Loyola Leaving for A-10

[Bulldog2323]

I think the Valley will stay at 10 for the next two seasons. When the TV deal comes up at the end of 2023-2024, money will be used to get Murray State in and by that point Kansas City will be begging us to join.

UT-Arlington is better off in the Sun Belt now where they are.

I also do not see Missouri State leaving anytime soon. They may want to but I do not see any upsides in any other conference taking them.

Part of Kansas City's application for membership is they would go back to Municipal Hall full time. Right now I'm guessing they are staying on campus as much as possible due to COVID.

Neither Kansas City nor UT Arlington have football.

[BearsCountry]

MVFC needs to go Legends and Leaders like the B1G did at first to balance things out... But they won't because of travel budgets.

Valley Division - Missouri St, UNI, Illinois St, Indiana St, Southern Illinois, Murray St
Summit Division - NDSU, SDSU, USD, UND, Western Illinois, Youngstown St

[TheDrake]

People who care about FCS football should make another thread to talk about it. Or another board.

Loyola was UMKC before they moved to the Valley and decided to spend money. If the Roo’s make a commitment to do the same they could be a good add

[SalukiWorld]

People who care about FCS football should make another thread to talk about it. Or another board.

Loyola was UMKC before they moved to the Valley and decided to spend money. If the Roo’s make a commitment to do the same they could be a good add

Loyola had a National Championship in the 60's, UMKC has never, ever made an NCAA Tournament. They're not remotely similar.

[Kyle_Saluki_17]

I also do not see Missouri State leaving anytime soon. They may want to but I do not see any upsides in any other conference taking them.

Aside from a few fans opinions, it always made sense for Loyola to be a more attractive target for a higher league expanding than Missouri State. Market, no need for FCS-->FBS upgrade, and actual success on the court are obvious advantages Loyola had. Missouri State could still be next, but this shows the difference in what is really going on vs. what certain fans think is going on.

[VUGrad1314]

I had thought that this was a possibility ever since Loyola's investment and success became obvious. As I said before it's easy to say no midwestern adds when there isn't a perfect institutional fit school that is absolutely killing it in Chicago. This just felt like a matter of time. Loyola has been and is rapidly outgrowing the MVC this was and is the next logical step in their progression as a program. Good luck and God bless them. Thank you for all of the success and memories. Please give us one final sendoff before you go though!

As for the post-Loyola adds I love the idea of Murray State to give us some (after this news much needed) basketball punch but I really don't like the idea of Arlington and Kansas City. They are wonderful institutions have terrific academic profiles but they bring nothing to athletics. I know as a Valpo fan I shouldn't be throwing stones at schools who bring "nothing to athletics" but they have a lesser profile than even we had when we were joining. I would much rather have seen the MVC roll the dice on a Milwaukee or a Wright State\NKU combo. They at least have shown some ability. It is funny though that we were once in a conference with Kansas City and now we might be again. I just think that there were and are better options for the MVC if they really wanted to be in bigger markets.

[BCPanther]

I think the Valley will stay at 10 for the next two seasons. When the TV deal comes up at the end of 2023-2024, money will be used to get Murray State in and by that point Kansas City will be begging us to join.

UT-Arlington is better off in the Sun Belt now where they are.

I also do not see Missouri State leaving anytime soon. They may want to but I do not see any upsides in any other conference taking them.

Part of Kansas City's application for membership is they would go back to Municipal Hall full time. Right now I'm guessing they are staying on campus as much as possible due to COVID.

Neither Kansas City nor UT Arlington have football.

Arlington is getting informally kicked out of the Sun Belt because they don't have football.

Anything that gets us into Texas is a good thing for our universities and athletic programs as a whole.

[LMS]

Omaha wouldn’t be a terrible addition. Just saying.

[unipanther99]

Omaha wouldn’t be a terrible addition. Just saying.

If we're just spit-balling at recent D-2 converts in major markets, I'd rather go with St. Thomas.

But no reason to be in a hurry about either of those programs.

[TheDrake]

People who care about FCS football should make another thread to talk about it. Or another board.

Loyola was UMKC before they moved to the Valley and decided to spend money. If the Roo’s make a commitment to do the same they could be a good add

Loyola had a National Championship in the 60's, UMKC has never, ever made an NCAA Tournament. They're not remotely similar.

I'm aware that Loyola had a championship before the grandparents of some of today's recruits were born.

I was speaking more to the fact that when they joined the valley they'd been a terrible basketball program for decades with a minute fan base in a large metropolitan area.