Here is a breakdown of the MVC Expansion canadiates and the sports they offer.

Belmont offers 17 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No swimming.

Denver offers only 10 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No baseball, softball, track & field, or cross country. They do have men's swimming.

Illinois-Chicago offers 17 of the 18 sports in the MVC. They do not offer men's golf.

Loyola offers 14 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No baseball, tennis programs or swimming.

Milwaukee offers 14 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No softball which every member has. Also no men's tennis or golf programs.

Murray State offers 14 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No men's soccer or track & field program. No swimming program either. Has scholarship football would need home in the MVFC.

North Dakota State offers 14 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No men's soccer, swimming or tennis programs. Football as we know very well.

Oral Roberts offers 16 of the 18 sports. They do not offer softball or swimming.

South Dakota State offers 17 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No men's soccer. They also have a men's swimming program and of course we know about their football team.

Valparasio offers 18 of the 18 sports in the MVC. They have men's swimming and non-scholarship football.

Wright State offers 15 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No men's track and field or women's golf.

Just for reference, Creighton has 13 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No track program or swimming.

(03-14-2013 09:09 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  Here is a breakdown of the MVC Expansion canadiates and the sports they offer.

Belmont offers 17 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No swimming.

Denver offers only 10 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No baseball, softball, track & field, or cross country. They do have men's swimming.

Illinois-Chicago offers 17 of the 18 sports in the MVC. They do not offer men's golf.

Loyola offers 14 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No baseball, tennis programs or swimming.

Milwaukee offers 14 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No softball which every member has. Also no men's tennis or golf programs.

Murray State offers 14 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No men's soccer or track & field program. No swimming program either. Has scholarship football would need home in the MVFC.

North Dakota State offers 14 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No men's soccer, swimming or tennis programs. Football as we know very well.

Oral Roberts offers 16 of the 18 sports. They do not offer softball or swimming.

South Dakota State offers 17 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No men's soccer. They also have a men's swimming program and of course we know about their football team.

Valparasio offers 18 of the 18 sports in the MVC. They have men's swimming and non-scholarship football.

Wright State offers 15 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No men's track and field or women's golf.

Just for reference, Creighton has 13 of the 18 sports in the MVC. No track program or swimming.

Thanks for the breakdown.


As far as Fargo saying none of them will be going anywhere, I'm not 100% sure about that. If the A10 reaches back into the midwest, some of these schools could be targeted. If the A10 is content to replenish with eastern schools, then there wouldn't be a need to jump right away to 12, but if they have their eye on western teams, I'd be more inclined to move to 12 when we replace Creighton so we have a better shot at what could be considered the top targets in that area.

I've thought and thought about this and all I've accomplished is making myself more unsure as to what the MVC should do. I'm 90% sure that if we go to 10 that the school added will have to be Private...que Belmont, Valpo, and Denver. I think Murrary State has some great fans but they are in a small town in a state over run by Kentucky and Louisville, and will only be considered if we go to 12.

If we're going solely by basketball I think Valpo or Belmont has to be your choice. Both with a lot of recent success in winning and going to NCAA's. Belmont has been to the Tourney in '06, '07, '08, '11, '12, '13 while Valpo has been in '96-'00, '02, '04, and now '13. Belmont built a new 5,000 person event center on campus in 2003 with 8 suites. Valpo's is older dating back to 1984 and can hold 5,400 fans. I think Belmont is more of the up and comer with the new facilities, and Valpo has no plans of expanding their's in the immediate future.

In my mind Denver has the most potential as a university as a whole($380 million endowment) and a great market/ease of getting too. Belmont is also up there in markets with Nashville and is growing as a university from just over 3,000 students in the year 2000, to now 6,400 students with plans to keep growing from what I gathered from their university homepage. Belmont is also a little more in our footprint with Mo State, Evansville, and Southern IL close by where Denver would expand it nicely.

