2018-19 VU Schedule

[wh]

A gif to describe Paul's latest podcast when talking about the schedule lol.



I highly encourage anyone who was angry or disappointed about the schedule to give it a listen. He may convince some people to get off the ledge. He made me feel a little better about the home schedule even though it's still pretty bad. It's important to remember we have an awesome conference schedule that will provide very competitive games.

How much work and effort was required to develop the conference schedule?  Answer: None.
What teams did Valpo agree to home and home agreements with for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 non-conference schedules? Answer: SIUE and UC-Riverside - two of the worst D1 teams in the country.
How many non-Division 1 opponents are on the non-conference home schedule, with an expectation that season ticket holders will pay money for those 'valuable' tickets and somehow interest in the team will increase? Answer: Two (two more than are acceptable)

As I said previously, the people in the basketball program do a great job in many aspects of their job. I am not arguing that they need to be fired or that fans should intentionally not attend these games. But home scheduling in the last two seasons - which should be measured solely on the non-conference home schedule, since the conference schedule is given - has been awful and they have completely failed in this aspect of their job.

Perfectly stated.

[wh]

I disagreed with so much in this edition. I also didn't appreciate the shots he took at the fanbase.

1. We DO NOT  expect to play Kansas and Kentucky every year. We DO expect to play decent programs from decent conferences that actually test our team and help them compete. Illinois State has FGCU BYU SDSU, Mississippi,AND a top-flight  MTE with Belmont and UCF already committed to next year. Southern Illinois has Murray State SLU Winthrop and Buffalo we have two non-D1s and Ball State. One of these things is not like the others. I know next year is going to be better but two years of bad non-con home schedules is very hard to stomach. I understand that MTEs complicate things when it comes to finding dates, and you should NEVER pull out of a good MTE for ANY reason, but you have to think we could have done better. I hope we will next year. Everytime I hear "we tried" it reminds me of those old Avis commercials that show what their business would be like if they didn't go the extra mile to serve their customers. For those who don't remember those commercials, it's not pretty and it doesn't curry much favor with fans who are eager to see the team compete for titles and at-large bids. Bad  home schedules that don't adequately prepare the team for conference play has contributed to attendance decline at many schools and  was the very pitfall that befell Marty Simmons at Evansville. It is the reason Barry Hinson hasn't sniffed the tournament in all these years. It has also hurt Illinois State in the past before Muller stepped it up

2. Lack of nonconference home games does alienate your fanbase but so does the lack of QUALITY nonconference home games. My research on nonconference attendance confirms this. While RPI isn't that significant a factor perception is. Playing teams like IUPUI Chicago State and non-D1s doesn't work because we know those teams. Teams like  High Point Samford Omaha ORU South Dakota and SE Louisiana are great tune up games because they at least come with a chance to be halfway decent while being eminently winnable.

3. Securing meaningless wins against bad competition to gain confidence does nothing to improve your fortunes especially in a league like the MVC. See: The Evansville and SIU examples in #1.  All the confidence in the world didn't save our season last year in fact I think we were harmed by our soft nonconference slate. I don't even buy that it gives the team a chance to implement something tactically. Just because it works against Southern Indiana Southern Utah or Southern University  does not mean it will work against Southern Illinois. There isn't much to be learned or gained by beating bad teams there is however much to be gained by playing teams around or above your level. Even the Texas Southern analogy is flawed. They get pounded in the nonconference but dominate the SWAC. I don't believe for an instant that that's an accident.

