MVC POY

[BirdsEyeView]

I do agree it's a double standard to not have the best coach of the best team win the award. However, as evidenced by the MLB Coach of the Year not going to Joe Maddon this year (Cubs best record in baseball and Champs), the trendy pick will get votes over the coach who was EXPECTED to win.

It's not an MVC voters problem, it's a sports perception problem across every sport.

At the end of the day WSU fans, would you rather win the league consistently and not win COY or be a surprise 2nd place team who was projected 7th with a coach who wins the COY? You all know the answer to that question.

[Stickboy46]

Zero reason to leave Marshall off of the top 3 in any ballot in the last few years, that's for sure.

But chalk me up in the corner of not automatically giving the COY to the coach of the best team. Even if they win it by 3-4 games.

I think COY should go to the coach whose team performs the most above expectations heading into the season.

To me, the engraver is ready to put Marshall's name on the trophy unless another coach steps up and really outperforms expectations.

Should Northern Iowa or Illinois State (or someone else) win the Valley... COY is theirs
Should a 4th-6th preseason ranked team come in 2nd only 1 game away from winning the Valley? They're in strong consideration, and probably should get it.
Should a 7th-10th preseason ranked team come in 2nd or 3rd? Another very strong case, and I'd lean towards this coach for getting more out of his players than others.

Should none of those 3 happen above and Marshall wins another MVC title? It's his.

But it's not automatic.

I challenge some of this. Lets take last year for example. Sure, Hinson came in way better than expected last year. My problem is that HE is the reason the expectations were so low. He had been the coach of SIU for 3 years before last year. So in his 3rd year (14-15), with a team made up of nearly entirely his own recruits (may have been a couple of guys that had been recruited by others including the best player in Beane), He went 12-21 (4-14) and a 9th place finish. He set his own bar soooo low that improving to 22-10 (11-7 in valley) and a mediocre 5th place finish with no postseason play won him Coach of the Year. That is my problem. There is ZERO reason to award someone for being mediocre instead of being horrible.

I'm not saying the winner of the league gets the auto COY, but if a team wins the league by 3-4 games, then it better be a damn good reason to give it to anyone else. A 9th to 5th jump isn't that. A 9th to 2nd and an NIT/NCAA berth, maybe. Expecting and rewarding mediocrity is a problem in this league (not by all, but enough)

[Stickboy46]

I do agree it's a double standard to not have the best coach of the best team win the award. However, as evidenced by the MLB Coach of the Year not going to Joe Maddon this year (Cubs best record in baseball and Champs), the trendy pick will get votes over the coach who was EXPECTED to win.

It's not an MVC voters problem, it's a sports perception problem across every sport.

At the end of the day WSU fans, would you rather win the league consistently and not win COY or be a surprise 2nd place team who was projected 7th with a coach who wins the COY? You all know the answer to that question.

No one is arguing that a 2nd place finish to a coach that was predicted 7th shouldn't get consideration. The argument is that a coach that finished 5th wins it just because the 3 years before hand he was so horrible that he got predicted to be 9th. Mediocrity.

And we shouldn't have to choose winning the league or winning COY. Winning the league by a ton shouldn't disqualify you from winning COY just because you were expected to win the league. There better be a coach that really brought his team into the NATIONAL spotlight that year and should have some sort of post season possibility.

[Cdizzle]

I do agree it's a double standard to not have the best coach of the best team win the award. However, as evidenced by the MLB Coach of the Year not going to Joe Maddon this year (Cubs best record in baseball and Champs), the trendy pick will get votes over the coach who was EXPECTED to win.

It's not an MVC voters problem, it's a sports perception problem across every sport.

At the end of the day WSU fans, would you rather win the league consistently and not win COY or be a surprise 2nd place team who was projected 7th with a coach who wins the COY? You all know the answer to that question.

Would you rather be the best at your job every year or be the 2nd best one time and get the best guy's bonus?

Additionally, pro sports comparisons hold no validity. Coaches and managers of pro sports are bound by the rosters handed to them. Coaches at the collegiate level are directly responsible for the roster they have. In fact, it's one of the most important aspects of their jobs. Saying "Marshall had the best talent and therefore should have won" gives zero credit to the reason the best talent resides on his team. It wasn't handed to him by a GM somewhere writing a big check.

