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

[vu72]

I, almost everyone, is very excited about Valpo being in the league. Sure, I worry about other sports outside of basketball

So what other sports are concerning you?  We do well in the the team sports and have done well in everything other than women's basketball.  We don't do well in individual sports like swimming and track from a team scoring standpoint do to a lack of depth. Still, we have had individual champions.

Here's the track record of NCAA appearances:

Men's Soccer:  None, but went 10-5-4 last year, Playing Notre Dame to a tie and losing to Loyola 3-2 in overtime.

Men's baseball:  NCAA appearance in 2012 (35 wins) and 2013 (32)wins. 30 wins 2016. 

Women's Soccer: NCAA appearance 2014, lost 1-0 to Notre Dame

Women's Softball:  NCAA appearance 2013 and 2016.  Finished 3rd this past season.

Women's Volleyball:  No NCAA appearances since 2005, but, other than an injury ridden last season, the team hd won 20 or more games for 14 straight years.

Women's basketball:  We well know this has been a problem and many of us believe the talent that has been added should start to pay off.  Many others are convinced that a new coach is the answer.  That may come if this coming season shows no improvement.

In the lesser followed sports, Valpo has done well in Men's golf, going to the NCAAs in 2012-2013 after just starting the program back up in 2009-2010.

Men's tennis has also been very strong, going to the NCAAs the last two seasons with out double team ranked in the top 40 and losing in the National Championships earlier this year.

Any other concerns??   

[justducky]

Collectively the MVC comments post-VU invitation have led me to these conclusions.

The MVC will never go with 11 teams no mater who that 11'th candidate might be. Sorry Murray. You fit in all respects but scheduling for an 11 team league is just beyond our capabilities.

Because there is no obvious 12'th pick The Valley has given almost zero thought to any divisional separations that could magnify RPI and SOS. So the heat is off and Elgin with the MVC brain trust will watch the league decline for several years before they realize the extent of their problem. By then it might be too late to save the potential multi-bid image that the Valley now enjoys. As of now I am not overly impressed with the leadership talents of our new MVC teammates.

[VU2014]

Collectively the MVC comments post-VU invitation have led me to these conclusions.

The MVC will never go with 11 teams no mater who that 11'th candidate might be. Sorry Murray. You fit in all respects but scheduling for an 11 team league is just beyond our capabilities.

Because there is no obvious 12'th pick The Valley has given almost zero thought to any divisional separations that could magnify RPI and SOS. So the heat is off and Elgin with the MVC brain trust will watch the league decline for several years before they realize the extent of their problem. By then it might be too late to save the potential multi-bid image that the Valley now enjoys. As of now I am not overly impressed with the leadership talents of our new MVC teammates.

I'm taking a wait and see with MVC leadership. They've already done more for us then LeCrone ever has.

I can't blame the leadership for not going 11 because they can't find the right 12th yet but have publicly stated their intention to keep exploring going to 12. I commend them for not rushing to add a school like UWM who hasn't proven themselves with this current coaching staff or Athletics Department. Their attendance has also been horrendous. They could be something but they need to prove it.

Perfect 12th would be Belmont, but you all know they at this point don't see the urgency to leave the OVC.

[crusadermoe]

SLU is still the dream.  Or could we pry Western Kentucky from the Sunbelt? Pairing with Murray would be perfect and their travel must be horrendous. 

Or maybe there is a gold mine somewhere in Bowling Green, KY that immunizes them from budgetary pressures.  Do they make that much profit in football to offset the extra travel?  Otherwise, it was fun to skim the Sagarin ratings by conference.  I don't see any other logical adds.  Eastern Illinois is in the footprint, but they are horrific and the Illiinois fiscal mess will drown them.

[VU2014]

Western Kentucky is in Conference USA and there is no way they are getting pried away from them. FBS football... $

[bigmosmithfan1]

Or maybe there is a gold mine somewhere in Bowling Green, KY that immunizes them from budgetary pressures.  Do they make that much profit in football to offset the extra travel?

