Updated 1/6/18: MVC Expansion Poll

[RacerJoeD]

If the risk for Murray State is that they risk the NCAA tournament appearances for a chance at a deep run in the tournament, I (just one Racer fan) would rather have the run. In recruiting, our conference is used against us as it is. We get great players, but miss out on so many more because our conference. Crappy seeds every couple years isn’t good enough any more. We want a deep run. That is the MVC’s draw for me as a Racer fan. It’s a gauntlet and when you run a gauntlet there are two outcomes. You get bruised. you get tough.

[letsgoAces]

If the risk for Murray State is that they risk the NCAA tournament appearances for a chance at a deep run in the tournament, I (just one Racer fan) would rather have the run. In recruiting, our conference is used against us as it is. We get great players, but miss out on so many more because our conference. Crappy seeds every couple years isn’t good enough any more. We want a deep run. That is the MVC’s draw for me as a Racer fan. It’s a gauntlet and when you run a gauntlet there are two outcomes. You get bruised. you get tough.

The risk Murray State takes are much the same as Creighton and Wichita State - they dwarfed the rest of the league. And to use your same analogy, they, particularly the Shockers, had a huge X across them as well across the MVC. WSU was spectacular. They left, not only for the money, but greater opportunity for an at large bid and higher seeding. To the credit of the MVC, this is an amazingly resilient conference. The league bounced back extremely well, as it had in the past.
Personally, I love the level of competition in the MVC, and I think the great fans of Murray State would too. The challenges will be greater but the opportunity for deeper success will be there in place.

[30ASaluki]

Two points: all interested parties need to listen to the podcast of the interview of the new MVC commissioner. While he did say the conference would be open to consideration of members that make sense for the MVC. But as he also put it, “we aren’t paupers, we have (paraphrasing) multiple institutions knocking on our door”. Secondly, I don’t believe the addition of these two teams would enhance the chances of a higher bid in the Dance, we had better teams than Belmont and Murray this year, and what seed was awarded to Loyola? I also agree wholeheartedly that those fans of those teams who think the MVC will be a cakewalk will be in for a rude awakening. The MVC has a real end-of-season tournament, no byes, everyone plays. The MVC is not populated with a slew of 300+ RPI teams. Last but not least, if we are not going to get more teams in the Dance, which we will not, it should be easy to see which way the water runs there, why do we want a 16.67% haircut in revenue from the Dance?

[valleydays]

Two points: all interested parties need to listen to the podcast of the interview of the new MVC commissioner. While he did say the conference would be open to consideration of members that make sense for the MVC. But as he also put it, “we aren’t paupers, we have (paraphrasing) multiple institutions knocking on our door”. Secondly, I don’t believe the addition of these two teams would enhance the chances of a higher bid in the Dance, we had better teams than Belmont and Murray this year, and what seed was awarded to Loyola? I also agree wholeheartedly that those fans of those teams who think the MVC will be a cakewalk will be in for a rude awakening. The MVC has a real end-of-season tournament, no byes, everyone plays. The MVC is not populated with a slew of 300+ RPI teams. Last but not least, if we are not going to get more teams in the Dance, which we will not, it should be easy to see which way the water runs there, why do we want a 16.67% haircut in revenue from the Dance?

Well, as a Murray State grad and fan, if teams are required to be better than the best Missouri Valley team in order to join, then the league will never expand.

I don't believe anyone affiliated with either Murray State or Belmont has any belief that joining this league would be a "cakewalk." We have seen schools, as someone else mentioned, like Valpo and Missouri State come in riding high from their old leagues and settle in the middle of the pack in the Valley. Belmont and Murray would likely do the same, even competing for the title some years, but I very strongly doubt that either would be a bottom feeder.

No, selfishly, I would like to see the Racers in this conference because it's a better league than the OVC. But, at the same time, I fully understand that if the MVC believes it would be lessened by the addition of Murray State, that an invitation will not be forthcoming. Personally, I believe both the league and Murray State would see a mutual benefit, but I am, of course, biased.

[Kyle_Saluki_17]

One benefit of adding these teams is simply being able to go to more conference games. Most teams in our league end up scheduling at least one D2/3 school in order to fill out their home schedule. Replacing a home game against some Truman State University with a home game against Belmont seems like a nice jump. Not only will this game get better attendance, it provides another decent quality opponent on your schedule. I know for a fact that Saluki fans will definitely show up for a home conference rival gave vs. Murray State.

[RacerJoeD]

I know for a fact that Saluki fans will definitely show up for a home conference rival gave vs. Murray State.

