Updated 1/6/18: MVC Expansion Poll

[mvfcfan]

I think some of you need to take a break from basketball and get out and watch some MVC baseball, especially now that the weather is finally getting nicer. The MVC is currently ranked 6th in RPI out of all of the conferences and no one on here even seems to know about it (or care).

For those of you who root for an MVFC school, go out and see some really good football in the fall. The MVFC is usually ranked higher than 2-3 FBS leagues every year. I hope our basketball gets better, and I'm sure it will, but there are other sports that the MVC is having success in that most Americans generally care about.

The idea of expansion is kind of fun to talk about, but truth be told I don't even really care about expansion at this point. Honestly I kind of want Murray State to stay in the OVC at this point just because I've enjoyed going to Evansville for the OVC semifinals the past 2 years and I think that they need the Racers' attendance to keep it coming back in the future. The MVC has the schools it needs to be successful right now, and it's only a matter of time before the MVC has some really good years in basketball again.

[IWokeUpLikeThis]

Non-scholarship Drake was a FG from knocking off top 25 Iowa State in December.

Cyclones are projected preseason top 15.

[Mikovio]

I'm with you on the baseball but bragging your FCS teams can finish ahead of Eastern Michigan and Louisiana Monroe isn't saying all that much. If you think you can do more than them with the same number of scholarships go for it. But $hit or get off the pot.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

I'm with you on the baseball but bragging your FCS teams can finish ahead of Eastern Michigan and Louisiana Monroe isn't saying all that much. If you think you can do more than them with the same number of scholarships go for it. But $hit or get off the pot.

I think the top 4/5 MVFC teams should go FCS because the top teams can beat about a third of FCS. More money to finish finishing 100th. Sign me up. However, everyone would have to have at least a 15,000 seat stadium and probably 20,000. UNI, ISUr, NDSU, SDSU (also I know MSU wants to jump, too) can sprinkle themselves between the MAC and CUSA. NOBODY from the MVFC will ever get into the MWC so put that dream to bed.

[RacerJoeD]

Pac12 announces they are going to a 20 game conference schedule.

[mvfcfan]

I'm with you on the baseball but bragging your FCS teams can finish ahead of Eastern Michigan and Louisiana Monroe isn't saying all that much. If you think you can do more than them with the same number of scholarships go for it. But $hit or get off the pot.

I know that you're a Bradley fan and FCS football doesn't really interest you at all, but the MVC / MVFC is never going to be as good as the P5 conferences as a whole, no matter what sport it is. Each sport has a team every now and again that can compete with almost anyone, but the conference as a whole will never be as good. And that's not to say that our conference isn't good, we're just not as good. I still hold true to the fact that if your school / team has FCS football (particularly MVFC) then you have an opportunity this fall to see some pretty good football. It might not be P5 good, but it is still pretty good.

I think the top 4/5 MVFC teams should go FCS because the top teams can beat about a third of FCS. More money to finish finishing 100th. Sign me up. However, everyone would have to have at least a 15,000 seat stadium and probably 20,000. UNI, ISUr, NDSU, SDSU (also I know MSU wants to jump, too) can sprinkle themselves between the MAC and CUSA. NOBODY from the MVFC will ever get into the MWC so put that dream to bed.

I assume you meant go to FBS, but I have to disagree. I went to the Boca Raton Bowl (MAC champ vs CUSA champ) this past December when I was in Florida and there's no way I'd ever want to see my team jump to FBS. I get that there is more money to be had in FBS, particularly by making a bowl game; but you are also spending a lot more money on additional coaches, sports, scholarships, etc. If it's about money then try to schedule 2 FBS teams a year instead of 1. Having the opportunity to play in a real playoff at the end of the year just seems to be the better deal to me.

[Mikovio]

I know that you're a Bradley fan and FCS football doesn't really interest you at all, but the MVC / MVFC is never going to be as good as the P5 conferences as a whole, no matter what sport it is. Each sport has a team every now and again that can compete with almost anyone, but the conference as a whole will never be as good. And that's not to say that our conference isn't good, we're just not as good. I still hold true to the fact that if your school / team has FCS football (particularly MVFC) then you have an opportunity this fall to see some pretty good football. It might not be P5 good, but it is still pretty good.

