https://twitter.com/MVCsports/status/861958944612155393
Thought it was time create a new thread now that the invite is OFFICIAL
https://twitter.com/PaulSuellentrop/status/861963130783576064
Very Excited for this. Hello Arch Madness!
Sounds like the Missouri Valley Conference really wanted Valpo!
https://twitter.com/MattNorlander/status/861966301698420737
I'll share this, since the other thread it seemed like people that the sense that MVCFans wasn't happy with Valpo.
There is a thread asking us to vote on how the process played out. My post on the topic was
QuoteI voted F.
While not fair to Valpo, the grade is not a reflection on Valpo. It's a reflection on the conference leadership, on the process, and the failure to see past the tip of their upturned noses.
I welcome you guys in and hope you continue to get better - especially in non-MBB sports (woof). People being pissed right now isn't a reflection of you. It's a reflection of how we view out league handling things.
https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/861959439905169408
https://twitter.com/IndyStarSports/status/861966502483906560
https://twitter.com/wcfcourier/status/861963894276927489
While I would have liked to see Murray State also go to the MVC now, this is great for Valparaiso athletics. While this is certainly a huge win for the basketball program, it is great for all of the men's and women's athletic teams.
My guess, for what its worth, is that this decision may be closely tied to Murray State's football program. They would have to negotiate an 'out' for all programs including football, but had a separate party (MVFC) that they would have to get to accept them. You can see this scenario: MVFC declines to accept Murray State, Ohio Valley says that Murray State cannot stay for football only until the current schedule commitments have all been met (which I think, from another post, is in 2020), MVC (knowing that Murray State would decline) chooses not to make an offer. Of course, there could have been a decision to only go to 10 or 12 and that Valparaiso was the priority and there was no acceptable 12th team at this time.
For basketball, this is great for Valpo. Top to bottom the MVC is far superior.
Wish Murray St was joining too, but, still a great step up. Cant wait for some actual great games in the ARC after December. (Would be okay with still scheduling Oakland and maybe Milw for selfish reasons)
:thewave:
Very exciting! But here's also hoping MuSU has a great 2017-18 season with the MVC watching and gets revisited inside of 2 years.
Now Valpo has to get in gear, build on Matt's first year in MBB, and kick up recruiting for all sports a notch to match the increased level of competition they will all face in this new conference. The MVC notice said no more comments pending final negotiation. Wonder what that will entail ??????
Plot twist. The MVC expansion will CONTINUE! Murray State fans shouldn't get too down.
https://twitter.com/DaveReynolds2/status/861971214268596224
This is outstanding news. Way to go MVC and way to go Valpo!!! UNI and Drake restaurant reviews will be available!
Way down on the list of considerations will be a new home for Men's Tennis. I'm pretty sure the Valley is dropping the sport.
Can't imagine the HL will let us stay on. MAC?
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This was a vote for inertia, and by that definition I am not expecting much future voluntary movement.
The MVC decline is already underway. The speed of its decent is the only remaining question. Where is its bottom? Much deeper than most of the voters seem to realize.
What can VU do to help? Accept, then step in and immediately become the biggest :censored: in the room voicing the future need for the 12 team, floating divisional setup. It is not too late but wait and see foot dragging just ain't gonna cut it.
No surprise here.
https://twitter.com/CraigHaley/status/861970515359039489
As I mentioned last week, I would have been "shocked if Valpo did not replace the Shockers." All unspoken indications at the university were that Valpo was going to the MVC. It was unthinkable Valpo would not receive an invitation. In addition, I still believe, as I said last week, university presidents are conservative when it comes to change and "the MVC will add Valpo as the 10th team for the upcoming season, but could move to 11 or 12 teams in the following year. It would be easy to schedule one team for 2017-2018 by just subbing Valpo for Wichita State. However, because of Murray State football and the difficulties of scheduling more teams—especially a divisional schedule if going to 12 teams and working out the MVC vs MWC challenge—planning and negotiations would require waiting until 2018-2019 entry for the additional schools."
I can't believe people are finding ways to be disappointed or unsatisfied with the expansion to 10 for next year. Get over it!
We have escaped the caverns of CSU arena and the Motown tournament debacle. The MVC brand is solid even if they have hit some down years. Our history brings more name recognition to both!!
Yes, it will be great to see MVC expand and dominate. But good night, be glad we are the 10th, and not the "maybe" for another year or two.
Drive 350 miles south in March and enjoy Arch Madness. It happens in the city where Valpo played its Sweet Sixteen game. Good karma!
A historic day for Valparaiso University and Valparaiso University Athletics. Welcome to the MVC!
We should also take a moment and thank the Horizon League and its members. The move to the HL ended our geographical purgatory with the Mid-Con, reestablished old conference member relationships that had been lost, allowed us to play an instate rival more often, and helped move our athletic programs upward.
Now it's time to take the next step to elevate our programs further. I am so happy for the AD as a whole, MLB, the staff, and for everyone behind the scenes who helped make this move a reality.
And to Murray State, I sure as hell hope we see you in the MVC very soon!
Reminder: The MVC could have had a 10 team league with Murray State and Valpo had it not screwed up the Creighton replacement. The venom should be directed at that decision, not adding only Valpo this time.
I wonder if this will require another Board Meeting or can it be done via teleconference? Presume the later. I'm guessing a formal acceptance announcement tomorrow.
Quote from: vu72 on May 09, 2017, 11:33:08 AM
I wonder if this will require another Board Meeting or can it be done via teleconference? Presume the later. I'm guessing a formal acceptance announcement tomorrow.
Probably depends on what "the details" wind up being, don'tcha think?
Quote from: justducky on May 09, 2017, 10:58:19 AM
This was a vote for inertia, and by that definition I am not expecting much future voluntary movement.
The MVC decline is already underway. The speed of its decent is the only remaining question. Where is its bottom? Much deeper than most of the voters seem to realize.
What can VU do to help? Accept, then step in and immediately become the biggest :censored: in the room voicing the future need for the 12 team, floating divisional setup. It is not too late but wait and see foot dragging just ain't gonna cut it.
The decline should be compared to other Midwest mid major conferences. Pretty much every mid major conference is in decline due to the best mid majors moving up and the resulting conference churn.
Call it inertia, but taking the Horizon's best team was a smart play, if only to cripple the nearby leagues.
Hahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now...
https://twitter.com/JRoseWXYZ/status/861969729707286528
https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/861984412715692033
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 09, 2017, 11:34:48 AM
Quote from: vu72 on May 09, 2017, 11:33:08 AM
I wonder if this will require another Board Meeting or can it be done via teleconference? Presume the later. I'm guessing a formal acceptance announcement tomorrow.
Probably depends on what "the details" wind up being, don'tcha think?
Sure, but others have posted that "the details" are settled before and invite goes out. Doubt very seriously that a million dollar exit fees hasn;t been addressed/solved at this point. Has an invitation to join a conference ever been issued publicly and then rejected? Certainly hope not.
The accepting school isn't going to want to seem too eager, and you have to keep up the visual of an invite and an acceptance. My guess is there will be a phote op and official announcement with Valpo officials and that's more of the negotiation that's happening than anything that could scuttle the deal. If Valpo wasn't going to accept they would have let the MVC know privately before the vote and put out their own announcement highlighting why either before or shortly after a decision was announced.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AMHahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]
Need to win a lot more HL league titles and start finishing in the top 100.
Quote from: vu72 on May 09, 2017, 11:54:45 AM
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 09, 2017, 11:34:48 AM
Quote from: vu72 on May 09, 2017, 11:33:08 AM
I wonder if this will require another Board Meeting or can it be done via teleconference? Presume the later. I'm guessing a formal acceptance announcement tomorrow.
Probably depends on what "the details" wind up being, don'tcha think?
Sure, but others have posted that "the details" are settled before and invite goes out. Doubt very seriously that a million dollar exit fees hasn;t been addressed/solved at this point. Has an invitation to join a conference ever been issued publicly and then rejected? Certainly hope not.
Could there be such a thing as buyer's remorse here? Doubt it in this case, but ya never know until the ink is dry. It's always that the devil is in the details. And, BTW, my reply was in regard to your question as to whether an additional B of T meeting/concall would be necessary, not whether it was a make or break thing.
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 09, 2017, 12:00:20 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AMHahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]
Need to win a lot more HL league titles and start finishing in the top 100.
Wonder if Matt has been on the horn to Kampe already trying to set up an OOC game (or multi-game series) at the Little Ceasars Arena ( 😜 ) with a return to the ARC in 2018-19?
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 10:59:36 AM
No surprise here.
https://twitter.com/CraigHaley/status/861970515359039489
Duh! Where else could they go?
While I would like to see the MVFC in Valpo's future, unless Valpo commits to being an extremely good PFL team there is no chance of jumping to MVFC or FCS scholarship in the near (5-10 year) future.
We have a football team? :o
I'm excited for Valpo and all sports in this move to the MVC!
With the news out there that the MVC is not done expanding, I'm wondering if our private school status helped in the decision making process. An extra year would give the MVC and potential schools time to get everything in order prior to an April vote.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on May 09, 2017, 12:16:24 PM
We have a football team? :o
In the Shields Up years it might be debatable.
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 09, 2017, 12:09:19 PM
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 09, 2017, 12:00:20 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AMHahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]
Need to win a lot more HL league titles and start finishing in the top 100.
Wonder if Matt has been on the horn to Kampe already trying to set up an OOC game (or multi-game series) at the Little Ceasars Arena ( 😜 ) with a return to the ARC in 2018-19?
Doubt we'd play this year.
I bet Kampe has to be fuming right now after the HL losing Valpo. Its win or bust this year with OU with that very heavy SR roster he has. They have to banking recruiting on showing results this upcoming season.
I bet we will schedule them again some time in the future. We scheduled them when they were in the Summit & we were in HL.
One other thing to keep in mind is we will have an OOC opening since we were in the middle of a 2-for-2 with Indiana State.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/861992695711092736
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/861993660157763584
Quote from: crusader05 on May 09, 2017, 11:59:51 AM
The accepting school isn't going to want to seem too eager, and you have to keep up the visual of an invite and an acceptance. My guess is there will be a phote op and official announcement with Valpo officials and that's more of the negotiation that's happening than anything that could scuttle the deal. If Valpo wasn't going to accept they would have let the MVC know privately before the vote and put out their own announcement highlighting why either before or shortly after a decision was announced.
I get it. Kinda like a candidate for President of a University, when the handwriting of rejection is all over the wall, announces he/her withdrawal from consideration.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/862002635838279680
Valparaiso invited to Missouri Valley Conference
Crusaders would replace Wichita State as 10th member of league
Paul Oren Times Correspondent May 9, 2017 Updated 10 min ago
...........
"Valparaiso director of athletics Mark LaBarbera refused comment more than an hour after the Valley announced Valparaiso's invitation. ""no further comment pending the negotiation of terms."
.............
"Those terms could involve an exit fee that would need to be paid to the Horizon League, allowing the Crusaders to immediately leave the league. There has also been precedent for an outgoing conference member to have to apply for a waiver to be eligible for postseason competition. The Horizon League softball tournament begins on Wednesday in Chicago and the baseball tournament will be held at the end of the month."
............
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AM
Hahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now...
https://twitter.com/JRoseWXYZ/status/861969729707286528
Guessing Oakland is just warming up their old Summit League press materials and quotes from a few years ago when we left the AMCU-8/Mid-Con/Summit.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 12:42:47 PM
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 09, 2017, 12:09:19 PM
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 09, 2017, 12:00:20 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AMHahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]
Need to win a lot more HL league titles and start finishing in the top 100.
Wonder if Matt has been on the horn to Kampe already trying to set up an OOC game (or multi-game series) at the Little Ceasars Arena ( 😜 ) with a return to the ARC in 2018-19?
Doubt we'd play this year.
I bet Kampe has to be fuming right now after the HL losing Valpo. Its win or bust this year with OU with that very heavy SR roster he has. They have to banking recruiting on showing results this upcoming season.
I bet we will schedule them again some time in the future. We scheduled them when they were in the Summit & we were in HL.
One other thing to keep in mind is we will have an OOC opening since we were in the middle of a 2-for-2 with Indiana State.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/861992695711092736
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/861993660157763584
I'm wondering if Detroit isn't the next to vacate the building. Think about it. They were part of a conference with Butler, Loyola and Valpo and now they are the only private left. Not sure where they go but if I were them I would be looking for the exit before another commuter school is added to replace us.
Quote from: valpo84 on May 09, 2017, 01:00:21 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AM
Hahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now...
https://twitter.com/JRoseWXYZ/status/861969729707286528
Guessing Oakland is just warming up their old Summit League press materials and quotes from a few years ago when we left the AMCU-8/Mid-Con/Summit.
Oh trust me a few of them have already been sniping at me by say our team is too chicken to schedule them.
I hope we don't them no favor next year and don't schedule them just get under their skin. I'm sure Kampe has already made a phone call to Matt asking him to play them.
We should say we'd think about giving them a 2-for-1 starting in 2018-2019 just to piss them off ;D
Would we have gotten the invite if we would have stayed in the Summit? Would we have been as successful the last 7 years if we would have stayed in the Summit, or more so? Obviously we can't answer those questions, but interesting to think about.
10 years in the HL and we only won the league half the time.....Pretty good.
Let me break this down to its simplest elements.
Our move to the HL was "one step forward" and it was a BIG one. Post -Butler it quickly became "two steps back" with the last few years being a backward sprint. This MVC move is another "one step forward". With the value of our hindsight, what can do to insure future MVC basketball stability?
Think about this? Didn't the 2007 Horizon League look like a better landing spot than the 2017 MVC? Doesn't that scare you? :o
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 12:42:47 PM
Doubt we'd play this year.
I bet Kampe has to be fuming right now after the HL losing Valpo. Its win or bust this year with OU with that very heavy SR roster he has. They have to banking recruiting on showing results this upcoming season.
I bet we will schedule them again some time in the future. We scheduled them when they were in the Summit & we were in HL.
On of thing to keep in mind is we will have an OOC opening since we were in the middle of a 2-for-2 with Indiana State.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/861992695711092736
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/861993660157763584
Props to you for trying, but a home & home isn't going to happen w/Butler. Their OOC schedule is going to be plenty tough next season (3 games at the PK80 tourney, Crossroads Classic w/Purdue, home against Utah, possible away game for the Gavitt tip-off), and with 9 of their 13 scholarship players as underclassmen, they'll get a few more buy games against teams like Princeton that will do well in their own leagues and won't demand a return trip.
It took 14 years, 7 NCAA tournament appearances, 6 tournament wins and 2 Sweet 16 runs for Butler to finally get a home and home with old conference foe Xavier. Good luck in the MVC, considering your average recruiting ranking is already higher than anyone else in the league, things should go pretty well.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 01:04:36 PM
Oh trust me a few of them have already been sniping at me by say our team is too chicken to schedule them.
I hope we don't them no favor next year and don't schedule them just get under their skin. I'm sure Kampe has already made a phone call to Matt asking him to play them.
We should say we'd think about giving them a 2-for-1 starting in 2018-2019 just to piss them off ;D
For the last few years we on this board have been lamenting the fact that good mid majors are not scheduling each other as much as they should and that has hurt all mid majors come March Madness. So now we leave the HL and pull a Butler? I don't think so. We are not hypocrites. We should be putting our money where our mouth is. We should immediately seek out OU, (whoever the second rated HL team is - NKU??), Belmont and Murray for 2017-18. Unless the HL acts quickly each HL team will have to replace the two game slots on their schedule vacated by Valpo. Offering back at least one game to a couple of the highest rated HL teams would be beneficial all around.
My congratulations to ALL involved at Valpo for this decision to step up and move to the MVC. B of D, administration and Valpo Athletics all on same page it seems! Hope this marks a new era for Valpo Athletics in what I feel is historically a more prestigious conference overall.
Time now to play with the bigger boys and girls in all sports and recruit for that scenario. Now to hope we have a more immediate plan to address facility concerns once the dust settles.
#GoValpo #ValpoMBB #MVC #Valleyhoops #CrusaderFund
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
This the right move to make for Valpo.
The MVC was not what was 10 years ago or even 4 years ago but its still a notch or 2 above the HL for multiple reasons.
Its the best home for us at this moment and if we thrive here then you never know where it could take us... possibly a new non-football conference that doesn't exists yet. We will see more realignment the next 5-10yrs and schools will continue to come and go. When opportunity strikes you have to take it and worry about the future for when it comes and prepare the best you can for it. I'm quite happy with this leap to the MVC.
Quote from: justducky on May 09, 2017, 01:07:38 PM
Let me break this down to its simplest elements.
Our move to the HL was "one step forward" and it was a BIG one. Post -Butler it quickly became "two steps back" with the last few years being a backward sprint. This MVC move is another "one step forward". With the value of our hindsight, what can do to insure future MVC basketball stability?
Think about this? Didn't the 2007 Horizon League look like a better landing spot than the 2017 MVC? Doesn't that scare you? :o
What is your alternative?
Thanks for the good wishes IrishDawg! Still wish we could play each other annually. But guess that makes too much sense the way MBB Scheduling works anymore.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
I'm really happy about this move. Will miss Oakland, but that's about it.
Now Wright State, Milwaukee, Green Bay, UIC and Cleveland State know how Valpo felt, to some extent, in 1994.
Yes, I can hold a grudge a long time.
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 09, 2017, 01:22:39 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 01:04:36 PM
Oh trust me a few of them have already been sniping at me by say our team is too chicken to schedule them.
I hope we don't them no favor next year and don't schedule them just get under their skin. I'm sure Kampe has already made a phone call to Matt asking him to play them.
We should say we'd think about giving them a 2-for-1 starting in 2018-2019 just to piss them off ;D
For the last few years we on this board have been lamenting the fact that good mid majors are not scheduling each other as much as they should and that has hurt all mid majors come March Madness. So now we leave the HL and pull a Butler? I don't think so. We are not hypocrites. We should be putting our money where our mouth is. We should immediately seek out OU, (whoever the second rated HL team is - NKU??), Belmont and Murray for 2017-18. Unless the HL acts quickly each HL team will have to replace the two game slots on their schedule vacated by Valpo. Offering back at least one game to a couple of the highest rated HL teams would be beneficial all around.
Relax.
It's just fun to poke fun at OU fans because they talk so much crap and they could be the most annoying MM fan-base. There may be actual OOC concerns for next season, so we might not be able to schedule them. I liked playing and I think we will continue playing them, but probably not next year if I had to take a guess.
-We have the West Coast Road Trip, playing Santa Clara & more (we're not going there to play 1 game)
-Northwestern
-Purdue
-Ball State
-I know I'm probably forgetting someone. (Lord help us if we get stuck playing Chicago State again. Please let it end!)
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AMHahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]
Not far fetched if you go by last years results. They whooped us home and away, given the refs took Tevonn out of the @ OU game.
Quote from: a3uge on May 09, 2017, 01:29:33 PM
Quote from: justducky on May 09, 2017, 01:07:38 PM
Let me break this down to its simplest elements.
Our move to the HL was "one step forward" and it was a BIG one. Post -Butler it quickly became "two steps back" with the last few years being a backward sprint. This MVC move is another "one step forward". With the value of our hindsight, what can do to insure future MVC basketball stability?
Think about this? Didn't the 2007 Horizon League look like a better landing spot than the 2017 MVC? Doesn't that scare you? :o
What is your alternative?
The MVC needs a transfusion of instant :censored:. Who better than us? If this is public vs private and the publics are right then we should join or lead the publics with this movement. More later. Too busy to talk>
Quote from: crusadermoe on May 09, 2017, 11:15:53 AM
I can't believe people are finding ways to be disappointed or unsatisfied with the expansion to 10 for next year. Get over it!
I couldn't agree more. Let's put the woulda, coulda, shoulda's in the rear view mirror. It's time to get happy!
Quote from: justducky on May 09, 2017, 01:42:46 PM
Quote from: a3uge on May 09, 2017, 01:29:33 PM
Quote from: justducky on May 09, 2017, 01:07:38 PM
Let me break this down to its simplest elements.
Our move to the HL was "one step forward" and it was a BIG one. Post -Butler it quickly became "two steps back" with the last few years being a backward sprint. This MVC move is another "one step forward". With the value of our hindsight, what can do to insure future MVC basketball stability?
Think about this? Didn't the 2007 Horizon League look like a better landing spot than the 2017 MVC? Doesn't that scare you? :o
What is your alternative?
The MVC needs a transfusion of instant :censored:. Who better than us? If this is public vs private and the publics are right then we should join or lead the publics with this movement. More later. Too busy to talk>
What?
The Valley vs. MWC challenge will make up for the ISU OCC game we had. I think it will be a home game against Colorado St?
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 09, 2017, 01:22:39 PMFor the last few years we on this board have been lamenting the fact that good mid majors are not scheduling each other as much as they should and that has hurt all mid majors come March Madness. So now we leave the HL and pull a Butler? I don't think so. We are not hypocrites. We should be putting our money where our mouth is. We should immediately seek out OU, (whoever the second rated HL team is - NKU??), Belmont and Murray for 2017-18. Unless the HL acts quickly each HL team will have to replace the two game slots on their schedule vacated by Valpo. Offering back at least one game to a couple of the highest rated HL teams would be beneficial all around.
Couldn't agree more VULB#62. No more NAIA games, we need to schedule OOC home games that will put buts in the seats. Would much rather that it be a +150 HL team.
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 09, 2017, 01:39:05 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AMHahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]
Not far fetched if you go by last years results. They whooped us home and away, given the refs took Tevonn out of the @ OU game.
No one is saying they won't be a good team next season.
Just saying, they should probably back their record up with a few out-right HL Titles and a few RPI Top 100s before they go around calling themselves the "Top Dogs" in the conference.
They should be the preseason favorites on paper next season with the senior laden roster.
Some pretty funny things being posted on the Milwaukee board. When asked "what is next for the conference" One poster said "if IPFW or IUPUI are on the short list, desolve the conference" :rotfl:
Another guy, in answer to the question just posted this:
https://shoutsfromtheabyss.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/tombstone.jpg
I assume that we are going to wait until after the baseball and softball tournaments finish, before officially accepting. The softball tournament is this weekend, and the conference can't take away an NCAA bid, if the tourney has already been decided. Anyone else think that this is the case?
Quote from: FWalum on May 09, 2017, 02:06:28 PM
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 09, 2017, 01:22:39 PMFor the last few years we on this board have been lamenting the fact that good mid majors are not scheduling each other as much as they should and that has hurt all mid majors come March Madness. So now we leave the HL and pull a Butler? I don't think so. We are not hypocrites. We should be putting our money where our mouth is. We should immediately seek out OU, (whoever the second rated HL team is - NKU??), Belmont and Murray for 2017-18. Unless the HL acts quickly each HL team will have to replace the two game slots on their schedule vacated by Valpo. Offering back at least one game to a couple of the highest rated HL teams would be beneficial all around.
Couldn't agree more VULB#62. No more NAIA games, we need to schedule OOC home games that will put buts in the seats. Would much rather that it be a +150 HL team.
Agree that we should try to schedule Oakland; for 2 reasons: 1) Puts fans in the seats; and 2) is a good rpi game. 50% of RPI is opponents W-L record. Last year OU was 22-9. Will be hard for VU to get that kind of W-L record in a non-conference game for a home-and-home.
Regarding the Men's Tennis post, Valpo will join the Summit League next year for Men,s Tennis. The Missouri Valley will fold Men,s Tennis for next year as Southern Illinois and Stonybrook are dropping their programs and Wichita State will be gone. Drake and Illinois State will then join Valpo in the Summit League with Denver, Drake and Valpo being the premier programs. Also, Men,s Swimming and Diving will join the MAC alongside Missouri State, Evansville, and SIU. Perhaps now upgrades to the pool will take place ahead of or in addition to the future fieldhouse.
I agree its likely waiting for the softball and baseball tourneys to be over. HL cant do anything if we have just been offered but not accepted
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 02:06:34 PM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 09, 2017, 01:39:05 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AMHahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]
Not far fetched if you go by last years results. They whooped us home and away, given the refs took Tevonn out of the @ OU game.
No one is saying they won't be a good team next season.
Just saying, they should probably back their record up with a few out-right HL Titles and a few RPI Top 100s before they go around calling themselves the "Top Dogs" in the conference.
They should be the preseason favorites on paper next season with the senior laden roster.
Oakland has won exactly 1 conference tournament game, and that was 4 years ago. They backed into 1 league co-championship - this year after Alec was shut down for the season. Their 1 claim to fame was sweeping us this year, so I'll grant them that. They do a very good job of recruiting good 2nd chance problem children, but that has not translated to an equivalent level of on-the-court success. They still have a lot to prove.
This is a very exciting day for Valpo, let's not forget that! We can worry about the long-term repercussions of the MVC another day, though I have more faith in these MVC teams getting better than some of the cellar dwellers in the Horizon.
I remember before I came to Valpo as a student six years ago, watching Arch Madness (and rooting for Illinois State where my brother went to college) was always one of the most exciting parts of the year before the NCAA Tourney. Above all, the fact that we get to abandon the disaster of Motor City Madness for something like Arch Madness makes this move worthwhile in itself.
Now let's go out there and shock the MVC in year one! ;)
Quote from: valpo tundra on May 09, 2017, 02:24:54 PM
Regarding the Men's Tennis post, Valpo will join the Summit League next year for Men,s Tennis. The Missouri Valley will fold Men,s Tennis for next year as Southern Illinois and Stonybrook are dropping their programs and Wichita State will be gone. Drake and Illinois State will then join Valpo in the Summit League with Denver, Drake and Valpo being the premier programs. Also, Men,s Swimming and Diving will join the MAC alongside Missouri State, Evansville, and SIU. Perhaps now upgrades to the pool will take place ahead of or in addition to the future fieldhouse.
Any news on this front?
I'm curious if this move jump-starts any new upgrades to the ARC or new facilities?
Anyone else excited for the next PO podcast!?!?
Think it would be great to hear from Kampe as he has keen insight on conference movement and growing his program. He is a wealth of experience and is unafraid to speak freely.
Anyone have any way too early projections?
https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/858835916147871746
https://twitter.com/Catch_N_Shoot/status/859951968202219520
Maybe middle of the pack next year and win it all in 18-19.
Just wipe the floor with Wardle's smug face, that's all I ask.
Quote from: yayphoenixyay on May 09, 2017, 02:54:42 PM
Just wipe the floor with Wardle's smug face, that's all I ask.
We will try our best!!
https://twitter.com/TribStarTodd/status/862032119836684289
Valparaiso is the only invitee to the MVC's club
Crusaders become third Indiana school to join the conference
By Todd Aaron Golden Tribune-Star 14 min ago
..............
"Valparaiso University was unanimously voted to join the MVC. The vote took place Monday night and the announcement was made by the league on Tuesday.
"The Missouri Valley Conference Presidents Council has unanimously voted to extend a membership invitation to Valparaiso University, effective July 1, 2017. There will be no further comment pending the negotiation of terms," said the MVC in a statement.
..............
"This is driven by basketball. It's important. It matters. More importantly, bringing in an academic institution that fits the profile of the Missouri Valley Conference is really important to us," ISU Director of Athletics Sherard Clinkscales said.
..............
"I've been in the league for the loss of Creighton and Wichita State. I think the coaches know we're a really strong basketball league that needs to work hard to keep its identity and continue to improve," Lansing said. "I think this is a strong step forward. It's a strong academic institution and it's strong in basketball. They can be an in-state rival for us. It's a natural for Indiana State."
.............
Lots of good stuff in here. Great read.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 02:58:16 PM
https://twitter.com/TribStarTodd/status/862032119836684289
Valparaiso is the only invitee to the MVC's club
Crusaders become third Indiana school to join the conference
By Todd Aaron Golden Tribune-Star 14 min ago
..............
"Valparaiso University was unanimously voted to join the MVC. The vote took place Monday night and the announcement was made by the league on Tuesday.
"The Missouri Valley Conference Presidents Council has unanimously voted to extend a membership invitation to Valparaiso University, effective July 1, 2017. There will be no further comment pending the negotiation of terms," said the MVC in a statement.
..............
"This is driven by basketball. It's important. It matters. More importantly, bringing in an academic institution that fits the profile of the Missouri Valley Conference is really important to us," ISU Director of Athletics Sherard Clinkscales said.
..............
"I've been in the league for the loss of Creighton and Wichita State. I think the coaches know we're a really strong basketball league that needs to work hard to keep its identity and continue to improve," Lansing said. "I think this is a strong step forward. It's a strong academic institution and it's strong in basketball. They can be an in-state rival for us. It's a natural for Indiana State."
.............
Lots of good stuff in here. Great read.
Interesting to read that Loyola lacks several sports that Valpo has. In Men's they don't have swimming, baseball or tennis but do have volleyball. In women's they don't have swimming or tennis. Valpo of course has football and women's bowling which they don't have. Just amazing all the opportunities presented athletically at Valpo.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 02:29:41 PMQuote from: valpo tundra on May 09, 2017, 02:24:54 PMRegarding the Men's Tennis post, Valpo will join the Summit League next year for Men,s Tennis. The Missouri Valley will fold Men,s Tennis for next year as Southern Illinois and Stonybrook are dropping their programs and Wichita State will be gone. Drake and Illinois State will then join Valpo in the Summit League with Denver, Drake and Valpo being the premier programs. Also, Men,s Swimming and Diving will join the MAC alongside Missouri State, Evansville, and SIU. Perhaps now upgrades to the pool will take place ahead of or in addition to the future fieldhouse.
