According to the new commissioner, the 12th team will probably be a public one.
Knowing this tidbit of information makes it hard for me to believe that Murray isn't that one school. What public option could be more appealing for us as a conference?
According to the new commissioner, the 12th team will probably be a public one.
Knowing this tidbit of information makes it hard for me to believe that Murray isn't that one school. What public option could be more appealing for us as a conference?
A school in a bigger market like Milwaukee, Little Rock, Oakland, Northern Kentucky, UT Arlington would be just as attractive if not more attractive to the Valley
I wish we could undue the Valpo addition a few years ago and get something better. I haven't exactly figured out what they provide to the MVC.
According to the new commissioner, the 12th team will probably be a public one.
Knowing this tidbit of information makes it hard for me to believe that Murray isn't that one school. What public option could be more appealing for us as a conference?
A school in a bigger market like Milwaukee, Little Rock, Oakland, Northern Kentucky, UT Arlington would be just as attractive if not more attractive to the Valley
Is Milwaukee the school that added a couple of 5 star recruits recently? Brothers?
According to the new commissioner, the 12th team will probably be a public one.
Knowing this tidbit of information makes it hard for me to believe that Murray isn't that one school. What public option could be more appealing for us as a conference?
A school in a bigger market like Milwaukee, Little Rock, Oakland, Northern Kentucky, UT Arlington would be just as attractive if not more attractive to the Valley
Is Milwaukee the school that added a couple of 5 star recruits recently? Brothers?
Coach's son Patrick Baldwin Jr. is a 5 star commit
https://247sports.com/player/patrick-baldwin-jr-46050268/
Milwaukee has been down recently but they had a little bit of success last decade with Bruce Pearl at the same time as SIU's run. They do have to battle in their own city with Marquette but you'd get Valley games into another market with Bally Sports Wisconsin.
https://twitter.com/DaveReynolds2/status/1442885758461911041
So, some of the other Valley schools' beef with Murray is....academics????
According to the new commissioner, the 12th team will probably be a public one.
Knowing this tidbit of information makes it hard for me to believe that Murray isn't that one school. What public option could be more appealing for us as a conference?
A school in a bigger market like Milwaukee, Little Rock, Oakland, Northern Kentucky, UT Arlington would be just as attractive if not more attractive to the Valley
Is Milwaukee the school that added a couple of 5 star recruits recently? Brothers?
Coach's son Patrick Baldwin Jr. is a 5 star commit
https://247sports.com/player/patrick-baldwin-jr-46050268/
Milwaukee has been down recently but they had a little bit of success last decade with Bruce Pearl at the same time as SIU's run. They do have to battle in their own city with Marquette but you'd get Valley games into another market with Bally Sports Wisconsin.
Jeez. Must be nice. We still have to wait 18 years to see our future 5 star Mullins recruit develop.
The Curb Event Center where basketball plays is very similar to the Gentile Arena.
oh good. another glorified high school gym that's half empty a good part of the time.
Craving a McBride Special!
So, some of the other Valley schools' beef with Murray is....academics????
🤣🤣
that, and they are thugs.
Craving a McBride Special!
I will ask one more time
what does Murray bring to the Valley other than taking another slice ?
they would be a middle of the pack team this year and would not add any bids. 11 is just fine
If we're looking at public school options. Here's a list in no order of pros and cons of each:
Murray State University (Murray, KY)
Pros
-Rabid fanbase that would bring a lot of fans to Arch Madness something that is sorely needed with the loss of Creighton and Wichita. Loyola has done a good job of bringing fans to St Louis but Valpo has really struggled and combined with SIU/ISU being down attendance has been lacking at the Valley's premiere event. Murray constantly brought a ton of fans to Evansville, Indiana for the OVC Tournament and the entire arena was yellow.
-Not too big of a distance to travel for most Valley teams. Southern Illinois is the closest by drive time at 1 hour, 58 minutes, Evansville is 2 hours, 14 minutes, Indiana State is 4 hours, and Illinois State/Bradley/Missouri State are all about 5 hours.
-Recent basketball success. They've been to the NCAA's 7 times since 2000 and have won 3 tournament games in that span. They've had numerous top coaches including Mick Cronin, Billy Kennedy, and Steve Prohm that have gone on to coach bigger programs since. They've had numerous NBA players including Ja Morant, Cameron Payne, and Isaiah Caanan come through in the last decade or so. They were the #6 seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament finishing with a 30-1 record.
-Belmont and Murray State had a bit of a history the last few years and it would be fun to keep that alive in the Valley.