WKU is about one hundred times more likely to join the MAC than they ever would be to join the MVC. Yes, football is the reason. C-USA's TV contract is apparently very bad, but FBS football is still FBS football. WKU draws nearly 20,000 fans per game, has gone to five bowl games in the past six years, has hosted Big Ten and SEC teams in Bowling Green, and are the "home" team for an upcoming neutral-site game with Louisville, which will conservatively bring in $1.5M in profit alone. WKU has nearby rivalries with MTSU and Marshall, the latter of which has become one of the best (or at least most entertaining) non-Power 5 rivalry games in the nation.

But seriously, programs that play FBS football are not moving to a league where all of the teams do not. Just ain't happening. We really need to take that into account with our fantasy realignment scenarios around here... 

[crusaderjoe]

Missouri State needs a travel partner.  If the MVC remains intact, expands to twelve, and Murray State is team #11, the answer to whomever team #12 is will be found west of the Mississippi River, IMO.

[VU2014]

Missouri State needs a travel partner.  If the MVC remains intact, expands to twelve, and Murray State is team #11, the answer to whomever team #12 is will be found west of the Mississippi River, IMO.

I don't think there is a "need" for a travel parter but I think it would be nice. Problem is they are sort of out there on an "island" in Springfield, MO.

I've seen some people suggest Oral Roberts but no thanks. Oral Roberts is in some financial trouble and they've received quite a bit of bad PR lately. Program has been struggling recently, they just finished dead last in the Summit last year. They have some history but it feels like those glory days for the program are slipping away.

Not taking UMKC.

I can't think of an obvious add to the conference that would make a good travel partner other then SLU, which they don't want to join the MVC as of right now (only chance they leave the A10 is if they A10 starts to get poached and they don't get the Big East invite, which they really want.)

The MVC should focus on getting the best basketball schools possible as opposed to adding a travel partner.

[talksalot]

and the MVC does not use them in MEN'S basketball (Wed-Sat scheduling) but they do use them in the WBB...

Here's UNI's schedule... all over the place...

12/28/2016  Missouri State   Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/1/2017   Evansville   Evansville, Ind.
1/4/2017   Loyola   Chicago, Ill.
1/8/2017   Wichita State   Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/11/2017   Bradley   Peoria, Ill.
1/15/2017   Drake    Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/18/2017   Loyola   Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/21/2017   Southern Illinois   Carbondale, Ill.
1/25/2017   Evansville   Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/28/2017   Drake   Des Moines, Iowa
2/1/2017   Illinois State   Normal, Ill.
2/4/2017   Indiana State   Cedar Falls, Iowa
2/8/2017   Southern Illinois   Cedar Falls, Iowa
2/12/2017   Missouri State   Springfield, Mo.
2/15/2017   Bradley   Cedar Falls, Iowa
2/18/2017   Wichita State   Wichita, Kan.
2/22/2017   Indiana State   Terre Haute, Ind.
2/25/2017   Illinois State   Cedar Falls, Iowa

[vu72]

Obviously Belmont/Murray would be an ideal pair with one public and one private and both having very solid basketball programs.  Failing Belmont, would Lipscomb be an alternative?  Also in Nashville, plays baseball, finished second in the conference in men's basketball with a 20-13 record.  It would be attractive to them I would think, a big step up and no more trips to Florida, so travel, I would think, might be a push for them.

[StlVUFan]

I think it was meant tongue in cheek, not literally.

Nope: https://twitter.com/Matt_Fox10/status/861971483488169984

[bigmosmithfan1]

Jake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.

Wanted to circle back to this for a second. While it's great that UNI's coach has shown no intention of leaving, you're absolutely fooling yourself that he wouldn't leave in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came along. The $15-$20M contract at a Power 5 school represents generational wealth and a much, much easier path to the NCAA tournament. If he continues to have success, at some point he will get an offer too good to turn down, no matter how much he loves UNI.

We have experience with this - Bryce Drew lived nearly his entire life in Valpo, grew up here, went to h.s. here, was the greatest player in school history, made his home here even during his NBA career, then was on the coaching staff for more than a decade. His family is as indelibly linked to the university as any famous alum is at any other school in the nation -- heck, his family name is on the court at VU. He also turned down much more lucrative offers from SEC, Big 12 and Big East schools over the years. Until one day, he didn't.

Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.

[agibson]

Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.

Can Greg Kampe leave Oakland?

[VU2014]

Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.

Can Greg Kampe leave Oakland?

Probably not at this point. He's at that age where P6 likely wouldn't pursue him, because he could be nearing retirement in the relatively near future.

Next year is Tourney or bust for that Oakland team... heavy senior roster. They at the very least will be "reloading" or "rebuilding" after next year unless Kampe manages to bring in some more high profile transfers.

[UNIfan]

Jake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.

Wanted to circle back to this for a second. While it's great that UNI's coach has shown no intention of leaving, you're absolutely fooling yourself that he wouldn't leave in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came along. The $15-$20M contract at a Power 5 school represents generational wealth and a much, much easier path to the NCAA tournament. If he continues to have success, at some point he will get an offer too good to turn down, no matter how much he loves UNI.

We have experience with this - Bryce Drew lived nearly his entire life in Valpo, grew up here, went to h.s. here, was the greatest player in school history, made his home here even during his NBA career, then was on the coaching staff for more than a decade. His family is as indelibly linked to the university as any famous alum is at any other school in the nation -- heck, his family name is on the court at VU. He also turned down much more lucrative offers from SEC, Big 12 and Big East schools over the years. Until one day, he didn't.

Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.

I see your point, and I will agree that sure, there are scenarios where he would leave. I will say however, that Ben Jacobson is a different breed. He has proven several times that money isn't his biggest motivator, and I think if UNI can continue to prove they are willing to do whatever they can to get the highest salary they can afford him, he will stay. Keeping coach Jake has always been and always will be priority number 1 for our AD.

I am genuinely curious also, what efforts were made to keep Drew on board? I guess its kinda cloudy with a private school, but every time UNI felt there might be pressure for Jake to go somewhere else, they hiked his salary considerably. They were able to amass a pretty unprecedented salary level for a program our size through donors.

Last record I saw, Bryce Drew was getting paid under 400k at Valpo. Was a much bigger salary not attainable to try and keep him, or was he out the door regardless?

[a3uge]

Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.

Can Greg Kampe leave Oakland?

Probably not at this point. He's at that age where P6 likely wouldn't pursue him, because he could be nearing retirement in the relatively near future.

Next year is Tourney or bust for that Oakland team... heavy senior roster. They at the very least will be "reloading" or "rebuilding" after next year unless Kampe manages to bring in some more high profile criminals.

FIFY

[bbtds]

Jake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.

Wanted to circle back to this for a second. While it's great that UNI's coach has shown no intention of leaving, you're absolutely fooling yourself that he wouldn't leave in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came along. The $15-$20M contract at a Power 5 school represents generational wealth and a much, much easier path to the NCAA tournament. If he continues to have success, at some point he will get an offer too good to turn down, no matter how much he loves UNI.

We have experience with this - Bryce Drew lived nearly his entire life in Valpo, grew up here, went to h.s. here, was the greatest player in school history, made his home here even during his NBA career, then was on the coaching staff for more than a decade. His family is as indelibly linked to the university as any famous alum is at any other school in the nation -- heck, his family name is on the court at VU. He also turned down much more lucrative offers from SEC, Big 12 and Big East schools over the years. Until one day, he didn't.

Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.

I see your point, and I will agree that sure, there are scenarios where he would leave. I will say however, that Ben Jacobson is a different breed. He has proven several times that money isn't his biggest motivator, and I think if UNI can continue to prove they are willing to do whatever they can to get the highest salary they can afford him, he will stay. Keeping coach Jake has always been and always will be priority number 1 for our AD.

I am genuinely curious also, what efforts were made to keep Drew on board? I guess its kinda cloudy with a private school, but every time UNI felt there might be pressure for Jake to go somewhere else, they hiked his salary considerably. They were able to amass a pretty unprecedented salary level for a program our size through donors.

Last record I saw, Bryce Drew was getting paid under 400k at Valpo. Was a much bigger salary not attainable to try and keep him, or was he out the door regardless?

