I am fairly certain Ja Morant no longer plays for Murray State.
They still have a big, established fanbase and had NBA talent like Isaiah Canaan and Cameron Payne before Morant was there.
I could practically do an entire TEDtalk on MVC expansion and the positive side of becoming a 12 team round robin league.
My personal picks are Murray State and Belmont. They make sense when you check the boxes based on geography, academics, facilities, and fan bases. They also check the box with the ability to enter the league and compete right away for all sports, not just basketball. It would also help with the public/private balance. Last I checked, Belmont was the only private institution in the OVC.
With the OVC falling apart, it's probably time for those two programs to "move up" a conference and have quality programs already on the schedule. Murray State already schedules half the Valley for it's non-conference schedule for pretty much every sport.
I also wouldn't be opposed to Northern Kentucky joining the MVC. Their profile fits nicely with the current state of the Valley compared to the Horizon League. NKU has spent a lot of money upgrading facilities over the years, and has seen a lot of early success since joining the D-1 ranks several years ago. In my mind, they've done a far better job upgrading/maintaining their athletic facilities opposed to Valpo.
Another school I can see the Valley possibly recruit is SLU. I know it's a heavy long shot, and they will have an unfair advantage at the Arch - but I've heard rumblings that SLU is struggling financially and might not be able to afford the A-10 travel requirement for it's non-revenue sports. Basketball can only go so far these days. But of course where SLU ends up will be based on if Dayton would ever get the invite to join the Big East.
Pipe dream school: Western Kentucky. I know they left the Valley a time ago, but how cool would it be if SLU/WKU came in. Mo State would have an easy travel partner. WKU would already be within 3.5 hours from SIU/Evansville.
Now on the idea of SIU ever leaving the Valley? Don't see it happening unless something weird happened in the C-USA and we got an invite to be the only school north of the Mason Dixon line. Southern unfortunately has hit it's peak conference wise.
What I have thought about before is mid-major conference break up with realignment based on public/private geographical locations. How crazy would it be if SIU played in a 10 school public league conference featuring: UNI, MoState, IlSU, InSU, NKY, WKU, Middle Tenn, Central Arkansas, and NDSU.
or a new 8 school private school conference with Loyola, Drake, Bradley, Evansville, Oral Roberts, Dayton, SLU, and Belmont?
Twitter: CPTNDONUTS
Former WIDB Sports Director and Dawg Pound President. Since my freshmen year, SIU Basketball has not appeared in a NCAA or NIT postseason game.
I could practically do an entire TEDtalk on MVC expansion and the positive side of becoming a 12 team round robin league.
My personal picks are Murray State and Belmont. They make sense when you check the boxes based on geography, academics, facilities, and fan bases. They also check the box with the ability to enter the league and compete right away for all sports, not just basketball. It would also help with the public/private balance. Last I checked, Belmont was the only private institution in the OVC.
With the OVC falling apart, it's probably time for those two programs to "move up" a conference and have quality programs already on the schedule. Murray State already schedules half the Valley for it's non-conference schedule for pretty much every sport.
I also wouldn't be opposed to Northern Kentucky joining the MVC. Their profile fits nicely with the current state of the Valley compared to the Horizon League. NKU has spent a lot of money upgrading facilities over the years, and has seen a lot of early success since joining the D-1 ranks several years ago. In my mind, they've done a far better job upgrading/maintaining their athletic facilities opposed to Valpo.
Another school I can see the Valley possibly recruit is SLU. I know it's a heavy long shot, and they will have an unfair advantage at the Arch - but I've heard rumblings that SLU is struggling financially and might not be able to afford the A-10 travel requirement for it's non-revenue sports. Basketball can only go so far these days. But of course where SLU ends up will be based on if Dayton would ever get the invite to join the Big East.
Pipe dream school: Western Kentucky. I know they left the Valley a time ago, but how cool would it be if SLU/WKU came in. Mo State would have an easy travel partner. WKU would already be within 3.5 hours from SIU/Evansville.
Now on the idea of SIU ever leaving the Valley? Don't see it happening unless something weird happened in the C-USA and we got an invite to be the only school north of the Mason Dixon line. Southern unfortunately has hit it's peak conference wise.
