USD's Conference Search

[NightHawk78]

Re: USD's Conference Search

The big east has tv contracts through 2016, so I imagine they'll stay together until then. The A-14 is getting ready to be raided by the Big East when it breaks up (Remember the WAC). So yeah, I would say UND and USD getting into a conference about 2016-2017 with play starting in 2018 sounds about right. Is that your point? Because I wasn't trying to say that they'll never get in anywhere, just that its going to be awhile (10-11 years). I don't think that they are going to enjoy being Indy's for that long...

Even the numbers here don't really favor a conference opening for the 'Yotes and Fighting Ralphs.

Big East (16 schools) + A-10 (14) => 3 conferences with 10 teams each.

For those of you without an education from SDSU or NDSU:

16 + 14 = 30 = 10 + 10 + 10

Plus, you have to account for the fact that most of those schools are quite a distance from Grand Forks and Vermillion.......as our experience showed, you need a lot of hard work plus a good dose of work in order to get into a conference.......

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

What's more likely to happen is that the BE football schools will split away from the rest of the conference.


They'll try to get Notre Dame to join as an all sports member and fail.


That'll leave the 8 catholic schools to pluck more catholic schools from the A10.


The new football conference will try to beef things up with more CUSA additions (UCF, Memphis, etc.).


The A10 will respond by taking Horizon members and the CUSA will probably try to target the Sun Belt and so on.


This opens the door for Mid Con defections.



Potentially it opens the door for NDSU and SDSU to move to the Mizzou Valley. That would be nice.

[filbert]

Re: USD's Conference Search

The Valley is a VERY solid conference right now, with excellent RPI, great NCAA tournament income, and a very good media package. There is very, very, very little incentive for any current Missouri Valley member to contemplate moving to another conference. For the same reasons, there is very, very, very little incentive for the Valley to contemplate any kind of expansion.

The Horizon, with the addition of Valparaiso, is another league with a decent RPI, good media exposure, and good potential tournament income. It is, possibly, even more geographically compact than the Valley is, and is in better media markets generally.

That's the way life is.

You can put together all kinds of scenarios to reshuffle conference memberships. Personally, I think the impact of any Big East split is overblown. The leagues which will be affected most by any Big East split are IMHO the A-10 and the Colonial. But if those changes flow down far enough that the Mid-Con loses members (and as a result, quite possibly loses its automatic bid), it's more likely that NDSU and SDSU get dumped back into D-I Independent Hell than it is that we land in a conference with the current reputation of the Valley. So, be very careful what you wish for.

We need to get busy building up the Mid-Con. You don't do that by looking around for a new home before we've even moved into the one we have.

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

I like the Mid Con too. I think the Dakota 4 can build that conference up nicely in 10 years.


You're right about the Valley schools. I'm having trouble thinking of a non BCS conference I'd rather be in for bball. Maybe the CUSA.

[NightHawk78]

Re: USD's Conference Search

I like the Mid Con too. I think the Dakota 4 can build that conference up nicely in 10 years.

The only plausible scenario in which UND and USD enter the Mid-Con is IF the entire conference decides to expand to 12 members. If one member leaves, there are other schools that would be considered before the UxDs. If two or more members leave, the conference probably loses its auto-bid and would likely dissolve, throwing us and NDSU back into Conference Hell and praying for an opening into the MoValley or a similar conference.

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

The Mid Con can actually withstand 1 more core defection as Centenary will have been with the league for 5 years starting fall 07.

If they go back down to 9, I would think it'd be easier to go up to 12 with an eye toward the future.

You might see UTPA, USD, and UND in that scenario.

[Rabbitden]

Re: USD's Conference Search

Centanary will be the next to leave the MidCon...IMHO it will be on their own or forced.

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

I doubt it will be forced. The Mid Con needs to hang on to its core members.

I could see them trying to go elsewhere. If another Southland spot opens up, they may try to get in there.

[JackerRabbit]

Re: USD's Conference Search

The Mid Con can actually withstand 1 more core defection as Centenary will have been with the league for 5 years starting fall 07.

If they go back down to 9, I would think it'd be easier to go up to 12 with an eye toward the future.

You might see UTPA, USD, and UND in that scenario.

The conference was just at 9 with valpo, and they didn't have any interest in expanding. Also, if Centenary leaves, you will need unanimous approval of any member to get in. Just one defection will kill the conference for a couple of years. I think you'll see it stay at 9 before it moves to 12. I also think other members will do everything in their power to keep Centenary until other members become "counters" for the conference. Maybe then you're scenario will play out.

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

All true.

Of course, back then they didn't have NDSU and SDSU to travel to. If UND and USD were added, then you're talking about 4 games in one trip vs. just 2.

[thebluehatman]

Re: USD's Conference Search

All true.

Of course, back then they didn't have NDSU and SDSU to travel to. If UND and USD were added, then you're talking about 4 games in one trip vs. just 2.

Are you talking about mid-con scheduling? I doubt teams would spend almost a week and a half straight on the road. As the mid-con schedule is Thursday, Saturday for men's bb and Saturday, Monday for women's bb.

[Rabbitden]

Re: USD's Conference Search

Why do you want the uxd's in the conference so bad champ? :

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

Why do you want the uxd's in the conference so bad champ?

Cheap travel for teams. Guaranteed fans traveling. Great traditional rivalries.

[filbert]

Re: USD's Conference Search

The Mid Con can actually withstand 1 more core defection as Centenary will have been with the league for 5 years starting fall 07.

If they go back down to 9, I would think it'd be easier to go up to 12 with an eye toward the future.

You might see UTPA, USD, and UND in that scenario.

No.

The Mid-Con, with the departure of Valparaiso, will be below the seven-core-member requirement to maintain the automatic bid in men's basketball effective next year, 2007-08.

Centenary becomes the required seventh core member for maintaining an automatic bid for men's basketball, AFTER the 2007-08 season (or, beginning with the 2008-09 academic year). IPFW becomes a core counter after it has been in the conference for five years (or, in the 2012-13 school year)

There is a two-year grace period for losing your autobid, so the Mid-Con will not lose its autobid due to the Valpo departure. The conference does however need to keep ALL of its current members at least until the 2010-11 academic year (when IPFW has finished its third year of conference play), or the conference will lose the automatic bid for men's basketball.

SDSU and NDSU don't become core members and conference-continuity counters for purposes of maintaining the men's basketball automatic bid until 2014-15, I believe. The conference doesn't have much room for error until that academic year. From 2010 until the State U's become continuity counters, the Mid-Con could possibly lose ONE more member and still maintain the men's basketball automatic bid.

UND or USD won't do the Mid-Con any good from the standpoint of maintaining the automatic bid until 2016-17, if I'm counting years correctly. (Begin transition in 2007-08, full D-I in 2012-13, D-I core counter in 2020-21.)

There may be other reasons why the Mid-Con may want to add UND and USD, but retaining their men's basketball automatic bid isn't one of them, at least for the next decade.

[thebluehatman]

Re: USD's Conference Search

[quote author=Rabbitden link=1168049624/30#41 date=1170027614]Why do you want the uxd's in the conference so bad champ?

Cheap travel for teams. Guaranteed fans traveling. Great traditional rivalries.[/quote]
Don't forget the strong hatred and continued disrespect from their fans.