Valparaiso has ACCEPTED* the Invite to become the 10th Member of the MVC!!!!

[bbtds]

Is there a sexy enough pitch the MVC could make to lure Butler away from the Big East?  That would be a good option for a 12th team.

Was the MVC able to keep arrogant Wichita State? Attracting Butler to the MVC would be shocking (pun intended-because I like being punny). Butler and WSU are very similar except for the private/public thing which the MVC seems to be hung up on. Privates can certainly be as arrogant as publics. (whoa, don't type that last sentence incorrectly) In the end there is no reason that privates and publics can't get along. It's when groups start measuring victories and notice a disparity between different types of schools that the prejudices start to creep in.

[vufan75]

Happy to see a Valpo to MVC article in Chicago Tribune sports section today. An actual article and not just 1 or 2 sentences. Hooray!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-valparaiso-missouri-valley-conference-20170509-story.html

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[oklahomamick]

Hahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]

Not far fetched if you go by last years results.  They whooped us home and away, given the refs took Tevonn out of the @ OU game.

No one is saying they won't be a good team next season. Just saying, they should probably back their record up with a few out-right HL Titles and a few RPI Top 100s before they go around calling themselves the "Top Dogs" in the conference. They should be the preseason favorites on paper next season with the senior laden roster.

Oakland has won exactly 1 conference tournament game, and that was 4 years ago. They backed into 1 league co-championship - this year after Alec was shut down for the season. Their 1 claim to fame was sweeping us this year, so I'll grant them that. They do a very good job of recruiting good 2nd chance problem children, but that has not translated to an equivalent level of on-the-court success. They still have a lot to prove.

That win came with a charge call on an inbound play that sent Badder to the line for free throws.  Brilliant move by Kampe, almost as brilliant as convincing the HL that the tourney was no good and that he had some friends in Detriot from Olympia that could host.

As talented as they were last year, or years previously in the HL, they were not a top 100.   

However they have a good chance next year on winning a game in the NCAAT if they can figure out Detroit Moror City Madness.

[oklahomamick]

Is there a sexy enough pitch the MVC could make to lure Butler away from the Big East?  That would be a good option for a 12th team.

Was the MVC able to keep arrogant Wichita State? Attracting Butler to the MVC would be shocking (pun intended-because I like being punny). Butler and WSU are very similar except for the private/public thing which the MVC seems to be hung up on. Privates can certainly be as arrogant as publics. (whoa, don't type that last sentence incorrectly) In the end there is no reason that privates and publics can't get along. It's when groups start measuring victories and notice a disparity between different types of schools that the prejudices start to creep in.

Crazy talk.   What was surprising was the 1 year Butler was in the A10.  I thought Butler was a better fit for the MVC and that time.

[Valpo89]

Re: Chicago Tribune article. Says Valparaiso "is close to Merrillville, Ind."
Please.

[bbtds]

Re: Chicago Tribune article. Says Valparaiso "is close to Merrillville, Ind."
Please.

Depending on what channel you watch (Tom Skilling on WGN and his other weather people know where Valparaiso is) or if you traveled to the Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville often would a Chicagoland person know Valparaiso or Merrillville better. Although if the Chicagoland driver paid attention to the signs traveling to the Star Plaza they would know that Valparaiso is only 12 miles east of Merrillville on US 30.

[UNIFTW]

TV in The Valley is pretty good, but relies on you already having your own TV deals in place.

The Valley's deal with ESPN is that every home event indoors (VB, MBB, WBB, etc...) is to be shown on ESPN3. The Valley will not produce those broadcasts, they are to be produced by the school through local media contracts and sent to ESPN to be broadcast. This has required a ton of upgrades at most MVC schools to have that capability. The quality must be HD so that games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CSN, FSN, etc... can be shown in HD.

Every single UNI game was on TV for me to watch last year. I could catch them on ESPN3, or since all MVC home games have to be produced for TV in house, UNI has a media contract to show our games on TV all through the state on TV. Not all WBB and VB matches are on TV, but they are ESPN3. It's getting to a point where almost all softball and basetball games are shown on ESPN3, and I've seen an increasing number of tennis matches shown there as well.

Basically, if you don't already have a media contract for a TV station to broadcast every one of your games already you better hurry up and get one. I guess you could have students doing the broadcast and production, but that's a crap shoot for quality. Most schools already had hired out broadcasts to TV stations/production companies so the transition to ESPN3 was smooth. I know UNI still uses students in the production booth as part of an internship and selling feature as part of the program.

