REPORT: Murray to the Valley?

[VUGrad1314]

Multiple sources now confirm Marshall to the Sun Belt has been finalized.

https://twitter.com/ChrisVannini/status ... 33728.html

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/stat ... 33728.html

Not as well-sourced but it sounds like James Madison is indeed coming as well we're just waiting on everything to be fully finalized.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-933709.html

CUSA is now down to 5 schools and I'm not sure if I see their NMSU Liberty UConn gambit paying off and remember that WKU and Middle Tennessee are flight risks (assuming the MAC is interested and it's their turn to swing if they want to). The JMU news is the most significant because that WILL have ramifications at the FCS level which could impact Murray State's football situation assuming that is the only holdup. We'll see with the Missouri State rumors subsiding and CUSA possibly disappearing into the ether (shocking how a conference can go from 14 to gone in a matter of weeks what people thought would happen to the Big XII is happening to them) affects MVC expansion. Hopefully we can get this done soon as more potential paths forward (since the current ones are apparently not workable right now) become available and clearer.)

Is it me or did the Sun Belt just out football the AAC in terms of these realignment adds? Don't get me wrong as long as Memphis Navy and SMU are still around it will be a better conference but if Big XII expansion round II happens look out.

[BCPanther]

Multiple sources now confirm Marshall to the Sun Belt has been finalized.

https://twitter.com/ChrisVannini/status ... 33728.html

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/stat ... 33728.html

Not as well-sourced but it sounds like James Madison is indeed coming as well we're just waiting on everything to be fully finalized.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-933709.html

CUSA is now down to 5 schools and I'm not sure if I see their NMSU Liberty UConn gambit paying off and remember that WKU and Middle Tennessee are flight risks (assuming the MAC is interested and it's their turn to swing if they want to). The JMU news is the most significant because that WILL have ramifications at the FCS level which could impact Murray State's football situation assuming that is the only holdup. We'll see with the Missouri State rumors subsiding and CUSA possibly disappearing into the ether (shocking how a conference can go from 14 to gone in a matter of weeks what people thought would happen to the Big XII is happening to them) affects MVC expansion. Hopefully we can get this done soon as more potential paths forward (since the current ones are apparently not workable right now) become available and clearer.)

Is it me or did the Sun Belt just out football the AAC in terms of these realignment adds? Don't get me wrong as long as Memphis Navy and SMU are still around it will be a better conference but if Big XII expansion round II happens look out.

The Sun Belt is unquestionably better than the MAC and Mountain West now. I'd put them right on par with the AAC.

The AAC is also now a pretty bad basketball league and that's with Memphis stuck there.

[Murraygrad05]

In 2017 it was “if Murray can do A, B, C, And D they are a shoe-in…”. We did all those and the MVC came back with a “yea but we’ve altered the deal and added an E so no.” The E was to get Belmont to come along. E has happened now and now it’s “yea, but we added an F now…”

I hope there are still talks going on in the background but with every “yea, but…” I see or read it’s very disheartening.

[VUGrad1314]

In 2017 it was “if Murray can do A, B, C, And D they are a shoe-in…”. We did all those and the MVC came back with a “yea but we’ve altered the deal and added an E so no.” The E was to get Belmont to come along. E has happened now and now it’s “yea, but we added an F now…”

I hope there are still talks going on in the background but with every “yea, but…” I see or read it’s very disheartening.

It does feel like Murray has been jerked around quite a bit. I hope you get in. Your program deserves it. There is no realistic add we could make that would be better than the Racers.

[BCPanther]

I'd like to thank Bradley and Drake for insisting on a private in 2017 rather than taking the best available option (after Belmont said no). No offense VU, you're a great dude.

There's Murray hesitancy and it's not just SIU, it's UNI and Missouri State not wanting to be tied to the Dakotas in football in perpetuity. The East Division would be laughably easy in comparison to a 4 Dakotas, UNI, MSU division that would end up cannibalizing itself.

We're all basketball schools but those of us that play football have to be good there in order to keep sponsorship and donation money moving.

[VUGrad1314]

I'd like to thank Bradley and Drake for insisting on a private in 2017 rather than taking the best available option (after Belmont said no). No offense VU, you're a great dude.

There's Murray hesitancy and it's not just SIU, it's UNI and Missouri State not wanting to be tied to the Dakotas in football in perpetuity. The East Division would be laughably easy in comparison to a 4 Dakotas, UNI, MSU division that would end up cannibalizing itself.

We're all basketball schools but those of us that play football have to be good there in order to keep sponsorship and donation money moving.

