2017-18 VU Schedule

[VU2014]

Looks like Valpo will be playing an away game at SIUE (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) next season. SIUE Cougars are an OVC school. They are a relatively new D1 program. They made the jump to D1 in 2008. Relatively low travel opponent.

The SIUE Cougars were pretty brutal last year with a 6-24 (Conf: 1-15). They were a pretty young team last year, so maybe you could expect some growth next season. Looks like they have 4 JUCO kids coming in next year and 2 freshman.

If I had to guess this 1-for-1 (I'm assuming its a standard 1-for-1) is about the 2018-2019 more then next years team. Best to get a home game in 2018-2019 which we are all projecting to be a better year then next year and you hope SIUE grows and is a better team by 2018-2019 and don't drag our RPI down or SOS down for our Tourney resume.

Not sure what I think of this match-up for our RPI and SOS. I hope they are a stronger team the next few years. Should be an interesting game. I don't think we've ever played them. A more intriguing match up then Chicago State.

https://twitter.com/happeninghoops/status/870990149714411523
https://twitter.com/jonathanshank/status/870792918034001920

[vu84v2]

I cannot say that I am really thrilled that Valpo is scheduling a road game (even if it is part of a 1 for 1) with a team whose RPI in 2016-2017 is 332. At best, this game harms Valpo's RPI and in a worst case scenario there is a lot more to lose. This is always the argument for a team from a Power 6 conference not to come to Valpo, but I would argue that the downside of Valpo losing a game at a school like SIUE is far worse. I can understand if this is a one time thing (to help a friend of the program who is struggling to build their own program), but I would not want to see any more sub 300 (or even 250) games.

[VUGrad1314]

Nobody does VU any favors when it comes to scheduling. Why are we constantly acting like the patron Saint of nobody schools? Sure it's better than Chicago State; but it's still not the caliber of game we should be looking to take; especially right now when there's still time to add some quality opponents. This is not an example of scheduling like a team that wants to be in the at large conversation come selection Sunday. Games like this will not impress our new conference mates, and will make it harder to get P5 home and homes.Why should they come play road games at Valpo when Valpo is a program willing to take sub 300 RPI road games? I really thought we were going to move beyond this kind of game with our move to the Valley  especially when the margin of error for mid majors is so thin and we need every opportunity we can get to bolster our resume

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/871168683091079169
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/871167151830441985

[FieldGoodie05]

Nobody does VU any favors when it comes to scheduling. Why are we constantly acting like the patron Saint of nobody schools? Sure it's better than Chicago State; but it's still not the caliber of game we should be looking to take; especially right now when there's still time to add some quality opponents. This is not an example of scheduling like a team that wants to be in the at large conversation come selection Sunday. Games like this will not impress our new conference mates, and will make it harder to get P5 home and homes.Why should they come play road games at Valpo when Valpo is a program willing to take sub 300 RPI road games? I really thought we were going to move beyond this kind of game with our move to the Valley  especially when the margin of error for mid majors is so thin and we need every opportunity we can get to bolster our resume

Yeah, lets load our schedule with unwinnable games and kill the excitement of a young teams before it gets going.

This is not directed at you, but rather an overall tone I'm hearing on the forum.  We have to start somewhere guys, winnable games in the 250-300 RPI range are a must.  This is precisely what Lottich was talking about on the podcast.  We have to schedule smart KNOWING this is NOT an at large team next season.

Sorry to be so blunt, but wowza.

[VUGrad1314]

Nobody does VU any favors when it comes to scheduling. Why are we constantly acting like the patron Saint of nobody schools? Sure it's better than Chicago State; but it's still not the caliber of game we should be looking to take; especially right now when there's still time to add some quality opponents. This is not an example of scheduling like a team that wants to be in the at large conversation come selection Sunday. Games like this will not impress our new conference mates, and will make it harder to get P5 home and homes.Why should they come play road games at Valpo when Valpo is a program willing to take sub 300 RPI road games? I really thought we were going to move beyond this kind of game with our move to the Valley  especially when the margin of error for mid majors is so thin and we need every opportunity we can get to bolster our resume

Yeah, lets load our schedule with unwinnable games and kill the excitement of a young teams before it gets going. This is not directed at you, but rather an overall tone I'm hearing on the forum.  We have to start somewhere guys, winnable games in the 250-300 RPI range are a must.  This is precisely what Lottich was talking about on the podcast.  We have to schedule smart KNOWING this is NOT an at large team next season. Sorry to be so blunt, but wowza.

