Valpo to be visited by MVC this week, thoughts?

[usc4valpo]

Keep justifying it in your head that past spending on academic infrastructure was some sort of overall commitment to upgrading in general--never mind that it nearly abandoned athletics in its totality.

If Valpo truly ignored its athletics explain to me how the basketball team won two straight Horizon League titles, along with soccer, softball, and baseball all winning the Horizon League regular season or Horizon League tournament over the past 2 seasons. Right now, the money and the donations might not be there to upgrade some of the facilities, but with the new hiring I think there will be substantial fundraising to get an upgrade to the facilities. Let's not forget that Heckler sunk millions of dollars in buying the land the hospital is on so he can expand some of the athletic facilities in the future. To say Valpo has completely ignored their athletics is completely absurd.

ML is a good athletic director. He was able to hire coaches who are really dedicated such as the Drews and the Averys. It wouldn't surprise me if ML was able to get hired by a bigger university with a lot more money in the athletics budget. Real money that isn't just talked about. There is no money for those new facilities! Who says they are really going to happen?

Did ML hire Carlson the inspirational quoting genius?  Just curious about his recruiting record.

[valpopal]

Look fellas, we aren't going to the MVC.  Its not because of lack of resources or lack of facilities.  They chose Loyola.  The HL really didn't lose out on anything by Loyola leaving.  Adding just about anybody to the league is an upgrade over Loyola.  Lets think about who is getting added to the HL since we aren't getting added to the MVC.

I have said all along that the primary factors seemed to be "location, location, location": Chicago. And I have agreed that adding a team like Oakland would be an upgrade over Loyola (though not over Butler, which still hasn't been replaced).

However, when the MVC commissioner and the presidents of schools in the MVC all specifically compliment Loyola for its facilities, especially the newly renovated arena, and its stated commitment to fund future athletics, those comments are tacitly contrasting Loyola with the other visited candidates, including Valparaiso, which is a disparagement and an embarrassment.

[classof2014]

Keep justifying it in your head that past spending on academic infrastructure was some sort of overall commitment to upgrading in general--never mind that it nearly abandoned athletics in its totality.

If Valpo truly ignored its athletics explain to me how the basketball team won two straight Horizon League titles, along with soccer, softball, and baseball all winning the Horizon League regular season or Horizon League tournament over the past 2 seasons. Right now, the money and the donations might not be there to upgrade some of the facilities, but with the new hiring I think there will be substantial fundraising to get an upgrade to the facilities. Let's not forget that Heckler sunk millions of dollars in buying the land the hospital is on so he can expand some of the athletic facilities in the future.

To say Valpo has completely ignored their athletics is completely absurd.

I never said VU completely ignored their athletics.

There is a level of facility commitment in place by VU because sometimes our teams win conference championships?  What a complete and utter joke.  Even Homer Drew admitted that the ARC was a liability when it came to recruiting when he was taking VU to all of those NCAA appearances.  Wow, just wow. 

And someone mentioned it earlier--instead of chest-thumping about all of this "commitment", why don't you give credit where credit lies?  It all goes to the coaches and the AD in trying to facilitate championships with sub-par facilities at best at their disposal.

Some of you more seasoned apologists who roam around here should take note of classof2014.  This cat is taking facility apologism to epic proportions and new heights on this board. 

I never apologized on behalf of our subpar facilities, I think people have blown the issue of the state of our facilities way out of the water. If it was all based on facilities then why does Loyola stink if they have amazing facilities? Obviously the quality of the coaches matters the most for incoming recruits. If not, then why are we still able to get top level recruits and transfers committing to Valpo. Yes, the ARC is a liability but in the big picture it doesn't matter all too much to the recruits.

And if you're wondering. Yes, I would love to see a renovation to the ARC because it most definitely needs it.

[vu72]

Let me try this another final time.  I'm not apologizing for anyone.  The previous administration had different ideas when it came to athletic success and how to take advantage of it, if at all.  That is history.

My point is we now have a new administration who took over at a point where the previous record setting fund drive was nearing an end followed by a market crash.

Give the new guy a chance.  He has hired a whole new team of people including a fund raiser focused on just athletics.  A new 20 year plan has just been completed as well as an athletic master plan which to my knowledge has never been undertaken in prior years.

He has acquired one of the biggest pieces of dirt in the history of Valpo which is dedicated to athletics.

Do ya think he just might have a plan?  Jeez, Alan Harre retired a long time ago as did Bill Steinbrecker. A little patience just might be in order.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

It is getting harder and harder to read this board

...because people have stopped finishing their sentences?

Zoom in, you'll see it at Sean Earl Field along Loyola Ave.
Here's Valpo's
Zoom in and you'll see what kind of track it is. "Proposed"

Has anyone ever accused you of having a two-track mind?

Up until a couple of weeks ago we all could never have guessed the MVC was looking to add VALPO/UIC/Loyola/UMKC to replace Creighton rather than Belmont/Murray State/ORU/SDSU and we were fine with the Horizon. Is it THAT big of a deal right now we're right back where we were a week ago, minus one of our worst teams?

