Missouri State to Sun Belt Conference?

[BEARZ77]

The MVC basketball wise is inconsequential to individual teams success. You either schedule good in the noncon and get some significant pelts, or you have to win the MVC Tourney, those are the only two ways to the NCAA Tourney. What you do in conference regular season can keep you from getting a bid, but it won't get you one. That won't change in whatever league below the top tier that we play in. Just the way it is.

[uniftw]

The MVC basketball wise is inconsequential to individual teams success. You either schedule good in the noncon and get some significant pelts, or you have to win the MVC Tourney, those are the only two ways to the NCAA Tourney. What you do in conference regular season can keep you from getting a bid, but it won't get you one. That won't change in whatever league below the top tier that we play in. Just the way it is.

MSU translation:
We aren't good enough to win in the MVC so we are going to a conference we can win

[agrinut]

The MVC basketball wise is inconsequential to individual teams success. You either schedule good in the noncon and get some significant pelts, or you have to win the MVC Tourney, those are the only two ways to the NCAA Tourney. What you do in conference regular season can keep you from getting a bid, but it won't get you one. That won't change in whatever league below the top tier that we play in. Just the way it is.

MSU translation:
We aren't good enough to win in the MVC so we are going to a conference we can win

Somewhat yeah, but when the MVC drops back to FCS Basketball as well and is excluded from the NCAA tournament then what? I don't know that will happen but it could. I think many see this as the last spot. MSU is in a chance to get it, would be silly not to at least look at it.

[unipanther99]

Somewhat yeah, but when the MVC drops back to FCS Basketball as well and is excluded from the NCAA tournament then what? I don't know that will happen but it could. I think many see this as the last spot. MSU is in a chance to get it, would be silly not to at least look at it.

If there ever is a new dividing line for NCAA schools creating essentially a 4th division, that line is far more likely to be drawn where the power 5/6 conferences stop and not at the current FBS/FCS line.

[tribecalledquest]

I understand the temptation of playing big boy football but is Mo. State even any good at the current level they play? They don't exactly dominate do they?

[Kip Dynamite]

Here is the way most MSU fans see it. If our goal in the next 20 years or so is to get to the levels of a Kansas State or Oklahoma State, we will probably have a zero chance of getting there if we don't move our football program up. I don't think any of us think that the Sun Belt is a good choice but it may be our only choice and our last chance to move up. We have to get to the FBS level if we want to have any chance to move up to a bigger and better conference in the future. We could never get to the Big 12, for example, if we stay in FCS. I'm not saying that would ever happen anyway, but I'm just pointing out that its the only chance we would have to get to a conference like that. Sometimes you have to roll the dice and hope for the best.

Having said all of that, I'd say its about 50/50 as to whether or not we even make a move right now. Its a big expense and I'm not sure we are ready just yet. We will go though at some point, that I'm sure of.

[Cdizzle]

Here is the way most MSU fans see it. If our goal in the next 20 years or so is to get to the levels of a Kansas State or Oklahoma State, we will probably have a zero chance of getting there if we don't move our football program up. I don't think any of us think that the Sun Belt is a good choice but it may be our only choice and our last chance to move up. We have to get to the FBS level if we want to have any chance to move up to a bigger and better conference in the future. We could never get to the Big 12, for example, if we stay in FCS. I'm not saying that would ever happen anyway, but I'm just pointing out that its the only chance we would have to get to a conference like that. Sometimes you have to roll the dice and hope for the best.

Having said all of that, I'd say its about 50/50 as to whether or not we even make a move right now. Its a big expense and I'm not sure we are ready just yet. We will go though at some point, that I'm sure of.

Shouldn't the goal be more of getting on UNI's and then NDSU's level first? Or is that not in the 20-year plan?

This all reminds me of Creighton joining the Big East and assuming it meant they were Syracuse. But even that wasn't this bad because Creighton was at least Creighton and not, well, SWOMO.

One thing I don't understand are the other Valley members talking about "if SWOMO goes, then WSU will definitely go someplace..." WSU doesn't have anywhere to go. If there was anywhere to go, WSU would be gone regardless of what SWOMO does.

[uniftw]

The MVC basketball wise is inconsequential to individual teams success. You either schedule good in the noncon and get some significant pelts, or you have to win the MVC Tourney, those are the only two ways to the NCAA Tourney. What you do in conference regular season can keep you from getting a bid, but it won't get you one. That won't change in whatever league below the top tier that we play in. Just the way it is.

MSU translation:
We aren't good enough to win in the MVC so we are going to a conference we can win

Somewhat yeah, but when the MVC drops back to FCS Basketball as well and is excluded from the NCAA tournament then what? I don't know that will happen but it could. I think many see this as the last spot. MSU is in a chance to get it, would be silly not to at least look at it.

Uh...what?

[uniftw]

I understand the temptation of playing big boy football but is Mo. State even any good at the current level they play? They don't exactly dominate do they?

No...


1 playoff appearance since the 1990 (1990), below .500 all time, 20 games below .500 since 2006, the best 5 year runs in MSU history (According to CFBDW) are 38-42, 62-66, 39-43, 61-65, 89-93, 13-17, 37-41, 47-51, 10-44, 44,48...best 10 year spans were 39-48, 38-47, 40-49, 22-31, 14-23, 84-83, 57-66, 21-30, 23-32....The 25 year period they just finished last season ranks 22nd all time in their best 25 year span...They've been over .500 just 8 times since their last playoff appearance (7 of those 8 were 6-5 and 1 was 7-4), 48 of MSUs 102 seasons have been under .500...1 D1 conference title (1989).

82-111 all time against teams currently in the MVFC
The only D1 conferences they have winning records against are
MEAC (1-0) - HBCU...MEAC is to the FCS what the SBC is to the FBS
Pioneer (6-1)- Non scholly..Drake plays here...basically D3 football
SWAC (6-2)- HBCU's..worse at football than basketball (though MSU struggles to beat them in BB). They have no FBS equivalent.

[Drakey]

The Valley should never add another public institution unless it is one like WSU that does NOT play Football. There is almost no likelihood of a Non-FBS Football playing school ever having a long term successful Basketball program. If you look at at the non-FBS schools that have built successful basketball programs they uniformly do not play football or have a non-scholarship program like Drake. Almost all of these schools are private. Drakes football conference is a better basketball conference than the Valley.

Examples:

WSU
Creighton
Dayton
Butler
Gonzaga
St. Mary's
Most of the new Big East
Belmont
Xavier
St. Louis
Virginia Commonwealth

Look at the RPI top 100. It is made up almost entirely or FBS schools and schools that don't have football or who play non-scholarship Football. If these football schools start leaving, the Valley needs to make sure they are replaced with schools where Basketball is the top priority. I would go hard after Belmont. Maybe then, after more of the football wannabes leave we could lure some basketball schools that are actually geographic fits like St. Louis or Dayton.