Loyola-Chicago joining MVC this week (Oakland to Horizon League)

[BrokerZ]

This will be interesting to see how it plays out. EVERY Creighton fan I talked to in St. Louis spoke like this was a done deal. All of them were talking about how they made coming to the tournament a priority this year since getting to New York would be much tougher next year, and they wanted to see CU in their final MVC game.

Oh, and they all said CU is a Final Four team. They are a confident/arrogant bunch.

 

[ISUCC]

This will be interesting to see how it plays out. EVERY Creighton fan I talked to in St. Louis spoke like this was a done deal. All of them were talking about how they made coming to the tournament a priority this year since getting to New York would be much tougher next year, and they wanted to see CU in their final MVC game.

Oh, and they all said CU is a Final Four team. They are a confident/arrogant bunch.

Final 4 in the MVC tournament maybe!

If they were to make the NCAA final 4, then that's a boatload of extra $$ that will be coming ISU's way.

 

[4Q_iu]

nothing new, other than ND announcing they will be in the ACC next season, so they will NOT be in the new C-7 league, which begins play this Fall.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...-east-agree-irish-exit-2-years-early-join-acc

Who knows when the C-7 will announce the additional schools they will be adding?? Will it be this week? After the NCAA tourney? Who knows?? And then how soon does the MVC poach another school?

Hmmm... it's probably me but I read that story as nd saying 'hey.. we REALLY want to stay in the Catholic 7; we'll find a way to bow out of the ACC...'

and the Catholic 7 aka Big East saying (finally... "hey, nd; go yourself. YOU'RE as much to blame for the DEATH of the original Big East. Now go suck it in the ACC.")

From Today's USA Today:

To that point, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said the Fighting Irish initially explored joining the Catholic 7. They could begin competition in the ACC next season.

Brey spent eight years as an assistant in the ACC, at Duke, but has come to appreciate the soul of the Big East tournament. And he said he will cherish the last one, even as he harbors disappointment over the breakup.

"Sometimes," Brey said, "I want to ask, 'Which football caveman did this to basketball? Can you tell me? I just would like to know.' "

HA! Brey... he's such a hypocritical ass-clown"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...dition-in-last-conference-tournament/1977077/

 

[4Q_iu]

I'd love to see this, obviously for personal reasons as my youngest brother plays there. However, I do think Loyola would turn out to be a good fit in the MVC. Great state-of-the-art new arena, non-football school, fits in current footprint but also adds a team in downtown Chicago market, private school with enrollment comparative to MVC schools, and a new administration that is pumping money, energy, and resources into reviving the athletic programs. The basketball team doesn't have much recent success, but I think that is about to change in the near future as the team was the 6th youngest in Division 1 this year and finished 15-16 (7 of those losses by a shot in the final 10 seconds).

the more I look at it / study it; I think I'd like Valpo for a team today; loyola (IL) for a team tomorrow...

loyola has a deeper/richer MBB history; the current coach Porter Moser is a former MVC player (creighton), ass;t (creighton) and HC (Ill State)

loyola has a student population of 15K+, ~$350M endowment and plays in a TV market that is #3 in the country...
they like creighton are a jesuit college (maintains the "true current" flavor of the league!

 

[Jason Svoboda]

I honestly don't want non-football schools when we add back to the MVC. That, IMO, is what makes the Valley unbalanced in the first place.

If someone can make a compelling argument on how to level the playing field between football and non-football schools within the Valley, I'm all ears. The fact that Creighton and Wichita State can pay their head coaches over a million per year doesn't sit well for me. Until I hear something that makes sense, my ultimate conference goal would be towards unifying the MVC and MVFC into one organization.

 

[4Q_iu]

I honestly don't want non-football schools when we add back to the MVC. That, IMO, is what makes the Valley unbalanced in the first place.

If someone can make a compelling argument on how to level the playing field between football and non-football schools within the Valley, I'm all ears. The fact that Creighton and Wichita State can pay their head coaches over a million per year doesn't sit well for me. Until I hear something that makes sense, my ultimate conference goal would be towards unifying the MVC and MVFC into one organization.

What would you propose? Boot Wichita out of the Valley and replace with another MVFC school?

OR direct wichita to BEGIN MVFC football play?

 

[Jason Svoboda]

What would you propose? Boot Wichita out of the Valley and replace with another MVFC school?

OR direct wichita to BEGIN MVFC football play?

No, I wouldn't boot them or ask them to begin play. I'm simply saying if anyone leaves from this point, like Creighton is rumored to be, that the replacement is a school that fields a FCS football program, scholarship or non-scholarship.

