Horizon/OVC
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leatherface
- Posts: 423
- Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2014 4:42 pm
A lot of speculation the Horizon is wanting to add Belmont and Murray State. That would leave two openings in the OVC. Please, if that happens, WESTERN please contact them for membership. It's a better fit- some REGIONAL RIVALRIES! Schools we have something in common with. Bolt the Dakota Conference
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leatherface
- Posts: 423
- Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2014 4:42 pm
Of course, if they could stay in the MVFC that would be the best scenario. If not, maybe football would need to move in order to put the entire athletic department in a conference that might benefit all sports. IMHO, it has gotten to the point where the athletic department needs to be a better steward of the money and resources they have. IMHO, it is very questionable to send teams to Colorado, Dakota's etc. when you really struggle year after year to just keep up with facilities and competition. To me, it's just not good use of limited resources. Maybe it's time to recognize- after all of this time- that WESTERN needs a place to settle so all sports can have a legit shot at championships, with out traveling around the country.
If some think the OVC is a drop down, so what. WESTERN hasn't burned up the Summit or MVFC on a consistent basis across the board either. Some of us get tired of seeing WESTERN always near the bottom of rankings- Commish Cup or general team sports. (Yes, there is a break out team once in awhile)
My rant, go ahead and flame. Still a WESTERN supporter.
If some think the OVC is a drop down, so what. WESTERN hasn't burned up the Summit or MVFC on a consistent basis across the board either. Some of us get tired of seeing WESTERN always near the bottom of rankings- Commish Cup or general team sports. (Yes, there is a break out team once in awhile)
My rant, go ahead and flame. Still a WESTERN supporter.
Actually, I completely agree as sad as it would be to see us not in the MVFC we could definitely dominate another conference, though we lose the selling point of being in the "SEC of the FCS" and we lose our play against ISU and SIU and add EIU. SIUE also plays with this conference in basketball and other sports besides football. Would spend a lot of time in Tennessee and Kentucky, which I suppose is about 7 or 8 hours away. I am not sure how this conference stands up against the summit in major sports such as basketball, baseball & volleyball, but I am assuming since it is being suggested that a change be made it is a step below in skill level and maybe facilities?
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sealhall74
- Posts: 6000
- Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:18 pm
- Location: Wherever, Windblows
If the OVC does come knocking,
Let's not waste any time gawking.
We can shutter up the squawking
And a better future we'll be talking.
Not that I don't like what the Dakotans are doing. Take the Bison for example. I went to Sioux Falls again this year. A couple years back, I was cussing their cheer coordinator who parked her butt right in front of me the whole game and stood up a lot blocking my view. This year, I actually admired her work from a distance. When the Bison cheer team took the court during breaks, she ran to mid-court behind score table and starting giving hand signals and yell prompts (yes, actually "leading" the cheerleaders).
The moral of story is this: Simply being in the right place at the right time can lead to occasional success but it is that continual attention to the smallest of details that makes the difference in the long run.
Let's not waste any time gawking.
We can shutter up the squawking
And a better future we'll be talking.
Not that I don't like what the Dakotans are doing. Take the Bison for example. I went to Sioux Falls again this year. A couple years back, I was cussing their cheer coordinator who parked her butt right in front of me the whole game and stood up a lot blocking my view. This year, I actually admired her work from a distance. When the Bison cheer team took the court during breaks, she ran to mid-court behind score table and starting giving hand signals and yell prompts (yes, actually "leading" the cheerleaders).
The moral of story is this: Simply being in the right place at the right time can lead to occasional success but it is that continual attention to the smallest of details that makes the difference in the long run.
Embrace the pace of the race.
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sealhall74
- Posts: 6000
- Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:18 pm
- Location: Wherever, Windblows
Another reason I like the OVC: They got Rifle which seems to fit right in with our military/Leatherneck heritage. That could be a recruiting advantage. Our first national championship other than bowling is ripe for the taking. 
Embrace the pace of the race.
Personally, I wouldn't mind going to the Ohio Valley if we can swing everything but football. I'm still too attached to the MVFC for football...great teams, half the conference is relatively close (UNI, SIU, ISUr, ISUb, MSU), etc. There is a precedence for schools being in the OVC for non-football sports (Morehead State is OVC for most sports, but Pioneer League for football). In addition to the standards of Football and M/W Basketball, the OVC also sponsors Track and Field (Indoor and Outdoor), Cross Country, Women's Volleyball, Baseball, Softball, Golf, Tennis, and Rifle. Sports that we currently offer that they do not are Soccer and Swimming & Diving. The three members who have soccer play in other conferences (Belmont in the Horizon League, Eastern IL in the Summit, SIU-E in the Missouri Valley) and the only member who has Swimming and Diving (Eastern IL) competes in the Summit on that sport as well.
So, if we could take Baseball, Basketball, Volleyball, Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, and Track & Field to the OVC while keeping Football in the MVFC and likely Soccer and Swimming/Diving in the Summit, then I think that'd be ok, and save the school some money. It would also get us a foot in the door with the OVC if things go all "pear-shaped" with the structure of Div. I college football in the coming years.
We'd be the furthest north team in the conference, rather than being essentially the furthest south team (roughly parallel with Denver and IUPUI), which would also help out the sports that start in the early spring. We're not moving where the home games are, but I'd imagine baseball and softball games are much less likely to be "snowed out" in Jacksonville, AL than they are in Fargo, ND.
