MVC targeting Valpo & Murray State to create 11 team league

[Drakey]

Why does every thread turn into WSU fans saying how great they are? Go away.

[Dawgbit]

Omaha NB, (Creighton,remember them?) population 434,353.

Wichita KS population 386,552.

Murray, KY. population 17,741

Next question?

[musiccitybulldog]

Don't know if this means anything but was on Nashville Channel 2 sports web page this afternoon. http://wkrn.com/2017/04/09/missouri-valley-conference-may-have-interest-in-belmont/

[Drakey]

I'm in the minority here in that I pushed for Loyola last time and I still think it was the right decision. They made a pledge at the time to invest in their program. Their basketball budget stands at 5th in the Valley and they renovated the Gentile. The jury's still out though because, unfortunately, Porter Moser has done just enough to not get fired. The test will come when they have to axe him and decide how much they're willing to pay for the next guy. You can talk about attendance figures and academics but the difference between a good Wichita and bad Wichita is shelling out for Gregg Marshall. He didn't just fall into their lap-- they had to go out and get him. If Loyola is willing to spend big they're capable of dominating this conference and the sellouts will come.

It's all about what a school has and what they're willing to spend.

So I've put together these rankings of the mentioned expansion schools by endowment (financial health of the overall institution), men's basketball coach salary (what they're willing to pay the guy leading their program) and their overall program budget.

Endowment
UI-Chicago, $2.3B
UM-Kansas City, $1.12B
Denver, $607M
North Dakota, $231M
South Dakota, $214M
Valparaiso, $204M
UW-Milwaukee, $201M
NDSU, $138M
SDSU, $105M
Belmont, $91M
Murray State, $67M

Men's basketball head coach salary
Belmont, Rick Byrd, $709,000
Valparaiso, Bryce Drew, $377,464
UI-Chicago, Steve McClain, $375,000
Murray State, Matt McMahon, $350,000
UW-Milwaukee, LaVall Jordan $350,000
Denver, Rodney Billups (Unknown, but former coach Joe Scott made $300,000 in 2010)
SDSU, TJ Otzelberger, $300,000
UM-Kansas City, Kareem Richardson, $250,000
South Dakota, Craig Smith, $190,000
NDSU, Saul Philips, $175,000
North Dakota, Brian Jones, $100,000

Men's basketball program budget
Denver, $3,361,111
Belmont, $2,951,040
UW-Milwaukee, $2,877,237
Valparaiso, $2,666,213
UI-Chicago, $2,231,609
Murray State, $2,218,712
UM-Kansas City, $1,815,762
SDSU, $1,443,001
NDSU, $1,417,450
North Dakota, $1,579,108
South Dakota, $1,156,551


A few comments.

UIC, UWM and UMKC figures for endowment and to an extent salary and budget are misleading because they don't fully control their own finances. For instance, UIC needed approval from the UI board of trustees to hire Steve McClain. If one of these schools gets too ambitious the parent schools could choke off their growth.

NDSU and SDSU have money, okay, but they don't spend it on basketball. Next.

Denver seems like a great add, if Valley presidents would spring for the travel costs.

Belmont and Murray State are cash poor schools that care a lot about basketball.

Valparaiso is a well rounded somewhat conservative choice. Maybe best overall.

My picks are in this order: 1. Denver, 2. Valparaiso, 3. Belmont, 4. (Tie) Murray State and UW-Milwaukee

You make a lot of sense.

[squirrel]

Per Peoria Journal Star's Dave Reynolds, no action taken today "on membership" but ultimate action will be "thorough, swift and discreet."

https://twitter.com/DaveReynolds2/statu ... 5267635200

It's what the tweet says that is important here...it says action on membership did not occur. That does not mean action on a plan for membership and members did not occur.

[rlh04d]

Why does every thread turn into WSU fans saying how great they are? Go away.

Odd how no thread has ever turned into Drake fans saying how great they are.

[rlh04d]

Okay but in terms of a coach's perspective, I think most would rather get paid $1M and coach in front of 5k instead of $500k to coach in front of 10k. Marshall did take a $50k haircut there in '08 to go to Wichita instead of basketball dead USF, but he would've been crazy to turn down much more.

I say attendance correlates to high coaches salaries because not every athletic department is going to pour that ticket and donation revenue back into coaches salaries. There's always plenty of other needs like tennis court resurfacing. So attendance for me is useful not not as useful as the metrics I laid out. How much do they have, how much do they spend, where do they spend it.

Most would, sure. My point isn't necessarily about a straight comparison of numbers. Would a coach rather make $1 million with a rabid fan base or $1.9-2.6 million with a middling fanbase? Depends on the coach, obviously. But that's the exact difference in salary Marshall took by turning down Alabama, so maybe pointing out a $50k haircut from USF ain't the smartest comparison.

And yes, your second point is fair. For example, Denver has easily the highest basketball budget on your list, and the third highest endowment, but is one of the bottom dwellers in coaching salary. Your number one pick appears more interested in resurfacing the tennis court. Having a huge endowment is a nice perk, you might say.

[Murraygrad05]

Omaha NB, (Creighton,remember them?) population 434,353.

Wichita KS population 386,552.

Murray, KY. population 17,741

Next question?

Oh yes Carbondale is SO much bigger. Or Terre Haute Indiana? Sorry not buying it.

The size of the town should have nothing to do with it. Look at Ole Miss in the SEC. They are in a town of only 20,000.

I'd personally like to have a team with a fan base than a team from a large town that gets absolutely no coverage due to pro teams or power 5 teams in the same city or the people just don't care. A 20, or whatever is being talked about, game conference schedule would benefit us because we usually have to schedule some D2 schools to come to Murray to be schedule fillers and that hurts attendance.

[MissouriValleyUnite]

If Belmont declined, just invite Murray and Valpo and stand at 11. Don't overthink it. Slam dunk decision.

[municup14]

Why does every thread turn into WSU fans saying how great they are? Go away.

Yes,go aaaaaawwwwwwwaaaaayyyyyy.