WSU and MSU fans, how bout we make a new league?

[uniftw]

I realize the OP is fishing, and I promised myself when I saw this thread start I wouldn't get involved.....but with the schools being thrown out there to replace some MVC school because they of the typical complaints against them I thought I'd do some research


Oral Robers - athletic budget of $10,906,448.....average RPI of 95 the last 10 years
South Dakota - athletic budget of $8,551,777.....not even D1 until July 1st....would be worst facilites in MVC
South Dakota State - athletic budget of $13,127,986...average RPI of 279 since joining D1 6 years ago would be worst facilites in MVC
North Dakota - athletic budget of $17,388,012....not even D1 until July 1st would be worst facilites in MVC
North Dakota State - athletic budget of $15,351,245....average RPI of 225 since joining D1 6 years ago... would be worst facilites in MVC



At this point I stopped keeping track of numbers because the rest of the schools listed weren't any "better" than the ones I went through already, or they are in a BCS conference/have sweet gigs they won't leave for a conference with any of the Dakotas/ORU/etc...


You think UNI is a D2 school in a D3 town do some research on Brookings, SD, Vermillion, SD, Bismark, ND....or any of those schools listed that would jump at a chance to be with Creighton and WSU.

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

That is good research with the RPI and athletic budgets. Some surprising info. I'm still a huge advocate of adding Oral Roberts. You look at the success they have had under Bill Self, the current head coach of SIUC, and Scott Sutton. They have been the premiere program in the Summit and will be the same in the Southland. Additionally they have a terrific women's program and baseball team. The baseball aspect would help the league and potentially quell some of this talk of Dallas Baptist. And finally Tulsa is a great city and it would be great for the Valley to get back into Oklahoma.

I have mixed feelings on NDSU and SDSU. I lack the data to prove it but my instinct is that these schools will become very good in the next decade. Both have very well rounded athletic departments, particularly NDSU. As for USD and the North Dakota Fightin' Lawsuits I am not interested. All I know about these two is the Indian nickname issue (which is garbage btw--they should be able to call themselves that if they want) and that North Dakota has good hockey. If they are successful down the line we can invite them then.

The two other schools I would give a good, hard look at would be Belmont and Murray State. I think they would be great additions. Both are pure basketball schools. Belmont has great academics and are in an awesome city. Can you imagine how neat it would be to have MVC events in Nashville? It would be epic. Adding Murray State would help with getting Belmont. Good geographic proximity and would help with travel. Murray State takes basketball very seriously being that they are in Kentucky.

Bottom line is that if I was Doug Elgin tonight, I would immediately invite 2 of ORU, Murray, and Belmont. If I could get all three then I would go to Fargo and get NDSU. In this whole conference realignment thing as near as I can tell basically only the Ivy League and the Valley have sat still. It makes sense for the academic snobs in the Ivy, their membership will remain as it is now forever. It DOES NOT make as much sense for the Missouri Valley Conference. There is strength in numbers in this day and age. The schools I mentioned all add a lot and have the supplemental benefit of extending the Valley footprint to exciting, new places. I share a pretty close friendship with a gentleman who is a significant power broker in the Ohio Valley and he does not get what DE is waiting on. He believes that Elgin and the powers that be in the Valley are either "scared (expletive deleted)" or have an "ace up their sleeve." He thinks it is the first. We need to take a risk and try to make this thing better now. Or watch as WSU, MSU, and Creighton leave and the rest of you all that still care will be left with a league that is a half step better than the Summit.

[Aargh]

Belmont? Murray State? Granted, Murray State had a good season, but in most years I would expect to see them as a disappointing buy game on the home schedule.

Casey, you've created a great argument for why WSU and CU should want out of the MVC.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Any interest that I had in adding ORU dissipated when they voluntarily decided to drop down a conference to save money. We don't need to be adding any more teams that keep making decisions just to save money.

[MVCfans]

Any interest that I had in adding ORU dissipated when they voluntarily decided to drop down a conference to save money. We don't need to be adding any more teams that keep making decisions just to save money.

I'd argue ORU made the move for better geographical alignment. League trips to Texas make more sense than those to IUPUI and Oakland MI. Yes, that saves them money also. In either case, they are in a one bid basketball league. Leaving the Summit was the right thing to do for ORU.

[Haha]

I haven't read anything in this topic except the opening post. Holy geez

Why I do sometimes as a WSU fan wish the football playing and non football playing schools would split I doubt the last two pages of post are worth reading.