What I have thought about before is mid-major conference break up with realignment based on public/private geographical locations. How crazy would it be if SIU played in a 10 school public league conference featuring: UNI, MoState, IlSU, InSU, NKY, WKU, Middle Tenn, Central Arkansas, and NDSU.
or a new 8 school private school conference with Loyola, Drake, Bradley, Evansville, Oral Roberts, Dayton, SLU, and Belmont?
One thing I really don't like about the MVC and that's this insistence on public/private school balance. Some time ago, I really thought we should ramp up football and look into joining the MAC - a more stable league that's football heavy. That train left the station a long time ago.
It would of been cool to join the MAC maybe 10 years ago, but I think the politics surrounding the SIU school system over the years would have prevented that from happening.
Twitter: CPTNDONUTS
Former WIDB Sports Director and Dawg Pound President. Since my freshmen year, SIU Basketball has not appeared in a NCAA or NIT postseason game.
It would of been cool to join the MAC maybe 10 years ago, but I think the politics surrounding the SIU school system over the years would have prevented that from happening.
MAC is FBS in football anyway
It would of been cool to join the MAC maybe 10 years ago, but I think the politics surrounding the SIU school system over the years would have prevented that from happening.
I contend it never would have been cool to join the MAC.
SIU is a basketball school first and foremost and the MVC is the better basketball league with more natural rivals. SIU doesn't have the finances or tradition to succeed in FBS football without some massive fundraising. And travel to the MAC would have been (slightly) worse, with so many schools in Michigan and Ohio, plus Buffalo.
So, nope.
It would of been cool to join the MAC maybe 10 years ago, but I think the politics surrounding the SIU school system over the years would have prevented that from happening.
I contend it never would have been cool to join the MAC.
SIU is a basketball school first and foremost and the MVC is the better basketball league with more natural rivals. SIU doesn't have the finances or tradition to succeed in FBS football without some massive fundraising. And travel to the MAC would have been (slightly) worse, with so many schools in Michigan and Ohio, plus Buffalo.
So, nope.
I honestly don't get the point of being in an FBS league like the Sun Belt or MAC. It's good exposure on ESPN in the middle of the week I guess but those schools barely draw any fans and outside of the rare best case scenario like Northern Illinois making the Orange Bowl, they're basically playing for conference championships and some random weekday afternoon Bowl Game in Mobile, Alabama. Just seems like a waste of funds to me.
It would of been cool to join the MAC maybe 10 years ago, but I think the politics surrounding the SIU school system over the years would have prevented that from happening.
I contend it never would have been cool to join the MAC.
SIU is a basketball school first and foremost and the MVC is the better basketball league with more natural rivals. SIU doesn't have the finances or tradition to succeed in FBS football without some massive fundraising. And travel to the MAC would have been (slightly) worse, with so many schools in Michigan and Ohio, plus Buffalo.
So, nope.
I honestly don't get the point of being in an FBS league like the Sun Belt or MAC. It's good exposure on ESPN in the middle of the week I guess but those schools barely draw any fans and outside of the rare best case scenario like Northern Illinois making the Orange Bowl, they're basically playing for conference championships and some random weekday afternoon Bowl Game in Mobile, Alabama. Just seems like a waste of funds to me.
Fully agree. And factor in that SIU football has had enough issues competing at the FCS level over the years, and the whole concept has been and remains a non-starter.
I'm perfectly content with SIU being at the FCS level and competing in the MVFC. It's strong and most of the league holds it's own against FBS programs in buy games.
For basketball and other sports, MVC is still the perfect conference for Southern. Just want more competition added to it to get it back to the consistent 2-Bid league it deserves to be. If the A-10 can do it, why not us? Adding a Belmont/Murray State increases the conference NET almost instantly and could help them jump from being ranked 11th to possible 7th/8th spot. Those two schools deserve better exposure.
Also, the whole TV market share I think is irrelevant. No in cities like Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Nashville care about the mid-major programs. The Big East/Big Ten/Big 12 own every major city when it comes to TV viewership. Loyola is still second fiddle to Northwestern/DePaul, UW-M will never get attention with Wisconsin/Marquette, and Belmont will always lose out to Vanderbilt. So the whole TV share thing is dumb.