I want to disagree with that first statement so badly. I really do but our performance coupled with the fact that Murray State has won a tournament game in the interim (2019) and would have made the MVC a multibid league in all likelihood in 2018 makes it nearly impossible for me to do so. In hindsight it is clear that Murray State would have been a better add than Valpo and that perception will not change until Valpo actually does something to help the conference. This is a very painful thing for me to type but it's the truth. It should have been 11 back then but there is a reason why the first reports were that Murray State was the pick before the wrangling made Valpo emerge as the winner. Murray State was the better program in 2017 and they are the better program now. We have done nothing for this conference and that's on us. But now we have a chance to make up for that and get Murray State and we're not going to do it because some good FCS teams are scared of playing other better FCS teams too much? Come on man. That's on you. Letting FCS football make basketball decisions is going to get us nowhere and is only going to push schools like Missouri State out the door. They don't even really want to do FCS football anymore so why would UNI whose basketball program is the only reason anybody outside the midwest knows about or cares about the school block a good thing for its flagship sport for something that is and should be a secondary concern. If donors and sponsors are going to pull their money because you lose to NDSU and SDSU too much then they aren't very loyal and don't really understand the sports they claim to love and that's on them. You can't not put the best interests of the conference forward because of that.

[Mikovio]

I'd like to thank Bradley and Drake for insisting on a private in 2017 rather than taking the best available option (after Belmont said no). No offense VU, you're a great dude.

There's Murray hesitancy and it's not just SIU, it's UNI and Missouri State not wanting to be tied to the Dakotas in football in perpetuity. The East Division would be laughably easy in comparison to a 4 Dakotas, UNI, MSU division that would end up cannibalizing itself.

We're all basketball schools but those of us that play football have to be good there in order to keep sponsorship and donation money moving.

In fairness, at the time Valpo was coming off 2 NCAAs and 2 NITs the previous 5 years.

Football is a money pit and the best thing Wichita ever did was disband their program. What do the best midmajors this century have in common? They either don't have football or don't emphasize it. Gonzaga, Creighton, Butler, Wichita, Loyola, Belmont. If Gonzaga had a football program to suck out revenues from its athletic dept it wouldn't be where it is today. Programs like Ohio State and Michigan can be good at both. Not at our level. If you chase both you'll get mediocrity.

[BCPanther]

I'd like to thank Bradley and Drake for insisting on a private in 2017 rather than taking the best available option (after Belmont said no). No offense VU, you're a great dude.

There's Murray hesitancy and it's not just SIU, it's UNI and Missouri State not wanting to be tied to the Dakotas in football in perpetuity. The East Division would be laughably easy in comparison to a 4 Dakotas, UNI, MSU division that would end up cannibalizing itself.

We're all basketball schools but those of us that play football have to be good there in order to keep sponsorship and donation money moving.

I want to disagree with that first statement so badly. I really do but our performance coupled with the fact that Murray State has won a tournament game in the interim (2019) and would have made the MVC a multibid league in all likelihood in 2018 makes it nearly impossible for me to do so. In hindsight it is clear that Murray State would have been a better add than Valpo and that perception will not change until Valpo actually does something to help the conference. This is a very painful thing for me to type but it's the truth. It should have been 11 back then but there is a reason why the first reports were that Murray State was the pick before the wrangling made Valpo emerge as the winner. Murray State was the better program in 2017 and they are the better program now. We have done nothing for this conference and that's on us. But now we have a chance to make up for that and get Murray State and we're not going to do it because some good FCS teams are scared of playing other better FCS teams too much? Come on man. That's on you. Letting FCS football make basketball decisions is going to get us nowhere and is only going to push schools like Missouri State out the door. They don't even really want to do FCS football anymore so why would UNI whose basketball program is the only reason anybody outside the midwest knows about or cares about the school block a good thing for its flagship sport for something that is and should be a secondary concern. If donors and sponsors are going to pull their money because you lose to NDSU and SDSU too much then they aren't very loyal and don't really understand the sports they claim to love and that's on them. You can't not put the best interests of the conference forward because of that.

I don't disagree on any of the football stuff there. The sponsors we have would love to do nothing more than throw more money at Iowa City but they've realized half a million here goes a helluva lot farther than $5M in Iowa City.

I have season football tickets to tailgate, drink and have something to do in the fall. I have season basketball tickets because it's life. That's not where we should be making our decisions but it's the reality right now. Just wait until we lose Jake over it, that's going to be awesome. Everybody associated with UNI knows where our priority needs to be except the people making the decisions. Once we lose Jake, we're the 90s version of UNI again.

Valpo is a Valley school and will really solidify that if/when you get the facilities updates done. The order doesn't matter as long as all's well that ends well and I think we'll get there eventually.

[squirrel]

So now, UTA and Little Rock are 2 non-football playing schools in a 16-team, football-oriented league.

[VUGrad1314]

So now, UTA and Little Rock are 2 non-football playing schools in a 16-team, football-oriented league.

They can look elsewhere. Negative interest in UTA and there is no way I would want Little Rock with Murray State on the board. If they weren't I would be okay with them but not with the Racers out there waiting for an invite.