Any news on this front? I'm curious if this move jump-starts any new upgrades to the ARC or new facilities?
Would be nice, pools are money pits so it's hard to get anything going but NWI could use a topnotch facility. Munster High school built a very nice pool and it gets used for big club meets etc. If VU and the City of Valpo could build something similar with a bit more seating then they could almost break even each year!
According to Mike Osopoff's Trib article:
"For not providing at least two years notice to the Horizon League, Valparaiso would be subject to a reported $500,000 exit fee and forfeiture of its share of NCAA and conference revenues from the last year, including from the NCAA tournament."
Read the rest:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-valparaiso-mvc-st-0510-20170509-story.html
Chances are the MVC kicks in for at least some of the buy out and/or a partial share of WSU's shares forfited by them leaving.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 02:29:41 PM
Quote from: valpo tundra on May 09, 2017, 02:24:54 PM
Regarding the Men's Tennis post, Valpo will join the Summit League next year for Men,s Tennis. The Missouri Valley will fold Men,s Tennis for next year as Southern Illinois and Stonybrook are dropping their programs and Wichita State will be gone. Drake and Illinois State will then join Valpo in the Summit League with Denver, Drake and Valpo being the premier programs. Also, Men,s Swimming and Diving will join the MAC alongside Missouri State, Evansville, and SIU. Perhaps now upgrades to the pool will take place ahead of or in addition to the future fieldhouse.
Any news on this front?
I'm curious if this move jump-starts any new upgrades to the ARC or new facilities?
I have a feeling that this is what is being negotiated. It doesn't mean that Valpo will decline just that their level of spending towards athletics will be "rewarded/disciplined" with the amount the MVC will reduce/increase their entry fee or exit fee from the HL/to the MVC.
Nah. I bet it almost certainly has to do with making sure softball and baseball can participate in upcoming HL tourney (and go to NCAA if they win), as well as possibly finalizing landing slots for tennis and swimming programs (note that the Summit and MAC likely aren't going to call emergency meetings to approve an associate member in an Olympic sport, probably just a matter of getting requisite signatures, etc.). Facilities stuff is big and any of that would be nailed down before an announcement like today's.
That makes sense. The MVC would have too much leverage at this point. Valpo would never get a conference invite again from anyone after embarrassing the MVC.
https://twitter.com/DaveReynolds2
Racers still in the Race. Gotta love it!
I highly recommend watching the tail end of this video accompanying this article interviewing Evansville AD Mark Spencer. He unequivocally stated -- without being asked -- that 11 teams was "untenable" logistically for a number of reasons. So for those hung up on Murray instead of celebrating today's great news should keep that in mind. This means going to 12 is the only realistic expansion option beyond inviting VU. Which means dividing the pie by two additional slices. Which means that #12 needs to be a dead-bang home run instead of an uncertain play and potential RPI drag. Which means it could be a while.
http://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/college/2017/05/09/mvc-add-valparaiso-league/314270001/
Is there a sexy enough pitch the MVC could make to lure Butler away from the Big East? That would be a good option for a 12th team.
Quote from: VUOR63 on May 09, 2017, 06:03:55 PM
Is there a sexy enough pitch the MVC could make to lure Butler away from the Big East? That would be a good option for a 12th team.
No. Way too much money available to the Big East. A much better chance (still not good) of getting St. Louis from the A10 or Ball State from the MAC. If Northern Kentucky plays at a high level for a couple of years then they might be a good candidate as well. Possibly Oakland.
QuoteBall State from the MAC.
With all due respect, what? Ball State is absolutely not leaving the MAC for a conference that doesn't play FBS football. Especially with the MAC's new ESPN deal, which is arguably the best for a midmajor conference ($100M+ deal, plus each school gets free digital media and broadcast infrastructure paid for by ESPN, plus a percentage of streaming revenues).
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 09, 2017, 06:18:03 PM
QuoteBall State from the MAC.
With all due respect, what? Ball State is absolutely not leaving the MAC for a conference that doesn't play FBS football. Especially with the MAC's new ESPN deal, which is arguably the best for a midmajor conference ($100M+ deal, plus each school gets free digital media and broadcast infrastructure paid for by ESPN, plus a percentage of streaming revenues).
[/quote
I stand corrected! :-X
Oh, no worries. Didn't mean to seem like I was blasting you there. No one from the MAC is making that move without dropping football, that's all. Those mid-week games during the fall have been a profitable endeavor for the league. EMU was the only one flirting with wavering on FBS football, until they went to the Bahamas Bowl last year and now have committed to expanding and improving their football facilities: http://emuchampionshipbuilding.com/
Interview with Missouri State President - http://www.ozarkssportszone.com/2017/05/09/missouri-valley-considering-further-expansion-after-valparaiso-addition/
Thankfully this interview offers some good insight into the whole "leaving the door open" for future additions to the MVC.
Interview with Evansville AD - http://www.courierpress.com/videos/sports/2017/05/09/spencer-talks-valpo-invite-mvc/101479296/
If your interested Kevin Sweeney a Basketball writer who specializes in MidMajors is going to be Periscoping (live video/chatting) about his thoughts on the MVC adding Valpo and Missouri Valley Conference. He'll be on at 7:30 CT if your interesting in tuning in.
https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/862101377388040192
https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/862092645199466496
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1YpKknMvQgjxj
https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/862102397157597184
https://twitter.com/pjstarsports/status/862104416509243392
Hopefully the school takes advantage of the league change and markets our basketball program. No better time to enhance the brand than now.
Don't raise ticket prices, market the crap out of the upcoming games and get people in the seats.
welcome Valpo fans, from the Sycamores
hey, it only took a little over 4 years from the point I started the original Valpo to the MVC thread to get you all in the conference.
Disappointed we only added one team, was hoping for Murray State too, but hopefully the MVC presidents find a 12th member to join for 18-19 and can bring Murray State in as well.
I enjoyed the interviews and found out that first, the Missouri State President either didn't really visit Valpo or he has a very short memory, as he continued to mispronounce our school and city name. having said that, the Evansville guy was outstanding. A couple of things--first, for those who have felt that the administration wasn't properly behind athletics, understand what he said. Valpo had the upper hand because we new what The Valley wanted and we moved to that point over the last four years. Second, and perhaps most important, was his statement about the NCAA changing to make large payout for academic success in the future. Thus, added a school like Valpo would solidify their already strong academic record. He added that having a school with both a good basketball program AND good academics was a double win for the conference.
He clarified the 11 thing pretty well and both people confirmed that this is an ongoing process. I would expect Murray to be in i the next couple of years and for them to seek out that program which would add both academic and sports success going forward.
I also wanted to add that Valpo will be getting loads more press coverage, albeit in small markets, but still a lot more. The Valley schools are located in cities where they are the big dog, not Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee or Cleveland where at best their local Horizon League teams are third or fourth or fifth thoughts. When we moved to the Horizon did we get this kind of local press coverage? Nope.
Welcome aboard Crusaders.
Feel free to join the Sycamores over at SycamorePride.com if you're looking for additional MVC discussion.
Someone remind me, what's the TV coverage for MVC conference games? ESPN3 for everything? And better for some? More or less like the Horizon?
Arch Madness has the final on CBS of course.
Quote from: agibson on May 09, 2017, 09:20:28 PM
Someone remind me, what's the TV coverage for MVC conference games? ESPN3 for everything? And better for some? More or less like the Horizon?
Arch Madness has the final on CBS of course.
ESPN3 coverage, I believe they mainly play Conference games on Wednesdays and Saturdays but they have the occasional Sunday Conference game.
I know they have occasional games on CSN Chicago on cable.
CBS Arch Madness final game and Quarterfinals are CSN Cable.
http://www.csnchicago.com/ncaa-talk/today-csn-all-four-mvc-tournament-quarterfinals
Quote from: valpo tundra on May 09, 2017, 02:24:54 PM
Regarding the Men's Tennis post, Valpo will join the Summit League next year for Men,s Tennis. The Missouri Valley will fold Men,s Tennis for next year as Southern Illinois and Stonybrook are dropping their programs and Wichita State will be gone. Drake and Illinois State will then join Valpo in the Summit League with Denver, Drake and Valpo being the premier programs. Also, Men,s Swimming and Diving will join the MAC alongside Missouri State, Evansville, and SIU. Perhaps now upgrades to the pool will take place ahead of or in addition to the future fieldhouse.
I thought that tennis might join the MAC as well.
The PFL operates out of the MVC offices? Huh.
Quote from: wh on May 09, 2017, 01:48:14 PM
Quote from: crusadermoe on May 09, 2017, 11:15:53 AM
I can't believe people are finding ways to be disappointed or unsatisfied with the expansion to 10 for next year. Get over it!
I couldn't agree more. Let's put the woulda, coulda, shoulda's in the rear view mirror. It's time to get happy!
Spot on. Time to look forward now and do the best we can to make "the Valley" stronger. Many positives for both Valpo and the MVC with this move. Nice to be in a conference with a storied tradition like "the Valley". While it may take some time, hoping the MVC regains momentum and gets back to multiple bid status it had a decade or so ago before WSU blew up big-time.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
Quote from: agibson on May 09, 2017, 09:41:25 PM
The PFL operates out of the MVC offices? Huh.
Wikipedia uses the phrase "same complex in St. Louis as MVC and MVFC."
Patty Viverito is commissioner of both the PFL & MVFC.
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 09, 2017, 09:49:14 PM
Quote from: agibson on May 09, 2017, 09:41:25 PM
The PFL operates out of the MVC offices? Huh.
Wikipedia uses the phrase "same complex in St. Louis as MVC and MVFC."
Patty Viverito is commissioner of both the PFL & MVFC.
Same building. Same staff. It's all "separate" but it's really not.
I think the only MVC staff not on the PFL and MVFC staffs is Doug Elgin
Quote from: agibson on May 09, 2017, 09:20:28 PM
Someone remind me, what's the TV coverage for MVC conference games? ESPN3 for everything? And better for some? More or less like the Horizon?
Arch Madness has the final on CBS of course.
[/quote)
So I looked at Illinois State, not Wichita as they are gone. her is what I found.
Last year, Il St, as one of the best in the Valley had the follwing coverage:
ESPN 3 10 games
ESPNU 3 games
ESPN2 5 games
Fox Sports Midwest 8 games
ESPN 1 game
CBS 1 game.
Valpo:
ESPN2 3 games
ESPNU 1 game
Pac 12 Network 1 game
SEC Network 1 game
ESPN 1 game
all the others were on ESPN3
Quote from: elephtheria47 on May 09, 2017, 10:43:10 AM(Would be okay with still scheduling Oakland and maybe Milw for selfish reasons)
Oakland will always be a good rivalry. Now Kampe has to recruit some even more talented "bad" boys to get into the MVC. Instead of Milw maybe we can get Marquette in Nov or Dec so as to keep the Andy Nunemaker party/Milw area alums group happy. Milw is so great to visit.
Quote from: VUOR63 on May 09, 2017, 06:03:55 PM
Is there a sexy enough pitch the MVC could make to lure Butler away from the Big East? That would be a good option for a 12th team.
Was the MVC able to keep arrogant Wichita State? Attracting Butler to the MVC would be shocking (pun intended-because I like being punny). Butler and WSU are very similar except for the private/public thing which the MVC seems to be hung up on. Privates can certainly be as arrogant as publics. (whoa, don't type that last sentence incorrectly) In the end there is no reason that privates and publics can't get along. It's when groups start measuring victories and notice a disparity between different types of schools that the prejudices start to creep in.
Happy to see a Valpo to MVC article in Chicago Tribune sports section today. An actual article and not just 1 or 2 sentences. Hooray!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-valparaiso-missouri-valley-conference-20170509-story.html
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
Quote from: wh on May 09, 2017, 02:26:17 PMQuote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 02:06:34 PMQuote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 09, 2017, 01:39:05 PMQuote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 11:37:30 AMHahaha wow Detroit area reporter is already declaring Oakland "Top Dog" of the Conference now... [tweet]861969729707286528[/tweet]
Not far fetched if you go by last years results. They whooped us home and away, given the refs took Tevonn out of the @ OU game.
No one is saying they won't be a good team next season. Just saying, they should probably back their record up with a few out-right HL Titles and a few RPI Top 100s before they go around calling themselves the "Top Dogs" in the conference. They should be the preseason favorites on paper next season with the senior laden roster.
Oakland has won exactly 1 conference tournament game, and that was 4 years ago. They backed into 1 league co-championship - this year after Alec was shut down for the season. Their 1 claim to fame was sweeping us this year, so I'll grant them that. They do a very good job of recruiting good 2nd chance problem children, but that has not translated to an equivalent level of on-the-court success. They still have a lot to prove.
That win came with a charge call on an inbound play that sent Badder to the line for free throws. Brilliant move by Kampe, almost as brilliant as convincing the HL that the tourney was no good and that he had some friends in Detriot from Olympia that could host.
As talented as they were last year, or years previously in the HL, they were not a top 100.
However they have a good chance next year on winning a game in the NCAAT if they can figure out Detroit Moror City Madness.
Quote from: bbtds on May 10, 2017, 02:48:37 AMQuote from: VUOR63 on May 09, 2017, 06:03:55 PMIs there a sexy enough pitch the MVC could make to lure Butler away from the Big East? That would be a good option for a 12th team.
Was the MVC able to keep arrogant Wichita State? Attracting Butler to the MVC would be shocking (pun intended-because I like being punny). Butler and WSU are very similar except for the private/public thing which the MVC seems to be hung up on. Privates can certainly be as arrogant as publics. (whoa, don't type that last sentence incorrectly) In the end there is no reason that privates and publics can't get along. It's when groups start measuring victories and notice a disparity between different types of schools that the prejudices start to creep in.
Crazy talk. What was surprising was the 1 year Butler was in the A10. I thought Butler was a better fit for the MVC and that time.
Re: Chicago Tribune article. Says Valparaiso "is close to Merrillville, Ind."
Please.
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 10, 2017, 08:19:53 AM
Re: Chicago Tribune article. Says Valparaiso "is close to Merrillville, Ind."
Please.
Depending on what channel you watch (Tom Skilling on WGN and his other weather people know where Valparaiso is) or if you traveled to the Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville often would a Chicagoland person know Valparaiso or Merrillville better. Although if the Chicagoland driver paid attention to the signs traveling to the Star Plaza they would know that Valparaiso is only 12 miles east of Merrillville on US 30.
TV in The Valley is pretty good, but relies on you already having your own TV deals in place.
The Valley's deal with ESPN is that every home event indoors (VB, MBB, WBB, etc...) is to be shown on ESPN3. The Valley will not produce those broadcasts, they are to be produced by the school through local media contracts and sent to ESPN to be broadcast. This has required a ton of upgrades at most MVC schools to have that capability. The quality must be HD so that games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CSN, FSN, etc... can be shown in HD.
Every single UNI game was on TV for me to watch last year. I could catch them on ESPN3, or since all MVC home games have to be produced for TV in house, UNI has a media contract to show our games on TV all through the state on TV. Not all WBB and VB matches are on TV, but they are ESPN3. It's getting to a point where almost all softball and basetball games are shown on ESPN3, and I've seen an increasing number of tennis matches shown there as well.
Basically, if you don't already have a media contract for a TV station to broadcast every one of your games already you better hurry up and get one. I guess you could have students doing the broadcast and production, but that's a crap shoot for quality. Most schools already had hired out broadcasts to TV stations/production companies so the transition to ESPN3 was smooth. I know UNI still uses students in the production booth as part of an internship and selling feature as part of the program.
UNI's tv schedule last year
Bemidji State (Exhibition) ESPN3/TV across Iowa
Coe College ESPN3/TV across Iowa
Arizona State - Tire Pros Invite - ESPNU
Oklahoma - Tire Pros Invite - ESPNU
Xavier - Tire Pros Invite - ESPN2
@ Xavier - Fox Sports (SE, FL, OH, Detriot, North, Midwest, Arizona, West), Root Sports
George Mason - ESPN3/TV across Iowa
@ Wyoming - MVC/MWC - Mountain West Network
South Dakota State - ESPN3/TV across Iowa plus Comcast Sports Chicago
North Dakota - ESPN3/TV across Iowa plus Comcast Sports Chicago
Iowa - Big 4 Classic - ESPN3 ONLY - DRAKE CONTROLLED TV RIGHTS FOR THIS ONE...STRANGE EVENT SET UP FOR MEDIA
@ North Carolina - ESPN2
Every home confernece game was shown on ESPN3, TV across Iowa, and a couple on ESPNU. A handful on MVCTV - which is Comcast SportsNet Chicago and Fox Sports Midwest/North/Kansas City
Every road game was shown on ESPN3 plus a handful on MVCTV.
Valpo has actually shared Lakeshore Public Television (WYIN) with studios in Merrillville, Indiana with Loyola in the past. I wonder if that same arrangement could be renewed.
RIP Dick Harlan a former pbp guy for Lakeshore and Valpo.
I have no idea if Lakeshore is still doing the Loyola broadcasts.
Quote from: UNIFTW on May 10, 2017, 09:07:24 AMTV in The Valley is pretty good, but relies on you already having your own TV deals in place.
The Valley's deal with ESPN is that every home event indoors (VB, MBB, WBB, etc...) is to be shown on ESPN3. The Valley will not produce those broadcasts, they are to be produced by the school through local media contracts and sent to ESPN to be broadcast. This has required a ton of upgrades at most MVC schools to have that capability. The quality must be HD so that games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CSN, FSN, etc... can be shown in HD.
Every single UNI game was on TV for me to watch last year. I could catch them on ESPN3, or since all MVC home games have to be produced for TV in house, UNI has a media contract to show our games on TV all through the state on TV. Not all WBB and VB matches are on TV, but they are ESPN3. It's getting to a point where almost all softball and basetball games are shown on ESPN3, and I've seen an increasing number of tennis matches shown there as well.
Basically, if you don't already have a media contract for a TV station to broadcast every one of your games already you better hurry up and get one. I guess you could have students doing the broadcast and production, but that's a crap shoot for quality. Most schools already had hired out broadcasts to TV stations/production companies so the transition to ESPN3 was smooth. I know UNI still uses students in the production booth as part of an internship and selling feature as part of the program.
The Horizon had the same deal. All VU home games and Horizon League conference games were on ESPN3 and some were also cablecast on American Sports Network as well as Fox Sports Chicago. As far as making broadcasts available to to other outlets in the state and tri-state area I have no idea how that would work. I am sure that our media connections will receive some upgrades with the move to the MVC!
Quote from: FWalum on May 10, 2017, 10:25:00 AMAs far as making broadcasts available to to other outlets in the state and tri-state area I have no idea how that would work.
It reminds me of what's been done with the ASN (RIP) or indeed with Lakeshore. On camera, and on mic, those were all (?) done with different crews than our "usual" home HLN-only or ESPN3-only games. In terms of camera work and other behind-the-scenes stuff, I'm not sure.
Assuming that we keep all the broadcast equipment we've collected over the years, and that it doesn't somehow revert to the league, we should be fine to continue with our ESPN3-level productions (I assume students are significantly involved; for MBB the call is usually our radio call and top notch, for other sports the call is often students and the quality is hit or miss). I don't know whether we'd need/want to step it up slightly for "TV quality" production of every home MBB game.
It sounds like the Horizon League may actually be doing better than the MVC for some sports. It seems like (nearly?) every Horizon League MSOC and WSOC game was available on ESPN3 for the last couple of seasons. I'll miss tuning into away games, if the MVC doesn't routinely provide them. I hope VU keeps up our ESPN3 tradition in those sports.
And the Horizon League has had tournament video coverage, at least, for many sports. To include many outdoor sports (not track? cross country? golf?).
The MVC needs an all out effort to lure St. Louis U. It's not impossible for the many reasons I cited in one of these MVC posts. SLU would gain a lot and save a hell of a lot of money.
Now THAT would be a 12th team to add to the MVC with Murray! I just don't like the commuter thing from UWM or UNO, UMKC etc.. SLU could be the new Mo. State travel partner and begin a great rivalry.
The Valley on ESPN3 coverage is very similar to what the HL partnership with ESPN3 includes. If you look at the link below, all of the baseball and softball games are listed as being shown on ESPN3 (with the exception of baseball games at DBU, which is only an affiliate member) along with the Track and Field Conference Championships. Since spring events that have already happened have been removed, it is difficult to tell if there was ESPN3 coverage of the MVC Tennis Championships. Within that site there is also a link for the pdf schedule for fall 2016, which shows that there is full coverage of volleyball along with men's and women's soccer.
http://www.mvc-sports.com/multimedia/thevalleyonespn3/#.WRM1HJU2zX4
it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already. Any possibility that we don't accept?
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 10, 2017, 10:55:24 AM
it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already. Any possibility that we don't accept?
I think the answer is that we need to get through the softball and baseball tournaments to see if we end up in the NCAAs. If we announce a withdrawal then we wouldn't be eligible for NCAA tournament play (or at least that is what I thought I had read somewhere). As a result it could be a couple of weeks. Softball starts today, baseball starts May 24.
Negotiations. I'm wondering how much the MVC is kicking in $$ to make this move?
https://twitter.com/Jim_Connell_417/status/862333940945870849
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/862334254528778240
Quoteit's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already. Any possibility that we don't accept?
No, there is no possibility of that.
The moment we officially "accept," the HL could rule our softball and baseball teams ineligible for the conference tourney. So my guess is that we're either going to wait until that's over or until we get written assurance from the HL that both teams can still participate this month and receive an NCAA bid if they win.
There also could be financial penalties from the HL if we don't manage our exit properly according to the league charter (say, if we publicly announce we're leaving before formally completing the HL exit process). My guess is that any "negotiation" is going on the HL side of things, and VU can't announce until all of that paperwork has been reviewed by lawyers on both sides. Remember, unlike Butler or Loyola, Valpo's athletic dept. doesn't leak on matters like this, hence the vague terminology in the MVC announcement. Remember, the MVC wouldn't have announced anything yesterday if they weren't 100% certain of the outcome.
Relax. Whether it's announced by VU tomorrow or next month, Valpo is now a member of the Valley.
Considering the timeframe and on field quality of each team this season, it has to be about softball.
I don't think we'll be able to stall for the better part of a month for the sake of our baseball team. To stay eligible for softball we just have to hold out 5 days. Nor do I think baseball is in a position to make much noise in the HL tournament this year.
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Put a few things into prospective. I live in a small town about 65 minutes from Valpo. We have several staff members here who are graduates of Indiana State and Evansville.
All of them have said they would strongly consider going to Valpo once a year to see their team play since it is so close.
I wonder how many graduates from MVC schools live in "the region" or "nearby region" compared to graduates of HL schools. Guessing that percentage is much higher thanks mostly to Indiana State and Evansville.
"nearby region" = Lafayette to Kokomo to South Bend corridor
https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/862361093871730699
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/862362391652302849
I think there's definitely something to this. No shortage of Indiana State grads in the Region, and there's plenty of Illinois State and SIU grads in the south suburbs who might make the 45-50 minute trip over when their team is in town. To say nothing of Bradley alums in the Chicago area.
Wouldn't be surprised if there are 5 or 6 MVC teams who'll bring more visiting fans into the ARC every year than the best-traveling HL opponent. (Loyola never brought that many fans when they were in the HL, but they were also terrible when our tenures overlapped. It'll be interesting to see if that changes if their current upswing continues).
Quote from: Dave_2010 on May 10, 2017, 12:16:58 PM
Considering the timeframe and on field quality of each team this season, it has to be about softball.
I don't think we'll be able to stall for the better part of a month for the sake of our baseball team. To stay eligible for softball we just have to hold out 5 days. Nor do I think baseball is in a position to make much noise in the HL tournament this year.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You would be incorrect. The baseball team is very much a possibility to win the HL tournament. Most of our conference losses have been fairly close, and though UIC and WSU have the best records by far, there are always surprises in NCAA baseball. YSU won it as a 6 seed a few years back. Valpo's baseball team has some quality wins this year, and can make A LOT of noise in the HL tourney. They will wait to accept until we either have assurances from the HL that softball and baseball can participate in the conference tournament, or announce our acceptance after both finish. Either way, the MVC is definitely aware that we won't accept until these final sports get the opportunity to complete their seasons.
While I understand how some conferences don't want departing schools to represent them in the NCAA tournament, it is also a huge slight to the student athletes who competed for 50-55 games, only to be robbed of an opportunity to compete for a championship.
Welcome!
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 10, 2017, 10:55:24 AM
it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already. Any possibility that we don't accept?
That would be the mother of all public relations disasters for both parties. There is a zero percent chance of this happening.
Nobody is asking the important question.
With the added exposure of the MVC, will Coach Lottich repeat as the sexiest coach in mid major land?
Quote from: wh on May 10, 2017, 01:51:36 PM
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 10, 2017, 10:55:24 AM
it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already. Any possibility that we don't accept?
That would be the mother of all public relations disasters for both parties. There is a zero percent chance of this happening.
I'm still going to be more comfortable after the announcement is made.
I'm pretty curious what coaches think about the move, but I'm not going to go around asking them publicly until it's official.
I'm sure a gag order went out from VU's general counsel to everyone involved until everything is signed and squared away (standard stuff at every company for matters like this). It also sounds like the MVC had everyone under an NDA while this whole process unfolded, so reading anything into a lack of public comment is not going to tell you much.
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 10, 2017, 12:54:31 PMI think there's definitely something to this. No shortage of Indiana State grads in the Region, and there's plenty of Illinois State and SIU grads in the south suburbs who might make the 45-50 minute trip over when their team is in town. To say nothing of Bradley alums in the Chicago area. Wouldn't be surprised if there are 5 or 6 MVC teams who'll bring more visiting fans into the ARC every year than the best-traveling HL opponent. (Loyola never brought that many fans when they were in the HL, but they were also terrible when our tenures overlapped. It'll be interesting to see if that changes if their current upswing continues).
I had thought about it as well, but it clearly did not materialize at Loyola from what I could tell... but then again despite being in Chicago, Loyola is not easy to get to. Valpo may be able to grab opposing fans from the Chicago west and south burbs as well as Northern Indiana better than Loyola could have...
I heard John Feinstein's "CBS Sports Minute" during the noon hour on WSCR.
He praised the MVC for adding "Val-pa-RI-so."
Good publicity, but another example of a big-time East Coast guy not being able to pronounce the name correctly.
Quote from: agibson on May 10, 2017, 02:02:00 PM
Quote from: wh on May 10, 2017, 01:51:36 PM
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 10, 2017, 10:55:24 AM
it's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already. Any possibility that we don't accept?
That would be the mother of all public relations disasters for both parties. There is a zero percent chance of this happening.
I'm still going to be more comfortable after the announcement is made.
I'm pretty curious what coaches think about the move, but I'm not going to go around asking them publicly until it's official.
If things fall apart at this point, the Valpo and MVC logos will be forever displayed under "Amateur Hour" in the Idiom Dictionary. :)
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 10, 2017, 02:12:03 PM
I heard John Feinstein's "CBS Sports Minute" during the noon hour on WSCR.
He praised the MVC for adding "Val-pa-RI-so."
Good publicity, but another example of a big-time East Coast guy not being able to pronounce the name correctly.
It is disappointing that these folks can't figure it out or can't remember. Still, we are hardly alone. Think of GonZAGa (or is it... Xavier still gets Xxavier from time to time.
Quote from: vuny98 on May 10, 2017, 02:10:05 PM
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 10, 2017, 12:54:31 PMI think there's definitely something to this. No shortage of Indiana State grads in the Region, and there's plenty of Illinois State and SIU grads in the south suburbs who might make the 45-50 minute trip over when their team is in town. To say nothing of Bradley alums in the Chicago area. Wouldn't be surprised if there are 5 or 6 MVC teams who'll bring more visiting fans into the ARC every year than the best-traveling HL opponent. (Loyola never brought that many fans when they were in the HL, but they were also terrible when our tenures overlapped. It'll be interesting to see if that changes if their current upswing continues).
I had thought about it as well, but it clearly did not materialize at Loyola from what I could tell... but then again despite being in Chicago, Loyola is not easy to get to. Valpo may be able to grab opposing fans from the Chicago west and south burbs as well as Northern Indiana better than Loyola could have...
It looks like I can take HWY30 straight to you guys. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to HWY30 from my house. It's about 4.5 from me to your facility, but it's a trip I'd like to make depending on the date of the game.
No one goes to Loyola games - not even Loyola fans. I remember 2 year ago a top 10 ranked UNI team rolled into Gentile Arena and the announced attendance was 1,700. There might have been 1,700 there (maybe), but out of the 1,700 that where there it was about 1,000 UNI fans and I think that was a Wednesday game.
UNI tends to travel pretty well. When we go to MTE's we are usually the largest fan base there. I know we were invited back to the Battle for Atlantis this year because of our travel. We were in the first ever B4A with Louisville, Duke, etc... and had just as many fans as they did. The Tire Pros Invite last year we were the biggest. The Cancun Challenge 3 years ago UNI was the largest. Hawaii 2 years ago we were one of the larger bases.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on May 10, 2017, 02:01:46 PM
Nobody is asking the important question.
With the added exposure of the MVC, will Coach Lottich repeat as the sexiest coach in mid major land?
There has never been an answer so obvious!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 10, 2017, 12:54:31 PM
I think there's definitely something to this. No shortage of Indiana State grads in the Region, and there's plenty of Illinois State and SIU grads in the south suburbs who might make the 45-50 minute trip over when their team is in town. To say nothing of Bradley alums in the Chicago area.
