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

[FieldGoodie05]

I don't trust Loyola for a second. Not one. Talk about their recruiting stars all you want, doesn't matter. Porter is a horrid coach. Their average recruit stars is 2.3 - highest in the existing MVC. The lowest? UNI. Every year, and I mean every year, UNI is the lowest. Care to compare how UNI has fair with the worst recruiting class every single year to places like Loyola, who love to brag about recruiting rankings?

This will be Loyola's 5th year in the MVC. Want to know how they've faired as an athletic department? I did some work on MVCFans today to show it using the All Sports Trophy rankings. The All Sports Trophy is given to the team with the highest average finish in MVC sponsored sports based on the number of MVC sports they play.

16/17 not complete yet but based on current standings/completed sports. Only outdoor T/F aren't included. Baseball is based on current standings, but the position +/-1 is locked in and shouldn't really affect the standings...anyway...LUC is 9th and based on track teams I could see LUC falling to last...for the third straight year.
1-   WSU   2.31
2-   UNI   3.35
3-   ISUR   4
4-   MSU   4.38
5-   SIU   4.41
6-   DU   6.21
7-   UE   6.38
8-   ISUB   6.45
9-   LUC   6.58
10-   BU   6.75

15/16 - 10th
1-   WSU   2.13
2-   SIU   3.56
3-   ISUR   4.53
4-   UNI   4.56
5-   MSU   4.93
6-   ISUB   5
7-   DU   5.63
8-   BU   6.07
9-   UE   6.62
10-   LUC   6.64

14/15 - 10th
1-   WSU   2.33
2-   SIU   3.86
3-   UNI   4.06
4-   MSU   4.26
5-   ISUB   4.54
6-   ISUR   4.88
7-   DU   5.56
8-   BU   5.93
9-   UE   6.23
10-   LUC   6.79

13/14 - 8TH
1-   WSU   2.13
2-   ISUB   3.21
3-   ISUR   3.94
4-   SIU   4.06
5-   UNI   4.86
6-   MSU   5.15
7-   BU   5.93
8-   LUC   6
9-   DU   6.31
10-   UE   6.38

How is Loyola finishing in each sport? Here you go
Loyola's finishes by sport (most recent year first)
M Basketball   5   8   6   10   of 10
M Cross Country   5   6   7   2   of 9
M Golf   9   9   7   9   of 9
M Soccer   1   5   5   4   of 5 - disregarding 2 affiliate members
M I T&F   8   6   3   6   of 7
M O T&F   TBD   8   5   4   of 8
W Basketball   10   5   9   8   of 10
W Cross Country   6   4   6   4   of 10
W Golf   7   6   7   9   of 10
W Soccer   6   2   6   3   of 7
Softball   8   10   9   7   of 10
W I T&F   8   9   9   4   of 9
W O T&F   TBD   9   9   7   of 9
Volleyball   6   6   7   7   of 10

Yep, that is just ONE regular season title in 4 years. ONE. They have finished top half just 8 total times in four years. That's atrocious. That is 54 completed sports seasons an there is just 1 title and 8 top half finishes. That is a title .018% of the time and a top half finish just 14% of the time.

That all equals out to this 4 year aggregate in conference all sports standings of
1-   WSU   2.22
2-   SIU   3.92
3-   ISUR   4.35
4-   UNI   4.37
5-   ISUB   4.80
6-   MSU   4.87
7-   DU   5.92
8-   BU   5.93
9-   UE   6.40
10-   LUC   6.50

Yup, Loyola has been the worst athletic department since they joined the conference. Notice any other trend in that set of stats? Notice the 4 private schools are all SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the public. No wonder the public schools feel like the privates aren't carrying their weight, especially when it comes to voting power.

Valpo coming in may be better at basketball - they need to be. For everyone involved I certainly hope the rest of your sports fair better than any of the other privates. Very quick glances and I'm not sold on it, but we'll see.

If the MVC was looking for best all around athletics school, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE INVITED VU.

