No way.
Why would you want to watch a less talented team?
I would rather be the worst team in the conference for decades than be the best team in D2. I want to watch talented players, even if they transfer.
A Division 2 team coach and 4 players on that team transferred to Division 1 and won the conference championship in a good D1 conference - the MVC - and not only went to the dance, but won a game in its first year as division 1. There are some very good D2 players.
The low mid-majors will be at risk of going out of business, so the St. Francis (PA) move is not surprising. Valpo would be wise to keep tabs on how these situations develop, to see if they can poach some students. However, moving to D-3 is not likely to save most schools, as unless you are MIT and/or Johns Hopkins, you really don't get much national name recognition.
I would not say never and I would wait and see if NIL and transfer portal rules have some level of control in the next few years. With the NCAA is charge, which is inept and third in corruption totem pole compared to FIBA and the IOC, I am not optimistic.
mid majors have a G League role for the P5 does not make the college basketball product better.
Lots of strong opinions for staying MVC, changing to a lower DI, or dropping to DII. DIII doesn’t seem to be moving the needle much. Most arguments are more emotional than based on things factually proven. That’s okay, I guess, cuz this is emotionally charged. So I have two questions……..
Speaking of factually proven, we are experiencing a mass defection to the portal after some improvement over the previous season. What if we had actually had been in the top 4 fight all season instead and then duplicated that at Arch Madness as well. Would the plausible prospects of maybe fighting for the #1 spot next year have weighed in our favor in keeping players? Or would they still have left?
And…
There is some sentiment here for dropping down within DI to a leagues like the Summit, Horizon, or OVC. Has anyone studied those leagues this year to determine if those leagues are being poached as bad as the MVC? I haven’t tried researching that, but I also haven’t seen much news on that front either. Say that the poaching was not as bad as what VU is experiencing, could being less in the crosshairs allow for better program growth and development?
Did some research. Horizon has 52 transfers so far. OVC has at least 48. Summit has 33. MVC has 46. It would be pointless to join Summit, too much travel and the same could be said of the OVC. By the way according to warren Nolan rating service the MVC is 10th overall conference. Horizon 19th. Summit is 23rd and OVC is 28th
Doing so would save me a couple grand a year as there would be no way I'd renew season tickets. At that point, VU would be similar to what ... IUN & PNW? Yikes.
Sweeney post elicits a brief discussion on what smaller universities might consider doing in response to larger university NILs making it difficult (if not impossible) to develop and keep a roster. Follow the thread.
https://twitter.com/cbb_central/status/1906008256478064716?s=61
These arguments are not valid. Houston and Tennessee may pay "less", but they are paying way more than any mid-major can compete with (probably on the order of 5X). There are a few teams that have prioritized a loyalty system where they don't take transfers to take playing time from current players and players who prioritize loyalty. Still, these schools are paying $100K to $200K to their best players and are looking to raise more NIL funding to increase pay. Again, mid-majors cannot compete with that.
Everyone is just banging their heads against a wall. Even if the NCAA were to take some action, it would likely apply mostly to P5 teams. Maybe there is a legal proof method of limiting transfers or something like that. I don't know. The money....however it is sourced...is never going to be close to being equal to the P5 schools for mid majors. So the problem for mid majors is always going to exist.
Mid majors likely need to do something on their own. Some schools at the higher end of the mid majors won't like that but it likely needs to be done or else just go along with what's in existence today. Maybe instead of the absolutely worthless P5 conference championships, the mid major conference champs with one bid leagues can convince the NCAA that this is what should be played up on ESPN/CBS and the like the week(s) prior to the tournament. Something like that.
However most of what I'm reading is a desire to return to what was and the one thing I'm positive to a certainty is that it isn't going to happen that way.
These arguments are not valid. Houston and Tennessee may pay "less", but they are paying way more than any mid-major can compete with (probably on the order of 5X). There are a few teams that have prioritized a loyalty system where they don't take transfers to take playing time from current players and players who prioritize loyalty. Still, these schools are paying $100K to $200K to their best players and are looking to raise more NIL funding to increase pay. Again, mid-majors cannot compete with that.
Decent power conference teams are paying their best players way more than $100K-200K. That's the floor for a scholarship player at most power conference programs.
I've said this elsewhere, but DII is the Jan Brady of college divisions. I would avoid it.
However, if VU cannot compete at DI, then it's time to look at DIII. A lot of great academic schools compete at that level, and it's the only NCAA division where amateurism in the best sense of the term is the predominant value.
I've seen my law school alma mater, NYU, compete successfully at DIII. In basketball, their women's team just repeated as National Champions, and their men's team was the National Runner-Up. Entrance standards are stiff (even for athletes) and tuition is high, but they get some great kids on their teams, both athletically and academically.
As I've acknowledged, NYU and Valpo are very different institutions. But I think there's a case to be made that Valpo is a more classic fit for a DIII sports commitment if it can't sustain a DI program, as it has a small/medium sized, academically oriented profile that befits many successful DIII schools.
I think that Roger Powell is VU's last, best chance to rebuild its DI men's basketball program. If, despite his gifts as a coach and as a person, he cannot overcome the siren call of NIL money and P5-type athletic glory, then I don't know who can. I say give him three more years (assuming he gives VU three more years) and then make a decision.
Estimated NCAA Athlete Revenue Sharing 2025-26 (Power Conference Schools)
Average/Athlete
Football $140,741
Basketball $218,506
Would anyone on this board have made a different decision than Cooper and All?
Nothing says Valpo can't compete at the Division I level.
A team from our conference literally won a game in the NCAA tournament this year!
Let's calm down and not make any rash decisions.
We need to find a more strategic/better way to fight, not abandon the fight altogether.