That's not what i'm after at all. Except for one anomaly in 2013-2014 Valpo has sat comfortably in the top 100 in RPI each year since 2010 never falling outside the top 90. All I'm asking is that Valpo consistently schedule within the 50-130 range which provides the team with challenging but winnable games that will actually make them attractive to some tournament committee even if that's not the NCAA. Valpo may endure some growing pains but they shouldn't slip to the point where they need to take this level of road game.  Valpo should be done with sub 250 RPI games in all circumstances. They offer no value to a top mid major.   

[a3uge]

I cannot say that I am really thrilled that Valpo is scheduling a road game (even if it is part of a 1 for 1) with a team whose RPI in 2016-2017 is 332. At best, this game harms Valpo's RPI and in a worst case scenario there is a lot more to lose. This is always the argument for a team from a Power 6 conference not to come to Valpo, but I would argue that the downside of Valpo losing a game at a school like SIUE is far worse. I can understand if this is a one time thing (to help a friend of the program who is struggling to build their own program), but I would not want to see any more sub 300 (or even 250) games.

If Valpo loses to SIUE, they don't have much business advancing in the postseason anyways. Valpo has a number of hard games next year, so it's critical to fill the rest of the schedule with wins. Having 10 OOC games that are top 150 RPI would be counterproductive.

[ml]

Wanted to play in the St Louis area.  We look to play some games in areas where there are a large number of Valpo alumni and friends.  Our overall non-conference schedule is good.

[justducky]

My first thought on SIUE was also- Why? But on second thought maybe it can be justified from several angles. No we are not in the at-large picture for 17-18 and road wins can be neutral or modestly helpful even against weaker teams. So we play a probable poor RPI team at Edwardsville in 17-18 then host them in 18-19 with the hope they will be much improved.

Best case- we help a struggling program, get a confidence building win on the road, then cash in two years hence with an appearance at the ARC of a top 150 program.      OK!  I'll just stick to the sunny side and ignore the worst case for now.   

[vu84v2]

Wanted to play in the St Louis area.  We look to play some games in areas where there are a large number of Valpo alumni and friends.  Our overall non-conference schedule is good.

With all due respect, is playing a road game in Edwardsville, IL necessary to attract Valpo alumni and friends when Valpo will be playing in St. Louis in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament each year going forward? Additionally, while I understand that scheduling is a challenge, SLU would be a much more convenient place to attract and entertain alumni and friends than Edwardsville, IL.

I understand that there can be isolated cases in which Valpo schedules like this and I believe that Valpo has generally done a good job of scheduling in recent years. I just would not want to see both SIUE and Chicago State on the schedule this season.

[valporun]

I'll take a game against SIUE this season because we still have so many unknowns about the transfers, and who will be improved from the returnees. Will Sorolla or Smits be stronger inside in year 2 for both? Will players like Burton, Golder, Evelyn, and a few others be ready for conference play, or do we need this game to get some of the cobwebs out?

I get that so many of you are caught up in RPI numbers like they are the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but don't forget you don't want to schedule all 50-100 RPI games when your roster has so many question marks that need answers. We haven't seen Burton, Evelyn, Golder, Hazen, or anyone on the roster play together yet. Let's back off the ledge, and quit feeling like we're letting the conference down before we've played a game. We need to see the roster play games, not freak out about the RPI numbers in June that don't mean anything until games are played.

[vu84v2]

As I mentioned above, I am fine with this as an exception...but I would expect at least 50% of non-conference games to be against teams with RPI of 100 or better. And I agree that the RPI is not the perfect measure (in fact I welcome other measures). But regardless of the measure, if Valpo's goal to to have the highest possible performance measure as it correlates highly with getting into the NCAA (or if not the NCAA, the NIT), then Valpo needs to schedule with that goal always in mind.

My last post had more to do with ml's justifications for playing SIUE. The arguments for playing at SIUE were pretty weak since Edwardsville is quite a distance from the St. Louis suburbs where more alumni would live and is not a city that people would see value going to. Furthermore, St. Louis would seem to have plenty of future Valpo events given the location of the MVC tournament. If you said that Valpo was playing someone in downtown Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis or even St. Louis, the argument would be much more valid.

[wh]

Wanted to play in the St Louis area.  We look to play some games in areas where there are a large number of Valpo alumni and friends.  Our overall non-conference schedule is good.

