The OVC, now and future

[sealhall74]

Why did Morehead St drop out of OVC for football (1996) and move to Pioneer League (2001) yet stay OVC for all other sports?
Was it simply a financial reason (no scholarships to pay out) or is there more to the story?
 

[screamingeaglepride]

Why did Morehead St drop out of OVC for football (1996) and move to Pioneer League (2001) yet stay OVC for all other sports?
Was it simply a financial reason (no scholarships to pay out) or is there more to the story?
 

 

It was financial reasons if fact Austin Peay for awhile dropped out of the OVC for football and move to the Pioneer League (2001-2006) but went back to the OVC for football.  The reason it took 5 years for Morehead State to join the Pioneer League is at the time the Pioneer League was a only private school league and in 2001 the Pioneer League opened up to public schools. 

[may know]

Just IMO but this topic -- what the OVC should/could do, r.e. members -- probably should be its own thread. This is likely to be a big topic with WIU fans/posters going forward.

The whole MVFC/MVC/Summit "issue" has heated up somewhat with WIU leaving, as it did with the admission of Murray State to MVC (with arm-twisting to get them into the MVFC), Augustana (S.D.) being rejected by the Summit (but still hopeful?), and St. Thomas being added to the Summit and Pioneer football (for now).

Having closely followed college sports (mainly football & basketball) since the mid-1960s, and also enjoying the world-wide sport of forum speculation, I would tend to a little more of the "possible" than way-out-there dreams.

To that end, I think IllSt and SIU stay where they're at, probably with Murray State since it made its move in 2022. Whether that develops into some combo of MVFC/MVC/Summit, who knows. But some realistic spec for the OVC could be ...

... looking to entice Indiana State and Evansville. The MVFC and Summit have shifted North and West, almost putting IndSt and Evansville on a wing way out East. IMO, neither one has and/or wants to spend the resources to compete with the Dakotas, NIowa and MoSt. Both would easily fit the OVC's geography. All sports for both (Evansville sans football) would be huge for rivalries, and have reasonable travel distances/costs. Consider why WIU found the OVC a better fit.

... keeping an eye on West Georgia, if it moves from DII to FCS in football. Would solidify the southern membership, add another football member and ease some qualms about others leaving the OVC.

This is not criticism of anyone's ideas. Just some stuff that occurred.


 




 

Indiana St or Evansville wouldn't leave the MVC for OVC. The MVC is the best mid-major midwestern basketball conference with schools they consider their peers, has more games on regional/national tv, and has an awesome conference tournament. They want home games against Murray St, Belmont, SIU, Illinois St, etc. 

Indiana St could prefer OVC FB-only over MVFC, but not enough to disrupt their MVC relationships. 

West Georgia as the next OVC school is very possible. Matt Brown from Extra Points has hinted at it. It would throw a bone to the TN schools. The OVC was set to offer UIndy last year, but UIndy backed out. 
 
 
 

[may know]

I accede to your greater knowledge of the Evansville market, also noting that USI enrollment is roughly 4x that of UE. BTW, watched the virtual reality "tour" of your new PAC arena, and it's a real beauty.

One point I made was the whole MVFC/MVC/Summit muddle of issues is a hot mess, and the fallout might somehow benefit the OVC. I read all four xND and xSD fan forums on the issue, noting equal parts displeasure with the whole thing. The traditional MVC public-private issue was aggravated by the 2022 MVC push of Murray State into the MVFC. A few wonder if the Summit might add football (which St. Thomas would probably support).

That hot mess just got hotter ... see the link ... which makes me even more grateful that WIU got out of all that. WIU can now concentrate on building and rebuilding rivalries, readjusting scarce resources, and moving ahead with needed improvements. It will be a marathon, not a sprint, but it can be done.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-dako ... astrophic/

BTW, one of the reasons I started this thread was in hopes that WIU fans won't buy into that "WIU is an island" attitude that was largely dumped on it by previous conference member fans. The OVC is "home" now, and its unity, prospects and issues are WIU's. I also promise to shorten my posts (later).
 
