Hopefully this is just phase 1 of expansion

[municup14]

I believe Valpo will be a force from the get go.

[Herd]

Let Murray State get their football in order and then we add the Racers and another to get to 12.

Get their football in order? Losing records, low fan support, minimal financial commitment . . . Isn't that what the MVC covets? Seems like a perfect marriage, nothing g additional needed.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

I believe Valpo will be a force from the get go.

With having to adjust the a new league and without their best player in don't foresee anything higher than a seventh place finish.

Missouri State - should win based on talent but Lusk isn't the best coach.
Southern Illinois - underrated and ready to take the next step.
Illinois State
Loyola
Northern Iowa
Bradley
Valparaiso
Evansville
Drake
Indiana State

No clear cut winner.

[musiccitybulldog]

1. Loyola

2. UNI

3. Illinois State

4. Valpo

5. Tie Missouri State - Drake - Southern Illinois - Evansville - Indiana State - Bradley

[ACECARD]

1. Loyola

2. UNI

3. Illinois State

4. Valpo

5. Tie Missouri State - Drake - Southern Illinois - Evansville - Indiana State - Bradley

Really too early to make any meaningful predictions, but I do believe that MO. St. will finish higher than 5th. JMO

[VU2014]

The Valley is holding out hope for Saint Louis. I mentioned this in another thread last week but I've now heard the rumor from 4-5 different people that the Valley and SLU have talked.

SLU would be a perfect addition to the Valley in the future but the problem is they probably aren't interested. It's no secret that they want into the Big East badly but nobody know if they'll expand in the future, maybe. It would be assumed that Dayton and SLU would be on the short-list for the Big East. SLU hasn't been very good since the Rick Majerus days, but Valley would still be thrilled to have them.

The absolute Grand-Slam additions (absolute pipe-dream/not happening) would be SLU and Dayton as the #11 & #12. Would cut down on travel for both teams and would increase the competitiveness of the league. But not going to happen.

More realistic adds are Belmont and Murray State. Belmont's Pres/AD seems content in the OVC and wants to be the "Top Dog" in that league. If they joined the MVC they'd have a chance to help build a multi-bid league, while also being a league with still relatively low travel (would be a tick up from the OVC).

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

I don't think the Big East adds St. Louis. If the Big East is only interested in Catholic schools then they have a good chance. But, if they are interested in best programs then its going to be Catholic Dayton and either public VCU or UConn, probably VCU since UConn plays FBS football and is gunning for P5. Plus, the Big East already has those annual doormats that are good once ever fifteen years in St. John's and DePaul. That's what St. Louis is. Why add another and weaken the conference? St. Louis started to have success under Majerus before he passed away. His assistant, Jim Crews, coached Majerus' recruits well and made a couple of NCAA's but he could not recruit and they tanked. St. Louis is now hoping Travis Ford is the savior of the program. 12-21 in the A-10 is a joke. St. Louis has been bad in every conference they have been in and would be bad in the MVC, too. No thanks. I'm not big on Belmont either but I'd rather have Belmont because at least they've shown they can be continually successful even when moving up in conference strength. If St. Louis were smart they would join the MVC, however, because the Big East invite is never going to come and the A-10 WILL eventually be raided of VCU and Dayton. At that point, they're in a conference that might not even be as good as the MVC (without Dayton and VCU) and they'll also have more travel expenses to basically be in the same conference. I fear it will be St. Louis and Murray State. I love the Murray State addition. I just hope another, currently unmentioned, team proves to be worthy because Nebraska-Omaha, Milwaukee, Oral Roberts, Illinois-Chicago, Missouri-Kansas City, Southeast Missouri State, and Alabama-Birmingham, Northern Arkansas, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, East Tennessee State, and Arkansas State do absolutely nothing for the conference and the Dakota's have been deemed too far out by the people in charge of the MVC. Some people wonder why everyone is talking about wanting St. Louis and Belmont. Well, that list is the reason why. They are sadly the current best options. On a personal note, I would like to take a closer look at Northern Kentucky.

[TheAsianSensation]

I don't know why St Louis continues to be discussed.

They fancy themselves as a national university. They want students from all across the country. They don't want to play in a league that limits their athletic exposure to 4 states. It's that simple.

[VU2014]

This is my wish-list:

Tier 1:
-Dayton (Not happening)
-SLU (unlikely, but if the A10 gets raided by the Big East then the chances greatly increase and they'd "begrudgingly" maybe join)

Tier 2:
-Belmont (seems unlikely for now, may change its mind in a year or two)
-Murray State (they badly want into the MVC, probably would have been invited if they found the "right" #12)

Tier 3: (Teams that you'd NEED to see improvement or a longer track record of success the next 2-3 yrs, still not too excited at the prospect of adding any of these teams)

- UW-Milwaukee - need to see the product on the court the next 2-3 years greatly improve & see if they actually draw fans again. Attendance has been brutal.

- Oakland - they will be very good next year. They've seen program success the last few years from landing high major transfers, but it could be rough after next season once they graduate a very heavy senior roster.

-Northern Kentucky - They are a very very young program that has a good coach and a few nice players. They won the HL Tourney without playing any of the top seeds. Nice Facilities, but still has a lot to prove in the HL. If they dominate the HL the next few years then they'd a more serious contender for an invite. Haven't even dealt with their 1st D1 coaching yet... still a very young program with lots to still prove but could be a someone to look out for in the future.

- Omaha - in the same mold as NKU but never even made the Tourney yet and lots to still prove in the Summit. They are also extremely in-debt on their brand new arena. It's more of a hockey school then a basketball school and don't draw well in Omaha.

Tier 4: (Little to no interest in these schools. Would rather stay at 10 then add them)

-Oral-Roberts - school is in financial trouble and has been struggling. Received very bad PR lately. And they are all the way in Tulsa and out of the footprint. They have some history.

-UMKC - Not a great basketball school and the market is a "pro-sports" market. Missouri is cutting funding.

-Alabama-Birmingham - absolutely 0 interest
-Northern Arkansas - absolutely 0 interest
-Tennessee State - absolutely 0 interest
-Tennessee Tech - absolutely 0 interest
-East Tennessee State - absolutely 0 interest
-Arkansas State - absolutely 0 interest

[CheeseheadCrusader]

Where optimism meets realism, I would love Belmont and Murray.

If I had to choose any schools from our former conference, NKU would be my pick, as their coach was hands down the best in the HL last year, imo. If they can pony up and lock him down for the next 3-5 years, they have some real potential. UWM has the most potential, but their department is a dumpster fire as discussed in another thread. Oakland will be one of the best mid major teams in the country next year if they stay healthy (and out of jail). But after that the future is murky, especially with Kampe's time winding down.