What's the next realignment domino to fall?

[uniftw]

Seriously GO

I think WSU is seeing if Elgin will just give WSU all of it NCAA money instead of splitting it up among those who never have a shot.

Wasn't that long ago WSU was one of the teams who didn't look to have a shot all that often either....

[ShoxNAwe]

But they were always the sleeping giant. Can you say that about everyone else?

[Cdizzle]

Seriously GO

I think WSU is seeing if Elgin will just give WSU all of it NCAA money instead of splitting it up among those who never have a shot.

Wasn't that long ago WSU was one of the teams who didn't look to have a shot all that often either....

Not that long ago, as in what, 12 years ago? That's sort of long ago.

[Championz]

Wasn't that long ago WSU was one of the teams who didn't look to have a shot all that often either....

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing WSU has made more money for this conference in the last 5 years than what the entire conference has done combined in the last 20.

[Championz]

Seriously GO

Are you going to replace us with SIU Edwardsville?

[unipanther99]

Wasn't that long ago WSU was one of the teams who didn't look to have a shot all that often either....

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing WSU has made more money for this conference in the last 5 years than what the entire conference has done combined in the last 20.

Nobody is questioning the impact of of WSU's final four run and other recent success and the financial benefits that have come with that, but this sort of statement is just obviously false. Looking at tournament shares as an example, WSU has provided by my count 11 in the last 5 years. Certainly impressive. But with only one Arch Madness Tournament championship in the last 20 years, that means the other schools start out at 19 shares over that time without adding up all of the additional shares for wins in the tournament, multiple bids, etc.

[unipanther99]

4 of the other 9 members of the MVC play in facilities built or completely renovated in the last 10 years (UE, MSU, SIU, UNI). Make that 5 if you count Bradley's new on-campus facility. ISUb is planning renovations. The other three play in facilities that were built between 1989 and 1996.

Other than Loyola, everyone has at least been to the tournament in the last 20 years, and 5 have been to the sweet sixteen during that time.

The conference championship game has gone from a late Monday night ESPN2 affair, to Sunday afternoon on CBS. We've gone from being forced to listen to the radio for most away games to having every single conference game televised/streamed.

If it makes sense for WSU to be somewhere else, fine. But just don't claim it's because the rest of the conference is bad or heading in the wrong direction.

[mvcfan]

This discussion is going crazy and off the rails and the cart is being put before the horse.

WSU is not looking to leave the conference right now. Bardo, and WSU is totally evaluating our entire athletic department and what we can be in the future. The deep pocket supporters are being put on notice to see where they are at and what they want. Everything is on the table including conference affiliation, football, etc.

[Wufan]

What WSU is doing is exactly what every school should be doing (and some certainly are, but in a less public way). See what's out there and what you want to accomplish. Evaluate and go after it. The MVC may very well be the best fit, but without exploring other potential options, you have no way of knowing.

Above, it is true that several schools have recently upgraded facilities, and it is false that WSU is the only public metro school (MSU). It is true that WSU doesn't fit with the other schools in the MVC, but it still might be the closest fit overall.

[squirrel]

But they were always the sleeping giant. Can you say that about everyone else?

Bradley, and that's it.

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing WSU has made more money for this conference in the last 5 years than what the entire conference has done combined in the last 20.

That's a big statement, and it may well be true given inflation and the NIT Championship payout...but unipanther already outlined why that is a bit of an overstatement of impact: within the past 20 years Missouri State has a Sweet 16 and a women's Final Four appearance. As someone already pointed out, there are additional Sweet 16s by 4 other league members in that time frame, including one from Wichita, and 2 from SIU. Prior to the Wichita run, there was a decent number of tournament wins overall by the league.

My guess is collectively that's no chump change, but again, with inflation it could be an accurate statement. But Wichita definitely benefited from the overall strength of the league, as did UNI and Drake, of all institutions.

Consider Drake and SIU's perspective. Getting rid of WSU allows the Valley to bring in UMKC or Grinnel College. In an instant, neither one is a lock for last place anymore. 8th or 9th place sounds much better than 10th. That whole double-digit thing is embarrassing.

Bradley has the market cornered here for the foreseeable future.