TwinTownBisonFan wrote:SDHornet wrote:
If Creighton is gone, who does the MVC pick up? Summitt has to be pretty shaky right about now.
MVC should eye up the three Dakota schools - and let the A-10 or Horizon snipe Bradley and Evansville and go all-sports. Wichita would then be properly incentivized to bring back football.
Not going to happen outside of a NDSU fans (wet)dream.
There is a really strange thing in play with the MVC right now.
*The MVC NEEDS to make sure WSU stays happy...period. They are not bringing football back anytime school, the fanbase (outside of a small minority) is perfectly happy being a basketball school. By doing so they have a ton of money to dump into keeping top coaches, facilities, etc... in every sport. They pay their basketball coach 1.5 million dollars a year, with a private jet. WSU is a tough read on if they have options or not.
*The MVC NEEDS to keep the private/non-football schools happy. The MVC is at a crossroads right now VERY similar to what the Big East just faced with football/non football schools. The privates and non football schools need to be kept happy. The school that comes in CAN NOT threaten the non-football schools and move the balance of the conference from basketball to football. Even the football schools in the MVC are basketball first schools...this is something that the Dakota fan bases don't understand when they don't get why MVC schools fans don't like the idea of football schools. UNI is the closest to being a football school, and it's probably about 50.1-54% football to 49.9-46% basketball.
* Geography has always been important to the MVC, and will always be important - HOWEVER, I'm willing to back off of how important I've stated in the past due to recent rumors. At this point I'm willing to put it more on market/potential market. I see some schools that may be outside of the footprint that will get calls and serious talks even though they are outside of the footprint because of market/coverage. A small fraction of a large market is better than a large portion of a small market. What I mean by that is, on the MVC forum a poster did a break down because a NDSU fan said that SDSU's market was over a million people and that is a market that is too good to pass up.
Here is the Sioux Falls, SD DMA market...there is no chance of growth, or major impact on revenue.
Look how much space is needed to get to a million viewers...and 99% of that market doesn't give a shit about SDSU/college sports...they sure a hell won't care about UNI/SIU/WSU/ISUx2/Drake/etc...
This was from a WSU poster - if we are adding Fargo, here is the area that the MVC can explore with geography being taken out of the equation - we can add 3/4th of the country
If Indy State drove the same distance from Terra Haute to Fargo east they would wind up in the Atlantic Ocean. If they drove straight south they'd wind up in the Gulf.
Same for several of the other schools.
MSU and Wichita are closer to Denver and Dallas than to Fargo. Cities that are approximately the same distance (+/- one hour by car): San Antonio, New Orleans, Houston, Birmingham, Knoxville, Cincinnati, Green Bay and Minneapolis.
A rough map of all the places that are closer than Fargo to Springfield is below (rough partially because it is a Mercator projection, which becomes distorted east/west at high latitudes, but isn't too bad until you get into Canada)
To make a lot of words short...The top targets - in what I assume the order is - is as follows
1A - Saint Louis
----From the sound of the reports at least 1, if not 2 or all 3 of my 1's, are going to end up out of the new BE/A10 deal. SLU has long been wanted by the MVC (who is headquarters in St. Louis and the MVC plays it's conference tourney in St. Louis at the Scott Trade Center). Their high ups have always thought they were above the MVC and wanted that east coast market...sounds like they are losing that hope. Great fit and keeps almost every existing MVC member 100% happy. Likely a very long shot, but very much worth phone calls.
1B - Dayton
----See SLU for the most part. Dayton is a a yearly NCAA host, that could easily tie the MVC name to it...HUGE market for the MVC to get into. Keeps almost every MVC member very happy.
1C - some other school left from the A10
---VCU/St. Joe's/Richmond/UMASS/etc...
All of my 1's are very long shots, but will be some of the first schools to get calls/most calls
2 - Denver
---Private school in a huge market. Small chunk of it, but growing. Really investing in their programs and getting flights to Denver is easy as hell. Look at the photo above to see that they are actually no further than Fargo. The potential of getting into Denver market is great. Might mean having to move conference tournament a little further west - Maybe Kansas City (which would keep WSU very happy) or rotating it, but well worth it.
3 - ORU
---Seems to be a name I see a lot of - I'm very meh on them, but I hear them a lot from people who seem to be connected.
4. -UW-M
---May not keep WSU all that happy but in footprint and Milwaukee is a good market....
5 - UI-C
--- Chicago has long been a conveted market for the MVC. May upset WSU in the fact it shifts the cofnerence east more and means the conference tourney is likely to always be in STL or CHI...maybe we see it go to KC to keep WSU happy though.
6 - Detroit
--- Coming form nowhere, but see a ton of love for them lately
7 - UM-KC
--- They fucked up in the WAC decision and I think they know it. The KC market is wanted, it may keep WSU happy in being a western team. They have a lot of improving to do though.
8 - Valpo/Loyola/Murray State
--- Teams I'm hearing a lot of latey. Not sure how I feel about any of them...don't seem to be a ton of advantages to any of them, but I'm hearing them from those who are more connected than I.
There is a LONG LONG list of teams that are thought of in higher regard than the Dakotas...
I hope the Valley takes a HUGE step and goes after Cinci, Tulsa, Memphis, etc...
If the Valley goes south I hope Illinois State and UNI hook up and push for some #MACtion.