Thanks for the explanation, ml. While we have your attention, I recently raised the issue about severely limited parking availability in proximity to the ARC. Following is a previous post that explains the parking dilemma in great detail and provides support for a direct correlation between declining parking availability and declining attendance. I kindly ask that you read them in some detail before responding.

I have 2 questions. First, Does the University Administration understand and appreciate the magnitude of this problem. I have to ask that because much of the problem is self-inflicted, knowing the impact it would have on parking availability. Secondly, IF it's perceived as a problem in need of a solution, are any plans in the works to remedy the situation? 

Thanks for your time!

"Inexplicably, over the past 3-4 years the university has eliminated every general parking area and all on-street parking in every direction surrounding the ARC, rendering it the most difficult-to-access sports venue I personally have ever encountered - anywhere, any sport, any level.

West:
• The new sorority row has eliminated the vacant lots that provided dozens of parking spots for basketball attendees for many years.
• "No parking" signs were placed on Union Street when the sororities were finished, eliminating numerous parking spots accessed by basketball attendees for generations.
• Parking on the north side of Monroe was eliminated in the middle of this year's bb season, wiping out a block-long area of desperately needed public parking for basketball games.
• As a result of these changes, parking on the south side of Monroe and both sides of Brown is now jammed with cars day and night, eliminating even more parking availability for basketball attendees.

North:

• The former "tennis court" parking lot was eliminated when the track was built, eliminating dozens of parking spots.

East:

• 4 or 5 years ago parking on both sides of McIntyre Court was designated "resident parking only (by permit), eliminating numerous parking spots.
• The parking area in front of the old bookstore has been designated handicap only. By the way, it is marked by an unlighted temporary ground-level sign, and is a constant source of confusion for people desperately searching for general parking. It is also the only area anywhere close to the ARC designated for handicap parking and is always jam packed, meaning some number of handicap vehicles are out of luck.
• The only remaining available parking to the east are the parking lots adjacent to the softball field, a quarter to a half mile away.

South:

• The parking lot across the street from the ARC used to provide prime general parking for early arrivers, but no longer. The first 2 rows have been roped off and designated as "Gold Parking" only, a premium add-on option for season ticket holders. The rest of the lot is jammed before 6p with adjacent dorm parkers, sorority parkers, and who knows who else. I can personally attest to this, as I intentionally came at 6p at the last 2 home games, and was told by a university police officer at the entrance to the lot that it was full. By the way, a police car is always there with lights flashing. This adds to the confusion as people looking for parking naturally gravitate to the flashing lights, thinking the cop is there to direct them in, only to be shooed away. As for the new restricted rows - often no more than half full.

So where are the general admission and regular season ticket holders and casual attendees expected to park?  Not the old hospital parking garage. That's closed and the entrances barricaded. That leaves the parking area to the immediate south of the garage and a limited number of spots across the street to the south. Of course, neither of those lots are close to the ARC, just like the lots adjacent to the softball field are no where close.

Oh, how about the parking next to the building on the west and north sides. All reserved exclusively for Athletic Department staff, university president and trustees, high dollar donors, and players.

To put this in perspective, picture your local Walmart with the best parking spots up against the building reserved for corporate officials who almost never use them and every employee from the store manager down to the janitor. Picture the store parking lot full of cars from adjacent apartment buildings that don't have their own parking. Picture a security guard at the entrance of the "Walmart" parking lot, directing cars to parking lots belonging to other businesses from 1-4 blocks away.

Then picture a group of people with strong ties to that particular Walmart from days gone by wondering on a message board why the customer base has fallen so dramatically in recent times, when the store's products are as good or better than they've ever been. And then proposing solutions like "they need to modernize the inside of the building" or "they need to do a better job of marketing," or "they need to make the building bigger" or "they shouldn't make the building bigger until more customers start showing up." 

Thus is the 800 pound gorilla no one is talking about. What is perceived as an outdated college basketball venue in need of updating is more accurately a completely landlocked, outdated college basketball venue in desperate need of easy-access parking that the university has either eliminated or repurposed for other needs."

[bbtds]

Additionally, while I understand that scheduling is a challenge, SLU would be a much more convenient place to attract and entertain alumni and friends than Edwardsville, IL.

I have a feeling that Valpo asked SLU for a game in St Louis and was told "no." Between SLU not wanting to lose at home (Valpo would likely present a real challenge and SLU needs wins too) and the situation with Keith Carter, the scheduling of a game was not in the cards.