There are cases where the league winner and COY might not mesh. I get that. Last year, a year in which the league was one by 4 games and the COY winner's team finished in a tie for 4th (slightly if at all above expectations) and 5 games back, in his 4th year, was not one of those years.

Also, coaches that have been in the league for 3+ years are partially responsible for the expectations of their programs. If a coach is in his 4th or 5th year, and the expectations are crappy, we should reward said coach if they turn out to just be mediocre? While punishing a coach who created expectations that losing more than 0 league games is some kind of disappointment?

Secondly, beyond the coaches creating expectations, the voters themselves create the expectations. Half as often as not, seeing a team picked 7th by media that ends up finishing 2nd has as much to do with terrible analysis by preseason voters as it does with over-performing coaching.

[Cdizzle]

The interim Drake coach just became the leading candidate for 2017 MVC COY. Win a D1 game, win a trophy.

[BirdsEyeView]

I do agree it's a double standard to not have the best coach of the best team win the award. However, as evidenced by the MLB Coach of the Year not going to Joe Maddon this year (Cubs best record in baseball and Champs), the trendy pick will get votes over the coach who was EXPECTED to win.

It's not an MVC voters problem, it's a sports perception problem across every sport.

At the end of the day WSU fans, would you rather win the league consistently and not win COY or be a surprise 2nd place team who was projected 7th with a coach who wins the COY? You all know the answer to that question.

Would you rather be the best at your job every year or be the 2nd best one time and get the best guy's bonus?

Additionally, pro sports comparisons hold no validity. Coaches and managers of pro sports are bound by the rosters handed to them. Coaches at the collegiate level are directly responsible for the roster they have. In fact, it's one of the most important aspects of their jobs. Saying "Marshall had the best talent and therefore should have won" gives zero credit to the reason the best talent resides on his team. It wasn't handed to him by a GM somewhere writing a big check.

There are cases where the league winner and COY might not mesh. I get that. Last year, a year in which the league was one by 4 games and the COY winner's team finished in a tie for 4th (slightly if at all above expectations) and 5 games back, in his 4th year, was not one of those years.

Also, coaches that have been in the league for 3+ years are partially responsible for the expectations of their programs. If a coach is in his 4th or 5th year, and the expectations are crappy, we should reward said coach if they turn out to just be mediocre? While punishing a coach who created expectations that losing more than 0 league games is some kind of disappointment?

Secondly, beyond the coaches creating expectations, the voters themselves create the expectations. Half as often as not, seeing a team picked 7th by media that ends up finishing 2nd has as much to do with terrible analysis by preseason voters as it does with over-performing coaching.

Agree with all your points, however that is NOT how voters think...in all sports regardless of how it's managed (pro or college) or perceived.

It's a culture of rooting for the underdog that wins pro managers awards just as it awards COY in the Missouri Valley Conference.

[Cdizzle]

Then perhaps we should get rid of the award, or just have a popularity contest fan vote. It no longer has meaning. If the media is unwilling to do their duties in good faith (I'm looking at you, SIU writer), then perhaps they should be relieved of those duties. Most coaching contracts have real life monetary benefits tied to things like league COY awards. They are also a part of a coach's resume and legacy.

[Stickboy46]

Then perhaps we should get rid of the award, or just have a popularity contest fan vote. It no longer has meaning. If the media is unwilling to do their duties in good faith (I'm looking at you, SIU writer), then perhaps they should be relieved of those duties. Most coaching contracts have real life monetary benefits tied to things like league COY awards. They are also a part of a coach's resume and legacy.

The bonus part is very true. The SIU beat writer who left Marshall off nearly single handedly cost Marshall 25K.

It's like your boss telling you "I know you saved the company 2 million dollars instead of only the 1 million we expected of you BUT we are going to give the 25K bonus to Barry because he saved us 500 bucks instead of the 10 bucks we expected. That's like 50 times better than expectations while you only beat your expectations by 2 times"

[BirdsEyeView]

I agree with both of you. Not fair at all.

This is why you shouldn't concern yourselves too much with COY awards. It's a popularity contest based on what underdog overachieved in that particular season (must be due to the coaching!!).

Winning league titles should be the only priority.

[Cdizzle]

I agree with both of you. Not fair at all.

This is why you shouldn't concern yourselves too much with COY awards. It's a popularity contest based on what underdog overachieved in that particular season (must be due to the coaching!!).

Winning league titles should be the only priority.

My priority is a 2-bit league not running off a Top 10 coach from my school.