[BCPanther]

Until CBS decides to stop broadcasting the Arch Madness title game, no change will happen.

Well, we're locked in through 2028 at this point, so....

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Until CBS decides to stop broadcasting the Arch Madness title game, no change will happen.

Well, we're locked in through 2028 at this point, so....

Then they need to be replaced with someone who will not be a puppet. Murray State is a potential Sweet 16 team with a top 5 draft pick that has been consistently good, even garnering a top 5 ranking in the country relatively recently. They are about as close to a home run as the MVC will ever get. If anyone can't see that they are part of the problem.

[Redbirds4Life]

Until CBS decides to stop broadcasting the Arch Madness title game, no change will happen.

Well, we're locked in through 2028 at this point, so....

Then they need to be replaced with someone who will not be a puppet. Murray State is a potential Sweet 16 team with a top 5 draft pick that has been consistently good, even garnering a top 5 ranking in the country relatively recently. They are about as close to a home run as the MVC will ever get. If anyone can't see that they are part of the problem.

but I have no faith in our league anymore.

[VUGrad1314]

The Missouri Valley Conference will collect $1.4 million in April and at least $8.45 million total from what Loyola University Chicago earned during its stunning run with Sister Jean to the 2018 Final Four. The conference is still cashing in from Wichita State’s Final Four in 2013 as well as Creighton’s recent NCAA appearances. Wichita State (American Athletic Conference) and Creighton (Big East) have both left the Missouri Valley, ripple effects from Power Five expansion. Elgin provided AP with MVC financial projections that show annual unit revenue falling from nearly $7.2 million in 2019 to $2.6 million in 2025.

The MVC hopes to cushion some of that fall through NCAA changes that will redirect a small percentage of money toward academic targets.

Conferences such as the Atlantic 10, Conference USA and the Mountain West could be in a similar situation. They regularly sent multiple teams to the tournament, recently their bids have dwindled and soon, so will their payouts.


And the MVC refused to add Murray State why again?

Full article here: https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2019/03/26/m ... a-payouts/

[MissouriValleyUnite]

In one interview, Elgin calls for expansion to 80. In another, he publicly(!) reveals his league expects one annual NCAA unit once 2025 rolls around and is instead eyeing the APR pot — while griping about the growing gap between P6 and mid-majors.

For the weakest iteration of the league ever, this is pretty meek, uninspiring leadership. Still no hints of self-evaluation and what/who could make the league better. Just acceptance of fate in a year 4 peer leagues earned an at-large bid.

OVC must be throwing a party over the free money the MVC has printed them.