[vu84v2]

bbts - Good point about the Keith Carter situation. I totally forgot about that and can see that scheduling with SLU is highly unlikely for the near future.

wh - Without copying your long post, you provided tremendous detail justifying that the parking situation needs to be addressed quickly. All I would add is that a solution should not involve shuttling people i from remote lots. For a facility that only holds 5000 people, you need a parking solution with easy walking to the stadium. Creating a lot (at the old hospital space?) with a small parking fee ($5?) was suggested in some previous posts (by wh, if I remember correctly) and seems like a very reasonable and cost effective solution.

[ml]

The SIUE game was scheduled well before the opportunity for membership in the MVC.  Being in St Louis annually for Arch Madness is a significant benefit for us as members of the Valley. 

We have a list of schools every year we would like to schedule, the question every year is do they want to play us.  Many years the answer is no, they don't.  I believe you will find that our non-conference schedules the past 5 years or so are similar to other quality mid-majors.

The parking situation has gotten more difficult since the construction of the track.  We understand that it needs to be addressed and have begun reviewing it and looking for answers that can be implemented for the coming season.  Some solutions that seem simple are complicated by city and IDEM regulations and rules regarding storm water management.  We need to be good neighbors.  The change on McIntyre was driven by the inability for two way traffic on game nights when parked cars filled both sides.  Many patrons have been clear that parking has become a frustration, we are looking for ways to address these frustrations.

[VU2014]

This is how the 2017-2018 Schedule looks to be coming together with a little guessing on my part:

-(Home) "Tune-up" game vs a D2 opponent (guess on my part)

-(Home) (maybe another "tune-up" game vs Low Major opponent or D2 school like IU-Kokomo, Trinity (IL), Bethel, or Aurora)

-(Away) SIUE Nov. 15 (guessing RPI: 250-351)

-*(Possible Away Game) Santa Clara* (I believe we have an obligation to give them a return game. Maybe it gets pushed out another year. But I'm assuming if we head out to Santa Clara we'll be playing more then one game out West). It just seems like a west coast trip would be tough to pull of this year, but we'll see I guess.

-(Home) IUPUI/Fort Wayne/(against some region low-mid major) - maybe more likely against IUPUI since it's "our turn" to play at IPFW next but it sounds like we are pretty stacked & full with Non-Conf Away games, so maybe IUPUI is more likely? Total guess on my part. Or maybe it turns out to be  a pretty solid opponent?  We got Iona to come to the ARC a few years ago. Quality opponents are probably easier to schedule now that AP and that senior class has graduated.

-Rumored to be in the Savannah Invitational Tournament
(Complicated b/c Loyola is also suppose to play in it, but the NCAA has granted exceptions in the past. Ex: There have been exceptions for swiftly executed conference realignment. Villanova and Xavier were both in 2013 Battle4Atlantis. And of course the year before, Butler and Xavier played a non-conference game both as members of the A10. But we all know the NCAA tends to favor policy towards the larger schools and sticks the middle finger to Mid-Majors like Valpo. Other participants include: UNC-W (a shell of itself from last year), and Kent State who was solid last year in MAC with 22-14 (10-8) and got hot and won their conf tourney. Kent State didn't graduate anyone.

-(Home) Utah State TBD (MVC/MW Challenge)

-(Away) Northwestern (Dec. 7) All-State Arena

-(Away) Ball State (Dec. 9)

-(Away) Purdue (Dec. 14)

-(Home) - Mystery Team (If I had to guess a solid Low-Mid Major Program)

-(Home) Game vs a low major like Chicago State, Lord help me if we need to watch Valpo play them again.


Confirmed Non-Conference Opponents: Northwestern, Purdue, Ball State, SIUE, Utah State, Santa Clara* (we owe them a game but maybe its not happening next season?)

I trust the Coach Gore and the Athletics Department to do the best scheduling possible. Scheduling is extremely difficult for Mid-Majors and that won't change now that we're in the MVC. I still think we are occasionally going to have to play the sub 300 RPI (or even 250) games every year on occasion... if the MVC reaches A10 "status" consistently year in and year out then maybe that changes.

-I'm assuming Valpo will need to have at 6-8 homes games in OOC to break-even and pay the bills (you know 1 & probably 2 of those games will be against D2 opponents at home and you can count on at least 1 low major like Chicago State being scheduled at the ARC. Its tough to get quality opponents at the ARC consistently every year...)

