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Love the board and agree with the vast majority on here about the relocation of the H League tournament. The time has come for LeCrone to step aside, but first we need most of our university administrators to stop agreeing with him.

Anyway, the seating capacity for men's basketball games at UWM Panther Arena is 10,783 and we've averaged around 10,250 for five title games, so I would agree that the size of the facility is perfect for the tournament.

Thanks for letting me weigh in. Please continue.

"I was at the game of Milwaukee's other Horizon (League)-caliber team."

The Bucks?

Were there even 1,602 on hand?

Question: how many Horizon League teams will have fewer wins this season than the Bucks? Will anyone?

What's with UWM?  Most of you guys left them for dead in September.

Tiby and Kelm have been tough to match up against and Aaron has always been a good shooter.

And Austin Arians, now a sophomore, has been among the most efficient perimeter players in the country.

Thanks, guys. I check the board almost daily and look forward to rekindling a competitive rivalry.

From Chancellor Thomas Harden's statement:

"As to the report of allegedly encouraging a player to have sex, there is disagreement regarding the words used and whether it was said one, two or three times. Coach Wardle has said his close relationship with the team led him to make this comment once in a joking manner. However, as I have told Coach Wardle, making this sort of statement, whether joking or not, is not acceptable."

Well, the derision was aimed at its intended target perhaps only once -- and in a joking fashion -- so everything is cool.

I'll bet Wardle's wrists even sting a little bit today. After all, a letter was placed in his personnel file.

Double Secret Probation.mpg

Exactly.

Here's something that I certainly expect was discussed before the "action" was taken: if there prove to be any other skeletons in Wardle's closet or if there's one minor misstep, all of them will be out the door -- Wardle, AD Ken Bothof and Chancellor Thomas Harden.

I too am quite surprised that Wardle was permitted to stay given the current climate of sensitivity.

I certainly wouldn't want a son of mine to play for a man who tells him to have premarital intercourse.

Well, at least there's a disciplinary letter being placed in his file.

Since 2003, Milwaukee is the only Horizon League team to win games in the NCAA (3).

For the record, Cleveland State defeated fourth-seeded Wake Forest 84-69 in what used to be known as the NCAA Tournament first round in 2009 in a dazzling display.

This marks the league's only other tournament victory since 2003.

Eddie and Milan have this right. Tournament and non-conference performance are how a league makes a name for itself, not RPI, though the latter can be a means of improving one's lot.

Since losing Junior, UDM has as good of a chance of winning the HL as UWM.

I have absolutely no idea how our team will perform next year, only that it will look a lot different than this past season. Indeed, there will be three or four new players in the starting five.

As for the topic at hand, I can fully appreciate why Detroit feels the way it does. That having been said, the Titans and their fans at the moment have no choice but to accept their plight.

If what I read about Ryan is true, I'd like to express my deep admiration for his religious convictions.

In the face of chastisement and ridicule, it takes a strong man to stand up for what he believes in.

If we don't have the courage of our convictions, what on earth do we have?

Tell you what, call the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and ask it to send a reporter to an Horizon League men's basketball media day outside of the city and see how it's received.

I'm not sure that the paper will send anyone to any of our league road games or that we even have a beat reporter for our home games.

Frankly, I would love to have David Woods, Rob Demovsky or Mark Lazerus cover us. Problem is, none of them would be allowed to do what he saw fit.

[He also mentions the importance of Valpo "cutting down the nets" in March, but with their loaded up non-conference schedule, Valpo has a great shot at an at-large bid even if they stumble in the Horizon tournament.]

Agree with most of Oren's thoughts, but I'm surprised he didn't mention the possibility of Valpo running the table in the Horizon League this year.  Other than games at Detroit (and maybe Green Bay), I would expect them to be favored in every game.  That would certainly be something that would grab national attention and improve tournament seeding.

He also mentions the importance of Valpo "cutting down the nets" in March, but with their loaded up non-conference schedule, Valpo has a great shot at an at-large bid even if they stumble in the Horizon tournament.

As for his team predictions, I wouldn't be surprised to see YSU and Loyola finishing ahead of CSU and Milwaukee this year.  Quite frankly, nothing that happens in the bottom 6 (after Valpo, Detroit and GB) would surprise me.

This season boils down to 2 games (hopefully not 3). ALL of the eggs are in that basket.

Gotta shake this mentality, milan.

The Crusaders can garner an at-large berth with their schedule.

It seems to me that Belmont and Oakland are going to happen.

As for Evansville, its one-year-old Ford Center would be the crown jewel of the league. But I'm not sure that Evansville's addition would help accomplish the commissioner's stated objective of perennial multi-bid status.

