LOL - Wichita State (American new members)

[RacerJoeD]

Exactly this.

Somebody has to win the SWAC and the MEAC and the Patriot League and Big West but that doesn't make them good teams it just means they were less shitty than everyone else enough to win more games.

These are horrible examples. . .sure the MEAC and SWAC, absolutely, but both leagues have been notoriously incompetent for generations, and traditionally are football-oriented. So, they barely care. And rarely is a league champion (even if they are a bottom five league aside from the MEAC and SWAC) ranked in the 200s.

I don't disagree with what you guys are saying-I'm not saying that all of a sudden programs will start winning, but there is an opportunity there. Texas Southern hasn't had great rankings, but just by putting forth a little effort in hoops, have been pretty formiddable and has become a dominant force in the SWAC, and not a team someone wants to draw in the postseason. That's not saying much, but the combined effort and taking advantage of the opportunity CAN produce results.

Of course you’re right. But if your team puts forth the effort, but your conference mates don’t, your always limited. Trust me.

[VUGrad1314]

Exactly this.

Somebody has to win the SWAC and the MEAC and the Patriot League and Big West but that doesn't make them good teams it just means they were less shitty than everyone else enough to win more games.

These are horrible examples. . .sure the MEAC and SWAC, absolutely, but both leagues have been notoriously incompetent for generations, and traditionally are football-oriented. So, they barely care. And rarely is a league champion (even if they are a bottom five league aside from the MEAC and SWAC) ranked in the 200s.

I don't disagree with what you guys are saying-I'm not saying that all of a sudden programs will start winning, but there is an opportunity there. Texas Southern hasn't had great rankings, but just by putting forth a little effort in hoops, have been pretty formiddable and has become a dominant force in the SWAC, and not a team someone wants to draw in the postseason. That's not saying much, but the combined effort and taking advantage of the opportunity CAN produce results.

Of course you’re right. But if your team puts forth the effort, but your conference mates don’t, your always limited. Trust me.

Listen to Joe. If anybody would know this it's a Murray State fan. Have you seen the bottom of the OVC in basketball? There's a reason that conference had trouble cracking the top 20 year in and year out even at its recent best and was an eye popping 24th (!) in the NET in 2019 even though they got multiple bids thanks to Murray State and Belmont doing absolute yeoman's work that year.

[RacerJoeD]

And I truly believe that Belmont got that at large as much for their retiring HOF coach as they did their wins which were good, but they had two losses to Jacksonville St (130 NET that relied heavily on two wins vs Belmont) and another to Green Bay (21-17, 4th in Horizon)

Dont get me wrong, they were a good team. And they deserved an at large. But when it comes to an at large bid, deserve rarely matters.

[VUGrad1314]

And I truly believe that Belmont got that at large as much for their retiring HOF coach as they did their wins which were good, but they had two losses to Jacksonville St (130 NET that relied heavily on two wins vs Belmont) and another to Green Bay (21-17, 4th in Horizon)

Dont get me wrong, they were a good team. And they deserved an at large. But when it comes to an at large bid, deserve rarely matters.

I agree. I called that bid the Rick Byrd Lifetime Achievement Award.

I felt the same way about Drake this past year. They ABSOLUTELY deserved an at large bid and they proved that by beating Wichita State but I don't think there's any way they get in in a normal year. They benefitted handsomely from the COVID scheduling which gave them two extra Q2 opportunities against Indiana State and Missouri State respectively that they would not have had. Had they done a traditional home and home those extra road games would have been Q3 home games and would have had a significant negative impact on their overall resume. This isn't meant to be a knock on their team or accomplishments at all I reiterate that they absolutely deserved that at large and I advocated strongly for them getting in at the time but I think it's very fair to point that important factor out. Like you said what teams deserve rarely matters at our level. Sometimes we get lucky and our seasons get rewarded but it's far too rare nowadays which is why I'm glad we're expanding to add more quality schools which I hope will soon include Murray State.

[BCPanther]

And I truly believe that Belmont got that at large as much for their retiring HOF coach as they did their wins which were good, but they had two losses to Jacksonville St (130 NET that relied heavily on two wins vs Belmont) and another to Green Bay (21-17, 4th in Horizon)

Dont get me wrong, they were a good team. And they deserved an at large. But when it comes to an at large bid, deserve rarely matters.

I agree. I called that bid the Rick Byrd Lifetime Achievement Award.

I felt the same way about Drake this past year. They ABSOLUTELY deserved an at large bid and they proved that by beating Wichita State but I don't think there's any way they get in in a normal year. They benefitted handsomely from the COVID scheduling which gave them two extra Q2 opportunities against Indiana State and Missouri State respectively that they would not have had. Had they done a traditional home and home those extra road games would have been Q3 home games and would have had a significant negative impact on their overall resume. This isn't meant to be a knock on their team or accomplishments at all I reiterate that they absolutely deserved that at large and I advocated strongly for them getting in at the time but I think it's very fair to point that important factor out. Like you said what teams deserve rarely matters at our level. Sometimes we get lucky and our seasons get rewarded but it's far too rare nowadays which is why I'm glad we're expanding to add more quality schools which I hope will soon include Murray State.

Drake was very good but I agree. That non-conference schedule last year would have out and out disqualified them in other years.

That said, THRILLED they got in and probably more thrilled that they beat Wichita.

