National Conference Realignments

[VUGrad1314]

Don't remind me about the Mid Con years. Thank goodness President Heckler and  AD Mark LaBarbera are much more forward thinking and aggressive about moving the program forward than their predecessors. As I understand it , a big reason for the willingness of VU to stick with the Mid Con was due to nepotism by the previous AD. Belmont's issue isn't that, it' seems like cheapness and dare I say cowardice on Belmont's part.

[VUGrad1314]

Just can't fathom for the life of me why a team willing to schedule this ambitiously  isn't willing to put the finishing touches on what would be a fantastic schedule by upgrading their in-conference competition.

http://www.belmontbruins.com/sports/m-baskbl/2017-18/schedule

[valporun]

Just can't fathom for the life of me why a team willing to schedule this ambitiously  isn't willing to put the finishing touches on what would be a fantastic schedule by upgrading their in-conference competition.

http://www.belmontbruins.com/sports/m-baskbl/2017-18/schedule

Some schools just don't want to advance to another level of success because "they've never done it that way" before. Sounds like Belmont likes being behind everyone else, and just getting their small NCAA share on a yearly basis.

[VUGrad1314]

Yet that's not even happening for them regularly. I think they've only made the tournament twice in five years as an OVC member. Maybe the solution is to hope they win a few of these great nonconference games only to stub their toe in the conference tournament so that their resume is just good enough to suffer the same fate as teams like Monmouth Valpo Murray State and Illinois State have within the past three years. Maybe then they'll finally see that their best path forward is has been and always will be the MVC.

[VUGrad1314]

Here's Jerry Colangelo, who is pretty tied in with GCU athletics discussing realignment:

http://arizonasports.com/story/1417784/ ... inue-grow/

(relevant section runs 15:42-17:11)

Host brings up notion of a GCU-BYU rivalry and asks about the possibility of GCU joining the WCC

Colangelo states that he loves the idea and would love to compete against the likes of Gonzaga and St Mary's

States also that there are a lot of weak links in the WCC chain and that a conference is only as strong as its weakest link This line is good news for any fans of GCU to the MVC as the MVC is the strongest of their options. That said, the Q1 and probable Q1 games Gonzaga St Mary's and BYU would provide would probably be too much to pass up assuming the WCC can be bought.

Also acknowledges the murkiness of realignment. Says there's a lot of speculation about where GCU and the WAC will be in 1-3 years and that he doesn't know or have any answers.

Sounds to me they're exploring their non-WAC options but aren't close on anything. Plus, there's a lot to consider. GCU's move could touch off a fairly sizeable realignment among leagues.

[vu84v2]

If the WCC wants Grand Canyon - they can have them. I would not want to see the MVC have a for-profit university as a member. Many of their academic programs have unrecognizable accreditations (if you can call them accreditations) and their faculty is almost completely comprised of adjunct instructors. My suspicion is that there are enough high quality universities in the WCC to also make membership there questionable.

[VUGrad1314]

If the WCC wants Grand Canyon - they can have them. I would not want to see the MVC have a for-profit university as a member. Many of their academic programs have unrecognizable accreditations (if you can call them accreditations) and their faculty is almost completely comprised of adjunct instructors. My suspicion is that there are enough high quality universities in the WCC to also make membership there questionable.

I'm in agreement with all of this. I was just sharing the news report since I know some (not too many on this board but lots of folks on the MVC board) are just ga-ga for GCU. The WCC may take them on for the market and if they think it might keep Gonzaga from bolting, but I think Seattle U and Cal-Baptist are better institutional fits even if they wouldn't add much to the on-court product. There's reason for optimism regarding those schools'athletic futures as well, even if their ceiling isn't as high as GCU's.

[VUGrad1314]

Gonzaga(and others) to the Mountain West?!

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/sd-sp-gonzaga-mountain-west-sdsu-20180228-story.html

[VUGrad1314]

Potentially very interesting. If UMASS to the AAC happens  it will be interesting to see how the subsequent dominos would impact the rest of the  mid-major landscape. I just hope the MVC stays intact and makes a power move of their own.

https://twitter.com/howardherman/status/1035339720107151363

[VUGrad1314]

Signs point to Dixie State joining the WAC. Wonder if this is just a one-off or if it will touch off more movement. Could the WAC restart football at the FCS level? What does this move mean for geographic outliers UMKC and Chicago State? Could one (or both) return to the Summit to balance out the arrival of Augustana and the possible departures of PFW and perhaps WIU?

[oklahomamick]

Dixie State has over 9,000 students yet only offers one masters degree.  I hate all these D2 school coming up into D1 ranks.  Really waters down the level. 

