What's the next realignment domino to fall?

[PurpleAcesFootball]

All this talk of travel partners. Elgin and the university presidents have mentioned it as an issue so it obviously is important to them.

If I am not mistaken - women's basketball is really the only sport which utilizes the partner scheduling. Is there another sport that uses it?

There probably would be significant savings if they adopted it for Men's BB as well. Before you memtion that is mid-major thinking - remember the PAC uses it for men's and women's basketball.

Volleyball

Good catch. You're right.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Softball, track, cross country, golf, tennis, swimming, beer pong. They all travel in pairs

[PurpleAcesFootball]

Softball, track, cross country, golf, tennis, swimming, beer pong. They all travel in pairs

No they don't.

Why you keep using that word? I don't think it means what you think it means.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Pretty sure you're wrong about beer pong. I'm positive they have a travel partner. Maybe you missed the sarcasm of the entire post.

[VUGrad1314]

The way I see it the only true full steam ahead expansion scenario that we need to jump on immediately if it's available is Murray State and either Belmont or SLU but if Belmont remains cowardly and SLU maintains its arrogance Here are some expansion scenarios that could work if we MUST get to 12 teams IMMEDIATELY. I should mention at the outset that I'm not personally sold on any of these scenarios and the conference doesn't appear to be in a hurry on this issue. Nevertheless, these are the scenarios the expansion committee is most likely working through:

1. The Kentucky Option (Murray State and Northern Kentucky)
Pros:
A. Gets Murray State into the MVC which both they and the conference want
B. Opens up Kentucky into the MVC footprint making Kentucky fully an MVC state at the mid major level
C. Opens up the Cincinnati market to the MVC and strengthens the conference's presence in the Paducah Carbondale Cape Girardeau market
D. Brings in two successful programs with strong commitments to athletics and good facilities
E. Weakens two rival leagues
F. Both schools have shown the ability to win tournament games (Murray State) or at least be competitive in them(NKU) and have historically competed well in their respective leagues

Cons:
A. Not ideal as travel partners (more than four hours apart)
B. Huge strain on the Iowa schools and Missouri State from a travel standpoint All three schools are more than 8 hours away
C. NKU despite their success is still somewhat unproven Only one year of tournament eligibility
D. Despite their considerable allure as a program, Murray is in a bit of a down cycle

2. The Dakota Option (NDSU and SDSU)
Pros:
A. Strengthens the ties between the MVC and the MVFC
B. Adds two programs committed to athletics who have experienced recent success in a variety of sports SDSU has made the tournament in four of the past six years and NDSU has been a top 100 basketball program in the past and succeeded in baseball softball and especially football
C. Adds a new recruitment territory

Cons:
A. Both schools lie well outside the current footprint causing a sizeable travel burden for the current MVC members
B. Both schools budgets aren't up to MVC level and while budgets aren't everything this could cause them to struggle against MVC competition as both schools have recently
C. Both schools have strong reason to be reluctant to leave their conference. The Dakotas run the Summit League and that's unlikely to change anytime soon with the Summit likely to lose its Eastern members while gaining teams closer to their geographic neighborhood
D. At this time it doesn't do much for the MVC as a basketball conference

3. Expanding Southwest (UALR and Oral Roberts)
Pros:
A. Gives Missouri State some nearby conference opponents so they're not alone on the western edge of the conference footprint
B. Brings Tulsa (and by extension the state of Oklahoma ) back into the footprint and opens up Arkansas as recruiting territory for MVC schools
C. Both schools have had some success recently Oral Roberts had a 27 win season in 2012 and UALR had 30-wins and won a tournament game in 2016
D. Spending levels for these schools are in line with MVC norms
E. ORU is a fine baseball program that can add to the profile of the league in that sport

Cons:
A. One year does not a track record make and the rest of the recent history for these two programs has been decidedly mediocre
B. This arrangement only really benefits Missouri State and adds significantly to the travel costs of all other schools for not much benefit
C. I question whether UALR would want to leave the Sun Belt which is full of southern universities to join a midwestern league when their parent school is in the SEC and there's no travel benefit for them
D. I'm not sure whether ORU's finances could allow them to make this move and furthermore I question the stability of their program after firing their longtime coach
E. ORU isn't even the top CBB draw in their own city. In fact they're probably fourth behind Tulsa Oklahoma and Oklahoma State This means they'll probably still struggle to draw even in a better conference

4. Split Option (Murray State and one of the schools from option 3)

This option gets Murray State in gives Missouri State a travel partner, and maintains an even public-private split if ORU is the add but that's about all it does. As with every Murray State add that doesn't include Belmont or SLU the companion add isn't all that strong Couple that with the rumors that Missouri State can't afford to send all its sports to Murray State and this option seems to lack viability.

