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Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 12:31 pm
by sealhall74
Sycamorefan96 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:29 am
ST_Lawson wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 5:46 pm
Putting this here because it's somewhat more relevant to the thread topic...
meganeck wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 5:34 pmAs much as I wanted to get out of the Summit League as it seems to favor the Dakota schools, I don't know what other good options there are. I once wished they would leave for the OVC, but that seems like a dying conference. MVC would make the most sense, geographically but I agree they wouldn't accept WIU and we probably couldn't compete in many sports.
Just for reference, the impression that I've received when I check out other school message boards and talk to people who are MVC team fans/alumni is that it would mostly be the private schools that would block a potential invite. We'd have to step things up a bit, but schools like SIU, UNI, the ISUs, MSU...they wouldn't be that much against it if we're willing to invest a bit more in our programs. It's the schools like Drake, Bradley, Evansville, probably Belmont once they're in, that we'd have to win over. They generally have a much higher opinion of themselves as compared the the public schools.
I don't know if it would ever happen, but I've even seen people say that they wouldn't be opposed to splitting from the private schools and going in on an all-sports conference that very much resembles the MVFC.
ILSU, INSU, MSU, UNI, SIU, plus WIU and the Dakota schools...UND, USD, NDSU, SDSU. Possibly also adding in Murray State...maybe Northern Kentucky...schools like that. All-public midwestern league. I'd love that, and it seems highly unlikely, but there's a lot of conference switching going on, so who knows.
My preferred league would the 5 MVC publics, 4 Dakotas, and Murray State. I'd be perfectly happy with WIU being included in that league as well.
I'd be perfectly happy creating a league of the 5 MVC publics, WIU, EIU, SEMO, and Murray State too. Any all-sports conference trumps being with the private MVC schools in my view.
Personally I'd rather have WIU invited to the MVC than UIC, UTA, or UMKC. Those adds are all horrible. WIU has been in the Gateway since the beginning. It's too bad that the other public schools don't insist that the Leathernecks are invited for all sports.
Sycamorefan, do you guys currently have anything close to a "rivalry" game in basketball in the MVC?
Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2021 6:49 am
by Sycamorefan96
sealhall74 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 12, 2021 12:31 pm
Sycamorefan96 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:29 am
ST_Lawson wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 5:46 pm
Putting this here because it's somewhat more relevant to the thread topic...
Just for reference, the impression that I've received when I check out other school message boards and talk to people who are MVC team fans/alumni is that it would mostly be the private schools that would block a potential invite. We'd have to step things up a bit, but schools like SIU, UNI, the ISUs, MSU...they wouldn't be that much against it if we're willing to invest a bit more in our programs. It's the schools like Drake, Bradley, Evansville, probably Belmont once they're in, that we'd have to win over. They generally have a much higher opinion of themselves as compared the the public schools.
I don't know if it would ever happen, but I've even seen people say that they wouldn't be opposed to splitting from the private schools and going in on an all-sports conference that very much resembles the MVFC.
ILSU, INSU, MSU, UNI, SIU, plus WIU and the Dakota schools...UND, USD, NDSU, SDSU. Possibly also adding in Murray State...maybe Northern Kentucky...schools like that. All-public midwestern league. I'd love that, and it seems highly unlikely, but there's a lot of conference switching going on, so who knows.
My preferred league would the 5 MVC publics, 4 Dakotas, and Murray State. I'd be perfectly happy with WIU being included in that league as well.
I'd be perfectly happy creating a league of the 5 MVC publics, WIU, EIU, SEMO, and Murray State too. Any all-sports conference trumps being with the private MVC schools in my view.
Personally I'd rather have WIU invited to the MVC than UIC, UTA, or UMKC. Those adds are all horrible. WIU has been in the Gateway since the beginning. It's too bad that the other public schools don't insist that the Leathernecks are invited for all sports.
Sycamorefan, do you guys currently have anything close to a "rivalry" game in basketball in the MVC?
