What if the Summit League Starts Football?

[VUGrad1314]

Does that constitute an existential  threat to the MVC? I understand that the MVC and MVFC are administrated separately, the MVFC is a mix of MVC and summit members with YSU of the HL. If the Summit starts football and the three Dakota schools and WIU all defect does that cause the remaining teams to look for a more stable football home which would  likely take their basketball team out of the MVC? EX: UNI and Illinois State to the MAC and Missouri State either to the Sun Belt or the MAC? And if that happens how does that affect the MVC and Valpo's place in it? Would MVC teams consider defecting to the Horizon or the Summit League or is that where the MVC would go for new members  settling in at about the same level of the current  Horizon League?

[oklahomamick]

Summit starting a football league is a real possibility according to several fans of the Dakota schools.  Several of the big sky schools want to join forces with the Dakotas and start a football league.  University of North Dakota is already joining the summit next year.  I don't know how western Illinois is able to Finacially operate division 1 athletics. 

[a3uge]

Does that constitute an existential  threat to the MVC? I understand that the MVC and MVFC are administrated separately, the MVFC is a mix of MVC and summit members with YSU of the HL. If the Summit starts football and the three Dakota schools and WIU all defect does that cause the remaining teams to look for a more stable football home which would  likely take their basketball team out of the MVC? EX: UNI and Illinois State to the MAC and Missouri State either to the Sun Belt or the MAC? And if that happens how does that affect the MVC and Valpo's place in it? Would MVC teams consider defecting to the Horizon or the Summit League or is that where the MVC would go for new members  settling in at about the same level of the current  Horizon League?

A new Summit League football conference is not what's preventing UNI and IL St from playing in the MAC.

[crusaderjoe]

Does that constitute an existential  threat to the MVC? I understand that the MVC and MVFC are administrated separately, the MVFC is a mix of MVC and summit members with YSU of the HL. If the Summit starts football and the three Dakota schools and WIU all defect does that cause the remaining teams to look for a more stable football home which would  likely take their basketball team out of the MVC? EX: UNI and Illinois State to the MAC and Missouri State either to the Sun Belt or the MAC? And if that happens how does that affect the MVC and Valpo's place in it? Would MVC teams consider defecting to the Horizon or the Summit League or is that where the MVC would go for new members  settling in at about the same level of the current  Horizon League?

I would shed more anxiety about the possibility of the NCAA going back to the old rule that required FBS conferences to have a minimum of 12 members to hold a conference championship game.  That rule change would require the Sun Belt to have to act, which puts MO State in immediate play.

If you want to spend time worrying, worry about the 12-team championship rule change, the potential for FBS movement via renegotiated conference media deals, or a resurrection of FBS WAC football (if that's even possible) before wasting energy on a Summit FCS idea, IMO.

[VU2014]

Question: Where did all this Summit League football discussion start? Is this a legit rumor or just speculation/chatter?

NDSU is joining the MVCF by the way. I see a lot of whining from NDSU fans about wanting to go FBS one day. I don't see any threat to the MVC as long as the Summit league Football stayed FCS and didn't go FBS. It would be pretty hard to believe the Summit would even have the potential to go FBS from scratch. I just see this as a unrealistic possibility right now.

[VULB#62]

Question: Where did all this Summit League football discussion start? Is this a legit rumor or just speculation/chatter?

NDSU is joining the MVCF by the way. I see a lot of whining from NDSU fans about wanting to go FBS one day. I don't see any threat to the MVC as long as the Summit league Football stayed FCS and didn't go FBS. It would be pretty hard to believe the Summit would even have the potential to go FBS from scratch. I just see this as a unrealistic possibility right now.

First of all it is not NDSU that is joining the MVFC (not MVCF), it is UND coming over from the Big Sky. Both NDSU and UND will be Summit members in all other sports (NDSU has been for a while and now UND will join them). That aligns all four Dakota schools. UND will continue to compete in FB only in the Big Sky in 18 and 19.

The nine member Summit has only 5 schools that have football programs: UND(2020), NDSU, USD, SDSU, WIU.  All 5 are in the MVFC. The only destabilizing possibility is if NDSU goes FBS.

UND made the moves largely for travel cost reasons.

[VUGrad1314]

Not an expert on FCS football but isn't the MVFC also generally a better league than the Big Sky, or are they about the same?

Teams I'm pretty sure are strong in MVFC: Youngstown State Illinois State NDSU UNI SDSU

Big Sky: Montana Montana State Eastern Washington

[VULB#62]

Not an expert on FCS football but isn't the MVFC also generally a better league than the Big Sky, or are they about the same?

Teams I'm pretty sure are strong in MVFC: Youngstown State Illinois State NDSU UNI SDSU

Big Sky: Montana Montana State Eastern Washington

Yes. MVFC is the better of the two.

[VUGrad1314]

Question: Where did all this Summit League football discussion start? Is this a legit rumor or just speculation/chatter? NDSU is joining the MVCF by the way. I see a lot of whining from NDSU fans about wanting to go FBS one day. I don't see any threat to the MVC as long as the Summit league Football stayed FCS and didn't go FBS. It would be pretty hard to believe the Summit would even have the potential to go FBS from scratch. I just see this as a unrealistic possibility right now.

This was just a post based on a passing worry stemming from seemingly unsourced speculation on the MVC Fans board about the future of some of the programs in the conference.

[VUGrad1314]

If NDSU going FBS is the only thing we have to fear then my guess is we're pretty safe. Given their location it's hard to find a decent league that can accommodate their FBS move. The only possibility is the Mountain West I think , and I'm not sure they could handle the costs associated with the jump in scholarship commitments, travel, and potential  facility upgrades and still maintain competitive teams in other sports. That would make them a rather unappealing addition. I guess they could be counterbalanced by the MWC adding New Mexico State, but while that school is strong in basketball their football team is terrible and would further complicate travel for the Bison. With two rather imperfect additions neither of which opens up a significant market, enhance the MWC in any meaningful way, or would it simply result most years in a smaller piece of the collective pie while adding significantly to the travel budgets of the member schools? My money is on the latter. NDSU is unmistakably an FBS caliber football program but I think finances logistics and the uneven quality of their teams in the two sports that matter most--football and basketball--will likely keep them at the FCS level.