Bro, you are just consistently cranking out good posts.  Like the guy in your avatar (his are a little lower though).

Oakland's been better than both teams since we've entered the Horizon and they have 2 NCAA births

...Kampe's wife had play-in-twins?

This cat is taking facility apologism to epic proportions and new heights on this board. 

More good points.  Also extra credit because according to Google no one on the Interwebz has ever used the phrase "facility apologism" before.

(It would make a great quote on his avatar-as-movie-poster:
"Takes facility apologism to EPIC proportions and NEW heights!!!"
--David Manning, The Ridgefield Press)

A little patience just might be in order.

Good point, but this is the Internet, and patience is not on the docket!

(Even if it were, though, the response to that would be, things have been happening REALLY fast in DI athletics ever since the B1G announced it was taking apps, and we don't have the kind of time to wait for "shovel-ready".  I may have posted this before, but it also applies here:
You could flash-fry a buffalo in 40 seconds

[bbtds]

A little patience just might be in order.

A little patience just might be in order.

A little patience just might be in order.

A little patience just might be in order.

A little patience just might be in order.

Starting to sound like a broken record? I think I have been patient for well over 15 years (and actually much more than that). I followed Valpo when it was difficult and there wasn't an internet. I used to scan over the fine print in the Indy Star for scores. I got as much info from Valpo students who were members of my church as I could about the athletic teams. I'm afraid my patience has run out. I need to step back and take a good long pause.

Maybe that cycling team at Marian University could be interesting. I've recently heard a lot about them.

[vu72]

https://www.google.com/maps?q=Loyola+University+Chicago,+Sheridan+%26+Loyola,+Chicago,+IL&hl=en&ll=42.00121,-87.658458&spn=0.003298,0.003449&sll=41.992798,-87.676392&sspn=0.037318,0.055189&geocode=FTUafwId8fbG-inFaztcviwOiDHKxgRPXcFgyA%3BFb_lgAIdOHHG-iEHq83ZWdU5QykrqCKXoNEPiDEHq83ZWdU5Qw&t=h&dirflg=r&ttype=now&noexp=0&noal=0&sort=def&hnear=Sheridan+%26+Loyola&z=18&start=0

Zoom in, you'll see it at Sean Earl Field along Loyola Ave.


Here's Valpo's

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.465306,-87.047693&spn=0.002352,0.003449&t=h&z=18

Zoom in and you'll see what kind of track it is. "Proposed"

OK fancy pants, look at this map at zoom in on Eastgate Soccer Field.  You'll see a "real" track, not some two lane goofy deal!

We all can play with google earth!! 

Oh man, I'm so lame.  I can't figure out how to post the site.  Go to google earth and look at the eastgate soccer field. There you will see a track!  Wide and real.  Is it really a track fro intercollegiate athletics?  No, just ask valporun. Does it look like one from the sky?  Yep.  So much for google views of athletic facilities.

[oklahomamick]

Add Oakland already. UIC is now our travel partner

[VULB#62]

Ah,  probably no -- would not be at 10 so it'll be just like this past year, right?   

[usc4valpo]

From a Wichita State blogger: "Potential" is the key word in this saga. Loyola convinced school presidents it is serious about spending more money on athletics and that it has the money to spend. (Did Valpo come close to doing this?)The MVC clearly was not worried about winning Friday's news conference. It is already losing the PR battle this week as fans take a look at Loyola's track record in men's basketball, its odd hiring of Sheryl Swoopes to coach women's basketball (she has no college coaching experience) and its lack of a baseball program. The Ramblers will enter the MVC facing legions of skeptics who are fearful that they will drag down the conference's basketball stature. Folks on the banks of Lake Michigan must believe they can compete and they are on the clock to prove themselves. Read more here: http://blogs.kansas.com/shockwaves/#storylink=cpy

well in comparison, they are no worse than DePaul, who is supposed to be Chicago's flagship team.  The way DePaul is going, I would take Loyola over them right now based on potential.

[StlVUFan]

A little patience just might be in order.

A little patience just might be in order.

A little patience just might be in order.

A little patience just might be in order.

A little patience just might be in order.

Starting to sound like a broken record?

Those were all from the same post.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

This cat is taking facility apologism to epic proportions and new heights on this board. 

[bbtds]

Danko: We were in the same conference 1 year ago. Now we're heading to the Big East.






Heckler: We were visited by the Missouri Valley Conference and I told them about our plans.

Tab: I'm out of here!

[classof2014]

In the words of the late Joe Strummer: "Death or glory, becomes just another story."

What's done is done and it's just another story. MVC or no MVC Valpo is in a great situation moving on. They have a great freshman class coming in and a great coaching staff, and we're still in the Horizon which isn't a terrible conference and now minus a terrible team possibly we can fill it with somebody better, shouldn't be hard to find that somebody else since Loyola was inept. I know that it is a disappointment not getting the invite but at the start of next season we'll forget about as we look towards the excitement of seeing all the freshman suit up in a Valpo uniform for the first time and all this buzz around the MVC will have all been tucked away in the back of our brains as just another story. 