UNI's tv schedule last year
Bemidji State (Exhibition) ESPN3/TV across Iowa
Coe College ESPN3/TV across Iowa
Arizona State - Tire Pros Invite - ESPNU
Oklahoma - Tire Pros Invite - ESPNU
Xavier - Tire Pros Invite - ESPN2
@ Xavier - Fox Sports (SE, FL, OH, Detriot, North, Midwest, Arizona, West), Root Sports
George Mason - ESPN3/TV across Iowa
@ Wyoming - MVC/MWC - Mountain West Network
South Dakota State - ESPN3/TV across Iowa plus Comcast Sports Chicago
North Dakota - ESPN3/TV across Iowa plus Comcast Sports Chicago
Iowa - Big 4 Classic - ESPN3 ONLY - DRAKE CONTROLLED TV RIGHTS FOR THIS ONE...STRANGE EVENT SET UP FOR MEDIA
@ North Carolina - ESPN2

Every home confernece game was shown on ESPN3, TV across Iowa, and a couple on ESPNU. A handful on MVCTV - which is Comcast SportsNet Chicago and Fox Sports Midwest/North/Kansas City
Every road game was shown on ESPN3 plus a handful on MVCTV.

[bbtds]

Valpo has actually shared Lakeshore Public Television (WYIN) with studios in Merrillville, Indiana with Loyola in the past. I wonder if that same arrangement could be renewed.

RIP Dick Harlan a former pbp guy for Lakeshore and Valpo.

I have no idea if Lakeshore is still doing the Loyola broadcasts.

[FWalum]

TV in The Valley is pretty good, but relies on you already having your own TV deals in place.

The Valley's deal with ESPN is that every home event indoors (VB, MBB, WBB, etc...) is to be shown on ESPN3. The Valley will not produce those broadcasts, they are to be produced by the school through local media contracts and sent to ESPN to be broadcast. This has required a ton of upgrades at most MVC schools to have that capability. The quality must be HD so that games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CSN, FSN, etc... can be shown in HD.

Every single UNI game was on TV for me to watch last year. I could catch them on ESPN3, or since all MVC home games have to be produced for TV in house, UNI has a media contract to show our games on TV all through the state on TV. Not all WBB and VB matches are on TV, but they are ESPN3. It's getting to a point where almost all softball and basetball games are shown on ESPN3, and I've seen an increasing number of tennis matches shown there as well.

Basically, if you don't already have a media contract for a TV station to broadcast every one of your games already you better hurry up and get one. I guess you could have students doing the broadcast and production, but that's a crap shoot for quality. Most schools already had hired out broadcasts to TV stations/production companies so the transition to ESPN3 was smooth. I know UNI still uses students in the production booth as part of an internship and selling feature as part of the program.

The Horizon had the same deal.  All VU home games and Horizon League conference games were on ESPN3 and some were also cablecast on American Sports Network as well as Fox Sports Chicago. As far as making broadcasts available to to other outlets in the state and tri-state area I have no idea how that would work. I am sure that our media connections will receive some upgrades with the move to the MVC!

[agibson]

As far as making broadcasts available to to other outlets in the state and tri-state area I have no idea how that would work.

It reminds me of what's been done with the ASN (RIP) or indeed with Lakeshore. On camera, and on mic, those were all (?) done with different crews than our "usual" home HLN-only or ESPN3-only games. In terms of camera work and other behind-the-scenes stuff, I'm not sure.

Assuming that we keep all the broadcast equipment we've collected over the years, and that it doesn't somehow revert to the league, we should be fine to continue with our ESPN3-level productions (I assume students are significantly involved; for MBB the call is usually our radio call and top notch, for other sports the call is often students and the quality is hit or miss). I don't know whether we'd need/want to step it up slightly for "TV quality" production of every home MBB game.

It sounds like the Horizon League may actually be doing better than the MVC for some sports. It seems like (nearly?) every Horizon League MSOC and WSOC game was available on ESPN3 for the last couple of seasons. I'll miss tuning into away games, if the MVC doesn't routinely provide them. I hope VU keeps up our ESPN3 tradition in those sports.

And the Horizon League has had tournament video coverage, at least, for many sports. To include many outdoor sports (not track? cross country? golf?).

[crusadermoe]

The MVC needs an all out effort to lure St.  Louis U.  It's not impossible for the many reasons I cited in one of these MVC posts.  SLU would gain a lot and save a hell of a lot of money.

Now THAT would be a 12th team to  add to the MVC with Murray!  I just don't  like the commuter thing from UWM or UNO, UMKC etc..  SLU could be the new Mo. State travel partner and begin a great rivalry.   

[mvandersee]

The Valley on ESPN3 coverage is very similar to what the HL partnership with ESPN3 includes. If you look at the link below, all of the baseball and softball games are listed as being shown on ESPN3 (with the exception of baseball games at DBU, which is only an affiliate member) along with the Track and Field Conference Championships. Since spring events that have already happened have been removed, it is difficult to tell if there was ESPN3 coverage of the MVC Tennis Championships. Within that site there is also a link for the pdf schedule for fall 2016, which shows that there is full coverage of volleyball along with men's and women's soccer.

http://www.mvc-sports.com/multimedia/thevalleyonespn3/#.WRM1HJU2zX4

[oklahomamick]

it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already.  Any possibility that we don't accept?