I agree with UNIfan. The real lack of salary and no movement at all towards getting a renovated or new building had to have some kind of effect on the Drews' decision to leave for Vandy. Valpo people will forever deny it and Bryce & Homer may think it had no effect but it really must have.

[FWalum]

Jake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.

Wanted to circle back to this for a second. While it's great that UNI's coach has shown no intention of leaving, you're absolutely fooling yourself that he wouldn't leave in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came along. The $15-$20M contract at a Power 5 school represents generational wealth and a much, much easier path to the NCAA tournament. If he continues to have success, at some point he will get an offer too good to turn down, no matter how much he loves UNI.

We have experience with this - Bryce Drew lived nearly his entire life in Valpo, grew up here, went to h.s. here, was the greatest player in school history, made his home here even during his NBA career, then was on the coaching staff for more than a decade. His family is as indelibly linked to the university as any famous alum is at any other school in the nation -- heck, his family name is on the court at VU. He also turned down much more lucrative offers from SEC, Big 12 and Big East schools over the years. Until one day, he didn't.

Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.

I see your point, and I will agree that sure, there are scenarios where he would leave. I will say however, that Ben Jacobson is a different breed. He has proven several times that money isn't his biggest motivator, and I think if UNI can continue to prove they are willing to do whatever they can to get the highest salary they can afford him, he will stay. Keeping coach Jake has always been and always will be priority number 1 for our AD.

I am genuinely curious also, what efforts were made to keep Drew on board? I guess its kinda cloudy with a private school, but every time UNI felt there might be pressure for Jake to go somewhere else, they hiked his salary considerably. They were able to amass a pretty unprecedented salary level for a program our size through donors.

Last record I saw, Bryce Drew was getting paid under 400k at Valpo. Was a much bigger salary not attainable to try and keep him, or was he out the door regardless?

Information for the 2013 calendar year is widely available, I have not tried to get anything more recent. In 2013 Bryce was credited with $377,464 in pay which included $340,958 in base salary, $19,125 from deferred payments and $17,381 non-taxable benefits according to VU's 2013 990 Form. He received a new 10-year contract from Valparaiso in December 2013, terms of that contract were not public.

VU did not just let Bryce go without a fight, how much of a fight might be questioned. The 10 year contract had increases in salary along with deferred compensation arrangements, from what we were able to garner from sources, this arrangement was similar to VU's past deals with Homer and others.  However, we could not match the 16.3 million over 6 years that Vanderbilt offered (2.716 million per year). I would like to know which jobs offered Jacobson that kind of money (2.5-3 million as you stated) because there really aren't that many of them out there.  http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/mens-basketball/coach/

[vu72]

My understanding, from credible sources, is that Bryce was the highest paid coach in the conference, as part of his contract extension.  Reported numbers are just part of the deal.  Homer always had deferred comp as I am sure Bryce did as well.  The houses in Valpo only go so high!

[VU2014]

My understanding, from credible sources, is that Bryce was the highest paid coach in the conference, as part of his contract extension.  Reported numbers are just part of the deal.  Homer always had deferred comp as I am sure Bryce did as well.  The houses in Valpo only go so high!

The Drews were always frustrated with the lack of progress on ARC renovations and were always pushing for them privately.

I know Homer had a job in the Athletics Department while Bryce took over as Head Coach. Not exactly entirely sure what his job included & how much it paid? I believe it was an administrative role of some kind. I believe Bryce was the highest paid coach in the Horizon League. Just this year Wright State made Scott Nagy the highest paid coach in the HL at $500,000 a year when they hired him away from South Dakota State.

We all knew Bryce would leave us eventually. He turned down multiple job offers in previous years (including the Bradley job that Wardle landed after Bryce turned it down along with many others). It was always in the back of my head that he would eventually move and get an offer he couldn't refuse down south somewhere. He got that Monster offer from Vandy and got the opportunity to set his family up with generational wealth. It hurt initially but I'm happy for him and I'm happy with Coach Lottich so far who got to learn under Bryce and Coach Gore stayed with the program which was great.

