UIC to MVC Gaining Traction

[VUGrad1314]

I never saw anything reported that Valpo had to make any firm commitments to anything facilities wise. We're moving along but the pace is WAY too slow and we all can and should acknowledge that. Unlike Valpo--I think the slow pace is because we just haven't found the donor base or money yet to do what we need to do--UIC at least looks like they have the money to make it happen though and that's a very good thing. I assume the Flames have many well-heeled alumni who care about athletics who can make it happen should the right impetus (such as an MVC invite) arise. Unfortunately for Valpo, most of our big donors are largely academics focused and don't care much about the state of the athletics program which is fine people can do with their money whatever they wish but it explains a lot about the slow timetable for things at VU. Maybe it's a bit harsh to say there's no commitment at VU. I think everybody sees the state of our facilities and knows what needs to be done but the problem is unless and until someone steps up with a huge contribution to make it happen it really can't unless we tried a grassroots campaign but I'm not sure if we have enough of a base to make that viable either. We're just kinda stuck it appears and it really sucks because I want to see Valpo be a credit to the MVC so badly.

Many years ago (won’t say how many) I was born pretty much on Valparaiso University campus at Porter Memorial. Would love to see a new Arena built for the “Crusaders” (sorry)!

I would love to see a new arena myself but mostly I just want to see the team compete for championships in this league. We feel so far away from that goal right now and it's pretty discouraging. Maybe someday.

[ColonialBulldog]

Matt Brown citing Chronicle of Higher Ed: Undergraduate enrollment dropped by nearly a half million students, with enrollment declining across every type of college.

https://twitter.com/MattBrownEP/status/ ... 17414?s=20

Probably one of, if not the biggest, reason UIC is looking like the next member. Stats like these are why I did not get too worked up about UMKC and UTA discussions. Might be smart to take a good hard look at what UST has planned for the future as well.

[RacerJoeD]

Not slighting St Thomas, but private schools are the ones getting hit the worst with enrollment losses. I don’t see how adding another low enrollment private is going to help.

Honestly I don’t understand the logic of adding a market with the idea of it helping enrollment. If you add UIC, add them because they are willing to do what it takes to be a winning program. Because that’s the only way you gain traction in a market is by winning. If Drake (for example) thinks there are students to be had in Dallas or Chicago, then perhaps they advertise there or do some outreach. That’s more effective than adding a school that no one in that market cares about.

UIC has some history, and if they are willing to put the money in to do so, I think they will fit in well. If St Thomas is being looked at, it should be because of what they bring competition wise.

[Mikovio]

Not slighting St Thomas, but private schools are the ones getting hit the worst with enrollment losses. I don’t see how adding another low enrollment private is going to help.

Honestly I don’t understand the logic of adding a market with the idea of it helping enrollment. If you add UIC, add them because they are willing to do what it takes to be a winning program. Because that’s the only way you gain traction in a market is by winning. If Drake (for example) thinks there are students to be had in Dallas or Chicago, then perhaps they advertise there or do some outreach. That’s more effective than adding a school that no one in that market cares about.

UIC has some history, and if they are willing to put the money in to do so, I think they will fit in well. If St Thomas is being looked at, it should be because of what they bring competition wise.

Low enrollment? St Thomas has 10k students, same as Murray.

I see Chicago as important because most of our schools have large alumni bases in that city and a game there every year is good for outreach. Alumni association pregame parties, that sort of thing. Whether they attend or not it can lead to more engagement, more donations, more enrollment. Even if the game score is buried on page E12 of the Trib.

I haven't beaten the UST drum on here but I don't see why they couldn't be the next large market private school to succeed as a midmajor. What do the mids hitting the jackpot tend to look like? Butler, Loyola, Gonzaga, Creighton, Wichita (public but non-football). Seems they're financially healthy enough not to make athletic cuts, and if they recognize the benefits of going all in on athletics they could hit it big. Why not?

[BCPanther]

St Thomas played football at UNI this year. I was pretty impressed with how many people they brought. It was their first DI game so it was a special one but it still shows enthusiasm in their programs.

[mvfcfan]

Does anyone know what UIC spends on MBB annually?

[BCPanther]

Does anyone know what UIC spends on MBB annually?

Just shy of $2.9M annually per last Dept of Ed numbers. Not going to take a huge increase at all to fit in.

Murray: $2.55M
Belmont: $2.73M

[tribecalledquest]

St Thomas played football at UNI this year. I was pretty impressed with how many people they brought. It was their first DI game so it was a special one but it still shows enthusiasm in their programs.

I'm wrong a lot - but I think St. Thomas is a school the MVC will wish it had in 10 years.

[BCPanther]

Rest of League:

Bradley-$3.4M
Drake-$3M
Evansville-$2.84M
Illinois State-$2.5M
Indiana State-$2.1M
Missouri State-$2.8M
UNI-$3.25M
Southern Illinois-$3.1M
Valpo-$2.45M

Loyola-$4.4M

https://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/institution/search

[Red]

St Thomas played football at UNI this year. I was pretty impressed with how many people they brought. It was their first DI game so it was a special one but it still shows enthusiasm in their programs.

I'm wrong a lot - but I think St. Thomas is a school the MVC will wish it had in 10 years.

I agree. Their progress is moving at warp speed. Good sized school in a great market that is easy to fly into. I bet they are in the A10 or better in a decade.