Updated 1/6/18: MVC Expansion Poll

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Should it give thf mvc a better chance? Sure. Will it? We all know the committee won't let that happen. Might as well wait and see if we can get lucky. If not, then back to square 1 with every damn team that's out there now

[E-Villan]

Can we afford to wait until 2025? We're already struggling to get at-large bids as it is.

I don't mean this as an insult, but that panicky logic is exactly why many of us older guys feel like you have this topic going completely off the rails.

Simply put, there is no one on that list that is going to guarantee us more bids. No one. Frankly, only Murray is even MVC compatible at this point. 2016 Evansville or 2017 Illinois State couldn't get at larges with Wichita in the conference, you think we automatically get more by adding one of these?

You're new to the conference. Probably a younger guy, and I get the interest in seeing all the realignments play out the last few years. What I don't think you realize is the ebb and flow over time that happens to nearly every program, especially one that is not a true blue-blood. Within our own conference, Evansville, Bradley, SIU, and Missouri State were all strong performers within the last 20 years that fell into an extended period in the abyss.What happens when some of your new upstarts without the history of these fall into the same place? Throw in the fact that most of them have won conference tournaments or titles against easier competition, especially on the road. It's a lot easier to win a road game with 1,000 people at Tennessee State or Detroit than it is anywhere in the Valley. Look at your own school, and the wake up call you took your first year. You can recover, I am not so sure about anyone besides Murray on this list.

At this point, the best thing we can do is stay put. If we are going to increase our bids in the current landscape, the best chance is with the 10 we have. We have to elevate our performance, and more importantly, our perception. Schedule better from top to bottom. I am sick of the excuses on this, and I realize my own school was one of the biggest offenders under Marty. Hopefully we have fixed that, and the others need to do the same. Take some of the programs that are your flavors of the week, and schedule them in the non-con. Taking a chance on the RPI for the next year or two on someone who is recently good makes much more sense than committing a long term conference membership with. Schedule a home and home with NKU and Wright State. They should be a solid risk for the immediate future, and if they tank, then there is no long term commitment.

Our perception should be getting better. We have histories, facilities above most of our so-called peer conferences, and our teams have performed well when given the chance as of late with two final fours in the last 5 years. One thing we can do is stop participating in any of this mid-major non-sense. This doesn't help our exposure, instead, it just screams to the world that we are sitting at the kiddie table, and we're cool with it. The coaches in the A-10 and MWC don't participate, so why do we?

I would much rather see a 57 page thread on what the current schools can do to improve our conference than talking in circles over who can we add.

[RacerJoeD]

I think you guys are missing the point here. At this point, bringing Kansas, Texas, and Iowa State into the league wouldn't bring in any more at larges than those three. What the point of expansion is at this point is to change the narrative that the top half of the MVC isn't as good as the middle of the Big 12 or the Big 10. Right now, according to those making the selections, and the media that condones it, the top of the MVC isn't as good as the .500 teams from big conferences.

We know that isn't true. We knew that last season. We have known it for years. But what we know doesn't matter. If you want the perception to change you have to do something. Doing nothing hasn't helped. After all, incremental changes gets your best team to the final four (but nowhere close to an at large bid). The narrative has to be changed.

Here is the messed up part. The way the MVC changed the narrative in the past has been through playing and beating those other teams. In response, the big $$$ conferences are taking away the opportunity for those games.

What you have to know is this- those conferences want all the money. They consider it their birthright. They aren't just going to roll over and give the MVC what they consider theirs. No. If the teams in the MVC want a seat at the table they have to do something to take it. Otherwise, you guys will be just another Southland, OVC, Horizon, or WAC.

Trust me. As a fan of a team in that purgatory, you dont want that to happen.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Murray state ranked 64 in preseason poll. That would be second MVC as isur came in at 66. Siu in the 70's and Bradley in the 90's. Valpo and uni ranked in top 144, as well.

[VUGrad1314]

You have to think that if they have another year or two like last year they're going to get in. I still think the MVFC adding North Dakota is going to necessitate a corresponding move in the south to placate the southern teams and get to an even number. I think 2020 is the date for expansion and likely always has been. In the meantime the best thing the MVC can do for itself is to make itself as attractive as possible for its top targets. That means:

Remain a top 8 conference If we can somehow beat out at least one of the P5\BE\AAC so much the better but at least holding on to this #8 spot is key

Multiple bids at least once over the next two years

Keep up the tournament success Have at least one more deep run the deeper the better

No anchors in conference dragging down everyone's metrics

Valpo needs to recover quickly and show that a team can rise to the MVC and compete in short order. The quicker Valpo gets strong the better.

The stronger Loyola remains, the better

SIU needs a big year to stave off its negative enrollment trend

UNI needs to recover

Illinois State needs to deliver

Bradley Missouri State Indiana State Drake and Evansville need to build on the strides they are already making

If we can get the majority of these things to go right we should have our pick of expansion candidates when the time comes.

[VUGrad1314]

Another step we can\should take, and I would want to see this implemented ASAP, is to go to conferences that haven't expanded (PAC 12 SEC AAC MWC A10) or can't expand (Big 12 Big East WCC) their schedules to 20 games and aggressively pursue scheduling these teams\scheduling agreements. Don't forget the top\established names in the WAC MAC CAA Horizon OVC CUSA and Sun Belt Summit So-Con etc. as well. After expansion--should the day ever arrive--it may be time to embrace pod scheduling and perhaps even a 20 game schedule ourselves.

[underdawg]

You have to think that if they have another year or two like last year they're going to get in. I still think the MVFC adding North Dakota is going to necessitate a corresponding move in the south to placate the southern teams and get to an even number. I think 2020 is the date for expansion and likely always has been. In the meantime the best thing the MVC can do for itself is to make itself as attractive as possible for its top targets. That means:

Remain a top 8 conference If we can somehow beat out at least one of the P5\BE\AAC so much the better but at least holding on to this #8 spot is key

Multiple bids at least once over the next two years

Keep up the tournament success Have at least one more deep run the deeper the better

No anchors in conference dragging down everyone's metrics

Valpo needs to recover quickly and show that a team can rise to the MVC and compete in short order. The quicker Valpo gets strong the better.

The stronger Loyola remains, the better

SIU needs a big year to stave off its negative enrollment trend

UNI needs to recover

Illinois State needs to deliver

Bradley Missouri State Indiana State Drake and Evansville need to build on the strides they are already making

If we can get the majority of these things to go right we should have our pick of expansion candidates when the time comes.

SIU's enrollment has little to do with it's play on the basketball court --but yeh we have to produce this and next years

[VUGrad1314]

I don't know what will save SIU outside of the millions of dollars of free publicity that only a deep tournament run could provide. I think at this point the state solving its budget issues alone won't stop it.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

He's saying a sweet 16 run will give national attention and boost enrollment staving off what's heading to be a bad fate. And, usually those types of runs do boost enrollment.

[uniftw]

He's saying a sweet 16 run will give national attention and boost enrollment staving off what's heading to be a bad fate. And, usually those types of runs do boost enrollment.

That boost lasts for a year...maybe two...in any real capacity. By year 3 the boost is gone. The next S16 Cinderella has happened 3 or 6 times by then.

The "millions" they get from a S16 run won't save what appears to be a sinking ship in Carbondale. Because it isn't "real" money. Sure, free advertising is nice. Some extra shirt sales. Some extra short term donations.

Based on what is being reported out of the SIU system, the trends we've been seeing for a few years, SIU needs more than 2 weeks of "free advertising" to save what looks like a really bad next decade to get through. They need REAL cash and tens of millions of it