Valley Expansion Close?

[Sycamorefan]

Air Force>Indiana State. Come on falcons are WAAAAY better than Trees, plus I hear they travel well.

Please tell me there is some serious sarcasm here lol.

[pantherclaw]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

Please tell me there is some serious sarcasm here lol.

Some..........how much is up to you. But I think that this would be a bad move for the valley, other than accessing a new market(denver) what else do the falcons bring to the table. I can think of one major downside, escpecially for UNI in these tough times, TRAVEL costs, most certainly we would have to fly the team out and back, and that can add up if we are doing it every year.

[9YRPLAN]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

SLU and butler please.

[Sycamorefan]

SLU and butler please.

YES. We could have a team other Indiana state in the eastern time zone.

[pantherclaw]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

YES. We could have a team other Indiana state in the eastern time zone.

Isn't evansville in indiana? and therfore in the Eastern Time zone? I thought the time line ran along the illinois/indiana border.

[JayJ79]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

Isn't evansville in indiana? and therfore in the Eastern Time zone? I thought the time line ran along the illinois/indiana border.

the majority of Indiana is eastern, but the NW corner (Gary, IN, Chicago area), and the SW tip of the state (that includes Evansville) are in central

[TravelingPanther]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

No way on SIU-E. We don't need to SIU's, especially one the REALLLLLY sucks.

I'm not sure why we'd expand unless it was someone like Butler or Xavier. Even SLU seems unnecessary.

[TH1974]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

Why would Air Force even consider this?

[MVCfans]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

Initially, I liked the idea of adding Air Force. Upon further review, however, the negatives probably outweigh the benefits. Instead, I'm advocating that the MVC be aggressive pursuing schools closer to the current footprint. If Xavier and Temple join the Big East, for example, perhaps Dayton and SLU would consider the MVC more appealing than the A-10. Offering invitations to Butler and Cleveland State (or Detroit in my original hypothesis) would add large cities and good programs. Butler may be in queue for the Big East also, so that's a big question mark.

I think a 14 team league divided east and west would be ideal if the MVC were to expand to maintain most of the current rivalries and maybe start some new ones (ie, SIU vs SLU).

[JayJ79]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

true conferences with equal (round robin in football, double round robin in other sports) are better than pseudo-conferences with unbalanced schedules.

[Sycamorefan]

true conferences with equal (round robin in football, double round robin in other sports) are better than pseudo-conferences with unbalanced schedules.

Thank you! I think adding two teams is fine but let's not go to a two division schedule.

[in_the_stands]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

I agree that SLU would be a good fit for the MVC. SIUE will likely try to get in as well in a few years. I don't like that idea however.

Majority of the SLU fan base has no interest from what I gather. SIUE seems happy in the OVC, plus their facility is modest (as is their fan base).

[BCPanther]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

IMO, there is no Valley expansion that doesn't include NDSU. I don't think its the right move at all, but it is the easy move.

[panther2317]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

SLU would be a great fit. There would be natural geographic rivalries with SIU and Missouri State. They would see an immediate savings in travel. They have a nice arena and a nice fan base in the headquarters of the conference. Hopefully that would put Valley sports more on the tip of the brain of local sports fans all year and not just during Arch Madness. SLU makes sense.

Butler makes sense for many of the same reasons. They are from a large metro area and have a great name recognition.

Those two schools make the most sense to me.

[JD720]

Re: Valley Expansion Close?

More info about Air Force to the Big East in football. I don't see why they wouldn't keep everything else in the MWC, but it mentions the MVC.

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_19073868