Are the athletes happy about the move to the MVC?

[FWalum]

I have been wondering since the invite was announced, how the BB athletes felt about this move from the known to the unknown.  For players like Tevonn that have been around the HL for three years, there had to be a comfort factor playing against teams, systems, coaches and players that you were familiar with versus the new and unknown of the teams in the MVC.  Do they look forward and greet the challenge with enthusiasm or trepidation. Are the younger players excited about the opportunity of a potentially tougher league and the exposure that might bring? And lastly, do the transfers and new recruits feel like the journey they are embarking on has just been given an upgrade!  I think that if I had committed to Valpo and this change in conference happened I would be super excited to show that I could compete at a higher level.  Any thoughts? 

How do the other team's athletes feel?  If I am a baseball player am I a little intimidated or happy to make the move to what would appear to be a significantly better baseball conference?

[VU2014]

If any student-athlete or coach doesn't want to accept the challenge of playing tougher competition, I suggest they transfer or resign... Great athletes/coaches don't back down from challenges, they instead embrace them.

I could see why the Men's Tennis Team and Men's Swim Team might not like the move since those sports are not sponsored in MVC and they may not like being in a separate Conference from their peers. It is a bummer I admit for those student athletes but the Men's Tennis Team will likely move to the Summit League and maybe the Men's Swim Team moves to the MAC... problem is the Men's swim team already really struggles in the HL and the MAC is a massive step up (would the MAC want our Men's team and very sub-par facilities in their Conference?).

[vu72]

I have been wondering since the invite was announced, how the BB athletes felt about this move from the known to the unknown.  For players like Tevonn that have been around the HL for three years, there had to be a comfort factor playing against teams, systems, coaches and players that you were familiar with versus the new and unknown of the teams in the MVC.  Do they look forward and greet the challenge with enthusiasm or trepidation. Are the younger players excited about the opportunity of a potentially tougher league and the exposure that might bring? And lastly, do the transfers and new recruits feel like the journey they are embarking on has just been given an upgrade!  I think that if I had committed to Valpo and this change in conference happened I would be super excited to show that I could compete at a higher level.  Any thoughts? 

How do the other team's athletes feel?  If I am a baseball player am I a little intimidated or happy to make the move to what would appear to be a significantly better baseball conference?

Not sure about the players, although I would guess that playing new and better teams are  challenges all players at the D1 level, or any level for that matter, would seek.  I do wonder about the coaches however, particularly in sports like softball and baseball.  Clearly the level of play will increase and being a northern school, perhaps to a level which will make NCAA appearances a slim to none proposition. Think back to the Mid-Con days (and tex can certainly add to this) when ORU was THE team and won the title and NCAA appearance almost without fail as I recall.  As a coach with probable bonus money on the line with an NCAA appearance, I would find the reality somewhat daunting to say the least. It ended up costing Paul  Twenge his job, for lack of success--again, no facts to back that up but the record is the record.

[VUGrad1314]

All you've got to do is be a .500 team to finish third I also have to believe that Valpo will attract better players now that they're in a multi-bid baseball league. It may take a few years but I think the baseball team will do a respectable job in conference. Being a consistent tourney team may be a big ask but I don't see how we couldn't become a very solid program.

[VU2014]

All you've got to do is be a .500 team to finish third I also have to believe that Valpo will attract better players now that they're in a multi-bid baseball league. It may take a few years but I think the baseball team will do a respectable job in conference. Being a consistent tourney team may be a big ask but I don't see how we couldn't become a very solid program.

Yeah I think in a few sports its going to be an adjustment to the level of competition and give the coaches 3-4 years before we can judge the transition in a few sports.

If I were a basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, or softball player I would be thrilled at the opportunity to play against higher competition. I don't follow the other sports enough to know the difference in competition between the leagues.

[VUGrad1314]

All you've got to do is be a .500 team to finish third I also have to believe that Valpo will attract better players now that they're in a multi-bid baseball league. It may take a few years but I think the baseball team will do a respectable job in conference. Being a consistent tourney team may be a big ask but I don't see how we couldn't become a very solid program.

Yeah I think in a few sports its going to be an adjustment to the level of competition and give the coaches 3-4 years before we can judge the transition in a few sports.

If I were a basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, or softball player I would be thrilled at the opportunity to play against higher competition. I don't follow the other sports enough to know the difference in competition between the leagues.

Should be pretty good for tennis as well (assuming VU ends up in the Summit League.)

[VULB#62]

All you've got to do is be a .500 team to finish third I also have to believe that Valpo will attract better players now that they're in a multi-bid baseball league. It may take a few years but I think the baseball team will do a respectable job in conference. Being a consistent tourney team may be a big ask but I don't see how we couldn't become a very solid program.

Yeah I think in a few sports its going to be an adjustment to the level of competition and give the coaches 3-4 years before we can judge the transition in a few sports.

