WCC Making Scheduling Changes To Increase At-Large Chances

[VUGrad1314]

Here's why that move mattered for the MVC:

The MVC barely edged out the Gonzagaless MWC in RPI and has struggled in recent years to get at-large bids. As things stand right now, the leagues are roughly comparable. Add Gonzaga to the MWC and the MVC has even less room to breathe in the at-large landscape because the MWC becomes a surefire 2-4 bid league every year. The need for the MVC to act to get better would become even more pressing lest it be left behind and further ignored by the committee.

[Mikovio]

Zags going to MWC would be good because we'd get games against them in the MVC-MWC challenge, helping our collective RPI. Looking at the bids-available picture, it has the potential to be bad because the WCC would keep sending one team (this year, St Marys probably) and the MWC would typically get another in the Zags. This year it would've squeezed out one less bid. I guess it depends.

[BCPanther]

I'd add South Dakota State to the Valley today but I don't think they can separate from everybody else for political reasons. They've also not made FCS Football the end all and be all that their neighbors to the north have.

They're by far and away the most consistently successful across all programs of the Dakotas and are an easy travel partner for Drake or UNI for VB and WBB if you add Murray in the south.

SDSU/Drake--4.5 Hours
UNI/Bradley--3.5 Hours
Illinois State/Indiana State--2.5 Hours
Loyola/Valpo--1 Hour
Evansville/Murray--2.5 Hours
SIU/MSU--5.5 Hours--There's just no way around this one, no matter how much it sucks.

[VUGrad1314]

Yeah... It's such a shame that Belmont won't wake up SLU won't come off it and Oral Roberts and Little Rock are terrible. I imagine interest in South Dakota has cooled following Craig Smith's departure for Utah State. I'm a bit concerned about SDSU after Daum but Otzelberger is a pretty good coach who should keep the program in decent shape.

[TheAsianSensation]

I think Gonzaga moving would be neutral to the MVC's chances at an at-large bid. MWC should frankly be good enough to be multi-bid with or without Gonzaga. And it's not like they're taking a bid from us directly, they're taking one of the 32 or so P6 bids.

These WCC changes are going to backfire, bigtime. I would NOT trust anyone else in that conference to schedule responsibly with their 2 extra non-con games, everyone's profile is going to get hurt. Gonzaga gains because they can schedule 2 more quality opponents, though. The WCC has hurt themselves overall purely just to keep Gonzaga (and you can't blame them, frankly). Everyone else's RPI is going to go down while Gonzaga's goes up (maybe BYU can do something with the schedule change as well).

But in 3 years when the WCC consistently winds up 13th or 14th in CRPI, it'll just be that much easier for Gonzaga to leave then. Just in time for the next wave of realignment in the mid 2020s. Remember, Wichita was looking around casually for a couple years before the AAC thing worked out. This year was just Gonzaga planting the seeds, and they'll enjoy their crops in a couple years time.

[VUGrad1314]

Where do you see Gonzaga ultimately ending up? Also how do you think the upcoming wave of realignment will affect the MVC?

[TheAsianSensation]

Where do you see Gonzaga ultimately ending up? Also how do you think the upcoming wave of realignment will affect the MVC?

Either MWC or some new western wing of a AAC. Either way they move up to a conference that has much deeper pockets.

MVC controls its own fate in realignment. Up to us to prove we belong on the same tier as the A-10 and MWC. If we do, we position ourselves to grab a couple teams who are ready to move up in a few years (and Murray St of course). If we fail, our best teams will continue to look for escape hatches outta here.

[squirrel]

Smith's contract is 5 yr/$3.5M to start. That's a baseline of $700K for a peer conference. (Albeit one with FBS football).

[VUGrad1314]

Rumors abound of P5 conferences employing 20 game conference schedules. The Big 10 will start this coming year with the ACC following suit next year. Now it's come out that the PAC 12 is also considering this model for 2019. Even the Big East has considered adding a team and going to 20 games. I think it's safe to say that the scheduling benefits Gonzaga will enjoy from the WCC's great capitulation will be short-lived, leaving Gonzaga to ask themselves how much money is enough to forestall moving to a better conference? I think they're outta there by 2020 especially if the TV networks get in their ear about moving.

[uniguy]

That may be true, but Gonzaga isn't really a true mid-major anymore. Their reputation is such that they don't have trouble finding teams willing to play them like most MVC teams do. So I think they'll be fine whatever they choose.

My bigger concern is that going to a 20 game schedule is another move that stacks the deck even harder against the mid-majors, which is becoming an annual tradition these days.