Evansville to the Horizon

[valleychamp]

By all accounts, Evansville has had their worst run over the past 7-10 years in the history of the school.
Many factors have contributed to this, however, most have been remediated. Additionally, most of the common fans in the conference act like UE should be booted from the conference this afternoon, yet can't count it as a win on their schedule.

I wouldn't mind losing Evansville. Not at all. And what I find funny about this is that now the rumors are USI. If it's true that the Horizon wants the local D-2 school and not Evansville, really, what does that say about Evansville today or historically?

It says that Evansville is already in a better conference, and USI does not have a D1 conference at all. There is no way in hell that the Horizon wants USI instead of Evansville. If Evansville wants to go to the Horizon, they would likely take them in a second.

[DoubleJayAlum]

By all accounts, Evansville has had their worst run over the past 7-10 years in the history of the school.
Many factors have contributed to this, however, most have been remediated. Additionally, most of the common fans in the conference act like UE should be booted from the conference this afternoon, yet can't count it as a win on their schedule.

I wouldn't mind losing Evansville. Not at all. And what I find funny about this is that now the rumors are USI. If it's true that the Horizon wants the local D-2 school and not Evansville, really, what does that say about Evansville today or historically?

As I said the other day, the Horizon wouldn't dare poach a MVC school because they know that we would, more than likely, just take one of their to replace the team we lost.

And yes, now that Butler is gone, I think that pretty much any single Horizon League school would love to get a membership offer from the MVC.

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

By all accounts, Evansville has had their worst run over the past 7-10 years in the history of the school.
Many factors have contributed to this, however, most have been remediated. Additionally, most of the common fans in the conference act like UE should be booted from the conference this afternoon, yet can't count it as a win on their schedule.

I wouldn't mind losing Evansville. Not at all. And what I find funny about this is that now the rumors are USI. If it's true that the Horizon wants the local D-2 school and not Evansville, really, what does that say about Evansville today or historically?

Hey I guess if you can't consistently beat a school then it might as well serve Creighton well to get them off of the schedule!

I had never even heard of USI until yesterday. There is no way in the world that some random D2 school is more desirable than Evansville. Not a chance.

[MoValley John]

I wouldn't mind losing Evansville. Not at all. And what I find funny about this is that now the rumors are USI. If it's true that the Horizon wants the local D-2 school and not Evansville, really, what does that say about Evansville today or historically?

Hey I guess if you can't consistently beat a school then it might as well serve Creighton well to get them off of the schedule!

I had never even heard of USI until yesterday. There is no way in the world that some random D2 school is more desirable than Evansville. Not a chance.

For the record, I never heard of USI until I started reading the chatter on various blogs. And my point wasn't that USI would be taken, but that people would even consider it, at the same time, those people were discounting Evansville, speaks volumes regarding the Aces value.

And as is much, within the last two years, even some Aces fans have opined that they would be better served at D-2 Or in a smaller Conference. With that, how could I be disappointed if they left?

I just don't understand your Creighton remark. What does Creighton have to do with Evansville staying or going?

Lastly, Evansville is putting the finishing touches on a $3.3 mm practice facility. It is a nice step, but even brand spanking new, will put them nowhere near the top half of the Valley in practice facilities. Moreover, it has been more than a decade since the Aces spent any money on athletic infrastructure. That was baseball a DECADE ago. Not counting that and you possibly need to go back to the 70's to find Evansville spending any money on sports infrastructure. I know spending the most doesn't guarantee wins, but you would hope they would have spent something.

[valleychamp]

For the record, I never heard of USI until I started reading the chatter on various blogs. And my point wasn't that USI would be taken, but that people would even consider it, at the same time, those people were discounting Evansville, speaks volumes regarding the Aces value.

This is just silly. There is nothing to discount. Evansville is already in a much better conference than the Horizon. Any UE to Horizon talks would most certainly have to be initiated by Evansville and not the other way around, as it would be an indisputable step down in reputation. You are inventing a slight that did not in the least bit exist in the first place.

[MoValley John]

For the record, I never heard of USI until I started reading the chatter on various blogs. And my point wasn't that USI would be taken, but that people would even consider it, at the same time, those people were discounting Evansville, speaks volumes regarding the Aces value.

This is just silly. There is nothing to discount. Evansville is already in a much better conference than the Horizon. Any UE to Horizon talks would most certainly have to be initiated by Evansville and not the other way around, as it would be an indisputable step down in reputation. You are inventing a slight that did not in the least bit exist in the first place.

Discount may be a bad word. And yes, we all know Evansville is in a better conference. At the same time, I stand by the fact that it was Evansville fans that were discussing moving down a level as recent as two years ago.

Here is the rub, the Valley payout to schools isnt very much, neither is the Horizon. The odds are long against any of that changing for Either conference. With that, would Evansville be better off in the Horizon or Valley? With Butler gone, Evansville could be a power in the Horizon, While spending the same or less.

