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or does going to 11 really mean that Evansville is headed to Horizon????(so back to 10)

Somebody please explain why Valpo is a good get for this conference?

Football stinks
Small school
Basketball lost the best player they've ever had and their coach to Vandy

Can anyone look at them and say, they potentially could be the next Wichita due to their commitment in athletics?

BirdsEyeView wrote:Somebody please explain why Valpo is a good get for this conference?

Football stinks
Small school
Basketball lost the best player they've ever had and their coach to Vandy

Can anyone look at them and say, they potentially could be the next Wichita due to their commitment in athletics?

Question with Valpo isn't hoops success, fan base, or expenditures. They have all 3. Question is can they sustain it post-Bryce/Peters with their horrid facilities. If Valpo pledges to fix those up, they improve the league aggregate.

FB is a non-factor. They'll stay Pioneer non-scholarship. Basically Drake FB.

I am glad MVC is pursuing Murray St. They were my #1 by far. History: fan support, 29 straight winning seasons, took a 1-seed to oT as a 16, coaching mill (Gottfried, Cronin, Kennedy, Prohm). This decade: 2 top 25 teams, 2 tourney wins, college gameday, lottery pick.

As a comparison, the MAAC has a 20 game conference schedule, and I'd argue it cost Manhattan an at-large bid in 2016, and maybe a couple others this decade as well.

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chitown fanatic wrote:or does going to 11 really mean that Evansville is headed to Horizon????(so back to 10)

There have been strong rumors the Horizon was looking at "expanding".

Hypothetically, if Valpo does move to the MVC, UE would be a home run for the Horizon.

They are Valpo, but with better facilities....and much less success. That could change in the Horizon though. Evansville dominated a smaller conference prior to moving MVC.

What would Arch Madness look like with 11 teams? Only top 10 make it? 10 vs 11 Wednesday PIG just to make it to the Thursday PIGs?

I'm perfectly okay with adding Murray State and Valpo. I wonder if this means that Murray State would soon be added as the 12th member for the MVFC. I'd be okay with that too. Hopefully these teams join for the 17-18 season.

I imagine that adding the Dakota schools may have hurt our cooperation with the Summit League for football too, but I'm not sure about that either. They are kind of far out there. Either way I'm glad we're not adding extension campuses just because of the market. These adds seem to be based more off success and I like that.

If Valpo and Murray State are added, that makes the MVC solid immediately. Would that be enough to sway Belmont to join as a 12th member?

Murray is a natural rival of theirs plus UE, SIU, and Indiana St are also within an easy driving distance. Adding Belmont would solidify the Valley as the top Mid Major League while evening out the public/private school mix.

Private schools: Evansville, Belmont, Valpo, Loyola, Bradley, Drake

Public schools: Indiana St, Illinois St, Murray St, SIU, Northern Iowa, Missouri St

Get it done!

TheAsianSensation wrote:As a comparison, the MAAC has a 20 game conference schedule, and I'd argue it cost Manhattan an at-large bid in 2016, and maybe a couple others this decade as well.

I'm guessing you mean Monmouth as I can't imagine the 6th place team in the MAAC is typically in at-large contention.

It is all hypothetical as you don't know who Monmouth would have scheduled in place of 2 MAAC games. However, I don't see many fans of current MVC schools being upset at the prospects of playing a non-conference game against Valpo or Murray State recently. At best it is a resume helping win, at worst it is much better than a SWAC game.