BEARZ77 wrote:Again I'm in favor of Murray joining, but some of the arguments are taking on the flavor of that Bison fan last year who kept trying to convince us all the Valley couldn't survive without NDSU. First off on attendance, everyone got all gaga when Murray had the 8,000+ for the game earlier, but in checking current attendance, they are around 4600 which would be 5th in the Valley. It's good attendance , but they aren't going to significantly impact attendance in the Valley; programs like Evansville and MSU who are already ahead of them in attendance are on the upswing and both should show increases again next year in their second year under new coaches. Illinois State and bradley which also draw more can do even better as Bradley always has the potential to average 7,000 or more . While I do think Murray would be a decent draw the first year as a visiting game, the Valley has a lot of traditional rivalries that are their major draws. Now if Murray came in and was a top 1-3 team regularly, then yeah, they'd probably draw pretty good on the road, just as any team that does well over time generally does.
This years drop in the Valley's rankings appears to me to be temporary and you can easily see reasons why.You have 3 new coaches, and probably 2 more on the way. A couple teams that were counted on to be at the top just didn't perform. That happens, which is why things are so bunched. The bottom of the Valley is improved, but the top didn't perform up to expectations. However, looking ahead, not only do you have programs under new coaches who look to improve, you have a young Valpo team that is still acclimating to the Valley and got hit hard with injury. As far as incoming talent, 3-4 schools [MSU/Drake/Loyola] to name several had excellent recruiting classes in the fall, and a number of schools MSU,ISUr,Valpo,and Evansville again to name several, have significant experienced transfers sitting out this year who will immediately raise the talent level in the conference next year. So i see a big uptick already talent wise for the conference.
Again I'd like Murray in the league, but it's not panic time by any means. There's too much volatility on the horizon with restructuring to feel you have to expand just to expand. Murray's great, and Northern Kentucky looks credible, but again there's no immediately compelling reason to make a move.
Outstanding Post!
With the renewed excitement in some of our bigger buildings (MSU, UE, hopefully SIU and InSU) and Bradley maybe looking like they've found the right formula to get back to averaging 7 or 8k the league is primed to have some full arenas, great atmospheres and, most importantly, really good basketball. I am looking forward to the 'No Nights Off' league again in full buildings. Let's just hope that SIU makes the right hire and InSU cuts Lansing loose and actually invests in the program.