I think it's pretty spot on to say Denver was Elgin's first choice but reportedly been told no. Belmont reportedly the second choice which I would agree with fully if this has been the order. If Belmont were to accept do we stay at 10 and see how things keep shaking out or try and grab 2 more schools? This is where I start to lose my mind as I start to weigh the Dakotas as more money keeps getting pumped into the two, NDSU especially. Or do we add 2 privates out of (DU, BU, or Valpo) and then add a Murray State who has been dominant in the OVC (14-time Conf. Champ just since 1990 with 12 NCAA appearances in the same period) and has a nice 8,600 seat arena built in 1998 at $20 million price tag.

Just depends what the MVC's long term goal is. Are we going to be solely a basketball conference and run the risk of losing members like UNI, MoSt, ISUR eventually...or a complete conference with Football as well. If just Basketball I say you go 12 and add Murray, Belmont, and Denver. Football, I say you add the Dakota's and maybe Valpo with their Pioneer League standing like Drake. Murray also has football and wouldn't be bad for a complete conference if you no longer care about the Public vs. Private balance.

Belmont has horrible attendance - right at 2000. Not to mention there are four Divison 1 programs in Nashville. The OVC Championship game just had 4500 between them and Murray and it was played in their home city. Valpo had about the same.

If we need a private school, Valpo is the one that makes the most sense across the board.

Well if the MVC added the Dakotas they could get Denver since the Pioneers would have nowhere else to go.

Maybe that drives Evansville to the Horizon but you could always add New Mexico State or Murray State if that happens.

The MVC would be wise to move away from the private/public balance and just go after the strongest schools.

(03-16-2013 03:23 PM)FargoBison Wrote:  Well if the MVC added the Dakotas they could get Denver since the Pioneers would have nowhere else to go.

Maybe that drives Evansville to the Horizon but you could always add New Mexico State or Murray State if that happens.

The MVC would be wise to move away from the private/public balance and just go after the strongest schools.

Really would not be opposed to all 4 of those schools in the Valley. Would cover a great deal of the country with solid up and comers and more importantly schools with money.

The only thing I've heard bad about Murray State is their financials, for this reason Belmont may be a more viable partner. A mix of those 4 schools and the departure of Evansville would be amazing.

I'm still not sold on the Dakotas. Granted, I don't care about football at all. I'm more hesitant about their basketball programs than any of the others. Mostly due to their very brief D1 standing.

One thing I will say for Belmont is I hear they do pay their coach 500k. That's more than at least 4 schools in the MVC and shows a little bit of commitment. Attendance is a concern, but the product on the court is important and Belmont is better than 4 or 5 MVC schools already. You could argue some of their attendance issues come from being in the A-Sun. I don't know for sure how much of an issue that was but it's possible that with greater exposure and money in the MVC they could grow that.

It'd be nice if Denver could be persuaded to join. As I agree they have the biggest upside of anyone we're talking about.

I would like to see all the Dakota Schools join the Conference.

Bradley
Drake
Evansville
Illinois State
Indiana State
Missouri State
North Dakota
North Dakota State
Northern Iowa
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Wichita State

(03-17-2013 01:59 PM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  I would like to see all the Dakota Schools join the Conference.

Bradley
Drake
Evansville
Illinois State
Indiana State
Missouri State
North Dakota
North Dakota State
Northern Iowa
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Wichita State

Pipe dream. Wichita would be pissed and would consider selling their souls to get the hell out. And I don't think they'd be alone

(03-17-2013 04:37 PM)SubGod22 Wrote:  

(03-17-2013 01:59 PM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  I would like to see all the Dakota Schools join the Conference.

Bradley
Drake
Evansville
Illinois State
Indiana State
Missouri State
North Dakota
North Dakota State
Northern Iowa
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Wichita State

Pipe dream. Wichita would be pissed and would consider selling their souls to get the hell out. And I don't think they'd be alone

I would agree, the only schools that wouldn't be massively impacted on the travel front with those 4 would be Drake and UNI. Drake won't want anything to do with adding four public schools, I would like to think UNI is not interested as well. My bigger fear is that Elgin will see this as the easy solution and go for it. Of course I don't know where Southern Illinois is going either in this scenario.

