Summit League's Future

Athletics Department, Facilities, etc.
Lakesbison
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Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 4:09 pm

you want NOTHING to do with UND. They have mocked the summit for years , You have to FLY into fargo then bus 70 miles up.
their admin is a joke, fans are racist & rude.
they bring NOTHING to the table, they are a hockey school only.


no summit football,
fightingsiouxhawk
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2016 1:11 pm

Lakesbison wrote:you want NOTHING to do with UND. They have mocked the summit for years , You have to FLY into fargo then bus 70 miles up.
their admin is a joke, fans are racist & rude.
they bring NOTHING to the table, they are a hockey school only.


no summit football,
You are full of hate for UND Lakebison. Everyone can see thru your lies and self-serving remarks, everyone knows UND would be an instant strong contender in all Summit sports. Its funny how everyone on this blog totally ignores your remarks. Let's hope the Bison leave for the MAC so the rest of us don't have to put up with your arrogance and stupidity. Have fun playing in the Quick Lane Bowl, the Foster Farms Bowl or the Belk Bowl when you make the big jump.
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NIU#1FBinIL
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From another thread:
meganeck wrote: Tue May 02, 2017 12:46 pm Sounds like Valpo, might be the choice for the MVC. Probably only adding one team.
Earliest rumors were that Valpo and Murray State were the choices and that the MVC was going to expand to 11. Some speculation was that 12 was the actual target but that Belmont rebuffed the MVC.

Some of the latest murmurs are that perhaps the MVC only adds Valpo as the 10th member. Further speculation is that perhaps Valpo is 10th for 2017 and Murray State will still be 11th but not until 2018 with a continued pressure for Belmont to join with them as 11/12 and that perhaps if Belmont stays firm (which seems likely) the MVC adds UW-Milwaukee as the 12th (or maybe stays at 10).

If all of that goes down, the Horizon is expected to take one of the Indiana schools (IUPUI/Fort Wayne) in 2017 to replace the departing Valpo and then probably the other in 2018 in the event that UWM leaves at that time.

So, what will the Summit League do if one of both of the Indiana schools leave for the Horizon League?
If both Indiana schools were to leave for the Horizon League, I think the Summit League should add UMKC and New Mexico State to get back to 10 members. It may be time to kill off the WAC so that New Mexico State has no choice. New Mexico State basketball would be a boom for the Summit League.

Summit League
- Western Illinois*
- North Dakota State*
- South Dakota State*
- South Dakota*
- North Dakota*
- Denver
- Omaha
- Oral Roberts
- UMKC
- New Mexico State^

*Football school
^FBS Football

This gives the Summit the option to sponsor football if/when New Mexico State decides/is forced to drop down to the FCS from the FBS. By sponsoring football the Summit strengthens its position to be able to bring in Northern Iowa as a full member.

Assuming the MVFC adds Murray State to grow to 12 and this "Summit League Football" defection were to happen that would leave (without including UNI):

MVFC: SIU, MoSt, INST, iLst, Youngstown St, Murray St
TSFL: WIU, NDSU, SDSU, USD, UND, NMSU

If you're UNI, which group of six would you rather be your football peers?

The Summit Football League (TSFL) is the better football conference. The MVC and Summit League would both be 1-bid basketball conferences most years moving forward but New Mexico State basketball has a better pedigree and history than ANY team left in the MVC.

As I noted previously:
NIU#1FBinIL wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2016 4:20 pm ...despite the relative lack of success at the FBS level, New Mexico State football has the facilities and history to be successful at the FCS level.
Thoughts?
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leatherface
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Way too much travel, with Western on the far eastern edge. Time out of class etc. is another problem. Western needs to be with schools in our region, not all over the west- IMHO. Interesting, but, I believe too much considering all of the financials involved with Western and what the school can afford.
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NIU#1FBinIL
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leatherface wrote: Mon May 08, 2017 1:55 pm Way too much travel, with Western on the far eastern edge. Time out of class etc. is another problem. Western needs to be with schools in our region, not all over the west- IMHO. Interesting, but, I believe too much considering all of the financials involved with Western and what the school can afford.
So if the two Indiana schools do leave, do you think that Western would consider moving to the OVC? That would really leave WIU on an island.

Having two in-state schools (EIU and SIUe) helps with regional travel and rivalries plus the tight cluster of schools all over Tennessee has to cut down on travel costs compared to the Summit League now and a perhaps west-expanding Summit League of the near future.