Didn't you literally in your last post point out that MVC baseball is 6th in the RPI? Which is ahead of the Big Ten? Also, Valley basketball has finished ahead of P5 conferences. Rarely, but it happens. With the right amount of breaks, Valley teams can win national championships in any sport. Wichita won a national baseball title, and Cal State Fullerton is doing it. Akron has won multiple soccer titles. Even in men's basketball, Loyola was leading Michigan late in the second half for a spot in the national title game. Butler was a bounce away from pulling it off from the Horizon.

None of this is possible in the MVFC. Literally because they're in a separate (lower) division. Sure that division has a playoff. So does D2, NAIA, JUCO. Most FCS playoff games are on ESPN+ and nobody sees them. The only team that has gained any kind of notoriety is NDSU which took stringing 4 national championships together. Only they can claim to come close to the millions of dollars in free advertising generated for schools in the NCAA mens basketball tournament followed by all of America.

That's why I say s*** or get off the pot. Go all in and fight for the college football playoff, or pack it in and spend that money on charter planes so your basketball coach and his staff can expand their recruiting footprint so odds improve you'll one day see the kind of returns only a Gonzaga, Butler, Loyola can speak of. If Loyola was sinking money into FCS football, you think that might affect their ability to retain Moser?

[BEARZ77]

Noticed NKU tapped Texas assistant Darrin Horn to be their new HC. Horn was among those high on my list for the MSU job last year, but never got seriously considered. He did a great job at WKU , then so-so but not a disaster at South Carolina before being fired there and then being hired on Smart's Texas staff. If he can keep the NKU program moving forward, they become more attractive . Always the issue with programs trying to move up, are they a one coach wonder or a program on the rise. Horn could really help their cause with a good showing. good hire in my opinion.

[mvfcfan]

No one outside of any P5 conference is ever going to make the CFP. UCF has proved that. It's better to stay FCS and compete for a national championship (even if it is 1AA) than play in a bowl game that is an afterthought. My point is that the MVFC is usually ranked 8th out of I believe 27 D1 football conferences. If you don't think MVFC football is good football, it is only because you've never watched it or given it a chance. You don't even have a team so I'm not sure why you are so worried about it. My post was intended for those with a team.

Also the Big Ten in baseball is sort of an exception. They have historically been pretty pathetic until the last few years or so. The MVC has pretty much always been higher than them. As far as basketball goes I'm not sure when the last time was we finished as high as a P6 league. I know we were during the last decade, but those days are long gone and I doubt the MVC will ever be that good again. IMO finishing in the Top 10 for every sport (football, basketball, and baseball) should be the primary goal of our league and its members. If we can do that it at least means that we are one of the best mid major conferences.

[Mikovio]

No one outside of any P5 conference is ever going to make the CFP. UCF has proved that. It's better to stay FCS and compete for a national championship (even if it is 1AA) than play in a bowl game that is an afterthought. My point is that the MVFC is usually ranked 8th out of I believe 27 D1 football conferences. If you don't think MVFC football is good football, it is only because you've never watched it or given it a chance. You don't even have a team so I'm not sure why you are so worried about it. My post was intended for those with a team.

Also the Big Ten in baseball is sort of an exception. They have historically been pretty pathetic until the last few years or so. The MVC has pretty much always been higher than them. As far as basketball goes I'm not sure when the last time was we finished as high as a P6 league. I know we were during the last decade, but those days are long gone and I doubt the MVC will ever be that good again. IMO finishing in the Top 10 for every sport (football, basketball, and baseball) should be the primary goal of our league and its members. If we can do that it at least means that we are one of the best mid major conferences.

Look, you posted on the Valley Basketball board, presumably because not enough people are reading the MVFC board. And while I'm a fan of a Valley school without FCS football, it does interest me because I see FCS football as holding back the basketball. Take your Sycamores for instance. If they weren't sinking money into FCS football maybe they could afford to buy out Greg Lansing. You can't dip your toe in both football and basketball and then act surprised when you're mediocre in both.