Their schedule this year, along with Loyola and UNI, are definitely at large worthy if they can win some games!

[RacerJoeD]

The selection committee will always give the benefit of the doubt to a .500 power 5 team over a deserving MM. if you want the at large bids, it takes multiple teams recruiting well, scheduling OOC well, and every team in your league not being okay with being terrible. The Valley (no matter the mud you guys throw towards each other) does this pretty well. I personally think that the MVC has in its grasp the ability to be the best non power 5 conference year in and year out.

[VUGrad1314]

And I truly believe that Belmont got that at large as much for their retiring HOF coach as they did their wins which were good, but they had two losses to Jacksonville St (130 NET that relied heavily on two wins vs Belmont) and another to Green Bay (21-17, 4th in Horizon)

Dont get me wrong, they were a good team. And they deserved an at large. But when it comes to an at large bid, deserve rarely matters.

I agree. I called that bid the Rick Byrd Lifetime Achievement Award.

I felt the same way about Drake this past year. They ABSOLUTELY deserved an at large bid and they proved that by beating Wichita State but I don't think there's any way they get in in a normal year. They benefitted handsomely from the COVID scheduling which gave them two extra Q2 opportunities against Indiana State and Missouri State respectively that they would not have had. Had they done a traditional home and home those extra road games would have been Q3 home games and would have had a significant negative impact on their overall resume. This isn't meant to be a knock on their team or accomplishments at all I reiterate that they absolutely deserved that at large and I advocated strongly for them getting in at the time but I think it's very fair to point that important factor out. Like you said what teams deserve rarely matters at our level. Sometimes we get lucky and our seasons get rewarded but it's far too rare nowadays which is why I'm glad we're expanding to add more quality schools which I hope will soon include Murray State.

Drake was very good but I agree. That non-conference schedule last year would have out and out disqualified them in other years.

That said, THRILLED they got in and probably more thrilled that they beat Wichita.

Their schedule this year, along with Loyola and UNI, are definitely at large worthy if they can win some games!

The selection committee will always give the benefit of the doubt to a .500 power 5 team over a deserving MM. if you want the at large bids, it takes multiple teams recruiting well, scheduling OOC well, and every team in your league not being okay with being terrible. The Valley (no matter the mud you guys throw towards each other) does this pretty well. I personally think that the MVC has in its grasp the ability to be the best non power 5 conference year in and year out.

I agree with both of these posts! Hopefully your Racers can join the fun soon and add to this high quality league! I have no doubt you would schedule amazingly well if in the Valley especially if your team was a prime contender in the league. Just no more NAIA schools on the schedule placed on there out of desperation okay? Find good home and homes. As I've said before WKU was a terrific start to that. Keep that up!

[RacerJoeD]

We had scheduled two D1s but with conferences up in the air, we let them out of the contracts and might have hooked them up with each other. Then we tried to fill those slots and couldnt.

[Aargh]

Shocker fan popping in.

When WSU moved to the AAC, what just happened was predicted as the downside of joining the AAC. Now it happened. As long as Memphis, SMU, and Tulsa are still in the AAC, it's a better league for NCAA tourney chances than the MVC. I'm going to have to see Loyola continue as a strong team after Moser left.

WSU isn't getting the result they were expecting when they left the MVC, but will still be getting $2 mill a year from ESPN. Even with a renegotiated contract somewhere in the 2030's, the TV revenues from ESPN will still be in the $1 - $1.5 mill range.

The Big East is looking to expand. WSU is listed as the #2 - #4 prospect. Gonzaga is #1, but the thought is that Gonzaga wouldn't move to an east coast conference.

There's another aspect to this current realignment. The AAC just raided CUSA. The Sun Belt is likely to make a move on the remaining CUSA teams. That could leave both the Sun Belt and CUSA looking to add members. The MVFC is a likely target for adds.

If MVFC teams are invited to join FBS leagues, do they commit to the extra $$ and move? If they move, do they take their Olympic sports with them?

[VUGrad1314]

Shocker fan popping in.

When WSU moved to the AAC, what just happened was predicted as the downside of joining the AAC. Now it happened. As long as Memphis, SMU, and Tulsa are still in the AAC, it's a better league for NCAA tourney chances than the MVC. I'm going to have to see Loyola continue as a strong team after Moser left.

WSU isn't getting the result they were expecting when they left the MVC, but will still be getting $2 mill a year from ESPN. Even with a renegotiated contract somewhere in the 2030's, the TV revenues from ESPN will still be in the $1 - $1.5 mill range.

The Big East is looking to expand. WSU is listed as the #2 - #4 prospect. Gonzaga is #1, but the thought is that Gonzaga wouldn't move to an east coast conference.

There's another aspect to this current realignment. The AAC just raided CUSA. The Sun Belt is likely to make a move on the remaining CUSA teams. That could leave both the Sun Belt and CUSA looking to add members. The MVFC is a likely target for adds.

If MVFC teams are invited to join FBS leagues, do they commit to the extra $$ and move? If they move, do they take their Olympic sports with them?

They would have to. FBS conference rules demand it. An FBS conference needs 8 full members to be viable. I hope no MVC teams get poached. I want everyone to stay together and continue to build the league through expansion adds. And if the MVC loses one or more teams to FBS it would significantly weaken the league without question. I don't see any MVFC teams leaving at this time but I suppose it's possible.