Week 2 Non-Con Games Discussion

[chitown fanatic]

i like our conf schedule but I think the Drake at end of season will determine league champion between Braves, loyola, and the Drake

[mvfcfan]

Not a bad loss for Bradley as far as quality of team they played, but still at home against a lesser conference is tough one.

If SDSU was in our conference they would be one of the top teams in our league every year which is why they aren't in it. Them and NDSU should have been invited long ago.

[Adunk33]

:Bam: Apparently Bradley is now scheduled to play Greenville. Why, what is the purpose.

Looks like Bradley replaced the Greenville game with a game against Loyola’s current opponent, Lewis.

[BEARZ77]

Not a bad loss for Bradley as far as quality of team they played, but still at home against a lesser conference is tough one.

If SDSU was in our conference they would be one of the top teams in our league every year which is why they aren't in it. Them and NDSU should have been invited long ago.

To elaborate, I have nothing against SDSU; I admire their overall athletic programs. But to jump up in leagues
in D-1 basketball rarely results in similar success that the school was having previously. Valpo & Evansville are prime examples in the MVC, Davidson a good example in the A-10, perhaps to some degree WSU in the AAC. In many cases it' a matter of $$$ . If you aren't going to spend in the top level of your conference in D-1 basketball, it's hard to maintain the same long term success you had at your previous level. Other factors are you just find it more difficult to win 20+ games when there aren't 6-8 gimme conference games a year in a better conference. You can be just as good as you were , but now that 14-4 conference record is 9-9 playing teams just as good as you are almost nightly. Too me the surprise team in such moves has been Butler to the Big East, but I've never looked at what their basketball budget looks like and what it was before. It just ain't as easy as gee we win 25 games a year and are competitive the couple games we play above our level each year so that's what to expect if we move up a notch.

I've always felt SDSU and NDSU would be decent adds, but not move the needle ones, and given the problems they would present for travel costs etc. not the best match for expansion like a Murray State would be. I do think playing them and South Dakota in both men's and wbb in noncon games is good for most Valley teams, just like playing Murray St, and similar schools is also.

[E-Villan]

Not a bad loss for Bradley as far as quality of team they played, but still at home against a lesser conference is tough one.

If SDSU was in our conference they would be one of the top teams in our league every year which is why they aren't in it. Them and NDSU should have been invited long ago.

To elaborate, I have nothing against SDSU; I admire their overall athletic programs. But to jump up in leagues
in D-1 basketball rarely results in similar success that the school was having previously. Valpo & Evansville are prime examples in the MVC, Davidson a good example in the A-10, perhaps to some degree WSU in the AAC. In many cases it' a matter of $$$ . If you aren't going to spend in the top level of your conference in D-1 basketball, it's hard to maintain the same long term success you had at your previous level. Other factors are you just find it more difficult to win 20+ games when there aren't 6-8 gimme conference games a year in a better conference. You can be just as good as you were , but now that 14-4 conference record is 9-9 playing teams just as good as you are almost nightly. Too me the surprise team in such moves has been Butler to the Big East, but I've never looked at what their basketball budget looks like and what it was before. It just ain't as easy as gee we win 25 games a year and are competitive the couple games we play above our level each year so that's what to expect if we move up a notch.

I've always felt SDSU and NDSU would be decent adds, but not move the needle ones, and given the problems they would present for travel costs etc. not the best match for expansion like a Murray State would be. I do think playing them and South Dakota in both men's and wbb in noncon games is good for most Valley teams, just like playing Murray St, and similar schools is also.

This isn't exactly correct. I can tell you from the Evansville perspective that we didn't jump up in conference affiliation. The old MCC had grown into a pretty good conference. Good enough that both Bradley and Creighton each had a foot in the door before it started crumbling. Our issues are entirely self-inflicted, and have little to do with conference affiliation, fan support or money. The biggest issue was two consecutive presidents that were elitist and had little appetite for athletics or the community in general. The jury is out if that has been corrected, but at least the background of our new president does have athletics in it. Those Jim Crews teams of the 80's and 90's would have been successful in today's MVC, and frankly, Marty would have never won a Horizon or even OVC championship.

On the flipside, Loyola had spent years as an also-ran in a much weaker Horizon. Few would have suspected with the move up in conferences, they would have had the recent success that they have. The Dakota schools could be successful, or they could struggle. Most programs in the MVC have similar resources, etc. In this league, it really comes down to if you have the right people in place or not.

[BEARZ77]

I agree to a point, but it took Loyola 5 years to get to where they are in the MVC, they didn't come in and immediately become a upper level conference team. It definitely depends on having a solid AD/HC combo among other things. Who knows , the landscape in college sports will change some more in the next decade and conference affiliations will as well; we could easily see the Dakotas involved given the relationships with football already established. It won't bother me if we do as it is what it is.

[ahunte1]

Maybe next week we can win more than two D1 games.

[pafan]

The biggest issue was two consecutive presidents that were elitist and had little appetite for athletics or the community in general. The jury is out if that has been corrected, but at least the background of our new president does have athletics in it.

Pres P is too busy trying to keep himself from run out of town by the faculty to care right now.