If I were a basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, or softball player I would be thrilled at the opportunity to play against higher competition. I don't follow the other sports enough to know the difference in competition between the leagues.

The sports you listed are what I would call the high visibility sports within the full VU sports portfolio (although men's tennis and golf have done very well.) To rise to the competition would require that the respective coaches recruit (and win the recruiting battles) at the higher talent levels while still maintaining the high academic standards of the university.  Excluding MBB and WBB, what are the scholarship numbers for MVC teams in those high visibility sports?  If they are significantly ahead of Valpo in numbers, then the challenge to get competitive creates an even steeper slope to climb for both coaches and players.  OTOH, if athletic scholarships across the MVC spectrum are about even with what Valpo allocates, then the added prestige of competing in the MVC should help us attract a higher caliber athlete and meet the challenge of upgrading our competitiveness.

Unsaid, however, is what does Valpo do if we are significantly behind in terms of high visibility sports scholarships. Just tough it out and take some beatings year after year? Increase athletic scholarships? Drop some sports in favor of reallocating funding/scholarships to others?

[VU2014]

All you've got to do is be a .500 team to finish third I also have to believe that Valpo will attract better players now that they're in a multi-bid baseball league. It may take a few years but I think the baseball team will do a respectable job in conference. Being a consistent tourney team may be a big ask but I don't see how we couldn't become a very solid program.

If I were a basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, or softball player I would be thrilled at the opportunity to play against higher competition. I don't follow the other sports enough to know the difference in competition between the leagues.

The sports you listed are what I would call the high visibility sports within the full VU sports portfolio (although men's tennis and golf have done very well.) To rise to the competition would require that the respective coaches recruit (and win the recruiting battles) at the higher talent levels while still maintaining the high academic standards of the university.  Excluding MBB and WBB, what are the scholarship numbers for MVC teams in those high visibility sports?  If they are significantly ahead of Valpo in numbers, then the challenge to get competitive creates an even steeper slope to climb for both coaches and players.  OTOH, if athletic scholarships across the MVC spectrum are about even with what Valpo allocates, then the added prestige of competing in the MVC should help us attract a higher caliber athlete and meet the challenge of upgrading our competitiveness.

Unsaid, however, is what does Valpo do if we are significantly behind in terms of high visibility sports scholarships. Just tough it out and take some beatings year after year? Increase athletic scholarships? Drop some sports in favor of reallocating funding/scholarships to others?

I don't see this Athletics Department dropping any sports. If we did drop a sport it would most likely that we'd drop Men's Swimming... just because of the lack of success in recent years, but to be fair to the coaches it has a lot to do with facilities really hurting them in recruiting. Although we do have a few pretty goodmen's swimming athletes (I think some records have been broken, recently). I'm sure it would be much easier to recruit with some pool upgrades. 

I don't think we'd drop any women's sports because you don't want run into Title IX issues, even though we have more women's sports then Men's sport currently. I believe in order to retain D1 status you must retain 7 men's sports and 7 women's sports or 6 men's sports and 8 women's sports (I could have this wrong).

SIU just cut men's and women's tennis and just cut the number of scholarships for men's swimming and diving team from 9.9 to 6.0 beginning in 2017-18. One of the former SIU women's tennis players is suing SIU for allegedly breaking Title IX, although it seems like from what I've read that they are within bounds and not breaking any laws, but I am by no means a lawyer or anything. Just seems like it is negative PR for their Athletics Department.

"The moves are expected to save the athletic department about $660,000 annually, but at least one former student-athlete believes they're not only the wrong decision for the university, but illegal."
http://thesouthern.com/sports/office-of-civil-rights-looking-into-alleged-title-ix-violations/article_0985319c-d2cf-527a-b5dc-7d491080a5c9.html

http://thesouthern.com/sports/siu-to-cut-men-s-and-women-s-tennis-reduce/article_d09c8eb4-c4f6-5144-beac-c59f4dd96289.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVOm5YUFTSE

[UNIFTW]

All you've got to do is be a .500 team to finish third

That's not true the extreme majority of the time.

[VUGrad1314]

All you've got to do is be a .500 team to finish third

That's not true the extreme majority of the time.

So this was a DOWN year for MVC baseball and they STILL got multiple tourney bids? That's awesome! I think we're going to really love being a part of this conference and not just for basketball either. Tell me a bit about MVC baseball historically, uniftw.

[UNIFTW]

UNI hasn't had baseball for a decade. I didn't follow it when they did. I don't know much other than it's a traditionally strong conference.

In 08 third place was 37-21 16-8

09 was 31-25 14-9 all but 1 team had 25 wins.