I also wouldn't be opposed to the Valley signing a deal with Marquee Sports Network to get more games on TV in the Chicagoland area since NBC Sports Chicago might fold (I've heard rumblings at work from people that are connected to them.) within the next year or two... But that of course is if Marquee gets their sh*t together and can finally work out a deal with every streaming platform and cable/satellite provider...
Twitter: CPTNDONUTS
Former WIDB Sports Director and Dawg Pound President. Since my freshmen year, SIU Basketball has not appeared in a NCAA or NIT postseason game.
It would of been cool to join the MAC maybe 10 years ago, but I think the politics surrounding the SIU school system over the years would have prevented that from happening.
I contend it never would have been cool to join the MAC.
SIU is a basketball school first and foremost and the MVC is the better basketball league with more natural rivals. SIU doesn't have the finances or tradition to succeed in FBS football without some massive fundraising. And travel to the MAC would have been (slightly) worse, with so many schools in Michigan and Ohio, plus Buffalo.
So, nope.
I honestly don't get the point of being in an FBS league like the Sun Belt or MAC. It's good exposure on ESPN in the middle of the week I guess but those schools barely draw any fans and outside of the rare best case scenario like Northern Illinois making the Orange Bowl, they're basically playing for conference championships and some random weekday afternoon Bowl Game in Mobile, Alabama. Just seems like a waste of funds to me.
Alot more people care about those midweek bowl games than the FCS Championship.
It would of been cool to join the MAC maybe 10 years ago, but I think the politics surrounding the SIU school system over the years would have prevented that from happening.
I contend it never would have been cool to join the MAC.
SIU is a basketball school first and foremost and the MVC is the better basketball league with more natural rivals. SIU doesn't have the finances or tradition to succeed in FBS football without some massive fundraising. And travel to the MAC would have been (slightly) worse, with so many schools in Michigan and Ohio, plus Buffalo.
So, nope.
I honestly don't get the point of being in an FBS league like the Sun Belt or MAC. It's good exposure on ESPN in the middle of the week I guess but those schools barely draw any fans and outside of the rare best case scenario like Northern Illinois making the Orange Bowl, they're basically playing for conference championships and some random weekday afternoon Bowl Game in Mobile, Alabama. Just seems like a waste of funds to me.
Alot more people care about those midweek bowl games than the FCS Championship.
Sure, gamblers.
And the general public.
I'm perfectly content with SIU being at the FCS level and competing in the MVFC. It's strong and most of the league holds it's own against FBS programs in buy games.
For basketball and other sports, MVC is still the perfect conference for Southern. Just want more competition added to it to get it back to the consistent 2-Bid league it deserves to be. If the A-10 can do it, why not us? Adding a Belmont/Murray State increases the conference NET almost instantly and could help them jump from being ranked 11th to possible 7th/8th spot. Those two schools deserve better exposure.
Also, the whole TV market share I think is irrelevant. No in cities like Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Nashville care about the mid-major programs. The Big East/Big Ten/Big 12 own every major city when it comes to TV viewership. Loyola is still second fiddle to Northwestern/DePaul, UW-M will never get attention with Wisconsin/Marquette, and Belmont will always lose out to Vanderbilt. So the whole TV share thing is dumb.
I also wouldn't be opposed to the Valley signing a deal with Marquee Sports Network to get more games on TV in the Chicagoland area since NBC Sports Chicago might fold (I've heard rumblings at work from people that are connected to them.) within the next year or two... But that of course is if Marquee gets their sh*t together and can finally work out a deal with every streaming platform and cable/satellite provider...
I can’t imagine NBC Sports Chicago folding. I just don’t see the Bulls/Sox/Hawks allowing that to happen. I do agree it would be great to get the games on Marquee, and it fills a gap in programming during the baseball offseason. There are plenty of MVC Alumni in the Chicago market.
If NBC Sports Chicago folds, it means you'll see Bally Sports Chicago. That would be 3 Chicago sports teams without TV homes. I always thought Marquee should have added the Blackhawks to give them more programming like YES Network has the Brooklyn Nets to counter the Yankees. White Sox and Bulls are both owned by Reinsdorf so it would have been unlikely to grab one of them. Wasn't the best time for Chicago Sports teams to split TV networks. The Bulls & Blackhawks are both down and probably drawing their smallest ratings in two decades and the White Sox, while young and exciting, don't draw well. And then you have the pandemic.