If they were looking for best available school to excel in the only PAYING sport then we have good upside.  Not to mention solid athletics.

You shouldn't expecting us to compete for what the HL calls The Presidents Trophy, all around sports title.  We've had a few good teams of recent, but unsure the MVC even sponsors those sports.

[valpopal]

I think we all really need to keep expectations low for next year.  Underdog status is a good thing for us. 

Next year is currently a rebuilding year.   We all hope it turns into a reloading year but we don't have any evidence to start building up high expectations.   

So, lets embrace the fact that we are likely a lower half of the league team in our 1st year.  It is ok to acknowledge that is mostly due to roster turnover than our potential as a program.  But lets not get ahead of ourselves here. 

I would be willing to bet that going into next season Matt will expect (and believe) that they will win conference and win the tournament. Crazy competitive people with talented rosters expect results now - not after everyone is seasoned and blended.

The challenge for next year will be team leadership. Alec, Jubril, and Lexus were all inspiring, encouraging, and enthusiastic team leaders. Who will fill their spots?

[wh]

I don't trust Loyola for a second. Not one. Talk about their recruiting stars all you want, doesn't matter. Porter is a horrid coach. Their average recruit stars is 2.3 - highest in the existing MVC. The lowest? UNI. Every year, and I mean every year, UNI is the lowest. Care to compare how UNI has fair with the worst recruiting class every single year to places like Loyola, who love to brag about recruiting rankings?

This will be Loyola's 5th year in the MVC. Want to know how they've faired as an athletic department? I did some work on MVCFans today to show it using the All Sports Trophy rankings. The All Sports Trophy is given to the team with the highest average finish in MVC sponsored sports based on the number of MVC sports they play.

16/17 not complete yet but based on current standings/completed sports. Only outdoor T/F aren't included. Baseball is based on current standings, but the position +/-1 is locked in and shouldn't really affect the standings...anyway...LUC is 9th and based on track teams I could see LUC falling to last...for the third straight year.
1-   WSU   2.31
2-   UNI   3.35
3-   ISUR   4
4-   MSU   4.38
5-   SIU   4.41
6-   DU   6.21
7-   UE   6.38
8-   ISUB   6.45
9-   LUC   6.58
10-   BU   6.75

15/16 - 10th
1-   WSU   2.13
2-   SIU   3.56
3-   ISUR   4.53
4-   UNI   4.56
5-   MSU   4.93
6-   ISUB   5
7-   DU   5.63
8-   BU   6.07
9-   UE   6.62
10-   LUC   6.64

14/15 - 10th
1-   WSU   2.33
2-   SIU   3.86
3-   UNI   4.06
4-   MSU   4.26
5-   ISUB   4.54
6-   ISUR   4.88
7-   DU   5.56
8-   BU   5.93
9-   UE   6.23
10-   LUC   6.79

13/14 - 8TH
1-   WSU   2.13
2-   ISUB   3.21
3-   ISUR   3.94
4-   SIU   4.06
5-   UNI   4.86
6-   MSU   5.15
7-   BU   5.93
8-   LUC   6
9-   DU   6.31
10-   UE   6.38

How is Loyola finishing in each sport? Here you go
Loyola's finishes by sport (most recent year first)
M Basketball   5   8   6   10   of 10
M Cross Country   5   6   7   2   of 9
M Golf   9   9   7   9   of 9
M Soccer   1   5   5   4   of 5 - disregarding 2 affiliate members
M I T&F   8   6   3   6   of 7
M O T&F   TBD   8   5   4   of 8
W Basketball   10   5   9   8   of 10
W Cross Country   6   4   6   4   of 10
W Golf   7   6   7   9   of 10
W Soccer   6   2   6   3   of 7
Softball   8   10   9   7   of 10
W I T&F   8   9   9   4   of 9
W O T&F   TBD   9   9   7   of 9
Volleyball   6   6   7   7   of 10

Yep, that is just ONE regular season title in 4 years. ONE. They have finished top half just 8 total times in four years. That's atrocious. That is 54 completed sports seasons an there is just 1 title and 8 top half finishes. That is a title .018% of the time and a top half finish just 14% of the time.

