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

[bigmosmithfan1]

Very exciting!  The HL was good to us for 10 years, but I don't feel bad about leaving them at this point.  It is karma for what happened in the early-90's, that we elevated our program above what they felt that we could be, and have since surpassed them.

I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a certain satisfaction in that. People sometimes forget how badly Valpo, WIU and EIU were left high and dry when that happened (and that we'd have one more NCAA tourney appearance to our name if those schools had handled that transition better, because the Mid-Con would have been able to line up replacements in time to prevent the league from having its auto bid suspended for the 1995 season. If I were one of the seniors on that '95 team that won both the regular season and conference tourney but sat home for the postseason because of then-known-as-MCC's secret back-room maneuvering, I'd still be bitter today. Oh, and what a garbage rule by the NCAA... punish student-athletes that were left behind through no fault of their own or their institution.)

That said, I'll echo that the HL was a great step up for us and was instrumental in VU getting to this point. Getting into a league with Butler and Loyola (as well as then-very-strong programs like Milwaukee and Cleveland State) reinvigorated and elevated a program that was in danger of growing stagnant in the Mid-Con. Yes, the last few years have left a bit of a sour taste -- and the league administration could literally have not capitalized less on having a conference member go to back-to-back national championship games -- but the first 7-8 years of the relationship was very fruitful for Valpo and helped further our national brand recognition.

[valpopal]

I think it will be important to watch what the university administration does between July 1 and the opening day at home of basketball season. I believe the consensus on this board is that the opportunity to promote Valpo, as well as increase attendance and facilities, was squandered following the Sweet-16 season.


As others have mentioned, the step up to the Horizon League was a positive move, especially with Butler and Loyola in the conference. In fact, the home games against Butler were some of the best ever for Valpo. However, after joining the Horizon League, there seemed to be some complacency on the part of the administration, though the basketball teams did their best on the court. In fact, the only doubt about whether Valpo would get an invitation to the MVC was focused on the lack of improvements to the facilities and a seemingly apathetic administrative attitude towards sports as promotion for the university. This appeared significant in the last couple of years when it was apparent that Valpo basketball was not happy with the direction of the Horizon League and would jump at a chance to change conferences.


Now, we are at another juncture where Valpo basketball can be instrumental in promoting VU. Will the administration take this opportunity to renew the brand by upgrading the ARC and by advertising the MVC? Will there be a new approach to marketing and better attention to game atmosphere—perhaps live halftime shows, more appealing concession stands, aggressive promotion in the surrounding communities, etc? Will we see some innovative thinking to go with the entrance into a new league?


Let's not squander this opportunity!

[VULB#62]

I think it will be important to watch what the university administration does between July 1 and the opening day at home of basketball season. I believe the consensus on this board is that the opportunity to promote Valpo, as well as increase attendance and facilities, was squandered following the Sweet-16 season.


As others have mentioned, the step up to the Horizon League was a positive move, especially with Butler and Loyola in the conference. In fact, the home games against Butler were some of the best ever for Valpo. However, after joining the Horizon League, there seemed to be some complacency on the part of the administration, though the basketball teams did their best on the court. In fact, the only doubt about whether Valpo would get an invitation to the MVC was focused on the lack of improvements to the facilities and a seemingly apathetic administrative attitude towards sports as promotion for the university. This appeared significant in the last couple of years when it was apparent that Valpo basketball was not happy with the direction of the Horizon League and would jump at a chance to change conferences.

Now, we are at another juncture where Valpo basketball can be instrumental in promoting VU. Will the administration take this opportunity to renew the brand by upgrading the ARC and by advertising the MVC? Will there be a new approach to marketing and better attention to game atmosphere—perhaps live halftime shows, more appealing concession stands, aggressive promotion in the surrounding communities, etc? Will we see some innovative thinking to go with the entrance into a new league?

Let's not squander this opportunity!

Well said Pal.  [Did you copy MH and ML on this post?  🙄 ]

[wh]

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/valparaiso-makes-it-official-joins-missouri-valley-conference/article_1d22da9e-93f3-5c50-bbc2-829ed0f75d29.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

Valparaiso makes it official, joins Missouri Valley Conference
Jim Benson jbenson@pantagraph.com

.........