-I'm guessing we'll play around 12-15 Non-Conference games

-There was a rumor that we potentially had a game against an ACC team in the works but I have heard anything about that for a while, so I'm assuming it won't be happening (at least not next season). 

[VUGrad1314]

This is how the 2017-2018 Schedule looks to be coming together with a little guessing on my part:

-(Home) "Tune-up" game vs a D2 opponent (guess on my part)

-(Home) (maybe another "tune-up" game vs Low Major opponent or D2 school like IU-Kokomo, Trinity (IL), Bethel, or Aurora)

-(Away) SIUE Nov. 15 (guessing RPI: 250-351)

-*(Possible Away Game) Santa Clara* (I believe we have an obligation to give them a return game. Maybe it gets pushed out another year. But I'm assuming if we head out to Santa Clara we'll be playing more then one game out West). It just seems like a west coast trip would be tough to pull of this year, but we'll see I guess.

-(Home) IUPUI/Fort Wayne/(against some region low-mid major) - maybe more likely against IUPUI since it's "our turn" to play at IPFW next but it sounds like we are pretty stacked & full with Non-Conf Away games, so maybe IUPUI is more likely? Total guess on my part. Or maybe it turns out to be  a pretty solid opponent?  We got Iona to come to the ARC a few years ago. Quality opponents are probably easier to schedule now that AP and that senior class has graduated.

-Rumored to be in the Savannah Invitational Tournament
(Complicated b/c Loyola is also suppose to play in it, but the NCAA has granted exceptions in the past. Ex: There have been exceptions for swiftly executed conference realignment. Villanova and Xavier were both in 2013 Battle4Atlantis. And of course the year before, Butler and Xavier played a non-conference game both as members of the A10. But we all know the NCAA tends to favor policy towards the larger schools and sticks the middle finger to Mid-Majors like Valpo. Other participants include: UNC-W (a shell of itself from last year), and Kent State who was solid last year in MAC with 22-14 (10-8) and got hot and won their conf tourney. Kent State didn't graduate anyone.

-(Home) Utah State TBD (MVC/MW Challenge)

-(Away) Northwestern (Dec. 7) All-State Arena

-(Away) Ball State (Dec. 9)

-(Away) Purdue (Dec. 14)

-(Home) - Mystery Team (If I had to guess a solid Low-Mid Major Program)

-(Home) Game vs a low major like Chicago State, Lord help me if we need to watch Valpo play them again.


Confirmed Non-Conference Opponents: Northwestern, Purdue, Ball State, SIUE, Utah State, Santa Clara* (we owe them a game but maybe its not happening next season?)

I trust the Coach Gore and the Athletics Department to do the best scheduling possible. Scheduling is extremely difficult for Mid-Majors and that won't change now that we're in the MVC. I still think we are occasionally going to have to play the sub 300 RPI (or even 250) games every year on occasion... if the MVC reaches A10 "status" consistently year in and year out then maybe that changes.

-I'm assuming Valpo will need to have at 6-8 homes games in OOC to break-even and pay the bills (you know 1 & probably 2 of those games will be against D2 opponents at home and you can count on at least 1 low major like Chicago State being scheduled at the ARC. Its tough to get quality opponents at the ARC consistently every year...)

-I'm guessing we'll play around 12-15 Non-Conference games

-There was a rumor that we potentially had a game against an ACC team in the works but I have heard anything about that for a while, so I'm assuming it won't be happening (at least not next season). 

I sure hope the schedule doesn't have that many 250-300RPI and D2 teams That's just too much fluff. IPFW and IUPUI are acceptable as last resort teams; but 3-4 "tune up" games against sub-250 RPI or D2 competition  is just too much. We'd run the risk of "Evansvilling" our conference mates. Not a good way to ingratiate ourselves to the MVC. Love the tournament and all of the confirmed games so far (except Edwardsville ). The more games we can get that are like those the better

[VU2014]

I actually don't think 1 "tune-up" game against a D2 schools is that bad. D2 opponents don't calculate into a team RPI. I don't particularly like watching D2 schools playing at the ARC but I understand the "value" they provide. Valpo needs home games and a lot of high-major/good mid-major schools refuse to play Good-Mids like Valpo because they don't want to risk a loss.

