Elgin to Retire

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

He had his time but should have retired 10 years ago. Time to get someone with vision who can convince and rally the President's.

The MVC has two Final Four teams during the past 10 years - one by a member that was added to the league in the same span.

Any future commissioner is going to have a very tough time replicating the success of Doug Elgin.

If you can't see the down trend you're blind. Let's not forget the refusal to expand the league in mid-00's that led the MVC to being where we are now. Being pushed out of the top 10 conferences. Who knows where we would have been if we added Butler or so done like them when we could have. Maybe Creighton and Wichita State stayed and another good team joined. True that's up to the President's but like I said in my OP we need someone with vision who can convince the President's. Did he have a good run? Yes. But, his guidance left the MVC in a bad place, as well. Not unlike when a coach overstays his time. Just because they went 28-6 in year 5 doesn't mean he should still be around in year 15 when they're 10-20 again....which is where ISU is...just not to that extreme in number of years.

[TylerDurden]

He had his time but should have retired 10 years ago. Time to get someone with vision who can convince and rally the President's.

The MVC has two Final Four teams during the past 10 years - one by a member that was added to the league in the same span.

Any future commissioner is going to have a very tough time replicating the success of Doug Elgin.

If you can't see the down trend you're blind. Let's not forget the refusal to expand the league in mid-00's that led the MVC to being where we are now. Being pushed out of the top 10 conferences. Who knows where we would have been if we added Butler or so done like them when we could have. Maybe Creighton and Wichita State stayed and another good team joined. True that's up to the President's but like I said in my OP we need someone with vision who can convince the President's. Did he have a good run? Yes. But, his guidance left the MVC in a bad place, as well. Not unlike when a coach overstays his time. Just because they went 28-6 in year 5 doesn't mean he should still be around in year 15 when they're 10-20 again....which is where ISU is...just not to that extreme in number of years.

You know what, you're completely correct. The MVC should have added Butler in 1994 instead of Evansville. After all, Butler was fresh off an NCAA appearance in 1962 and had posted six losing seasons in the previous nine - top notch credentials. Aside from two consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament in 92 and 93, Evansville had a horrible two-year drought without an NCAA bid in 90 and 91 and only five 20-wins seasons in the seven years before the joined the MVC - playing in the same league as Butler. Terrible decision by the league and its presidents.

Also should have added all those teams in the mid-2000s who sent sealed envelopes with applications to the league office that Elgin shredded.

ESPN would have been begging the MVC to take its millions and then Wichita State and Creighton would still be around. What terrible leadership that he couldn't convince ESPN to pay millions for the TV rights for games featuring a state's third- or fourth-most popular team in Normal, Ill., Peoria, Ill., Carbondale, Ill., Wichita, Kan., Des Moines, Iowa, and Springfield, Mo. - those things draw huge ratings.

Huge downward trend since 2005 as well. These are all of the RPI rankings before they switched to NET in 18-19: 8-6-6-8-9-7-11-8-8-11*-9-13-12-8*
*Final Four season

I call that terrible leadership for a mid-major to rank in the top 10 in 10 of 14 seasons - those two No. 11 ranks really put a damper on things. Clearly need a better vision to sustain a competitive league and convince the presidents to double their investments.

Why didn't he start his own television network and leverage cable companies to carry it? Poor vision again. This league is in a terrible spot. I wish it were more like the Horizon league - they know how to expand...IUPUI, PFW, Robert Morris...damn! Butler really made all the difference for them. They have a visionary as commissioner. Maybe LeCrone can get the MVC job?

I just hope the league survives all of Elgin's destructive actions. I'm not sure anyone can get the ship back on course.

The next guy better not hold Illinois State back like Elgin has for the past 22 years.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Look at your numbers. The MVC was averaging 7-8. Now theyre averaging 11, sometimes worse...which is not a great place to be considering the top 9 are the only ones with multiple bids. The MVC is after the WCC, MWC, A-10, and AAC. They used to be where the AAC was, directly behind the last P5 +1 team.

[IWokeUpLikeThis]

Not sure why the last 2 seasons are being cherry-picked off. Their RPI/NET rankings were the same (14/11) and easily accessible, and those 2 seasons are the most relevant by virtue of being most recent.

Huge downward trend since 2005 as well. These are all of the RPI rankings before they switched to NET in 18-19: 8-6-6-8-9-7-11-8-8-11*-9-13-12-8*

So it’s really this:
8-6-6-8-9-7-11-8-8-11*-9-13-12-8*-14-11

That would make 4 of 5 seasons outside the top 10. Which must be why you excluded it — they support Jsnhbe1Birds’ point.

[BEARZ77]

I think the analogy of the coach who had a great run but who probably is out of step now fits. That doesn't take away from all the great things he did, nor does it mean we will get some one better just because we make a change. I'm not sure what the answer is for the MVC going forward given how stacked the deck is in MBB against midmajors. Elgin has great relationships and is well respected , so yes anyone new has their hands full moving forward in comparison. I've mostly been disappointed in his failure to negotiate any decent conference challenges with like leagues or some creative neutral site events for multiple teams the past few seasons to bolster scheduling. Yeah it takes 2 to dance, but just like i say for coaches, it's part of the job so don't cry about it, get it done. You either do or you don't.

[TylerDurden]

I hope the next commissioner lives up to your expectations.

My guess is you'll be longing for Elgin sooner than later.

[Drakey]

I hope the next commissioner lives up to your expectations.

My guess is you'll be longing for Elgin sooner than later.

So you are expecting the downward slide to continue?

[Adunk33]

The Redbirds are in search for a new AD as the MVC is looking for a new commission which has lead me to pay a little more attention to administrative hirings.

The American just hired a new commissioner for basketball and it seems like a really great hire.
https://theamerican.org/news/2020/10/13 ... rence.aspx

[Mikovio]

Elgin was overall fantastic for the conference. He was roundly criticized for the Loyola add and it's bearing fruit. He's also the one who talked Gregg Marshall into coming to Wichita. (Granted it looks worse the last few days but if nothing else their run filled the league's coffers.) The scheduling mandate was a good move and led to extra bids. His personal relationships while on the committee in the 2000s garnered extra bids as well. Bracketbusters and the MWC challenge were positives even if our teams didn't always rise to the challenge. And Arch Madness.

I agree the failure to make any moves in the mid-2000s was a mistake. Butler likely would have jumped prior to their 2008 run. And the suspension of the scheduling mandate a decade ago so guys like Jankovich and Simmons could gorge up on cupcakes to the RPI/NET's detriment was bad. Whether he was more responsible or the will of the collective schools just wasn't there despite his best efforts I can't say. But altogether the Elgin era was a huge net positive for the conference and they should honor him in some major way.