You call bowl games "afterthoughts" but guess what? The 2019 FCS title game drew 1.004 million viewers. Worse than 37 of the 40 bowl games. Both FCS semifinals were worse than every single one of the bowl games, even the ones on a Tuesday at noon. UCF in the Fiesta Bowl drew 8.471 million. When Boise beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl it was seen by 13.778 million. NIU in the Orange Bowl drew 10.562 million. So until they expand the playoff it might not be realistic to aim for a bid, but there's sure as hell a lot more to play for in FBS. Don't kid yourself.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/colleg ... tings-bcs/
https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/colleg ... v-ratings/

RTG VWRS
(+ STREAM) GAME BOWL DATE/TIME NET
13.8 (25.280M) CLEM-ALA CFPNC 1/7, 8:00p ESPN Megacast
9.9 (19.069M) ALA-OKLA Orange 12/29, 8:00p ESPN/ESPN2
9.4 (16.809M) CLEM-ND Cotton 12/29, 4:00p ESPN/ESPN2
8.9 (16.781M) OSU-WASH Rose 1/1, 5:00p ESPN/ESPN2
7.3 (13.298M) TEX-UGA Sugar 1/1, 8:30p ESPN/ESPN2
4.7 (8.471M) LSU-UCF Fiesta 1/1, 1:00p ESPN
5.0 (8.366M) UF-MICH Peach 12/29, Noon ESPN
4.4 7.709M UK-PSU Citrus 1/1, 1:00p ABC
3.2 (5.547M) WASH ST-IA ST Alamo 12/28, 9:00p ESPN
2.7 (5.142M) T A&M-NC ST Gator 12/31, 8:00p ESPN
2.8 (4.828M) WVU-SYR Orlando 12/28, 5:15p ESPN
2.3 (3.830M) OK ST-Mizzou Liberty 12/31, 3:45p ESPN
2.3 (3.790M) WISC-Miami Pinstripe 12/27, 5:15p ESPN
2.3 3.785M ORE-MSU San Francisco 12/31, 3:00p FOX
2.0 (3.343M) Baylor-Vandy Texas 12/27, 9:00p ESPN
2.25 3.334M FRES ST-ASU Las Vegas 12/15, 3:30p ABC
1.8 (3.256M) Iowa-MISS ST Outback 1/1, Noon ESPN2
1.6 (2.700M) TCU-Cal Cactus 12/26, 9:00p ESPN
1.6 (2.686M) MIN-GT Detroit 12/26, 5:15p ESPN
1.7 (2.663M) CIN-VT Military 12/31, Noon ESPN
1.8 2.617M STAN-PITT Sun 12/31, 2:00p CBS
1.6 (2.577M) Army-HOU Armed Forces 12/22, 3:30p ESPN
1.6 (2.573M) PUR-AUB Music City 12/28, 1:30p ESPN
1.65 2.550M SC-UVA Belk 12/29, Noon ABC
1.6 (2.533M) WAKE-MEM Birmingham 12/22, Noon ESPN
1.6 2.345M NC A&T-ALC ST Celebration 12/15, Noon ABC
1.2 (1.801M) Duke-Temple Independence 12/27, 1:30p ESPN
0.9 1.787M NWSTN-Utah Holiday 12/31, 7:00p FS1
1.1 (1.750M) MARSH-USF Gasparilla 12/20, 8:00p ESPN
1.0 (1.698M) Troy-Buffalo Mobile 12/22, 7:00p ESPN
0.9 (1.447M) Ohio-SDSU Frisco 12/19, 8:00p ESPN
0.9 (1.445M) BC-BOISE** Dallas 12/26, 1:30p ESPN
0.9 (1.372M) BYU-WMU Idaho 12/21, 4:00p ESPN
0.8 (1.371M) MTSU-APP ST New Orleans 12/15, 9:00p ESPN
0.8 (1.346M) UAB-NIU Boca Raton 12/18, 8:00p ESPN
0.75 (1.159M) LT-Hawaii Hawaii 12/22, 10:30p ESPN
0.6 (1.004M) NDSU-EWU FCS Champ. 1/5, Noon ESPN2
0.6 (986K) GA SO-EMU Camellia 12/15, 5:30p ESPN
0.7 (968K) UT ST-N TEX New Mexico 12/15, 2:00p ESPN
0.56 (838K) FIU-Toledo Bahamas 12/21, 12:30p ESPN
0.51 (846K) SDSU-NDSU FCS Semis 12/14, 8:00p ESPN2
0.28 (448K) Maine-E WASH FCS Semis 12/15, 2:00p ESPN2