Valparaiso has ACCEPTED* the Invite to become the 10th Member of the MVC!!!!

[ml2]

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

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MVCsports/status/872875642366423042

[VU2014]

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/

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/873167752285962240

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/ValleyHoops/status/873192214226100224

[VU2014]

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. 

[vu72]

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!!!!

[oklahomamick]

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? 

[bbtds]

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.

[usc4valpo]

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.

[ml2]

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.

[wh]

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/

[VULB#62]

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.

[VULB#62]

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!

[bigmosmithfan1]

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

[VULB#62]

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!

[bbtds]

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

[bigmosmithfan1]

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.

[vu72]

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.    We've played Evansville 83 times and Indiana State 80 times.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/ValpoWG/status/875158575043182593

[VU2014]

Who do you think the front-runner will be for the MVC next season?

https://twitter.com/CollegeHoopNews/status/875449404697620480

[oklahomamick]

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. 

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/Pg_Benson/status/877357265573097472

[VUGrad1314]

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

[zvillehaze]

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?