The good news is Elgin doesn't have the final say. The school presidents do and you know the ADs and even coaches will have some voice. I don't think there are 5 schools willing to vote for any of the Dakotas no matter how much the Dakotas want it.

If we go to 12, there will be at least one private added and possibly 2. Belmont, Valpo and Denver would be the favorites I think for that. If we added 3, I'd like to see two of them be publics. Problem is, the publics we'd be looking at aren't as strong right now as some of the privates, but probably have much more room for growth.

David Krysakowski is a known idiot on these boards for posting wacky expansion posts like that. You are best to just ignore them.

What MoStBear said.

Southern Illinois would be going to the Mid-American Conference in that scenario.

(03-21-2013 02:33 AM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  Southern Illinois would be going to the Mid-American Conference in that scenario.

That's more of a pipe dream than Illinois State.

So far on RBFan.net the Top 2 vote getters are Murray and Belmont...MSU with 29% and BU with 23%. Valpo is 3rd with 15%, along with Loyola Chicago who also has 15%, SDSU and ORU with 6%....NDSU will 0. Sample so far 48 total votes.

(03-21-2013 02:33 AM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  Southern Illinois would be going to the Mid-American Conference in that scenario.

A school just doesn't go - they have to be invited.

(03-21-2013 02:56 AM)BirdFan 4Life Wrote:  

(03-21-2013 02:33 AM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  Southern Illinois would be going to the Mid-American Conference in that scenario.

That's more of a pipe dream than Illinois State.

So far on RBFan.net the Top 2 vote getters are Murray and Belmont each with around 25%. Valpo is 3rd with 15% followed by Loyola Chicago with 10%, SDSU and ORU with 8%....NDSU will 0.

I just put a poll on ShockerNet and gave them 16 options. So far, about 10 votes in I admit, only three have votes. Belmont, Murray and Detroit is getting write in votes.

I'm starting to lean towards Murray over Belmont just due to support. MSU averages over 6k and Belmont barely gets 2k. Support isn't everything, but it helps when it comes to raising money and investing in the program. I still wish Denver were an option. They average a little under 6k and are growing their product.

All numbers are from last season.

Subgod22:
I'm starting to lean towards Murray over Belmont just due to support. MSU averages over 6k and Belmont barely gets 2k. Support isn't everything, but it helps when it comes to raising money and investing in the program. I still wish Denver were an option. They average a little under 6k and are growing their product.

Brooks Saddle:
The problem with Murray State is they play football and what would they do if the MVFC would not take them? If the past is an indication, that league does not want 11 members.

(03-21-2013 04:40 PM)Brooks Saddle Wrote:  Subgod22:
I'm starting to lean towards Murray over Belmont just due to support. MSU averages over 6k and Belmont barely gets 2k. Support isn't everything, but it helps when it comes to raising money and investing in the program. I still wish Denver were an option. They average a little under 6k and are growing their product.

Brooks Saddle:
The problem with Murray State is they play football and what would they do if the MVFC would not take them? If the past is an indication, that league does not want 11 members.

Hadn't thought about that as WSU obviously doesn't have football. I think we should just make the MVFC do it for the good of the MVC

(03-21-2013 05:22 PM)SubGod22 Wrote:  

(03-21-2013 04:40 PM)Brooks Saddle Wrote:  Subgod22:
I'm starting to lean towards Murray over Belmont just due to support. MSU averages over 6k and Belmont barely gets 2k. Support isn't everything, but it helps when it comes to raising money and investing in the program. I still wish Denver were an option. They average a little under 6k and are growing their product.

Brooks Saddle:
The problem with Murray State is they play football and what would they do if the MVFC would not take them? If the past is an indication, that league does not want 11 members.

Hadn't thought about that as WSU obviously doesn't have football. I think we should just make the MVFC do it for the good of the MVC

The wrath of Lakesbison will come down upon you.