Wouldn't be surprised if there are 5 or 6 MVC teams who'll bring more visiting fans into the ARC every year than the best-traveling HL opponent. (Loyola never brought that many fans when they were in the HL, but they were also terrible when our tenures overlapped. It'll be interesting to see if that changes if their current upswing continues).
My lawyer is an Evansville grad and was on the board in the past. He already told me he wants us to make the trip over for a game.
Quote from: UNIFTW on May 10, 2017, 03:03:23 PMIt looks like I can take HWY30 straight to you guys. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to HWY30 from my house. It's about 4.5 from me to your facility, but it's a trip I'd like to make depending on the date of the game.
Stay on I-80 unless you hear of a back up. Then drop south on I-65 to US 30 east. You will see Valpo U on the left on the eastern edge of town. Enter between the torches (not lit) and hang to the left when you see the chapel immediately in front of you. Turn right at next two t-intersections and then left on Union Street at third t-intersection. The ARC will be on the right. Parking is another subject.
QuoteIt looks like I can take HWY30 straight to you guys. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to HWY30 from my house.
You can absolutely do that. Fair warning that Hwy 30 between the south Chicago suburbs and Valpo has approximately four thousand stoplights, though. Might want to jump on I-80 around Joliet instead... ;D
I've recently moved to Nashville and sure wish Belmont would join! In the meantime I would think I'll be going to the Evansville game which is about 2 hours 45 minutes from here.
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 10, 2017, 03:28:44 PM
QuoteIt looks like I can take HWY30 straight to you guys. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to HWY30 from my house.
You can absolutely do that. Fair warning that Hwy 30 between the south Chicago suburbs and Valpo has approximately four thousand stoplights, though. Might want to jump on I-80 around Joliet instead... ;D
Yeah, I'll third this. Maybe I'm biased, but 30 from Joliet to Valpo is bad enough that I assume the whole highway is wretched with stoplights (though it's not bad east of Valpo). I'd definitely take I-80. Google Maps claims that 30 might only be 15 minutes slower, but I have my doubts.
I've been to Chicago exactly once in my life. I know nothing about getting around over there other than the damn tolls that Illinois uses.
Quote from: vu72 on May 10, 2017, 03:37:12 PM
I've recently moved to Nashville and sure wish Belmont would join! In the meantime I would think I'll be going to the Evansville game which is about 2 hours 45 minutes from here.
This explains your lack of participation in our DFW Alumni group recently ;).
Quote from: UNIFTW on May 10, 2017, 04:03:16 PM
I've been to Chicago exactly once in my life. I know nothing about getting around over there other than the damn tolls that Illinois uses.
(https://avisviswanathan.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/e1c72-ee212bc1a16711c5470f08db8332ea1d.jpg)
If our new friend from Iowa takes I-80 to I-65 instead of taking Route 30 as some of you suggest, he will not be able to stop at Tiebels and have some of the best chicken and lake perch on the face of the planet during his trip.
You guys should be banned.
Quote from: valpotx on May 10, 2017, 04:12:06 PM
Quote from: vu72 on May 10, 2017, 03:37:12 PM
I've recently moved to Nashville and sure wish Belmont would join! In the meantime I would think I'll be going to the Evansville game which is about 2 hours 45 minutes from here.
This explains your lack of participation in our DFW Alumni group recently ;).
Sorry about that. Needed a pay check! Should have let you, Mr. President, know!! ;)
Quote from: crusaderjoe on May 10, 2017, 04:15:19 PM
If our new friend from Iowa takes I-80 to I-65 instead of taking Route 30 as some of you suggest, he will not be able to stop at Tiebels and have some of the best chicken and lake perch on the face of the planet during his trip.
You guys should be banned.
Schererly you jest. ::)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Schererville.jpg)
Just another congrats from another Saluki Fan in Carbondale Il. I think you all will enjoy Arch Madness the end of year Tourney in St. Louis--I usually park my car on the Illinois side of the Mississippi and take their wonderful electric trolley called the Metro--It lets you of at all the major venues including the tournament site, Busch Stadium, Lacledes Landing, at a stop within bus drive of the great St. Louis Zoo.
Hope you can locate Carbondale--we do have a beautiful campus and many nice restaurants and bars.
I'm starting to feel the pull of the giant magnet
(http://www.theroute-66.com/images/missouri/st_louis.jpg)
Quote from: crusaderjoe on May 10, 2017, 04:15:19 PM
If our new friend from Iowa takes I-80 to I-65 instead of taking Route 30 as some of you suggest, he will not be able to stop at Tiebels and have some of the best chicken and lake perch on the face of the planet during his trip.
You guys should be banned.
If you want to make a day of it, US 30 could certainly be the way to go. I'm sure it's interesting to do at least once.
Teibel's is legendary; I've been there, but it was a banquet and I'm not sure I got the chicken. (I've been hearing good things about Market's chicken in Valpo... In the old Strongbow's location. I don't know if I love their match between style and price, but I've enjoyed some stuff there. I may have to go back sometime for the chicken.)
Quote from: bbtds on May 10, 2017, 04:18:30 PM
Quote from: crusaderjoe on May 10, 2017, 04:15:19 PM
If our new friend from Iowa takes I-80 to I-65 instead of taking Route 30 as some of you suggest, he will not be able to stop at Tiebels and have some of the best chicken and lake perch on the face of the planet during his trip.
You guys should be banned.
Schererly you jest. ::)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Schererville.jpg)
I did not jest...and don't call me Shirley.
It's an entirely different kind of dining, altogether.
Crew members and doctor(in unison): "It's an entirely different kind of dining"
(https://s.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/a3bce50b62aa82b4698efdf4d59aa562/202228509/LESLIE_N_FINAL.jpg)
Captain: Yes, but what has that got to do with the meal we had? And don't call me Schererly!
Quote from: vu72 on May 10, 2017, 11:12:50 AMQuote from: oklahomamick on May 10, 2017, 10:55:24 AMit's been 24 hours and Valpo is now on the clock, We need to accept already. Any possibility that we don't accept?
I think the answer is that we need to get through the softball and baseball tournaments to see if we end up in the NCAAs. If we announce a withdrawal then we wouldn't be eligible for NCAA tournament play (or at least that is what I thought I had read somewhere). As a result it could be a couple of weeks. Softball starts today, baseball starts May 24.
This is great info. I didn't know this.
Of course, you've absolutely killed any chance of speculation and crying "what is MLB doing????" by some of the more reactionary posters
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 10, 2017, 02:12:03 PMI heard John Feinstein's "CBS Sports Minute" during the noon hour on WSCR. He praised the MVC for adding "Val-pa-RI-so." Good publicity, but another example of a big-time East Coast guy not being able to pronounce the name correctly.
Feinst-I-ne should know better. He's a big college hoops fan. He's actually a reasonably enjoyable listen.
Quote from: vu72 on May 10, 2017, 02:39:13 PM
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 10, 2017, 02:12:03 PM
I heard John Feinstein's "CBS Sports Minute" during the noon hour on WSCR.
He praised the MVC for adding "Val-pa-RI-so."
Good publicity, but another example of a big-time East Coast guy not being able to pronounce the name correctly.
It is disappointing that these folks can't figure it out or can't remember. Still, we are hardly alone. Think of GonZAGa (or is it... Xavier still gets Xxavier from time to time.
I know there are several other cities around the world named Valparaiso ... I'm curious if they're all pronounced the same? Just asking because Indiana uses non-traditional pronunciations for cities like Milan, Versailles and Carmel. In any case, I haven't heard anyone butcher "Valpo", so maybe they should just stick with that! ;D
Quote from: FWalum on May 10, 2017, 10:25:00 AM
Quote from: UNIFTW on May 10, 2017, 09:07:24 AMTV in The Valley is pretty good, but relies on you already having your own TV deals in place.
The Valley's deal with ESPN is that every home event indoors (VB, MBB, WBB, etc...) is to be shown on ESPN3. The Valley will not produce those broadcasts, they are to be produced by the school through local media contracts and sent to ESPN to be broadcast. This has required a ton of upgrades at most MVC schools to have that capability. The quality must be HD so that games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CSN, FSN, etc... can be shown in HD.
Every single UNI game was on TV for me to watch last year. I could catch them on ESPN3, or since all MVC home games have to be produced for TV in house, UNI has a media contract to show our games on TV all through the state on TV. Not all WBB and VB matches are on TV, but they are ESPN3. It's getting to a point where almost all softball and basetball games are shown on ESPN3, and I've seen an increasing number of tennis matches shown there as well.
Basically, if you don't already have a media contract for a TV station to broadcast every one of your games already you better hurry up and get one. I guess you could have students doing the broadcast and production, but that's a crap shoot for quality. Most schools already had hired out broadcasts to TV stations/production companies so the transition to ESPN3 was smooth. I know UNI still uses students in the production booth as part of an internship and selling feature as part of the program.
The Horizon had the same deal. All VU home games and Horizon League conference games were on ESPN3 and some were also cablecast on American Sports Network as well as Fox Sports Chicago. As far as making broadcasts available to to other outlets in the state and tri-state area I have no idea how that would work. I am sure that our media connections will receive some upgrades with the move to the MVC!
We desperately need better audio quality for the video/radio stream. Fire the second camera man that sits under the basket and use his paycheck for microphone upgrades. There, two problems fixed in one.
Quote from: zvillehaze on May 10, 2017, 09:47:52 PM
Quote from: vu72 on May 10, 2017, 02:39:13 PM
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 10, 2017, 02:12:03 PM
I heard John Feinstein's "CBS Sports Minute" during the noon hour on WSCR.
He praised the MVC for adding "Val-pa-RI-so."
Good publicity, but another example of a big-time East Coast guy not being able to pronounce the name correctly.
It is disappointing that these folks can't figure it out or can't remember. Still, we are hardly alone. Think of GonZAGa (or is it... Xavier still gets Xxavier from time to time.
I know there are several other cities around the world named Valparaiso ... I'm curious if they're all pronounced the same? Just asking because Indiana uses non-traditional pronunciations for cities like Milan, Versailles and Carmel. In any case, I haven't heard anyone butcher "Valpo", so maybe they should just stick with that! ;D
Just looked it up. There are 4 Valparaiso's in the U.S. and Canada - Indiana, Nebraska, Florida and Saskatchewan. All are pronounced with the long "a" sound, as is V, São Paulo, Brazil. The handful of V's in Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America all use the long "i" sound.
I hope this is worth something to someone because I just spent 15 minutes that I'll never get back. :)
We desperately need better audio quality for the video/radio stream ARC PA system.
[/quote]
I added a desperate need of the ARC ticket holders.
UNIFTW - are you saying that UNI fans want to actually vacate from scenic Waterloo and visit the Bahamas?
Projections with Valpo in the MVC. Not sure I agree with these projections but I agree that Loyola and Missouri State will be the likely favorites next season.
I reached out to him to let him know he forgot Joe Burton in his projection who will likely be the starting SF. The projections were too high on Max, imo and not high enough on Markus Golder or Jay. He also was way too low on Bakari, imo. He gave him a Freshman ranking of only (0.6) because he didn't play hardly at Nebraska his Freshman year.
He currently pegs us finishing 7th, which I think is a bit low. If I had to guess I'd say we'd finish 4th or 5th next year barring any schools losing or gaining any major recruits or players.
Here's how the MVC lines up with the addition of Valpo:
Loyola Chicago 22.4 (14)
Missouri State 18.9 (12)
Bradley 13.0 (13)
Illinois State 12.1 (12)
Southern Illinois 11.2 (11)
Evansville 11.1 (11)
Valparaiso 10.9 (13)
Northern Iowa 10.4 (13)
Drake 9.2 (12)
Indiana State 8.9 (12)
EDIT: He just added Joe Burton and we moved up a couple spots:
Seems fair to me, but we have some upside to finish a little higher if we get the guys to gel together.
Updated Projections:
Loyola Chicago 22.4 (14)
Missouri State 18.9 (12)
Bradley 13.0 (13)
Illinois State 12.1 (12)
Valparaiso 11.9 (14)
Southern Illinois 11.2 (11)
Evansville 11.1 (11)
Northern Iowa 10.4 (13)
Drake 9.2 (12)
Indiana State 8.9 (12)
http://cbbproject2017.blogspot.com/2017/05/projecting-2017-updates-may-2nd_9.html
http://cbbproject2017.blogspot.com/2017/05/projecting-2017-missouri-valley.html
https://twitter.com/d2mart/status/862506833071796224
I think we all really need to keep expectations low for next year. Underdog status is a good thing for us.
Next year is currently a rebuilding year. We all hope it turns into a reloading year but we don't have any evidence to start building up high expectations.
So, lets embrace the fact that we are likely a lower half of the league team in our 1st year. It is ok to acknowledge that is mostly due to roster turnover than our potential as a program. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on May 11, 2017, 10:03:35 AM
I think we all really need to keep expectations low for next year. Underdog status is a good thing for us.
Next year is currently a rebuilding year. We all hope it turns into a reloading year but we don't have any evidence to start building up high expectations.
So, lets embrace the fact that we are likely a lower half of the league team in our 1st year. It is ok to acknowledge that is mostly due to roster turnover than our potential as a program. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here.
I don't think projecting 4th or 5th being overly optimistic, when you break down the rest of the MVC's rosters and factor in graduations/recruits/transfers. This is all assuming Bakari/Joe project to be the good players we've heard they can be, which admittedly is a big IF and none of us know yet. Also all of our our PFs are Freshman next season and we'd like to see some growth from Jay/Smits/Micah. No doubt there are question marks, but other projected middle of the pack MVC also have many of the same questions (and probably the equal optimism).
I think the middle pack is wide open in the MVC next year and we can be a very competitive team in the MVC (not saying we will win it by any means but we should be a tough game for any opponent in the Conference). OOC could be bumpy next season with so many new guys trying to find their roles early on. There will definitely be a learning curve. This team has the bones to be a competitive team. I'm excited and cautiously optimistic about our prospects for next season.
Agreed we shouldn't get too high or too low and just take a wait and see approach. Either way our team next year is going to get unfairly judged and compared to Wichita State... which no one in our fan base claims to be the next Wichita State.
So while many criticized The Valley for adding Loyola and their lousy basketball program, now, in their second year, thye are predicted to win it all? If the projections are right then it was a hell of an add. My guess, and obviously that's all it can be, is that Valpo will be in the same boat. We finish middle of the pack this coming year and win it all in year two.
Quote from: vu72 on May 11, 2017, 10:51:49 AM
So while many criticized The Valley for adding Loyola and their lousy basketball program, now, in their second year, thye are predicted to win it all? If the projections are right then it was a hell of an add. My guess, and obviously that's all it can be, is that Valpo will be in the same boat. We finish middle of the pack this coming year and win it all in year two.
Loyola's year 4?
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 11, 2017, 10:59:26 AM
Quote from: vu72 on May 11, 2017, 10:51:49 AM
So while many criticized The Valley for adding Loyola and their lousy basketball program, now, in their second year, thye are predicted to win it all? If the projections are right then it was a hell of an add. My guess, and obviously that's all it can be, is that Valpo will be in the same boat. We finish middle of the pack this coming year and win it all in year two.
Loyola's year 4?
Opps, you're right. My how time flies. Still, to win it all in year four is not bad. ::)
Quote from: vu72 on May 11, 2017, 10:51:49 AM
So while many criticized The Valley for adding Loyola and their lousy basketball program, now, in their second year, thye are predicted to win it all? If the projections are right then it was a hell of an add. My guess, and obviously that's all it can be, is that Valpo will be in the same boat. We finish middle of the pack this coming year and win it all in year two.
The Missouri Valley Conference was a difference maker for their recruiting. Also their renovated arena.
Loyola still hasn't really proved much yet in the MVC (never has been above .500 in Conference play) but Moser has just stacked 2 really great recruiting class. People are starting to take notice to the recruiting but from what I've seen they were all pretty annoy it took them that long to potentially take the next step. Plus they were "replacing" Creighton. They have been sort an easy target.
They have a bright future going in MBB.
Union Street Hoops #29 covers some of that.
[tweet]862442269110042624[/tweet]
Quote from: VU2014 on May 11, 2017, 11:18:58 AM
Quote from: vu72 on May 11, 2017, 10:51:49 AM
So while many criticized The Valley for adding Loyola and their lousy basketball program, now, in their second year, thye are predicted to win it all? If the projections are right then it was a hell of an add. My guess, and obviously that's all it can be, is that Valpo will be in the same boat. We finish middle of the pack this coming year and win it all in year two.
The Missouri Valley Conference was a difference maker for their recruiting. Also their renovated arena.
Loyola still hasn't really proved much yet in the MVC (never has been above .500 in Conference play) but Moser has just stacked 2 really great recruiting class. People are starting to take notice to the recruiting but from what I've seen they were all pretty annoy it took them that long to potentially take the next step. Plus they were "replacing" Creighton. They have been sort an easy target.
They have a bright future going in MBB.
If we break .500 in MVC then it was a successful year. I think we hover a few games under .500 unless lightning strikes with our unknown additions who are eligible.
We are building for a strong 2018/19 with our current roster. Sadly that means we must ride the scoring of Tevonn and Burton heavily while hiding the PF/C positions unless things change. I'm expecting NOTHING from our PF or backup SF this year, less than nothing because they are sooooooo young.
The Center position was a liability on last years team, at times not. Can that change with 2-sophomores? I'm cautiously optimistic. The PG will be an upgrade in conference play over last years in-conference play.
https://twitter.com/MattNorlander/status/862670432545239040
Missouri Valley wins by adding Valpo, but should resist expanding to 12 teams
Valparaiso is the perfect 10th member, and the MVC's best option is to stay at that number
By: Matt Norlander
Valpo to the Valley is a victory for school and league alike.
.........
"I think we've made a decision that is the best for the Missouri Valley right now in terms of keeping us relevant and competitive and the strength of our league," league commissioner Doug Elgin told me.
.........
"Keeping the footprint as tight as possible," Elgin said. "You find all efficiencies -- economy and reduction of missed class time -- is part of that consideration. Other conferences have stretched their footprint to a ridiculous degree and we felt that one of our strengths has always been that we have regional rivalries and a traversable footprint that, for the most part, can accomplish travel by ground transpiration, not charter. ... One of the strengths we have as a league is we're a Midwestern league and have a footprint that is respectful of student-athletes that have to travel that."
...........
"We went into this process certainly with the possibility of going to a 12-team model, and we still keep that door open," Elgin said. "As we announced, there is a presidentially led initiative that's going to continue to examine the possibility of future expansion. If at such time there's an opportunity to expand with two new member institutions, we would do that."
..............
"Obviously we're thinking about the financial support that's provided by the campus," Elgin said. "We wanted to make sure they're funding athletics appropriately. Academics, in general, is important. Reputation is a part of it. Not that we went looking for a private school necessarily, that's not it at all, but when you see there's an academic enhancement program coming in 2019-2020, that's going to be an important revenue stream. The stronger your academics, the more units you can earn. We looked at academic performance data, broad-based programs."
..............
"Valpo is an established brand," Elgin said. "Obviously people understand how strong their men's basketball program has been. Overall athletic budgeting, quality of facilities. We were very positively impressed at the institutions we visited. I say that very openly and very honestly. Valparaiso, I think, was an institution we thought was ready for participation and competition in our league. They are familiar to our schools. We've had Missouri State, Indiana State and Drake play them in recent years. Attendance, they have a passionate fan base there. ... It's close enough to other institutions where it can be a travel partner."
(thought that was very interesting.... "Overall athletic budgeting, quality of facilities.")
Elgin was specific to note that the process upcoming to look at 12 would include a reboot on all potential candidates. Schools that weren't prominently vetted this time around might get a closer look if they are geographically paired with another school.
.............
"Geography is important," Elgin said. "You tend to look in the neighborhood."
..........
(Belmont, which would be a great addition alongside a Murray State, is satisfied with remaining in the Ohio Valley Conference, I'm told.)
...........
"I think coaches' views are important as part of an overall league consideration," Elgin said. "They don't guide the decisions but they certainly influence it. Those are my views, you have to take into the consideration the differences in strength of schedule when you talk about 12 programs. In talking men's and women's basketball, you're not going to play 22 league games. You look at other conferences that has more than 10 members, the Atlantic 10 for instance, that is certainly a model conference for this outside the Power Five in securing multiple at-large bids year after year. You also don't want to take members into the conference that don't have a positive impact on your real strengths."
Hey Doug,
You're full of :censored:. Always have been. Always will be. No one believes a word you say. I wish you would leave the conference.
I am familiar with Tiebels as well. For us Evansville fans, the directions to a game up there is pretty simple. US 41 North until you get to Tiebles, stop for chicken, then hang a right on US 30. Hope to make it up there for a game. If I can take in Valpo and Loyola, that would give me every MVC arena except the Iowa ones.
Congrats on the invite. It's been too long since the ICC days. Glad to renew the long time rivalry, and hope to see some of the Valpo fans in the Ford Center this year.
Valpo and the Aces used to play non-conference home-and-homes every year until the late 1980s, and a lot of those games were fun and memorable (I remember a big Valpo win at the ARC over a Marty Simmons-led UE team in like '86 or '87. Late in the game, some drunk frat boy threw a tennis ball onto the floor from the then-tiny student section located in the mezzanine, causing UE to miss an important free throw as the Aces were clawing back into the game. Somehow both refs failed to see it, Jim Crews rightfully went nuts and got T'ed up, and Simmons fouled out shortly thereafter, only to be serenaded by Valpo fans the rest of the night).
The two programs are connected in so many ways. The only Division I team that has played the Crusaders more than Evansville is... Butler.
Sadly, Valpo also shares a connection with one of the worst tragedies in the history of college sports that befell Evansville's team:
http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/inside-vu-sports/valparaiso-s-connection-to-evansville-tragedy/article_d3513b52-522f-11e3-b622-0019bb2963f4.html
(I was a little kid when this happened, and I still remember my parents glued to the local radio station that night).
In any event, I'm very excited to reignite that old rivalry with Evansville.
Quote from: vu72 on May 11, 2017, 10:51:49 AM
So while many criticized The Valley for adding Loyola and their lousy basketball program, now, in their second year, thye are predicted to win it all? If the projections are right then it was a hell of an add. My guess, and obviously that's all it can be, is that Valpo will be in the same boat. We finish middle of the pack this coming year and win it all in year two.
This assumes a binary decision with no trade-offs. Had the MVC added Valpo instead of Loyola, they would have ALREADY had a great team, and possibly another tournament bid (I'd argue Valpo's team 2 years ago would have been an at-large team without the horrible RPI sinks, and actual opportunities in conference to pick up top 100 wins).
Also, what's to say Valpo wouldn't have recruited better in the MVC than the Horizon? Or even Murray State. Adding a program that *might* be capable of competing for a league championship in 5 years shouldn't be the mark for "a hell of an add" - it should be the bare minimum.
Tell Illinois State fans that Loyola was a hell of an add - they had TWO opportunities in conference at top 100 wins, and both were against a top 15 team in the country.
I thought I had heard every story regarding the crash, but I don't recall ever hearing the Valpo angle, and shared flight. If we had just been able to keep the original plans and plane.....
As a 13 year old in Evansville, that night will always be vivid in my mind. We were actually at UE about the time it happened. My sister was taking weekly gymnastics lessons there, and I tagged along with my Mom and her that night. I ducked out of the gym they were in, and headed down the hall, hoping to catch a basketball practice...something I had been able to do a few times. That gym was empty, and a man walked by and said the team was on it's way to Middle Tennessee.
It wasn't until we were on our way home that we heard there was a crash at the airport, and longer after that before we knew it was the Aces.
Maybe the saddest twist of that event was the redshirt, who sat out the flight, only to be killed in a car accident two weeks later.
Anyway, my guess is that it was Simmons who chucked the free throws that night in 87?
Wow, that's a sad story, E-Villan. :(
As for the free throw, I can't remember who was at the line, though it might very well have been Simmons. VU students were on his back all night (this was the first year after he transferred from IU and I remember the line from Hoosier fans was that he "couldn't hack it" in Knight's program. BK was treated like a god around the state at the time, so as unfair as that was to Simmons, people ran with it). I remember the tennis ball landing right in the middle of the lane as the shot went up and reacting with exasperation ("oh, jeez, that's going to be a *really stupid* technical foul called on our crowd"), then looking around at other Valpo fans around me in disbelief when the refs did nothing. How could they not see that? How could they miss it? Unreal!
You have to understand that Valpo's program was in the dumps back then. We had a "big" crowd for us at the time that night -- maybe 2,500 or so. Normally a couple dozen students showed up to a game, that night a couple hundred did. VU was finally playing toe-to-toe with a much better opponent, one with star player no less. And now some idiot who probably hadn't attended a game all year was going to derail it by being a moron and throwing something on the court. I was beside myself. And then we somehow got away with it. I've never seen more sympathy from VU fans for an opposing coach getting T'ed up at the ARC before or since. A few folks around me actually booed the refs when they did that.
PG: Let me know if you need a caddy to that golf tournament you mention on USH.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on May 11, 2017, 10:03:35 AM
I think we all really need to keep expectations low for next year. Underdog status is a good thing for us.
Next year is currently a rebuilding year. We all hope it turns into a reloading year but we don't have any evidence to start building up high expectations.
So, lets embrace the fact that we are likely a lower half of the league team in our 1st year. It is ok to acknowledge that is mostly due to roster turnover than our potential as a program. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here.
I would be willing to bet that going into next season Matt will expect (and believe) that they will win conference and win the tournament. Crazy competitive people with talented rosters expect results now - not after everyone is seasoned and blended.
AS far as this cbb prediction, if you'd like an opinion from someone who has seen all except Valpo;
The guy who put it together obviously hasn't actually attended any games;
1. Il State---I know they lost a few to graduation and transfer but their coach can recruit athletes--I'm picking them until they show they can't do it in non-con games
2. MSU--this a tentative pick for me the last few years--Coach Paul Lusk is an SIU grad who coaches the MSU Bears--and he gets the best talent every year--but sometimes he has problems getting that talent to win
3. UNI===They have a great coach and system--packing their man-to man and holding teams to low scoring totals
4. Valpo---from what you say, you are salty defensively. That's a plus in the Valley
5. SIU-- we will be very athletic and if the two transfers work out at Center and PG (6-10 Kavion Pippen and 6-4 PG Marcus Bartley --a three star) we ought to be able to score and block shots on defense better than most in the league--6-8 PF senior starter Thik Bol blocked 76 shots last year and Pippen blocked 57 for his JUCO team Three Rivers. Three point shooting will pick up too with 6-4 Kyle Smithpeters back from a med. redshirt year. Our three guards will probably be 6-4 Bartley 6-4 Armon Fletcher and 6-5 Sean Lloyd/ 6-8 Bole at PF and 6-10 Pippen (the nephew of Scottie Pippen) at Center. we could finish in top three if the team gels and finds a leader (think Bartley)
6. Loyola--great talent coming in but we beat them three times last year and they had good talent then too--coaching ?
7. .Bradley--Bradley started young players at all positions last year--but that does not mean those young players will turn into great ones--I'll believe a top three finish for the Gargoyles (That's their official nick name!) when I see it
8. Indiana State--Lansing is another great floor coach who will make the best out of his talent--a nice guy too
9. Evansville
10. Drake
I don't trust Loyola for a second. Not one. Talk about their recruiting stars all you want, doesn't matter. Porter is a horrid coach. Their average recruit stars is 2.3 - highest in the existing MVC. The lowest? UNI. Every year, and I mean every year, UNI is the lowest. Care to compare how UNI has fair with the worst recruiting class every single year to places like Loyola, who love to brag about recruiting rankings?
This will be Loyola's 5th year in the MVC. Want to know how they've faired as an athletic department? I did some work on MVCFans today to show it using the All Sports Trophy rankings. The All Sports Trophy is given to the team with the highest average finish in MVC sponsored sports based on the number of MVC sports they play.
16/17 not complete yet but based on current standings/completed sports. Only outdoor T/F aren't included. Baseball is based on current standings, but the position +/-1 is locked in and shouldn't really affect the standings...anyway...LUC is 9th and based on track teams I could see LUC falling to last...for the third straight year.
1- WSU 2.31
2- UNI 3.35
3- ISUR 4
4- MSU 4.38
5- SIU 4.41
6- DU 6.21
7- UE 6.38
8- ISUB 6.45
9- LUC 6.58
10- BU 6.75
15/16 - 10th
1- WSU 2.13
2- SIU 3.56
3- ISUR 4.53
4- UNI 4.56
5- MSU 4.93
6- ISUB 5
7- DU 5.63
8- BU 6.07
9- UE 6.62
10- LUC 6.64
14/15 - 10th
1- WSU 2.33
2- SIU 3.86
3- UNI 4.06
4- MSU 4.26
5- ISUB 4.54
6- ISUR 4.88
7- DU 5.56
8- BU 5.93
9- UE 6.23
10- LUC 6.79
13/14 - 8TH
1- WSU 2.13
2- ISUB 3.21
3- ISUR 3.94
4- SIU 4.06
5- UNI 4.86
6- MSU 5.15
7- BU 5.93
8- LUC 6
9- DU 6.31
10- UE 6.38
How is Loyola finishing in each sport? Here you go
Loyola's finishes by sport (most recent year first)
M Basketball 5 8 6 10 of 10
M Cross Country 5 6 7 2 of 9
M Golf 9 9 7 9 of 9
M Soccer 1 5 5 4 of 5 - disregarding 2 affiliate members
M I T&F 8 6 3 6 of 7
M O T&F TBD 8 5 4 of 8
W Basketball 10 5 9 8 of 10
W Cross Country 6 4 6 4 of 10
W Golf 7 6 7 9 of 10
W Soccer 6 2 6 3 of 7
Softball 8 10 9 7 of 10
W I T&F 8 9 9 4 of 9
W O T&F TBD 9 9 7 of 9
Volleyball 6 6 7 7 of 10
Yep, that is just ONE regular season title in 4 years. ONE. They have finished top half just 8 total times in four years. That's atrocious. That is 54 completed sports seasons an there is just 1 title and 8 top half finishes. That is a title .018% of the time and a top half finish just 14% of the time.