 

[treeman]

loyola has a student population of 15K+, ~$350M endowment and plays in a TV market that is #3 in the country...
!

the whole Chicago market thing is a load of crap...Chicago is a professional sports town and will NEVER be a big supporter of college athletics, the same can be said for cities like New York, Boston, Denver, etc. and for those of you that don't believe me there are already 2 schools that play in the BIG10 and Big East i don't know why you would think loyola would be a draw in that city. TV markets are not that big of a deal when it comes to conferences like the MVC. The BCS conferences want markets because of TV deals like the Big Ten network. A conference like the MVC needs programs that will raise the perception of the conference and earn the conference NCAA tourney bids (that is how we get our money). i would love to see the MVC get markets that range from 80,000-200,000 and have a loyal, passionate fanbase.

 

[4Q_iu]

No, I wouldn't boot them or ask them to begin play. I'm simply saying if anyone leaves from this point, like Creighton is rumored to be, that the replacement is a school that fields a FCS football program, scholarship or non-scholarship.

OK, any idea how much Drake spends on their football team?

And if that's the ideal/goal... wouldn't Valparaiso be the only school we've discussed?

I've still no interest in Murray.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For Treeman... we'll have to disagree.

even disregarding the tv argument... I'd STILL rather have a current population of 15K+ (loyola) than Belmont's 6,600.
I'd rather have Loyola's $300M+ endowment than Belmont's $70M...

Belmont went 26-6; 14-2 in the OVC and AVERAGED 2,369 for home games! Add in the two other games in Nashville (David Libscomb and Tenn St) and the averagle ROCKETS to 2,555.

Loyola averaged 2,572 for their home schedule (incl the DePaul, UIC and No Illinois game); remove the No Ill game since that's outside the city and their avg is 2,670.

PLUS, the Chicago RECRUITING area is VASTLY better than Nashville.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

OK, any idea how much Drake spends on their football team?

And if that's the ideal/goal... wouldn't Valparaiso be the only school we've discussed?

In theory, I believe so.

As for Drake, from what I gather, most of the players are on academic scholarships so they're essentially a scholarship league just without the yearly commitment so they can go under or over as they wish. Below is a list of all of the FCS programs located in the current Valley footprint or immediate surrounding states.

Eastern Illinois Panthers Charleston Illinois Ohio Valley 1895 1899
Illinois State Redbirds Normal Illinois Missouri Valley 1857 1887
Southern Illinois Salukis Carbondale Illinois Missouri Valley 1869 1913
Western Illinois Leathernecks Macomb Illinois Missouri Valley 1899 1903
Butler Bulldogs Indianapolis Indiana Pioneer 1855 1887
Indiana State Sycamores Terre Haute Indiana Missouri Valley 1865 1896
Valparaiso Crusaders Valparaiso Indiana Pioneer 1859 1919
Drake Bulldogs Des Moines Iowa Pioneer 1881 1893
Northern Iowa Panthers Cedar Falls Iowa Missouri Valley 1876 1895
Eastern Kentucky Colonels Richmond Kentucky Ohio Valley 1874 1909
Morehead State Eagles Morehead Kentucky Pioneer 1887 1924
Murray State Racers Murray Kentucky Ohio Valley 1922 1924
Missouri State Bears Springfield Missouri Missouri Valley 1905 1909
Southeast Missouri State Redhawks Cape Girardeau Missouri Ohio Valley 1873 1902
North Dakota No mascot Grand Forks North Dakota Big Sky 1883 1894
North Dakota State Bison Fargo North Dakota Missouri Valley 1890 1894
Dayton Flyers Dayton Ohio Pioneer 1850 1905
Youngstown State Penguins Youngstown Ohio Missouri Valley 1908 1938
South Dakota Coyotes Vermillion South Dakota Missouri Valley 1862 1889
South Dakota State Jackrabbits Brookings South Dakota Missouri Valley 1881 1889

IMO, if we lose one, pick one... I think I try to wrangle Dayton away from what will be left of the A10. That would be my first choice. Second choice would be Valpo and third would be a tie among 4-5 programs.

 

[treeman]

i get what you are saying 4Q but i'm just not buying the whole endowment and enrollment argument look at iupui's endowment and enrollment, very impressive. as far as the Nashville Vs. Chicago argument; i still believe that nashville is a better market to get into. it's a lively city and i think that they "could" average around 5k fans in that city whereas in Chicago there is just no hope for loyola. i know you got a big fish to compete with in Vandy but Belmont has a lot more upside than Loyola IMO.