4. While I understand the importance of coming out and supporting the team and attending for the sake of the team, that's hard to do when you're buying multiple tickets. Is it really worth spending $50+ food to take your family of four to see a game that should be over by halftime if Valpo is good and that won't really inform you much about the team's prospects for a given year? Ball State has value George Washington has value an old rival like ORU has value New Mexico SLU and URI have value, Belmont Murray State and East Tennessee State have value as shown by the attendance at those games. By contrast,  PNW Concordia wherever Trinity and teams that are perennially bad in low major conferences do not. $12\game is a great value but in a world where midweek schedules are hectic, football and movies are popular, the weather is cold and potentially bad, and all events can be accessed for just $5\month, more value needs to be created in the nonconference home schedule to compel and command attendance. The MVC schedule is amazing and people NEED to be coming out for those games, so, yes the season-long home schedule is great, but the home portion of the nonconference schedule has left much to be desired over the past two years especially. Again, on balance it's a great schedule. The road\neutral and the conference slate are incredible  but we'd like to be thrown some reasons to get excited in the early season too if possible.

5. I really do not appreciate you appearing to question  the loyalty of fans who voice these concerns and frustrations, especially in light of your being so adamantly against the move to the MVC--a move that has unquestionably moved the program forward and been in its best interests-- for selfish reasons like wanting to get paid to go home to Milwaukee and other big cities where it's obvious that few care about those teams. We are attending FOR Valpo, we want to see Valpo respected and lifted up. Playing and winning against tough opponents will do that far more than pounding on creampuffs. I know there are a bunch of people just waiting to give Valpo their money, give them good games throughout the year and they will. A program that has beaten  Oregon State Alabama Florida State East Tennessee State  Murray State multiple times  St Mary's Belmont BYU twice Rhode Island twice  Missouri State multiple times Illinois State Southern Illinois and  Bradley as a probably incomplete list since 2011 isn't going to be intimidated by a schedule full of similar teams. Respect where we are embrace where we are and schedule for where we are. That's all we're asking for  and it isn't disloyal in the slightest  to do so.

Perfectly stated.

[FieldGoodie05]

I disagreed with so much in this edition. I also didn't appreciate the shots he took at the fanbase.

1. We DO NOT  expect to play Kansas and Kentucky every year. We DO expect to play decent programs from decent conferences that actually test our team and help them compete. Illinois State has FGCU BYU SDSU, Mississippi,AND a top-flight  MTE with Belmont and UCF already committed to next year. Southern Illinois has Murray State SLU Winthrop and Buffalo we have two non-D1s and Ball State. One of these things is not like the others. I know next year is going to be better but two years of bad non-con home schedules is very hard to stomach. I understand that MTEs complicate things when it comes to finding dates, and you should NEVER pull out of a good MTE for ANY reason, but you have to think we could have done better. I hope we will next year. Everytime I hear "we tried" it reminds me of those old Avis commercials that show what their business would be like if they didn't go the extra mile to serve their customers. For those who don't remember those commercials, it's not pretty and it doesn't curry much favor with fans who are eager to see the team compete for titles and at-large bids. Bad  home schedules that don't adequately prepare the team for conference play has contributed to attendance decline at many schools and  was the very pitfall that befell Marty Simmons at Evansville. It is the reason Barry Hinson hasn't sniffed the tournament in all these years. It has also hurt Illinois State in the past before Muller stepped it up

2. Lack of nonconference home games does alienate your fanbase but so does the lack of QUALITY nonconference home games. My research on nonconference attendance confirms this. While RPI isn't that significant a factor perception is. Playing teams like IUPUI Chicago State and non-D1s doesn't work because we know those teams. Teams like  High Point Samford Omaha ORU South Dakota and SE Louisiana are great tune up games because they at least come with a chance to be halfway decent while being eminently winnable.

3. Securing meaningless wins against bad competition to gain confidence does nothing to improve your fortunes especially in a league like the MVC. See: The Evansville and SIU examples in #1.  All the confidence in the world didn't save our season last year in fact I think we were harmed by our soft nonconference slate. I don't even buy that it gives the team a chance to implement something tactically. Just because it works against Southern Indiana Southern Utah or Southern University  does not mean it will work against Southern Illinois. There isn't much to be learned or gained by beating bad teams there is however much to be gained by playing teams around or above your level. Even the Texas Southern analogy is flawed. They get pounded in the nonconference but dominate the SWAC. I don't believe for an instant that that's an accident.