[vu72]

it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already.  Any possibility that we don't accept?

I think the answer is that we need to get through the softball and baseball tournaments to see if we end up in the NCAAs.  If we announce a withdrawal then we wouldn't be eligible for NCAA tournament play (or at least that is what I thought I had read somewhere).  As a result it could be a couple of weeks.  Softball starts today, baseball starts May 24.

[VU2014]

Negotiations. I'm wondering how much the MVC is kicking in $$ to make this move?

https://twitter.com/Jim_Connell_417/status/862333940945870849
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/862334254528778240

[bigmosmithfan1]

it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already.  Any possibility that we don't accept?

No, there is no possibility of that.

The moment we officially "accept," the HL could rule our softball and baseball teams ineligible for the conference tourney. So my guess is that we're either going to wait until that's over or until we get written assurance from the HL that both teams can still participate this month and receive an NCAA bid if they win.

There also could be financial penalties from the HL if we don't manage our exit properly according to the league charter (say, if we publicly announce we're leaving before formally completing the HL exit process). My guess is that any "negotiation" is going on the HL side of things, and VU can't announce until all of that paperwork has been reviewed by lawyers on both sides. Remember, unlike Butler or Loyola, Valpo's athletic dept. doesn't leak on matters like this, hence the vague terminology in the MVC announcement. Remember, the MVC wouldn't have announced anything yesterday if they weren't 100% certain of the outcome.

Relax. Whether it's announced by VU tomorrow or next month, Valpo is now a member of the Valley.

[Dave_2010]

Considering the timeframe and on field quality of each team this season, it has to be about softball.

I don't think we'll be able to stall for the better part of a month for the sake of our baseball team. To stay eligible for softball we just have to hold out 5 days. Nor do I think baseball is in a position to make much noise in the HL tournament this year.


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[SanityLost17]

Put a few things into prospective.   I live in a small town about 65 minutes from Valpo.   We have several staff members here who are graduates of Indiana State and Evansville.   

All of them have said they would strongly consider going to Valpo once a year to see their team play since it is so close. 

I wonder how many graduates from MVC schools live in "the region" or "nearby region" compared to graduates of HL schools.   Guessing that percentage is much higher thanks mostly to Indiana State and Evansville. 

"nearby region" = Lafayette to Kokomo to South Bend corridor

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/862361093871730699
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/862362391652302849

[bigmosmithfan1]

I think there's definitely something to this. No shortage of Indiana State grads in the Region, and there's plenty of Illinois State and SIU grads in the south suburbs who might make the 45-50 minute trip over when their team is in town. To say nothing of Bradley alums in the Chicago area.

Wouldn't be surprised if there are 5 or 6 MVC teams who'll bring more visiting fans into the ARC every year than the best-traveling HL opponent. (Loyola never brought that many fans when they were in the HL, but they were also terrible when our tenures overlapped. It'll be interesting to see if that changes if their current upswing continues).

[valpotx]

Considering the timeframe and on field quality of each team this season, it has to be about softball.

I don't think we'll be able to stall for the better part of a month for the sake of our baseball team. To stay eligible for softball we just have to hold out 5 days. Nor do I think baseball is in a position to make much noise in the HL tournament this year.


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You would be incorrect.  The baseball team is very much a possibility to win the HL tournament.  Most of our conference losses have been fairly close, and though UIC and WSU have the best records by far, there are always surprises in NCAA baseball.  YSU won it as a 6 seed a few years back.  Valpo's baseball team has some quality wins this year, and can make A LOT of noise in the HL tourney.  They will wait to accept until we either have assurances from the HL that softball and baseball can participate in the conference tournament, or announce our acceptance after both finish.  Either way, the MVC is definitely aware that we won't accept until these final sports get the opportunity to complete their seasons. 

While I understand how some conferences don't want departing schools to represent them in the NCAA tournament, it is also a huge slight to the student athletes who competed for 50-55 games, only to be robbed of an opportunity to compete for a championship. 

[Lurking Dog]

Welcome!

[wh]

it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already.  Any possibility that we don't accept?

That would be the mother of all public relations disasters for both parties.  There is a zero percent chance of this happening.

[NativeCheesehead]

Nobody is asking the important question.






With the added exposure of the MVC, will Coach Lottich repeat as the sexiest coach in mid major land?

[agibson]

it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already.  Any possibility that we don't accept?

That would be the mother of all public relations disasters for both parties.  There is a zero percent chance of this happening.

I'm still going to be more comfortable after the announcement is made.

I'm pretty curious what coaches think about the move, but I'm not going to go around asking them publicly until it's official.