NCAA College Basketball Talk

[valpo84]

This op piece about a SUPER A conference from 2011 still has relevancy... and may be closer to reality now ....

https://www.bloggersodear.com/2011/9/21/2439658/ncaa-boiling-point-our-conference-on-the-left-is-now-our-conference

[VUGrad1314]

RMU very possible to join the HL...

https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1268301153629945856?s=21

FAMU likely to join SWAC...

https://hbcugameday.com/2020/06/03/famu-bot-moves-with-caution-and-excitement-toward-swac-move/


MVC\Murray State:

Crickets....

[VUGrad1314]

FAMU officially moves to the SWAC. University trustees and SWAC membership having both OK'd the move. I think this is a terrific move for both the school and the conference. The MEAC is in trouble. Would not be surprised if schools like NC Central and Norfolk State (among others) are looking for the exit.

[VUGrad1314]

Good news for the DePaul fans on this board and good news for JFL as he begins his Blue Demons career!

https://twitter.com/WeAreDePaul/status/1268720433408413698

So happy for that program. They can finally move forward and (hopefully) return to prominence.

[vu72]

Good news for the DePaul fans on this board and good news for JFL as he begins his Blue Demons career!

https://twitter.com/WeAreDePaul/status/1268720433408413698

So happy for that program. They can finally move forward and (hopefully) return to prominence.

Does DePaul have a football team??

[bbtds]

Does DePaul have a football team??

Until 2015.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DePaul_Blue_Demons#Football_2

DePaul fielded a football club team in the National Club Football Association until 2015.

Not what you meant, huh? 

I also know that Lincoln Park has an Australian Rules Football league that many DePaul students play in and there is one American playing professional Aussie Rules Football who started out in the Lincoln Park ARF league. A noted DePaul grad told me all about it during my visit to his sales establishment.

[vu72]

Does DePaul have a football team??

Until 2015.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DePaul_Blue_Demons#Football_2

DePaul fielded a football club team in the National Club Football Association until 2015.

Not what you meant, huh? 

So it really isn't a "team" but a "club".  Do they play flag football? 

[VUGrad1314]

This is some shockingly stupid and lazy analysis. They may have been the westernmost school in the NEC but they were also far and away its best program historically and the conference's biggest threat to do anything at all in the NCAA Tournament. Remember this team took down Kentucky in the NIT. They may have found a new flagship member in Merrimack but losing your best member with the richest basketball tradition in your conference is never a good look. I can't believe this is being look at as good riddance to bad rubbish for the NEC and not as the tremendously good move that it is for the Horizon League which has now opened Western Pennsylvania for recruiting and pulled the conference further east around its new bellcows Wright State NKU and (possibly) Oakland. I think RMU will thrive in the HL and become a leading member pretty short order. I like this move a lot for both the school and the conference and am absolutely floored at how casually MMM is treating this news.

https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/1271133459298357248

[JD24]

This is some shockingly stupid and lazy analysis. They may have been the westernmost school in the NEC but they were also far and away its best program historically and the conference's biggest threat to do anything at all in the NCAA Tournament. Remember this team took down Kentucky in the NIT. They may have found a new flagship member in Merrimack but losing your best member with the richest basketball tradition in your conference is never a good look. I can't believe this is being look at as good riddance to bad rubbish for the NEC and not as the tremendously good move that it is for the Horizon League which has now opened Western Pennsylvania for recruiting and pulled the conference further east around its new bellcows Wright State NKU and (possibly) Oakland. I think RMU will thrive in the HL and become a leading member pretty short order. I like this move a lot for both the school and the conference and am absolutely floored at how casually MMM is treating this news. https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/1271133459298357248

I think you're completely misinterpreting and overreacting to the tweet.

[VUGrad1314]

How so? Do you believe it to have been written sarcastically? That's the only way this makes sense. Losing your flagship program is never good.

[usc4valpo]

Ponsetto out at DePaul is wonderful for the university and Chicago college sports. Why it took so long for this to happen is beyond my comprehension.
I wonder if MLB is updating his resume. Lincoln Park is a wonderful neighborhood.

[JD24]

How so? Do you believe it to have been written sarcastically? 

Yes. It was a joke about a bus ride which apparently isn't a lot of fun. I don't think there was any malice whatsoever in the tweet.