4. While I understand the importance of coming out and supporting the team and attending for the sake of the team, that's hard to do when you're buying multiple tickets. Is it really worth spending $50+ food to take your family of four to see a game that should be over by halftime if Valpo is good and that won't really inform you much about the team's prospects for a given year? Ball State has value George Washington has value an old rival like ORU has value New Mexico SLU and URI have value, Belmont Murray State and East Tennessee State have value as shown by the attendance at those games. By contrast,  PNW Concordia wherever Trinity and teams that are perennially bad in low major conferences do not. $12\game is a great value but in a world where midweek schedules are hectic, football and movies are popular, the weather is cold and potentially bad, and all events can be accessed for just $5\month, more value needs to be created in the nonconference home schedule to compel and command attendance. The MVC schedule is amazing and people NEED to be coming out for those games, so, yes the season-long home schedule is great, but the home portion of the nonconference schedule has left much to be desired over the past two years especially. Again, on balance it's a great schedule. The road\neutral and the conference slate are incredible  but we'd like to be thrown some reasons to get excited in the early season too if possible.

5. I really do not appreciate you appearing to question  the loyalty of fans who voice these concerns and frustrations, especially in light of your being so adamantly against the move to the MVC--a move that has unquestionably moved the program forward and been in its best interests-- for selfish reasons like wanting to get paid to go home to Milwaukee and other big cities where it's obvious that few care about those teams. We are attending FOR Valpo, we want to see Valpo respected and lifted up. Playing and winning against tough opponents will do that far more than pounding on creampuffs. I know there are a bunch of people just waiting to give Valpo their money, give them good games throughout the year and they will. A program that has beaten  Oregon State Alabama Florida State East Tennessee State  Murray State multiple times  St Mary's Belmont BYU twice Rhode Island twice  Missouri State multiple times Illinois State Southern Illinois and  Bradley as a probably incomplete list since 2011 isn't going to be intimidated by a schedule full of similar teams. Respect where we are embrace where we are and schedule for where we are. That's all we're asking for  and it isn't disloyal in the slightest  to do so.

Perfectly stated.

1314, did you post that you would NOT go to a game because it was a non-D1?  If not HE WASN'T TALKING ABOUT YOU!  He clearly directed that at ppl who said they wouldn't attend like that Happening Hoops kid.

Take a step back guys, he did an outstanding job on his podcast saying the grass ain't always greener.  Emotions emotions

[VUGrad1314]

On the contrary, I encourage people to buy season tickets this year. Not because the nonconference schedule is so awesome but instead to ensure beyond any shadow of a doubt that you get tickets to what should be a much improved home slate next year. That's what I'm thinking of doing.

[EddieCabot]

I think the USH podcast helped me understand and appreciate how the schedule came together.  As Paul stated, I hope the fans come out to support the team, no matter who the opponent might be.  The MVC schedule will be awesome and I'm hopeful next year's home non-con games will be much improved.

[VUGrad1314]

As tough as I've been on the home portion of the schedule,I am REALLY warming to the High Point series. Not only does the thought of Tubby Smith coming to the ARC appeal to me , but he is going to have that program back in short order. Here are their RPIs:

17-18: 273
16-17: 235
15-16: 157
14-15: 88
13-14: 171
Not only that but they are REALLY conveniently located for connecting games, be they buy games or home and homes. The following schools are within an hour and a half of High Point:

Wake Forest (will be in Myrtle Beach this year maybe we can set something up
UNC-Greensboro (Top 100 RPI the last 2 years )
UNC-Charlotte
Davidson
NC State
Duke
North Carolina

Of these, here's my ranking of what I would want and who I would pursue in order:

1. Davidson  H and H
2. UNC-Greensboro H and H (assuming they re still strong)
3. Charlotte H and  H
4. Wake Forest
5. NC State
6-7. Duke\UNC

[valpo64]

With all the "experts" we have on this board, perhaps we should turn over scheduling to one or more of them.  Apparently there isn't that much of a problem doing the scheduling.  Some of these criticisms are unnecessary and out-of-line and I sure do not blame MLB for not responding to some of the ridiculous comments being made.