That all equals out to this 4 year aggregate in conference all sports standings of
1-   WSU   2.22
2-   SIU   3.92
3-   ISUR   4.35
4-   UNI   4.37
5-   ISUB   4.80
6-   MSU   4.87
7-   DU   5.92
8-   BU   5.93
9-   UE   6.40
10-   LUC   6.50

Yup, Loyola has been the worst athletic department since they joined the conference. Notice any other trend in that set of stats? Notice the 4 private schools are all SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the public. No wonder the public schools feel like the privates aren't carrying their weight, especially when it comes to voting power.

Valpo coming in may be better at basketball - they need to be. For everyone involved I certainly hope the rest of your sports fair better than any of the other privates. Very quick glances and I'm not sold on it, but we'll see.

If you care about sports other than men's bb, prepare to be disappointed. Personally, the only sport worth caring about at the mid major level is the one and only spectator sport - men's basketball. If your women's golf team is better than Valpo's, congratulations and best wishes. That goes for all women's sports. Women aren't even interested in following women's sports, so why should I?  By the way, I have 2 daughters who played several sports in school. I loved every minute of watching them, but their games were painful to watch. I'll carve out a little room for women's volleyball, but that's about it.

[VU2014]

Yeah we're not going to bring much to the table in the non-rev sports (at least early on).... particularly the partial scholarship sports... Public Schools will almost always on average be better at those sports because their scholarships "go further" in financial relief unless the student athlete is a good student as well in which they can pair a partial scholarship with other scholarships they have earned which Valpo's athletes are very strong in the academic department across the board.

It will be an adjustment period for some sports like Baseball to start recruiting MVC League caliber players (we have some good players from what I'm told but not completely on par with teams like Missouri State). Its been a down year in Baseball, but we've had pretty good teams in the recent past.

Soccer should hold its own from what I'm told. Same with Volleyball eventually. Same with softball eventually.

Give us 4-5 years for a full recruitment cycle to go through in most non-rev sports and then judge what the trajectory of those programs are. Valpo was solid in going from the Mid-Con to the Horizon League. Took a few years from what I've heard.

Men's basketball will do well and should excel and be a great add for the Missouri Valley Conference.

[vu72]

Yeah we're not going to bring much to the table in the non-rev sports (at least early on).... particularly the partial scholarship sports... Public Schools will almost always on average be better at those sports because their scholarships "go further" in financial relief unless the student athlete is a good student as well in which they can pair a partial scholarship with other scholarships they have earned which Valpo's athletes are very strong in the academic department across the board.

It will be an adjustment period for some sports like Baseball to start recruiting MVC League caliber players (we have some good players from what I'm told but not completely on par with teams like Missouri State). Its been a down year in Baseball, but we've had pretty good teams in the recent past.

Soccer should hold its own from what I'm told. Same with Volleyball eventually. Same with softball eventually.

Give us 4-5 years for a full recruitment cycle to go through in most non-rev sports and then judge what the trajectory of those programs are. Valpo was solid in going from the Mid-Con to the Horizon League. Took a few years from what I've heard.

Men's basketball will do well and should excel and be a great add for the Missouri Valley Conference.

add women's soccer to the positive side.  We'll suck in sports we suck in now.  We'll have individuals who might win conference titles in track and Field but swimming will continue to be terrible. Just don't any of you guys take on our bowling team!!

[EddieCabot]

Congrats on the move to the MVC!  I don't expect Valpo to "replace" WSU, but I think the MVC will be pleased with the addition.  Given the OOC scheduling difficulties Valpo faces, a move to a slightly stronger conference will certainly improve their chances of earning at large bids to the NCAA tournament on a more regular basis.

On a side note, I'm really disappointed that fans of other HL programs who post here have been so silent.  You might think they would be congratulating Valpo on the move, but maybe they're just waiting for an official announcement.