The MVC is a nice step up for Valpo but I don't think we're suddenly going to see a major benefit in Non-Conf scheduling. I think it helps a little but I think there is still going to be a significant challenge getting good A10 level opponents into the ARC. The Rhode Island 1-for-1 was an AMAZING get in scheduling but I don't think high level A10 opponents like URI will become the norm. I hope I'm wrong, but maybe I'm being pessimistic.

The Average MVC school typically plays 45% of their Games as true home in OOC, better then the HL at 35%, but compared to A10 schools that play 61%, but the P5/BE played 88.6%!!! (that is ridiculous!) of all their games either at home or on a neutral site!!

https://twitter.com/EnthusiAdams/status/870324938934300673
https://www.facebook.com/enthusiadams/posts/1918768828398001:0

I HIGHLY encourage everyone to read Mark Adam's article. I'll share a small part of the data he found but read the whole thing (its well worth your time).

"scheduling is the next challenge to overcome as a non P5/BE member. During the 2016-17 season OOC schedule, the P5/BE played 88.6% of all their games either at home or on a neutral site. In the other 11.4% of their OOC games they typically played each other which resulted in low risk games. See scheduling evaluation results below:

2016-17 Season P5/BE OOC Scheduling information:
• ACC- 87.3% Home/Neutral, 63.5% at home
• Big Ten- 88.5% Home/Neutral, 68.2% Home
• Big 12- 90.3% Home/Neutral, 64.5% Home
• Big East- 86.9% Home/Neutral, 60.7% Home
• SEC- 89.3% Home/Neutral, 58.5% Home
• PAC 12- 89.7% Home/Neutral, 67.2% Home
A few other conferences by comparison:
• American- 80.7% Home/Neutral, 64.4% Home
• A-10- 76.2% Home/Neutral, 61.6% Home
• MAC- 63.4% Home/Neutral, 45.5% HOME
• C-USA- 60% Home/Neutral, 45.2% Home, 40% Away

Other conferences and typical % of home games during OOC schedule:
• MVC- 45%
• Horizon- 35%
• Sun Belt- 32%
• SWAC- 5.5%

P5/BE TOTAL: 88.6% HOME/NEUTRAL, 64.0% HOME AND ONLY 11.4% AWAY!!!"

[valpospartan]

Oh, how about the parking next to the building on the west and north sides. All reserved exclusively for Athletic Department staff, university president and trustees, high dollar donors, and players.

WH, this is not wholly true - Season ticket holders can purchase access to this area, if they choose.   For many of us, it is well worth the money.

[justducky]

Many patrons have been clear that parking has become a frustration, we are looking for ways to address these frustrations.

This parking issue is mammoth for the casual fans attendance. Maybe you can ignore or have ignored my frustration and gotten away with it, but for our fresh MVC opponents their first impressions could be critical for their returns. The clock is ticking.

[VULB#62]

This is the latest version of Google Maps and the Valpo campus showing a completed sorority complex and an almost completed STEP building. 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Moore+Roderick+G/@41.4667551,-87.0491566,353m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x88119a6abcae3cdb:0x66489861033cba18!2sValparaiso+University!8m2!3d41.4639394!4d-87.0438894!3m4!1s0x0:0x849477d73784bfa6!8m2!3d41.4636105!4d-87.0476604

I zeroed in on the area around the ARC and more specifically the Porter Hospital property.  The satellite image shows a full-size intramural soccer field laid out going east and west and a smaller e-w flag football grid just to the south of that soccer pitch. BTW, there are 2 IM FB grids and 1 IM soccer field over at East Gate as well.

If you run a line directly north from the intersection of Monroe and University to Laporte Avenue and do a curb cut there for entry and egress you would have space between that line and the Lebien Hall Annex parking lot to accommodate as many as a couple hundred cars on a natural, crushed stone base.  That line crosses the soccer field at about 1/3 of the east portion of the field, meaning that portion would be lost.  BUT, if you look to the west side of the marked field there is ample room to relocate the soccer field so that the playing surface remains full size.  The resulting lot would be about the size of the lot across Union or slightly bigger based on eyeballing the satellite image.  And while at it, perhaps 20 more spaces could be developed for the Labien Annex lot as well.

I fully understand that municipal permits have to be pulled and that drainage must be taken into account and all that.  However, from my distant perspective, building a natural crushed stone parking surface that is water permeable might lessen the need to go into full construction mode for this project.  And from a good neighbor perspective, The construction of such a space would certainly take a lot of pressure off neighboring streets, businesses, and private properties on the 15 or so occasions when there is an MBB game. And I would hope that the status of this lot being for occasional use only would also make it a plausible solution in the eyes of the town fathers.

