4 MVC visits ?

[Redhawk]

What are the thoughts on UMKC?

No. I think Milwaukee is a better choice and closer to the more compacted Valley footprint
if Murray St and Valpo are in. UNO and UMKC would be outliers and are not as strong as
the 3 best #12 options...in order SLU, Milwaukee, Belmont.

[UNIFanSince1983]

Personally I think Omaha would be much better than UMKC.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Both Omaha and umkc are horrible adds. I could live with Milwaukee, at least. My comment regarding Elgin adding Omaha despite Creighton wasn't because I thought teams would jump ship it's because elgin is delusional enough to believe Omaha will become the new Creighton.

[IllinoisState]

My one question with several of these schools is if they would change names for marketing purposes?

Drop UW and just be 'Milwaukee', or would they shorten their name to Kansas City or Omaha? It's not unheard of- see Southwest Missouri St., Mo-Rolla, and NE Missouri St. It has happened elsewhere with UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington, and SUNY - Binghamton, Stony Brook.

To me, this shows a commitment from the university to forge its own path. If the school isn't or can't pull away from the flagship then that would be a strike against them, imo.

UW-Milwaukee has had a push at times for a name change...specifically Wisconsin State University.
I agree that would be great for their marketing and for separation from all the other UW-x schools.

PantherU...could you make Wisconsin State a reality?

Why not University of Milwaukee or Milwaukee University?

Both Omaha and umkc are horrible adds. I could live with Milwaukee, at least. My comment regarding Elgin adding Omaha despite Creighton wasn't because I thought teams would jump ship it's because elgin is delusional enough to believe Omaha will become the new Creighton.

I don't really want to add any of those three.

[Chuck_A]

My one question with several of these schools is if they would change names for marketing purposes?

Drop UW and just be 'Milwaukee', or would they shorten their name to Kansas City or Omaha? It's not unheard of- see Southwest Missouri St., Mo-Rolla, and NE Missouri St. It has happened elsewhere with UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington, and SUNY - Binghamton, Stony Brook.

To me, this shows a commitment from the university to forge its own path. If the school isn't or can't pull away from the flagship then that would be a strike against them, imo.

All of those schools have done that already for their sports teams. Milwaukee has been "Milwaukee" for years as has their rival and fellow Wisconsin system University, "Green Bay".

[mvfcfan]

Both Omaha and umkc are horrible adds. I could live with Milwaukee, at least.

I couldn't agree more. I read through every current MVC schools' threads and here are the overall opinions of the 4 potential candidates receiving visits.

Valparaiso- almost everyone supports the Crusaders joining the MVC

Murray State- almost everyone supports the Racers joining the MVC.

*Almost everyone wants us to add both Murray State and Valpo, not just one or the other.

UW-Milwaukee- It's about 50/50. Most people tend to agree that if we must add a 12th team they would rather have UWM than UNO (or anyone else). There are a large number of people that just want us to stay at 11 and wait for a better 12th option down the road (particularly St Louis University). Some worry that scheduling would be too difficult at 11 teams though and want Milwaukee for their good location and for easier scheduling.

Neb-Omaha- I'd say the support for them is 20/80. Most people don't like them because they seem to be more hockey first, basketball second. A lot of people also don't like that they are in a market overshadowed by Creighton who just recently left the MVC. Many are worried that they haven't proven themselves worthy of an MVC invite yet especially since they are very new to Division 1.


I'm basically the same as the average fan of an MVC school. I'm 100% behind adding Valpo and Murray State. I can live with Milwaukee (I'm 60% behind them). Definite no for Omaha.

[MidWestMidMajor]

I think Omaha is an improving program. I think it has a good future. However, it is not ready at this time for the MVC. I looked at their hockey fanboard, and many had similar thoughts (mavpuck.com/mpboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10245). Maybe 5-10 years from now it could be a contender. Murray, Valpo, and Milw are better candidates today.

Now, if you want to read the tea leaves: does that fact that the MVC is considering UNO say anything about the vision for the conference that the MVC staff and presidents are exploring (remembering that they took long looks at UMKC and UI-C in the past)? or are they just checking out D-1 schools in the neighborhood? I wish I could sneak a peak at those memos.

[Redhawk]

UW-Milwaukee has had a push at times for a name change...specifically Wisconsin State University.
I agree that would be great for their marketing and for separation from all the other UW-x schools.

PantherU...could you make Wisconsin State a reality?

Why not University of Milwaukee or Milwaukee University?

From Wiki:
Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee was the predecessor institution of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

Would guess because that name has more state-wide and national relevance.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

My guess is because if they dropped UW they lose funding

[RacerJoeD]

I think it's pretty clear that if basketball is the driver, Valpo Amd Murray St are the best choices. What's left (assuming no Belmont and no Slu) is pretty bad. If the choice is three adds, and valpo and Murray agree, does presence in another sport get the third add across the line? Omaha is good at hockey, but the MVC doesn't have hockey. What else is UMKC or UWM good at that would appeal to the front office?