There has been nothing but rumor so far
I have heard it both ways for Valpo for either opting in or opting out. If I were a betting man I would personally put more stock in the opting out territory. However the decision made by UE to opt in shouldn't go unnoticed. They are a school of similar size
Theoretically, there are some protections for currently rostered athletes that mean it is possible to have more than 15 this year even if we opt in, but I agree with those who feel like adding a 16th player who is a freshman is a good sign we are opting out. Those extra spots are called “legislated exceptions” though and I’m not quite sure what that legislative process looks like, much like a lot of this settlement that we’re still trying to figure out. Official indication of opting in/out is due June 30, so maybe we will hear a definite answer then.
It seems now that Valpo and ISU are the only teams still opted out in the MVC. There is rumor that ISU will flip their decision before July 1 however.
If this is the case, that's probably a pretty telling sign of where Valpo stands in the Valley. I'm by no means in the "go back to the Horizon League" camp, but if Valpo is the only school in the conference not participating in the House settlement, that's a tough look.
Sounds like Valpo will be there to leach in on conference revenues. I get why Valpo opted out, but being the lone member is certainly not a good impression.
You have to consider if the MVC conference regrets Valpo an invite to join the MVC based the situation today.
Weird that there still has not been an official statement from the school on their house settlement status. Today is the last day to decide.
Id also like to take the time to update the roster limit situation. From what I am reading. Already rostered athletes will be grandfathered into the process. So there is no impending issue with roster limits related to partial scholarships and walk ons
Weird that there still has not been an official statement from the school on their house settlement status. Today is the last day to decide.
It could be a case of the only announcement being necessary for opting in. Silence means opting out.
Sounds like Valpo will be there to leach in on conference revenues. I get why Valpo opted out, but being the lone member is certainly not a good impression.
You have to consider if the MVC conference regrets Valpo an invite to join the MVC based the situation today.
Why would the MVC regret it?
Sounds like Valpo will be there to leach in on conference revenues. I get why Valpo opted out, but being the lone member is certainly not a good impression.
You have to consider if the MVC conference regrets Valpo an invite to join the MVC based the situation today.
Why would the MVC regret it?
Simple. In many facets, Valpo is not contributing their fair share to become a quality member of the MVC. Valpo does not have the funding, but the university can advertise themselves as a MVC member and take their share of revenue without an equitable contribution. Athletically Valpo has been the most frugal to contribute, and in the current situation they have to be. But I would assume today there are leaders in the MVC, talking off the record of course, wondering if they made the right decision.
Opting out will make it worse for Valpo to compete in the MVC, but they will be pleased to take the revenue share check.
Sounds like Valpo will be there to leach in on conference revenues. I get why Valpo opted out, but being the lone member is certainly not a good impression.
You have to consider if the MVC conference regrets Valpo an invite to join the MVC based the situation today.
Why would the MVC regret it?
Simple. In many facets, Valpo is not contributing their fair share to become a quality member of the MVC. Valpo does not have the funding, but the university can advertise themselves as a MVC member and take their share of revenue without an equitable contribution. Athletically Valpo has been the most frugal to contribute, and in the current situation they have to be. But I would assume today there are leaders in the MVC, talking off the record of course, wondering if they made the right decision.
Opting out will make it worse for Valpo to compete in the MVC, but they will be pleased to take the revenue share check.
The rev share check isn't going to me much anymore considering that the House settlement is being paid for with March Madness units
Sounds like Valpo will be there to leach in on conference revenues. I get why Valpo opted out, but being the lone member is certainly not a good impression.
You have to consider if the MVC conference regrets Valpo an invite to join the MVC based the situation today.
Why would the MVC regret it?
Simple. In many facets, Valpo is not contributing their fair share to become a quality member of the MVC. Valpo does not have the funding, but the university can advertise themselves as a MVC member and take their share of revenue without an equitable contribution. Athletically Valpo has been the most frugal to contribute, and in the current situation they have to be. But I would assume today there are leaders in the MVC, talking off the record of course, wondering if they made the right decision.
Opting out will make it worse for Valpo to compete in the MVC, but they will be pleased to take the revenue share check.
How will it make it worse for the program to compete in the MVC? All your doing is continuing a typical sing song run down of the school and it's sports programs based on nothing factual.
Sounds like Valpo will be there to leach in on conference revenues. I get why Valpo opted out, but being the lone member is certainly not a good impression.
You have to consider if the MVC conference regrets Valpo an invite to join the MVC based the situation today.
Why would the MVC regret it?