Cons
-Location, location, location. Murray, Kentucky is literally in the middle of nowhere with no major airports nearby. They're in a small media market which matters in 2021. I'm pretty sure they share the same Bally Sports with Belmont so you wouldn't be getting into a new media market like you would with almost any other addition.
-They're not really great at any other revenue sports. Their football program is bottom-tier in the lowly OVC, women's basketball has been to one tournament since 2008, their baseball program has been to one regionals in their history. And by all accounts, their athletics budget wasn't great by OVC standards.
Thoughts
Murray State would be my #1 addition if I'm expanding to 12 teams but there are some downsides and I don't think they're a sure thing like those on MVCFans think. If Murray State gets added and they can't adjust to the Valley, will they be similar to the Valpo addition? The critics at other schools would point out that SIU and Murray State are very similar when it comes to location and media market but SIU isn't looking to be added to the conference. Quite frankly, we're extremely lucky that SIU is a long-time Valley member because there's no shot they'd get into the conference in 2021. Schools like Northern Iowa and Indiana State can say the same.
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University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)
Pros
-Located in a great city and a nice distance from almost every Valley school.
-They've had success in recent past. In 2005, Bruce Pearl took the Panthers to the Sweet 16 before losing to the Illinois team that would eventually lose in the National Championship. They're likely going to see a bit of resurgence in the next few seasons with 5 star Patrick Baldwin Jr coming in.
-Gets Valley games into a new TV market, Bally Sports Wisconsin.
-UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena isn't a new facility but it seats 12,000 people and was recently renovated in 2016.
Cons
-Competes with the much stronger brand Marquette in their own city in addition to competing with the Wisconsin Badgers.
-Other sports don't seem great. Women's basketball has struggled the last decade. Baseball has struggled but did go to a regionals in 2010.
Thoughts
You're adding a great Milwaukee market here within drivable range of almost every Valley school. If Milwaukee hits, you could be looking at another Loyola SIU has had a bit of a Wisconsin pipeline recently and I'm not sure if this helps or hurts that.
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Northern Kentucky University (Highland Heights, KY)
Pros
-Their basketball facility would jump straight to the top of the Valley. BB&T Arena was opened in 2008 and seats 10,000. If you take Ford Center in Evansville and drop it on Evansville's campus instead of downtown, you'd get BB&T Arena.
-They only joined D1 basketball 9 years ago but they've had success making 2 NCAA Tournaments in that span. Since moving from the Atlantic Sun to the Horizon League, Northern Kentucky has gone 104-59. They made the NCAA Tournament the first year they were eligible in 2017.
-Located just 7 miles outside of Cincinnati, you'd get into a new market. Only 3 hours from Indiana State and Evansville and 4 hours from Belmont it wouldn't be too far off the beaten path.
-Basketball attendance seems to fit in line with the rest of the conference. About 3,000-6,000 fans a game.
-Baseball has been a steady program the last decade as well
Cons
-Being such a new program to D1 Basketball, do they have an established fanbase that will travel 5 hours to St. Louis for Arch Madness?
-There's a lot of competition for D1 basketball in Cincinnati with Cincinnati and Xavier having a ton of success and competition with huge programs like Ohio State and Kentucky too.
Thoughts
This would be a risky add that could pay off given Northern Kentucky's success so early in Division 1 Basketball. They've always been a favorite possible addition for me given their location and facilities. Our own Marcus Domask committed to Northern Kentucky before de-committing when their coach left for Cincinnati.
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University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Little Rock, AR)
Pros
-They're the only show in town in a major city. The closest competition for Division 1 Basketball is Arkansas State, 2 hours away and Memphis, 2 hours away. Now I've lived in Arkansas and the entire state is crazy for the Arkansas Razorbacks but Fayetteville is 3 hours away.
-Jack Stephens Center is an on-campus arena that seats 5,600 and was opened in 2005.
-They've had some recent success with Chris Beard in 2016 beating Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a 12 seed.
-Think they would be the closest Valley school to Missouri State (4 hours). Also 5 hours from Belmont and SIU.
-Women's basketball has had recent success making the NCAA's 6 times since 2010 and winning 2 first round games.
Cons
Interesting thread here ... my main takeaway is it seems the Valley might be patient and see if there are more/better options in another year or so. What that means for Murray's future, I don't know ...
Nicely done. I'd go Murray #1, Northern Kentucky #2 as my top two among the options presented. I wish there was a better option closer to Mo State to add a little geographic balance, as the conference has shifted eastward, but I'm not too jazzed about Little Rock or especially the 'Roos.