5. The Detroit option (Oakland and UDM)
Pros:
A. Opens up a big market and a new recruiting area
B. Brings a former Valley member (UDM) back into the conference and the schools make great sense as travel partners
C. Maintains even public-private split
D. Provides UDM with other private schools in conference which they presently lack in the Horizon League

Cons:
A. UDM has no baseball
B. Neither program is proven at their current level Not enough consistent success While Oakland may round itself into form as a good add but UDM's recent history suggests that they'll be an RPI drag on the MVC
C. Both programs lie at least 3hrs 45 minutes away from the MVC footprint They are almost 8.5 hrs away from the Iowa schools and over 11 hours away from Missouri State On that basis alone they probably won't get the votes for membership. Furthermore these schools may not even have the appetite to make the move for this reason

6. The Lake Michigan Option (UIC and UWM)
Pros:
A: Strengthens the MVC's presence in Chicago the largest city in the footprint
B: Adds a new market (Milwaukee) and Wisconsin to the footprint as recruiting territory
C: The schools make good sense as travel partners
D: Caters well to some MVC schools which have strong alumni bases in these areas They wouldn't have to burn a nonconference game to play them
E: Reignites old conference rivalries
F: Cripples the Horizon League in this area pushing the league almost completely out of the MVC footprint
G: High upside additions with strong budgets who have pledged greater commitment should they get an MVC invite that have the ability to compete in multiple sports UIC is strong in baseball and other sports while in the recent past Milwaukee has won tournament games and even the McCafferty Trophy as the most successful athletic department in the Horizon League

Cons:
A: Further exposes the MVC to Illinois budgetary problems
B: Both of these schools answer to larger parent schools who will likely cap their growth potential since they don't want the associate school to consistently outperform them
C: Although Milwaukee's greatest success occurred only some 10 years or so ago it seems a very distant memory now because their athletic department is an absolute disaster right now
D: While UIC is on an upswing it's still not a proven commodity in the MVC's flagship sport of basketball That could change in a few years though
E: Despite their upside these schools are likely to be significant RPI drags for a few years and at this critical crossroads for the MVC they can ill-afford that hit if they want to be a multi-bid conference again
F: Makes the league decidedly urban and Chicago-centric which is a departure from the Valley's identity (although it was an urban league in its early days it isn't so much anymore )
G: Public-Private split knocked off kilter

As I stated in the beginning of this post none of these is ideal Ideally we get Murray and Belmont or SLU or a super expansion with Murray Belmont SLU and another team chosen from the pool of UWM UIC Oral Roberts and UALR preference likely goes to the first two with the other joining after SLU gets its BE invite) but in a less than ideal world I rank these options in the following order:

1. Kentucky Option (Murray State and NKU)Taking over the midmajor hoops scene is really important
2. Lake Michigan Option (UWM and UIC) Adding Wisconsin to the footprint and the overall upside of these programs across the board puts them just ahead of the split option
3. Split Option Gets Murray State in and perhaps ORU or UALR could surprise us and become a viable add
4. Dakota Option (NDSU and SDSU) If travel wasn't such a concern this option would probably be higher
5. Detroit Option Travel makes this one a bit of a tough sell Oakland hasn't done enough and UDM hasn't been good enough to warrant this The MVC would have to REALLY want the Detroit market for this one to get much play
6. Missouri State Option (UALR and ORU) Really only helps one school at the expense of everyone else and neither school really adds much in competitive value to the conference
7. Desperation Option (UMKC and Omaha) Didn't even list this as an option because the upside is so low The only option this one has the potential to be better than is ORU\UALR and even then I'm not sold If we get to this option we might as well fold up the tents and not expand at all We shouldn't have much to worry about though because it very likely won't get this far down the list

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

I think murray state and NKU is a solid addition and the one I'd most like to see that isn't the one I'm about to list. NKU has had some success but I agree it's very early in the D1 game for them but they have a nice arena and it brings Cincinnati and Louisville back into the discussion. St. Louis is obviously the best possible scenario. I'd be okay with the Dakota add but it's not my favorite if the listed options. I could stomach Milwaukee. Anything else is a no go. ORU, Little Rock, Omaha, Detroit, Kansas City, UIC...just, no! I'm still holding out hope for the surprise add. That's what I'll call it. Grand Canyon You knew it was coming.

[Kip Dynamite]

In my opinion, Its going to be ORU and Murray State if I had to guess right now. MSU needs a travel partner and will push for ORU since they are the closest and most obvious geographic choice. Plus they bring good baseball and basketball which will be a major factor in the decision.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

In my opinion, Its going to be ORU and Murray State if I had to guess right now. MSU needs a travel partner and will push for ORU since they are the closest and most obvious geographic choice. Plus they bring good baseball and basketball which will be a major factor in the decision.

Southern could travel with Missouri State. Indiana State would travel with NKU. Wichita State wasn't that much closer to Missouri State than Southern is. 45 minutes. It's not ideal but doable. Don't add a subpar, money strapped school for a dumb reason when there is a decent in house option. Pick the best two programs. Or, four. New Mexico State and Grand Canyon, also. I WILL NOT RELENT!!!

[MissouriValleyUnite]

Either Murray+ORU or Murray+NKU is perfect. Far and away my two favorite realistic combos.

[BEARZ77]

I'm not an ORU proponent, and while New Mexico State has historically been a good program, there's just no reason to stretch that far. Grand Canyon is even less sensible, but then I've never heard them even mentioned as a possibility so it doesn't matter.

To me there is only one sensible and attractive option to add with Murray State and it's SLU. I didn't even really like Belmont, because it's only looking at current basketball and not a more global picture of athletics, finances, travel, and academics. SLU is by far the best choice across the board, and it's obvious it is for them as well. The issue is them swallowing a little pride, eating a little crow and accepting that they would benefit more than they like to admit. My guess if Dayton and VCU bolt in the next year or two for AAC or Big East, that would sway the thinking. SLU would have a contingent of privates to align with, great location for all conference sports, be the hub of the conference, and be highly competitive in most of the main sports, MBB/WBB/VB/SOCCER/BB.