Conference Realignment - May 1

[TylerDurden]

I'm for the MVC staying as is more than ever. Having a conference viewed as stable during a time of instability makes us look more credible on the national scene.

I don't know how a conference's stability makes it look more "credible". What does credibility have to do with league stability? Is the Big 10 not credible because it recently added Nebraska? Is the Pac 12 not credible because it added Utah and Colorado? Is the A10 not credible because Temple left? I don't see conference stability having any relationship whatsoever with credibility.

Fromm a distance the MVC may look stable, but if one really scratches the surface a bit, I don't think they would see the MVC as being quite as stable.

Please share all of the discontent that is making the MVC less than stable. What are these real problems some schools have?

[Drakey]

[/quote]
The MVC is stable like a 600lb unmarried man with bad hygiene is single - it is due to lack of options more than anything else.

The fact of the matter is that that are some schools with some real problems with the conference and the conference is doing absolutely nothing to address those problems. At some point, the lack of action on those concerns turns into frustration and outright discontent. When that happens, teams begin shopping and jump at the first opportunity to leave.[/quote]


What are the schools and the problems that are not being addressed?

[Ali]

I think we'd be wise to add a couple good schools now before it's too late. Then if we add 2 and then lose two, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

I think we'd be wise to add a couple good schools now before it's too late. Then if we add 2 and then lose two, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Yessir. Strength in numbers. If I was league commish Oral Roberts would have been in this conference yesterday. Great basketball, good women's basketball, and also good baseball. And they have pretty good academics for those at places like Bradley, Drake, and Creighton who care about that sort of stuff. We'd be back in the Oklahoma market which we haven't had since Tulsa left. Seems like a no brainer plus their sports would only get better with the Valley banner behind their name. Then we could pair them with a New Mexico State or a Dakota school, or even a school like Murray State. All of them would likely agree in minutes and their boards of trustees would rubber stamp. If only Dougie Elgin read this board. Shaking my head.

[Aargh]

Oral Roberts?

WSU, Bradley, Drake, and CU have watched the MVC get watered down with about every change in membership in the last 30 or 40 years. Before everybody gets their panties in a wad, once Evansville, UNI, and MSU get to the level of Cincinnati, Memphis, and Louisville, then I will stop saying the MVC has been watered down.

Oral Roberts looks like another step in that direction. Right now, they're doing fairly well, but there are questions about the financial stability of their athletic department and their ability to stay competitive.

Anyway, didn't Oral Roberts just move to a less competitive conference than they were in?

[TheAsianSensation]

Oral Bob moved from a conference (Summit) where teams are in Michigan, Utah, and Indiana, to a conference where everyone is in Texas and Arkansas. And the Summit isn't exactly a conference teeming with value right now.

I don't think they're the slam dunk some think they'd be, but they clearly have a lot of value compared to the other expansion options that would be readily available.

I don't necessarily blame Elgin for letting Butler slide by. To be honest, if Butler had been in the MVC for 5-7 years and did what they did....they'd be gone to the A-10 anyway. They'd make that leap from either the Horizon or the Valley. If we added Butler, we would've added a 12th with less value that we'd be stuck with now...and we'd be forced to add another 12th that further dilutes the product.

[valleychamp]

WSU, Bradley, Drake, and CU have watched the MVC get watered down with about every change in membership in the last 30 or 40 years. Before everybody gets their panties in a wad, once Evansville, UNI, and MSU get to the level of Cincinnati, Memphis, and Louisville, then I will stop saying the MVC has been watered down.

You know, you make this same argument all the time, and its laughable. First of all, those schools haven't been in the Valley for 40-50 years for Chrissakes, that argument is so incredibly irrelevant today. Not to mention the fact that for all of your examples they were all brief, to very brief stints in the MVC. Dinosaurs roamed the plains of Wichita back when Cincinnati was the MVC. And, if you want to talk ancient history, you do realize that at one time it was schools like Creighton and Wichita State that were "watering" down the MVC, which was once comprised of schools that are currently reside in the B12 and B10 conferences right?

And its laughable that you put Drake, Bradley, WSU, and Creighton on some sort of pedestal in which they can look down on the rest of the MVC in disdain. I mean, really? How long does one have to have conference membership, or how much does one have to accomplish before they get an ounce of respect? UNI, MSU, and even Evansville to some extent have had more than their fair share of success in this conference. Same goes with the additions of the Illinois Schools before that.

Seriously, is the fact that UNI and MSU have membership in this conference preventing Wichita State and Creighton from being successful? You have this perception that certain schools are "holding" other schools back from achieving glory. Its a cop-out, and just not based in reality. In fact, you could argue that the opposite is true if you look at the successes that the Butlers, Gonzagas, George Masons, VCUs of the country which have had to play in weaker leagues than the MVC. If you have a good program, you will win games, and be successful regardless.

The MVC is a good league. A great league, IMO. We offer a great mix of schools, tremendous tradition, great geography, good competition, stability, good fanbases, great facilities, and on and on. I don't know what else you could ask for in a non-BCS level league, quite honestly. Unless an incredible opportunity arose to join a power league, I don't see any reason why a school would actively seek a way out of this conference. And I certainly am not in favor of seeking schools to add to the MVC just for the sake of adding schools. There appears to be this incessant need from some people to simply be "involved" in conference realignment, which forces them to throw common sense out the window. It should be a sense of pride for the MVC that we have not been affected by all this stuff.

[valleychamp]

wow, that was wordy. I apologize.

[iSASO]

I agree, Wichita certainly watered down the conference while being ranked #1 in the nation and going to the Final Four. It certainly watered down the conference with a 1st Team All-American and a Hall of Fame coach.

Evansville, MSU and UNI certainly have accomplished all those things, making them the most tradition-laden programs in the Valley.

[beatingrillz]

I agree, Wichita certainly watered down the conference while being ranked #1 in the nation and going to the Final Four. It certainly watered down the conference with a 1st Team All-American and a Hall of Fame coach.

Evansville, MSU and UNI certainly have accomplished all those things, making them the most tradition-laden programs in the Valley.

Do you blame the addition of those 3 teams for WSU bring a below average program since 1990? What has cause the shockers to be the 5th best team in the league over the last quarter century?