[wh]

I think the USH podcast helped me understand and appreciate how the schedule came together.  As stated, I hope the fans come out to support the team, no matter who the opponent might be.  The MVC schedule will be awesome and I'm hopeful next year's home non-con games will be much improved.

People on this board are hardcore supporters. We all "hope" fans come out to support the team. Heck, nothing would thrill me more than every game packed to the rafters, or anywhere close. Unfortunately, "hope" doesn't decide attendance, reality does. And the reality
of an inexcusably awful home OOC schedule (for the second consecutive year no less) means that we can look for the same dismal level of community support out of the gate as we experienced last year. Remember last year, the year we were consistently running over OOC opponents at home in front of 2500 fans? Remember how after last year's OOC attendance fiasco we were all "hoping" (and predicting) that this year's schedule would be better?  And now, next year has arrived and we're looking at a mirror image of last year's "lazy" schedule and "hoping" for something better next year. Then we have to listen to people like Paul Oren put his usual positive spin on it (aka putting lipstick on a pig), regurgitate the "scheduling is hard" excuse, and try to guilt anyone who dares question the effort or result. Then there are those who want to dismiss its importance because we have several worthy conference opponents coming in after the 1st of the year, which would be fine if Local fans already embraced the move to the MVC and showed more interest in watching their home team play Indiana State than Wright State, but they haven't yet. Then there's the argument that the schedul is good "on balance," because of several difficult games away from the ARC. So, what if we lose some of those games, which is very likely?  Now add that to the mix, and there will be even less interest in attending a group of early season, home games against a bunch of nobody's. Bottom line - this is not the way to build fan support, something that the program is sorely lacking right now. Or, maybe I'm overthinking this. Maybe it's as simple as build it (winning basketball) and they will come, or spreading pixie dust, or "hoping" hard enough. Whichever the case, I "hope" it all works out.

[valpopal]

I listened to the USH podcast, and I'm not buying Paul's defense of the home nonconference games. Paul begins the podcast with a straw man argument by using the strength of the conference schedule in comparison with the Horizon League schedule to help justify the weakness in the home nonconference schedule. Nobody here has any complaint about the conference schedule, and everyone agrees the MVC conference schedule is head and shoulders above the Horizon League. Indeed, fans on this board were strong supporters of joining the MVC long before Paul finally came around. For a long time, it was clear he would have been happy remaining in the Horizon League.


Then Paul states at length that scheduling home nonconference games is "hard." Well, it is hard for everyone, especially mid-majors, yet many others have done better in the past two years. But the timing of scheduled games is also a big problem. Perhaps the two most attractive home nonconference games are also terribly scheduled when students are gone: SIUE from the Ohio Valley is on Thanksgiving eve and Ball State is during Christmas break. (This reminds me of when home games against Oakland were scheduled during Christmas break.)


The only D-1 games on the nonconference schedule while students are in town don't occur until the end of the semester, Dec. 2 & Dec. 4, within a 3-day period during the busiest week when papers are due and just before final exams. Therefore, during the whole Fall semester, students have only a 3-day window to watch a D-1 nonconference game at the ARC. Difficult, and maybe impossible, to build momentum of fan support with this schedule, and that is the main concern many of us have voiced.


Finally, Paul's comparison of fans attending Valpo nonconference games with Kentucky, Duke, and North Carolina fans attending nonconference games is weak until he can legitimately compare the game day experience at the ARC with the game day experience at those places. 

