Conference Realignment - impact on MVC?

[squirrel]

MVFC ranked ahead of CUSA in the Sagarin:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/20 ... a/1775385/

9. Mountain West (63.95)
10. Sun Belt (63.78)
11. MAC (61.33)
12. MVFC (60.87)
13. Conference USA (59.54)

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbc12.htm

[Shocktop42]

Long time reader, first time poster....

I think that sooner or later we will lose CU (and possibly more). I think that there is a tendency by many posters on this board to over value the MVC. While the league has been very stable (with good basketball), most years this league is a 1.5 bid league. Sure there were a few years where more have gotten in but in reality we are still a mid-major with dreams of becoming more.

The reality is that we will never be a high major league. So, with the inevitable departure of one or more schools, we need to be based in reality when discussing schools that would want to join the MVC.

There have been many schools thrown out there but in reality there are only a small number of schools that would be clammoring to get into the MVC (especially if CU is gone). We have to remember that without CU our conference RPI would go down significantly (we would now be ranked in the low to mid teens) and we would likely not be able to replace with a team as strong as CU. The interested schools would likely come from the Horizon, OVC or Summit.

I have heard people speculate on teams like Tulsa, Butler, Cincinatti, etc. The reality is that these schools would not join an MVC without CU.

So, as fans of this league, we can have dreams of schools that will increase our conference prestige, tv market, etc however if we are only a 1.5 bid league most years, what is the advantage of them to look around.

So how will this shake out?

CU - gone (C7 conference)
WSU - stays
Evansville - ???

Who will replace these schools? not sure. I could however see the MVC taking on a few teams from the horizon/summit. The key would be to select schools that have a commitment to excellence. I believe that the league will not worry so much about "past" performance when selecting school(s) but more about potential to increase the value of the league over the long term. They will evaluate schools based on where the school will be in 5-10 years, not how many times they have made the tournament in the last 50 years.

[jwa123]

Long time reader, first time poster....

I have heard people speculate on teams like Tulsa, Butler, Cincinatti, etc. The reality is that these schools would not join an MVC without CU.

The reality is none of these schools join The Valley even with CU.

[Redbird Ray]

I agree that the conference's value drops substantially without Creighton. The Valley needs to look to grow in three ways:

1) In a way that will allow the conference to some day move forward as an FBS conference. I realize the current rules prohibit this sort of mass conference movement, but common. Rules and allegiances in today's collegiate athletic landscape are changing by the minute. I'm sure if the MVFC put together an attractive package for FBS (or the potential looming middle tier of D1 football that might be on the horizon) the NCAA would allow it. If that becomes the case, then you have some schools like ISUR, SIU, MSU, and UNI that could realistically make the jump to FBS in the near future. Perhaps a long shot, but maybe try to lure Tulsa, Arkansas State, or Western Kentucky into this league and add on the Dakota States and you have a very solid low FBS level conference that has some decent bball programs as well. If Wichita wants to add football that would be great. Tulsa can't be happy about the watered down version of CUSA they are currently in, and the basketball upside with teams like ISUs, WSU, UNI, etc would still be fairly appealing for a school like WKU, which has complained many times about the lack of bball prowess in the SB. Indy State can play in the Pioneer or something with Drake for football and stay in the MVC for other sports.

2) Another way would be to grow the conference knowing that the Valley will never be able to get back to FBS football, but concentrate on being a high level FCS football conference with pretty strong mid-major hoops. This would also involve looking into adding the Dakota States, but maybe you go after a Murray State or Eastern/Western Il instead of current FBS level programs like Ark St and Tulsa.

3) Option 3 would be to just keep bball and fball as separate entities and go after bball focused schools from the Horizon or OVC. I think Murray would still be a good fit here, but maybe instead of luring the Dakota States you concentrate on a higher Chiwaukee presence by trying to get Valpo, UIC, Loyola, or UW-Milwaukee.

[troutangler]

This whole realignment thing just goes to show how subpar college athletics, and mainly D1 football, are to professional sports. The pro sports are a business, but everyone knows that up front and they are promoted as entertainment. College sports are held up on this pedestal because they're seen as being so "pure". Give me a break. This whole realignment mess is all about making more money for schools while the "student athletes" get nothing. The NCAA and the BCS schools are about as low as it gets.

It's pretty bad when conferences realigning are your big story of the past year+, not who won your football playoff....wait nevermind there isn't one.

[Chuck A]

Redbird Ray, I think UIC would be a great fit for the Valley. Although that would bring the total number of Illinois schools to 4. We have a new coaching staff which is changing the culture of UIC baketball and infusing it with good character, basketball intelligent young men. We're obviously in a large market, have excellent, on-campus facilities (except indoor/outdoor track) and our other sports (men's soccer, women's tennis and volleyball, softball and baseball have all gone to their respective NCAA Tourney. Look no further!

[pafan]

UIC is currently a top 50 team in Sagarin and top 30 RPI... not bad.

Is there budget commitment, or just a lucky hire who's making $200,000 and overperforming?

[Chuck A]

Coach Howard Moore, who's in his 3rd year, is the real deal! He got the job well after recruiting was over (I wanna say sometime in August) and was left with Jimmy Collins' players and some JC transfers. He had a plan and stuck to it, eventhough the record didn't show it. There was emphasis put on getting the right players in here for Moore's system (being a disciple of Bo Ryan, he runs that Wisconsin offense). His emphasis is on 3 things: defense, taking care of the ball, and making free throws. That's what got us where we are. The athletic department is most definitely committed to the program! He's ahead of schedule and has us pointed in the right direction...namely The Dance!

[squirrel]

He also has a great assistant with extensive Chicago ties in Al Biancalana (was an accomplished HS coach before before becoming a college assistant and went back to the HS after Bradley). He's frequently seen at the airport.

UIC has been committed to men's basketball. Jimmy Collins just got lazy though after 3 NCAA appearances. He did really well building that program though. But it went downhill fast after 2005.

Moore and Biancalana were both hired by Molinari and the two assistant coaches Jim Les was forced to retain in 2002, and like most JL assistants, were not valued, appreciated or treated with much respect or given much of a voice in the program.

They'd (UIC) be relatively low on my list as a Valley add, but I'd be OK with Bradley joining a league that included them because it needed a majority of the current Horizon membership to secure an autobid.

[MVCfans]

New story tonight from SI saying Creighton is "near definite" to join 12 team new league:

link: SI reports Creighton "near definite" to join new league