As I also demonstrated, Evansville doesn't spend much on athletics, it might cost less to compete in the Horizon, Conference money Is similar, so what would stop them? The "This is the better conference" stuff really is irrelevant in the case of schools like Evansville. It really makes no difference if they are here or there.

I don't advocate kicking them out, that is, and should be their decision. At the se time, if they bolt, there isn't much to be sorry about or miss.

[TheAsianSensation]

edit: I'm an idiot, and I confirmed my own suspicions. Erroneous info here, delete.

Short version: Horizon didn't add Northern Kentucky when they had an obvious chance, so why would they consider USI?

[pafan]

I wouldn't mind losing Evansville. Not at all. And what I find funny about this is that now the rumors are USI. If it's true that the Horizon wants the local D-2 school and not Evansville, really, what does that say about Evansville today or historically?

Keep in mind:
Evansville already left the Horizon once (to join the Valley in '94)
Evansville already turned down Horizon membership (almost immediately after Butler announced they were A10-bound)

The only new wrinkle in this rumor is that the Horizon wants to go to 12 teams instead of just replacing Butler.

Also, it might make sense for Southern Indiana to go D1 now more than ever - their current Great Lakes Valley Conference is getting weaker and more geographically centered to the west with N. Kentucky going D1 and some of the eastern schools splitting off to form their own D2 conference.

[MoValley John]

I wouldn't mind losing Evansville. Not at all. And what I find funny about this is that now the rumors are USI. If it's true that the Horizon wants the local D-2 school and not Evansville, really, what does that say about Evansville today or historically?

Keep in mind:
Evansville already left the Horizon once (to join the Valley in '94)
Evansville already turned down Horizon membership (almost immediately after Butler announced they were A10-bound)

The only new wrinkle in this rumor is that the Horizon wants to go to 12 teams instead of just replacing Butler.

Also, it might make sense for Southern Indiana to go D1 now more than ever - their current Great Lakes Valley Conference is getting weaker and more geographically centered to the west with N. Kentucky going D1 and some of the eastern schools splitting off to form their own D2 conference.

Very good reply. For those that question my opinion, keep in mind, all I have to go on regarding Evansville is their competitiveness over about the last decade and the resources they have been willing to spend. Both benchmarks are disappointing when you compare Evansville against the other nine members. With that, I wouldn't miss the Aces if they left.

Fast forward to this thread and a rumor was floated that they might leave. As I've said, at this point, I wouldn't miss them. The info and opinions that I asserted were largely based on my historical opinion and bolstered by the blogs and links originally presented. With that, a few posters argued. I haven't read Thepurplecode until this morning. What surprised me was that there are some Ace fans opining similar things as I. The one difference, was football was brought into the discussion.

For those that think I'm out of line, I suggest you read the purple code link on this topic. http://thepurplecode.com/forum/viewtopi ... c78d8af0f8

You will see that many of my opinions are held By some Aces fans. From success, to money spent, to everything.

As I have said, this is a decision for Evansville to make, but if they can't compete monetarily with the rest of the Valley, it might not be a bad time to step down.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I wouldn't mind losing Evansville. Not at all. And what I find funny about this is that now the rumors are USI. If it's true that the Horizon wants the local D-2 school and not Evansville, really, what does that say about Evansville today or historically?

Hey I guess if you can't consistently beat a school then it might as well serve Creighton well to get them off of the schedule!

I had never even heard of USI until yesterday. There is no way in the world that some random D2 school is more desirable than Evansville. Not a chance.

For the record, I never heard of USI until I started reading the chatter on various blogs. And my point wasn't that USI would be taken, but that people would even consider it, at the same time, those people were discounting Evansville, speaks volumes regarding the Aces value.

And as is much, within the last two years, even some Aces fans have opined that they would be better served at D-2 Or in a smaller Conference. With that, how could I be disappointed if they left?

I just don't understand your Creighton remark. What does Creighton have to do with Evansville staying or going?

Lastly, Evansville is putting the finishing touches on a $3.3 mm practice facility. It is a nice step, but even brand spanking new, will put them nowhere near the top half of the Valley in practice facilities. Moreover, it has been more than a decade since the Aces spent any money on athletic infrastructure. That was baseball a DECADE ago. Not counting that and you possibly need to go back to the 70's to find Evansville spending any money on sports infrastructure. I know spending the most doesn't guarantee wins, but you would hope they would have spent something.

I am having a flashback. I remember the first time that I saw a baseball game at EU. It was in the ballpark, before the current facility.

It reminded me of Westside Athletic Field in Wichita. Four bases, a chain link fence, a few bleacher seats and not much else. The slope from the first base line to the chain link fence was steep. Players, who chased pop fouls, had to run down hill to catch the ball. It was comical at times.