[vu84v2]

It is a different type of game day experience than a top D1 team, but the game day experience at Valpo is great - when they are good and playing a quality opponent. Saint Mary's, URI, Missouri State over the last several years were all mid-major non-conference opponents and the game day experience for each of those games was outstanding. New Mexico and Saint Louis didn't quite rise to that level, but those games certainly created the opportunity for a great game day experience. This non-conference schedule creates no possible opportunity to rise to anything close to that level of experience.

Scheduling is "hard" is used as a justification. I think that most (if not all) of the people on this board have jobs in which part of their job is hard and there are factors that make it difficult to have good outcomes. Yet, their stakeholders (customers, owners, bosses, etc.) don't say, "it is OK to do a poor job in that area". They expect outcomes that meet and exceed their expectations - or they expect admission that this is an issue and a plan to solve the problem. I am very skeptical that this problem is going to be resolved next season. Given that they must know that this non-conference home schedule is awful (if they don't, I do question whether they should be in their job), why didn't the schedule announcement include any mention that the GW road game is part of a newly agreed to home and home agreement? And while I have seen speculation on this board that Vanderbilt has some form of agreement to play at Valpo as part of Bryce leaving, I am dubious as to whether that is a written binding agreement - and guess that it might be written in some non-binding form like "best effort" or "if not possible, financial considerations will be mutually agreed to" or (worse) is just a verbal agreement (if it is not in writing, it does not exist).

[vu84v2]

With all the "experts" we have on this board, perhaps we should turn over scheduling to one or more of them.  Apparently there isn't that much of a problem doing the scheduling.  Some of these criticisms are unnecessary and out-of-line and I sure do not blame MLB for not responding to some of the ridiculous comments being made.

With all due respect, can you please provide some detail on what comments by any posters criticizing the non-conference schedule have been out-of-line or ridiculous? To my knowledge, there have been no personal attacks and the expectations of non-conference home scheduling seem realistic.

[Chairback]

Have season ticket prices been announced yet?  I assume with a schedule release it has (or should have) been but I've not seen it or received anything. 

[VU2014]

Couple Thoughts:

1. I don't think Paul was taking a shot at anyone during the podcast. I thought he asked a fair question in, "Do you go to see the Valpo's opponent or do you go to support Valpo Basketball?" I'm with him on this one but I'm also with others who want to see quality opponents in the ARC that will be competitive and meaningful games. I'm not going to lie. I will be excited to see the Concordia game because it will be the home opener and I want to see the young guys and see how our guys look. There will also be general excitement for the home opener if it's against a terrible opponent that we have no business playing. I think fans want to see meaningful games at the ARC and a lot of the SIUE's and UCR's don't provide that (UCR is a little different, I hope our guys beat them so bad that the other coach asks for a mercy rule because of what happened last season). I can accept some less than stellar opponents coming to the ARC IF we have at least 1 or (hopefully) 2 of the "name brand" mid-major programs coming here to play us: St. Mary's, FGCU, Dayton, BYU, VCU, Vermont, Murray State, Belmont, etc. Get at least a few of the those games where fans can mark their calendar and say, "I can't miss this one". I understand the challenges of scheduling but it needs to be better than what we have this season. The only OOC home game that I can say I'm really excited to see is the Ball State game and they couldn't even manage to play these games while students are on campus...

2. I think we all need take a macro view from the Coaches perspective. They need games where we can "expect" wins. No can argue that we didn't put together a good and strong away/neutral site schedule that will very much test this team. I love that coaches schedule tough on the road. We were all calling for that in years past and they delivered on that this season. But one thing to keep in mind is that there is a reasonable chance that we could have a losing record on the road this season.

