Horizon League Replacement

If you want to talk about Monmouth University Football, Quincy University Basketball, Notre Dame Men's Soccer, or whatever, this is the place.
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Oakland's 11-game winning streak in Macomb came to an end that night (Dec 27, 2012).

Western won 73-63.
wiu2013
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I don't think Western will ever be invited to join the Horizon. We are not close to a big city or airport where teams can easily fly in and out like all other schools in the Horizon.
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Neckfansince71
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To be honest with you, I could care less about ever joining the Horizon League. Athletics in the Summit is equal to or stronger than the Horizon in my opinion. Valpo leaving for the MVC really hurt them! ;) jc
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Neckfansince71 wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:36 pm To be honest with you, I could care less about ever joining the Horizon League. Athletics in the Summit is equal to or stronger than the Horizon in my opinion. Valpo leaving for the MVC really hurt them! ;) jc
I think, for me, it's just that it feels like the Summit is moving steadily westward. I know it's all just talk at this point, but you hear talk out of the Dakota schools about starting up Summit League Football, inviting the Montanas, Northern Colorado, etc...at which point it really starts looking more like a plains states/eastern edge of the rockies-based conference. If you take out IUPUI (now that that's officially been announced as of this morning) and add in UND, the geographic center of the conference is slightly east of Sioux City, IA, and if Fort Wayne goes to the Horizon League, as is rumored might happen next year, it shifts over into northern Nebraska, just south of Vermillion, SD (where USD is). It's trending further and further west, and I feel like very quickly we're going to get "travel-costed" out of the conference.

In terms of strength, I do agree that the Summit is very nearly just as good as the Horizon, but it's more of a matter of location (and travel costs) for me. It matters a lot less in football where you're only visiting each place once every other year, but with the other sports, you gotta remember that you're sending your basketball, track, soccer, baseball, softball, etc. teams to many of those schools every year and if every trip requires either a really long bus ride or a trip to Peoria to charter a flight somewhere...that really eats into the budget.
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Neckfansince71 wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:36 pm To be honest with you, I could care less about ever joining the Horizon League. Athletics in the Summit is equal to or stronger than the Horizon in my opinion. Valpo leaving for the MVC really hurt them! ;) jc
I think most think the horizon is better just for travel purposes from a competitive stand point i agree there about the same level.
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leatherneckcountry wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:50 pm
Neckfansince71 wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:36 pm To be honest with you, I could care less about ever joining the Horizon League. Athletics in the Summit is equal to or stronger than the Horizon in my opinion. Valpo leaving for the MVC really hurt them! ;) jc
I think most think the horizon is better just for travel purposes from a competitive stand point i agree there about the same level.
Right, and of course, if we're just looking at conference footprint and travel costs, the MVC is the ideal place for us (geographic midpoint is just a bit east of Beardstown and it would literally be a bus ride to every conference school), but however unrealistic the possibility of joining the Horizon might be, the MVC is even more so.
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ST_Lawson wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:53 pm
leatherneckcountry wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:50 pm
Neckfansince71 wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:36 pm To be honest with you, I could care less about ever joining the Horizon League. Athletics in the Summit is equal to or stronger than the Horizon in my opinion. Valpo leaving for the MVC really hurt them! ;) jc
I think most think the horizon is better just for travel purposes from a competitive stand point i agree there about the same level.
Right, and of course, if we're just looking at conference footprint and travel costs, the MVC is the ideal place for us (geographic midpoint is just a bit east of Beardstown and it would literally be a bus ride to every conference school), but however unrealistic the possibility of joining the Horizon might be, the MVC is even more so.
I"m not sure there are many conferences that have fewer trips that require plane every conference should strive to be like the MVC when it comes to traveling.
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Tere North
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ST_Lawson wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:47 pm I think, for me, it's just that it feels like the Summit is moving steadily westward. I know it's all just talk at this point, but you hear talk out of the Dakota schools about starting up Summit League Football, inviting the Montanas, Northern Colorado, etc...at which point it really starts looking more like a plains states/eastern edge of the rockies-based conference. If you take out IUPUI (now that that's officially been announced as of this morning) and add in UND, the geographic center of the conference is slightly east of Sioux City, IA, and if Fort Wayne goes to the Horizon League, as is rumored might happen next year, it shifts over into northern Nebraska, just south of Vermillion, SD (where USD is). It's trending further and further west, and I feel like very quickly we're going to get "travel-costed" out of the conference.
Well, it is called the Summit League and the peak elevation in Illinois is Charles Mound, at all of 1,235 ft. In contrast, even Hawkeye Point in Iowa tops us at 1,671 ft, to say nothing of 3,508 ft White Butte in North Dakota; 5,427 ft Panorama Peak in Nebraska; 7,244 ft Black Elk Peak in South Dakota; and 14,440 ft Mount Elbert in Colorado. So I guess it makes dictionary sense to have the Summit League be focused in the "plains states/eastern edge of the rockies." :lol:
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Tere North wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 1:37 pm Well, it is called the Summit League and the peak elevation in Illinois is Charles Mound, at all of 1,235 ft. In contrast, even Hawkeye Point in Iowa tops us at 1,671 ft, to say nothing of 3,508 ft White Butte in North Dakota; 5,427 ft Panorama Peak in Nebraska; 7,244 ft Black Elk Peak in South Dakota; and 14,440 ft Mount Elbert in Colorado. So I guess it makes dictionary sense to have the Summit League be focused in the "plains states/eastern edge of the rockies." :lol:
Yea, it is a much more "fitting" region for a conference called the Summit and who's logo actually includes a mountain:
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