 

[prairieclub]

I respectfully disagree on the Loyola issue. I think they'd be a fantastic addition. They are a program on the rise at a school that has recently made a big commitment to basketball. They were a very young team this past year and will be very successful in the near future. They have been recruiting at a high level, and I dont see them slowing down on the recruiting trail under this new staff they have. They have made major inroads with the Indiana HS coaches and have recruited several very good Indiana players. Part of their commitment was building a very nice brand new arena that opened up this year.

Adding Loyola would help all valley schools in a sense. It would make Chicago easier to recruit for the whole league as prospects would always get 1 game a year in Chicago. Loyola would be my #1 choice followed by Belmont. I say this because I don't believe SLU or Dayton would be interested

 

[4Q_iu]

My preferences in order:

St Louis
Dayton
Loyola
Valpo
Detroit
Belmont

But it sounds like SLU and Dayton are going to be in the neo Big East. After that, Loyola, then Valpo and Detroit.
Belmont last.

ZERO interest in Denver, Cent Ark or any of the OVC schools outside of Eastern Illinois

I'd rather any of the MVFC Dakota schools join before any other Summit League schools

zero interest in iupui or ipfw aka Ft Wayne Univ

 

[Sycamore Proud]

OK, any idea how much Drake spends on their football team?

And if that's the ideal/goal... wouldn't Valparaiso be the only school we've discussed?

I've still no interest in Murray.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For Treeman... we'll have to disagree.

even disregarding the tv argument... I'd STILL rather have a current population of 15K+ (loyola) than Belmont's 6,600.
I'd rather have Loyola's $300M+ endowment than Belmont's $70M...

Belmont went 26-6; 14-2 in the OVC and AVERAGED 2,369 for home games! Add in the two other games in Nashville (David Libscomb and Tenn St) and the averagle ROCKETS to 2,555.

Loyola averaged 2,572 for their home schedule (incl the DePaul, UIC and No Illinois game); remove the No Ill game since that's outside the city and their avg is 2,670.

PLUS, the Chicago RECRUITING area is VASTLY better than Nashville.

I may be totally off with this, but why do we want either of them if their average home attendance is less than 3K? I don't understand this.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

Not sure why opponent's home attendance matters to us at all here? We rarely get a large opponent crowd at Hulman Center.

 

[prairieclub]

I think you'll see Loyola's attendance increase over the next few years while they continue to build the program as long as they continue to improve. The new arena looks like an excellent venue to watch a game.

I'd also imagine there is a large amount of MVC alums living and working in the Chicago area. I think Bradley, Illinois St, Southern Illinois in particular would have strong alumni contingents show up to see their team in Chicago. It would also make for a nice mini vacation for Sycamore fans from Indy or Terre Haute if State happened to play there on a weekend.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

I think you'll see Loyola's attendance increase over the next few years while they continue to build the program as long as they continue to improve. The new arena looks like an excellent venue to watch a game.

I'd also imagine there is a large amount of MVC alums living and working in the Chicago area. I think Bradley, Illinois St, Southern Illinois in particular would have strong alumni contingents show up to see their team in Chicago. It would also make for a nice mini vacation for Sycamore fans from Indy or Terre Haute if State happened to play there on a weekend.

We had a really sad alumni showing at both the Chicago alumni gathering and the Loyola Classic 2 years ago. I'm talking 15-20 alumni showed up and they were offering free food. I doubt ISU would draw in Chicago.

 

[tjbison]

I'd rather any of the MVFC Dakota schools join before any other Summit schools

NDSU and SDSU on espn2 at 8pm central for the championship in case anyone is interested!!

 

[prairieclub]

We had a really sad alumni showing at both the Chicago alumni gathering and the Loyola Classic 2 years ago. I'm talking 15-20 alumni showed up and they were offering free food. I doubt ISU would draw in Chicago.

That sucks. Chicago is such a fun town and basketball is fun for me to watch no matter who's playing. I'm just trying to come up with positives for the school I'd be in favor of adding. I'm a little torn though cause I also would favor a football school, but I just don't see any FCS football schools that I'd like to see in the Valley for hoops

 

[treeman]

the valley just isn't in position to add 1 single school that will boost the conference. every team that is available has pros and cons, the only way i see the valley "winning" in this situation would be to add 3 schools between oral roberts, valpo, murray, belmont, loyola, or detroit (no particular order). would love to add st. louis or dayton but that just isn't even close to happening. it's a shame that creighton is leaving but it might just open up the door for a certain team from terre haute to step in and become a conference power.