Nov 1: Indianapolis (Home Exhibition): W
Nov 6: Concordia (Home): W
Nov 15: WKU (neutral): L (I think we have a chance to win but the betting odds will be on WKU)
Nov 16: Monmouth (Neutral): W
Nov 18: TBD (Wake Forest/St. Joe's/Cal State Fullerton): W (I'll be generous & give us a W, but it very well could be a loss)
Nov 21: SIUE (home): W
Nov 24: WVU (away): L
Nov 28: UNLV (away): L (another game I think we have a shot to win, but odds will for a loss)
Dec 2: UCR (home): W (we better win)
Dec 4: High Point (home): W
Dec 8: GWU (away): W (I give us the W here, because I think our team is more talented on paper but you never know on the road)
Dec 17: Ball State (home): W (won't be a easy game but I'm give us the W because it's at home. We almost beat them on the road last year without Tevonn)
Dec 19: Texas A&M (away): L
Dec 29: PNW (home) W

Potential Record: 10-4 (but it very well could be .500 record of 7-7)

When you get to the Conference schedule it will be tough and we may only be barely above .500 at 10-8. Or maybe we how a below .500 record of 8-10. So imagine a scenario of us going 7-7 in OOC and maybe going 8-10 in conference play, with a record of 15-17. Two straight losing season could make recruiting more difficult for that big and very important 2020 recruiting class that may have up 7 scholarships to fill.

3. I do think it's a crappy home schedule and I do think it needs to get better in the future, but I'm willing to give it time. We already know the 2019-20 home schedule will be light years better than this season home OOC slate with GW and the strong rumored Vandy series beginning at home. We were locked into the SIUE/UCR series while were in the HL. Hopefully being in the MVC will allow us to get into better series.

[EddieCabot]

The only OOC home game that I can say I'm really excited to see is the Ball State game and they couldn't even manage to play these games while students are on campus...

I understand this concern, but the basketball season covers a portion of the school year where students are away from campus a lot.  Valpo, like most schools, won't play games during finals week, so that adds more challenges. 

This is an example of conflicting priorities ... from a student/athlete perspective, it's better to play games while those athletes aren't in class, but that's not best for normal students who want to attend games.  Ideally, the MTE tournament would fall over Thanksgiving or mid-term break, but that didn't work out for Valpo this year.  Regarding conference home games that happen before students return, well Valpo doesn't control that.  Same with game that might happen over spring break.

This is no different from the challenges every DI program faces ... hopefully, local fans and students who live nearby step up and attend these games.

[VUGrad1314]

I guarantee Valpo is not the only school where attendance is at least in part driven by the real or perceived quality of the game ESPECIALLY as far as casual fans are concerned.

[VU2014]

I guarantee Valpo is not the only school where attendance is at least in part driven by the real or perceived quality of the game ESPECIALLY as far as casual fans are concerned.

Attendance is down across the board in CBB. I do think perceived quality of opponents does drive some of the attendance but it's not the only factor. I do think our poor home schedule in OOC will probably have an affect on attendance, but it's important to remember that the Coaches and Athletics Dept have more factors to weigh than just the OOC attendance. They know the fans are ticked about it. Hopefully it consistently gets better then what we have this season in terms of home OOC schedules.

[IrishDawg]

I guarantee Valpo is not the only school where attendance is at least in part driven by the real or perceived quality of the game ESPECIALLY as far as casual fans are concerned.

Attendance is down across the board in CBB. I do think perceived quality of opponents does drive some of the attendance but it's not the only factor. I do think our poor home schedule in OOC will probably have an affect on attendance, but it's important to remember that the Coaches and Athletics Dept have more factors to weigh than just the OOC attendance. They know the fans are ticked about it. Hopefully it consistently gets better then what we have this season in terms of home OOC schedules.