2010 35-19 was third and 6 of 8 had at least 27 wins

2011 36-18 13-8 and 7 of 8 had at least 28 wins

2012 35-25 12-9 every single team had at least 27 6 of 8 had at least 30 3 over 35 and 2 over 40

2013 30-18 13-8. All but one had 25 wins. 4 were over 30

2014 39-21 14-7 all had at least 24. 5 of 8 had 30

2015 36-21 10-11 but 7 of 8 had at least 26 wins. 2 over 46

2016 29-21 11-9 7 of 9 with at least 29 wins.

I don't know what it all means except hearing for years the MVC a damn good baseball conference.

It's a too 10 RPI league almost every year. This year was 17th, but the HL was 24th

Last year was 9th to the HLs 19
2015 was 9th
2014 was 7th
2013 was 15th
2012 was 5th
2011 was 7th

You get the point

[VUGrad1314]

UNI hasn't had baseball for a decade. I didn't follow it when they did. I don't know much other than it's a traditionally strong conference.

In 08 third place was 37-21 16-8

09 was 31-25 14-9 all but 1 team had 25 wins.

2010 35-19 was third and 6 of 8 had at least 27 wins

2011 36-18 13-8 and 7 of 8 had at least 28 wins

2012 35-25 12-9 every single team had at least 27 6 of 8 had at least 30 3 over 35 and 2 over 40

2013 30-18 13-8. All but one had 25 wins. 4 were over 30

2014 39-21 14-7 all had at least 24. 5 of 8 had 30

2015 36-21 10-11 but 7 of 8 had at least 26 wins. 2 over 46

2016 29-21 11-9 7 of 9 with at least 29 wins.

I don't know what it all means except hearing for years the MVC a damn good baseball conference.

It's a too 10 RPI league every year. Currently 10th this year. HL is 19th

Wow We've got our work cut out for us then. Those numbers are better than what Valpo baseball typically posts. Sounds like the MVC is typically a multi-bid conference.

[valpotx]

We will be a middle of the pack MVC baseball team initially.  I don't see us competing for titles, but if we can get third on occasion and have a good OOC record/schedule, we could be in the at-large conversation.  The MVC has been a solid baseball conference for the better part of a decade, especially with Dallas Baptist included.  That is the most exciting part of our move to me, in that I get to watch my former program compete every year nearby.  It was great when we came down to DBU a few seasons back.

[VULB#62]

Speaking of Dallas Baptist [  http://dbupatriots.com/index.aspx  ], I find it interesting that .......

1) They are NCAA D-II in all sports EXCEPT for D-I Baseball (which is fine -- lower divisions can allocate one sport to the higher division like Johns Hopkins is D-III but plays D-I lacrosse)

2) Their sports portfolio is kind of strange and seems different from most Title IX-compliant athletic program profiles:

MEN                    WOMEN
Baseball
Basketball
CC                        CC
Golf                      Golf
Soccer                   Soccer
Tennis                   Tennis
T&F                       T&F
                             Volleyball

I find it astonishing that there is no WBB program and, being so committed to baseball, that there is no softball program for 'balance' is also curious.

It also seems that, on a cursory look, there are more sports available to men (7-6).  Usually, it's more for women than men. And assuming an equal number of athletes in the sports that both men and women have in common at DBU, there are more total slots for male athletes (37) than women (The baseball roster has 34 and MBB has 16.  Volleyball only has 13). Additionally, the fact that they are D-I in baseball and travel to MVC schools for competition, suggests that they spend a disproportionate amount on baseball than any other sport.  All of these make me ask "are these guys Title IX compliant?" 

Don't want to hi-jack this thread. Just curious.

[usc4valpo]

I would think that over 90% of the student athletes are please about the move to the Valley. I agree with 2014 - athletes always want better competition. This is not intermediate dance where we all feel good about a participation trophy.

[crusadermoe]

I can't verify this, but many on the board have pointed to higher fan enthusiasm for the "home team" in the higher visibility sports like basketball and volleyball. School pride and more residential campuses will hopefully create more exciting game experiences.

Other than Butler, I never saw big enthusiasm other than Green Bay and Wright State hoops. It will be interesting to see if we attract more Iowa athletes as well as more from Missouri and the southern parts of llinois and Indiana when our visibility rises in these areas where  the newspapers will have Valpo's name in bigger print headlines now than in Chicago, Detroit, or Milwaukee. Perhaps smaller populations in the MVC cities but more focused visibility to students from the non-metro Midwest areas. Springfield, MO is actually a top 50 media market and so are Cedar Rapids/Waterloo and central Illinois.  St. Louis follows the MVC closely and draws many VU students already.   

[VU2014]

35:10 Paul asks Coach Lottich what the players thought about joining the Missouri Valley Conference

http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/audio/union-street-hoops/podcast-union-street-hoops-episode/audio_c0d3c7b6-47d5-11e7-874c-afc072e48d5f.html