[vu72]

This is the latest version of Google Maps and the Valpo campus showing a completed sorority complex and an almost completed STEP building. 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Moore+Roderick+G/@41.4667551,-87.0491566,353m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x88119a6abcae3cdb:0x66489861033cba18!2sValparaiso+University!8m2!3d41.4639394!4d-87.0438894!3m4!1s0x0:0x849477d73784bfa6!8m2!3d41.4636105!4d-87.0476604

I zeroed in on the area around the ARC and more specifically the Porter Hospital property.  The satellite image shows a full-size intramural soccer field laid out going east and west and a smaller e-w flag football grid just to the south of that soccer pitch. BTW, there are 2 IM FB grids and 1 IM soccer field over at East Gate as well.

If you run a line directly north from the intersection of Monroe and University to Laporte Avenue and do a curb cut there for entry and egress you would have space between that line and the Lebien Hall Annex parking lot to accommodate as many as a couple hundred cars on a natural, crushed stone base.  That line crosses the soccer field at about 1/3 of the east portion of the field, meaning that portion would be lost.  BUT, if you look to the west side of the marked field there is ample room to relocate the soccer field so that the playing surface remains full size.  The resulting lot would be about the size of the lot across Union or slightly bigger based on eyeballing the satellite image.  And while at it, perhaps 20 more spaces could be developed for the Labien Annex lot as well.

I fully understand that municipal permits have to be pulled and that drainage must be taken into account and all that.  However, from my distant perspective, building a natural crushed stone parking surface that is water permeable might lessen the need to go into full construction mode for this project.  And from a good neighbor perspective, The construction of such a space would certainly take a lot of pressure off neighboring streets, businesses, and private properties on the 15 or so occasions when there is an MBB game. And I would hope that the status of this lot being for occasional use only would also make it a plausible solution in the eyes of the town fathers.

Here is the problem as I see it.  Look at the campus and the existing parking lots.  They are FULL.  Granted some are faculty who wouldn't be parked there in a game night but adding parking for thousands of non-school related folks is going to continue to be a huge issue unless a sizable parking garage is added.  There are plans for one one the Union parking lot but either repair the hospital one or add one on the lot next to it.  That is a 150 yard walk which is not unusual for any basketball or athletic facility.

[bigmosmithfan1]

On a related schedule note, I've heard some rumors that we are coming to the end of the Ball State contract after this year. If true, we should definitely make sure to re-up that. With the addition of Brachen Hazen, BSU has added two SEC transfers in the past two weeks (K.J. Watson from Missouri being the other), added former IU commit Zach Gunn earlier this spring, to ago along with incoming 3.5-star PG Ishmael El-Amin (son of former UConn legend Khalid El-Amin). All this added to an already-pretty-stocked roster that returns four starters from a 21-win team last year. Not a lot of people are talking about them, but the Cardinals are setting up to be very, very good for the foreseeable future -- let's hope Valpo is able to keep this series on the books and get some the long-awaited RPI upside for both teams after this was an RPI-imperiling matchup for VU a number of years.

[VU2014]

ml posted this talking about the 2014-2015 scheduling. Thought it was pretty interesting.

Wonder how much being in the MVC will help with scheduling in OOC.

We've had pretty good Non-Conf scheduling the last few years. I assume it will still be an up hill battle.

Understand everyone's frustrations with this year's home schedule.  We also would have preferred a different home schedule.  Scheduling requires two teams that want to play.  We received many "not interested"s this year.  We eventually reached a point in time where we needed to finish the schedule and we needed it to have more than 11 home games.

Scheduling basketball games has changed significantly over the past 5 years.  The BCS schools play each other more, play each other more on neutral courts, and have become more selective in what mid-majors they play.  Mid-majors and low-majors have become more selective as the pressure to win sooner moves to the lower RPI conferences.  Guarantees  have gotten to the point where paying schools is financially unfeasible for schools outside the BCS.  ESPN controls many of the early season tournaments.  Many of their tournaments are already scheduled out two or more years.  Outside promoters now require the payment of high guarantees to participate in their early season tournaments.

We are working now on ideas for developing a better schedule for next season.  This has been a topic of conversation with the Horizon League staff and with all of the Horizon League coaches as a group.