That all equals out to this 4 year aggregate in conference all sports standings of
1- WSU 2.22
2- SIU 3.92
3- ISUR 4.35
4- UNI 4.37
5- ISUB 4.80
6- MSU 4.87
7- DU 5.92
8- BU 5.93
9- UE 6.40
10- LUC 6.50
Yup, Loyola has been the worst athletic department since they joined the conference. Notice any other trend in that set of stats? Notice the 4 private schools are all SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the public. No wonder the public schools feel like the privates aren't carrying their weight, especially when it comes to voting power.
Valpo coming in may be better at basketball - they need to be. For everyone involved I certainly hope the rest of your sports fair better than any of the other privates. Very quick glances and I'm not sold on it, but we'll see.
Quote from: UNIFTW on May 11, 2017, 05:18:52 PM
I don't trust Loyola for a second. Not one. Talk about their recruiting stars all you want, doesn't matter. Porter is a horrid coach. Their average recruit stars is 2.3 - highest in the existing MVC. The lowest? UNI. Every year, and I mean every year, UNI is the lowest. Care to compare how UNI has fair with the worst recruiting class every single year to places like Loyola, who love to brag about recruiting rankings?
This will be Loyola's 5th year in the MVC. Want to know how they've faired as an athletic department? I did some work on MVCFans today to show it using the All Sports Trophy rankings. The All Sports Trophy is given to the team with the highest average finish in MVC sponsored sports based on the number of MVC sports they play.
16/17 not complete yet but based on current standings/completed sports. Only outdoor T/F aren't included. Baseball is based on current standings, but the position +/-1 is locked in and shouldn't really affect the standings...anyway...LUC is 9th and based on track teams I could see LUC falling to last...for the third straight year.
1- WSU 2.31
2- UNI 3.35
3- ISUR 4
4- MSU 4.38
5- SIU 4.41
6- DU 6.21
7- UE 6.38
8- ISUB 6.45
9- LUC 6.58
10- BU 6.75
15/16 - 10th
1- WSU 2.13
2- SIU 3.56
3- ISUR 4.53
4- UNI 4.56
5- MSU 4.93
6- ISUB 5
7- DU 5.63
8- BU 6.07
9- UE 6.62
10- LUC 6.64
14/15 - 10th
1- WSU 2.33
2- SIU 3.86
3- UNI 4.06
4- MSU 4.26
5- ISUB 4.54
6- ISUR 4.88
7- DU 5.56
8- BU 5.93
9- UE 6.23
10- LUC 6.79
13/14 - 8TH
1- WSU 2.13
2- ISUB 3.21
3- ISUR 3.94
4- SIU 4.06
5- UNI 4.86
6- MSU 5.15
7- BU 5.93
8- LUC 6
9- DU 6.31
10- UE 6.38
How is Loyola finishing in each sport? Here you go
Loyola's finishes by sport (most recent year first)
M Basketball 5 8 6 10 of 10
M Cross Country 5 6 7 2 of 9
M Golf 9 9 7 9 of 9
M Soccer 1 5 5 4 of 5 - disregarding 2 affiliate members
M I T&F 8 6 3 6 of 7
M O T&F TBD 8 5 4 of 8
W Basketball 10 5 9 8 of 10
W Cross Country 6 4 6 4 of 10
W Golf 7 6 7 9 of 10
W Soccer 6 2 6 3 of 7
Softball 8 10 9 7 of 10
W I T&F 8 9 9 4 of 9
W O T&F TBD 9 9 7 of 9
Volleyball 6 6 7 7 of 10
Yep, that is just ONE regular season title in 4 years. ONE. They have finished top half just 8 total times in four years. That's atrocious. That is 54 completed sports seasons an there is just 1 title and 8 top half finishes. That is a title .018% of the time and a top half finish just 14% of the time.
That all equals out to this 4 year aggregate in conference all sports standings of
1- WSU 2.22
2- SIU 3.92
3- ISUR 4.35
4- UNI 4.37
5- ISUB 4.80
6- MSU 4.87
7- DU 5.92
8- BU 5.93
9- UE 6.40
10- LUC 6.50
Yup, Loyola has been the worst athletic department since they joined the conference. Notice any other trend in that set of stats? Notice the 4 private schools are all SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the public. No wonder the public schools feel like the privates aren't carrying their weight, especially when it comes to voting power.
Valpo coming in may be better at basketball - they need to be. For everyone involved I certainly hope the rest of your sports fair better than any of the other privates. Very quick glances and I'm not sold on it, but we'll see.
If the MVC was looking for best all around athletics school, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE INVITED VU.
If they were looking for best available school to excel in the only PAYING sport then we have good upside. Not to mention solid athletics.
You shouldn't expecting us to compete for what the HL calls The Presidents Trophy, all around sports title. We've had a few good teams of recent, but unsure the MVC even sponsors those sports.
Quote from: wh on May 11, 2017, 04:36:34 PM
Quote from: SanityLost17 on May 11, 2017, 10:03:35 AM
I think we all really need to keep expectations low for next year. Underdog status is a good thing for us.
Next year is currently a rebuilding year. We all hope it turns into a reloading year but we don't have any evidence to start building up high expectations.
So, lets embrace the fact that we are likely a lower half of the league team in our 1st year. It is ok to acknowledge that is mostly due to roster turnover than our potential as a program. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here.
I would be willing to bet that going into next season Matt will expect (and believe) that they will win conference and win the tournament. Crazy competitive people with talented rosters expect results now - not after everyone is seasoned and blended.
The challenge for next year will be team leadership. Alec, Jubril, and Lexus were all inspiring, encouraging, and enthusiastic team leaders. Who will fill their spots?
Quote from: UNIFTW on May 11, 2017, 05:18:52 PM
I don't trust Loyola for a second. Not one. Talk about their recruiting stars all you want, doesn't matter. Porter is a horrid coach. Their average recruit stars is 2.3 - highest in the existing MVC. The lowest? UNI. Every year, and I mean every year, UNI is the lowest. Care to compare how UNI has fair with the worst recruiting class every single year to places like Loyola, who love to brag about recruiting rankings?
This will be Loyola's 5th year in the MVC. Want to know how they've faired as an athletic department? I did some work on MVCFans today to show it using the All Sports Trophy rankings. The All Sports Trophy is given to the team with the highest average finish in MVC sponsored sports based on the number of MVC sports they play.
16/17 not complete yet but based on current standings/completed sports. Only outdoor T/F aren't included. Baseball is based on current standings, but the position +/-1 is locked in and shouldn't really affect the standings...anyway...LUC is 9th and based on track teams I could see LUC falling to last...for the third straight year.
1- WSU 2.31
2- UNI 3.35
3- ISUR 4
4- MSU 4.38
5- SIU 4.41
6- DU 6.21
7- UE 6.38
8- ISUB 6.45
9- LUC 6.58
10- BU 6.75
15/16 - 10th
1- WSU 2.13
2- SIU 3.56
3- ISUR 4.53
4- UNI 4.56
5- MSU 4.93
6- ISUB 5
7- DU 5.63
8- BU 6.07
9- UE 6.62
10- LUC 6.64
14/15 - 10th
1- WSU 2.33
2- SIU 3.86
3- UNI 4.06
4- MSU 4.26
5- ISUB 4.54
6- ISUR 4.88
7- DU 5.56
8- BU 5.93
9- UE 6.23
10- LUC 6.79
13/14 - 8TH
1- WSU 2.13
2- ISUB 3.21
3- ISUR 3.94
4- SIU 4.06
5- UNI 4.86
6- MSU 5.15
7- BU 5.93
8- LUC 6
9- DU 6.31
10- UE 6.38
How is Loyola finishing in each sport? Here you go
Loyola's finishes by sport (most recent year first)
M Basketball 5 8 6 10 of 10
M Cross Country 5 6 7 2 of 9
M Golf 9 9 7 9 of 9
M Soccer 1 5 5 4 of 5 - disregarding 2 affiliate members
M I T&F 8 6 3 6 of 7
M O T&F TBD 8 5 4 of 8
W Basketball 10 5 9 8 of 10
W Cross Country 6 4 6 4 of 10
W Golf 7 6 7 9 of 10
W Soccer 6 2 6 3 of 7
Softball 8 10 9 7 of 10
W I T&F 8 9 9 4 of 9
W O T&F TBD 9 9 7 of 9
Volleyball 6 6 7 7 of 10
Yep, that is just ONE regular season title in 4 years. ONE. They have finished top half just 8 total times in four years. That's atrocious. That is 54 completed sports seasons an there is just 1 title and 8 top half finishes. That is a title .018% of the time and a top half finish just 14% of the time.
That all equals out to this 4 year aggregate in conference all sports standings of
1- WSU 2.22
2- SIU 3.92
3- ISUR 4.35
4- UNI 4.37
5- ISUB 4.80
6- MSU 4.87
7- DU 5.92
8- BU 5.93
9- UE 6.40
10- LUC 6.50
Yup, Loyola has been the worst athletic department since they joined the conference. Notice any other trend in that set of stats? Notice the 4 private schools are all SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the public. No wonder the public schools feel like the privates aren't carrying their weight, especially when it comes to voting power.
Valpo coming in may be better at basketball - they need to be. For everyone involved I certainly hope the rest of your sports fair better than any of the other privates. Very quick glances and I'm not sold on it, but we'll see.
If you care about sports other than men's bb, prepare to be disappointed. Personally, the only sport worth caring about at the mid major level is the one and only spectator sport - men's basketball. If your women's golf team is better than Valpo's, congratulations and best wishes. That goes for all women's sports. Women aren't even interested in following women's sports, so why should I? By the way, I have 2 daughters who played several sports in school. I loved every minute of watching them, but their games were painful to watch. I'll carve out a little room for women's volleyball, but that's about it.
Yeah we're not going to bring much to the table in the non-rev sports (at least early on).... particularly the partial scholarship sports... Public Schools will almost always on average be better at those sports because their scholarships "go further" in financial relief unless the student athlete is a good student as well in which they can pair a partial scholarship with other scholarships they have earned which Valpo's athletes are very strong in the academic department across the board.
It will be an adjustment period for some sports like Baseball to start recruiting MVC League caliber players (we have some good players from what I'm told but not completely on par with teams like Missouri State). Its been a down year in Baseball, but we've had pretty good teams in the recent past.
Soccer should hold its own from what I'm told. Same with Volleyball eventually. Same with softball eventually.
Give us 4-5 years for a full recruitment cycle to go through in most non-rev sports and then judge what the trajectory of those programs are. Valpo was solid in going from the Mid-Con to the Horizon League. Took a few years from what I've heard.
Men's basketball will do well and should excel and be a great add for the Missouri Valley Conference.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 11, 2017, 07:38:33 PM
Yeah we're not going to bring much to the table in the non-rev sports (at least early on).... particularly the partial scholarship sports... Public Schools will almost always on average be better at those sports because their scholarships "go further" in financial relief unless the student athlete is a good student as well in which they can pair a partial scholarship with other scholarships they have earned which Valpo's athletes are very strong in the academic department across the board.
It will be an adjustment period for some sports like Baseball to start recruiting MVC League caliber players (we have some good players from what I'm told but not completely on par with teams like Missouri State). Its been a down year in Baseball, but we've had pretty good teams in the recent past.
Soccer should hold its own from what I'm told. Same with Volleyball eventually. Same with softball eventually.
Give us 4-5 years for a full recruitment cycle to go through in most non-rev sports and then judge what the trajectory of those programs are. Valpo was solid in going from the Mid-Con to the Horizon League. Took a few years from what I've heard.
Men's basketball will do well and should excel and be a great add for the Missouri Valley Conference.
add women's soccer to the positive side. We'll suck in sports we suck in now. We'll have individuals who might win conference titles in track and Field but swimming will continue to be terrible. Just don't any of you guys take on our bowling team!!
Congrats on the move to the MVC! I don't expect Valpo to "replace" WSU, but I think the MVC will be pleased with the addition. Given the OOC scheduling difficulties Valpo faces, a move to a slightly stronger conference will certainly improve their chances of earning at large bids to the NCAA tournament on a more regular basis.
On a side note, I'm really disappointed that fans of other HL programs who post here have been so silent. You might think they would be congratulating Valpo on the move, but maybe they're just waiting for an official announcement.
The irony of joining a private schools board and then proceeding to bash private schools....someone is a little obsessive and clearly has too much time on his hands.
Quote from: vu72 on May 11, 2017, 10:51:49 AM
So while many criticized The Valley for adding Loyola and their lousy basketball program, now, in their second year, thye are predicted to win it all? If the projections are right then it was a hell of an add. My guess, and obviously that's all it can be, is that Valpo will be in the same boat. We finish middle of the pack this coming year and win it all in year two.
I believe the resentment of adding Loyola has to do with their ranking among schools in Chicagoland and attendances at the Gentile Center. We know that success for a team such as Loyola can be fleeting especially if their head coach, Porter Moser, moves on to a larger program. Many have complained that Loyola isn't spending for the athletic dept as they promised they would do when they joined the MVC. They just kind of flashed the money and brought out their new remodeled Gentile Center. Rogers Park is certainly not the best neighborhood in Chicago. For the type of homes they have in Rogers Park I hear they have a super abundance of rats.
Quote from: bbtds on May 10, 2017, 04:23:41 PM
I'm starting to feel the pull of the giant magnet
(http://www.theroute-66.com/images/missouri/st_louis.jpg)
Come to papa...
Quote from: wh on May 10, 2017, 10:18:53 PM
Quote from: zvillehaze on May 10, 2017, 09:47:52 PM
Quote from: vu72 on May 10, 2017, 02:39:13 PM
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 10, 2017, 02:12:03 PM
I heard John Feinstein's "CBS Sports Minute" during the noon hour on WSCR.
He praised the MVC for adding "Val-pa-RI-so."
Good publicity, but another example of a big-time East Coast guy not being able to pronounce the name correctly.
It is disappointing that these folks can't figure it out or can't remember. Still, we are hardly alone. Think of GonZAGa (or is it... Xavier still gets Xxavier from time to time.
I know there are several other cities around the world named Valparaiso ... I'm curious if they're all pronounced the same? Just asking because Indiana uses non-traditional pronunciations for cities like Milan, Versailles and Carmel. In any case, I haven't heard anyone butcher "Valpo", so maybe they should just stick with that! ;D
Just looked it up. There are 4 Valparaiso's in the U.S. and Canada - Indiana, Nebraska, Florida and Saskatchewan. All are pronounced with the long "a" sound, as is V, São Paulo, Brazil. The handful of V's in Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America all use the long "i" sound.
I hope this is worth something to someone because I just spent 15 minutes that I'll never get back. :)
I would think in the Spanish-speaking countries both vowels are pronounced: val-pa-ra-E-so.
That's how I learned Spanish, anyway.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 09, 2017, 10:59:36 AM
No surprise here.
https://twitter.com/CraigHaley/status/861970515359039489
This guy was hilarious, and when I asked if he was kidding he said no with a straight face:
https://twitter.com/Matt_Fox10/status/847341548685541376
Valpo will be solid in volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Cross country, T&F and swimming will be awful.
Golf is respectable.
Bowling is awesome!
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 12, 2017, 08:27:30 AM
Valpo will be solid in volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Cross country, T&F and swimming will be awful.
Golf is respectable.
Bowling is awesome!
I just have a feeling we won't consistently attract the Top MVC caliber athlete till we get that Fieldhouse or if we ever get an ARC reno to the pool.
Yet we on occasion will attract a great individual in sports like track and cross country. Laura Rolf was an All American in 2007 and 2008. We've had some on the Men's side as well. More often than not our athletes will be All Americans. Academic All Americans that is! ;D
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 12, 2017, 08:27:30 AM
Valpo will be solid in volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Cross country, T&F and swimming will be awful.
Golf is respectable.
Bowling is awesome!
T&F has a plethora of athletes NOT on scholarship....you do the math.
Quote from: vu72 on May 12, 2017, 08:55:07 AM
Yet we on occasion will attract a great individual in sports like track and cross country. Laura Rolf was an All American in 2007 and 2008. We've had some on the Men's side as well. More often than not our athletes will be All Americans. Academic All Americans that is! ;D
Thats actually pretty key. Valpo brings good academics which is going to be a new additional revenue stream the NCAA will be rolling out for Conferences to incentives schools to push their athletes to excel in the classroom which Valpo certainly does. That was also a factor for why Valpo was an attractive 10th member because we brought that to the table for the MVC.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 12, 2017, 09:06:56 AM
Quote from: vu72 on May 12, 2017, 08:55:07 AM
Yet we on occasion will attract a great individual in sports like track and cross country. Laura Rolf was an All American in 2007 and 2008. We've had some on the Men's side as well. More often than not our athletes will be All Americans. Academic All Americans that is! ;D
Thats actually pretty key. Valpo brings good academics which is going to be a new additional revenue stream the NCAA will be rolling out for Conferences to incentives schools to push their athletes to excel in the classroom which Valpo certainly does. That was also a factor for why Valpo was an attractive 10th member because we brought that the table for the MVC.
It'll be interesting to see how monetizing academic "achievement" plays out. Will some schools expand the breadth of their basket-weaving studies?
Quote from: Valpo89 on May 12, 2017, 08:27:30 AM
Valpo will be solid in volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Cross country, T&F and swimming will be awful.
Golf is respectable.
Bowling is awesome!
Very true. Especially in softball and baseball, we will be extremely competitive IMMEDIATELY. I am not saying that we will win the title, but we already have MVC-caliber athletes in these spots. We beat Dallas Baptist at their place last year, Illinois State at their place this year, and lost by 1 in 3 games at Wichita State this year. We can be in the top half in both of these sports, and anyone that thinks otherwise, hasn't watched any games or followed the close losses.
Quote from: StlVUFan on May 11, 2017, 11:02:37 PM
This guy was hilarious, and when I asked if he was kidding he said no with a straight face:
https://twitter.com/Matt_Fox10/status/847341548685541376
When I first read this, I took the comment "Football Parallel" to mean that Wichita St and Valpo had football programs that were nearly equal. I think it was meant tongue in cheek, not literally.
The fact that Valpo would not have to move its football team or replace Wichita States was a factor - again tongue in cheek as Wichita State has no football program (currently).
I don't think he was ever saying that Valpo would be moving the football program into the MVFC.
Quote from: StlVUFan on May 11, 2017, 10:54:00 PM
Quote from: bbtds on May 10, 2017, 04:23:41 PM
I'm starting to feel the pull of the giant magnet
(http://www.theroute-66.com/images/missouri/st_louis.jpg)
Come to papa...
That was a little creepy. I will enjoy so much. I will say that there are things in St Louis I already know about that are better than the Michigan Science Center in Detroit.
StlVuFan--are you having a Andy Nunemaker type party at your house? Basketball court in the back yard? Direct beer line to Anheiser Busch brewery?
Quote from: covufan on May 12, 2017, 04:25:17 PMI don't think he was ever saying that Valpo would be moving the football program into the MVFC.
The Pioneer and MVFC are in the same building and run by some or all of the same people. Drake is already a Pioneer member as are we. In that light "Football Parallel" makes better sense.
Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.
Quote from: usc4valpo on May 12, 2017, 10:16:29 PM
Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.
VU makes money on football? I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men? Is there money made other ways?
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 12, 2017, 11:09:31 PM
Quote from: usc4valpo on May 12, 2017, 10:16:29 PM
Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.
VU makes money on football? I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men? Is there money made other ways?
I've always wondered about the premise that Valparaiso University is reaping a big financial benefit from its non-scholarship football program. $50,000 per student per year for tuition, fees, room and board x 100 football players = $5 million in GROSS revenues. That is a HUGE number, especially in the age of declining enrollments and budget cuts. If it's that easy to add $5M to the revenue side of the ledger, wouldn't every small to mid-sized university in the country jump at the opportunity to start a non-scholarship football program?
Quote from: wh on May 13, 2017, 05:37:15 AM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 12, 2017, 11:09:31 PM
Quote from: usc4valpo on May 12, 2017, 10:16:29 PM
Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.
VU makes money on football? I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men? Is there money made other ways?
I've always wondered about the premise that Valparaiso University is reaping a big financial benefit from its non-scholarship football program. $50,000 per student per year for tuition, fees, room and board x 100 football players = $5 million in GROSS revenues. That is a HUGE number, especially in the age of declining enrollments and budget cuts. If it's that easy to add $5M to the revenue side of the ledger, wouldn't every small to mid-sized university in the country jump at the opportunity to start a non-scholarship football program?
That's the premise for the track program as well. The only thing I can contribute is, having played on both teams, VU did discount tuition through several academic scholarships. One of which I seem to recall was -$5500 for being a well rounded student who volunteers in their community. In the end admissions/finance office found around -$9000/year to help. But there lies the problem, is that price flexibility purposely available for football/track athletes to sweeten the pot? In any case, I still paid around $15,000 per year. In the early 2000s that passed for more than State schools tuition.
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 13, 2017, 06:48:06 AM
Quote from: wh on May 13, 2017, 05:37:15 AM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 12, 2017, 11:09:31 PM
Quote from: usc4valpo on May 12, 2017, 10:16:29 PM
Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.
VU makes money on football? I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men? Is there money made other ways?
I've always wondered about the premise that Valparaiso University is reaping a big financial benefit from its non-scholarship football program. $50,000 per student per year for tuition, fees, room and board x 100 football players = $5 million in GROSS revenues. That is a HUGE number, especially in the age of declining enrollments and budget cuts. If it's that easy to add $5M to the revenue side of the ledger, wouldn't every small to mid-sized university in the country jump at the opportunity to start a non-scholarship football program?
That's the premise for the track program as well. The only thing I can contribute is, having played on both teams, VU did discount tuition through several academic scholarships. One of which I seem to recall was -$5500 for being a well rounded student who volunteers in their community. In the end admissions/finance office found around -$9000/year to help. But there lies the problem, is that price flexibility purposely available for football/track athletes to sweeten the pot? In any case, I still paid around $15,000 per year. In the early 2000s that passed for more than State schools tuition.
I think FieldGoodie05 said it right. The 100 kids aren't paying $50,000 grand each. 96% of students get financial aid and many of our football players are excellent students eligible for scholarships. So let's say the average football player pays half of the stated sticker price of nearly $50,000. So that's $2.5 million to the University. Next you have the average attendance of five home games of 2,000 at $10 a seat. There's another $20,000!! Then think of all those hot dogs consumed!! Finally, we get a nice pay check each year for our annual butt kicking, last year at Illinois State and this year at Montana.
Is that enough to cover staff and flights to New York, Florida, California, South and North Carolina? Who knows. It does add 100 men to the student body who possibly wouldn't be there without football and the male to female ratio is important to universities.
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 13, 2017, 06:48:06 AM
Quote from: wh on May 13, 2017, 05:37:15 AM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 12, 2017, 11:09:31 PM
Quote from: usc4valpo on May 12, 2017, 10:16:29 PM
Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.
VU makes money on football? I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men? Is there money made other ways?
I've always wondered about the premise that Valparaiso University is reaping a big financial benefit from its non-scholarship football program. $50,000 per student per year for tuition, fees, room and board x 100 football players = $5 million in GROSS revenues. That is a HUGE number, especially in the age of declining enrollments and budget cuts. If it's that easy to add $5M to the revenue side of the ledger, wouldn't every small to mid-sized university in the country jump at the opportunity to start a non-scholarship football program?
That's the premise for the track program as well. The only thing I can contribute is, having played on both teams, VU did discount tuition through several academic scholarships. One of which I seem to recall was -$5500 for being a well rounded student who volunteers in their community. In the end admissions/finance office found around -$9000/year to help. But there lies the problem, is that price flexibility purposely available for football/track athletes to sweeten the pot? In any case, I still paid around $15,000 per year. In the early 2000s that passed for more than State schools tuition.
It's probably closer to a break even situation than a big money maker.
First we can assume a decent portion don't pay full tuition. So you may be looking at a gross closer to 3MM. Subtract travel, maintenance, equipment, coaches salary, etc. Then subtract all normal student fixed and variable expenses (teachers/staff salary, building maintenance, etc). It may make some money but at the end of the day the work it takes to field the team is likely not worth it for most schools.
What it does do is act as a built in enrollment tool for male students and regularly brings in 50 new male students each year. I say male because the demographics at universities is skewing female and attracting male students is important to maintain diversity (IMO).
Quote from: vuny98 on May 13, 2017, 08:43:37 AM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 13, 2017, 06:48:06 AM
Quote from: wh on May 13, 2017, 05:37:15 AM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 12, 2017, 11:09:31 PM
Quote from: usc4valpo on May 12, 2017, 10:16:29 PM
Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.
VU makes money on football? I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men? Is there money made other ways?
I've always wondered about the premise that Valparaiso University is reaping a big financial benefit from its non-scholarship football program. $50,000 per student per year for tuition, fees, room and board x 100 football players = $5 million in GROSS revenues. That is a HUGE number, especially in the age of declining enrollments and budget cuts. If it's that easy to add $5M to the revenue side of the ledger, wouldn't every small to mid-sized university in the country jump at the opportunity to start a non-scholarship football program?
That's the premise for the track program as well. The only thing I can contribute is, having played on both teams, VU did discount tuition through several academic scholarships. One of which I seem to recall was -$5500 for being a well rounded student who volunteers in their community. In the end admissions/finance office found around -$9000/year to help. But there lies the problem, is that price flexibility purposely available for football/track athletes to sweeten the pot? In any case, I still paid around $15,000 per year. In the early 2000s that passed for more than State schools tuition.
It's probably closer to a break even situation than a big money maker.
First we can assume a decent portion don't pay full tuition. So you may be looking at a gross closer to 3MM. Subtract travel, maintenance, equipment, coaches salary, etc. Then subtract all normal student fixed and variable expenses (teachers/staff salary, building maintenance, etc). It may make some money but at the end of the day the work it takes to field the team is likely not worth it for most schools.
What it does do is act as a built in enrollment tool for male students and regularly brings in 50 new male students each year. I say male because the demographics at universities is skewing female and attracting male students is important to maintain diversity (IMO).
I'd also be curious as to the amount of football-specific donations the department receives annually. By a wide margin, football has the largest alumni base and that giving stops the day you take away their program.
There is no doubt in my mind the school is running that program in the black. Given all the troubles it's had over the years, there would be no reason to continue sponsoring football if it was a frequent money loser.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: vu72 on May 13, 2017, 08:31:56 AM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 13, 2017, 06:48:06 AM
Quote from: wh on May 13, 2017, 05:37:15 AM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 12, 2017, 11:09:31 PM
Quote from: usc4valpo on May 12, 2017, 10:16:29 PM
Football has nothing to do with the MVC move. Valpo Football is a separate money making entity. Valpo is decades and at least a $15M commitment away from playing 1-AA scholarship football.
VU makes money on football? I thought they only made money due to tuition from 100 young men? Is there money made other ways?
I've always wondered about the premise that Valparaiso University is reaping a big financial benefit from its non-scholarship football program. $50,000 per student per year for tuition, fees, room and board x 100 football players = $5 million in GROSS revenues. That is a HUGE number, especially in the age of declining enrollments and budget cuts. If it's that easy to add $5M to the revenue side of the ledger, wouldn't every small to mid-sized university in the country jump at the opportunity to start a non-scholarship football program?
That's the premise for the track program as well. The only thing I can contribute is, having played on both teams, VU did discount tuition through several academic scholarships. One of which I seem to recall was -$5500 for being a well rounded student who volunteers in their community. In the end admissions/finance office found around -$9000/year to help. But there lies the problem, is that price flexibility purposely available for football/track athletes to sweeten the pot? In any case, I still paid around $15,000 per year. In the early 2000s that passed for more than State schools tuition.
I think FieldGoodie05 said it right. The 100 kids aren't paying $50,000 grand each. 96% of students get financial aid and many of our football players are excellent students eligible for scholarships. So let's say the average football player pays half of the stated sticker price of nearly $50,000. So that's $2.5 million to the University. Next you have the average attendance of five home games of 2,000 at $10 a seat. There's another $20,000!! Then think of all those hot dogs consumed!! Finally, we get a nice pay check each year for our annual butt kicking, last year at Illinois State and this year at Montana.
Is that enough to cover staff and flights to New York, Florida, California, South and North Carolina? Who knows. It does add 100 men to the student body who possibly wouldn't be there without football and the male to female ratio is important to universities.
No matter how we dice it, VU benefits greatly from football and T&F. We had athletes from Idaho, Washington, CALIFORNIA, Arizona, Colorado, etc etc. The flights and recruiting that athletics engaged (spend) in keep VU relevant nationally. It's a great form of advertising...compounded infinitely by men's bball tournament success.