"That's been something that's been clear since Creighton left (in 2013) that it's all of our jobs to get better, it's not just the job of Valparaiso to come in and replace Wichita State," said Muller. "Valparaiso is joining our league, and it's the job of all 10 of us to continue to improve."

.......

"It is a program that clearly has had a lot of success for a long time," said Muller. "They've had sustained success, high-level players, high-level teams. Matt did a terrific job last year in his first year. I'm really excited to add them to the league."

.......

"The run Wichita State is on would be hard for anyone to duplicate," said Lyons. "Valpo is very strong and with a step up in leagues, they'll be recruiting at a higher level than they've done and will be a good fit."

.........

A scary thought...

[bbtds]

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/valparaiso-makes-it-official-joins-missouri-valley-conference/article_1d22da9e-93f3-5c50-bbc2-829ed0f75d29.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

Valparaiso makes it official, joins Missouri Valley Conference
Jim Benson jbenson@pantagraph.com

.........

"That's been something that's been clear since Creighton left (in 2013) that it's all of our jobs to get better, it's not just the job of Valparaiso to come in and replace Wichita State," said Muller. "Valparaiso is joining our league, and it's the job of all 10 of us to continue to improve."

.......

"It is a program that clearly has had a lot of success for a long time," said Muller. "They've had sustained success, high-level players, high-level teams. Matt did a terrific job last year in his first year. I'm really excited to add them to the league."

.......

"The run Wichita State is on would be hard for anyone to duplicate," said Lyons. "Valpo is very strong and with a step up in leagues, they'll be recruiting at a higher level than they've done and will be a good fit."

.........

A scary thought...

Think of some of the student/athletes we missed out on in recruiting. Some of those kind of players will now choose Valpo instead of a higher level school or same level team in a higher level conference.

[wh]

https://www.twitter.com/NWIOren/status/867828203045490688

lol

[bbtds]

https://www.twitter.com/NWIOren/status/867828203045490688

lol

ValleyPoParasoRich? I'll be sitting near Paul. 

[oklahomamick]

I believe the student athletes we were able to get was because of Bryce and Powell.  Those two played a much larger hand than conference affiliation or facilities. 

I hate to say it but I don't think we get better recruits because we moved conferences.  It's all up to Lottich.  Bryce and Powell were very good recruiters.  They are going to bring some great some talent to Nashville.

[bbtds]

I believe the student athletes we were able to get was because of Bryce and Powell.  Those two played a much larger hand than conference affiliation or facilities. 

I hate to say it but I don't think we get better recruits because we moved conferences.  It's all up to Lottich.  Bryce and Powell were very good recruiters.  They are going to bring some great some talent to Nashville.

Has Lottich really done any worse recruiting in his short time? I say "no better or worse" Peters was a great find but we'll have to see how some of these other players turn out before we can truly judge Lottich AND Gore. Clinton might say "Gore who?" but not Valpo fans!

[elephtheria47]

We will need to get "better recruits" in general to contend in the MVC and I believe we will.  Success breeds success. We have some momentum, we need to keep the momentum going.

[vu72]

Obviously the jury is still out on Matt's recruiting skill but on paper he has done a fabulous job.  The ESPN star rating of the current team is probably higher then any previous team.  He has brought in Burton, Evelyn, Fazekas, Hazen, McMillan,Golder and most recently the big German.  We will be much more athletic and very big.  We graduated Alec at 6'9", Shane at 6'7", Jubril at 6'7" and Nick at 6'4".  Linssen is 6'8", Ryan is 6'8", Markus is 6'6", Mileek is 6'8" and Parker is 6'7".  The talent appears to be there.  Can they play together?  That has more to do with coaching than recruiting.  The recruiting is great.  Do we have a Paul Lusk on our hands?  I doubt it.