What other regional options would be available? Maybe make a push to go to the Horizon. After all the shifting, the Horizon will probably be sitting at 10 members, maybe pitching a WIU/EIU or WIU/SIUe combo for them to get to 12 members?
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leatherface
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Yes, I'm one of a few who likes the OVC for Western- there are a few of us, but not many. There would be some natural rivalries available, schools in common with Western, travel benefits, less time out of class and exposure in some markets that might help in prospective student interest. I see an advantage if Western was in one conference for all sports- even though it would be tough to leave the MVFC. But as I've said before, if you make the playoffs or win conference championships who really cares what conference. The only rival in the MVFC - rival meaning both schools see it as such- is possibly Illinois State, and I really don't know if they see us as a rival. I don't believe SIU does. Just my thouights.

I believe Horizon is out for Western. Western doesn't fit their culture/brand of urban schools.
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ST_Lawson
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Personally, I would prefer our current situation, but I can't deny that going to the OVC would make sense if the Summit starts shifting further west. We've had conference members as far away as Central Connecticut and Southern Utah at times. but it was nice to get away from the travel expenses of that. With our location, we're kinda stuck in between a couple of places...far western edge of the OVC, or possibly far eastern edge of the Summit (if the IN schools get picked up by the Horizon League).
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
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NIU#1FBinIL
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The first domino has dropped with Valpo moving to the MVC.

Looks like the Horizon is in no hurry to react but that doesn't mean it won't.

Summit League (If both IN schools leave)
NDSU
UND
SDSU
USD
Omaha
Denver
Oral Roberts
Western Illinois

Would the Summit look to expand? What teams would it consider (UMKC, Chicago State, Northern Colorado, some other western teams, my favorite-New Mexico State, EIU, SIUe, SEMO)?

OVC Divisions (Minus Murray St and plus WIU)
OVC West: WIU, EIU, SIUe, SEMO, UT-Martin, Austin Peay
OVC East: Belmont, Tennessee St, Tennessee Tech, EKU, Morehead St, Jacksonville St

Possible OVC Divisions (Minus Murray St and plus WIU)*
OVC North: WIU, EIU, SIUe, SEMO, EKU, Morehead St
OVC South: Belmont, UT-Martin, Austin Peay, Tennessee St, Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville St
*If OVC wants the Tennessee teams in the same division

There seems to be a whole lot of travel cost savings with that OVC West compared to shipping all teams all the way to the Dakotas at the height of winter. Looks like something the University will have to consider.

Would most fans still prefer the Summit?
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NIU#1FBinIL
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NIU#1FBinIL wrote: Mon May 08, 2017 1:39 pm Earliest rumors were that Valpo and Murray State were the choices and that the MVC was going to expand to 11. Some speculation was that 12 was the actual target but that Belmont rebuffed the MVC.

Some of the latest murmurs are that perhaps the MVC only adds Valpo as the 10th member. Further speculation is that perhaps Valpo is 10th for 2017 and Murray State will still be 11th but not until 2018 with a continued pressure for Belmont to join with them as 11/12 and that perhaps if Belmont stays firm (which seems likely) the MVC adds UW-Milwaukee as the 12th (or maybe stays at 10).

If all of that goes down, the Horizon is expected to take one of the Indiana schools (IUPUI/Fort Wayne) in 2017 to replace the departing Valpo and then probably the other in 2018 in the event that UWM leaves at that time.

So, what will the Summit League do if one of both of the Indiana schools leave for the Horizon League?
NIU#1FBinIL wrote: Tue May 16, 2017 1:09 pm The first domino has dropped with Valpo moving to the MVC.
The second domino has dropped with the Horizon taking one (IUPUI) of the Indiana schools.
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NIU#1FBinIL
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NIU#1FBinIL wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2017 3:27 pm
NIU#1FBinIL wrote: Mon May 08, 2017 1:39 pm Earliest rumors were that Valpo and Murray State were the choices and that the MVC was going to expand to 11. Some speculation was that 12 was the actual target but that Belmont rebuffed the MVC.

Some of the latest murmurs are that perhaps the MVC only adds Valpo as the 10th member. Further speculation is that perhaps Valpo is 10th for 2017 and Murray State will still be 11th but not until 2018 with a continued pressure for Belmont to join with them as 11/12 and that perhaps if Belmont stays firm (which seems likely) the MVC adds UW-Milwaukee as the 12th (or maybe stays at 10).

If all of that goes down, the Horizon is expected to take one of the Indiana schools (IUPUI/Fort Wayne) in 2017 to replace the departing Valpo and then probably the other in 2018 in the event that UWM leaves at that time.

So, what will the Summit League do if one of both of the Indiana schools leave for the Horizon League?
NIU#1FBinIL wrote: Tue May 16, 2017 1:09 pm The first domino has dropped with Valpo moving to the MVC.
The second domino has dropped with the Horizon taking one (IUPUI) of the Indiana schools.
And now the third domino has dropped with the Horizon taking the other Indiana school (Fort Wayne). I had it happening in 2018 instead of 2019, but I called this way back when.
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