How much of this "national" concept was present in the 1980s and before? Would enjoy hearing from alumni on this forum. I'd venture a guess that a lot of the national brand developed with affordable flights and the highway system. But was it given miracle grow post The Shot?
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on May 13, 2017, 10:46:26 AMNo matter how we dice it, VU benefits greatly from football and T&F. We had athletes from Idaho, Washington, CALIFORNIA, Arizona, Colorado, etc etc. The flights and recruiting that athletics engaged (spend) in keep VU relevant nationally. It's a great form of advertising...compounded infinitely by men's bball tournament success.
How much of this "national" concept was present in the 1980s and before? Would enjoy hearing from alumni on this forum. I'd venture a guess that a lot of the national brand developed with affordable flights and the highway system. But was it given miracle grow post The Shot?
Valpo currently has JUST ATHLETES from 32 states and 10 foreign countries. I still find it hard to believe the national pull when a kid from California, Florida, Texas, Arizona or even Hawaii decides to study at Valpo.
As for before the 80's, yes, there were kids from all over the nation. I had friends from Texas, New York, New Jersey etc in addition to the Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Indiana kids who have always been a major part of the enrollment.
I can personally speak to the financial aid that athletes are able to obtain outside of the general sports scholarships. As long as you are in good standing and came in with a lot of academic credentials, the administration tries to find ways to get you aid, but all legally within NCAA rules.
UNI excited about Valpo joining the MVC
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/college/mens-basketball/uni-excited-about-valpo-joining-the-mvc-20170512
Quote from: wh on May 13, 2017, 05:06:10 PM
UNI excited about Valpo joining the MVC
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/college/mens-basketball/uni-excited-about-valpo-joining-the-mvc-20170512
Bellcows!
We're not the only team in Mayberry any more.
Voice of The Southern: Valparaiso's MVC invite means a lot for SIU
4 hrs ago
http://thesouthern.com/news/opinion/voice-of-the-southern/voice-of-the-southern-valparaiso-s-mvc-invite-means-a/article_4c6d7378-4574-5ddf-b97b-1c3140c80bf9.html
Missouri Valley hoops race 'wide open,' analyst says
Harrison Keegan | HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Updated 13 hours ago
http://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/college/msu/2017/05/13/missouri-valley-hoops-race-wide-open-analyst-says/101557382/
Quote from: wh on May 14, 2017, 06:39:04 AM
Missouri Valley hoops race 'wide open,' analyst says
Harrison Keegan | HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Updated 13 hours ago
http://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/college/msu/2017/05/13/missouri-valley-hoops-race-wide-open-analyst-says/101557382/
Pete Gillen, CBS Sports Network basketball analyst, told the News-Leader he
expects Valparaiso to finish near the top of the standings, but the Valley race is "wide open" next season."You're going to miss Wichita State, but
Valpo is a great addition," Gillen said. "And
now with the league being wide open, that will add a lot of excitement to the Valley."
Gillen, a former coach at Xavier, Providence and Virginia, said he could see a number of teams winning the Valley next season — including Missouri State.
........
Missouri State University President Clif Smart told the News-Leader last week the MVC will look to add more schools next year after extending an invitation to Valparaiso this spring.
Nice to see the forum banner already proclaiming Valpo as a member of "The Valley"!
Time to get to know the other head bball coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference:
Bradley - Brian Wardle (some of his former players couldn't give 2 $h!ts about him)
http://bradleybraves.com/coaches.aspx?rc=932&path=mbball
Drake - Niko Medved
http://godrakebulldogs.com/coaches.aspx?rc=668&path=mbball
Evansville - Marty Simmons
http://gopurpleaces.com/coaches.aspx?rc=548
Illinois State - Dan Muller
http://goredbirds.com/coaches.aspx?path=mbball&rc=84
Indiana State - Greg Lansing
http://gosycamores.com/coaches.aspx?rc=359&path=mbball
Loyola - Porter Moser
http://www.loyolaramblers.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/moser_porter00.html
Missouri State - Paul Lusk
http://missouristatebears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=62&path=mbball
Northern Iowa - Ben Jacobson
http://www.benjacobsonbasketballcamps.com/head-coach.cfm
Southern Illinois - Barry Hinson
http://www.siusalukis.com/staff.aspx?staff=62
Valpo - Sexiest Midmajor head coach - Matt Lottich
http://www.valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/coaches/6755/matt-lottich/#.WRjE-WgrLIU
Three of these head coaches have already been in a conference with Valpo before
Barry Hinson was the coach at ORU back in the late 90s when the VU-ORU Mid-Con rivalry had a nice bit of heat to it. Hinson was famous for his backhanded compliments of Valpo and regularly getting chapped at our student section. Will be interesting to see if that returns when we see SIU next year.
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 14, 2017, 09:59:53 PM
Barry Hinson was the coach at ORU back in the late 90s when the VU-ORU Mid-Con rivalry had a nice bit of heat to it. Hinson was famous for his backhanded compliments of Valpo and regularly getting chapped at our student section. Will be interesting to see if that returns when we see SIU next year.
Is that guy who always incessantly stomped his foot on the floor when he thought the refs made a bad call?
He's also the guy with that hilarious rant from a few years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8OeZ7S8x3Y
Quote from: Just Sayin on May 15, 2017, 05:59:23 AM
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 14, 2017, 09:59:53 PM
Barry Hinson was the coach at ORU back in the late 90s when the VU-ORU Mid-Con rivalry had a nice bit of heat to it. Hinson was famous for his backhanded compliments of Valpo and regularly getting chapped at our student section. Will be interesting to see if that returns when we see SIU next year.
Is that guy who always incessantly stomped his foot on the floor when he thought the refs made a bad call?
Ron Hunter of IUPUI broke his foot when stomping one time. Is that what you were thinking?
Really liked Barry Hinson when I dealt with him as a media guy in the late 90s. He was always very accommodating and I think he enjoyed the rivalry with Valpo similar to Greg Kampe.
ICYMI: Some good articles from Valley Hoops Insider. He sat down and talked with Commissioner Elgin and talked Valpo, MVC Expansion Process and possibly future Expansion.
Worth a read if you get a chance.
Part 1: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/mvc-expansion-exclusive-part-one/
Part 2: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/mvc-expansion-exclusive-part-two/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCDZJ1pwPh0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv0iA0NccWw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjSGXzlO5lo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuCoAc_DV1M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WOdvQir5H8
Off the top are these two pieces of info that I liked hearing from Elgin in those interview segments:
1) Valpo's attitude: "They just don't want to be in the league; they want to win it." We apparently got that message across during the visit :thumbsup:
2) Next steps: MVC staffers will visit the Valpo campus in July for extensive orientation, procedural briefings, and get-acquainted meetings so that Valpo coaches and admins will know beforehand (instead of learning the hard way) how the MVC does business and how it sets schedules. That's the mark of a well run operation. :twocents:
Tonight on the Fox Sports Midwest - St Louis broadcast of the Red Sox at Cardinals game Dan McLaughlin, one of the TV guys, announced that Valparaiso (pronounced correctly) would be joining the Missouri Valley Conference. Dan said he was excited for the addition of Valparaiso to the conference.
Whoa! Valpo is getting some fantastic exposure.
Quote from: VULB#62 on May 16, 2017, 09:54:45 PM
Whoa! Valpo is getting some fantastic exposure.
Also it makes the move that much more definitive and not dependent on financial variables getting worked out. Valpo is not going to say "NO." (it sounded better as a double negative)
I forget which year, but I remember Danny Mac called one of the Mid Con title games when it was played in KC. I have the tape somewhere.
Coach Hinson does stomp his feet often, but I think he is trying to get the attention of his players not do non-verbal comments on refs
Quote from: underdawg on May 17, 2017, 03:48:08 AM
Coach Hinson does stomp his feet often, but I think he is trying to get the attention of his players not do non-verbal comments on refs
Hinson is a national treasure that should be cherished. There isn't an opposing coach, player, fan base, or media member that doesn't love Barry and I'm not sure Barry has come across a media person he actually disliked. It will be a very sad day when he leaves the conference for good.
He had a couple MSU teams that got screwed out of, what should have been, 4-6 seeds in the NCAA tournament by not getting a bid at all. He got three straight NIT bids out of it, but those were followed up with a disappointing 17 win year in his last year and was fired.
He went to SIU which was destroyed by Lowery. I would love nothing more than for SIU to get back to the rival status it used to have with UNI in basketball and football. The best UNI games I've ever been to are UNI/SIU football/basketball games. That and I miss the SIU fans I "fight" with on the national boards. underdawg is one of them for sure - he doesn't know me by this screen name but he knows who I am on AGS and CS if he thinks about it. Anyway, Lowery destroyed SIU and then the state of Illinois went broke, and more broke, and more broke, and right now it sounds really ugly (based on their beat writers stories/tweets). Federal Title IX investitgation, tens of millions cut from budgets, borrowing 35 million from the Edwardsville campus, etc...
Even with all of that Hinson has brougth SIU back to the precipice of being something special again. I don't know if he has "it" to take SIU over that next hump they need too, but if anyone can it will be him if he coaches long enough and SIU continues to stand behind him. He's 56 so he's getting to that "How long do I want to coach" phase of life, but I can't imagine Barry not coaching. He probably has another 10 years left in him. He's also at that age a "bigger" program isn't going to grab him if he does get SIU over that hump. If SIU keeps him both he and Jake at UNI are going to destroy every record in the coaching record book. They are both already top 6 in conference wins and total wins in the 110 year MVC history. Jake is only 45 and beeng a HC 11 years and Barry has been in the MVC 13 years. Jake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.
I, almost everyone, is very excited about Valpo being in the league. Sure, I worry about other sports outside of basketball but I love sports to the extreme. I'm in the minority there. When I lived in Cedar Falls (as a student and home owner after college) I went to every MBB, FB, VB and WBB gameS. I also went to 75%+ of the SB, wrestling, T&F, baseball (when we had it) events. The only sports I never went to were S&D and tennis. As long as Valpo comes in and wins in basketball it's all good for me.
Quote from: UNIFTW on May 17, 2017, 09:12:50 AMI, almost everyone, is very excited about Valpo being in the league. Sure, I worry about other sports outside of basketball
So what other sports are concerning you? We do well in the the team sports and have done well in everything other than women's basketball. We don't do well in individual sports like swimming and track from a team scoring standpoint do to a lack of depth. Still, we have had individual champions.
Here's the track record of NCAA appearances:
Men's Soccer: None, but went 10-5-4 last year, Playing Notre Dame to a tie and losing to Loyola 3-2 in overtime.
Men's baseball: NCAA appearance in 2012 (35 wins) and 2013 (32)wins. 30 wins 2016.
Women's Soccer: NCAA appearance 2014, lost 1-0 to Notre Dame
Women's Softball: NCAA appearance 2013 and 2016. Finished 3rd this past season.
Women's Volleyball: No NCAA appearances since 2005, but, other than an injury ridden last season, the team hd won 20 or more games for 14 straight years.
Women's basketball: We well know this has been a problem and many of us believe the talent that has been added should start to pay off. Many others are convinced that a new coach is the answer. That may come if this coming season shows no improvement.
In the lesser followed sports, Valpo has done well in Men's golf, going to the NCAAs in 2012-2013 after just starting the program back up in 2009-2010.
Men's tennis has also been very strong, going to the NCAAs the last two seasons with out double team ranked in the top 40 and losing in the National Championships earlier this year.
Any other concerns?? ;D
Collectively the MVC comments post-VU invitation have led me to these conclusions.
The MVC will never go with 11 teams no mater who that 11'th candidate might be. Sorry Murray. You fit in all respects but scheduling for an 11 team league is just beyond our capabilities.
Because there is no obvious 12'th pick The Valley has given almost zero thought to any divisional separations that could magnify RPI and SOS. So the heat is off and Elgin with the MVC brain trust will watch the league decline for several years before they realize the extent of their problem. By then it might be too late to save the potential multi-bid image that the Valley now enjoys. As of now I am not overly impressed with the leadership talents of our new MVC teammates.
Quote from: justducky on May 17, 2017, 12:53:21 PM
Collectively the MVC comments post-VU invitation have led me to these conclusions.
The MVC will never go with 11 teams no mater who that 11'th candidate might be. Sorry Murray. You fit in all respects but scheduling for an 11 team league is just beyond our capabilities.
Because there is no obvious 12'th pick The Valley has given almost zero thought to any divisional separations that could magnify RPI and SOS. So the heat is off and Elgin with the MVC brain trust will watch the league decline for several years before they realize the extent of their problem. By then it might be too late to save the potential multi-bid image that the Valley now enjoys. As of now I am not overly impressed with the leadership talents of our new MVC teammates.
I'm taking a wait and see with MVC leadership. They've already done more for us then LeCrone ever has.
I can't blame the leadership for not going 11 because they can't find the right 12th yet but have publicly stated their intention to keep exploring going to 12. I commend them for not rushing to add a school like UWM who hasn't proven themselves with this current coaching staff or Athletics Department. Their attendance has also been horrendous. They could be something but they need to prove it.
Perfect 12th would be Belmont, but you all know they at this point don't see the urgency to leave the OVC.
SLU is still the dream. Or could we pry Western Kentucky from the Sunbelt? Pairing with Murray would be perfect and their travel must be horrendous.
Or maybe there is a gold mine somewhere in Bowling Green, KY that immunizes them from budgetary pressures. Do they make that much profit in football to offset the extra travel? Otherwise, it was fun to skim the Sagarin ratings by conference. I don't see any other logical adds. Eastern Illinois is in the footprint, but they are horrific and the Illiinois fiscal mess will drown them.
Western Kentucky is in Conference USA and there is no way they are getting pried away from them. FBS football... $
QuoteOr maybe there is a gold mine somewhere in Bowling Green, KY that immunizes them from budgetary pressures. Do they make that much profit in football to offset the extra travel?
WKU is about one hundred times more likely to join the MAC than they ever would be to join the MVC. Yes, football is the reason. C-USA's TV contract is apparently very bad, but FBS football is still FBS football. WKU draws nearly 20,000 fans per game, has gone to five bowl games in the past six years, has hosted Big Ten and SEC teams in Bowling Green, and are the "home" team for an upcoming neutral-site game with Louisville, which will conservatively bring in $1.5M in profit alone. WKU has nearby rivalries with MTSU and Marshall, the latter of which has become one of the best (or at least most entertaining) non-Power 5 rivalry games in the nation.
But seriously, programs that play FBS football are not moving to a league where all of the teams do not. Just ain't happening. We really need to take that into account with our fantasy realignment scenarios around here... ;)
Missouri State needs a travel partner. If the MVC remains intact, expands to twelve, and Murray State is team #11, the answer to whomever team #12 is will be found west of the Mississippi River, IMO.
Quote from: crusaderjoe on May 17, 2017, 03:36:35 PM
Missouri State needs a travel partner. If the MVC remains intact, expands to twelve, and Murray State is team #11, the answer to whomever team #12 is will be found west of the Mississippi River, IMO.
I don't think there is a "need" for a travel parter but I think it would be nice. Problem is they are sort of out there on an "island" in Springfield, MO.
I've seen some people suggest Oral Roberts but no thanks. Oral Roberts is in some financial trouble and they've received quite a bit of bad PR lately. Program has been struggling recently, they just finished dead last in the Summit last year. They have some history but it feels like those glory days for the program are slipping away.
Not taking UMKC.
I can't think of an obvious add to the conference that would make a good travel partner other then SLU, which they don't want to join the MVC as of right now (only chance they leave the A10 is if they A10 starts to get poached and they don't get the Big East invite, which they really want.)
The MVC should focus on getting the best basketball schools possible as opposed to adding a travel partner.
and the MVC does not use them in MEN'S basketball (Wed-Sat scheduling) but they do use them in the WBB...
Here's UNI's schedule... all over the place...
12/28/2016 Missouri State Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/1/2017 Evansville Evansville, Ind.
1/4/2017 Loyola Chicago, Ill.
1/8/2017 Wichita State Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/11/2017 Bradley Peoria, Ill.
1/15/2017 Drake Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/18/2017 Loyola Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/21/2017 Southern Illinois Carbondale, Ill.
1/25/2017 Evansville Cedar Falls, Iowa
1/28/2017 Drake Des Moines, Iowa
2/1/2017 Illinois State Normal, Ill.
2/4/2017 Indiana State Cedar Falls, Iowa
2/8/2017 Southern Illinois Cedar Falls, Iowa
2/12/2017 Missouri State Springfield, Mo.
2/15/2017 Bradley Cedar Falls, Iowa
2/18/2017 Wichita State Wichita, Kan.
2/22/2017 Indiana State Terre Haute, Ind.
2/25/2017 Illinois State Cedar Falls, Iowa
Obviously Belmont/Murray would be an ideal pair with one public and one private and both having very solid basketball programs. Failing Belmont, would Lipscomb be an alternative? Also in Nashville, plays baseball, finished second in the conference in men's basketball with a 20-13 record. It would be attractive to them I would think, a big step up and no more trips to Florida, so travel, I would think, might be a push for them.
Quote from: covufan on May 12, 2017, 04:25:17 PMI think it was meant tongue in cheek, not literally.
Nope: https://twitter.com/Matt_Fox10/status/861971483488169984
QuoteJake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.
Wanted to circle back to this for a second. While it's great that UNI's coach has shown no intention of leaving, you're absolutely fooling yourself that he wouldn't leave in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came along. The $15-$20M contract at a Power 5 school represents generational wealth and a much, much easier path to the NCAA tournament. If he continues to have success, at some point he will get an offer too good to turn down, no matter how much he loves UNI.
We have experience with this - Bryce Drew lived nearly his entire life in Valpo, grew up here, went to h.s. here, was the greatest player in school history, made his home here even during his NBA career, then was on the coaching staff for more than a decade. His family is as indelibly linked to the university as any famous alum is at any other school in the nation -- heck, his family name is on the court at VU. He also turned down much more lucrative offers from SEC, Big 12 and Big East schools over the years. Until one day, he didn't.
Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen
anywhere.
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 18, 2017, 11:46:36 AMPut simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.
Can Greg Kampe leave Oakland?
Quote from: agibson on May 18, 2017, 12:52:32 PM
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 18, 2017, 11:46:36 AMPut simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.
Can Greg Kampe leave Oakland?
Probably not at this point. He's at that age where P6 likely wouldn't pursue him, because he could be nearing retirement in the relatively near future.
Next year is Tourney or bust for that Oakland team... heavy senior roster. They at the very least will be "reloading" or "rebuilding" after next year unless Kampe manages to bring in some more high profile transfers.
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 18, 2017, 11:46:36 AM
QuoteJake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.
Wanted to circle back to this for a second. While it's great that UNI's coach has shown no intention of leaving, you're absolutely fooling yourself that he wouldn't leave in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came along. The $15-$20M contract at a Power 5 school represents generational wealth and a much, much easier path to the NCAA tournament. If he continues to have success, at some point he will get an offer too good to turn down, no matter how much he loves UNI.
We have experience with this - Bryce Drew lived nearly his entire life in Valpo, grew up here, went to h.s. here, was the greatest player in school history, made his home here even during his NBA career, then was on the coaching staff for more than a decade. His family is as indelibly linked to the university as any famous alum is at any other school in the nation -- heck, his family name is on the court at VU. He also turned down much more lucrative offers from SEC, Big 12 and Big East schools over the years. Until one day, he didn't.
Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.
I see your point, and I will agree that sure, there are scenarios where he would leave. I will say however, that Ben Jacobson is a different breed. He has proven several times that money isn't his biggest motivator, and I think if UNI can continue to prove they are willing to do whatever they can to get the highest salary they can afford him, he will stay. Keeping coach Jake has always been and always will be priority number 1 for our AD.
I am genuinely curious also, what efforts were made to keep Drew on board? I guess its kinda cloudy with a private school, but every time UNI felt there might be pressure for Jake to go somewhere else, they hiked his salary considerably. They were able to amass a pretty unprecedented salary level for a program our size through donors.
Last record I saw, Bryce Drew was getting paid under 400k at Valpo. Was a much bigger salary not attainable to try and keep him, or was he out the door regardless?
Quote from: VU2014 on May 18, 2017, 01:02:24 PM
Quote from: agibson on May 18, 2017, 12:52:32 PM
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 18, 2017, 11:46:36 AMPut simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.
Can Greg Kampe leave Oakland?
Probably not at this point. He's at that age where P6 likely wouldn't pursue him, because he could be nearing retirement in the relatively near future.
Next year is Tourney or bust for that Oakland team... heavy senior roster. They at the very least will be "reloading" or "rebuilding" after next year unless Kampe manages to bring in some more high profile criminals.
FIFY
Quote from: UNIfan on May 18, 2017, 04:53:12 PM
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 18, 2017, 11:46:36 AM
QuoteJake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.
Wanted to circle back to this for a second. While it's great that UNI's coach has shown no intention of leaving, you're absolutely fooling yourself that he wouldn't leave in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came along. The $15-$20M contract at a Power 5 school represents generational wealth and a much, much easier path to the NCAA tournament. If he continues to have success, at some point he will get an offer too good to turn down, no matter how much he loves UNI.
We have experience with this - Bryce Drew lived nearly his entire life in Valpo, grew up here, went to h.s. here, was the greatest player in school history, made his home here even during his NBA career, then was on the coaching staff for more than a decade. His family is as indelibly linked to the university as any famous alum is at any other school in the nation -- heck, his family name is on the court at VU. He also turned down much more lucrative offers from SEC, Big 12 and Big East schools over the years. Until one day, he didn't.
Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.
I see your point, and I will agree that sure, there are scenarios where he would leave. I will say however, that Ben Jacobson is a different breed. He has proven several times that money isn't his biggest motivator, and I think if UNI can continue to prove they are willing to do whatever they can to get the highest salary they can afford him, he will stay. Keeping coach Jake has always been and always will be priority number 1 for our AD.
I am genuinely curious also, what efforts were made to keep Drew on board? I guess its kinda cloudy with a private school, but every time UNI felt there might be pressure for Jake to go somewhere else, they hiked his salary considerably. They were able to amass a pretty unprecedented salary level for a program our size through donors.
Last record I saw, Bryce Drew was getting paid under 400k at Valpo. Was a much bigger salary not attainable to try and keep him, or was he out the door regardless?
I agree with UNIfan. The real lack of salary and no movement at all towards getting a renovated or new building had to have some kind of effect on the Drews' decision to leave for Vandy. Valpo people will forever deny it and Bryce & Homer may think it had no effect but it really must have.
Quote from: UNIfan on May 18, 2017, 04:53:12 PM
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 18, 2017, 11:46:36 AM
QuoteJake has no intention of leaving UNI (he's paid over a million per year, been in Cedar Falls for 17 years now, his kids only know CF, his wife loves the town, the town loves him, etc...) He's turned down 2.5-3m jobs to stay in CF. Hinson loves the MVC and isn't leaving SIU without being fired or retiring for good.
Wanted to circle back to this for a second. While it's great that UNI's coach has shown no intention of leaving, you're absolutely fooling yourself that he wouldn't leave in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came along. The $15-$20M contract at a Power 5 school represents generational wealth and a much, much easier path to the NCAA tournament. If he continues to have success, at some point he will get an offer too good to turn down, no matter how much he loves UNI.
We have experience with this - Bryce Drew lived nearly his entire life in Valpo, grew up here, went to h.s. here, was the greatest player in school history, made his home here even during his NBA career, then was on the coaching staff for more than a decade. His family is as indelibly linked to the university as any famous alum is at any other school in the nation -- heck, his family name is on the court at VU. He also turned down much more lucrative offers from SEC, Big 12 and Big East schools over the years. Until one day, he didn't.
Put simply, if Bryce Drew can leave Valparaiso, it can happen anywhere.
I see your point, and I will agree that sure, there are scenarios where he would leave. I will say however, that Ben Jacobson is a different breed. He has proven several times that money isn't his biggest motivator, and I think if UNI can continue to prove they are willing to do whatever they can to get the highest salary they can afford him, he will stay. Keeping coach Jake has always been and always will be priority number 1 for our AD.
I am genuinely curious also, what efforts were made to keep Drew on board? I guess its kinda cloudy with a private school, but every time UNI felt there might be pressure for Jake to go somewhere else, they hiked his salary considerably. They were able to amass a pretty unprecedented salary level for a program our size through donors.
Last record I saw, Bryce Drew was getting paid under 400k at Valpo. Was a much bigger salary not attainable to try and keep him, or was he out the door regardless?
QuoteInformation for the 2013 calendar year is widely available, I have not tried to get anything more recent. In 2013 Bryce was credited with $377,464 in pay which included $340,958 in base salary, $19,125 from deferred payments and $17,381 non-taxable benefits according to VU's 2013 990 Form. He received a new 10-year contract from Valparaiso in December 2013, terms of that contract were not public.
VU did not just let Bryce go without a fight, how much of a fight might be questioned. The 10 year contract had increases in salary along with deferred compensation arrangements, from what we were able to garner from sources, this arrangement was similar to VU's past deals with Homer and others. However, we could not match the 16.3 million over 6 years that Vanderbilt offered (2.716 million per year). I would like to know which jobs offered Jacobson that kind of money (2.5-3 million as you stated) because there really aren't that many of them out there. http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/mens-basketball/coach/ (http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/mens-basketball/coach/)
My understanding, from credible sources, is that Bryce was the highest paid coach in the conference, as part of his contract extension. Reported numbers are just part of the deal. Homer always had deferred comp as I am sure Bryce did as well. The houses in Valpo only go so high!
Quote from: vu72 on May 18, 2017, 07:22:22 PM
My understanding, from credible sources, is that Bryce was the highest paid coach in the conference, as part of his contract extension. Reported numbers are just part of the deal. Homer always had deferred comp as I am sure Bryce did as well. The houses in Valpo only go so high!
The Drews were always frustrated with the lack of progress on ARC renovations and were always pushing for them privately.
I know Homer had a job in the Athletics Department while Bryce took over as Head Coach. Not exactly entirely sure what his job included & how much it paid? I believe it was an administrative role of some kind. I believe Bryce was the highest paid coach in the Horizon League. Just this year Wright State made Scott Nagy the highest paid coach in the HL at $500,000 a year when they hired him away from South Dakota State.
We all knew Bryce would leave us eventually. He turned down multiple job offers in previous years (including the Bradley job that Wardle landed after Bryce turned it down along with many others). It was always in the back of my head that he would eventually move and get an offer he couldn't refuse down south somewhere. He got that Monster offer from Vandy and got the opportunity to set his family up with generational wealth. It hurt initially but I'm happy for him and I'm happy with Coach Lottich so far who got to learn under Bryce and Coach Gore stayed with the program which was great.
I really think $ and being down South closer to his wife's family was important to him. But I do know for sure the lack of progress on the ARC renovations were incredibly frustrating for Homer and Bryce from what I've heard.
Texas AM. It was between Jake and Billy Kennedy. Jake got the first offer. Jake said no. Billy was offered and took the job at a rate of 1m.
Easy come back is "why offer Kennedy 1m if Jake was 2.5?" They knew Kennedy would leave his 200k a year for for 1m. Jake was at about 750k at that point and it was going to take at least that to get him to leave a place with he will never be fired (barring NCAA issues), gets everything he wants loves to live, etc... for a place he might have been fired after 2 or 3 years.
I have extremely reliable sources that allowed me to see some proof of the offer.
Unlike Drew, who wasn't happy with the lack of funding and upgrades, Jake has gotten everything he's ever asked for at UNI, not just for him but for his assistants. Take a look at our staff. All of them have been at UNI over a decade with Jake. Almost all of them are former UNI players under Jake.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 18, 2017, 07:59:14 PM
Quote from: vu72 on May 18, 2017, 07:22:22 PM
My understanding, from credible sources, is that Bryce was the highest paid coach in the conference, as part of his contract extension. Reported numbers are just part of the deal. Homer always had deferred comp as I am sure Bryce did as well. The houses in Valpo only go so high!
The Drews were always frustrated with the lack of progress on ARC renovations and were always pushing for them privately.
I know Homer had a job in the Athletics Department while Bryce took over as Head Coach. Not exactly entirely sure what his job included & how much it paid? I believe it was an administrative role of some kind. I believe Bryce was the highest paid coach in the Horizon League. Just this year Wright State made Scott Nagy the highest paid coach in the HL at $500,000 a year when they hired him away from South Dakota State.
We all knew Bryce would leave us eventually. He turned down multiple job offers in previous years (including the Bradley job that Wardle landed after Bryce turned it down along with many others). It was always in the back of my head that he would eventually move and get an offer he couldn't refuse down south somewhere. He got that Monster offer from Vandy and got the opportunity to set his family up with generational wealth. It hurt initially but I'm happy for him and I'm happy with Coach Lottich so far who got to learn under Bryce and Coach Gore stayed with the program which was great.
I really think $ and being down South closer to his wife's family was important to him. But I do know for sure the lack of progress on the ARC renovations were incredibly frustrating for Homer and Bryce from what I've heard.
Based on the poor budgeting WSU is reporting, Nagy may be lucky he was hired by the former administration. Hard to imagine a school paying that type of money for a Head basketball coach while firing so many academia staff.
If only the ARC had nicer bathrooms and seats, Bryce would still be at Valpo calling timeouts
A3, while facilities I think played a role, the more likely culprit for Bryce's inevitable departure was realizing there was no way to get into the big dance without winning your conference tournament, and no way to schedule the games OOC needed to change that.