Simple. In many facets, Valpo is not contributing their fair share to become a quality member of the MVC. Valpo does not have the funding, but the university can advertise themselves as a MVC member and take their share of revenue without an equitable contribution. Athletically Valpo has been the most frugal to contribute, and in the current situation they have to be. But I would assume today there are leaders in the MVC, talking off the record of course, wondering if they made the right decision.
Opting out will make it worse for Valpo to compete in the MVC, but they will be pleased to take the revenue share check.
How will it make it worse for the program to compete in the MVC? All your doing is continuing a typical sing song run down of the school and it's sports programs based on nothing factual.
Opting to not participate in revenue sharing certainly won't help on the recruiting trail, nor will it help in retaining talent year-over-year.
Sounds like Valpo will be there to leach in on conference revenues. I get why Valpo opted out, but being the lone member is certainly not a good impression.
You have to consider if the MVC conference regrets Valpo an invite to join the MVC based the situation today.
Why would the MVC regret it?
Simple. In many facets, Valpo is not contributing their fair share to become a quality member of the MVC. Valpo does not have the funding, but the university can advertise themselves as a MVC member and take their share of revenue without an equitable contribution. Athletically Valpo has been the most frugal to contribute, and in the current situation they have to be. But I would assume today there are leaders in the MVC, talking off the record of course, wondering if they made the right decision.
Opting out will make it worse for Valpo to compete in the MVC, but they will be pleased to take the revenue share check.
How will it make it worse for the program to compete in the MVC? All your doing is continuing a typical sing song run down of the school and it's sports programs based on nothing factual.
Do you not see where the rest of the conference is going to promote their recruiting advantage? The entire conference but Valpo is opting in, and this will put Valpo at a disadvantage and makes them appear not as committed to conference success. I understand and respect the decision Valpo made regarding this, but you have to wonder what the rest of the conference is thinking.
As far as I understand it, payment into the NCAA fund for backpay is independent of opting in or out. As others stated above, Valpo will pay via reduces NCAA tournament revenue checks.
Also, universities that opt in have the choice to pay athletes in any sport...but it does not require them to do so. It is the university's option who to pay. University's that opt in can also only pay all of their student-athletes (I assume beyond the valiue of their scholarships) up to $20.5M, but any student-athlete can benefit from NIL. Universities that opt out can also still have NIL.
Thus, I see no real difference for Valpo to opt in and opt out beyond two possible issues. 1. Roster limits. For example, Valpo has non-scholarship football which the university uses as a revenue stream. They would be limited in the number of football players they can have if opting in (though I think that limit is pretty high...like 105), 2. wanting to be honest and ethical about what they will do and not creating a way to alter the decision not to pay players for some "special case" (which could be feared to create more and more cases to pay players over time).
I am not encouraged by the lack of a public statement thus far by Valparaiso University. When Valpo joined the MVC, I noted that gave the university a circumstance to make great advancement, a second chance to make up for the squandered opportunity after the Bryce Drew "Shot," which we have acknowledged slipped away. Joining a top-ten conference following the great publicity of an NIT final at Madison Square Garden seemed a gift. I optimistically supported the move from the Horizon League if VU took full advantage.
However, VU did not exploit that golden moment and again let the window close without taking major steps forward. I have not read an official decision yet, but apparently Valparaiso seems to have no alternative but to opt-out because it cannot afford contributing to the back-pay revenue sharing scheme for the next 10 years (though it is unclear how much VU likely will be responsible for contributing each of the next ten years), nor does the university have a budget to pay athletes directly. Obviously, this will cause an even bigger competitive disadvantage in recruiting and retaining top players contrasted with programs across the country that can pay players. Valparaiso would have to continue reliance on third-party NIL contributions, which are never going to be substantial.
Should all the other universities in the MVC decide to opt-in, a competitive gap will be created between them and a program that chooses to opt-out. This situation will eventually establish a permanent chasm between those that directly pay athletes and expand rosters under the House agreement rules and Valpo. Already experiencing various disadvantages compared to other conference programs, VU now will be competing with both hands tied behind its back. If this becomes the case, I disappointingly see no reason to remain in the conference and would hope VU seeks a better option.
It would seem that roster limits may be the big issue. Why a small school like Evansville, without football, would want in is a question. In Valpo's case, what are the roster limits in other sports? for example, baseball lists 36 on our roster, football had 118. Soccer had 25. Many of these kids wouldn't be at Valpo if it weren't for D1 athletics. If roster limits actually are a reality, then the decision for Valpo is an easy one.