2014, I think you've made some good points, but I agree with 1314 here in that the quality of the opponent is a major factor in attendance.  Generally speaking, attendance for NIT games at most schools is far lower than what they see during the regular season, but for Valpo's run in 2016, their 2 biggest ticket draws of the season were home games against Florida State and Saint Mary's (on a Thursday and Tuesday night, no less).  It'd be nice if people were that die hard that they'd come and cheer no matter who Valpo was playing, but ultimately people are choosing how to spend their entertainment dollars, and more people are going to spend when it's an opponent they know and can get excited about.  I would venture to guess that the Loyola game is going to be a hot ticket this year.  Other MVC games should be too, but because the casual fan doesn't know the name, it's a harder sell even if Valpo is good.

[EddieCabot]

Have season ticket prices been announced yet?  I assume with a schedule release it has (or should have) been but I've not seen it or received anything.

I haven't received a mailing yet.  I looked at the athletics website, and can't find a place to order basketball tickets.  The only brochure I could find online was for the '17-'18 season.  The games start in 2 months ... hard to believe this information isn't yet available.  I wonder if the new marketing firm being involved has slowed the process.

[VUBBFan]

Have season ticket prices been announced yet?  I assume with a schedule release it has (or should have) been but I've not seen it or received anything.

I haven't received a mailing yet.  I looked at the athletics website, and can't find a place to order basketball tickets.  The only brochure I could find online was for the '17-'18 season.  The games start in 2 months ... hard to believe this information isn't yet available.  I wonder if the new marketing firm being involved has slowed the process.

If my failing memory serves me at all, I think ticket info for season ticket holders was sent out the beginning of September last year. I would not expect anything regarding tickets until after the Conference schedule release.

[VU2014]

Have season ticket prices been announced yet?  I assume with a schedule release it has (or should have) been but I've not seen it or received anything.

I haven't received a mailing yet.  I looked at the athletics website, and can't find a place to order basketball tickets.  The only brochure I could find online was for the '17-'18 season.  The games start in 2 months ... hard to believe this information isn't yet available.  I wonder if the new marketing firm being involved has slowed the process.

If my failing memory serves me at all, I think ticket info for season ticket holders was sent out the beginning of September last year. I would not expect anything regarding tickets until after the Conference schedule release.

Paul mentioned on Union Street Hoops that the Conference Schedules would be released within the next 2 weeks or so.

He also mentioned that Valpo has a "secret practice" against UIC this Fall. This could be really competitive. I don't think much of Steve McClain when comes to his Xs and Os coach but the man can recruit. UIC has a lot of talented players that should be reaching their collegiate prime this season and they could be in contention for the HL title this year. I'd actually be more interested in watching this closed to the public scrimmage opponent than 85% of our home OOC schedule.

[valpo64]

don't we have to wait on the MVC to announce the League Schedule before we can publish our full schedule?

[EddieCabot]

don't we have to wait on the MVC to announce the League Schedule before we can publish our full schedule?

Yes, but do you have to wait for the final schedule to start selling season tickets?  It seems like most other MVC schools started accepting renewals in the spring and sent out season ticket brochures in June.  Maybe Valpo did something similar, but I certainly haven't seen anything in the mail or online.

[wh]

don't we have to wait on the MVC to announce the League Schedule before we can publish our full schedule?

Yes, but do you have to wait for the final schedule to start selling season tickets?  It seems like most other MVC schools started accepting renewals in the spring and sent out season ticket brochures in June. Maybe Valpo did something similar, but I certainly haven't seen anything in the mail or online.

Not sure how you can price season tickets until you know how many home games you have.

[EddieCabot]

don't we have to wait on the MVC to announce the League Schedule before we can publish our full schedule?

Yes, but do you have to wait for the final schedule to start selling season tickets?  It seems like most other MVC schools started accepting renewals in the spring and sent out season ticket brochures in June. Maybe Valpo did something similar, but I certainly haven't seen anything in the mail or online.

Not sure how you can price season tickets until you know how many home games you have.

Good point.  I guess we'll see something once the MVC schedule is released.  No need to jump the gun ... although given the age of the folks in the chairbacks, I'd prefer to get their money sooner than later.

[valpo64]

A little respect, please.