That being said, casual fan support can make or break attendance on a year to year basis. And when you draw from as small an area as we do, you don't have a huge margin for error. For the casual fan who attends 1-4 games a year and doesn't have an assigned seat......
-It's a hassle to find parking, and if you have kids, you're not getting to a game 45 minutes early.
-It's a hassle to get concessions and/or go to the bathroom. You're either going to miss a chunk of the game, or try to do
both at halftime, and you still may miss a chunk of the game.
-30 Year old bathrooms are 30 Year old bathrooms. Poorly ventilated, and appear dirty even when they're not.
-Casual fans are mostly not going to be in chairbacks, so you're dealing with packing into bleacher seating. Squirmy kids, whether yours or someone else's, can ruin an entire game for a dozen people.
I know some of this may seem very "Get off my lawn!" but we have to remember the vast majority of people who come to games don't have our personal and/or alumni connections to Vu and therefore willing to put up with some inconveniences to watch the team we love.
Bryce left because he is uber competitive and wants to go to a final 4 and compete for a national title some day.
That is it.
No other reasons. Can't do that at Valpo. Possibility exists at Vandy to get there eventually.
He also had 16.3 million reasons to leave for Vandy...
I'm curious if Valpo gave him $1 million per year for 10 years and promised major ARC renovations within x-number of years if it would have enticed him to stay? Complete hypothetical and a bit pointless but it would be interesting.
I agree with SanityLost17 that Bryce is extremely competitive and wants to contend for a final 4 one day and the road is much easier and realistic at Vandy in the SEC, especially the way the NCAA Selection Committee completely stacks the deck against Mid-Majors these days and are completely P6 biased when it comes to bubble teams.
Quote from: VU2014 on May 19, 2017, 08:48:34 AMI'm curious if Valpo gave him $1 million per year for 10 years and promised major ARC renovations within x-number of years if it would have enticed him to stay? Complete hypothetical and a bit pointless but it would be interesting.
I'll admit to being curious what kind of counter-offer VU put together. I assume there were discussions.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on May 19, 2017, 08:33:25 AM
Bryce left because he is uber competitive and wants to go to a final 4 and compete for a national title some day.
That is it.
No other reasons. Can't do that at Valpo. Possibility exists at Vandy to get there eventually.
I agree his chances of competing for a national title are better at Vandy. They increase from zero to .01 percent
The point is, fans of every good mid-major team say "our guy will never leave - he's so happy here and money isn't everything!" In basically every case save for Gonzaga, they turn out to be wrong. There is always the salary that you can't turn down, the stage that's too big to resist, the competitive disadvantages that become too exasperating.
(All the talk of a good salary and good facilities is nice and important, but come talk to me after your team gets robbed of a tourney bid because they aren't in the P5 and tell me your coach still has no wandering eye...I still believe that was the breaking point for Bryce last year. If Valpo gets our deserved at-large bid, I'm not necessarily convinced he would have stayed, but it would have made the decision a lot more interesting.)
Quote from: vu72 on May 19, 2017, 08:56:14 AM
Quote from: SanityLost17 on May 19, 2017, 08:33:25 AM
Bryce left because he is uber competitive and wants to go to a final 4 and compete for a national title some day.
That is it.
No other reasons. Can't do that at Valpo. Possibility exists at Vandy to get there eventually.
I agree his chances of competing for a national title are better at Vandy. They increase from zero to .01 percent
Take a look at Duke before Coach K...a couple of final fours in the 60s and 70s, but not too far ahead of Vandy today. Both are/were academic heavy institutions with some recent success, but not a national championship pedigree. I'm not saying Bryce is Coach K, but with sufficient financial support (read: most Power 5 schools) a good coach/recruiter can win big.
Moral of the story, if Bryce is as good as we think he is/can be, Vandy has more than enough resources for him to win a national title.
Personally, I've always had the impression that his long term goal is the NBA. He seems like someone motivated by unfinished business at that level.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bryce has always been driven by a pursuit of a title, something I think goes back to his senior year in h.s., with the Indiana state championship game that got away from his Valpo High team.
Quote from: bsmith21 on May 19, 2017, 06:54:24 AM
What a smaller school can offer a good coach is job security. At Valpo Bryce would of been able to have 5 up and down seasons without anyone really calling for his head. At Vanderbilt he's 2 bad seasons away from being fired.
At Valpo he can have those up and down seasons at least in part because of his name and history as a player at the school. While I don't disagree that schools in mid or lower level conferences can generally offer more job security, unless they're just downright terrible years, Vanderbilt isn't going to fire him for not making the tourney for 2 years. Kevin Stallings was the poster boy for up and down years and Vanderbilt kept him around for 17 years (7 tourney appearances) before the pitchforks and torches were ready to go.
Lets say Lottich keeps Valpo around a top 100-150 team each year, but doesn't have a tourney appearance in the next 4 seasons. No one here will be calling for his job? You've already a poll where 2 voters said they were disappointed by him this year (I voted for "too early to tell").
Quote from: FWalum on May 18, 2017, 06:11:49 PMI would like to know which jobs offered Jacobson that kind of money (2.5-3 million as you stated) because there really aren't that many of them out there. http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/mens-basketball/coach/
My 'guess' is that Jacobson was not quite in the interview/offer process where $2.5-3M was discussed. I'm sure it was more likely that the exploratory committee or search firm inquired his interest in a vacancy (vacancy most likely not named at this point), and he (or his representative) politely said no, not interested at this time.
Quote from: covufan on May 19, 2017, 12:18:52 PM
Quote from: FWalum on May 18, 2017, 06:11:49 PMI would like to know which jobs offered Jacobson that kind of money (2.5-3 million as you stated) because there really aren't that many of them out there. http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/mens-basketball/coach/
My 'guess' is that Jacobson was not quite in the interview/offer process where $2.5-3M was discussed. I'm sure it was more likely that the exploratory committee or search firm inquired his interest in a vacancy (vacancy most likely not named at this point), and he (or his representative) politely said no, not interested at this time.
I posted this before reading the rest of the history.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on May 19, 2017, 08:33:25 AMNo other reasons. Can't do that at Valpo. Possibility exists at Vandy to get there eventually.
Why? Butler was in two national championship games.
I agree with the way Valpo operates at this time that is very much out of the question. But what makes Butler and Valpo so different? Valpo people like to say it's the cities they are in but I contest, having lived in both, that it does not make it that much harder on Valpo.
Quote from: bbtds on May 19, 2017, 07:00:23 PM
Quote from: SanityLost17 on May 19, 2017, 08:33:25 AMNo other reasons. Can't do that at Valpo. Possibility exists at Vandy to get there eventually.
Why? Butler was in two national championship games.
I agree with the way Valpo operates at this time that is very much out of the question. But what makes Butler and Valpo so different? Valpo people like to say it's the cities they are in but I contest, having lived in both, that it does not make it that much harder on Valpo.
Today we have a basketball budget of $2,000,000+. Where has this budget come from? Has our spend increased significantly from Mid Con > Horizon?
Jacobson embraces challenge of raising Valley's profile
Mark Emmert | memmert@gannett.com
Updated 8:45 p.m. CT May 12, 2017
"...When the Illinois State men's basketball team went 17-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play last season and didn't get invited to the NCAA Tournament, the sting wasn't just felt in Normal, Ill. Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson winced right along with Redbird fans.
"We simply did not do our part to help them get an at-large bid, and that's a responsibility that I take very seriously," Jacobson said Friday before a Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser in West Des Moines..."
"...As a league, obviously we need to get better. But I've always approached it from the standpoint, we need to do our part at Northern Iowa..."
Finally! A coach willing to admit that THEY let their conference down, that THEY need to do a better job, that elevating the conference profile begins with THEM. I've never heard 1 HL AD or coach among all the old guard programs in decline ever publicly admit such a thing. And the fans - it's always about which white knight program is going to come in and save the league.
"Change begins with me." What a novel concept!
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/2017/05/13/ben-jacobson-embraces-challenge-raising-valleys-valparaiso-wyatt-lohaus-tywhon-pickford/319827001/
WH, I agree. Ideally, all ten programs in the conference have the same attitude, and are willing/able to take action.
Even 6 or 7 out of 10 would be a big step up from the HL.
The best part of this has been the massive increase in press that MVC schools get, both in their local market and in other markets within the league footprint, relative to the HL. Alums of many HL schools barely care about their athletics, never mind the community at-large.
The more words written and spoken about your league/program the better, both for tournament placing and fundraising.
Dave, I agree. It seems that we're moving from a commuter school conference to more of (but not totally) a college town conference, and I think that we will, as a result, see a lot more fan involvement and coverage. We've already seen more fan involvement on this board.
That being said, I will miss the Commissioner's annual write-ups. He is a great fan, and an asset to the HL.
Quote from: Dave_2010 on May 20, 2017, 11:46:38 AM
The best part of this has been the massive increase in press that MVC schools get, both in their local market and in other markets within the league footprint, relative to the HL. Alums of many HL schools barely care about their athletics, never mind the community at-large.
The more words written and spoken about your league/program the better, both for tournament placing and fundraising.
Certainly a lot more words written. It is hard to get a decent piece written in a town like Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee or Chicago. Wright State and Green Bay had/has decent coverage but again, they are in more of a college town setting or at least a smaller town. I like the Valley coverage a lot and our press guys will have a lot more in common then the guys (are there any?) who regularly cover the teams in large cities.
The amount of Valpo mentions in both the online and hardcopy press across the midwest has been astounding so far with some of that spreading nationally ---- and we haven't even accepted the invite yet! Do you think for one minute that that would be the case for whoever is selected to replace us in the HL? The benefits to VU are already coming in.
We could be accepting soon after baseball is finished up.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/866711184950644736
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/866711715546890240
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/866711982208110592
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/866712974509125632
There is some grumbling on the MVCFANS forum that Valpo should not be dragging their feet and waiting for BB to be completed. (See the What's the Holdup? string). Tex did a good job in explaining the HL post-season rule and the bind we are in. But, some MVC posters indicated we should just suck it up and leave or pay $50K to stay or something like that. Sorry, but there are 32 players and 5 coaches who have busted their chops to get this far, and Valpo is not a monster that eats its own offspring.
That was one of the dumber posts I've seen on MVCFans or anywhere on social media recently - I realize message boards are places for fans to vent, but it's like these folks don't understand how contracts work. Yeah, man, let's get right on to throwing our baseball team's season under the bus to placate a few impatient fans at another school. I'm sure they'd want their sons/daughters to be treated that way mid-season.
Quote from: a3uge on May 19, 2017, 07:19:08 AM
If only the ARC had nicer bathrooms and seats, Bryce would still be at Valpo calling timeouts
It's a laughable quote for sure but little things, such as Homer making a point to remember your name, go a long, long way.
Valparaiso basketball: How will the Crusaders do in the MVC?
by Doug Winkey 8 hours ago
https://bustingbrackets.com/2017/05/22/valparaiso-basketball-will-crusaders-mvc/
Racers remaining in OVC for now
May 22, 2017 | Posted by Neal Bradley | Football, Men's Basketball
http://theracerinsider.com/2017/05/22/racers-remaining-in-ovc-for-now/#prettyPhoto
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/867467930472243202
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/867467800440446976
I'd expect the official announcement accepting our MVC invite from VU tomorrow, yes?
https://twitter.com/willhaskett/status/867467976978595840
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 24, 2017, 03:05:51 PMI'd expect the official announcement accepting our MVC invite from VU tomorrow, yes?
That would depend on when the MVC commissioner is available for the press conference.
Quote from: wh on May 22, 2017, 09:42:12 PM
Valparaiso basketball: How will the Crusaders do in the MVC?
by Doug Winkey 8 hours ago
https://bustingbrackets.com/2017/05/22/valparaiso-basketball-will-crusaders-mvc/
I fully expect that our team with 6(7 with Levingston-Simon) returning players, Burton and Evelyn coming off a red-shirt season, and the four incoming players, to be playing in the final three games of the MVC season for a top 2 seed in Arch Madness.
Yeah, now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if it could end up being a few days or next week, depending upon MVC officials availability to be at a presser. The MVC baseball tourney is going on right now, too, in Springfield, MO (literally the furthest point in the MVC from Valpo). Can't imagine it makes sense for them to run back and forth when they could easily schedule something after the holiday weekend with no conflicts.
Also, remember, VU couldn't officially notify the HL until late this afternoon, so we don't know what that entails with lawyers on both sides finalizing exit docs and such. (There may be formalities on the HL side once we've notified that could take a few days, is what I'm saying).
I think they will take a little time to coordinate everying and do it right. By that I mean professionally with more than "just a presser." I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was some video, distinguished guests, the whole 9 yards. After all this time, this is BIG and the MVC and Valpo are not gonna do the "oh, BTW, Valpo is accepting our invite - next question" routine.
Loyola press conference 2013:
http://www.loyolaramblers.com/view.gal?id=140302
Scroll to see pictures.
Quote from: wh on May 24, 2017, 07:27:47 PM
Loyola press conference 2013:
http://www.loyolaramblers.com/view.gal?id=140302
Scroll to see pictures.
If the MVC is true to form, the presser will be at Valpo, yes?
Oren makes another BIG point. Our tennis guys are still competing and representing the HL!
I doubt that'd have anything to do with it. That's an NCAA event, they are no longer under the HL's purview. Probably a couple of days to complete paperwork, get stuff countersigned, and then get the Valley officials up to town for a presser.
https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/867558218729476096
I would think the very active Valley press core would like time to get to Valpo. Heck, Oren is out of town, he can't even write their press stories for them. If it happens tomorrow I will be surprised.
Nobody cares if Oren is out of town. If it begins July 1, thats only 5 weeks away. It'll happen quick IMO.
Just posted by Mark
https://twitter.com/ValpoAD/status/867739751390072832
And now a letter from the president indicating that Alumni donors have covered the full cost of the transfer to the Valley
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:
I'm pleased to announce Valparaiso University has accepted an invitation to join the Missouri Valley Conference, effective July 1, 2017. Valpo Athletics programs will begin competing for MVC championships in the 2017–2018 academic year. This decision was made in consultation with the Board of Directors and the faculty on the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics and with their unanimous support.
This is an important step forward for all of our athletics programs and an opportunity to advance the national standing of Valparaiso University. The Valley is one of the nation's most historic athletic conferences, and we are excited to actively engage with its outstanding member institutions and Valley leadership to strengthen both the conference and Valpo Athletics.
As we look forward to this exciting opportunity, we know it would not be possible without the progress Valpo Athletics made as a member of the Horizon League during the last decade. It has been an honor to be part of the Horizon League, and we wish the league and its member institutions continued success.
We are also grateful for the generous Valpo alumni donations that will cover all costs required for our move to the Missouri Valley Conference, guaranteeing no additional University budget dollars will be spent on this transition.
Valparaiso University will join the following members of the Missouri Valley Conference (as of July 1): Bradley University, Drake University, the University of Evansville, Illinois State University, Indiana State University, Loyola University Chicago, Missouri State University, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Northern Iowa.
Fifteen Valpo Athletics programs will begin competition in the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2017–2018 academic year: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming, women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and volleyball. We expect to announce the conference home for men's tennis and men's swimming in the coming weeks.
I look forward to the 2017–2018 season and cheering for all of our exceptional student-athletes.
Go Valpo!
President Heckler's Signature
Mark A. Heckler, Ph.D.
President
Valparaiso University
"We are also grateful for the generous Valpo alumni donations that will cover all costs required for our move to the Missouri Valley Conference, guaranteeing no additional University budget dollars will be spent on this transition." Interesting wording. Does this address only the entrance fee or does "all costs" apply to any facilities upgrades? Might be perceived as less than inspiring if the University is viewed as offering a statement making a point of not investing in this important step forward. Curious.
They usually make a habit of acknowledging any donors anywhere that donate anything, including the free concerts they can occasionally provide for the students. It's just part of how the university system works. If someone provided the money, you say something about it, even if there's not a big name attached. I wouldn't read too much into it either way.
Quote from: crusader05 on May 25, 2017, 09:29:57 AM
They usually make a habit of acknowledging any donors anywhere that donate anything, including the free concerts they can occasionally provide for the students. It's just part of how the university system works. If someone provided the money, you say something about it, even if there's not a big name attached. I wouldn't read too much into it either way.
I understand and appreciate that, but going out of his way to mention the University will not be spending any additional dollars seems unnecessary, especially since it emphasizes a lack of institutional investment. I certainly would have acknowledged the donors but left out that second half of the sentence.
https://twitter.com/DBthepulverizer/status/867751080825942020
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/867752185496469505
Well this is a significant piece of news, with regards to potential Facilities upgrades.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/867757890077118465
Well the email I posted was to faculty/staff/students so the audience is a bit different since these are people who pay tuition/have an interest in overall operating costs of the university. So to me it sounds like a University bragging about sound fiscal practices. Also, institutional investment IS talking to donors and raising money to cover new and exciting opportunities for the university in ways that don't pull money from another department. I just feel like this is looking for a way to be bad at the university for dong something we wanted it to do, in a way that didn't cost and extra money and in a way that pulled donors towards donating to our athletic department which we wanted them to do.
Quote from: valpopal on May 25, 2017, 09:52:11 AM
Quote from: crusader05 on May 25, 2017, 09:29:57 AM
They usually make a habit of acknowledging any donors anywhere that donate anything, including the free concerts they can occasionally provide for the students. It's just part of how the university system works. If someone provided the money, you say something about it, even if there's not a big name attached. I wouldn't read too much into it either way.
I understand and appreciate that, but going out of his way to mention the University will not be spending any additional dollars seems unnecessary, especially since it emphasizes a lack of institutional investment. I certainly would have acknowledged the donors but left out that second half of the sentence.
I think it was addressing those who view athletics as something that should be secondary particularly in this difficult financial environment in which universities exist today. We are in the midst of The Forever Valpo fund drive focused exclusively on endowment--to insure the universities future. Given this priority, I would think that spending hundreds of thousands just to change conferences would seem trivial and excessive. This added wording clearly addresses those folks to assure them that no university funds were required for the transition.
Athletics are touchy. I'm sure there are plenty of people in academia that do not care one bit which conference the athletes participate in. I think it's just the president simply stating that all the costs were covered outside of university dollars.
Upgrades to facilities happen no matter what conference we participate in. To me, fees to move conferences and facilities upgrades are two seperate things independent of each other.
Quote from: valpopal on May 25, 2017, 09:52:11 AM
Quote from: crusader05 on May 25, 2017, 09:29:57 AM
They usually make a habit of acknowledging any donors anywhere that donate anything, including the free concerts they can occasionally provide for the students. It's just part of how the university system works. If someone provided the money, you say something about it, even if there's not a big name attached. I wouldn't read too much into it either way.
I understand and appreciate that, but going out of his way to mention the University will not be spending any additional dollars seems unnecessary, especially since it emphasizes a lack of institutional investment. I certainly would have acknowledged the donors but left out that second half of the sentence.
Yeah, my cynical side is picturing a conversation between mh and ml that goes something like this:
ml Mark, we have just received an incredible opportunity to move to the MVC.
mh How much will it cost?
ml Probably somewhere around a million, all told.
mh No way! I've already told you we are not going to spend any money on men's basketball - and you and I both know that's what this is about -until we have no other needs at Valparaiso University.
ml What if I raise the money myself?
mh Well, ok, but remember 3 things: (1) don't try to tap any current or former Board members. I have a long term plan for milking them for more important things. Especially stay away from certain people with deep pockets that follow our men's basketball program like Paul Von Tobel and Harley Snyder. They might be tempted to support your little cause, and take away from what I'm trying to do. I'm not really worried about the rest. They all hate sports. (2) This million is to be above and beyond your regular athletic fundraising goals. (3) If by some miracle you find someone willing to write a check for the whole thing, talk to me first. It may be that I will want to "redirect" that person.
ml Thanks for your support, mh! We're gonna make you proud!
mh Yeah, yeah ::)
Quote from: crusader05 on May 25, 2017, 08:56:20 AM
Just posted by Mark
https://twitter.com/ValpoAD/status/867739751390072832
That is COOL! No doubt about the Valley! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Like the video, especially the solid emphatic final picture saying "The Valley". It was well done and lets everyone know we are ready to compete!
One thing is apparent. LeCrone and the HL staff love Detroit Madness and praise it at any and every opportunity.
He did mention how important it is to have a good seeding in the NCAAT.
Well, how about sending your best team....
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 25, 2017, 02:42:18 PM
One thing is apparent. LeCrone and the HL staff love Detroit Madness and praise it at any and every opportunity.
"
Escalation of commitment refers to a human behavior pattern in which an individual or group—when faced with increasingly negative outcomes from some decision, action, or investment—continues the same behavior rather than alter course."
Now that it's official, welcome to the MVC! Can't wait to read your list if toughest places to play in the MVC and you should probably kick that horizon league thread to the curb! ;D
I think our admin will replace it with a Valley thread very soon 👍
Now it is time for one of these 🍸
BTW, I For one, really like the MVC logo. I can picture "The Valley" in the freethrow lane already. Truth be told, I never liked the Horizon logo. Glad it's history.
The name Horizon never made any sense anyway.
One of the very few league names that it surpassed in attractiveness was "Mid-Continent."
In the rear view now though.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
So as we say adieu to the HL... here are some numbers that absolutely nobody will ever care about...
REGULAR SEASON HL GAMES ONLY
Total Valpo Points: 12,141 69.78 ppg
Total Opponent Points: 11,362 65.30 ppg
Difference: 779
Total Games played: 174
Valpo Record: 115-59 (66.09%)
HL Record at Home:
07-08 5-4
08-09 4-5
09-10 6-3
10-11 7-2
11-12 8-1
12-13 6-2
13-14 5-3
14-15 8-0
15-16 8-1
16-17 8-1
Total: 65-22 at the friendly confines
Road Record
07-08 4-5
08-09 1-8
09-10 4-5
10-11 5-4
11-12 6-3
12-13 7-1
13-14 4-4
14-15 5-3
15-16 8-1
16-17 6-3
Total Road: 50-37
Quote from: crusadermoe on May 25, 2017, 07:33:25 PMOne of the very few league names that it surpassed in attractiveness was "Mid-Continent."
AMCU-8 was worse... and we were not supposed to spell it... pronounce it... Am-Q-8
(Association of Mid Continent Universities)
I really do think it's revisionist history for people to rail against the Horizon League so harshly. Don't let the last two years cloud what was a good home. It got Butler back on the schedule, got Valpo back to the NCAA tourney twice, a handful of championships, Peters, Bryce as a coach, Chicago recruits once again, lots of ESPN games. The Horizon years were good years.
They were good years and without them Valpo maybe doesn't get to the Valley.
Let us also not forget several members man crush on Coach Kampe only made possible/stronger by them joining us in the HL.
All good points. The league was a good fit and Butler was the perfect pairing for a while.
The Detroit tournament idea definitely soured me. But taken in total we had a great decade of opportunity and thankfully we seized it.
Quote from: valpopal on May 25, 2017, 09:52:11 AM
Quote from: crusader05 on May 25, 2017, 09:29:57 AM
They usually make a habit of acknowledging any donors anywhere that donate anything, including the free concerts they can occasionally provide for the students. It's just part of how the university system works. If someone provided the money, you say something about it, even if there's not a big name attached. I wouldn't read too much into it either way.
I understand and appreciate that, but going out of his way to mention the University will not be spending any additional dollars seems unnecessary, especially since it emphasizes a lack of institutional investment. I certainly would have acknowledged the donors but left out that second half of the sentence.
I see this part of the statement as a way to appease those board members that may have been sticks in the mud and may have argued that a large expenditure on the athletics dept changing conferences was unnecessary for the budget. So President Heckler went out of his way to find alumni who are athletic dept supporters who were willing to finance the move who saw the great benefit that being in the MVC will bring to not just the athletic dept but Valparaiso University as a whole. There is obviously still a struggle between board members about this funding going to the athletic department but I do see a change happening that is very exciting.
NOW---
SHOW US THE BUILDING/CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF COMMITMENT TO THE MEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM!!!!! Put your money where your mouth is!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGxSkpqUhYw
http://www.midmajormadness.com/2017/5/25/15691000/we-should-all-be-as-hyped-as-valparaiso-crusaders-missouri-valley-conference-mvc-realignment-horizon
Conference Realignment: We should all be as hyped as Valparaiso is to join the Missouri Valley Conference
Seriously, they're pretty pumped (but not everyone is).
by Cam_Newton@morrisoncrying May 25, 2017, 8:30am PDT
........
(Valpo) knows this step up gives their already-superb program a chance to reach even greater heights.
........
Now, while the university might be happy with how things turned out, not everyone feels the same way. Understandably, Jon LeCrone, the Horizon League Commissioner, is not thrilled about losing one of his conference's most prominent members. After losing Butler a few years ago and now seeing Valpo go, the conference has lost a ton of history.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/867751971138265089
You can just feel the subdued outrage.
Regardless, this is a fantastic moment for a program that's looking to move from its Cinderella status to greater prestige.
..........
QuoteAMCU-8 was worse... and we were not supposed to spell it... pronounce it... Am-Q-8
(Association of Mid Continent Universities)
Ha! I remember this. I also recall a quote from former Cleveland State coach Kevin Mackey, during their memorable 1986 run to the Sweet 16 (which was the league's first national publicity of any sort -- and it was the first year the league had an auto-bid to the tourney, if memory serves): "The name of our league sounds like a brand of motor oil."
This a really good and honest article about some feel about Valpo joining the Conference privately. The writer admits he preferred Murray State over Valpo, but acknowledges we are still a good program. He diagnoses what went into the decision and how academics played a big role in why Valpo got the nod along with geography.
I appreciate his honesty. Curious what you guys think?
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20170525/wessler-valparaiso-brings-more-to-mvc-than-basketball
Wessler: Valparaiso brings more to the MVC than basketball
By Kirk Wessler
Journal Star sports editor
From the article - the listing of arenas/capacities shows Bradley with 2 venues - Carver Arena (11,442) and Renaissance Coliseum (4200). Just wondering if they play all their men's bb games at Carver?
Quote from: Pgmado on May 25, 2017, 08:28:29 PM
I really do think it's revisionist history for people to rail against the Horizon League so harshly. Don't let the last two years cloud what was a good home. It got Butler back on the schedule, got Valpo back to the NCAA tourney twice, a handful of championships, Peters, Bryce as a coach, Chicago recruits once again, lots of ESPN games. The Horizon years were good years.
Agreed the Horizon was a good home for Valpo when we entered the League 10 years ago and helped us get to where we are today, but the league unfortunately is a far cry from what it was 10 years ago.
I'll have good memories of the Horizon League days but I definitely won't missed a few things about the HL. Overall the HL was a great "stepping stone" to better conference in my opinion.
Quote from: crusadermoe on May 25, 2017, 07:33:25 PM
The name Horizon never made any sense anyway.
One of the very few league names that it surpassed in attractiveness was "Mid-Continent."
In the rear view now though.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I love the "Vale of Paradise"/Missouri Valley symmetry. It was our destiny ;D
Quote from: VU2014 on May 26, 2017, 10:43:16 AM
This a really good and honest article about some feel about Valpo joining the Conference privately. The writer admits he preferred Murray State over Valpo, but acknowledges we are still a good program. He diagnoses what went into the decision and how academics played a big role in why Valpo got the nod along with geography.
I appreciate his honesty. Curious what you guys think?
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20170525/wessler-valparaiso-brings-more-to-mvc-than-basketball
Wessler: Valparaiso brings more to the MVC than basketball
By Kirk Wessler
Journal Star sports editor
From that article:
One of the standards will be the Academic Progress Report (APR). The scale tops out at 1000. Teams that fall below 930 are already subject to penalties, but in two years, those that achieve a 985 or better will earn rewards.
Two Valley basketball teams would have earned payouts this year, based on APR numbers released this month: Bradley at 990 and Northern Iowa at 985. Wichita State was at 981.
Among the schools the MVC considered to replace Wichita, Murray State scored 958, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 961, Nebraska Omaha 984.
And Valparaiso earned a 1000.
Ka-ching!That made me very proud of our school.
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/valparaiso-makes-it-official-joins-missouri-valley-conference/article_1d22da9e-93f3-5c50-bbc2-829ed0f75d29.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share
Valparaiso makes it official, joins Missouri Valley Conference
Jim Benson jbenson@pantagraph.com
.........
"That's been something that's been clear since Creighton left (in 2013) that it's all of our jobs to get better, it's not just the job of Valparaiso to come in and replace Wichita State," said Muller. "Valparaiso is joining our league, and it's the job of all 10 of us to continue to improve."
.......
"It is a program that clearly has had a lot of success for a long time," said Muller. "They've had sustained success, high-level players, high-level teams. Matt did a terrific job last year in his first year. I'm really excited to add them to the league."
.......
"The run Wichita State is on would be hard for anyone to duplicate," said Lyons. "Valpo is very strong and with a step up in leagues, they'll be recruiting at a higher level than they've done and will be a good fit."
.........
An article written by Valparaiso Student.
http://www.thenosebleedseat.com/posts/its-official-valpo-to-the-missouri-valley-conference
IT'S OFFICIAL: VALPO TO THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
5/23/2017
By: Ethan Hennessy
Very exciting! The HL was good to us for 10 years, but I don't feel bad about leaving them at this point. It is karma for what happened in the early-90's, that we elevated our program above what they felt that we could be, and have since surpassed them.
Quote from: wh on May 26, 2017, 11:06:02 AMFrom the article - the listing of arenas/capacities shows Bradley with 2 venues - Carver Arena (11,442) and Renaissance Coliseum (4200). Just wondering if they play all their men's bb games at Carver?
