RacerJoeD wrote:The ace in the hole for Murray State financially is that there is really no need for much in the way of facility upgrades. The CFSB center was built in 1998, but is in great shape and with the addition of a dedicated practice facility a couple years ago is on par with the MVC. Softball is brand new, baseball has recently been upgraded and volleyball plays in one of the largest dedicated arenas in the country. Football could use some work, but it seats nearly 17,000 and the field turf is nearly brand new. All the additional funding that was approved would go onto the field in travel and coaching salaries.
I don't know if I would call it an "ace in the hole." There are certainly many other strengths for Murray State in their pitch to the MVC, and the CFSB Center is just one of them.
The fact that there's no permanent seating for your soccer program wouldn't even register with me in picking a new school for the MVC. It's a negative, I guess, but it's not like anyone would see it as a strike against the Racers.
I mean,
Engelmann Stadium has been called the "Wrigley Field of College Soccer," we've won a bunch of games in the NCAA Tournament, one of our men's soccer coaches left us to coach the US Men's National Team (Bob Gansler), we've got multiple USMNT players (Jimmy Banks, Tony Sanneh, Manny Lagos), we've got a ton of former men's and women's players playing professionally, our Panther Invitational is the longest running in-season tournament in college soccer, and I've never mentioned our soccer program before now.
I just don't think it's something that really registers in the argument about whether or not to add us to the conference. So I'm not gonna hold it against Murray State for lacking a soccer stadium.