Another Expansion/Realignment Thread

[ReZyNeZy]

Guys stop. The A-10 is not courting Belmont nor will they in the immediate future. Again it took a FINAL 4 and a SWEET 16 appearance within a five year window for the A-10 to decide it was worth taking Loyola to gain a presence in CHICAGO. Nashville is a nice market to have but it isn't Chicago and Belmont's performance has been solid in the MVC but nowhere near that level. There is ZERO chance of a Belmont defection to the A-10 right now. The only true flight risk is Illinois State if they decide they want FBS and the MAC other than that we move forward with what we have and either add one or a few or no one. Speaking of which I would have expected there to be more traction on this than there has been. Anybody know what the holding pattern is about?

I think the new landscape of college athletics is giving a lot of FBS desiring schools cold feet. The 5 million price tag in addition to the expectation of high pay and scholarship put outs seems like a daunting task money wise.,

[MissouriValleyUnite]

Belmont is the only one the A10 would even look at and that has more to do with Nashville than it does what Belmont has done/is doing.

They aren't adding a ton to travel budgets to come to Peoria or Des Moines.

This is absolutely correct. East Coast schools are only adding a Midwestern market if it's a big one like Chicago or Nashville or St Louis or the Twin Cities. The only exception is if a school operates a Big East-esque athletic department with Big East-esque fan support like Dayton, who's fallen into their laps because they duplicate Xavier's market too much.

Remember, it took a Final Four *AND* Sweet 16 for them to add *Chicago*. They aren't watering down their shares of the pie to 1/16 for Des Moines or Peoria.

Also, people who've had a track record of knowing who the A-10 will add before it leaks have consistently maintained that College of Charleston is pegged as their next addition. Eastern schools' top priority is the eastern seaboard.

[MidwestBest]

I dont disagree but also i think realignment makes strange bedfellows. USC is in the Big Ten, the Valley is earnestly looking at Texas schools, people seriously talked about Gonzaga to the Big East...im not saying never to anything at this point.

[tribecalledquest]

I realize logic plays a very small role in all of this - but unless you are a P5 type program with football - moving around leagues is just something to DO - but it really doesn't mean much in the end.

It's all kind of just shuffling around the margins isn't it?

[FunchessonPopcorn]

I realize logic plays a very small role in all of this - but unless you are a P5 type program with football - moving around leagues is just something to DO - but it really doesn't mean much in the end.

It's all kind of just shuffling around the margins isn't it?

Seems that way to me. I feel like MVC truly having basketball as king gives us as a collective advantage to some degree, though probably a slight one. Also, if you accept we are not playing the same game as the power schools, instead having a regional footprint and modest travel budgets assc with that….we’re a little more connected to the real world. We are away from the trough for the massive revenue possibilities, but that mostly will be what it will be.

The stupidest thing to do, as far as I can tell, is mimic what these giants are forced to do on the cost and efficiency side, all in hopes that it might move the meter a fraction or 2 on the revenue side. Bouncing around between conferences seems like moving the deck chairs on the titanic.

I get Missouri State legitimately had this vision for a while. You don’t hire a Petrino otherwise. The basketball environment there has eroded tremendously over the years. For someone like Moats, it’s just a chance to have a reset and a distraction for his own hide. It’s a nice punctuation mark for Smart, and given the mess in basketball it’s a bonus to reset for his legacy too, probably. So it may make sense for the institution, and it definitely makes sense for the people leading the institution at Missouri State, and their self interests.

[VUGrad1314]

Just reading tea leaves and speculating here based on the quiet and trying to come up with conclusions that make sense based on them but I think the reason we haven't heard anything yet about a twelfth is because the MVC is waiting to hear about another departure specifically Illinois State. I use as my frame of reference the fact that finalizing the Murray State move took unnecessarily long when they were added which I believe had something to do with Loyola's impending departure at the time which we fans did not know about. I don't think the MVC is staying at 11. If they were we would have heard something to that effect by now. If it were St Thomas (and St Thomas is in fact beholden to the Summit League through 2027 as has been rumored) then we would have heard something about that. The MVC would issue a statement like "We are happy with the 11 we have and will evaluate opportunities for future growth as they present themselves" or something. I think they're waiting to see what their final membership looks like before moving on candidates. There's a chance nobody's interested or can commit at this time but if that's the case then we would have heard some statement from the MVC. The fact that things have been so quiet seems to suggest that something is happening and the MVC might just be waiting for the dust to settle when making its move. It's also possible the league is evaluating moving beyond 12. Perhaps their leading candidate (presumably NKU) is unwilling to come alone and they need to find a travel partner while finding a 14th that makes sense. It's also possible the 11 schools simply can't agree on a candidate. The Iowa schools probably understandably would rather not have NKU especially as a standalone add with the lack of direct flights to Cincinnati but the other schools (assuming St Thomas can't come yet) don't want a school more palatable to the Iowa schools because they aren't strong enough as basketball adds to warrant expansion. I just feel like something is happening but we don't have a clear enough picture to know what yet.

[BCPanther]

The other factor is that we've got a full year here. This isn't like the last 3 departures that were gone immediately.

We don't have to do anything before July 1, 2025.

[VUGrad1314]

The other factor is that we've got a full year here. This isn't like the last 3 departures that were gone immediately.

We don't have to do anything before July 1, 2025.

VERY fair point. It just seems odd that there has been no statement or indication whatsoever which way the wind is blowing is all but we know that the league is very tight lipped about these things as well. And all of that is good for the league. It gives the candidate schools a year to make their respective cases and a year for the presidents to decide what the best course of action is. Another year of realignment moves to possibly present new and better options and preserves the option to do nothing which while unlikely is certainly possible. Even if a school like NKU is only a middle of the pack school in Men's basketball that's still fine as long as they more or less replicate what Missouri State consistently brought in terms of performance the league will be more than fine. Just as it will be fine pretty much regardless of what is decided here.

[BCPanther]

The other factor is that we've got a full year here. This isn't like the last 3 departures that were gone immediately.

We don't have to do anything before July 1, 2025.

VERY fair point. It just seems odd that there has been no statement or indication whatsoever which way the wind is blowing is all but we know that the league is very tight lipped about these things as well. And all of that is good for the league. It gives the candidate schools a year to make their respective cases and a year for the presidents to decide what the best course of action is. Another year of realignment moves to possibly present new and better options and preserves the option to do nothing which while unlikely is certainly possible. Even if a school like NKU is only a middle of the pack school in Men's basketball that's still fine as long as they more or less replicate what Missouri State consistently brought in terms of performance the league will be more than fine. Just as it will be fine pretty much regardless of what is decided here.

Agreed. The league is great at keeping things quiet. Belmont literally came out of nowhere, nobody was talking expansion at all and then, boom, an intentional leak to Matt Brown and they were in.

[VUGrad1314]

I was on a trip hiking with my mom when I saw the news. We were sitting down to dinner and I saw that Belmont was added and I was SO EXCITED! I had wanted them in the MVC since Valpo joined and couldn't believe they FINALLY accepted! Was puzzled by the lack of a Murray followup but I guess football and such was the holdup there but I'm just so thrilled that they're both finally here and the league is much stronger for it! I know the next addition(s) will be great too. This league has a habit of getting it right. Being deliberate intentional and effective when it makes decisions. I still think the Valley has many great years ahead of it even in the new climate.