Sounds like Wichita St to the AAC... Who gets an Invite?

[Dean Wormer]

I don't see the Dakota schools leaving the Summit League:
1.) They OWN that conference; it revolves around them.
2.) They've just got the Univ of North Dakota back ("The band is back together again.")
3.) I'm not sure that the benefits of a move to the MVC substantially outweigh the disadvantages- they really like having the BB tournament in Sioux Falls vs. a trip to St. Louis.

Does UIC gain a lot institutionally by switching from the Horizon? The MVC is the 12th rated conference; Horizon is 18th. That is a step up. Is it enough to justify changing a conference? Will they receive tons more money? If not, they would probably stay put.

I have to believe that UMKC would gladly swap the WAC for the MVC. And their basketball is on the upswing. I think they would take a phone call from Doug Elgin.

1) WSU OWNS the Valley. Why should they move? Uh...to become a higher profile University.
2) And the MVFC just added UND as well...so the Dakotas are ALL IN on the MVFC.
3) There is a whole big world outside of Sioux Falls...and a lot more exposure for their Universities!

UIC would jump at the chance to join the Valley. Way better long term choice than Valpo...but not the best choice right now.

Yes..UMKC would jump at the chance to join...but so would Omaha. Question is does the Valley
add 1 or 3. If 3 these schools are in the discussion.

I don't agree with the UIC being a long term better choice than Valpo. Historically, Valpo has been competitive in every league they play in. Better name recognition, and would at least get recognition and media attention in the NW part of Indiana. UIC is farther down the media pecking order in Chicago than Loyola. The problem with the urban hyphens is they are typically behind another program in that market...UW-Milwaukee behind Marquette, Omaha behind Creighton ( we certainly don't want that), etc One urban hyphen that might be appealing is Ft. Wayne. They could own a decent size market, and play in a 10K seat arena. The attendance is still light, but better a conference could improve that, and they did sell out for the Indiana game. I would rather add a completely new market like Ft. Wayne than add an after thought in a larger one.

[Redhawk]

I don't agree with the UIC being a long term better choice than Valpo.

For the record...I think UIC is way down the list of choices if we add only one school.
There are however only 3 growing and prospering Public Universities in Illinois....
UofI, ISU and UIC.

Not real high on Valpo or the NW Indiana market for that matter.
Valpo would be another Evansville in the Valley. Small university,
small market, small budget, small arena, small, small, small....the Valley needs BIG!

[tribecalledquest]

I don't agree with the UIC being a long term better choice than Valpo.

For the record...I think UIC is way down the list of choices if we add only one school.
There are however only 3 growing and prospering Public Universities in Illinois....
UofI, ISU and UIC.

Not real high on Valpo or the NW Indiana market for that matter.
Valpo would be another Evansville in the Valley. Small university,
small market, small budget, small arena, small, small, small....the Valley needs BIG!

Unless there is a super compelling reason I think the league would and should stay at 10 teams.

I actually think Northern Kentucky is an interesting option.

[TheAsianSensation]

Likelihood of candidates turning down the MVC:

NDSU/SDSU - it's possible. They did just bring the fourth Dakota back into the fold, and they own the Summit. However, the MVC is a step up in basketball, and if they wanted to be big fish/small pond, why just not stay in D2 to begin with? I think they lean towards yes in that scenario. But it's certainly a debate.

Belmont - being a modest geographical outlier, and running things pretty well in the OVC, I could see it.

Murray St - just because they might not be able to find a home for their football, and the logistics might be too weird.

Also, anyone can turn down using the Air Force Rationale: "We can't compete budget-wise and recruitment-wise with the MVC, so we won't try".

Other than that....everyone's running, not walking, to the MVC, period.

[ACECARD]

I don't agree with the UIC being a long term better choice than Valpo.

For the record...I think UIC is way down the list of choices if we add only one school.
There are however only 3 growing and prospering Public Universities in Illinois....
UofI, ISU and UIC.

Not real high on Valpo or the NW Indiana market for that matter.
Valpo would be another Evansville in the Valley. Small university,
small market, small budget, small arena, small, small, small....the Valley needs BIG!

Just for reference Valpo is twice as big as UE. The town is 1/4th the size of Evansville, and approximately 45 miles from downtown Chicago. I doubt that they would get that much play from Chicago area.

[uniftw]

The issue with the Dakota's is that is kills the Summit.

You can say "Who cares" but the reality is that they are on the edge of losing their autobids right now anyway to how many schools sponsor each sport and the number of sports the conference sponsors to maintain their bids.