I don't think ORU would be a "plus" addition for the current Valley. I do think they would make a fine member of a non football league version of the Valley. They have money problems but looks like they have really turned things around due to not only Hobby Lobby money given to them by the Green family but also the fact that the Green family made ORU make other changes and do responsible things with the money. Below I've posted the history between the two taken from wikipedia, so you know it's 100 percent right

2008 - present
On 14 January 2008 Oral Roberts University’s board of regents voted unanimously to accept $62 million from the Mart Green family, founders of Hobby Lobby and Mardel educational and Christian supply stores. In late October an ORU spokesman had said ORU was $52.5 million in debt and the school accepted an unconditional $8 million from the Greens in late November. ORU’s board of regents has been replaced with a 23 member board of trustees all initially named by the Greens, with Mart Green as chairman. Although Green said in November two family members would sit on the board, he will reportedly be the only one. Green said he wanted to be involved in ORU because his family “felt like financial stewardship needed to be shored up.” [39]
[edit]Campus renovations and layoffs
Of the $62 million given to Oral Roberts University, around half went toward eliminating the university's staggering $52 million debt. The remaining $32 million was allocated to, "campus renovations, technology upgrades, academic enhancement, financial aid for new and returning students, marketing and operations," according to the university website.[40] During the summer of 2008, $10 million went toward campus upgrades and deferred maintenance. Many of the dormitories on campus received extensive renovations and most of the campus's other buildings received much needed restoration and upgrades.[41]


In January 2009, the University began to implement the employment reduction plans announced in November 2008, laying off 53 employees and cutting about 40 unfilled positions. According to university sources, these layoffs come as the administration and Board of Trustees seeks long-term financial viability for the university.[42]
On January 29, 2009, it was announced that the Green family would commit an additional $10.4 million to go toward additional campus renovations and upgrades to take place during the summer of 2009.[43] About the gift, Mart Green, who is chair of ORU's board of trustees, said, "This gift will help to improve the quality of education for students at the new ORU. Our family is excited to continue partnering with ORU financially to ensure this great university continues to provide an excellent, whole-person education." [43]
[edit]Renewing the Vision campaign
Following Mart Green's contribution, the university's debt was reduced to $25 million. In February 2008, the Renewing the Vision campaign was initiated in an effort to erase this debt. To free the university from its burgeoning debt, the Board of Trustees announced plans for a $25 million matching campaign,[44] in which the Board agreed that it would match dollar-for-dollar all that was donated to the university as part of the Renewing the Vision campaign, up to a maximum of $25 million. ORU Interim President Dr. Ralph Fagin stated, "The goal is in one year to get the debt down. It is a pretty audacious goal. It is a faith goal."[44] In addition to eliminating the debt, funds from the Renewing the Vision campaign contributed to the 2008 summer campus renovations as well as scholarships provided by the university.[44] As of June 3, 2009, donations and pledges had reduced the university's original $50 million debt to $720,000.[45]
On April 15, 2009, a $1 million donation was made to the school's Whole Person Scholarship fund by Chairman of the Armand Hammer Foundation and university trustee Michael Armand Hammer, son of Julian Armand Hammer and grandson of the late industrialist Armand Hammer.[46] Hammer's donation will be matched twice and, in the end, will amount to a four million dollar donation to the university. The donation will contribute to a new scholarship initiative that seeks to find students potential students who are well-rounded and already exhibit the characteristics of a person who is spiritually alive, intellectually alert, physically disciplined, and socially adept. The Whole Person Scholarship provides scholarships that vary between full-tuition and $2500 to students who meet the aforementioned criteria.[47]
[edit]Presidential inauguration of Mark Rutland and debt-free status
In January 2009, it was reported that ORU had selected a new president: Dr. Mark Rutland, president of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida.[48] On January 14, Rutland confirmed that he had been offered the position, and intended to accept it.[49] Rutland was formally announced as the new president on January 28, 2009.[50] He officially took office on July 1, 2009.[16]
On September 23, 2009, at the university's twice-per-week chapel service, President Mark Rutland announced that all of the university's long-term debt obligations had been met and the school was now debt-free.[51] Rutland had indicated in an interview earlier in the year that he had expected the announcement for quite some time and that he could have paid the debt down when he took office in July, "But that's like making a hole in one with nobody on the golf course." He told the AP, "So, we're going to wait until school starts ... and then we'll have a 'ta-dah' moment."
About the erasing of the university's debt, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Mart Green said, "We are extremely thankful to all the donors who stepped up to support ORU. They know the value of this university and they can see the product that ORU produces – excellent, whole-person graduates who are valuable to this community and to the world."[52] Donations from alumni contributed heavily to the university becoming free: prior to the 2007 scandal, less than 6% of alumni donated to the university; however, as a result of the Renewing the Vision campaign, donations from alumni rose from $763,000 in 2007 to $2.3 million in 2009.[51]
The announcement was made two days before the September 25, 2009, inauguration ceremony for Rutland held at the Mabee Center on the university campus.[53] The first ceremony of its kind in ORU's history, it was attended and addressed by many dignitaries and guests, among them Kathy Taylor, the mayor of Tulsa, and Marilyn Hickey, former member of the ORU Board of Regents. Governor Brad Henry declared September 25, 2009, "Dr. Mark Rutland Day". At the ceremony, Rutland received a blessing from the founder and chancellor of the university, Oral Roberts.[54]
In December 2010, ORU announced that the Green family would make another $10 million gift in 2011, to be used for renovations and technology improvements. The gift raised the Greens' total donations to $110 million.[55]

[Shocker_Phi]

TL;DR

[Haha]

NGAC;NTDP

[DoubleJayAlum]

[Haha]

He said "too long;didn't read"

I said "nobody gives a crap;next time don't post"