2020 Arch Madness Finals Bradley Vs Valparaiso 1:05PM CT CBS

[Red]

I feel like the game as it was was a fine showcase for the conference though you have to dig a little to see it. Bradley is one of the largest most dedicated fanbases in the conference with one of the best histories of any program even if most of that history is in the distant past while Valpo making the final as the 7th seed with a team full of freshmen and sophomores is a huge testament to the depth of the league and its potential going forward. Casual fans may not see it but those who follow college basketball will. This may sound crazy but I think Valpo getting there made a favorable impression on the committee regarding the health of the league going forward. That might pay off for us in the future.

Calling something a showcase implies that people were watching. There was almost no national mention of the MVC during the weekend other than pointing out UNI's bad situation. Sort of worst case scenario for the league in my opinion.

[Majik45]

I thought Bradley had a great crowd on Saturday. They were all over the place. Looked like a Wichita crowd.

Bradley has kind of been the sleeping giant as far as bringing fans to St. Louis and this has been discussed on the Bradley boards. We have the fan base capable to bring Wichita or Creighton type crowds to Arch Madness, which you have started to see the last 2 years. The problem is that Bradley was really bad for so many years. We were in the PIG from 2011-2017, 7 straight seasons which included Les's last season, all 4 years under Geno Ford, and the first 2 years under Wardle. Let's be honest, most teams playing Thursday are not bringing huge number of fans because they were always eliminated on Friday.

WIth continued success, you will start to see a lot more Red down at Arch Madness from the Bradley faithful, but we had such a bad decade, it eroded the fan base.

I think we can get back to some really big crowds again as I think SIU, ISUr, and MSU can still bring significant crowds to Arch Madness if they are good. UNI, Drake, and Loyola have solid fan bases as well, but probably don't have the potential for as big of crowds because of the farther distance. EU, ISUb, and Valpo have not had success recently at Arch Madness, so their crowds are depressed as well.

[VUGrad1314]

I'm planning on attending next year for what it's worth especially if Valpo takes another step forward so that we don't have to play that extra game on Thursday.

[GoSIU88]

The sellouts at Arch Madness all involved SIU and to a lesser extent Wichita and Creighton.

The league needs to improve and have one or more teams with legitimate chances at at-large bids to the dance. That will fuel ticket sales (especially walk-up sales).

The 2007 tournament was sold out for the championship and semi-final sessions. It was a sight to behold. I'd say 16k of the crowd was pro-SIU, a couple of thousand pro-Creighton and the rest who knows.

The 2006 semi-final session (SIU vs UNI, Wichita vs Bradley) was sold out, too, I think and the championship game was close.

[Salukimadness86]

The sellouts at Arch Madness all involved SIU and to a lesser extent Wichita and Creighton.

The league needs to improve and have one or more teams with legitimate chances at at-large bids to the dance. That will fuel ticket sales (especially walk-up sales).

The 2007 tournament was sold out for the championship and semi-final sessions. It was a sight to behold. I'd say 16k of the crowd was pro-SIU, a couple of thousand pro-Creighton and the rest who knows.

The 2006 semi-final session (SIU vs UNI, Wichita vs Bradley) was sold out, too, I think and the championship game was close.

Thank you for caring. Thank you for sharing. God Bless the MVC for multiple bids...NEXT YEAR!

[Majik45]

Bradley had a big involvement in both 2006 and 2007 as they made the championship game in 2006, and lost on a last second Matt Shaw Tip-in in the Semi-final in 2007. If Bradley and SIU are consistently in the top 4, you will start to see larger crowds in St. Louis.

Historically, ISUr and MSU also have the capacity to bring really large crowds too.

[Salukimadness86]

Bradley had a big involvement in both 2006 and 2007 as they made the championship game in 2006, and lost on a last second Matt Shaw Tip-in in the Semi-final in 2007. If Bradley and SIU are consistently in the top 4, you will start to see larger crowds in St. Louis.

Historically, ISUr and MSU also have the capacity to bring really large crowds too.

Two solid coaches are in place at SIU and BU. Tourney should be a lot of fun the next four to five years.

[Birdfan2018]

Bradley had a big involvement in both 2006 and 2007 as they made the championship game in 2006, and lost on a last second Matt Shaw Tip-in in the Semi-final in 2007. If Bradley and SIU are consistently in the top 4, you will start to see larger crowds in St. Louis.

Historically, ISUr and MSU also have the capacity to bring really large crowds too.

Two solid coaches are in place at SIU and BU. Tourney should be a lot of fun the next four to five years.

Not sure about 2020-21, but with Horne, Reeves, and the incoming recruits, 2021-22 is looking promising for Illinois State. If Illinois State, Southern Illinois, and Bradley are the top 3, the attendance will be up again for the tournament. Missouri State & Northern Iowa also bring large crowds when they are good.

[siudawgs]

Bradley had a big involvement in both 2006 and 2007 as they made the championship game in 2006, and lost on a last second Matt Shaw Tip-in in the Semi-final in 2007. If Bradley and SIU are consistently in the top 4, you will start to see larger crowds in St. Louis.

Historically, ISUr and MSU also have the capacity to bring really large crowds too.

Two solid coaches are in place at SIU and BU. Tourney should be a lot of fun the next four to five years.

Not sure about 2020-21, but with Horne, Reeves, and the incoming recruits, 2021-22 is looking promising for Illinois State. If Illinois State, Southern Illinois, and Bradley are the top 3, the attendance will be up again for the tournament. Missouri State & Northern Iowa also bring large crowds when they are good.

I go to the tournament every year and it’s been a very long time since Missouri State brought what I’d consider to be a large crowd. I was hopeful this year’s team would inspire a bigger turnout but they fell flat and struggled to draw at home, let alone bring people to the tournament.

[Birdfan2018]

Not sure about 2020-21, but with Horne, Reeves, and the incoming recruits, 2021-22 is looking promising for Illinois State. If Illinois State, Southern Illinois, and Bradley are the top 3, the attendance will be up again for the tournament. Missouri State & Northern Iowa also bring large crowds when they are good.

I go to the tournament every year and it’s been a very long time since Missouri State brought what I’d consider to be a large crowd. I was hopeful this year’s team would inspire a bigger turnout but they fell flat and struggled to draw at home, let alone bring people to the tournament.

Not sure how Missouri State would do now if they had a couple good years in a row. But when they lost both the 1997 MVC Tournament Championship game & 1998 MVC Tournament Championship game to Illinois State, I’m not sure they had the most fans in St. Louis, but they probably had the most entertaining. The HairBears, their Chearleaders, & their Dance-line was second to no-one! Of course their team was second only to the Redbirds!
I remember the sign I made, “No MOORE DANNY, RICO is King of the HILL! Back in the 90’s, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, & Bradley always brought a ton of fans.