UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

[RowdyRabbit]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

I've got to say, and I say this with no real reason really, I'm not that excited to see UNO as a possible member.

[Nidaros]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

I've got to say, and I say this with no real reason really, I'm not that excited to see UNO as a possible member.

Well I guess you and Commissioner Douple respectfully agree to disagree. . I really do not want mavbots to come back either, but it looks like its in the cards.

[bigticket1]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

I know this is in other thread but the sleeper/darkhorse for Summit Tourney could be Council Bluffs. It is a more central location, close to Omaha (cheap flights), larger population base than SF, outside entertainment including casinos, and they have a pretty decent sized arena (Mid America Center).

I cannot imagine what kind of bid it would take to get the tournament away from SF,at least for 2012 and 13 when USD becomes eligible. It's a cash cow for the Summit now,and the real possibility of sell-outs when you add in USD makes it a no-brainer.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

Omaha, even if join Summit, wouldn't be eligible until 2017 (assumes start transition (non-counter) year 12-13. Therfore, without possible participation by the home crowd until 2017, no way Omaha pursues the conference tourney until that cycle. Likewise, even if Mavericks join the the SUmmit, their home court couldn't host the Tourney. It would have to be held at Creighton's gym, or Muni Auditorium.

ORU would probably be happy if somebody, ANYBODY!!! gets the BB tourney out of Sioux Falls. Oakland seemed to do ok at getting people to follow them to the Falls.

[joeybrownerHOF]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

I cannot imagine what kind of bid it would take to get the tournament away from SF,at least for 2012 and 13 when USD becomes eligible. It's a cash cow for the Summit now,and the real possibility of sell-outs when you add in USD makes it a no-brainer.

I agree. It will take one heck of a bid from another community to take the tourney away from SF but with that said the Summit League will do what is best for the conference as a whole. One of the problems with the conference is the footprint. As we all know it is wide and any location will have issues for certain schools fanbase. I shudder to think what the attendance would be if SDSU/NDSU didn't make the tourney or didn't advance. The men's championship game was somewhat embarrassing. Would moving the tourney to a location closer to the other schools help? I doubt it. Would moving the tourney a little bit closer to the other schools and still close enough for SDSU/NDSU (and USD when eligible) to attend help? Possibly.

Next year the footprint gets smaller and maybe this will help. I really like the tourney in SF and hope it stays here for a long time but considering the limitations of the SF arena (place is a dump) and the difficulty for other schools to travel into Sodak I would understand if the SL decided to go with a solid bid from another city.

[FargoBison]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

The tournament could be held here....

http://www.midamericacenter.com/

I do think Omaha/Council Bluffs getting it could be a way to tell SF that it is time to build a new arena if you want to continue hosting this event. Moving it to Omaha is about as central as you can get for the western half of the league.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

Honestly, can anyone tell me that UNO would 'deliver' the Omaha market anymore than say, ORU delivers the Tulsa Market, OU delivers the Detroit market, IUPUI delivers the Indianapolis market, UMKC delivers the Kansas City market, or NDSU delivers the Minneapolis market (OK that last one was a joke). This league needs to find schools that fit their profile, and will have the ability to raise the level of competition for the league. Market exposure will come from being good, more than it will come from the size of the schools city.

I don't think they would deliver the Omaha market. But it is certainly an attractive market and I can see how a conference commissioner would want a team there. Also, could a second (or third, depending on your perspective) team in the Omaha area draw 2000-4000 fans a game? Maybe, maybe not, but the population base is certainly there.

With UNO in the league, travel partners could be:

SDSU/NDSU
USD/UNO
UMKC/ORU
WIU/IUPUI
IPFW/Oakland

NDSU, USD, and UNO would all be by bus for sure. UMKC and ORU could be long bus trips, but definitely doable. UMKC sounds like a long bus trip, but I bet actual travel time would only be about an hour longer than by plane. Bus trips could add up to a ton of savings for the athletic department.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

Douple reopened the door to UND, and I know that UALR would be attractive, if the SUnbelt does squeeze out its non-football playing members.

Then travel partners could be:

UND/NDSU
USD/SDSU
UNO/UMKC
ORU/UALR
IPFW/Oakland
WIU/IUPUI

[rabidrabbit]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

Douple reopened the door to UND, and I know that UALR would be attractive, if the SUnbelt does squeeze out its non-football playing members.