Sorry for the late response, but the answer is "not really". Evansville is supposed to be our rival, but the reality is that no one cares about that rivalry at all. Most ISU fans like beating the Redbirds the most of any school, but I'm sure they view SIU and Bradley as bigger rivals than us.
Used to Ball State was our rival, but them going 1A and us being 1AA has really hurt that one. Now they're nothing more than a regularly scheduled basketball game.
Our lack of rivalries to me is mostly to due with us playing one group of schools in football and another in basketball.
Eastern Illinois has the potential to be a big rivalry game since our schools are so close together. The problem with that one is that we don't play each other consistently enough in football and basketball, plus we're not in the same conference. I also think a lot of people around ISU think we are too good for EIU for whatever reason. I don't share that view at all.
Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2021 1:56 pm
by ST_Lawson
Rumors now of the OVC discontinuing football and merging their football teams into the Southland. If that's the case, I think it would actually make the OVC look better for WIU to join because we'd be able to keep football in the MVFC and just shift basketball and the other sports to the OVC.
OVC would be a non-football league like the Summit and we'd play: EIU, Morehead State, Murray State (unless they get that MVC invite that may or may not be coming), SEMO, SIU-E, Tennessee State (unless they bolt for the SWAC), Tennessee Tech, UT-Martin, and the new addition of UA-Little Rock. We'd be going from 1 team within a 6 hour drive (UMKC) to having EIU, SIU-E, Murray State (depending on MVC), possibly Southern Indiana (rumored to be looking at moving up to DI OVC) all within that same range. We could be travel partners with SIU-E, continue our basketball rivalry with EIU, and we can play some of the Summit League teams OOC if they want. We don't really have any rivalries in the Summit League, whereas we already have one with EIU and could have one rolling with SIU-E pretty easily.
Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2021 11:19 pm
by may know
Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:34 pm
by ST_Lawson
Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:54 pm
by leatherneckcountry
I just think if we were going to do it we would have already done it.
Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:56 pm
by WIU2DC
leatherneckcountry wrote:
I just think if we were going to do it we would have already done it.
I agree with that statement. What are the chances we leave The Summit for OVC but stay MVFC? I think OVC makes sense for all of our other sports but wouldn’t want to leave the best FCS football conference for a rebuilding FCS conference.
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Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:01 pm
by ST_Lawson
leatherneckcountry wrote: ↑Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:54 pmI just think if we were going to do it we would have already done it.
I also agree. A year ago...maybe...but now...no. Everyone that talks about OVC replacement teams includes us, but I don't think it's going to happen.
Could be a spot opening in the Horizon League if UIC gets a MVC invite, but I don't think the HL would be interested in us. Only way I see us going OVC is if the OVC drops football completely (maybe shuffles their football teams off to the Southland) and we join for everything besides football, keeping football in the MVFC.
Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:01 pm
by leatherneckcountry
WIU2DC wrote: ↑Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:56 pm
leatherneckcountry wrote:
I just think if we were going to do it we would have already done it.
I agree with that statement. What are the chances we leave The Summit for OVC but stay MVFC? I think OVC makes sense for all of our other sports but wouldn’t want to leave the best FCS football conference for a rebuilding FCS conference.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Only plus on the FB side i see is that the top ovc teams aren't nearly as good as the mvfc teams and we should be able to compete much faster. It would be pointless for the ovc to add us for everything but football when FB schools are what they need.
Re: OVC Expansion
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:52 pm
by sealhall74
When you look at from an all-sports perspective, an OVC move is almost a no-brainer IMO. We probably compete for the Commish Cup from the getgo. I would also push for adding rifle to the sport mix. I think it fits very nicely with our military background history. Rock would be proud.
Does the Summit and MVFC have departure fees? If so, we might still be negotiating with OVC to cover some of the cost. But it does seem like if it was going to happen, it already would have. Oh, wait. The wheels turn slowly in Macomb.