I have no desire to divide a single NCAA Tournament payout into even more shares.

Congratulations, 72, on four Horizon League wins, none of which remotely register on the national radar.

As for how to get where Butler is, it starts with a spark.

Get into a tournament like the Preseason NIT, 76 Classic or Diamond Head Classic and beat programs with a reputation like Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga.

That will get you noticed by comparable programs and help you with your schedule.

A resounding yes.

Since 2002-03, Butler is 25-14 against BCS opponents and Valpo is 1-16.

It's not even a contest. Sorry, fellas.

Should be among best teams in the league the next two-three years.

I'm really not sure about this.

Nick Minnerath, Doug Anderson, Jason Calliste and possibly Ray, Jr. will all be gone after this season. Maybe Ray, Sr. as well.

Milwaukee's rivalry with Valpo is among the best things the league currently has going, but it's going to be awfully difficult for the Crusaders to have any fans on hand at the 3,000-seat bandbox known as the Klotsche Center.

Without question, our top two rivals are Valpo and Green Bay.

Cleveland State, I suppose, could make a case because of the theatrics of its coach.

Green Bay is obviously a longer-standing rivalry, but Valpo has brought considerably more fans.

On that note, it sounds as though the size of the old arena will allow for 25 comps for opposing fans. In truth, I don't think the Klotsche Center legitimately holds 3,400 people. Probably closer to 3,000.

According to sources, IPFW and Evansville are among a group of teams -- North Dakota State, IUPUI -- in the hold for further expansion.

The Purple Aces will join the fray if the Missouri Valley begins fragmenting, starting with Creighton's departure for the powerful A-10.

As documented elsewhere, I'm elated with the league's apparent southward expansion.

This was the best way to stabilize the conference and fortify it against potential future raids.

Belmont, Murray State and Oakland?

Let's add these three and continue to explore further expansion.

Folks, isn't the term "off-hand chance?"

As for Ja' Rob, he's a streaky shooter (as many shooters are) but a below-average defender and a terrible ball-handler.

I wish him well at IUPUI.

So given that we are playing with 9 this year for sure.  I think the question to focus on is whether the league is going to simply delete Butler from the conference schedule and thus hammer Valpo with a rested opponent every road game.   OR will they rework the schedule in some way.

Good point about always having to face a rested opponent.  I wonder how the league handled this before we came on board?

The league had 9 members with only one in Indiana.  ...  I doubt it is an issue.

-- signed Tod Kowalczyk

Agreed, I think he has something planned.

Oh come on, who voted for IUPUI and IPFW?  I know this is anonymous, but....COME ONNNNN lol

I will confess to an IUPUI vote.  Living in Indy it is purely selfish move but I like the idea of having all VU teams come this way...RPI be damned.  Of course I would require conference basketball home games at Bankers Life or the Pepsi Coliseum. I would also make them bring back baseball.

None of the teams on the list are likely to make the HL a multi bid league.

Huh? Murray State, George Mason and Belmont -- combined with Valpo, Detroit and Cleveland State -- wouldn't make the Horizon League a multi-bid league?

Fellas, they're adding more than one team. In fact, they're almost certainly adding three teams. That, and the hangups of Detroit and Loyola with adding Oakland is why expansion is taking so long.

Expand by 3?

Oakland, Murray State and Robert Morris (assuming nothing happens to YSU).

Expand by 5?

George Mason, Belmont, Oakland, Murray State and Robert Morris (assuming nothing happens to YSU).

Face it: the "geographic footprints" of athletic associations across the country are expanding.

[at large potential]

I don't get this thinking at all.  By adding three teams the HL won't necessarily make up for the loss of Butler.

This is a great point.  While we're not talking a huge amount of revenue, like with the B1G, for example, we're still talking some revenue, and replacing one with three just means less for everyone.

You guys really need to read the article before you post.  It answers most of your questions.  The HL is only looking at teams that have proven at large potential.  The schools in the article are schools that have contacted the HL.  It doesn't mean we are interested in any of them.  They are just the schools that have contacted us.  From what I am hearing we want to add 3 teams.  Not just any 3 teams.  We want 3 teams with at large potential.  The HL wants to add programs that can help get to the point where we are a consistent 2+ bid conference.   If we are consistently a 2 bid conference we will all make more money even though we have 12 mouths to feed instead of 10.
And FYI, the HL is looking for the best 3 schools to meet the 5 criteria set in the article.  Being a private school is not one of the criteria.

Thank you.

As to the question of Belmont, TCU jumped to the Big 12 before ever playing a game in the Big East. As with the binding nature of a coach's contract, loyalty to a conference is a thing of the distant past.