[oklahomamick]

Time will tell on lottich recruiting.  We won 5 of 6 league championships (better sample of the best team than the tournament) is because we had Better players

[VUGrad1314]

This is just so awesome. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Valpo would play in a conference like this. I've been a fan of Missouri Valley hoops since I was young. When Valpo got the invite, I could not stop smiling and even found myself frequently humming our school song. This is one of my proudest moments so far in my short time as an alum. I believe that this marks a new era in Valpo's hoops and athletics programs, one that will be marked by increased engagement from the administration the alumni and the community at large. People are excited and have been thrilled by the past several years. Every time Valpo's doing well there is palpable buzz around the community (though admittedly most of the people I talk to are alums). Valpo is recruiting more kids from the surrounding area, taking steps toward the goal of becoming "the region's team," and that should only get better playing in a higher profile league with more national exposure. Having two in-state schools in Indiana State and Evansville in conference doesn't hurt either. We should start to see more Indiana kids opt to come to Valpo. As for recruiting as a whole, I believe Harry Schroeder (MVC Insider who runs valleyhoops.com) has said that Valpo's recruiting class would rank as the best (or one of the best) in the conference. Lottich does appear to have some recruiting chops. What sealed it for me was that he was able to lure Fazekas although he had interest and presumably offers from a Power 5 school (Vanderbilt) and an A10 school in (Fordham). Yes, playing close to home probably mattered, and even Valpo's move to the MVC probably played a major role as well. but I can't help but think that Lottich's recruiting ability (he was on staff when Valpo was recruiting him in High School) was key in sealing the deal.  In short, while Valpo offered the best mix of playing time, national exposure, program success, and being close to home, to discount the coach's role in the recruiting process ignores perhaps the most important ingredient. If the coach doesn't know how to relate to and recruit players, they won't come to their school even despite all of these things. There had to be some trust and belief in Coach Lottich for Fazekas or any player to come to Valpo, and yet Lottich has brought in talented players from all over the country and internationally. I wasn't sold at first, but I believe that we are in good hands with Matt Lottich at the helm.

[wh]

This is just so awesome. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Valpo would play in a conference like this. I've been a fan of Missouri Valley hoops since I was young. When Valpo got the invite, I could not stop smiling and even found myself frequently humming our school song. This is one of my proudest moments so far in my short time as an alum. I believe that this marks a new era in Valpo's hoops and athletics programs, one that will be marked by increased engagement from the administration the alumni and the community at large. People are excited and have been thrilled by the past several years. Every time Valpo's doing well there is palpable buzz around the community (though admittedly most of the people I talk to are alums). Valpo is recruiting more kids from the surrounding area, taking steps toward the goal of becoming "the region's team," and that should only get better playing in a higher profile league with more national exposure. Having two in-state schools in Indiana State and Evansville in conference doesn't hurt either. We should start to see more Indiana kids opt to come to Valpo. As for recruiting as a whole, I believe Harry Schroeder (MVC Insider who runs valleyhoops.com) has said that Valpo's recruiting class would rank as the best (or one of the best) in the conference. Lottich does appear to have some recruiting chops. What sealed it for me was that he was able to lure Fazekas although he had interest and presumably offers from a Power 5 school (Vanderbilt) and an A10 school in (Fordham). Yes, playing close to home probably mattered, and even Valpo's move to the MVC probably played a major role as well. but I can't help but think that Lottich's recruiting ability (he was on staff when Valpo was recruiting him in High School) was key in sealing the deal.  In short, while Valpo offered the best mix of playing time, national exposure, program success, and being close to home, to discount the coach's role in the recruiting process ignores perhaps the most important ingredient. If the coach doesn't know how to relate to and recruit players, they won't come to their school even despite all of these things. There had to be some trust and belief in Coach Lottich for Fazekas or any player to come to Valpo, and yet Lottich has brought in talented players from all over the country and internationally. I wasn't sold at first, but I believe that we are in good hands with Matt Lottich at the helm.

A very impressive post. 

I see it's only your 6th. If I didn't say it before, welcome to the board!

[valpospartan]