[E-Villan]

The irony of joining a private schools board and then proceeding to bash private schools....someone is a little obsessive and clearly has too much time on his hands.

[bbtds]

So while many criticized The Valley for adding Loyola and their lousy basketball program, now, in their second year, thye are predicted to win it all?  If the projections are right then it was a hell of an add.  My guess, and obviously that's all it can be, is that Valpo will be in the same boat.  We finish middle of the pack this coming year and win it all in year two.

I believe the resentment of adding Loyola has to do with their ranking among schools in Chicagoland and attendances at the Gentile Center. We know that success for a team such as Loyola can be fleeting especially if their head coach, Porter Moser, moves on to a larger program. Many have complained that Loyola isn't spending for the athletic dept as they promised they would do when they joined the MVC. They just kind of flashed the money and brought out their new remodeled Gentile Center. Rogers Park is certainly not the best neighborhood in Chicago. For the type of homes they have in Rogers Park I hear they have a super abundance of rats.

[StlVUFan]

I'm starting to feel the pull of the giant magnet

Come to papa...

[StlVUFan]

I heard John Feinstein's "CBS Sports Minute" during the noon hour on WSCR.
He praised the MVC for adding "Val-pa-RI-so."

Good publicity, but another example of a big-time East Coast guy not being able to pronounce the name correctly.

It is disappointing that these folks can't figure it out or can't remember.  Still, we are hardly alone. Think of GonZAGa (or is it...   Xavier still gets Xxavier from time to time.

I know there are several other cities around the world named Valparaiso ... I'm curious if they're all pronounced the same?  Just asking because Indiana uses non-traditional pronunciations for cities like Milan, Versailles and Carmel.  In any case, I haven't heard anyone butcher "Valpo", so maybe they should just stick with that! 

Just looked it up. There are 4 Valparaiso's in the U.S. and Canada - Indiana, Nebraska, Florida and Saskatchewan. All are pronounced with the long "a" sound, as is V, São Paulo, Brazil. The handful of V's in Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America all use the long "i" sound.

I hope this is worth something to someone because I just spent 15 minutes that I'll never get back.

I would think in the Spanish-speaking countries both vowels are pronounced: val-pa-ra-E-so.

That's how I learned Spanish, anyway.

[StlVUFan]

No surprise here.
https://twitter.com/CraigHaley/status/861970515359039489

This guy was hilarious, and when I asked if he was kidding he said no with a straight face:

https://twitter.com/Matt_Fox10/status/847341548685541376

[Valpo89]

Valpo will be solid in volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Cross country, T&F and swimming will be awful.
Golf is respectable.
Bowling is awesome!

[VU2014]

Valpo will be solid in volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Cross country, T&F and swimming will be awful.
Golf is respectable.
Bowling is awesome!

I just have a feeling we won't consistently attract the Top MVC caliber athlete till we get that Fieldhouse or if we ever get an ARC reno to the pool.

[vu72]

Yet we on occasion will attract a great individual in sports like  track and cross country.  Laura Rolf was an All American in 2007 and 2008. We've had some on the Men's side as well.  More often than not our athletes will be All Americans.  Academic All Americans that is! 

[FieldGoodie05]

Valpo will be solid in volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Cross country, T&F and swimming will be awful.
Golf is respectable.
Bowling is awesome!

T&F has a plethora of athletes NOT on scholarship....you do the math.

[VU2014]

Yet we on occasion will attract a great individual in sports like  track and cross country.  Laura Rolf was an All American in 2007 and 2008. We've had some on the Men's side as well.  More often than not our athletes will be All Americans.  Academic All Americans that is! 

Thats actually pretty key. Valpo brings good academics which is going to be a new additional revenue stream the NCAA will be rolling out for Conferences to incentives schools to push their athletes to excel in the classroom which Valpo certainly does. That was also a factor for why Valpo was an attractive 10th member because we brought that to the table for the MVC.

