Conference Officials plan to visit Belmont Denver & Oral Bob

[rlh04d]

Conferences definitely ahead of us: B1G, Big East, AAC, ACC, SEC, Pac-12, Big 12 in normal years for them. Just listing them out so I don't confuse CUSA with AAC, etc. New CUSA is going to be awful while AAC will be plenty fine for awhile.

Probably ahead: MWC

That leaves us in a competition for 9th with the A-10 and WCC. Honestly, there's so much movement going on there that it's tough to project out. But this year they lose Temple, Charlotte, Butler, and Xavier for sure, UMass is a flight risk (football), VCU/Richmond/Dayton/St Louis are all flight risks (Big East)...there's some big big blows coming. I think MVC should have enough to hold them off - that's a lot of ammo they're losing. A-10 is the one in danger of falling out of the top 12 in my book. As for WCC, it's borderline every year, bottom of that league has failed to step up. I think MVC should be able to beat them half the time.

I also think you overestimate the leagues below us. Last year was a good year for the Horizon in the computers, and it would take a pretty bad Valley year 3-10 for them to get caught by the Horizon's good year. And there's nobody behind them that's even remotely a threat.

I think the MWC will be way ahead of the Valley.

I agree with your points about the A-10. If those teams leave, they're going to plummet ... stability is the one factor that the Valley has over them. However, they will be a better conference than us next year, and if those teams don't jump to the Big Priest, they'll be better than us for the forseeable future.

Personally, I expect us to be fighting with the WCC for the 10/11 spots from here on out.

[rlh04d]

Louisville,UCONN,CINCY and USF arre not going to the Cusa they are in the old big east with Louisville headed to the ACC the next yr.

Differentiating between the old Big East and CUSA is pointless. What, seven of the CUSA teams joined the old Big East? They're the same thing as far as I'm concerned. Everyone of importance in CUSA is now in the AAC ... CUSA teams outnumber the Big East teams, so the AAC is more comparable to the CUSA than the Big East.

[rally]

Although I'm sure it's possible, I've never heard of a conference splitting into divisions for basketball, only football. If the Valley does add more than one team (which I don't think it will this season), what makes splitting into divisions attractive, or even possible?

The MAC Southern and something called the SEC all play in divisions. The B1G does as well informally.

The SEC does not. The B1G does not "informally" have divisions either.

[IllinoisState]

I'm not optimistic about what is out there. I hope for Denver, New Mexico State, and for us to try and pillage a team from either the A-10, CAA, or Northeast.

With the possible exception of SLU if they get left behind by the Big East (I'll comment more on this below), I don't see the MVC being able to poach anyone from the A10. The A10 has a better TV deal and, even taking this year into account, has more NCAA credits to distribute (those one bid years for the MVC are killers). In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there is a bigger risk that the MVC loses Bradley to the A10 than there is in the A10 losing anyone to the MVC.

With respect to SLU -- they will be going to the Big East in the next few years. I think this is true for several reasons: (1) they present the largest TV market of the remaining catholic schools; (2) They are a Jesuit institution, which will insure them the votes of Marquette, Xavier, Georgetown and Creighton; (3) They would serve as the best travel partner for Creighton and are the most desired among the current western schools in the A10.

As I've said before, the A10 team that gets left out in the cold in all of this is most likely Dayton, especially if the rumors about Xavier attempting to block them are true. The Big East will want to keep an even number of east/west schools, so I predict SLU and either Richmond or VCU (if they want to venture into the world of public schools). Dayton is too far east to have any interest in the MVC.

As to poaching from the CAA or Northeast, two obvious questions arise: (1) who the heck is worth grabbing - ODU, VCU and George Mason have all bailed on the CAA and the Northeast is, well, the Northeast; and (2) whomever you'd covet, the travel is going to make it financially impossible barring some incredible TV deal.

In the MVFC there is North Dakota State to Youngstown State, that's a further stretch than what the MVC is. Dayton is also just outside of Cincinnati so they aren't too far East.

Old Dominion from the CAA and Robert Morris contingent on them expanding their basketball arena. It wouldn't hurt to offer SLU, Dayton, VCU or George Mason a spot. Maybe even James Madison.

[rlh04d]

Old Dominion from the CAA and Robert Morris contingent on them expanding their basketball arena. It wouldn't hurt to offer SLU, Dayton, VCU or George Mason a spot. Maybe even James Madison.

If the A-10 keeps SLU, Dayton, and VCU, they are far more likely to raid the Valley than lose members to it.

SLU seems to want east coast connections for academic purposes.

[IllinoisState]

Old Dominion from the CAA and Robert Morris contingent on them expanding their basketball arena. It wouldn't hurt to offer SLU, Dayton, VCU or George Mason a spot. Maybe even James Madison.

If the A-10 keeps SLU, Dayton, and VCU, they are far more likely to raid the Valley than lose members to it.

SLU seems to want east coast connections for academic purposes.

It wouldn't hurt to ask (any of them), the worst that would happen would be them saying no.