[VALPO LI]

Speaking of bus rides, NJIT will now be able to take the bus more often as they have found a new home in the America East Conference which is such a better geographic fit for the University.  Previously their nearest conference school was Liberty a 61/2 hour drive south. Now the Highlanders can head east on the LIE and be in Stony Brook in an hour and a half.  I feel this is a good move for both the Amer. East and NJIT.  It adds a 10th member to the conference and brings the Highlanders back east to compete more regionally.

https://www.nj.com/sports/2020/06/njit-leaves-atlantic-sun-conference-joins-america-east.html

[VUGrad1314]

22 HL games is a bad bad bad idea, especially if you're playing non D1s at home.

https://www.vindy.com/sports/local-sports/2020/06/neighborhood-rival/

[VUGrad1314]

Wow looks like we weren't the only ones having issues leaving a previous conference. NKU just paid the ASUN a lot of money. Money NJIT probably won't be sharing in. But they are saving a quarter of a million per year on travel now that they're in the HL and there's something to be said for that. I wonder if they'd consider foregoing that travel savings to step up in weight class should the MVC come calling.

https://www.rcnky.com/articles/2016/03/04/nku-reaches-settlement-agreement-atlantic-sun-after-move-horizon-league

[IrishDawg]

22 HL games is a bad bad bad idea, especially if you're playing non D1s at home.

https://www.vindy.com/sports/local-sports/2020/06/neighborhood-rival/

I don't know if it's really a bad idea considering only one team in the league is getting into the tourney, they aren't getting any interesting non-conference games at home already and they'd be able to continue doing the round-robin travel partner format.

I also don't think adding NKU would significantly benefit them or the MVC outside of going to 20 or more conference games.  Belmont or Murray State could potentially add a bid every so often, and at some point the MVC is going to have to move to a 20 game league schedule IMO.

[IndyValpo]

22 HL games is a bad bad bad idea, especially if you're playing non D1s at home.

https://www.vindy.com/sports/local-sports/2020/06/neighborhood-rival/

Completely disagree the HL is a one bid league so having another conference home game makes sense to me.

[vu72]

22 HL games is a bad bad bad idea, especially if you're playing non D1s at home.

https://www.vindy.com/sports/local-sports/2020/06/neighborhood-rival/

Completely disagree the HL is a one bid league so having another conference home game makes sense to me.

On what basis?  Butler?

[IndyValpo]

22 HL games is a bad bad bad idea, especially if you're playing non D1s at home.

https://www.vindy.com/sports/local-sports/2020/06/neighborhood-rival/

Completely disagree the HL is a one bid league so having another conference home game makes sense to me.

On what basis?  Butler?

Missing a comma after disagree. The HL is a 1 bid league.

[valpotx]

Congrats to NJIT!  I remember when they were just scraping by as an Independent, before the Atlantic Sun threw them a lifeline.  They were fairly decent at that time. 

[VALPO LI]

Scraping by to beat #17 Michigan in Ann Arbor at the time they could be considered the Chicago St. of the Northeast in the world of basketball.  The positive is that the University has invested immensely in their athletic programs.  Since 2017-18 NJIT calls the beautiful new 3,500 seat Wellness and Events Center home.  Although their attendance is subpar averaging just over 700 a game, I am glad to see them in a competitive conference that is close to home.

[VUGrad1314]

NJIT is in a tough location to attract fans without serious success that draws national attention but I do think being in a regional conference with more recognizable teams and brands will help them. I don't see them selling out consistently unless they start running that conference but an increase in attendance can absolutely be expected.

[VU2014]

Interesting take here. At massive institutions, often times the ADs are glorified fundraisers.

https://twitter.com/coachingchanges/status/1276269390640676868?s=21
https://twitter.com/coachingchanges/status/1276269981991395328?s=21

[valpo84]

Athletic Departments and university budget cuts. Some universities have much larger budget issues than VU.  Interesting article from Cleveland.com about Akron's financial woes and plans for their Athletic budget and debate about staying in MAC -- https://www.cleveland.com/education/2020/07/university-of-akron-faculty-union-spar-over-funding-for-athletics.html?utm_source=akron-morning-roundup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200707&utm_content=article2-readmore

[wh]

A little business lesson for anyone who may be interested. Akron, Valpo, my alma mater, and possibly 100's of other universities with traditional residential campuses are clearly in the final business stage - decline. They missed the window to proactively reposition/reinvent themselves when market forces were changing, so they have no choice but to slash budgets in a desperate attempt to stop the death spiral. A 20% budget deficit in a capital intensive industry with limited variable cost reduction options is VERY difficult to turn around. It's not a matter of either/or, academics vs. athletics; it's both. There are no sacred cows. Employee unions become paper tigers. They can threaten and file grievances, but they have little if any leverage left. Cleaning up a financial mess while remaining relevant, maintaining a positive image, keeping credit lines open with banks and vendors, etc. is the greatest of all business challenges. One last thing, it's an unwritten rule in business turnarounds - never allow the same CEO who captained the decline to lead the recovery. It's destained to fail. Put in in the hands of experts (turnaround artists or consulting companies with complete oversight). My .02 for what it's worth.