As a Racer fan, i can attest to this.

[BEARZ77]

I've always been ok with the idea of expansion, and been quite ok with the idea of Murray St and Belmont. The thing I've consistently said though is it won't increase our bids and it won't raise our profile. Those arguments just don't hold water in my estimation. I do think the scheduling argument is valid given how hard it is to get quality noncon games; 2 more decent conference foes makes sense from that standpoint. I think the league will be forced at some point to make a decision as to it's nature; it's always been a basketball league , but in the next couple years there appears there will be major decisions for some of the membership based on football. It'll be interesting to see if G-5 and high level FCS become the same thing , if so, that opens up a lot of options for conference realignment along more traditional regional geographical lines, and maybe you have another basketball only league[s] form from the privates in the MVC , A-10 and others that don't get an invite to the BE if and when it settles into what it looks like. There are some big hitters that might be scrambling among schools that play both and those that don't. I like where MSU is right now in that we 're not scrambling to do anything, just continuing to focus on infrastructure and retaining coaches so as to be ready if a solid opportunity is there whan things get crazy.

[RacerJoeD]

Adding two top 100 programs and the net subtraction of worse teams on the schedule will improve the average seeding and increase the expected bids accordingly. It will also improve the expected seeding, which also improves the expected win shares. It’s pretty straightforward math.

[siudawgs]

I've always been ok with the idea of expansion, and been quite ok with the idea of Murray St and Belmont. The thing I've consistently said though is it won't increase our bids and it won't raise our profile. Those arguments just don't hold water in my estimation. I do think the scheduling argument is valid given how hard it is to get quality noncon games; 2 more decent conference foes makes sense from that standpoint. I think the league will be forced at some point to make a decision as to it's nature; it's always been a basketball league , but in the next couple years there appears there will be major decisions for some of the membership based on football. It'll be interesting to see if G-5 and high level FCS become the same thing , if so, that opens up a lot of options for conference realignment along more traditional regional geographical lines, and maybe you have another basketball only league[s] form from the privates in the MVC , A-10 and others that don't get an invite to the BE if and when it settles into what it looks like. There are some big hitters that might be scrambling among schools that play both and those that don't. I like where MSU is right now in that we 're not scrambling to do anything, just continuing to focus on infrastructure and retaining coaches so as to be ready if a solid opportunity is there whan things get crazy.

If your premise is correct (won't increase bids, won't improve league's overall profile), then I'm not in favor of expanding. I don't see the scheduling "benefits" (which is debatable) of going to 12 or 14 teams as being worth splitting the revenue, making it harder to win the conference, etc.
I do like that Murray has a passionate basketball fan base and would bring fans to STL. I put more stock into that dynamic than most. I think when you're in a league that has small markets like Cedar Falls, Carbondale, Terre Haute, Valparaiso, etc., you lean into what you are - a tradition-rich hoops league that has passionate fan bases, and Arch Madness has been a signature event for the league over the years (but has taken an attendance/atmosphere hit post-Creighton and Wichita).
Whether any of this is sustainable in this greedy, football-driven landscape, I don't know, but if not, that's probably about the time I'll check out of emotionally investing in college sports ...

[All-MVC Fan]

Why any FCS school not named North Dakota State would want to jump to FBS is beyond me. It's a money pit, you’re not going to get to play for a National Championship, you’re going to lose tons of money in a good year to go to the No One Cares Bowl in Dayton, and your basketball is going to be in a worse conference. Seems smart to me…

Look, football is a big money loser for all but a few schools. No FCS school is going to change that by jumping to FBS. This “we want to maintain our place in the second tier “ story is BS. It’s all about ego. Mid-major AD’s who want to be high-major AD’s. Same with presidents and boosters. But it just doesn’t make any sense.

Now adding quality basketball programs to the conference might actually pay some dividends. In real dollars, not in ego and resume boosts. Making the conference stronger might generate more ticket revenue, more TV exposure, and possibly more bids. The A-10 has what, 60 or 70 schools, and most of them suuuuuuck. Hell, even their good ones mostly play in glorified high school gyms. But they’ve got a strata at the top that’s always in the hunt for at-large bids. It could work for the MVC the same way. But nothing will change with our current membership. We just don’t have the quantity of Q1 and Q2 games. Best way to up those numbers is to add Q1 and Q2 programs. Murray, Belmont, Wichita and maybe even Tulsa (yeah, football is a problem there). But you gotta maximize your hand, and right now the hand is a few cards short.

EXPAND!!!