The MVFC has no TV deal. The Dakota Schools have their own deal separate. It's effectively splitting already. Midco could pretty much pick up the entire six school league (it has 4 already).
http://www.inforum.com/sports/4288506-bi...e-upcoming
The only thing the MVFC is in reality is as a 10, soon to be 11 school scheduling arraignment for 8 games, with only 1 AQ. Right now just one school is not played, soon it will be 2 not scheduled, Add a 12th an 3 schools fall off the schedule, rivalries broken (issue in the Big Sky). But add a 12th and the league is eligible for 2 AQ with a split.
The Big Sky was getting serious about splitting that with Idaho coming on board as a 14th to get a 2nd AQ.. The idea was the core 7 Big Sky schools of Montana, MSU, Idaho, EWU, Weber, ISU and likely PSU due to tight geography (unless NAU wanted to stay with the long time rivals) would be in the Big Sky, while the 3 CA schools (Sac St, UCD, Cal Poly) plus the 3 "Great West schools (UND, NoCo, SUU) and probably NAU (unless PSU insisted on being with the CA schools) in the Football only conference. They would have a schedule agreement for 2 games with the other conference, so everyone would stay at 8 games. The idea was to preserve rivalries and get a 2nd outbid. But with rumors of UND leaving, the concept was shelved, as were divisions (13/11 doesn't work well for divisions in anything).
The same factors will be at work with an expanded MVFC. The Summit needs Football, and it would be easy to pull off a split. Effectively football operations could still run out of the one MVFC office, with a single officials pool and training, and core scheduling. There is no TV broadcasting to divvy up, so it's very similar to the Big Sky proposal.
Right now the arraignment benefits the MVC as the MVFC is being placed under their umbrella and the Summit shares an AQ, but does not get the sport counted as part of its conference mix. There is no CCG, and any divisions will be meaningless, except to give the facade of a Summit and a Missouri Valley division (they would have to go along parent conference lines, as UNI and MSU would insist on always playing MVC schools Ill St, Indy St, SIU and any new MVC school like say Murray). Whether the Dakotas like it or not they will not all get to play MSU and UNI in a couple years.
We are a few years off from this, but we say the same negative effects in the Big Sky when NoCo, SUU and UND were added along with football only Cal Poly and UC Davis. A number of traditional games fell off the calendar to make room for those schools -- before it was a full round robin 7 games for 8 schools (Sac St always played UC Davis in the Causeway Classic, so they had 8 traditional games). The MVFC is just one game short of a round robin. UND will make a 2nd game short and 4 current traditional matches fall off the schedule. Add a 12th and 3 or 4 more traditional match ups go by the wayside. Adding UND means NDSU will lose one of it's current rivals. A 12th schools means another rivalry is broken up, possibly (and likely) one of the Dakota match ups will get lost (they can't protect all of them, and have a fair schedule rotation). This is a reality you will face in a few years. I think your attitude will be different when say USD and UNI fall off the schedule.
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So who goes to the Summit?
