What does the future hold for the summit league?

[UNO Fan]

With ORU leaving does it stay at 9 teams when UNO offically comes on board or does it expand? What about North Dakota leaving the Big Sky and coming to the Summit? Thanks for responses!

[filbert]

Re: What does the future hold for the summit league?

With ORU leaving does it stay at 9 teams when UNO offically comes on board or does it expand? What about North Dakota leaving the Big Sky and coming to the Summit? Thanks for responses!

You tell us!

My guess is that the current league will be happy at nine, unless somebody comes along and knocks the socks off of the League office and the member presidents. The only potential one of those I saw within the "footprint" was Northern Kentucky, and they went to the A-Sun.

If the Big Sky gives UND the boot, the Not-Sioux will quite possibly wind up in the Summit--eventually--but I'm not sure that the league will be in a hurry to extend an offer until the whole nickname controversy with the NCAA is over and done and put on the shelf all tied up with a bow on top of it. Things are going pretty well all-told for the Summit, so I don't think they would go out of their way to buy trouble by bringing in UND until the issue is totally resolved.

I don't see Chicago State re-joining any time soon. There's been talk that Bellarmine out of Louisville, KY will make the move from D-II to D-I. But personally, I'd just as soon the Summit get out of the business of uplifting D-II schools.

Now, it's always possible that something can come from total left field, like the U. of Detroit losing its mind and letting Oakland join the Horizon League, or the Valley deciding it would be ever so cool to admit NDSU and SDSU and USD and WIU as all-sports members and go to 14 . . . there are more wild-eyed speculative scenarios than there are grains of dust in the universe, I think . . .

[joeboo22]

Re: What does the future hold for the summit league?

I agree for the most part. I think that the only way UND would become a member is if they were booted, and then took care of their mascot issues. I don't see the Summit throwing them a life jacket or anything, but if they were to get their sh*t in order I think the SL would look hard.

I've heard the rumors that a Minnesota school (Mankato or St. Cloud) would do the same type of deal as UNO (drop football and go D-I). But I thought their time had passed, I thought if either were really interested they would have been at the SL tournament with UNO and made the move together. So now I wouldn't see either school making the move until UNO has shown that it works or not.

I've always thought Denver or UALR, or Central Ark, or some other school would join in the west/south but with SUU and ORU leaving I just don't see it happening.

A friend of mine from Greeley told me he wouldn't be surprised if in the next 5-7 years Northern Colorado drops football and left the Big Sky for the Summit League. But again that is bar talk. But UNO was bar talk until a rep showed up at the SL tournament and a week later they were in the conference so you never know.

[JimmyJack]

Re: What does the future hold for the summit league?

For a while there, we heard rumors that St. Cloud would drop football and move up. Adding Minnesota to the league's new and much more compact footprint wouldn't be a bad thing.

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: What does the future hold for the summit league?

The Minnesota schools moving up would be rough on SDSU from a recruiting standpoint. The travel component would be great but outside of that not much positive in my eyes.

I just think it's funny that there were many that said the entire NCC should make the jump. That is looking smarter all the time.

SUPERBUNNY

[Theee Catrabbit]

Re: What does the future hold for the summit league?

Despite the eternal protests of so many North Dakotans where evidently the Missouri has been renamed De'Nile: UND will eventually be in the Summit. UNO has kind of paved the way for the "Drop Football Go D1" Crowd at St Cloud. It would be complete if they changed their name to MSSCSU. So I think that happens as well.

carnac-the-magnificent.jpg

[MaddogJack]

Re: What does the future hold for the summit league?

A friend of mine from Greeley told me he wouldn't be surprised if in the next 5-7 years Northern Colorado drops football and left the Big Sky for the Summit League. But again that is bar talk. But UNO was bar talk until a rep showed up at the SL tournament and a week later they were in the conference so you never know.

This wouldn't break my heart (UNC) - I know it's a tough travel, but it's not Utah either. They haven't had a great deal of success in the Big Sky and that's not going to change with the addition of Cal Poly and several others (potentially). The Minnesota schools would be a drain on the talent that we currently have success with recruiting - it would be another mouth to feed.

I think Nostradomus (of the NDSU sort) has the Bison in the Big Ten by then - so anything is possible.

[joeboo22]

Re: What does the future hold for the summit league?

This wouldn't break my heart (UNC) - I know it's a tough travel, but it's not Utah either. They haven't had a great deal of success in the Big Sky and that's not going to change with the addition of Cal Poly and several others (potentially). The Minnesota schools would be a drain on the talent that we currently have success with recruiting - it would be another mouth to feed.

I think Nostradomus (of the NDSU sort) has the Bison in the Big Ten by then - so anything is possible.

I think the only way SDSU/NDSU/USD would let a Minnesota school do it would be if they dropped football, no other way because all three recruit Minnesota for football a ton.

But I don't know if basketball or the other sports would stop SDSU/NDSU/USD from stopping a move to the Summit League if it happened.

[nflbison]

Re: What does the future hold for the summit league?

no und,no chance in hell, tom douple isnt that stupid. theres so many examples of hate out of them.
Eastern Illinois would be nice to add.