30 MVC games to be aired on ESPN networks

[valleychamp]

A couple of schools could have options. Creighton is a well discussed school if the A-10/Big East has further movement. Illinois State has publicly said that FBS football is the goal which would mean a new league. Wichita St and Missouri St could have options if the WAC or CUSA wanted to add basketball schools. Evansville and the Horizon were discussed last week.

The schools that are screwed are UNI, SIU, Drake, Indiana St, and Bradley.

UNI has publicly talked about FBS intentions every bit as much as Illinois St has. In fact, they have said that if that opportunity comes, they would like to keep all other sports in the MVC. You speak as though moving to a new league because of football is automatically better. If you had to move your sports to the MAC or Sunbelt or whatever because of football, that is a major downgrade.

What would be the point of making a lateral, if not downward, move to a conference like the WAC, Horizon, or CUSA? That's just silly. "Options" doesn't mean "good options".

[shocktheheart]

Stability is what half the conference desires because they will never have a better option

Unfortunately that other half fails to realize they do not have a better option either.[/quote]

A couple of schools could have options. Creighton is a well discussed school if the A-10/Big East has further movement. Illinois State has publicly said that FBS football is the goal which would mean a new league. Wichita St and Missouri St could have options if the WAC or CUSA wanted to add basketball schools. Evansville and the Horizon were discussed last week.

The schools that are screwed are UNI, SIU, Drake, Indiana St, and Bradley.[/quote]
UNI would not be screwed....Have you missed the talk about UNI, FBS football and the MAC football the last month or two?[/quote]

Is that the same sealed envelope that Missouri St. received?

[valleychamp]

A couple of schools could have options. Creighton is a well discussed school if the A-10/Big East has further movement. Illinois State has publicly said that FBS football is the goal which would mean a new league. Wichita St and Missouri St could have options if the WAC or CUSA wanted to add basketball schools. Evansville and the Horizon were discussed last week.

The schools that are screwed are UNI, SIU, Drake, Indiana St, and Bradley.

UNI has publicly talked about FBS intentions every bit as much as Illinois St has. In fact, they have said that if that opportunity comes, they would like to keep all other sports in the MVC. You speak as though moving to a new league because of football is automatically better. If you had to move your sports to the MAC or Sunbelt or whatever because of football, that is a major downgrade. UNI, ISU, and MSU are all in the same boat here.

What would be the point of making a lateral, if not downward, move to a conference like the WAC, Horizon, or CUSA? That's just silly. "Options" doesn't mean "good options".

[uniftw]

Stability is what half the conference desires because they will never have a better option

Unfortunately that other half fails to realize they do not have a better option either.

A couple of schools could have options. Creighton is a well discussed school if the A-10/Big East has further movement. Illinois State has publicly said that FBS football is the goal which would mean a new league. Wichita St and Missouri St could have options if the WAC or CUSA wanted to add basketball schools. Evansville and the Horizon were discussed last week.

The schools that are screwed are UNI, SIU, Drake, Indiana St, and Bradley.[/quote]
UNI would not be screwed....Have you missed the talk about UNI, FBS football and the MAC football the last month or two?[/quote]

Is that the same sealed envelope that Missouri St. received?[/quote]
No one has said the invite is there....right now it isn't. However, to say UNI is screwed, if the Valley falls apart, simply isn't true.

[beltwaybluejay]

If what Asian says is true why not just add Denver, void the contract, and tell ESPN to go to hell.

[DoubleJayAlum]

A couple of schools could have options. Creighton is a well discussed school if the A-10/Big East has further movement. Illinois State has publicly said that FBS football is the goal which would mean a new league. Wichita St and Missouri St could have options if the WAC or CUSA wanted to add basketball schools. Evansville and the Horizon were discussed last week.

The schools that are screwed are UNI, SIU, Drake, Indiana St, and Bradley.

UNI has publicly talked about FBS intentions every bit as much as Illinois St has. In fact, they have said that if that opportunity comes, they would like to keep all other sports in the MVC. You speak as though moving to a new league because of football is automatically better. If you had to move your sports to the MAC or Sunbelt or whatever because of football, that is a major downgrade. UNI, ISU, and MSU are all in the same boat here.

What would be the point of making a lateral, if not downward, move to a conference like the WAC, Horizon, or CUSA? That's just silly. "Options" doesn't mean "good options".

Nobody takes the UNI comments seriously because everybody that can read the Des Moines register knows that UNI is broke. If UNI is broke at its current football level, moving up a level and giving away more scholarships, plus a corresponding number of additional women's scholarships, seems to conflict with reality. And please - don't try to sell how games with Akron and Buffalo are going to cause an explosion in attendance because that isn't credible either.

[DoubleJayAlum]

If what Asian says is true why not just add Denver, void the contract, and tell ESPN to go to hell.

Its a thought, but it presents some issues:

1) We aren't going to get a multiple network deal like the A10 anyway. Too many schools located in remote outposts with little to no TV market.

2) You get the blackball treatment by ESPN. No discussion on college game day, no highlights/discussion on sportscenter or any of the other ESPN shows, no updates on the crawl unless you are ranked, no invites to ESPN owned exempt tourneys (Old Spice Classic, 76 Classic, etc) unless you have a previously signed deal of which there will be no renewals, etc. There are some legitimate concerns that the MVC can't give up that exposure.

3) There is some speculation that the CAA's rejection of ESPN caused ESPN to push for other conferences to raid CAA schools.

[beltwaybluejay]

Just redo the contract with more T V games and no bracketbuster.

[valleychamp]

Nobody takes the UNI comments seriously because everybody that can read the Des Moines register knows that UNI is broke. If UNI is broke at its current football level, moving up a level and giving away more scholarships, plus a corresponding number of additional women's scholarships, seems to conflict with reality. And please - don't try to sell how games with Akron and Buffalo are going to cause an explosion in attendance because that isn't credible either.

There is more money/revenue available in FBS. The only reason that UNI would go FBS would be because it would be more financially viable. And the recent shifts in structure within college football have changed a lot of things, which will make FBS football increasingly more likely for schools like UNI and other similar FCS programs.

UNI is not broke. They have been, and still are undergoing a (very public) funding shift from a more state funded model, to more private and inside funding. It has been difficult because of the time frame in which UNI has been asked to do so (and frankly the largely unrealistic expectations from the state of Iowa), but what is resulting is a much more stable and viable AD from now into the future, more so than many other similar MVC schools. What UNI is being asked to do financially and self sustainability-wise is pretty much unprecedented as a school our size in a mid-major conference. UNI is no different than any public MVC school in that nobody is immune to issues like this as long as public money is involved.

You can continue to spew whatever you want on here, which you will, as you are the foremost authority on everyone else's athletic departments. But it will not change the facts of the matter, and the fact is that UNI happens to be in increasingly good shape, and it setting itself up well for the future, and its a future in which FBS football is more likely than not.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Nobody takes the UNI comments seriously because everybody that can read the Des Moines register knows that UNI is broke. If UNI is broke at its current football level, moving up a level and giving away more scholarships, plus a corresponding number of additional women's scholarships, seems to conflict with reality. And please - don't try to sell how games with Akron and Buffalo are going to cause an explosion in attendance because that isn't credible either.

There is more money/revenue available in FBS.

There better be because there are a lot more expenses too.