[valpopal]

In the words of the late Joe Strummer: "Death or glory, becomes just another story."

What's done is done and it's just another story. MVC or no MVC Valpo is in a great situation moving on. They have a great freshman class coming in and a great coaching staff, and we're still in the Horizon which isn't a terrible conference and now minus a terrible team possibly we can fill it with somebody better, shouldn't be hard to find that somebody else since Loyola was inept. I know that it is a disappointment not getting the invite but at the start of next season we'll forget about as we look towards the excitement of seeing all the freshman suit up in a Valpo uniform for the first time and all this buzz around the MVC will have all been tucked away in the back of our brains as just another story.

"I think this is it for '13-'14. I think there's some interest in discussing expansion of the conference in the future." With comments like this from the Indiana State Athletic Director and other MVC officials about possibly adding two teams in a year or two, I doubt this story will slip away too soon. Plus, every time another conversation arises about Valpo's facilities and investments in athletics, the comments by the MVC officials about the better arena and commitment at Loyola will be referenced. Therefore, as far as this story goes, it will not be tucked away or forgotten: in the words of ZZ Top, "She's got legs!"

[wh]

It's interesting to hear again what Jon LeCrone had to say only a month ago about conference expansion:

Commissioner Jon LeCrone HLN on Vimeo

One thing has already changed.  He stated that there is a very high likelihood that all 9 HL schools will stay intact.

[valpotx]

Add Oakland and ORU, and be done with it until next offseason when more changes come

[bbtds]

Michael J. Garanzini, S.J. 23rd president of Loyola University-Chicago:

Dear Jon,

When one looks to the horizon for inspiration, one should always remember there are valleys in our path.  And the fruit of ones vocation is in the prosperous outcomes of ones students.

We're out of here.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

We're out of here.

WE OUTTA HERE, CHUMP

there i fixed it for you

[oklahomamick]

Add Oakland and ORU, and be done with it until next offseason when more changes come

Why add ORU?  Comptetive basketball and baseball but too geographically too far.  Their programs arent worth the distance to travel. 

[usc4valpo]

Add Oakland and ORU, and be done with it until next offseason when more changes come

Why add ORU? Comptetive basketball and baseball but too geographically too far. Their programs arent worth the distance to travel.

ORU is not growing, it is a gradually deteriorating school.  I do not understand where is interest in that school.

[valpopal]

Add Oakland and ORU, and be done with it until next offseason when more changes come

For what it is worth: According to a post on the Loyola board, Oakland officials conferred with HL Commissioner LeCrone yesterday at the HL headquarters offices in Indy.

[bbtds]

Add Oakland and ORU, and be done with it until next offseason when more changes come

For what it is worth: According to a post on the Loyola board, Oakland officials conferred with HL Commissioner LeCrone yesterday at the HL headquarters offices in Indy.

That was the guy wandering around South Street saying "What does LeCrone mean 'be alert, strategic and patient?' I got Kampe tweeting about everything."



Greg Kampe @KampeOU

Is there anything for $1:06 better the a Micky-D's ice cream cone. Lady in car next to me sure looked jealous. The corner of Adams/Walton



Greg Kampe @KampeOU

Our league is a little weird. Hunted wabbits, now we got Yotes and Roos.   Jackrabbits, Coyotes and Kangaroos .....oh my-all in 8 days


Greg Kampe @KampeOU

Shhhhh. Be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting Jackwabbits.


Greg Kampe @KampeOU

This is a bad year: Twinkies, Hoho's and now the iron.  What next, the Whooper,  Slurpee , 99cent bag of chips


Greg Kampe @KampeOU

Didn't think I gained that much during Holidays, life guard fired a harpoon at me during my swim workout today. She must a UDM grad.

(You think Kampe would post on this board? He sounds like a lot of fun.)

[bmlvu97]

Just a thought here...depending on what happens with Horizon League expansion and who gets invited in (Oakland, other Summit League teams, etc), does it make sense for us to look at starting to schedule teams from these conferences that we are interested in maybe moving to in the future.  A lot of us complained about our somewhat weak non-conference schedule this past year but we also dont need to be scheduling teams like Duke, Carolina, like in the 2000's.  What about maybe scheduling some home and home series with a couple of teams from the MVC, OVC, or the like - some stronger mid-major teams that are at our level or maybe 1/2 a level above...

Brian

[bbtds]

I know that it is a disappointment not getting the invite but at the start of next season we'll forget about as we look towards the excitement of seeing all the freshman suit up in a Valpo uniform for the first time and all this buzz around the MVC will have all been tucked away in the back of our brains as just another story.

Until another school leaves the HL. Who knows who's likely to leave next. But remember to be strategic, alert and patient.