The women's team plays at Renaissance.
QuoteVery exciting! The HL was good to us for 10 years, but I don't feel bad about leaving them at this point. It is karma for what happened in the early-90's, that we elevated our program above what they felt that we could be, and have since surpassed them.
I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a certain satisfaction in that. People sometimes forget how badly Valpo, WIU and EIU were left high and dry when that happened (and that we'd have one more NCAA tourney appearance to our name if those schools had handled that transition better, because the Mid-Con would have been able to line up replacements in time to prevent the league from having its auto bid suspended for the 1995 season. If I were one of the seniors on that '95 team that won both the regular season and conference tourney but sat home for the postseason because of then-known-as-MCC's secret back-room maneuvering, I'd still be bitter today. Oh, and what a garbage rule by the NCAA... punish student-athletes that were left behind through no fault of their own or their institution.)
That said, I'll echo that the HL was a great step up for us and was instrumental in VU getting to this point. Getting into a league with Butler and Loyola (as well as then-very-strong programs like Milwaukee and Cleveland State) reinvigorated and elevated a program that was in danger of growing stagnant in the Mid-Con. Yes, the last few years have left a bit of a sour taste -- and the league administration could literally have not capitalized less on having a conference member go to back-to-back national championship games -- but the first 7-8 years of the relationship was very fruitful for Valpo and helped further our national brand recognition.
I think it will be important to watch what the university administration does between July 1 and the opening day at home of basketball season. I believe the consensus on this board is that the opportunity to promote Valpo, as well as increase attendance and facilities, was squandered following the Sweet-16 season.
As others have mentioned, the step up to the Horizon League was a positive move, especially with Butler and Loyola in the conference. In fact, the home games against Butler were some of the best ever for Valpo. However, after joining the Horizon League, there seemed to be some complacency on the part of the administration, though the basketball teams did their best on the court. In fact, the only doubt about whether Valpo would get an invitation to the MVC was focused on the lack of improvements to the facilities and a seemingly apathetic administrative attitude towards sports as promotion for the university. This appeared significant in the last couple of years when it was apparent that Valpo basketball was not happy with the direction of the Horizon League and would jump at a chance to change conferences.
Now, we are at another juncture where Valpo basketball can be instrumental in promoting VU. Will the administration take this opportunity to renew the brand by upgrading the ARC and by advertising the MVC? Will there be a new approach to marketing and better attention to game atmosphere—perhaps live halftime shows, more appealing concession stands, aggressive promotion in the surrounding communities, etc? Will we see some innovative thinking to go with the entrance into a new league?
Let's not squander this opportunity!
Quote from: valpopal on May 26, 2017, 05:44:59 PM
I think it will be important to watch what the university administration does between July 1 and the opening day at home of basketball season. I believe the consensus on this board is that the opportunity to promote Valpo, as well as increase attendance and facilities, was squandered following the Sweet-16 season.
As others have mentioned, the step up to the Horizon League was a positive move, especially with Butler and Loyola in the conference. In fact, the home games against Butler were some of the best ever for Valpo. However, after joining the Horizon League, there seemed to be some complacency on the part of the administration, though the basketball teams did their best on the court. In fact, the only doubt about whether Valpo would get an invitation to the MVC was focused on the lack of improvements to the facilities and a seemingly apathetic administrative attitude towards sports as promotion for the university. This appeared significant in the last couple of years when it was apparent that Valpo basketball was not happy with the direction of the Horizon League and would jump at a chance to change conferences.
Now, we are at another juncture where Valpo basketball can be instrumental in promoting VU. Will the administration take this opportunity to renew the brand by upgrading the ARC and by advertising the MVC? Will there be a new approach to marketing and better attention to game atmosphere—perhaps live halftime shows, more appealing concession stands, aggressive promotion in the surrounding communities, etc? Will we see some innovative thinking to go with the entrance into a new league?
Let's not squander this opportunity!
Well said Pal. [Did you copy MH and ML on this post? 🙄 ]
Quote from: VU2014 on May 26, 2017, 12:23:20 PM
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/valparaiso-makes-it-official-joins-missouri-valley-conference/article_1d22da9e-93f3-5c50-bbc2-829ed0f75d29.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share
Valparaiso makes it official, joins Missouri Valley Conference
Jim Benson jbenson@pantagraph.com
.........
"That's been something that's been clear since Creighton left (in 2013) that it's all of our jobs to get better, it's not just the job of Valparaiso to come in and replace Wichita State," said Muller. "Valparaiso is joining our league, and it's the job of all 10 of us to continue to improve."
.......
"It is a program that clearly has had a lot of success for a long time," said Muller. "They've had sustained success, high-level players, high-level teams. Matt did a terrific job last year in his first year. I'm really excited to add them to the league."
.......
"The run Wichita State is on would be hard for anyone to duplicate," said Lyons. "Valpo is very strong and with a step up in leagues, they'll be recruiting at a higher level than they've done and will be a good fit."
.........
A scary thought...
Quote from: wh on May 26, 2017, 09:06:48 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on May 26, 2017, 12:23:20 PM
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/valparaiso-makes-it-official-joins-missouri-valley-conference/article_1d22da9e-93f3-5c50-bbc2-829ed0f75d29.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share
Valparaiso makes it official, joins Missouri Valley Conference
Jim Benson jbenson@pantagraph.com
.........
"That's been something that's been clear since Creighton left (in 2013) that it's all of our jobs to get better, it's not just the job of Valparaiso to come in and replace Wichita State," said Muller. "Valparaiso is joining our league, and it's the job of all 10 of us to continue to improve."
.......
"It is a program that clearly has had a lot of success for a long time," said Muller. "They've had sustained success, high-level players, high-level teams. Matt did a terrific job last year in his first year. I'm really excited to add them to the league."
.......
"The run Wichita State is on would be hard for anyone to duplicate," said Lyons. "Valpo is very strong and with a step up in leagues, they'll be recruiting at a higher level than they've done and will be a good fit."
.........
A scary thought...
Think of some of the student/athletes we missed out on in recruiting. Some of those kind of players will now choose Valpo instead of a higher level school or same level team in a higher level conference.
https://www.twitter.com/NWIOren/status/867828203045490688
lol
Quote from: wh on May 27, 2017, 05:14:14 AM
https://www.twitter.com/NWIOren/status/867828203045490688
lol
ValleyPoParasoRich? I'll be sitting near Paul. ;)
I believe the student athletes we were able to get was because of Bryce and Powell. Those two played a much larger hand than conference affiliation or facilities.
I hate to say it but I don't think we get better recruits because we moved conferences. It's all up to Lottich. Bryce and Powell were very good recruiters. They are going to bring some great some talent to Nashville.
Quote from: oklahomamick on May 27, 2017, 07:05:07 AM
I believe the student athletes we were able to get was because of Bryce and Powell. Those two played a much larger hand than conference affiliation or facilities.
I hate to say it but I don't think we get better recruits because we moved conferences. It's all up to Lottich. Bryce and Powell were very good recruiters. They are going to bring some great some talent to Nashville.
Has Lottich really done any worse recruiting in his short time? I say "no better or worse" Peters was a great find but we'll have to see how some of these other players turn out before we can truly judge Lottich AND Gore. Clinton might say "Gore who?" but not Valpo fans!
We will need to get "better recruits" in general to contend in the MVC and I believe we will. Success breeds success. We have some momentum, we need to keep the momentum going.
Obviously the jury is still out on Matt's recruiting skill but on paper he has done a fabulous job. The ESPN star rating of the current team is probably higher then any previous team. He has brought in Burton, Evelyn, Fazekas, Hazen, McMillan,Golder and most recently the big German. We will be much more athletic and very big. We graduated Alec at 6'9", Shane at 6'7", Jubril at 6'7" and Nick at 6'4". Linssen is 6'8", Ryan is 6'8", Markus is 6'6", Mileek is 6'8" and Parker is 6'7". The talent appears to be there. Can they play together? That has more to do with coaching than recruiting. The recruiting is great. Do we have a Paul Lusk on our hands? I doubt it.
Time will tell on lottich recruiting. We won 5 of 6 league championships (better sample of the best team than the tournament) is because we had Better players
This is just so awesome. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Valpo would play in a conference like this. I've been a fan of Missouri Valley hoops since I was young. When Valpo got the invite, I could not stop smiling and even found myself frequently humming our school song. This is one of my proudest moments so far in my short time as an alum. I believe that this marks a new era in Valpo's hoops and athletics programs, one that will be marked by increased engagement from the administration the alumni and the community at large. People are excited and have been thrilled by the past several years. Every time Valpo's doing well there is palpable buzz around the community (though admittedly most of the people I talk to are alums). Valpo is recruiting more kids from the surrounding area, taking steps toward the goal of becoming "the region's team," and that should only get better playing in a higher profile league with more national exposure. Having two in-state schools in Indiana State and Evansville in conference doesn't hurt either. We should start to see more Indiana kids opt to come to Valpo. As for recruiting as a whole, I believe Harry Schroeder (MVC Insider who runs valleyhoops.com) has said that Valpo's recruiting class would rank as the best (or one of the best) in the conference. Lottich does appear to have some recruiting chops. What sealed it for me was that he was able to lure Fazekas although he had interest and presumably offers from a Power 5 school (Vanderbilt) and an A10 school in (Fordham). Yes, playing close to home probably mattered, and even Valpo's move to the MVC probably played a major role as well. but I can't help but think that Lottich's recruiting ability (he was on staff when Valpo was recruiting him in High School) was key in sealing the deal. In short, while Valpo offered the best mix of playing time, national exposure, program success, and being close to home, to discount the coach's role in the recruiting process ignores perhaps the most important ingredient. If the coach doesn't know how to relate to and recruit players, they won't come to their school even despite all of these things. There had to be some trust and belief in Coach Lottich for Fazekas or any player to come to Valpo, and yet Lottich has brought in talented players from all over the country and internationally. I wasn't sold at first, but I believe that we are in good hands with Matt Lottich at the helm.
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on May 27, 2017, 11:28:32 PM
This is just so awesome. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Valpo would play in a conference like this. I've been a fan of Missouri Valley hoops since I was young. When Valpo got the invite, I could not stop smiling and even found myself frequently humming our school song. This is one of my proudest moments so far in my short time as an alum. I believe that this marks a new era in Valpo's hoops and athletics programs, one that will be marked by increased engagement from the administration the alumni and the community at large. People are excited and have been thrilled by the past several years. Every time Valpo's doing well there is palpable buzz around the community (though admittedly most of the people I talk to are alums). Valpo is recruiting more kids from the surrounding area, taking steps toward the goal of becoming "the region's team," and that should only get better playing in a higher profile league with more national exposure. Having two in-state schools in Indiana State and Evansville in conference doesn't hurt either. We should start to see more Indiana kids opt to come to Valpo. As for recruiting as a whole, I believe Harry Schroeder (MVC Insider who runs valleyhoops.com) has said that Valpo's recruiting class would rank as the best (or one of the best) in the conference. Lottich does appear to have some recruiting chops. What sealed it for me was that he was able to lure Fazekas although he had interest and presumably offers from a Power 5 school (Vanderbilt) and an A10 school in (Fordham). Yes, playing close to home probably mattered, and even Valpo's move to the MVC probably played a major role as well. but I can't help but think that Lottich's recruiting ability (he was on staff when Valpo was recruiting him in High School) was key in sealing the deal. In short, while Valpo offered the best mix of playing time, national exposure, program success, and being close to home, to discount the coach's role in the recruiting process ignores perhaps the most important ingredient. If the coach doesn't know how to relate to and recruit players, they won't come to their school even despite all of these things. There had to be some trust and belief in Coach Lottich for Fazekas or any player to come to Valpo, and yet Lottich has brought in talented players from all over the country and internationally. I wasn't sold at first, but I believe that we are in good hands with Matt Lottich at the helm.
A very impressive post. :thumbsup:
I see it's only your 6th. If I didn't say it before, welcome to the board!
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on May 27, 2017, 11:28:32 PM
This is just so awesome. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Valpo would play in a conference like this. I've been a fan of Missouri Valley hoops since I was young. When Valpo got the invite, I could not stop smiling and even found myself frequently humming our school song. This is one of my proudest moments so far in my short time as an alum. I believe that this marks a new era in Valpo's hoops and athletics programs, one that will be marked by increased engagement from the administration the alumni and the community at large. People are excited and have been thrilled by the past several years. Every time Valpo's doing well there is palpable buzz around the community (though admittedly most of the people I talk to are alums). Valpo is recruiting more kids from the surrounding area, taking steps toward the goal of becoming "the region's team," and that should only get better playing in a higher profile league with more national exposure. Having two in-state schools in Indiana State and Evansville in conference doesn't hurt either. We should start to see more Indiana kids opt to come to Valpo. As for recruiting as a whole, I believe Harry Schroeder (MVC Insider who runs valleyhoops.com) has said that Valpo's recruiting class would rank as the best (or one of the best) in the conference. Lottich does appear to have some recruiting chops. What sealed it for me was that he was able to lure Fazekas although he had interest and presumably offers from a Power 5 school (Vanderbilt) and an A10 school in (Fordham). Yes, playing close to home probably mattered, and even Valpo's move to the MVC probably played a major role as well. but I can't help but think that Lottich's recruiting ability (he was on staff when Valpo was recruiting him in High School) was key in sealing the deal. In short, while Valpo offered the best mix of playing time, national exposure, program success, and being close to home, to discount the coach's role in the recruiting process ignores perhaps the most important ingredient. If the coach doesn't know how to relate to and recruit players, they won't come to their school even despite all of these things. There had to be some trust and belief in Coach Lottich for Fazekas or any player to come to Valpo, and yet Lottich has brought in talented players from all over the country and internationally. I wasn't sold at first, but I believe that we are in good hands with Matt Lottich at the helm.
I tried valleyhoops.com, and got a site saying that valleyhoops.com is for sale.
Oh, and could you use paragraphs in your long posts, please?
Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ (http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/) Again, I apologize for the confusion.
I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years. As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on May 26, 2017, 05:07:10 PM
QuoteVery exciting! The HL was good to us for 10 years, but I don't feel bad about leaving them at this point. It is karma for what happened in the early-90's, that we elevated our program above what they felt that we could be, and have since surpassed them.
I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a certain satisfaction in that. People sometimes forget how badly Valpo, WIU and EIU were left high and dry when that happened (and that we'd have one more NCAA tourney appearance to our name if those schools had handled that transition better, because the Mid-Con would have been able to line up replacements in time to prevent the league from having its auto bid suspended for the 1995 season. If I were one of the seniors on that '95 team that won both the regular season and conference tourney but sat home for the postseason because of then-known-as-MCC's secret back-room maneuvering, I'd still be bitter today. Oh, and what a garbage rule by the NCAA... punish student-athletes that were left behind through no fault of their own or their institution.)
That said, I'll echo that the HL was a great step up for us and was instrumental in VU getting to this point. Getting into a league with Butler and Loyola (as well as then-very-strong programs like Milwaukee and Cleveland State) reinvigorated and elevated a program that was in danger of growing stagnant in the Mid-Con. Yes, the last few years have left a bit of a sour taste -- and the league administration could literally have not capitalized less on having a conference member go to back-to-back national championship games -- but the first 7-8 years of the relationship was very fruitful for Valpo and helped further our national brand recognition.
This is the best part of the story. We get left, probably the best thing that happened as we continued to grow and build our program. By the time we joined the HL we were ready. Now we get to be the one leaving other behind....
Congrats for making official--hope to see some Valpo fans for Valley Hoopsin Carbondale next winter
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on May 29, 2017, 09:42:06 AM
Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ (http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/) Again, I apologize for the confusion.
I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years. As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.
Good stuff. As for formatting etc., beware of the "spelling police" as well. And if you forget/add a letter at the wrong spot! :o They will nail you!! ;) I suspect it has to do mostly with the overall intelligence of the posters. Doubt you would see some of the in depth, thoughtful posts seen here on very many sports related forums. Welcome!
Quote from: underdawg on May 29, 2017, 02:06:51 PM
Congrats for making official--hope to see some Valpo fans for Valley Hoopsin Carbondale next winter
I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that the special "welcome" posts from fans/alumni of MVC schools are greatly appreciated. Thank you! :thumbsup:
Personally, changing conferences is more exciting than I thought it would be. I'm already looking forward to finding my way around the league.
Quote from: vu72 on May 29, 2017, 04:11:54 PM
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on May 29, 2017, 09:42:06 AM
Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ (http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/) Again, I apologize for the confusion.
I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years. As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.
Good stuff. As for formatting etc., beware of the "spelling police" as well. And if you forget/add a letter at the wrong spot! :o They will nail you!! ;) I suspect it has to do mostly with the overall intelligence of the posters. Doubt you would see some of the in depth, thoughtful posts seen here on very many sports related forums. Welcome!
Pedantry is more closely associated with OCPD than it is with I.Q.
Quote from: vu72 on May 29, 2017, 04:11:54 PM
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on May 29, 2017, 09:42:06 AM
Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ (http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/) Again, I apologize for the confusion.
I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years. As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.
Good stuff. As for formatting etc., beware of the "spelling police" as well. And if you forget/add a letter at the wrong spot! :o They will nail you!! ;) I suspect it has to do mostly with the overall intelligence of the posters. Doubt you would see some of the in depth, thoughtful posts seen here on very many sports related forums. Welcome!
Extra space between "forget/add" and "a letter at the wrong spot!" You can do better. ;D
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on May 29, 2017, 09:42:06 AM
Sorry I meant to type valleyhoopsinsider.com This site: http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ (http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/) Again, I apologize for the confusion.
I can't remember which article he mentions Valpo's recruiting class in but I know I read it or heard it in one of his interview videos that he embeds in his articles. Side note: I can't WAIT for him to get to Valpo to do interviews with our staff, players, and even Todd Ickow for his "Voices of the Valley" segment. Mr. Ickow will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a great voice for the Crusaders all these years. As for your suggestion, I will do my best to break my posts up a bit better in the future. I love talking sports, especially my favorite teams, and I often just focus on getting the information out that I want to say rather than paying attention to formatting.
Harry mentioned it in this Tweet which was included in one of the articles that Valpo would have one of the best rated recruiting classes in the MVC this year.
https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/862361093871730699
I am actually pretty interested to see if this move to Missouri Valley Conference helps Valpo in recruiting. I think it should help and definitely won't hurt.
To be honest Valpo's teams the last 6-7 seasons would have been some of the best teams in the MVC (not saying we'd beat Wichita State or Creighton for the Conference Titles but at the very least have realistic chance). If you the 2015-2016 team into the MVC there is a very real chance we could have beat Wichita State for the Conference Title that year.
Even Rowdy's senior year 2012-2013 that team would have been a serious contender in the MVC that year and that was the year Wichita State when on their Final 4 tourney run. That team would have been a force in Conference play.
Maybe the move to MVC allows to get "higher shelf" talent that would have been harder to land in the HL and maybe more likely helps us not reach for guys that are "lower level" players that take up a roster spot.
Ex:
- Nick Davidson (although he was a highly thought of recruit coming out HS if I remember. There was early hype about Nick when the coaches landed a commitment from him and he was nice depth his SR when the team was really thin)
-Max Joseph (maybe he can elevate his game this next year but I wouldn't bet on it. Last year was really his first year to play significant minutes and was pretty lackluster)
-David Chadwick (was a transfer that didn't exactly work out from Rice. Super nice guy but didn't bring the impact many would have hoped)
-Jordan Coleman
-Alex Rossi (although he was dealing with some injuries that really derailed his College career. Played at the same HS as Coach Lottich: New Trier. I remember when my HS player New Trier they called Alex Rossi the next Matt Lottich. He was a stud in HS and went to Cal before transferring to Valpo)
-Hrvoje Vucic (Had class with Vucic and was probably one of my favorite players I got to know but was definitely not a D1 player)
-Jay Harris (was a "prized" recruit coming out of HS but busted hard. Not one of my favorite classmates)
All great guys and brought intangibles to the team but probably not MVC caliber talents. Maybe being in the MVC will make it easier to have a "ceiling" on the type of recruits we attract. There will always be guys that don't workout but maybe there will be fewer of them. In all honesty the Valpo teams of the last few years have been very deep with guys who were really good players and those teams would hands down be upper tier teams in the MVC.
The stretch Valpo has went on has been because the coaching staff has really developed guys and they were able to land a few of those "diamond in the rough" recruits: Rowdy/AP (semi-AP: many of the big programs slept on him even Bradley who was in his backyard) and they've built a culture of being a home for Transfers that weren't getting opportunity or development at their other schools to be find a new home and give them an opportunity: Cory Johnson, Brandon Wood, LaVonte Dority, Bobby Capobianco, etc. and were hoping Joe Burton and Bakari can become impact transfers for us.
It will be interesting to see how significant of an impact the move to the MVC has on recruiting. I'm hoping the coaching staff can find the next program Altering recruit like Rowdy/AP. Who knows, maybe that guy is already on the roster.
To be fair, David Chadwick was also dealing with significant health issues. Nick was highly regarded coming out of high school. He was The Times Player of the Year. It will become very obvious that the athleticism of the current team would have left several of the guys VU2014 mentioned (like Nick) no longer targets.
On paper it is hard to imagine that the move to The Valley would have brought in higher rated players. Don't think we will be getting 4 star players on a regular basis and we have several 3 star guys now plus Joe Burton.
Brandon Wood giving Valpo a shout out over Twitter for joining the MVC. Brandon was a hell of a player. I feel like this whole era of Valpo success was jump started by that Brandon Wood/Cory Johnson/Erik Buggs/young Broekhoff/Howard Little/Kevin Van Wijk/Matt Kenney, 2010-2011 Valpo Team back in the day.
Brandon was the leader of that team. Was really disappointing he transferred the next year, but him leaving forced Rowdy to step and he blossomed into a star that year and cause Valpo to take the next step in this era.
https://twitter.com/BrandonWood30/status/869635945045282816
A business article I was reading today brought to mind my earlier claim that the lack of convenient ARC parking is responsible, in part, for declining attendance. In relevant part:
"A successful business is one that attracts clients and keeps them coming back. Everything about the business should aim for that goal. Despite having a great line-up of products and excellent service, not every business achieves that goal because of one simple, yet fairly common problem: parking space shortages".
One of the aspects often overlooked by business owners when searching for a Dallas office space is parking. To have a successful business, it is essential to find a Dallas office space that is equipped with enough parking spaces to cater to the needs of the business customers as well as the employees. A simple parking space shortage can cause a lot of problems for the business in the long run.
Client Parking – Clients who prefer private transportation over public transportation expect the same level of convenience when stepping out of their vehicles. If a client has to drive around the block several times to find a space to park, it could potentially drive clients away to look for a similar business with better parking space options.
http://www.lcrgusa.com/dallas-office-space/30-parking-space-shortage-dont-let-it-ruin-your-business/
Obviously, the settings are dramatically different, but the message is the same.
Brandon is a total class act. He is having a great pro career and is doing great things in his community.
Quote from: wh on May 31, 2017, 09:59:09 PM
A business article I was reading today brought to mind my earlier claim that the lack of convenient ARC parking is responsible, in part, for declining attendance. In relevant part:
"A successful business is one that attracts clients and keeps them coming back. Everything about the business should aim for that goal. Despite having a great line-up of products and excellent service, not every business achieves that goal because of one simple, yet fairly common problem: parking space shortages".
One of the aspects often overlooked by business owners when searching for a Dallas office space is parking. To have a successful business, it is essential to find a Dallas office space that is equipped with enough parking spaces to cater to the needs of the business customers as well as the employees. A simple parking space shortage can cause a lot of problems for the business in the long run.
Client Parking – Clients who prefer private transportation over public transportation expect the same level of convenience when stepping out of their vehicles. If a client has to drive around the block several times to find a space to park, it could potentially drive clients away to look for a similar business with better parking space options.
http://www.lcrgusa.com/dallas-office-space/30-parking-space-shortage-dont-let-it-ruin-your-business/
Obviously, the settings are dramatically different, but the message is the same.
From a fan perspective of a sport that routinely plays in the temperature range of 0-35 degrees, PARKING IS HUGE!!! It's short sighted to say otherwise in the blustery winds of the Midwest.
I consider myself a fan, but I think twice before attending games last minute.
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on June 01, 2017, 06:05:15 AM
From a fan perspective of a sport that routinely plays in the temperature range of 0-35 degrees, PARKING IS HUGE!!! It's short sighted to say otherwise in the blustery winds of the Midwest.
I consider myself a fan, but I think twice before attending games last minute.
Part of the move up to The Valley is the implied responsibility to increase attendance at home games. We've all talked about that (ad nauseum?). The one thing the administration can't do is just assume that with MVC teams coming in that attendance will automatically go up and thus do what was done in the past. Sure the Wednesday/Saturday MVC schedule will be helpful, but there are no guarantees. It is up to Valpo to be proactive in this respect and do everything in their power to put butts in the bleachers game in and game out. Convenient parking, and lots of it, can be very big in this regard. Build a crushed stone lot for a couple hundred cars close by Brown Field on the Porter property and PUBLICIZE it. ....... And we all know the ARC upgrade arguments by heart, so let's not go there -- this is not a facilities string.
Another area that needs further attention is student involvement at games. MVC teams already are aware that the ARC can be a terrible place to play -- and filled student sections can make that even more painful. More has got to be done to create enthusiasm within the student body about home game attendance. That should start at Freshman orientation with presentations and activities that get freshmen juiced about attending games. Valpo needs to do a lot of work in changing the mindset of students, combating complacency and getting them involved.
Also student-related is the need to resurrect a top notch Pep Band. I have great respect for the kids who presently try their hardest to add some zip to the game experience, but they are few, sort of unpolished, and they can't do it alone. They need administration backing and incentives (credits?) to attract more musicians and have a professional (faculty?) leader.
I wonder how they chose the sites? Are they randomly picked? Rotated? Best arenas/venues possible?
Anyone know if or when Valpo will host any these events in the future? No surprise we're not hosting anything next season because we're the new guys on the block.
https://twitter.com/MVCsports/status/870369745152954368
Quote from: wh on May 31, 2017, 09:59:09 PM
A business article I was reading today brought to mind my earlier claim that the lack of convenient ARC parking is responsible, in part, for declining attendance. In relevant part:
"A successful business is one that attracts clients and keeps them coming back. Everything about the business should aim for that goal. Despite having a great line-up of products and excellent service, not every business achieves that goal because of one simple, yet fairly common problem: parking space shortages".
One of the aspects often overlooked by business owners when searching for a Dallas office space is parking. To have a successful business, it is essential to find a Dallas office space that is equipped with enough parking spaces to cater to the needs of the business customers as well as the employees. A simple parking space shortage can cause a lot of problems for the business in the long run.
Client Parking – Clients who prefer private transportation over public transportation expect the same level of convenience when stepping out of their vehicles. If a client has to drive around the block several times to find a space to park, it could potentially drive clients away to look for a similar business with better parking space options.
http://www.lcrgusa.com/dallas-office-space/30-parking-space-shortage-dont-let-it-ruin-your-business/
Obviously, the settings are dramatically different, but the message is the same.
So, does it make any sense for folks to park at Eastgate and have the University run a bus to the ARC? Perhaps there is a closer lot of size that the University controls. It would be a lot cheaper than building a new ramp or repairing the one from the hospital. I'm thinking of golf tournaments where there is limited parking for fans at the course. They all just bus the folks in.
Baseball!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was some busing going on from LaPorte Ave at one time. I remember parking in the lot next to the parking garage and getting picked up by a bus that then proceeded down LaPorte to University Dr/Campus Dr where the bus turned right. It stopped by the Union and picked up more people and then by the parking lot next to the softball field to pick up more people before dropping the passengers off in front of the ARC on Union Street. I think that was the 2015-16 season.
Quote from: bbtds on June 02, 2017, 05:40:40 AM
There was some busing going on from LaPorte Ave at one time. I remember parking in the lot next to the parking garage and getting picked up by a bus that then proceeded down LaPorte to University Dr/Campus Dr where the bus turned right. It stopped by the Union and picked up more people and then by the parking lot next to the softball field to pick up more people before dropping the passengers off in front of the ARC on Union Street. I think that was the 2015-16 season.
Say I am a casual fan, meaning that I might go to a game or two if it is convenient and my schedule permits, I would not find it convenient to wait in the cold for a shuttle bus, sit on that bus for anywhere from 5-15 minutes as it makes its stops, and after the game wait with dozens of other for a chance to bus to my remote parking lot.
In terms of butts in the bleachers, that, to me as a "casual fan," would be a reason NOT to go to games. And Valpo's job in this new era is to attract and convert an expanded base of casual fans to being committed fans/season ticket holders.
The simple solution is to inexpensively create parking on the Porter property by Brown Field/Lebein Hall within just a short walk of the ARC. Until those acres are fully developed into the prosed Recreation Building and soccer stadium, it is a great utilization of the space.
That's a smart, simple solution to the parking problem. Hopefully it is not too smart for a university to consider.
Getting more pumped for next season already. Schedule usually comes out near Labor Day, right? We know several game dates already.
Hell, unless the ground is super soggy, just have people park on the grass there. By December it will be frozen, then just plow off the snow as necessary. The sidewalk is already in place. What's so complicated with that?
