Horizon League has filed a lawsuit against Valpo & Missouri Valley Conference

[zvillehaze]

If you recall, the Horizon also took a shot at Butler on their way out of the league, voting to make them ineligible for league championships in '12-'13 and resulting in them leaving a year early.  https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/butler-joining-a-10-this-fall-instead-of-2013/

That's the Butler version of the story. The actual story was that the HL wanted simply make them ineligible to *host* any league championships in their lame-duck year, which is a much more modest and some would say fair request. But Butler wasn't going to countenance having to give up playing at Hinkle, so they left.

I've never heard your version before, but whether your story, the CBS Sports story or something in between is the "actual story", I'll stick to my position that I'm fine not scheduling any school that was in support of whatever those sanctions were, just like you're in favor of Valpo not scheduling schools that were supportive of the Horizon's lawsuit against Valpo.  There are roughly 340 DI schools outside of each team's conference ... finding 12 or 13 non-conference opponents that haven't tried to harm your program shouldn't be that hard.

In hindsight, things worked out fine for both programs.  In 2013, Valpo won the league and played in the NCAA tourney and Butler, after getting away from Valpo, was also able to get back to the tournament.  Win win situation.

[VUGrad1314]

It's hard to argue that both programs benefited from the situation it just sucks that it cost us the rivalry possibly forever.

[VU2014]

Does this sound vaguely familiar?  lol

https://twitter.com/dontribunesport/status/1095422873244708865

[VUBBFan]

So glad we are out of the HL. Seems like the administration thinks they can do anything they want regardless of rules. This is not looking out for the benefit of the member teams. It seems like it's looking out for the personal control/status of the league officials

[VUGrad1314]

Great long-term league health strategy LeCrone. Piss off your flagship league members. Again.

First, they bungle Butler's exit.

Then they work systemically to piss off Valpo by taking away the best thing about being a member for a cash grab nobody wanted and no fans supported.

Then they ramrod IUPUI down the league's throat when objectively better options (Fort Wayne Robert Morris) were available

Then they go and do this to NKU (and to a lesser extent Wright State). NKU can't use BB&T but IUPUI using Farmers is just dandy by them.

This is a tremendous look to present to potential member schools. "Come join our league and if you get good but you're too small or too far from our league offices we'll do everything in our power to undermine and impede your growth and development as a program." I'm sure schools are just begging them to come visit and admit them. You honestly think USI or Bellarmine are going to bother with this conference if they move up after seeing how badly NKU just got jobbed? I don't think so.

Time for the MVC to pounce. Get two quality members (NKU and Murray State) into a conference that will appreciate and value them and foster their growth as they try to take their programs to the next level and offer them a fair "wha you see is what you get" deal where everyone knows what they signed up for.

In contrast to the fair-minded Doug Elgin here's how LeCrone treats his member institutions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsW9MlYu31g

[wh]

If you recall, the Horizon also took a shot at Butler on their way out of the league, voting to make them ineligible for league championships in '12-'13 and resulting in them leaving a year early.  https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/butler-joining-a-10-this-fall-instead-of-2013/

That's the Butler version of the story. The actual story was that the HL wanted simply make them ineligible to *host* any league championships in their lame-duck year, which is a much more modest and some would say fair request. But Butler wasn't going to countenance having to give up playing at Hinkle, so they left.

I've never heard your version before, but whether your story, the CBS Sports story or something in between is the "actual story", I'll stick to my position that I'm fine not scheduling any school that was in support of whatever those sanctions were, just like you're in favor of Valpo not scheduling schools that were supportive of the Horizon's lawsuit against Valpo.  There are roughly 340 DI schools outside of each team's conference ... finding 12 or 13 non-conference opponents that haven't tried to harm your program shouldn't be that hard.

In hindsight, things worked out fine for both programs.  In 2013, Valpo won the league and played in the NCAA tourney and Butler, after getting away from Valpo, was also able to get back to the tournament.  Win win situation.

If Valpo voted to keep Butler out of the HL tournament (or from hosting), I can see how Butler could use that as an excuse to not play them now. That said, the only reason Butler was willing to fulfill the terms of its agreement with the HL was because the A-10 didn't want to take them until the folllowing year. Otherwise, they would have dropped the HL like a bad habit - with or without the penalty. So, 1 of 2 things was going to happen all along -either Butler was going to leave early for self serving reasons, or the HL was going to force their hand to leave early for their own self serving reasons of not having a lame duck member show up the league on its way out the door. There are no innocent little lambs here.

[VU2014]

Sad days for the Horizon League when a beat reporter openly stumps for moving to the A-Sun.

https://twitter.com/PhearThePhoenix/status/1095528411576131585

[VUGrad1314]

Well maybe LeCrone should say what he means and mean what he says for once. That would be a refreshing change. I'm surprised the presidents  haven't called for his ouster. Maybe alienating and losing NKU would be the final straw. It's not THAT the conference has declined. That's happening all over the midmajor landscape. It's the incompetent dare I say deceitful way he goes about running things. The fact that Valpo felt as though they had enough to levy a counterclaim in what should have been a simple matter should have been embarrassing enough but now we have  this tournament debacle that has NKU longing for the Atlantic Freaking Sun. It's just a terrible look. He comes off as petty deceptive incompetent and stupid simultaneously. If I were an AD or a president at an HL member institution I would be beyond embarrassed to have this man speaking on my behalf. What a shameful clown show that league has become.

[bigmosmithfan1]

Some chatter on Twitter last night that GB and Detroit's ADs were reportedly as furious over this as NKU is. (And rightfully so! The HL office straight-up lied to their member institutions about the selection criteria for the choosing the location for the conference's biggest event!) That's two schools away from being able to have LeCrone replaced. His Indy fetish is going to be his undoing, which is pretty fitting, IMO.

My dislike of LeCrone is well documented on here, but the fact that he tried to pull something like this and thought none of his member schools would notice is particularly jaw-dropping.

[NativeCheesehead]

Lecrone? Horizon?

[bbtds]

My dislike of LeCrone is well documented on here, but the fact that he tried to pull something like this and thought none of his member schools would notice is particularly jaw-dropping.

I'm actually not that surprised by LeCrone's Indy fetish.         

[bigmosmithfan1]

Nothing wrong with Indy. It's pleasant enough as middle-tier cities go. But a commissioner screwing over 9 other institutions that pay his salary to keep himself comfy and unfairly advantage the local institution (not for the first time)? Well, that's a bold strategy, Cotton.