[Valpower]

Yet we on occasion will attract a great individual in sports like  track and cross country.  Laura Rolf was an All American in 2007 and 2008. We've had some on the Men's side as well.  More often than not our athletes will be All Americans.  Academic All Americans that is! 

Thats actually pretty key. Valpo brings good academics which is going to be a new additional revenue stream the NCAA will be rolling out for Conferences to incentives schools to push their athletes to excel in the classroom which Valpo certainly does. That was also a factor for why Valpo was an attractive 10th member because we brought that the table for the MVC.

It'll be interesting to see how monetizing academic "achievement" plays out. Will some schools expand the breadth of their basket-weaving studies?

[valpotx]

Valpo will be solid in volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Cross country, T&F and swimming will be awful.
Golf is respectable.
Bowling is awesome!

Very true.  Especially in softball and baseball, we will be extremely competitive IMMEDIATELY.  I am not saying that we will win the title, but we already have MVC-caliber athletes in these spots.  We beat Dallas Baptist at their place last year, Illinois State at their place this year, and lost by 1 in 3 games at Wichita State this year.  We can be in the top half in both of these sports, and anyone that thinks otherwise, hasn't watched any games or followed the close losses.

[covufan]

This guy was hilarious, and when I asked if he was kidding he said no with a straight face:

https://twitter.com/Matt_Fox10/status/847341548685541376

When I first read this, I took the comment "Football Parallel" to mean that Wichita St and Valpo had football programs that were nearly equal.  I think it was meant tongue in cheek, not literally. 

The fact that Valpo would not have to move its football team or replace Wichita States was a factor - again tongue in cheek as Wichita State has no football program (currently). 

I don't think he was ever saying that Valpo would be moving the football program into the MVFC. 

[bbtds]

I'm starting to feel the pull of the giant magnet

Come to papa...

That was a little creepy. I will enjoy so much. I will say that there are things in St Louis I already know about that are better than the Michigan Science Center in Detroit.

StlVuFan--are you having a Andy Nunemaker type party at your house? Basketball court in the back yard? Direct beer line to Anheiser Busch brewery?

[justducky]

I don't think he was ever saying that Valpo would be moving the football program into the MVFC. 

The Pioneer and MVFC are in the same building and run by some or all of the same people. Drake is already a Pioneer member as are we. In that light "Football Parallel" makes better sense.

[usc4valpo]

Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.

[FieldGoodie05]

Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.

VU makes money on football?  I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men?  Is there money made other ways?

[wh]

Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.

VU makes money on football?  I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men?  Is there money made other ways?

I've always wondered about the premise that Valparaiso University is reaping a big financial benefit from its non-scholarship football program. $50,000 per student per year for tuition, fees, room and board x 100 football players = $5 million in GROSS revenues. That is a HUGE number, especially in the age of declining enrollments and budget cuts. If it's that easy to add $5M to the revenue side of the ledger, wouldn't every small to mid-sized university in the country jump at the opportunity to start a non-scholarship football program?

[FieldGoodie05]

Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.

VU makes money on football?  I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men?  Is there money made other ways?

I've always wondered about the premise that Valparaiso University is reaping a big financial benefit from its non-scholarship football program. $50,000 per student per year for tuition, fees, room and board x 100 football players = $5 million in GROSS revenues. That is a HUGE number, especially in the age of declining enrollments and budget cuts. If it's that easy to add $5M to the revenue side of the ledger, wouldn't every small to mid-sized university in the country jump at the opportunity to start a non-scholarship football program?

That's the premise for the track program as well.  The only thing I can contribute is, having played on both teams, VU did discount tuition through several academic scholarships.  One of which I seem to recall was -$5500 for being a well rounded student who volunteers in their community.  In the end admissions/finance office found around -$9000/year to help.  But there lies the problem, is that price flexibility purposely available for football/track athletes to sweeten the pot?  In any case, I still paid around $15,000 per year.  In the early 2000s that passed for more than State schools tuition.