UIC to MVC Gaining Traction

[RacerJoeD]

And Loyola had control of its own money...

[Chuck A]

I am pretty sure that the MVC would not invite UIC if Loyola stayed but Loyola will be gone soon -hopefully for MVC after accumulating a bunch of credits ($$$) in the tournament. Were people that excited about gaining Loyola after their two seasons before joining the MVC of 7-23 and 15-16?

No, but Loyola was committed to investing in their program, is UIC ready to do the same? I have no idea.

UIC was ready and indeed committed to investing back in 2013. You guys happened to be private, to restore the balance, plus promised Smart that you guys would invest. The rest is history.

And Loyola had control of its own money...

Don't let the UIC is a branch fool you. First off, all 3 of the schools in the Illinois System, Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield are ALL branches. They are what make up the whole tree. While there is a BOT protocol when approving monies, et al, UIC has over $750,000,000 of its own money! The Chicago "branch" over the years has become quite formidable, not as a competitor to Urbana-Champaign, but in the overall educational/academic/research landscape. Being in Chicago has certainly helped that. I wouldn't say UIUC is threatened by any means, but I don't think they would be all that happy if there was a situation like California/UCLA (two "branch" campuses) where one branch has equaled the other and in some ways surpassed it.

[Campbellproud]

Any smoke on this recently? I think there was supposed to be a site visit at UIC this month.

[Chuck A]

Any smoke on this recently? I think there was supposed to be a site visit at UIC this month.

On the weekend of Jan 7, the Expansion Committee came, they saw and they went. By some accounts, the visit went well. Since then, things have gone silent. Our Board of Trustees had their meeting on Jan 20 with nary a mention, let alone a vote, on conference affiliation. There was talk/rumor that an invite might be extended and accepted by the end of the month. There are nine days left. At this point, on our message board, pessimism is starting to settle in.

[RacerJoeD]

Racer fans had some pessimism too. I still believe that UIC will join the Valley and I think it would be a good bet. Keep your chins up, these things just take time.

[RacerJoeD]

Matt Brown calls an announcement “imminent”

Looks like we should all be ready to welcome the Flames

[BCPanther]

Welcome Flames.

Now invest in your programs.

Definitely the steepest curve of the three new members.

[smidge34]

https://twitter.com/mattbrownep/status/ ... 76801?s=21

[smidge34]

https://twitter.com/mattbrownep/status/ ... 76801?s=21

[VUGrad1314]

Steep but not insurmountable. The fundamentals are in place. It's clear they have a strong dedicated well-heeled alumni base with deep pockets. If they want to be a great athletics department especially in men's basketball they can. This is definitely a high ceiling high potential add but as with every add not without risk. Hopefully they will commit to realizing that potential. If they do we will have a truly great league--even greater than we already have! I love the potential of the Valley going forward! Welcome UIC!


I love that the doors aren't closed on future expansion. That's exactly what a strong forward thinking league should be doing. We're in a great spot where we are now we just need to wait a few years and see who emerges and can make our league even better in the future! Names to watch that come to my mind immediately are St Thomas and Bellarmine. I doubt ORU gets a look for cultural\academic reasons. Also schools like Wright State NKU Little Rock and Milwaukee are among those I wouldn't totally close the door on but it requires significant changes to their current philosophies toward athletics and\or their economic\enrollment fortunes. I'd have to guess that the first two I mentioned are the early favorites IF the MVC expands past 12 unless the MVC wants to significantly expand its footprint (I still wouldn't mind the Dakotas especially SDSU but I get the reasons not to do it especially right now. For right now there is no compelling reason to do anything more until a program starts making an undeniable case. Better to work to integrate the new additions we already have and get them up and running first. We've undergone a lot of transition as a league in just a few short years. Hopefully, a long period of stability with an eye perhaps toward future expansion if there are obvious candidates is the next step on order for the MVC.