This is just so awesome. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Valpo would play in a conference like this. I've been a fan of Missouri Valley hoops since I was young. When Valpo got the invite, I could not stop smiling and even found myself frequently humming our school song. This is one of my proudest moments so far in my short time as an alum. I believe that this marks a new era in Valpo's hoops and athletics programs, one that will be marked by increased engagement from the administration the alumni and the community at large. People are excited and have been thrilled by the past several years. Every time Valpo's doing well there is palpable buzz around the community (though admittedly most of the people I talk to are alums). Valpo is recruiting more kids from the surrounding area, taking steps toward the goal of becoming "the region's team," and that should only get better playing in a higher profile league with more national exposure. Having two in-state schools in Indiana State and Evansville in conference doesn't hurt either. We should start to see more Indiana kids opt to come to Valpo. As for recruiting as a whole, I believe Harry Schroeder (MVC Insider who runs valleyhoops.com) has said that Valpo's recruiting class would rank as the best (or one of the best) in the conference. Lottich does appear to have some recruiting chops. What sealed it for me was that he was able to lure Fazekas although he had interest and presumably offers from a Power 5 school (Vanderbilt) and an A10 school in (Fordham). Yes, playing close to home probably mattered, and even Valpo's move to the MVC probably played a major role as well. but I can't help but think that Lottich's recruiting ability (he was on staff when Valpo was recruiting him in High School) was key in sealing the deal.  In short, while Valpo offered the best mix of playing time, national exposure, program success, and being close to home, to discount the coach's role in the recruiting process ignores perhaps the most important ingredient. If the coach doesn't know how to relate to and recruit players, they won't come to their school even despite all of these things. There had to be some trust and belief in Coach Lottich for Fazekas or any player to come to Valpo, and yet Lottich has brought in talented players from all over the country and internationally. I wasn't sold at first, but I believe that we are in good hands with Matt Lottich at the helm.

I tried valleyhoops.com, and got a site saying that valleyhoops.com is for sale.
Oh, and could you use paragraphs in your long posts, please?

[VUGrad1314]

Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ Again, I apologize for the confusion.

I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years.  As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.

[IndyValpo]

Very exciting!  The HL was good to us for 10 years, but I don't feel bad about leaving them at this point.  It is karma for what happened in the early-90's, that we elevated our program above what they felt that we could be, and have since surpassed them.

I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a certain satisfaction in that. People sometimes forget how badly Valpo, WIU and EIU were left high and dry when that happened (and that we'd have one more NCAA tourney appearance to our name if those schools had handled that transition better, because the Mid-Con would have been able to line up replacements in time to prevent the league from having its auto bid suspended for the 1995 season. If I were one of the seniors on that '95 team that won both the regular season and conference tourney but sat home for the postseason because of then-known-as-MCC's secret back-room maneuvering, I'd still be bitter today. Oh, and what a garbage rule by the NCAA... punish student-athletes that were left behind through no fault of their own or their institution.)

That said, I'll echo that the HL was a great step up for us and was instrumental in VU getting to this point. Getting into a league with Butler and Loyola (as well as then-very-strong programs like Milwaukee and Cleveland State) reinvigorated and elevated a program that was in danger of growing stagnant in the Mid-Con. Yes, the last few years have left a bit of a sour taste -- and the league administration could literally have not capitalized less on having a conference member go to back-to-back national championship games -- but the first 7-8 years of the relationship was very fruitful for Valpo and helped further our national brand recognition.

This is the best part of the story. We get left, probably the best thing that happened as we continued to grow and build our program. By the time we joined the HL we were ready. Now we get to be the one leaving other behind....

[underdawg]

Congrats for making official--hope to see some Valpo fans for Valley Hoopsin Carbondale next winter

[vu72]

Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ Again, I apologize for the confusion.

I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years.  As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.

Good stuff.  As for formatting etc., beware of the "spelling police" as well.  And if you forget/add  a letter at the wrong spot!  They will nail you!!    I suspect it has to do mostly with the overall intelligence of the posters.  Doubt you would see some of the in depth, thoughtful posts seen here on very many sports related forums.  Welcome!

[wh]

Congrats for making official--hope to see some Valpo fans for Valley Hoopsin Carbondale next winter

I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that the special "welcome" posts from fans/alumni of MVC schools are greatly appreciated. Thank you! 

Personally, changing conferences is more exciting than I thought it would be. I'm already looking forward to finding my way around the league.

[wh]

Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ Again, I apologize for the confusion.

I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years.  As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.

Good stuff.  As for formatting etc., beware of the "spelling police" as well.  And if you forget/add  a letter at the wrong spot!  They will nail you!!    I suspect it has to do mostly with the overall intelligence of the posters.  Doubt you would see some of the in depth, thoughtful posts seen here on very many sports related forums.  Welcome!

Pedantry is more closely associated with OCPD than it is with I.Q.

[bbtds]

Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ Again, I apologize for the confusion.

I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years.  As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.

Good stuff.  As for formatting etc., beware of the "spelling police" as well.  And if you forget/add  a letter at the wrong spot!  They will nail you!!    I suspect it has to do mostly with the overall intelligence of the posters.  Doubt you would see some of the in depth, thoughtful posts seen here on very many sports related forums.  Welcome!