If SDSU and NDSU leave The Summit collapses. The issue? Where do the other MVFC schools land? Does the rest of the Summit end up in the WAC and keep football in the MVFC? That's possible but not ideal. Travel budgets for the WAC would be painful in that situation. If the MVFC is compromised then the whole thing restarts again.

UND being added wasn't a "getting the band" back together thing. None of the Dakota's really wanted UND back, but "had" to vote for them as a PR thing. UND screwed themselves when they moved up with USD. They took a very "better than the Summit/MVFC" approach and went to the Big Sky (ROFL on all accounts). They've had their athletic budget about $2 million last year and this coming year. They were going bankrupt with how they do things. They've cut sports. They weaseled their way into the Summit/MVFC as a money saving issue.

I also have a hard time seeing the state of SD let SDSU leave USD. The state also has a ton of constraints for funding/coaches contracts that worry me. They only allow like 2 year contracts, or something like that. Their new football stadium and IPF also drained a ton of funding for the shorter term.

NDSU seems to have no interest in leaving their "ideal" set up with how the Summit is set up currently. SDSU is likely very willing, but they seem to be "partnered" with NDSU going back to the D2 days and moving to D1.

I think going to 12 with NDSU, SDSU and one of Belmont/Valpo/Murray State is the right option. There are just a bunch of extra hurdles to clear that route to ensure the MVFC isn't negatively impacted.

If we are going to focus on basketball the need to still to go to 12 and some combo of UALR, Valpo, Belmont, Murray State, UW-Milwaukee, NMSU, SLU (dream I know) needs to be the target.

[Cdizzle]

1) WSU OWNS the Valley. Why should they move? Uh...to become a higher profile University.

WSU doesn't own the Valley other than on the playing field. The Valley knows WSU wants out but can't go unless invited elsewhere. WSU has zero leverage against the Valley.

[Dean Wormer]

I don't agree with the UIC being a long term better choice than Valpo.

For the record...I think UIC is way down the list of choices if we add only one school.
There are however only 3 growing and prospering Public Universities in Illinois....
UofI, ISU and UIC.

Not real high on Valpo or the NW Indiana market for that matter.
Valpo would be another Evansville in the Valley. Small university,
small market, small budget, small arena, small, small, small....the Valley needs BIG!

From what I remember, I believe Evansville's basketball budget is not near the bottom. Certainly the facilities are above par, and the arena isn't anywhere near small. I think coaching salary may be light, but does Simmons deserve any more?

There is no BIG out there, but without Wichita, I am not so sure there is any BIG in here either.

[Redhawk]

From what I remember, I believe Evansville's basketball budget is not near the bottom. Certainly the facilities are above par, and the arena isn't anywhere near small. I think coaching salary may be light, but does Simmons deserve any more?

There is no BIG out there, but without Wichita, I am not so sure there is any BIG in here either.

By BIG I mean larger enrollments, bigger athletic budgets, and larger & more competitive athletic programs across the board. The XSDU's fit this profile to align with ISUr, MSU, UNI, SIU and to some extent ISUb. Valpo is SMALL in enrollment, under 5K, small arena 5K and small market. Would be small fish in a BIG pond in the Valley. If adding a basketball only school Omaha, UMKC, UIC and UWM have much more long term potential. It's not always about basketball history and notoriety...Loyola got in because they are a larger school in a new and bigger market. The Valley should follow that criteria going forward.

[MidWestMidMajor]

One school in the Summit that might be "poach-able" is Univ of Denver.

They are a private school among a conference of public schools and only one other private- Oral Roberts. I think they might prefer associating with Drake, Bradley, Loyola, and Evansville. In the past few years they have been in the Sun Belt, the WAC, and the Summit. They've been looking for a good conference fit.

What does Denver bring to the table?: a huge endowment ($600M), great facilities, winners of the Director's Cup (top 1-AAA sports program) 8 out of the last 9 years, #1 hockey team heading into the NCAA tournament. They've been to the NCAA's in Soccer (final 4 last year), Volleyball, and LaCrosse (champions 2015). They clearly have a commitment to excel in sports. In terms of basketball, this year their RPI is only 212 (UIC's is 248, UMKC's is 186). But their basketball team was in the NIT in 2013.

I realize it's a bit of a stretch. Valpo's RPI of 72 is the best quick fix. But they could get poached one day by the A10 to replace Dayton. Denver really is caught by geography. It's been said that they would like to be in the WCC with other quality private schools, but the WCC is not interested without big travel subsidies. So Denver could be a very stable MVC member.

The footprint of the Summit is close to the MVC; Denver already travels from Fargo to Tulsa to Ft. Wayne.
The question is: would MVC schools be willing to travel to Denver to pick up a school like this?