Then travel partners could be:

UND/NDSU
USD/SDSU
UNO/UMKC
ORU/UALR
IPFW/Oakland
WIU/IUPUI

And with a UNO/UND in the fold, Summit football would be a distinct possibility. Or better yet, a Summit/MV FB conference of 12 schools.

[propar80]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

Douple reopened the door to UND, and I know that UALR would be attractive, if the SUnbelt does squeeze out its non-football playing members.

Then travel partners could be:

UND/NDSU
USD/SDSU
UNO/UMKC
ORU/UALR
IPFW/Oakland
WIU/IUPUI

UALR would be a great addition to the Summit IMO...both men and women's programs. And would be a great partner with ORU.

I keep coming back to that "Dakota Centric" theory that I brought up while back. At some point do Oakland and ORU say:
"Do we really need to travel to the Dakota's 8 times(men and women) a year, not to mention have the League tournament in their backyards every year? Yes the atmosphere is great...other than when SDSU/NDSU aren't in the session(last nights game looked pathetic on ESPN).
I'm fairly certain the Southland would take ORU and the Horizon would take Oakland in a heartbeat.
I just think it would be short-sighted to not at least take these program's concerns into consideration.

BTW...if me bringing this up doesn't bring Zoo back, nothing will!

Go Jacks!!

[filbert]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

Inviting Minnesota State-Mankato makes more sense to me than Nebraska-Omaha, personally.

I don't think the Summit should be in the business of uplifting D-II schools any more, however.

I say invite UALR, on a silver platter, with bells on it.

[FargoBison]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

UALR would be a great addition to the Summit IMO...both men and women's programs. And would be a great partner with ORU.

I keep coming back to that "Dakota Centric" theory that I brought up while back. At some point do Oakland and ORU say:
"Do we really need to travel to the Dakota's 8 times(men and women) a year, not to mention have the League tournament in their backyards every year? Yes the atmosphere is great...other than when SDSU/NDSU aren't in the session(last nights game looked pathetic on ESPN).
I'm fairly certain the Southland would take ORU and the Horizon would take Oakland in a heartbeat.
I just think it would be short-sighted to not at least take these program's concerns into consideration.

BTW...if me bringing this up doesn't bring Zoo back, nothing will!

Go Jacks!!

Well we could try a more balance approach to expansion....

NDSU-SDSU
USD-UNO
UMKC-ORU

IUPUI-Northern Kentucky
WIU-IPFW
Oakland-Grand Valley State

NKU is being looked at by the OVC(they have a great basketball facility), GVSU might not want to go DI but they are the best school in DII right now. Maybe they are getting sick of being a whale amongst minnows.

Maybe you could alternate the tournament every two years between a western site and a eastern site if that happened.

[joeybrownerHOF]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

Inviting Minnesota State-Mankato makes more sense to me than Nebraska-Omaha, personally.

I don't think the Summit should be in the business of uplifting D-II schools any more, however.

I say invite UALR, on a silver platter, with bells on it.

Didn't Douple mention that they are also looking at a school in Minnesota?

I have no idea which one but would guess MSM would be the prime target. SCSU is in a world of hurt. UM-D would be interesting. I think Winona State has found their niche in NSIC. Maybe the Gophs want to join with the thought they could maybe get an upper division season.

[FargoBison]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

Inviting Minnesota State-Mankato makes more sense to me than Nebraska-Omaha, personally.

I don't think the Summit should be in the business of uplifting D-II schools any more, however.

I say invite UALR, on a silver platter, with bells on it.

I would think about it if they dropped football(or decided to play non-scholarship), the same goes for St. Cloud St.

[Jacks-02]

Re: UN-Omaha? All signs point to....we'll see?

I just have a tough time being excited about adding another transitioning school to the Summit. It seems like progress is being made in getting the quality of the product to a higher level and adding a transition team just hurts the rest of the members in the conference when it comes to RPI. If we ever want to have a succesful team in the NCAA's we need to get higher than a 14 or 15 seed in the tourney.

I'd love to add UALR as they are a non-football school that would match up well as travel partner and would get us to 10 schools. I just don't see any benefit at all in adding UNO right now.