tribecalledquest wrote:Drakey wrote:tribecalledquest wrote:Has the MVC ever been equal with the P6? How has the portal and NIL changed the power structure at all?
How has it changed it? Before they got paid a player might choose to star at Bradley instead of getting paid to be just another guy at a power 6 school. My guess is that you are primarily a fan of some power 6 team. I think you are alone in thinking that the portal is not bad for the Valley and will just get worse. Also "ever" is along time. There was a time when the Valley was arguably the best conference in the country. A number of the teams in the conference have lost half of their team in the last two years.
The Valley was the best conference in the country in the 50's and 60's. That was back when a lot of teams in the South didn't want black players.
You are speaking with emotion - not reason. Since the 1990's the MVC has ALWAYS been below the P5 conferences. The NIL and portal don't change that. Not in the least. I love the Valley but the majority of fans are all over the place emotionally.
There were also creative ways players got paid without getting paid over the past 7 decades as well.
Also, there was a time when transfers were getting a little out of hand, and the 5/8 rule was instituted, which the Valley benefitted from more than perhaps any other league in the country. And then they repealed that after 2006, and it's been trickle drip stream flood.
And I've argued this on the Bradley board, the real danger for the Valley - and I agree with Tribe overall though - is that NIL actually arguably benefits much smaller leagues to an extent where a kid that playing in the NCAA is a big deal, it's much easier to build a juggernaut and guarantee that bid in a league like the NEC or Summit than in the Valley. But the 96-team tournament offsets that some as the Valley should be able to get 2-3 teams in most years, if they schedule responsibly.