UMKC to the WAC?

[filbert]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

No offense but if Oakland leaves, I'm all for the MVC. Tired of building and everyone else just leaving. NDSU is almost where it needs to be, just need to bring the BSA 2.0 online. Plus I like the idea of almost all of our sports in one league.

For me a jump to the MVC means better recruits, better scheduling, more respect and a chance to earn an at-large bid in the dance and perhaps get a seed that would make wining a game likely. Plus other sports would have better opportunities as well. I do think we could get the Summit there but it seems like every time we take one step forward we immediately take two steps back.

There's no doubt that if an invitation to the Missouri Valley Conference landed on the desk of either Justin Sell or Gene Taylor, his school would be out of the Summit headed for the Valley in a New York Minute.

However, there are a number of dominoes that likely need to tip over before such an event occurs. Starting with Creighton to the Catholic Conference.

"Interesting times."

[Evolution Prime]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

I would say probabaly a decent amount. They would still have Wichita State which has been good lately, plus UNI and Indiana State. Top to bottom, they would still be the better conference, but outside of WSU, I believe the top teams to be comparable.

The WAC on the other hand is the new Great West. They will take any one at this point in time. This is their last year of relavance before becoming a bottom feeder league. If NJIT wasn't all the way across the country, I'm sure they would have offered them by now. The WAC is the Great West with an auto-bid. I feel bad for NMSU.

[filbert]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

A smarter move for UMKC, IMHO, would be to talk the Summit League into moving their offices to KC, and starting to build the groundwork to try to steal the SL basketball tournament from Sioux Falls.

As it stands, the UMKC-to-WAC stuff strikes me as revealing an atmosphere of panic around both UMKC and the WAC.

As I type this, KC sports radio 810 WHB's Steven St. John is on the radio saying that within the hour, it will be official that UMKC will join the WAC, effective July 1 of this year.

[SanDakotaState]

UMKC leaving the Summit

BREAKING: UMKC has officially accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference.
-Tyler Merriam

[filbert]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

WHB's Steven St. John says he's hearing that the Summit League is about to implode, Oakland to the Horizon, SDSU and NDSU to the Valley. Not sure I buy that quite yet.

[2002jack]

Re: UMKC leaving the Summit

I would like to hear the reasoning behind this. It's seems like a bad move for them, unless Denver is staying in the WAC????

[joeboo22]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

I'd be nervous to jump to the MVC just because the league seems to always have an agenda, and if Creighton goes to the Catholic conference and one of the conferences out east poaches the ISU's and SIU, its not a great conference. If they stay the same, Frost goes from the #1 facility in the Summit to a middle of the pack in the MVC. Funding would have to go up greatly, which some of that would come from tournament money, but then again if Creighton and others leave the amount of at larges will shrink. And the other thing is don't plan on the conference tournament ever being in Sioux Falls, or at least for the near future.

I'm more for making the Summit stronger, I don't see Oakland leaving, I don't see IUPUI leaving (though it wouldn't hurt me if they did). UND and UNC would become much stronger members in the Summit. Better recruiting area, better scheduling, better travel would help those programs greatly.

UMKC's motives, my guess is they got sick of playing teams that beat them all the time, and out funded them, and playing in front of no one at home, and figured why not play in front of no one on the road as well. Though money and other issues could be involved.

[NorCalJack]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

From Twitter

• 16mSteven St.John @SSJ_WHB
  BREAKING: UMKC has officially accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference.
  
  This was retweeted by Tyler Merriam
  
  
  

[SDSUAlum08]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

WHB's Steven St. John says he's hearing that the Summit League is about to implode, Oakland to the Horizon, SDSU and NDSU to the Valley. Not sure I buy that quite yet.

Whoa. Strong predictions there.

[Evolution Prime]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

I do think we could get the Summit there but it seems like every time we take one step forward we immediately take two steps back.

This, unfortunately, is the Summit's problem/image. It is seen as a stepping stone leauge. The Dakota schools would have to take the lead on it as they are the flagship schools for their state and set the example. While I really doubt either of our school would turn down an MVC offer, I feel that it shouldn't be our ultimate goal of what we are working towards. We just need other like minded schools to get on board with it. I think WIU could get on-board with it, but I really don't think Oakland would be that invested in it as they have never been shy about their desire to be in the Horizon. If we need to bring in other universities in, then so be it. SDSU and NDSU have worked their tails off to become two of the top programs in the Summit and being leaders in the Summit to throw it away by conference hopping which seems to be the norm these days. We would have to basically start anew again if we moved to the MVC. I am not saying we turn down an offer, lets just not let that be the driving force behind things. Take a look at Boise State. While I respected their program, I hated they were jumping from conference to conference based on their percieved notion that the next conferece was better.

[filbert]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

Whoa. Strong predictions there.

I agree. But it's out there, now. And, it would explain what otherwise is a pretty inexplicable move by UMKC (the alternate hypothesis being that the UMKC administration is composed of idiots).

[NorCalJack]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

Terry V. has a post on his blog about UMKC leaving. It is a done deal. UMKC has accepted an invitation from WAC.

http://terryvandrovec.tumblr.com

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

WHB's Steven St. John says he's hearing that the Summit League is about to implode, Oakland to the Horizon, SDSU and NDSU to the Valley. Not sure I buy that quite yet.

Are the "rumors" he's hearing really that far fetched?

I guess I'm of the opinion those moves are possible.

[Jacks-02]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

WHB's Steven St. John says he's hearing that the Summit League is about to implode, Oakland to the Horizon, SDSU and NDSU to the Valley. Not sure I buy that quite yet.

If that's the case, it's a great day to be a Jackrabbit!

[filbert]

Re: UMKC to the WAC?

Now we wait for the other shoe(s) (if any) to drop.