I really think $ and being down South closer to his wife's family was important to him. But I do know for sure the lack of progress on the ARC renovations were incredibly frustrating for Homer and Bryce from what I've heard.

[UNIFTW]

Texas AM. It was between Jake and Billy Kennedy. Jake got the first offer. Jake said no. Billy was offered and took the job at a rate of 1m.

Easy come back is "why offer Kennedy 1m if Jake was 2.5?"  They knew Kennedy would leave his 200k a year for for 1m. Jake was at about 750k at that point and it was going to take at least that to get him to leave a place with he will never be fired (barring NCAA issues), gets everything he wants loves to live, etc... for a place he might have been fired after 2 or 3 years.

I have extremely reliable sources that allowed me to see some proof of the offer.

Unlike Drew, who wasn't happy with the lack of funding and upgrades, Jake has gotten everything he's ever asked for at UNI, not just for him but for his assistants. Take a look at our staff. All of them have been at UNI over a decade with Jake. Almost all of them are former UNI players under Jake.

[FieldGoodie05]

My understanding, from credible sources, is that Bryce was the highest paid coach in the conference, as part of his contract extension.  Reported numbers are just part of the deal.  Homer always had deferred comp as I am sure Bryce did as well.  The houses in Valpo only go so high!

The Drews were always frustrated with the lack of progress on ARC renovations and were always pushing for them privately.

I know Homer had a job in the Athletics Department while Bryce took over as Head Coach. Not exactly entirely sure what his job included & how much it paid? I believe it was an administrative role of some kind. I believe Bryce was the highest paid coach in the Horizon League. Just this year Wright State made Scott Nagy the highest paid coach in the HL at $500,000 a year when they hired him away from South Dakota State.

We all knew Bryce would leave us eventually. He turned down multiple job offers in previous years (including the Bradley job that Wardle landed after Bryce turned it down along with many others). It was always in the back of my head that he would eventually move and get an offer he couldn't refuse down south somewhere. He got that Monster offer from Vandy and got the opportunity to set his family up with generational wealth. It hurt initially but I'm happy for him and I'm happy with Coach Lottich so far who got to learn under Bryce and Coach Gore stayed with the program which was great.

I really think $ and being down South closer to his wife's family was important to him. But I do know for sure the lack of progress on the ARC renovations were incredibly frustrating for Homer and Bryce from what I've heard.

Based on the poor budgeting WSU is reporting, Nagy may be lucky he was hired by the former administration.  Hard to imagine a school paying that type of money for a Head basketball coach while firing so many academia staff.

[a3uge]

If only the ARC had nicer bathrooms and seats, Bryce would still be at Valpo calling timeouts

[NativeCheesehead]

A3, while facilities I think played a role, the more likely culprit for Bryce's inevitable departure was realizing there was no way to get into the big dance without winning your conference tournament, and no way to schedule the games OOC needed to change that.

That being said, casual fan support can make or break attendance on a year to year basis. And when you draw from as small an area as we do, you don't have a huge margin for error. For the casual fan who attends 1-4 games a year and doesn't have an assigned seat......

-It's a hassle to find parking, and if you have kids, you're not getting to a game 45 minutes early.
-It's a hassle to get concessions and/or go to the bathroom. You're either going to miss a chunk of the game, or try to do
  both at halftime, and you still may miss a chunk of the game.
-30 Year old bathrooms are 30 Year old bathrooms. Poorly ventilated, and appear dirty even when they're not.
-Casual fans are mostly not going to be in chairbacks, so you're dealing with packing into bleacher seating. Squirmy kids, whether yours or someone else's, can ruin an entire game for a dozen people.

I know some of this may seem very "Get off my lawn!" but we have to remember the vast majority of people who come to games don't have our personal and/or alumni connections to Vu and therefore willing to put up with some inconveniences to watch the team we love.

[SanityLost17]

Bryce left because he is uber competitive and wants to go to a final 4 and compete for a national title some day.   

That is it.   

No other reasons.  Can't do that at Valpo.  Possibility exists at Vandy to get there eventually.