Updated 1/6/18: MVC Expansion Poll

[VUGrad1314]

Just an update on how the teams I believe are the top expansion targets are doing:

Murray State has moved into a first place tie in the OVC with fellow candidate Belmont.

Northern Kentucky is in a first place tie in the Horizon League with Wright State.

South Dakota State is in first place in the Summit League and lead South Dakota by half a game...

From the department of "if only they were closer"

New Mexico State is dominating the WAC and may have an at large case if they can avoid a stumble between now and the WAC tournament Final.

[VU2014]

Give me Belmont and Murray State

[VU2014]

It feels like Wright State hits more of the target points than what we care to admit.
But truthfully I haven’t done much research. Anyone care to expand on why Wright State isn’t on the voting list.

MSU's traveling partner..... that would lean to UTA

MVC doesn't use travel partners.

[VUGrad1314]

Give me Belmont and Murray State

That's who I want too, but since I'm dubious on Belmont actually being willing to join the MVC I went with NKU which I believe is the best program that would actually say yes to an MVC invite.

It feels like Wright State hits more of the target points than what we care to admit.
But truthfully I haven’t done much research. Anyone care to expand on why Wright State isn’t on the voting list.

MSU's traveling partner..... that would lean to UTA

MVC doesn't use travel partners.

Yes they do in sports like Volleyball and women's basketball so geography particularly in relation to Murray State is going to matter. That's the reason why Murray State isn't a member of the MVC right now.

[TOPSTRAIGHT]

Travel partners save money and athletes miss less class time.

[VUGrad1314]

NKU just drew a bit shy of 6500 for their game against Green Bay. If they defeat Wright State this week they'll have a stranglehold on the Horizon League regular season title (2 up with 3 to play). If Belmont says no again I'm thinking we need to bring this team aboard. This feels like everything everyone wants to see out of Grand Canyon except the potential is really being realized.

[VUGrad1314]

Here's some average attendance numbers for two schools that may be on the MVC's radar now or in the future: NKU and Wright State.

NKU: 4099 An increase of over 40% from last year. They still have their Senior Night Game remaining.

Wright State: 4101 They still have a nationally televised battle for first place and their Senior Night Game so this number has a chance to be much higher.

Not sure what the numbers for Murray State are but I bet they're similar or better than this.

Belmont is probably still in that 2500-3000 range.

[Norsefan92]

Hello everyone I just thought you might want to hear from an NKU fan in regards to how we would feel about joining the MVC. I first want to state that this is solely my opinion and not anyone else's or the universities but I do run norsereport.com which is a fan blog for the mens basketball team.

NKU had a very rich tradition at the division II level as they finished national runner up twice in the 90's and pretty much made the division II tournament every year. The Woman's program had been the Universities flagship program though as they had won two national championships and had the winningest coach in division II history in Nancy Winstel. The transition to division I was something that had been in the works for a while and the ultimate goal had been to get into the Horizon League. It was a league that made sense for NKU geographically as it is probably the cheapest for NKU in terms of travel and their are some schools that we played at the division II level a while back.

When we first went Division I a lot of rumors swirled about where we would go and it sounds like it really came down to The Summit League, the Atlantic Sun and the OVC. The Horizon League would not take a team that was transitioning straight from Division II but I think once we completed the transition they were ready to take us. The OVC came pretty close to happening but they voted against NKU because they thought we had an unfair recruiting advantage being in a big city and having a brand new facility. I believe the other Kentucky schools wanted NKU to join but the other schools did not. The Summit League was going to be more expensive so we went to the Atlantic Sun to transition to Division I. That was never the league we wanted to be in long term. The goal always seemed to be the Horizon League.

So it was not a surprise when a few years later we went to the Horizon League. Obviously the league had taken a step back with the loss of Butler but it was still a good geographical fit and was cost effective. The league has taken a step back and the loss of Valparaiso and the addition of IUPUI has not helped that issue. Despite that I think NKU is happy in the Horizon League. We have only been in the league for a few seasons and have had quick success. The fan base is rapidly growing because of that success and the local media is jumping on board. We have our own beer made by the local brewery Braxton Brewery, the local bar and grill chain Barleycorns made a Norse Burger. There is a lot of that kind of stuff that is occurring now and it is all because of the recent success.

So this is where I get to my point lol. The success and growth in popularity of NKU is very recent. There is a lot of room to grow as this region is a basketball hot bed and Northern Kentucky is its own distinct region. There are a lot of grads in the area that rooted for other teams because NKU was DII but now are jumping on the bandwagon. So most people feel there is potential for NKU to really grow and eventually succeed in a higher conference. But I think most of us think it is too soon to make that jump. We need to have some consistent success at a lower level to build up that fan base to a higher level. I think most of us are content to be a top tier team in the Horizon League for a few seasons and consistently get to the tournament first. Once we have established ourselves at that level then I think we would be ready to make the jump but I think people want some consistency first. Especially because we would be worried that going from a dominant team in a weaker conference to being a middle of the pack team in a top tier conference would hurt the growth of our fan base. That is our primary concern with moving up to the Valley. I think we all understand it would be a huge step up in quality and would bring more national recognition by joining. I just think NKU is at a point where the building of a fan base is so early that we want to help it grow by playing in an easier conference first.

The second major point about moving up is that state of Kentucky is really shredding the budgets for higher education. The Governor announced some pretty significant cuts on top of the states failing pension system that will see NKU contributing a ridiculously high share. This is resulting in some major budget cuts this year. I would imagine it would be hard to pitch to the board of regents that we need to pay a bunch of money to leave the Horizon League and a bunch of money to join the MVC when we are in the midst of drastic budget cuts. So not to throw water on your enthusiasm for NKU joining the MVC but I think most people in the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati region would find it doubtful that NKU would join in the near future.

[BCPanther]

Thanks for chiming in. Good to hear that perspective.

The problem for you becomes, its now or never and The Valley is probably your ceiling as an athletic department. If The Valley is the long term goal, you have to come now. If the Valley were to offer you the 12th spot and you said no, there isn't going to be another opening anytime soon unless UNI or Illinois State scratch the FBS itch.

There are several departments that would give their left nut to get a Valley invite. NKU has become my realistic favorite since it just doesn't feel like there is an apetite to go get New Mexico State and simlutaineously kill the WAC. The timing is never perfect but you would regret passing on the invite and being stuck in the Horizon League for the next 20 years when you had the chance to get out and get to a much higher level incredibly stable league.

12 is happening. The contracts with Scottrade Center and TaxSlayer Center (Moline) call for 4 games Thursday, 4 games Friday, 2 games Saturday amd 1 game Sunday starting next year.

[Norsefan92]

I guess I would want to know. How much does it cost to join the Valley?