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

[tribecalledquest]

What the what?!

Even MSU and SIU fans would take offence to their basketball programs 'being on the rise.' 95% of those fanbases want to get rid of their head coaches but know the university doesn't have the funds to do it. That's about as far from 'on the rise' and as close to 'hamstrung by budget' as you can get. I hold no opinion as to whether teams should keep or drop football, but your argument is just based in fantasyland.

Your second argument is that if you remove the non-mediocre team, suddenly 5 teams are vying for the title and are therefore not mediocre. Only WSU has been consistently non-mediocre in recent years, and only UNI has risen above mediocrity with regularity in recent years.

SIU was in the play-In game for 5 years straight and just finished tied for 3rd in the Valley.
MSU just came off of two play-in game seasons to win 17 games. They are recruiting at a much
higher level now and trending upward as well.
ISU has improved it's finish in the MVC every year for the past 5 seasons.

For you to tie one season of play to the benefits of having football is a real stretch.

[Redhawk]

SIU will be a favorite next year?

No...but one of the better teams. MSU and ISUr will be the favorites.

[Redhawk]

For you to tie one season of play to the benefits of having football is a real stretch.

It's not tied to one season but made a specific point about Valley schools making a major commitment
to football over the past few years but still being able to rise above the non-football schools that are supposedly putting all their eggs in one basket. The standings won't change much next year either though!

[Cdizzle]

What the what?!

Even MSU and SIU fans would take offence to their basketball programs 'being on the rise.' 95% of those fanbases want to get rid of their head coaches but know the university doesn't have the funds to do it. That's about as far from 'on the rise' and as close to 'hamstrung by budget' as you can get. I hold no opinion as to whether teams should keep or drop football, but your argument is just based in fantasyland.

Your second argument is that if you remove the non-mediocre team, suddenly 5 teams are vying for the title and are therefore not mediocre. Only WSU has been consistently non-mediocre in recent years, and only UNI has risen above mediocrity with regularity in recent years.

SIU was in the play-In game for 5 years straight and just finished tied for 3rd in the Valley.
MSU just came off of two play-in game seasons to win 17 games. They are recruiting at a much
higher level now and trending upward as well.
ISU has improved it's finish in the MVC every year for the past 5 seasons.

You're really stretching to fit your point here, but I'll allow it.

The problem is that you still haven't (and won't be able to) demonstrated that this makes these teams anywhere close to rising above mediocrity.

[Redhawk]

You want a more long term view Tribe?

From the MVC Media Guide:

All Time MVC BBall Standings (Current Members)

1st: ISUr
2nd: MSU
3rd: Bradley
4th: WSU
5th: SIU
6th: UNI

WSU is gone. Of the remaining top 5 all but Bradley have played football for their entire MVC
existence.

[Redhawk]

The problem is that you still haven't (and won't be able to) demonstrated that this makes these teams anywhere close to rising above mediocrity.

There is no comparison to what the Shockers have done the past 5 years to any run by the remaining Valley teams. I am not so sure though that if ISUr dropped football that they would be on a path towards that success either.

On the other hand if you call UNI's two 30 win seasons and recent NCAA success, SIU run in the NCAA's a
while back and even ISUr's 17-1 Valley seasons while also supporting football as "mediocre" then I guess
we just have to agree to disagree on what us mid-majors call a successful season.

[Lakesbison]

NDSU will take an invite and come alone.

NDSU / Fargo has daily Chicago Flights making travel easy for all teams.

NDSU has a rivalry already with Northern Iowa.

NDSU has been to 3 big dances in 8 years, has name recognition.

NDSU has new 5700 arena, averaged over 4000 fans this year.

lets go!

[jackwagon]

It's really just logic. When money is an issue you can choose to under fund two programs, dooming them both to mediocrity or try and make one elite.

Money is an issue with all the Valley schools but consider this....

Illinois State spent 20 million on a beautiful stadium upgrade.
MSU spent 23.5 million on their own stadium expansion.
SIU spent 25 million on a completely new stadium.

Even with these major commitments to Football all three schools are on the rise in basketball.
Without WSU they will be the favorites for the MVC title next season along with fellow MVFC member UNI.
Only Loyola from the non football members will be in the title conversation.

Apparently FCS football isn't "dooming them to mediocrity."

The fact that you are projecting favorites in early April is laughable. Not one team has their roster set and there will be defections and commitments that will change the outlook. Loyola, Ill. St., and SIU all added kids later than this last year that were starters or big time contributors.

Anddo you not feel that the looming budget cuts from Illinois and Missouri will have a drastic effect on the ability for those universities to continue to fund those pricey programs?

[Redhawk]

The fact that you are projecting favorites in early April is laughable. Not one team has their roster set and there will be defections and commitments that will change the outlook. Loyola, Ill. St., and SIU all added kids later than this last year that were starters or big time contributors.

Anddo you not feel that the looming budget cuts from Illinois and Missouri will have a drastic effect on the ability for those universities to continue to fund those pricey programs?

That's my opinion based upon what I know right now. Of course things change...Evans just had
surgery on his shoulder and is out 4-6 months!

Spring signings are still up in the air but I don't foresee a major shuffling in the standings.

[Aargh]

Can finishing 3rd in the Valley last year be considered "on the rise", or would it be more accurate to say "didn't drop as far as the rest"?

You can go ahead and write me off as just another arrogant WSU fan. I watched all the MVC games on Fox Sports and EPSN and watched more on ESPN3. There was a lot of bad basketball played on MVC courts last year.

I managed to get tickets to a few home games. They weren't very interesting. Fans pretty much knew the walkons would be coming into the game once the lead hit 30 points.

If it's arrogant to observe that there were only 2 programs that put teams with any amount of appreciable quality on the court last year, then I'm arrogant. If that's your position, then you are accepting mediocrity as the new norm.