[VUGrad1314]

This is such a tough argument for me as a Valpo fan in light of Valpo's history. Yes, our position now might be adversely affected by new D1 schools that take scheduling opportunities away from leagues like ours, and wishing that conferences like the WAC would just go away, but for a long time we were that struggling surviving school  in a decimated conference gasping for breath. This really describes what we were in 1994. I bet established mids at the time were hoping the mid con would collapse so that they could free up and fight for that extra bid. You think they cared one iota what happened to Valpo WIU Troy Buffalo NIU UMKCetc.? No these schools were barely recognized as D1 and could drop back to D2 for all anybody else cared. Then we had 1998 and everything changed. The next Valpo could be in one of these less stable conferences and it's very hard for me as much as I lament the plight of the mid majors today to say that they shouldn't have their shot to grow their programs and seek their fortune in the D1 ranks. There are things we mids can be doing to improve our situation anyway.

[oklahomamick]

For me....it's more of the academic standards of some of these new DI schools. 

[VUGrad1314]

SL Expansion Update from South Dakota AD

https://twitter.com/jhoeck/status/1083098311266127872

Takeaways:

No discussion with or invitation for Augustana yet

GCU had interest but SL wasn't interested

Some discussions with UMKC but nothing recent

I'm guessing it will take a move from the OVC HL or MVC to get the ball rolling in earnest.

[VUGrad1314]

For me....it's more of the academic standards of some of these new DI schools.

This really speaks to your point and to the desperation of the WAC. Found this on a realignment board.


Fun fact: Dixie State is the lowest ranked school in the Carnegie classification among current/future DI schools, falling alone into the category of "Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges: Mixed Baccalaureate/Associate's".
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[/size]Here's the link:
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[/size]https://csnbbs.com/thread-868029-page-5.html

[VUGrad1314]

UCONN to BE heating back up?

https://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-uconn-sports-athletic-department-finances-revenue-expenses-20190117-2wdp5gimnvhlliwykl6npcmy7u-story.html

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2019/1/18/18187320/uconn-football-aac-fcs

[bbtds]

UCONN to BE heating back up?

https://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-uconn-sports-athletic-department-finances-revenue-expenses-20190117-2wdp5gimnvhlliwykl6npcmy7u-story.html

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2019/1/18/18187320/uconn-football-aac-fcs

When did UConn go cold? Isn't it always cold in CT this time of year?

[valpotx]

I just don't see the Big East taking any public institutions.  They purposely divided themselves up along private/public lines.

[VUGrad1314]

I just don't see the Big East taking any public institutions.  They purposely divided themselves up along private/public lines.

I just don't see the Big East taking any public institutions.  They purposely divided themselves up along private/public lines.

IF they take one it will be UCONN. State flagship and former BE charter member.

[VUGrad1314]

UCONN to cut sports?

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/25802369/uconn-huskies-athletic-director-rule-cutting-some-sports

[VUGrad1314]

HL Expansion Talk:

Names Mentioned:

PFW
Robert Morris
Southern Indiana
Bellarmine
Wayne State

I think any of the first four would be very solid additions and make great geographic sense. I know that USI and Bellarmine have really strong athletics at the D2 level just like NKU did. Not so sure about a third Detroit area school but adding multiple schools from this list would really help solidify the footprint protect baseball as a league sport and could add real strength to the league. I can't imagine Green Bay and  Milwaukee  being too thrilled about these southeasterly moves but at least all these schools are in or near major cities.

Discussion here if you're interested:

http://horizonleaguefans.freeforums.net/thread/1137/next-hl-additions-revisited?page=1&scrollTo=3720

[FWalum]

Purdue Fort Wayne will most likely announce tomorrow, August 6th 2019, that they will be moving to the Horizon League.  Unfortunately I am out of town and not able to go to the press conference to hear exactly when the switch will be made.  I am not sure how they could do it for this school year, but who knows!! I am very happy for my friends Coach Jon Coffman and Kassie Taksey, this is huge for this program to stay and compete in the Midwest rather than having to travel to the far flung reaches of the Summit League. 

[VUGrad1314]

This move makes so much sense for the school and hopefully this will help them become more competitive as they can now invest less in travel and more in areas more important to the growth and success of the program. The increase in regional opponents should  help Fort Wayne realize an uptick in attendance as well as these names coming in to play them will be far more recognizable to local fans.

[FWalum]

This move makes so much sense for the school and hopefully this will help them become more competitive as they can now invest less in travel and more in areas more important to the growth and success of the program. The increase in regional opponents should  help Fort Wayne realize an uptick in attendance as well as these names coming in to play them will be far more recognizable to local fans.

You are so correct in this evaluation.  This should help the Fort Wayne sporting community and the school tremendously.  Lots of athletes from the area go to these schools and the "perception" of the conference is higher than the Summit in this area (even though hard core CBB fans know that the Summit has been ranked higher in recent years). The reduced travel and a more neutral conference tournament could pay huge dividends for the Men's BB program.  PFW would have been VERY competitive in the Horizon the past 3 years and potentially could have won the conference and gone to the tournament during that time.  Hopefully this really excites the Fort Wayne community and the programs start getting the attention that the caliber of teams and play really deserves. 

[VUGrad1314]

A poster in this thread throws a little bit of cold water on the optimism of any Fort Wayne fan.

http://horizonleaguefans.freeforums.net/thread/1042/good-article-ipfw-ready-hl?page=2

Here's the press conference if you want to see it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26C1wi39Eyg