Extra space between "forget/add" and "a letter at the wrong spot!" You can do better. 

[VU2014]

Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ Again, I apologize for the confusion.

I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years.  As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.

Harry mentioned it in this Tweet which was included in one of the articles that Valpo would have one of the best rated recruiting classes in the MVC this year.
https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/862361093871730699

I am actually pretty interested to see if this move to Missouri Valley Conference helps Valpo in recruiting. I think it should help and definitely won't hurt.

To be honest Valpo's teams the last 6-7 seasons would have been some of the best teams in the MVC (not saying we'd beat Wichita State or Creighton for the Conference Titles but at the very least have realistic chance). If you the 2015-2016 team into the MVC there is a very real chance we could have beat Wichita State for the Conference Title that year.

Even Rowdy's senior year 2012-2013 that team would have been a serious contender in the MVC that year and that was the year Wichita State when on their Final 4 tourney run. That team would have been a force in Conference play.

Maybe the move to MVC allows to get "higher shelf" talent that would have been harder to land in the HL and maybe more likely helps us not reach for guys that are "lower level" players that take up a roster spot.
Ex:
- Nick Davidson (although he was a highly thought of recruit coming out HS if I remember. There was early hype about Nick when the coaches landed a commitment from him and he was nice depth his SR when the team was really thin)

-Max Joseph (maybe he can elevate his game this next year but I wouldn't bet on it. Last year was really his first year to play significant minutes and was pretty lackluster)

-David Chadwick (was a transfer that didn't exactly work out from Rice. Super nice guy but didn't bring the impact many would have hoped)

-Jordan Coleman

-Alex Rossi (although he was dealing with some injuries that really derailed his College career. Played at the same HS as Coach Lottich: New Trier. I remember when my HS player New Trier they called Alex Rossi the next Matt Lottich. He was a stud in HS and went to Cal before transferring to Valpo)

-Hrvoje Vucic (Had class with Vucic and was probably one of my favorite players I got to know but was definitely not a D1 player)

-Jay Harris (was a "prized" recruit coming out of HS but busted hard. Not one of my favorite classmates)

All great guys and brought intangibles to the team but probably not MVC caliber talents. Maybe being in the MVC will make it easier to have a "ceiling" on the type of recruits we attract. There will always be guys that don't workout but maybe there will be fewer of them. In all honesty the Valpo teams of the last few years have been very deep with guys who were really good players and those teams would hands down be upper tier teams in the MVC.

The stretch Valpo has went on has been because the coaching staff has really developed guys and they were able to land a few of those "diamond in the rough" recruits: Rowdy/AP (semi-AP: many of the big programs slept on him even Bradley who was in his backyard) and they've built a culture of being a home for Transfers that weren't getting opportunity or development at their other schools to be find a new home and give them an opportunity: Cory Johnson, Brandon Wood, LaVonte Dority, Bobby Capobianco, etc. and were hoping Joe Burton and Bakari can become impact transfers for us.

It will be interesting to see how significant of an impact the move to the MVC has on recruiting. I'm hoping the coaching staff can find the next program Altering recruit like Rowdy/AP. Who knows, maybe that guy is already on the roster.

[vu72]

To be fair, David Chadwick was also dealing with significant health issues.  Nick was highly regarded coming out of high school.  He was The Times Player of the Year.  It will become very obvious that the athleticism of the current team would have left several of the guys VU2014 mentioned (like Nick) no longer targets.

On paper it is hard to imagine that the move to The Valley would have brought in higher rated players.  Don't think we will be getting 4 star players on a regular basis and we have several 3 star guys now plus Joe Burton.

[VU2014]

Brandon Wood giving Valpo a shout out over Twitter for joining the MVC. Brandon was a hell of a player. I feel like this whole era of Valpo success was jump started by that Brandon Wood/Cory Johnson/Erik Buggs/young Broekhoff/Howard Little/Kevin Van Wijk/Matt Kenney, 2010-2011 Valpo Team back in the day.

Brandon was the leader of that team. Was really disappointing he transferred the next year, but him leaving forced Rowdy to step and he blossomed into a star that year and cause Valpo to take the next step in this era.

https://twitter.com/BrandonWood30/status/869635945045282816