 

 

The Summit doesn't have enough schools for FB. You need 6. They have 5 (4 Dakotas + St Thomas). If the Summit found a 6th from D2 and split, the MVFC would just keep their 6 schools of UNI, Illinois St, SIU, Indiana St, Murray St, & Youngstown St. 7 if Missouri St doesn't go FBS. 

 

[pvk7072]

I covered all that in another post. The moves I discussed were football-only. Anybody leaving the MVC was never considered.

Where football goes is (pardon cheap pun) a different ballgame. The 4 Dakotas -- never in the MVC -- and St. Thomas (Summit+Pioneer League football) could form Summit football. That they would need a 6th is a given.

There are a lot of moving parts here, and that pushes the speculation needle all over the map ...
... if MoSt achieves FBS ambitions;
... if St. Thomas gets in the MVFC and stays in the Summit for everything else;
... if Indiana State decides MVFC football is too uphill, but of course stays in the MVC;
... if Murray State decides MVFC football is too uphill, but of course stays in the MVC;
... if the MWC needs to expand, or if the mythical "Great Northern Conference" ever emerges, or if ... whatever.

There's a ton of history on how who ended up where they are, but for me, as a poster here, am moving my focus back to WIU and the OVC. Unless something MVFC/MVC/Summit affects this, there are bigger forums for all that realignment stuff. Sorry I got off the main path.

I agree with any poster who says WIU was smart to make this move. Being realistic in college sports seems a rarity.
 
 
 

[ST_Lawson]

I covered all that in another post. The shift I discussed is football-only. Anybody leaving the MVC was never considered.
 

Yup. Despite some of the overlap of membership, the MVC and MVFC are two different entities. In the past, it has usually been the case where if you are a member of the MVC and you have FCS scholarship football, you will also have your football in the MFVC, but there's no rule that says that. For example, if all parties involved had preferred that Murray State keep their football team in the OVC, I don't think there would have been any issue with that happening. So, really any of the more southeastern MVFC & MVC schools could decide to move football to the OVC if they wanted to and keep their other sports in the MVC...whether that's Indiana State, Murray State (if they decide it's not worth it in a few years), or even ILSU or SIU.

As for additional members for Summit League Football, names I often see tossed around include Northern Colorado, UNI (although I highly doubt they'd want to go that route), and Augustana (the DII school in Sioux Falls who apparently has a decent amount of money).

[pvk7072]

Calling myself out here. I correct my last per my first: I did cite Evansville (and Indiana State) as MVC potentials to the OVC in my very first post. Dropped it after screamingeaglepride (with better local/regional knowledge) noted that UE probably would not consider it (Page 1). With that, saw the mistake, remembered MVC and MVFC are separate entities, thereafter stuck to football-only.

And the MVC did add Belmont, UIC and Murray State in 2022. Have to see how that all pans out, what the Summit does if anything, etc. 'Til then, it's WIU and OVC! (And shorter posts!)
 

[pvk7072]

Way too early? Would like to see any, all info here on how WIU is adjusting to the new conference, though probably pretty early on. Special projects, even small. Fund-raising per same, or general. Wonder how this will affect recruiting. Also reactions from other new conference mates. Did anyone make a list of others' fan forum links?

Also, curious about interest playing Tennessee State in Nissan Stadium, and later new NFL Titans digs when built. Probably won't get there myself, but that has to be a new one for WIU. In 2022 attendance was 22,000+ for Bethune-Cookman, according to the box score.

[ST_Lawson]

OVC has announced locations of their various championships this year: https://ovcsports.com/sports/2023/6/7/2 ... ships.aspx

4 of them are in Illinois (Men's Soccer in Edwardsville, Softball in Peoria, Outdoor T&F in Charleston, and Baseball in Marion). Women's Soccer starts with campus sites, so depending on who is playing whom, could be in the state also. I'm guessing the Softball championships will be at the Louisville Slugger sports complex (https://www.sluggerpeoria.com/) and the Baseball ones will be at "Rent One Park" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent_One_Park).

[pvk7072]

Thanks for tracking these!