Scheduling

[MissouriValleyUnite]

Please for the love of God stop pretending that actually matters.

RPI isn't relevant at all in that decision for UNI. There is no at large coming, no hope, never was. RPI has no factor in why they don't complete a schedule. sheesh

Northern Iowa had an at-large caliber team 3 times in the past 12 years. Not happening this year, but why the hell not try as a program? 25% is reason enough.

Time to let go of the insecurity. Move on.

[VUGrad1314]

An article on current MVC schools' attitudes in light of the Shockers departure that I feel may be of interest.

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20170624/m ... hita-state

Two sentence summary of article: Wichita State's departure presents challenges for the league , but nothing unlike any the conference has faced before when better--yes better--and more storied programs defected. The fact that the Shockers have left the conference has not caused the heartrending pain among MVC coaches, ADs and fans that Shocker fans want to believe it has.

Good luck in the AAC; and don't worry, the MVC will be fine in your absence.

As for scheduling Valpo's recent run of success has made this an even greater point of emphasis than it already was. We try to get at least one marquee home game each year. Last year we played and beat then-nationally ranked tournament team Rhode Island and also won an MTE that also featured Alabama BYU and SLU. We also beat a 20 win Ball State team. Two years ago we beat Oregon State in Corvallis and took the one-seed Ducks to the wire in Eugene in addition to beating another tournament team in Iona and splitting a home and home with Belmont. Three years ago we beat Murray State right before they went on that amazing run and also got a home game against New Mexico. We've also had considerable success against MVC competition recently.

Our current schedule so far features Purdue Northwestern and Ball State as well as an MTE that features Kent State and UNC-Wilmington. So that's 3 tournament teams and two more 20 win programs. Oh and Utah State by virtue of the MVC-MWC Challenge. And that's just what we know, as our full schedule hasn't been released yet.

[Cdizzle]

From an actual MVC AD:
“Wichita State was an outlier in our conference because the Koch brothers supplied it with such an unlimited amount of resources. Wichita was operating in a different strata and that gave them an entrenched advantage. Everybody knew they’d win the conference every year and it made it more difficult to build solid programs. So losing them was a big plus for the rest of us.”

With losers like that bringing giant loser mentalities to the table, no wonder no one could compete. I thought more of Bradley's athletic department until I read that.

[Blers]

Dizzle, just stop. Saying the budget stuff didn't have an issue is actually ridiculous. Not all schools have charter planes for their coaches.

LU got screwed recently on scheduling, NC State is choosing to bye out their return game for last year. Porter was on ESPN Radio venting about it around the 1:30 mark: http://www.espn.com/espnradio/chicago/play?id=19684298

[Red]

Dizzle, just stop. Saying the budget stuff didn't have an issue is actually ridiculous. Not all schools have charter planes for their coaches.

LU got screwed recently on scheduling, NC State is choosing to bye out their return game for last year. Porter was on ESPN Radio venting about it around the 1:30 mark: http://www.espn.com/espnradio/chicago/play?id=19684298

That's BS. Always get the game at home first is the lesson.

[Cdizzle]

Dizzle, just stop. Saying the budget stuff didn't have an issue is actually ridiculous. Not all schools have charter planes for their coaches.

LU got screwed recently on scheduling, NC State is choosing to bye out their return game for last year. Porter was on ESPN Radio venting about it around the 1:30 mark: http://www.espn.com/espnradio/chicago/play?id=19684298

If you don't want screwed, don't put a buyout in the contract...

It's not getting screwed. It's an excuse-train. Quotes like this indicate that at most a lot of schools are looking to be successful occasionally in a watered-down league. That is their benchmark of success. WSU raised the top of the league to nationally relevant. UNI hung around as occasional contributors in that range. This guy is saying competing in a regional bus league (not that MVC is yet) is better than trying to compete in a nationally relevant and competitive league cause that's hard.

[Blers]

Dizzle, just stop. Saying the budget stuff didn't have an issue is actually ridiculous. Not all schools have charter planes for their coaches.

LU got screwed recently on scheduling, NC State is choosing to bye out their return game for last year. Porter was on ESPN Radio venting about it around the 1:30 mark: http://www.espn.com/espnradio/chicago/play?id=19684298

If you don't want screwed, don't put a buyout in the contract...

It's not getting screwed. It's an excuse-train.

