More Conference Shake-UP

[valleychamp]

I told all you CUSA lovers that it was obvious that they would be losing the marquee schools sooner than later, but many of you were absolutely convinced it was a more viable conference long term than the MVC. Guess not.

[DoubleJayAlum]

A serious question using a hypothetical situation for CU fans. If the A-10 called tomorrow and offered a spot to CU along with say Butler or someone else, would you take it? Remember Majerus doesn't even want to be in the A10.

I'd think it would have to be considered carefully, but I'm unsure what I'd say right now. Excellent question. I can say what I think, but have no idea if my feelings are in line with the administration's.

On the "pro" side, I just don't have a lot of good feelings on the long term sustainability of this conference. Some of the football schools desperately want to move up a level and would probably bolt if they have the opportunity. The football schools that aren't looking to move up a level are so broke that they can't fire coaches they want to get rid of, have to threaten to drop down a division to scare state legislatures away from taking away their gov't handouts, etc. Some of the other schools are not willing to invest the funds or don't have the funds to be competitive on a regular basis. On top of that, Creighton doesn't really have any peer schools in the conference (there are private schools like Drake, Bradley, Evansville which are probably the most similar, but non of them have a religious basis), whereas the A10 is full of religious based, private schools. The A10 also doesn't really have a football problem outside of perhaps Temple.

On the con side would be the travel impact - additional missed class time for student athletes and tremendous additional expense. One thing to note though is that Creighton (along with WSU), unlike the MVC schools on the eastern side of the conference, doesn't have any close conference opponents outside of Drake right now. As a result, although travel would be an issue with the move, it isn't like travel isn't already an issue most of the time already and doesn't already eliminate a chance for a lot of geographic rivalries.

Majerus isn't fond of the A10 because of all of the travel and lack of geographic rivalries. IF CU were to receive an offer, my hope would be that it includes offers to a few midwestern cities to give us a chance at some geographic rivalries along with the ability to break up the conference into west & east divisions to perhaps cut down on some of the need to travel all the way out east as often.

What do you think would be WSU's feelings about an A10 offer?

[DoubleJayAlum]

I told all you CUSA lovers that it was obvious that they would be losing the marquee schools sooner than later, but many of you were absolutely convinced it was a more viable conference long term than the MVC. Guess not.

One of the few things you and I have actually agreed upon here.

[havoc]

On top of that, Creighton doesn't really have any peer schools in the conference (there are private schools like Drake, Bradley, Evansville which are probably the most similar, but non of them have a religious basis), whereas the A10 is full of religious based, private schools.

Being associated with the United Methodist Church doesn't count as religious based?

[DoubleJayAlum]

On top of that, Creighton doesn't really have any peer schools in the conference (there are private schools like Drake, Bradley, Evansville which are probably the most similar, but non of them have a religious basis), whereas the A10 is full of religious based, private schools.

Being associated with the United Methodist Church doesn't count as religious based?

Evansville is a Methodist school? I honestly had no idea. Tell me more - what exactly does "associated" mean in this case? Does the church have any input in the way that the school is run?

[Bball Junkie]

From the UE website: "Established in 1854, the University of Evansville, located in Southwestern Indiana, has a rich history that spans more than 150 years.

Since its inception, the University has enjoyed a strong relationship with the United Methodist Church, sharing with it a commitment to inclusiveness. Students savor a sense of belonging on campus and appreciate the significance of their personal and professional behavior.......The University of Evansville preserves its independent nature and values its ties to the United Methodist Church.........of students indicating a religious preference, approximately 62 percent are Protestant (17 percent United Methodist), 34 percent Roman Catholic and 3 percent other."

[DoubleJayAlum]

Fair enough.

Correcting my earlier statement: there is one other religious based institution in the MVc, while the A10 is full of religious based, private schools.

(I meant no insult to UE and its fans).

[MVCfans]

Looks like Villanova is going to be outvoted and Temple will be (re)-joining the Big east soon.

It appears the Big East Conference might not be finished expanding just yet.

Temple is in talks with the Big East about joining the league as early as 2012, sources confirmed Wednesday. The New York Times first reported on the discussions to add Temple in all sports.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story ... ources-say

[DoubleJayAlum]

Looks like Villanova is going to be outvoted and Temple will be (re)-joining the Big east soon.

It appears the Big East Conference might not be finished expanding just yet.

Temple is in talks with the Big East about joining the league as early as 2012, sources confirmed Wednesday. The New York Times first reported on the discussions to add Temple in all sports.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story ... ources-say

Sorry Casey, I stand corrected. Apparently Boise can't afford their conference buy out fee ($10 million!!!) so they are going to stay put for one year. The need for another FB school immediately has caused Villanova to relent.

In a related story, there is some scuttlebutt that UMass may bolt the A10 too in order to get its FB program into the new CUSA/MWC combined conference.

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

No sweat DoubleJay. I can see from the outside why it would have seemed less likely. But on this one I was tipped off a bit so I had that working for me.