According to Google Maps, here's the approximate distance and driving times from Western to the other schools in the OVC (removing the possibly departing Belmont and Murray State):
Austin Peay (Clarksville, TN) - 417 miles, 6 hours 40 minutes
Eastern Illinois (Charleston, IL) - 194 miles, 3 hours 19 minutes
Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, KY) - 479 miles, 7 hours 22 minutes
Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, AL) - 676 miles, 10 hours 30 minutes
Morehead State (Morehead, KY) - 478 miles, 7 hours 48 minues
Southeast Missouri (Cape Girardeau, MO) - 299 miles, 4 hours 34 minutes
SIU-Edwardsville (Edwardsville, IL) - 145 miles, 2 hours 40 minutes
Tennessee State (Nashville, TN) - 457 miles, 7 hours 7 minutes
Tennessee Tech (Cookeville, TN) - 534 miles, 8 hours 19 minutes
UT-Martin (Martin, TN) - 378 miles, 6 hours 8 minutes
Average Distance from OVC Members - 405 miles
Average Driving time to OVC Members - 6 hours 26 minutes
Running the same numbers on the Summit League, the average distance from Western to the other schools is 505 miles, and average travel time is 7 hours 39 minutes.
And for the MVFC teams - average distance is 377 miles, driving time is 5 hours 51 minutes.
So, moving teams from Summit->Ohio Valley would save travel times in general, but moving football to the OVC would not. We would face a lower level of competition in the OVC though...not sure if that's a plus or a minus.
I don't know what the cutoff is for deciding how far away a school needs to be for them to fly (or if they do fly the non-football/basketball teams anywhere). If anyone knows that info, I can figure out how many of the trips we'd be able to drive vs fly to.
Another thing to consider, if the teams are flying, is location of nearest airport. Denver, Fort Wayne, Indy, Omaha, Fargo, and Tulsa all have their own airports. SDSU and USD are probably serviced by the Sioux Falls airport. I know there's airports at some of the schools in the OVC, but it seems like, in general, the towns that they are located in are smaller than the ones in the Summit League, and are less likely to have local airports with airline flights. Average size of Summit League cities (minus Western) is just under 331k people; average size of OVC cities is 91k people.
So, if we could take Baseball, Basketball, Volleyball, Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, and Track & Field to the OVC while keeping Football in the MVFC and likely Soccer and Swimming/Diving in the Summit, then I think that'd be ok, and save the school some money. It would also get us a foot in the door with the OVC if things go all "pear-shaped" with the structure of Div. I college football in the coming years.
We'd be the furthest north team in the conference, rather than being essentially the furthest south team (roughly parallel with Denver and IUPUI), which would also help out the sports that start in the early spring. We're not moving where the home games are, but I'd imagine baseball and softball games are much less likely to be "snowed out" in Jacksonville, AL than they are in Fargo, ND.
According to Google Maps, here's the approximate distance and driving times from Western to the other schools in the OVC (removing the possibly departing Belmont and Murray State):
Austin Peay (Clarksville, TN) - 417 miles, 6 hours 40 minutes
Eastern Illinois (Charleston, IL) - 194 miles, 3 hours 19 minutes
Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, KY) - 479 miles, 7 hours 22 minutes
Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, AL) - 676 miles, 10 hours 30 minutes
Morehead State (Morehead, KY) - 478 miles, 7 hours 48 minues
Southeast Missouri (Cape Girardeau, MO) - 299 miles, 4 hours 34 minutes
SIU-Edwardsville (Edwardsville, IL) - 145 miles, 2 hours 40 minutes
Tennessee State (Nashville, TN) - 457 miles, 7 hours 7 minutes
Tennessee Tech (Cookeville, TN) - 534 miles, 8 hours 19 minutes
UT-Martin (Martin, TN) - 378 miles, 6 hours 8 minutes
Average Distance from OVC Members - 405 miles
Average Driving time to OVC Members - 6 hours 26 minutes
Running the same numbers on the Summit League, the average distance from Western to the other schools is 505 miles, and average travel time is 7 hours 39 minutes.
And for the MVFC teams - average distance is 377 miles, driving time is 5 hours 51 minutes.
So, moving teams from Summit->Ohio Valley would save travel times in general, but moving football to the OVC would not. We would face a lower level of competition in the OVC though...not sure if that's a plus or a minus.
I don't know what the cutoff is for deciding how far away a school needs to be for them to fly (or if they do fly the non-football/basketball teams anywhere). If anyone knows that info, I can figure out how many of the trips we'd be able to drive vs fly to.
Another thing to consider, if the teams are flying, is location of nearest airport. Denver, Fort Wayne, Indy, Omaha, Fargo, and Tulsa all have their own airports. SDSU and USD are probably serviced by the Sioux Falls airport. I know there's airports at some of the schools in the OVC, but it seems like, in general, the towns that they are located in are smaller than the ones in the Summit League, and are less likely to have local airports with airline flights. Average size of Summit League cities (minus Western) is just under 331k people; average size of OVC cities is 91k people.
Scott Lawson - Board AdminWestern Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
A lot of people may hate me for saying it, but I suggest moving everything except football to the OVC over the Summit and then dropping Soccer and Swimming. We can not seem to get soccer field in usable condition any year and are already extremely low on funds and I am sure the swimming pool has seen better days in Brophy. They would not be huge savings, but basically would end up being casualties and maybe only temporary ones if the state can turn its act around in next decade we could restart the sports and maybe build a new soccer/ track facility that actually works. Until the point where the financials start going back in the right direction, saving money on travel and dropping a couple of sports is probably one of the best options WIU has going for it.