Buying out is paying the penalty for breaking contract. It's almost always the same sum for both teams (100k if loyola backs, 100k if NC State backs). It's not like giving an opponent a waiver to bail. If you don't put a buy out in a contract then either team would be able to break contract without penalty. Also, to be clear i have no idea how much a game contract buy out is, I've just heard it's lower 6 figures.

Edit- I just saw you updated the original post, I get the not wanting to compete in a bus league and all that, but financially it would require some huge investment to compete. At this point the league is as level as it's been for a while (obviously not the level it once was), teams can see an opening to become a league power with a wide open road to the top spot. Some school will take advantage by seeing the value and going all in. Hopefully more than one within the next few seasons.

[Mikovio]

From an actual MVC AD:
“Wichita State was an outlier in our conference because the Koch brothers supplied it with such an unlimited amount of resources. Wichita was operating in a different strata and that gave them an entrenched advantage. Everybody knew they’d win the conference every year and it made it more difficult to build solid programs. So losing them was a big plus for the rest of us.”

With losers like that bringing giant loser mentalities to the table, no wonder no one could compete. I thought more of Bradley's athletic department until I read that.

No other Valley schools have billionaire sugar daddies. And billionaire sugar daddies aren't matched by "gumption" or "sticktoitiveness." Wichita offers perks out of reach for other Valley schools. It could definitely be discouraging for an Indiana State with 25% of the budget of a conference mate. Most schools go into their conference tournament with some hope for an auto bid; not so much in the Valley the last few years.

Maybe some gumption and sticktoitiveness could turn Indiana State into a revenue generating machine down the road, but tell that to the senior whose career ends in St Louis in March.

BTW that's Bradley president Gary Roberts, former dean of Indiana University law school and leading national sports expert.

https://www.bradley.edu/inthespotlight/ ... 97cf30343b

Roberts has continued to practice law part-time throughout his academic career with a focus on antitrust and sports law. He has been a frequent commentator on broadcast and in print media on sports-related legal and business issues. He was the on-air legal analyst for the NFL network and a lead analyst for other national media outlets during the National Football League lockout in 2011. He has testified before Congressional Committees on nine occasions on sports matters.

[Mikovio]

If you don't want screwed, don't put a buyout in the contract...

Contracts can always be broken. A "buyout" aka a "liquidation clause" simply is an amount agreed upon between the parties for damages in the event a party breaches the contract. If there is no liquidation clause in the event of a breach, the amount of damages will simply be decided by a court. So you're always at risk of being screwed; buyouts just make it less messy.

[AndShock]

From an actual MVC AD:
“Wichita State was an outlier in our conference because the Koch brothers supplied it with such an unlimited amount of resources. Wichita was operating in a different strata and that gave them an entrenched advantage. Everybody knew they’d win the conference every year and it made it more difficult to build solid programs. So losing them was a big plus for the rest of us.”

With losers like that bringing giant loser mentalities to the table, no wonder no one could compete. I thought more of Bradley's athletic department until I read that.

No other Valley schools have billionaire sugar daddies. And billionaire sugar daddies aren't matched by "gumption" or "sticktoitiveness." Wichita offers perks out of reach for other Valley schools. It could definitely be discouraging for an Indiana State with 25% of the budget of a conference mate. Most schools go into their conference tournament with some hope for an auto bid; not so much in the Valley the last few years.

Maybe some gumption and sticktoitiveness could turn Indiana State into a revenue generating machine down the road, but tell that to the senior whose career ends in St Louis in March.

BTW that's Bradley president Gary Roberts, former dean of Indiana University law school and leading national sports expert.

https://www.bradley.edu/inthespotlight/ ... 97cf30343b

Roberts has continued to practice law part-time throughout his academic career with a focus on antitrust and sports law. He has been a frequent commentator on broadcast and in print media on sports-related legal and business issues. He was the on-air legal analyst for the NFL network and a lead analyst for other national media outlets during the National Football League lockout in 2011. He has testified before Congressional Committees on nine occasions on sports matters.

Different mindsets I guess. Kentucky certainly has way more advantages and resources than we do but when we get them in March I want us to beat the s*** out of them. When they beat WSU I don't whine about how unfair their inherent advantages are, I want us to play them next year and get another shot. I'm sure Gregg and the team feels the exact same way.