Quote from: VULB#62 on June 02, 2017, 08:41:30 AM
Hell, unless the ground is super soggy, just have people park on the grass there. By December it will be frozen, then just plow off the snow as necessary. The sidewalk is already in place. What's so complicated with that?
Valpo/Chicago hasn't been that cold the last few years. I won't go into global warming but you take a good chance of getting many cars stuck in the mud. It would most likely take a fully paved parking lot.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/march-weather/332943
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/february-weather/332943?monyr=2/1/2017
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/january-weather/332943?monyr=1/1/2017
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/december-weather/332943?monyr=12/1/2016
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/november-weather/332943?monyr=11/1/2016
Quote from: bbtds on June 02, 2017, 11:52:21 AM
Quote from: VULB#62 on June 02, 2017, 08:41:30 AM
Hell, unless the ground is super soggy, just have people park on the grass there. By December it will be frozen, then just plow off the snow as necessary. The sidewalk is already in place. What's so complicated with that?
Valpo/Chicago hasn't been that cold the last few years. I won't go into global warming but you take a good chance of getting many cars stuck in the mud. It would most likely take a fully paved parking lot.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/march-weather/332943
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/february-weather/332943?monyr=2/1/2017
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/january-weather/332943?monyr=1/1/2017
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/december-weather/332943?monyr=12/1/2016
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/november-weather/332943?monyr=11/1/2016
If by paved you mean crushed stone -- go fot it VU!
Quote from: VULB#62 on June 02, 2017, 03:01:37 PMQuote from: bbtds on June 02, 2017, 11:52:21 AMQuote from: VULB#62 on June 02, 2017, 08:41:30 AMHell, unless the ground is super soggy, just have people park on the grass there. By December it will be frozen, then just plow off the snow as necessary. The sidewalk is already in place. What's so complicated with that?
Valpo/Chicago hasn't been that cold the last few years. I won't go into global warming but you take a good chance of getting many cars stuck in the mud. It would most likely take a fully paved parking lot. http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/march-weather/332943 http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/february-weather/332943?monyr=2/1/2017 http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/january-weather/332943?monyr=1/1/2017 http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/december-weather/332943?monyr=12/1/2016 http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/valparaiso-in/46383/november-weather/332943?monyr=11/1/2016
If by paved you mean crushed stone -- go fot it VU!
That field is used by intramural's I think. Not sure VU would want to remove that option. There are ample spots at the two lots by the softball field. Problem as all have mentioned is it is a bit of a walk. Agree a shuttle bus is not the best answer. Buses take too long to load and if they make multiple stops you wind up waiting 20-30 minutes. So how do other places with remote parking handle it? Made me think of Disney world and their trams they have at the parking lots. Easy to load quickly, makes a single stop. Have the university buy one of these vehicles, have it make a stop in the middle of the two lots by the softball field and go direct to the arc. It'd be a 2 min drive at most, only 2 mins to load and unload, meaning you would need to wait at most 6-8 minutes for a shuttle. Run it continuously for the night of the game. Could get a second tram do the same thing for the lots by the old hospital parking garage or another location too if one wouldn't be enough. I'm sure the university could find other uses for these on a regular basis as well to help with the ROI.
Just a thought...
(http://voiceofsandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/app/credentialedimg/panama071211-15.jpg)
Not all of that property is used for intramurals. There is more than enough to accomodate both a parking lot and intramurals. There is also space for intramurals down by the old Theta Chi house and there is lots of space at East Gate too which is underutilized.
Harry from Valley Hoops Insiders interviewed Coach Lottich and is doing a "Getting to Know Valpo" article series.
http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/getting-to-know-valpo/
https://twitter.com/fatherharry1/status/872086131415928832
Great stuff. Had no idea that Alan had told Mark that. Really looking forward to hearing about the players. This is the type of coverage we would NEVER have gotten from writer in the Horizon, save our beloved Paul Oren and Michael Osipoff! ;D
What's the horizon league?
Quote from: oklahomamick on June 06, 2017, 10:57:54 PM
What's the horizon league?
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hgbSGnr9kY4/UbgueGfIysI/AAAAAAAAAE8/SgEU7SD9VJU/s1600/Black+Forest+Fire.jpg)
"I wonder how they chose the sites? Are they randomly picked? Rotated? Best arenas/venues possible?
Anyone know if or when Valpo will host any these events in the future? No surprise we're not hosting anything next season because we're the new guys on the block."
Here is a link to the 2015-16 sites. As you can see, Loyola was hosting fairly soon. Everything besides basketball is rotated pretty well. I would think Valpo would be in the rotations as soon as next year.
http://www.archmadness.com/news/archives/2014-15/8157/mvc-announces-2015-16-championship-sites/#.WTeDkevyupo
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/872482475431407617
http://www.kxel.com/panthers/2017/06/07/homeofthepantherscom-podcast-driving-the-lane-ep-23
The guest right after Michael sings Valpo's praises and said Valpo was a good addition but he says Valpo will likely need to upgrade its facilities in the near future.
Consensus from most of the MVC media guys is that Valpo was a good add but that we are going to need to upgrade our facilities. I think they may be disappointed if that is the "expectation" around the league. I don't think we should expect any major renovations to the ARC. The ARC needs a facelift & needs to address the parking issue, but the former likely won't happen without a very generous donor that currently doesn't exist or that hasn't been willing to donate toward that cause.
I could see minor improvements to continue to happen. Would love to see the the low level bowl chair back seating. Maybe something like that is in the works and we just aren't aware of it yet.
I could care less what MVC media guys think about the ARC. I truly hope they have only two thoughts: 1) the people there are really nice, and 2) that's where their own teams go to get shellacked.
QuoteThis is the type of coverage we would NEVER have gotten from writer in the Horizon, save our beloved Paul Oren and Michael Osipoff! ;D
Indeed! I'm already seeing the pre-announcement fretting about trading the "major media markets" of the HL for the "college towns" of the Valley failed to take into account the intensity of the media coverage the MVC receives. While a HL league game might get covered in the Detroit Free Press or Cleveland Plain Dealer, it will be a short write-up on page C6 vs. a front-page of the sports section story in Peoria, Evansville, Cedar Rapids, etc.
And that doesn't take into account local broadcast, particularly radio: UNI, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Ill. St. and Evansville all have multi-station radio networks, some of which span their states and have affiliates in neighboring states as well. Those that aren't (Drake, Bradley) are on a powerful local radio station (Drake's station in Des Moines has a signal that can be picked up from Iowa City to just shy of the Nebraska state line). I don't think any of our former HL conference mates (save Butler) have more than one station -- some don't even have that. All of the hometown "flagship" stations for these schools have shows dedicated to their local Valley schools' sports (see all of the segments about Valpo that have appeared on UNI station KEXL). The local TV affiliates cover the MVC teams like Chicago stations cover the Bulls or Blackhawks.
In short, we're going to be trading being sports brief #9 or #10 in a large HL market for receiving top billing and in-depth, big-time coverage in the mid-sized markets of the MVC. It's going to be a great trade-off, IMO.
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on June 07, 2017, 11:32:51 PMQuoteThis is the type of coverage we would NEVER have gotten from writer in the Horizon, save our beloved Paul Oren and Michael Osipoff! ;D
Indeed! I'm already seeing the pre-announcement fretting about trading the "major media markets" of the HL for the "college towns" of the Valley failed to take into account the intensity of the media coverage the MVC receives. While a HL league game might get covered in the Detroit Free Press or Cleveland Plain Dealer, it will be a short write-up on page C6 vs. a front-page of the sports section story in Peoria, Evansville, Cedar Rapids, etc. And that doesn't take into account local broadcast, particularly radio: UNI, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Ill. St. and Evansville all have multi-station radio networks, some of which span their states and have affiliates in neighboring states as well. Those that aren't (Drake, Bradley) are on a powerful local radio station (Drake's station in Des Moines has a signal that can be picked up from Iowa City to just shy of the Nebraska state line). I don't think any of our former HL conference mates (save Butler) have more than one station -- some don't even have that. All of the hometown "flagship" stations for these schools have shows dedicated to their local Valley schools' sports (see all of the segments about Valpo that have appeared on UNI station KEXL). The local TV affiliates cover the MVC teams like Chicago stations cover the Bulls or Blackhawks. In short, we're going to be trading being sports brief #9 or #10 in a large HL market for receiving top billing and in-depth, big-time coverage in the mid-sized markets of the MVC. It's going to be a great trade-off, IMO.
THANK YOU! THIS is one of the premier reasons why this is an incredibly good move for VU from an influence and branding standpoint The SIZE of the market matters MUCH LESS than your place in the pecking order of that market. Better to get top billing in a top 50-75 market than be the fifth option in a top 20 market. In the MVC Valpo's name will spread throughout the midwest; In the Horizon, it would remain buried somewhere between the article about who should win the position battle to be the third string long snapper the puff piece on the pro basketball team's assistant director of operations'secretary's favorite food and fan's angry letters to coaches that will never be read.
The step up in competition, the possibility of being in a multi bid league, or getting a better NIT seed at least, and competing against more academically inclined residential and private institutions like VU, these are all great things,but the increase in coverage exposure and notoriety for the university may well be athe most significant positive benefit for the university as a whole
The US is divided in to 210 Nielsen "Designated Media Areas" - basically where you get your local ABC/CBS/NBC affiliate station from. These range from NYC at number 1 with over 7.3 million households with TVs to Glendive Montana with 4,050 households with TVs.
The average size of the HL markets is 1.22 million households. The average size of the MVC markets is about 715,000 households. If you ignore Chicago, which is common to both conferences, and also an outlier for its huge size, the average for the other HL markets is 904,000 and the average for the other MVC markets is 320,000, or about 1/3 the size.
Here are the full numbers for both conferences.
City, Conference(s), School(s), Rank, Households w/ TVs
Chicago, MVC/HL, UIC/Loyola/Valpo, 3, 3484800
Detroit, HL, Detroit/Oakland, 13, 1845920
Cleveland, HL, CSU, 19, 1485140
Milwaukee, HL, UWM, 35, 902190
Cincinnati, HL, NKU, 36, 897890
Dayton, HL, WSU, 64, 498270
Green Bay, HL, UWGB, 68, 441800
Des Moines, MVC, Drake, 69, 427860
Springfield MO, MVC, Mo St., 75, 414570
Paducah KY/Mt Vernon Ill., MVC, SIU, 83, 388340
Cedar Rapids/Waterloo IA, MVC, UNI, 90, 342610
Evansville, MVC, UE, 103, 284040
Youngstown, HL, YSU, 115, 260000
Peoria-Bloomington, MVC, Bradley/Ill St., 118, 244050
Terre Haute, MVC, Ind St, 155, 139600
https://twitter.com/MVCsports/status/872875642366423042
Mid-Madness did a live facebook chat and Valpo got brought up a few times, a little MVC & even Coach Lottich lol. Its about 14 minutes or so.
https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/872945020755525633
https://www.facebook.com/MidMajorMadness/
https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/873167752285962240
https://twitter.com/ValleyHoops/status/873192214226100224
The main thing I took away from the interview with Coach Lottich was when he said, "We're losing a lot no doubt, but we're keeping a lot."
He also emphasizes that he thought there will be growing pains which I think most of us on this board believe will be the case. He also said that he thinks the team you'll see day one won't be the same team at the end of the season.
Next season's team will be fun to watch because there are so many unknowns. I expect the team to be competitive and mid-pack in the MVC next season but I think there is room for upside.
Quote from: VU2014 on June 09, 2017, 12:12:07 PM
The main thing I took away from the interview with Coach Lottich was when he said, "We're losing a lot no doubt, but we're keeping a lot."
He also emphasizes that he thought there will be growing pains which I think most of us on this board believe will be the case. He also said that he thinks the team you'll see day one won't be the same team at the end of the season.
Next season's team will be fun to watch because there are so many unknowns. I expect the team to be competitive and mid-pack in the MVC next season but I think there is room for upside.
Mid-pack sounds about right for next year. It takes some time for guys who sat out a year to get their sea legs again. The next two years, after next, we will compete for the title. We lose Tevonn and Max but that's it and we gain Fazekas plus whomever else Matt can pick up and presumably those pick ups will be guards. So our bigs will be juniors and probably as good as they will get, or near it. Joe will be a senior but again the only senior. Man, we will be very young next year. So, I am very excited to get this show on the road!!!!
Thought Matt's interview was good but could he have done it with a VU or MVC backdrop. Was that a closet he was in?
Quote from: oklahomamick on June 09, 2017, 03:36:14 PM
Thought Matt's interview was good but could he have done it with a VU or MVC backdrop. Was that a closet he was in?
I believe that is Matt's coach's office. Same office that Bryce and Homer used. I never thought it was too small. Many of you have seen it.
The metro population numbers are off. The Des Moines metro area population is more like 611000... and it is growing at a rapid pace. An Kent, Grimes and Waukee is expanding at a tremendous rate.
Remember, those numbers are for households with televisions, not total population. Interesting to see that other than Chicago, Des Moines is the largest market with an MVC team.
Trusting the Process: How the MVC Scored Valparaiso
By Nick Schultz
Updated June 12, 2017 7:29 p.m. CT
http://loyolaphoenix.com/2017/06/trusting-process-mvc-scored-valparaiso/
Quote from: wh on June 12, 2017, 09:01:41 PM
Trusting the Process: How the MVC Scored Valparaiso
By Nick Schultz
Updated June 12, 2017 7:29 p.m. CT
http://loyolaphoenix.com/2017/06/trusting-process-mvc-scored-valparaiso/
Welcome feedback.
Totally superfluous question out of left field: will Valpo paint the MVC logo in the lane in the MVC COLORS or do a brown & gold adaptation?
My vote would be the red, white and blue. It would pop!
I'm guessing brown & gold adaptation.
UNI appears to have the logo in purple: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLeod_Center#/media/File:McLeod_1.JPG
Loyola has it in gold on a maroon background: http://www.alumni.luc.edu/s/1548/alumni/index.aspx?sid=1548&gid=2&pgid=3737&content_id=3799&appealcode=17B12
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on June 12, 2017, 10:41:43 PM
I'm guessing brown & gold adaptation.
UNI appears to have the logo in purple: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLeod_Center#/media/File:McLeod_1.JPG
Loyola has it in gold on a maroon background: http://www.alumni.luc.edu/s/1548/alumni/index.aspx?sid=1548&gid=2&pgid=3737&content_id=3799&appealcode=17B12
BORING!
Quote from: wh on June 12, 2017, 09:01:41 PM
Trusting the Process: How the MVC Scored Valparaiso
By Nick Schultz
Updated June 12, 2017 7:29 p.m. CT
http://loyolaphoenix.com/2017/06/trusting-process-mvc-scored-valparaiso/
The story mentions some conference rivalries that Valpo used to have with MVC schools:
The addition also lets some of the teams to revisit past rivalries. Valparaiso was with Loyola in the Horizon League from 2007 to 2013, Missouri State in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities — now known as the Summit League — from 1982 to 1990 and the University of Northern Iowa in the AMCU from 1982 to 1991.but it leaves out the older rivalries Valpo had with Indiana State and Evansville in the old Indiana Collegiate Conference
Yes, it left those out, though to be fair, most of the major college basketball research sites online only go back to the start of the D-I era, so there isn't as much out there about the ICC days. You'd need to have some historical knowledge of Valpo or access to a bunch of VU media guides for that.
To me, Evansville goes well beyond the ICC. We maintained non-conference home-and-homes (that's same-season... two non-conference games per year!) with them through the 1980s and the only team we've played more in school history is Butler. Can't get much more "historical rivalry" than that.
Of course, it's great to renew a conference rivalry with ISU as well, but we didn't schedule them nearly as often post-ICC as we did the Aces.
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on June 13, 2017, 08:59:05 AM
Yes, it left those out, though to be fair, most of the major college basketball research sites online only go back to the start of the D-I era, so there isn't as much out there about the ICC days. You'd need to have some historical knowledge of Valpo or access to a bunch of VU media guides for that.
To me, Evansville goes well beyond the ICC. We maintained non-conference home-and-homes (that's same-season... two non-conference games per year!) with them through the 1980s and the only team we've played more in school history is Butler. Can't get much more "historical rivalry" than that.
Of course, it's great to renew a conference rivalry with ISU as well, but we didn't schedule them nearly as often post-ICC as we did the Aces.
Might be a bit of an overstatement. :o We've played Evansville 83 times and Indiana State 80 times.
https://twitter.com/ValpoWG/status/875158575043182593
Who do you think the front-runner will be for the MVC next season?
https://twitter.com/CollegeHoopNews/status/875449404697620480
I'm going with N. Iowa or Loyola. Missouri St. is like Detroit was with Ray or UIC with McClain, talented yet bad coaching. N. Iowa and Loyola probably the next best talented. Difference is they have a coach.
https://twitter.com/Pg_Benson/status/877357265573097472
Great article on the Missouri Valley Conference detailing the attitudes of the remaining member institutions in light of the departure of Wichita State. Much of what is written here really resonates with my own thoughts on the Valley and helps explain why I'm bullish on the future of the conference.
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20170624/missouri-valley-has-what-it-takes-without-wichita-state
Does anyone know how Valpo will be sharing in the NCAA tournament payouts to the MVC? Will they immediately get the share WSU left behind or will they just share in payouts associated with '17-'18 tournament and forward?
Don't know if Valpo will get some of the NCAA money WSU won't get. But what is more interesting for you guys is that when the new NCAA grades=money thing goes into effect in a few years--the NCAA will pay teams in each league by how their graduation rate is---and in a few years that amount may be nearly as much as going to the NCAA's a bunch--imagine that: money earned for use in your sports department that has to do with great academics! America , what a country!
Quote from: underdawg on June 26, 2017, 06:10:18 PM
Don't know if Valpo will get some of the NCAA money WSU won't get. But what is more interesting for you guys is that when the new NCAA grades=money thing goes into effect in a few years--the NCAA will pay teams in each league by how their graduation rate is---and in a few years that amount may be nearly as much as going to the NCAA's a bunch--imagine that: money earned for use in your sports department that has to do with great academics! America , what a country!
Not to throw a wet blanket on your very positive spin (which I applaud), but my pessimistiic side tells me the Power 5+1 will eventually do everything they can to subvert anything that rewards academic leadersip as it relates to NCAA $$$$ payouts.
Actually, I think the big boys will let us have the academic money. It likely pales in comparison to what their donors provide anyway. As long as Oregon has Phil Knight and Louisville has its hookers, they'll be fine.
Quote from: VULB#62 on June 26, 2017, 09:44:54 PM
Quote from: underdawg on June 26, 2017, 06:10:18 PM
Don't know if Valpo will get some of the NCAA money WSU won't get. But what is more interesting for you guys is that when the new NCAA grades=money thing goes into effect in a few years--the NCAA will pay teams in each league by how their graduation rate is---and in a few years that amount may be nearly as much as going to the NCAA's a bunch--imagine that: money earned for use in your sports department that has to do with great academics! America , what a country!
Not to throw a wet blanket on your very positive spin (which I applaud), but my pessimistiic side tells me the Power 5+1 will eventually do everything they can to subvert anything that rewards academic leadersip as it relates to NCAA $$$$ payouts.
I think there will be a middle ground here somewhere. The Power 5 benefit greatly from the idea of making academics have a bigger impact but are very guarded about giving up large amounts of $$$$. They will sacrifice enough money to get the publicity benefit from the academic impact. Remember many of the mid-majors have also done poorly on academic ratings and the payouts will be to a lower percentage of schools than what Power 5 schools would give away if they suddenly had to schedule equally on mid-major home courts.
Good question on whether Valpo gets any funds that Wichita forfeited? Hope we negotiated that on the way in. That did not occur to me. It could be a decent amount of money.
Quote from: crusadermoe on June 27, 2017, 10:25:49 AM
Good question on whether Valpo gets any funds that Wichita forfeited? Hope we negotiated that on the way in. That did not occur to me. It could be a decent amount of money.
Unless the MVC has Gar Foreman and John Paxson negotiating for them, there's very little chance that Valpo would receive tournament payouts for years in which they weren't a part of the league, just like it would have been foolish for the Horizon League to give Oakland and NKU any of Butler's money. The MVC would likely pay the exit fees for the Horizon and may have worked something out with Valpo on the entrance fees to the conference.
As for the academic units themselves, the NCAA estimates those will be about $56,000 per unit initially (it will likely grow to over $500,000 by the end of the new TV deal), so the power leagues likely won't worry about it at first. The concern for all schools should be that by the end of the deal, schools will be steering their players into easy majors to ensure they are getting the money once it grows to what they're projecting. Meanwhile, the actual units themselves for tourney games this season was $1.7 million.
Quote from: IrishDawg on June 27, 2017, 10:37:17 AM
Quote from: crusadermoe on June 27, 2017, 10:25:49 AM
Good question on whether Valpo gets any funds that Wichita forfeited? Hope we negotiated that on the way in. That did not occur to me. It could be a decent amount of money.
Unless the MVC has Gar Foreman and John Paxson negotiating for them, there's very little chance that Valpo would receive tournament payouts for years in which they weren't a part of the league, just like it would have been foolish for the Horizon League to give Oakland and NKU any of Butler's money. The MVC would likely pay the exit fees for the Horizon and may have worked something out with Valpo on the entrance fees to the conference.
As for the academic units themselves, the NCAA estimates those will be about $56,000 per unit initially (it will likely grow to over $500,000 by the end of the new TV deal), so the power leagues likely won't worry about it at first. The concern for all schools should be that by the end of the deal, schools will be steering their players into easy majors to ensure they are getting the money once it grows to what they're projecting. Meanwhile, the actual units themselves for tourney games this season was $1.7 million.
They will not only steer them to easy majors, they will probably make them easier and create new ones. "Bracketology" has made it into the dictionaries, could it become an academic field of study, too?
Quote from: Valpower on June 27, 2017, 02:42:07 PM
Quote from: IrishDawg on June 27, 2017, 10:37:17 AM
Quote from: crusadermoe on June 27, 2017, 10:25:49 AM
Good question on whether Valpo gets any funds that Wichita forfeited? Hope we negotiated that on the way in. That did not occur to me. It could be a decent amount of money.
Unless the MVC has Gar Foreman and John Paxson negotiating for them, there's very little chance that Valpo would receive tournament payouts for years in which they weren't a part of the league, just like it would have been foolish for the Horizon League to give Oakland and NKU any of Butler's money. The MVC would likely pay the exit fees for the Horizon and may have worked something out with Valpo on the entrance fees to the conference.
As for the academic units themselves, the NCAA estimates those will be about $56,000 per unit initially (it will likely grow to over $500,000 by the end of the new TV deal), so the power leagues likely won't worry about it at first. The concern for all schools should be that by the end of the deal, schools will be steering their players into easy majors to ensure they are getting the money once it grows to what they're projecting. Meanwhile, the actual units themselves for tourney games this season was $1.7 million.
They will not only steer them to easy majors, they will probably make them easier and create new ones. "Bracketology" has made it into the dictionaries, could it become an academic field of study, too?
I think North Carolina tried to get a 15 year jump on this... and it is probably the excuse they will use to get off scot-free from their current academic investigation. >:( :lol:
https://twitter.com/HoopvilleAdam/status/880100846989701121
http://www.hoopville.com/2017/06/27/2016-17-mvc-post-mortem/
2016-17 MVC Post-Mortem
June 27, 2017
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
Email: hoopvilleadam@yahoo.com
The Valley next season is there for the taking.
With Wichita State gone there is no dominant team left in the League. I'm not going to pick us to win it because all of the roster turnover but by the end of the season we should be very competitive with any other fellow Valley team. Will most likely be some bumps in the road next season.
Tweet at Paul
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/887348733331025920
Did the MVC put any kind of pressure on VU for improved facilities and/or did VU
people indicate that some improvements were in the works and will be made in the near future?
https://twitter.com/ValpoU/status/952636471583879168
https://www.valpo.edu/valpomag/2017/12/19/valpo-in-the-valley/
Our game against Drake was the first MVC home contest with students on campus, and the attendance was listed as 2710. I checked our attendance figures for last year's Horizon League home games held while students were on campus, and the average for seven games was 3620. The expectations were for higher attendance figures with the move to a higher-level conference and the excitement that should be generated. Some could argue last year's team was better, but the novelty and enthusiasm for playing new and better teams in the MVC should balance that out, especially with focused and smart marketing.
I mentioned in a message after the acceptance of the MVC invite that Valpo had a limited window of time to initiate increased excitement for the basketball program, and the true test of the success in Valpo's promotion and publicity would come during the conference home schedule. However, I was concerned there would be almost no change in the level of promotion and the quality of experience in attending games would not be elevated. I fear that the attendance numbers prove my worries were warranted, and just as we saw in the year after the Sweet-16 season, another opportunity to raise the profile of the program is being squandered.
My guess is that complete drubbings at the hands of Purdue and Northwestern, an embarrassing loss to Cal-Riverside, and losing the first three conference games had as much, or more, to do with lower attendance than any issues with promotion and experience.
Quote from: vu84v2 on January 15, 2018, 01:48:53 PM
My guess is that complete drubbings at the hands of Purdue and Northwestern, an embarrassing loss to Cal-Riverside, and losing the first three conference games had as much, or more, to do with lower attendance than any issues with promotion and experience.
However, the average attendance for D-1 home games while students were on campus in the fall averaged only 2620. (Actually, for non-D-1 games the attendance average was no different: 2614.) The team was undefeated at the time and turnout was no better; the best attendance was only 2949 for Utah State. An undefeated team that was celebrating a new era in an advanced conference should have accumulated greater numbers with better promotion and game experiences for fans. If we couldn't get 3000 for an undefeated 8-0 team, I think the won-lost record is not the main factor.
Attendance has probably been a combination of things:
-The struggles of this team since Utah State game
-In the non-conference it's just been uninteresting opponents other then maybe Utah State.
-Rotten weather since around Christmas time
-Lack of students during Winter Break
-Promotion may have something to do with it. I still think we should be more targeted with promotions to local schools/churches/groups/etc.
-The ultimate advertisement is winning and that's been something we've struggled to do since the Utah State game
I don't want to beat a dead horse but the Valpo Gameday experience could use a revamp. I'd love to see better student turn out because the more energized the student section is the better the gameday experience, imo.
Wednesday's game may also have lost some students due to the first night of any night classes held on Wednesdays, and professors that do a bit more than just go over the expectations and the syllabus in the first class. Also, not sure if VU's top audition band does still, but they used to rehearse on Wednesday evenings, which can effect some of the pep band numbers too. I'd rather have some students not there because of Wednesday evening classes, as an excuse, over Sorority/Fraternity recruitment is now underway.
Hopefully the attendance does start to pick up, and our numbers push way over 3500 for all remaining conference games at the ARC.
VU is around 4K students. Half of the student body shows and we have 2k in the stands. How many schools consistently get 50% of the student body at games????
We are a small school in a small community.
It's a better conference but there still hasn't been anyone with name recognition that played at the ARC. (Despite Missouri State having some expectations this year. Drake hasn't been good in forever). OOC home schedule was brutal.
I think the higher attendance will come with the Indiana State, loyola, Evansville games just like attendance was higher for the butler games while in the HL. Need to put a few W together and build some excitement back up.
Hope springs eternal! And I will be absolutely the first person to congratulate the students on a strong turnout when it happens for those games!
First, forget about all (everything in the past) of what was done previously. That was fine, it got us into the MVC and that is great. Now we are in real time. Going forward: It might take more than just a revamped video system.
Invest > $2+ million into the ARC and MBB in 2018 and get on with it. And more in 2019. Or bail out.
Re:
INCREASE Recruiting budget
IMPLEMENT ANY fan-visible additional ARC improvements - to attract new butts.
INTRODUCE Intense LOCAL marketing - to get new butts in the seats.
BUILD Close-by parking - to get those butts impressed with the convenience and get them to come back.
Hey, we wanted to move up. That comes at a cost. We need to INVEST our $$$$$ where our aspirations are. To play where we want we need to spend where they (the other MVC schools) have already or are currently spending. We have committed to a MAJOR step forward.
Do it or stop the charade and get off the pot.
The change in conference isn't going to mean much to most students. To a college basketball fan it means something. I'd guess most students aren't dedicated fans of the sport. The name recognition of the opponents isn't there....hopefully as a yet.
Quote from: JD24 on January 18, 2018, 09:25:02 PM
The change in conference isn't going to mean much to most students. To a college basketball fan it means something. I'd guess most students aren't dedicated fans of the sport. The name recognition of the opponents isn't there....hopefully as a yet.
Yep. And that is part of the current problem. Not enough is being done to invigorate the resident student body. It has slid into apathy (with a small exceptional core). That has got to be reversed.
I am sorry, but if I get admitted to the school of my choice I am (1) gonna be excited to be a part of my new community, and (2) that excitement should translate into involvement in the big events on campus.
Quote from: VULB#62 on January 18, 2018, 09:40:52 PMQuote from: JD24 on January 18, 2018, 09:25:02 PMThe change in conference isn't going to mean much to most students. To a college basketball fan it means something. I'd guess most students aren't dedicated fans of the sport. The name recognition of the opponents isn't there....hopefully as a yet.
Yep. And that is part of the current problem. Not enough is being done to invigorate the resident student body. It has slid into apathy (with a small exceptional core). That has got to be reversed. I am sorry, but if I get admitted to the school of my choice I am (1) gonna be excited to be a part of my new community, and (2) that excitement should translate into involvement in the big events on campus.
Problem is that it is not the big event. This indoctrination needs to be done at freshman orientation. "We go to the basketball games".