Huge Mid-Con news

[89rabbit]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

the rumor mills a moving this morning.  isn't youngstown state in the midcon?  i remember a former sioux falls ball start john sieverson when to some midcon school i believe. maybe im mistaken.

Yougstown is in the Horizon League (although they were in the Mid-Con not that long ago) for all sports except football. They too are a member of the Gateway for football.


Go State!

[RonRabbit]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

the rumor mills a moving this morning.  isn't youngstown state in the midcon?  i remember a former sioux falls ball start john sieverson when to some midcon school i believe. maybe im mistaken.

My memory is a little foggy but I think the kid was named Seveson and he played for Roosevelt, went to Wright State?

[rabidrabbit]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

Getting involved in either conference is instantly great news for our school and athletic programs, especially basketball.  I think our mens team would have had 3-5 more wins in the Mid-Con last year and who knows how our women would have faired.  I would think they could have realistically had the best team in the conference.  No matter what, it's great news.

According to Sagarin's info, Lady Jacks 83rd. Best of Mid-Con - W. Ill @ 98th. And our schedule was supposedly tougher. W Ill was a bit better record at 21-
7 to 19-9. On the women's side, I suspect we would have been fairly dominent.

[Jacks99]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

[quote author=thebluehatman link=1145505930/0#13 date=1145541070]the rumor mills a moving this morning.  isn't youngstown state in the midcon?  i remember a former sioux falls ball start john sieverson when to some midcon school i believe. maybe im mistaken.

My memory is a little foggy but I think the kid was named Seveson and he played for Roosevelt, went to Wright State?[/quote]


It was Colorado State.

[jackrabbit1979]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

Only thing that scares me is if the MidCon decides to add IPFW by themselves.  They seem like a league who isn't concerned about quality athletics and institutions as much as driving trips and saving money (i.e. the valparaiso article).  I guess we will have to wait and see.  

BTW, it's been a while and is good to be back guys.  The fam is doing great!

[RonRabbit]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

[quote author=RonRabbit link=1145505930/15#16 date=1145542567][quote author=thebluehatman link=1145505930/0#13 date=1145541070]the rumor mills a moving this morning.  isn't youngstown state in the midcon?  i remember a former sioux falls ball start john sieverson when to some midcon school i believe. maybe im mistaken.

My memory is a little foggy but I think the kid was named Seveson and he played for Roosevelt, went to Wright State?[/quote]


It was Colorado State.[/quote]


Which Roosevelt kid from around 8-10 years ago went to Wright State (may have later transferred)?  He was a good shooter.

[SD4Life]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

the rumor mills a moving this morning.  isn't youngstown state in the midcon?  i remember a former sioux falls ball start john sieverson when to some midcon school i believe. maybe im mistaken.

I'm pretty sure Youngstown State once was in the Mid-Con but is in the Horizon League now.

[Jacks99]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

Which Roosevelt kid from around 8-10 years ago went to Wright State (may have later transferred)?  He was a good shooter.

No clue.  Just knew that John played at Colorado State at least his latter years.

[mitchellrabbit]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

i thought john started at wright st also.

[89rabbit]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

OK, since I don't know (or really care) what school he went to, I will get this thread back on track with highlights from a story from NWI Times:

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/04...57000d55ad.txt

No shortage of potential replacements in Mid-Con

Several schools would love to take Chicago State's spot in the conference

BY PAUL TREMBACKI

Chicago State University's self-imposed departure from the Mid-Continent Conference does not affect the automatic qualification status for various NCAA postseason events, but the departure still perked some ears. . . .

As for the future, recent additions to Division I competition such as IPFW, North Dakota State and South Dakota State would like to join Valparaiso and IUPUI in the league. With CSU out, optimism for expansion is up.

But SDSU athletic director Fred Oien, like everyone else, knows that nothing official can be done until the summer when the university presidents from the conference meet with conference commissioner Tom Douple.

"How this will affect anything for us is ultimately up to the Mid-Con," Oien said. "I don't think we're going to assume anything."

On Thursday the Mid-Con office said there is no comment at this time regarding expansion.

SDSU is already an associate member of the Mid-Con in men's and women's swimming and diving.

"We would be a strong member in any conference that would see fit to have us," Oien said. "We'd be very honored to have that opportunity. (The Mid-Con) has institutions that are like ours. We will watch carefully." . . .

"When you're not one of the six BCS conferences, to hold that opportunity for a student athlete to get to the postseason is critical," Oien said.

Valpo athletic director Mark LaBarbera and IPFW athletic director Mark Pope have had several discussions in recent years regarding the Mastodons' potential.

"It's very close, so that would appeal to us," LaBarbera said. "I think regardless of the teams proposed as a possible replacement, you'll find differing opinions on how any school might fit into the league and the pros and cons associated with adding each of them."

Earlier this year IPFW, NDSU, SDSU, Texas Pan-American, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Utah Valley State formed a scheduling alliance for men's and women's basketball called the United Basketball Conference. The alliance is simply to ensure that teams trade home and away games.

Some have voiced geographical and travel concerns in the cases of NDSU and SDSU, but that wouldn't necessarily be a new problem for a conference that includes Southern Utah University and Centenary College of Louisiana.

NDSU is 15 minutes from the Fargo (N.D.) airport, and the SDSU campus is 48 minutes from the Sioux Falls (S.D.) airport.

"You can be on one side of town in a metro area, and it would take you more than 48 minutes to get from one side to the other," Oien said.

The Big Sky is another conference that might give NDSU or SDSU consideration.

"We've taken the position that both conferences know South Dakota State University," Oien said. "It is their decision, and we're going to respect that."



Go State!

[89rabbit]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

Highlights from the Fargo Forum (sub. site but it is free):

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/ind...section=Sports

Chicago State departure piques NDSU’s interest

By Jeff Kolpack, The Forum
Published Friday, April 21, 2006


The conference-seeking radar at North Dakota State is blipping again.

This time, it’s facing east. Sixteen months after being rejected by the Big Sky Conference, NDSU is looking to the Mid-Continent Conference for affiliation.

The Mid-Con may be thinking expansion after Chicago State announced Wednesday it is leaving the league after this school year. It will leave the conference with just eight members.

“I would think there will be discussions about the makeup of the conference over the next couple of months, certainly,” said Valparaiso University (Ind.) athletic director Mark LaBarbera.

Mid-Con commissioner Thomas Douple could not be reached for comment.

But NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said the departure of Chicago State “certainly piques our interest.”

“I’m sure my calls to Tom Douple will increase over the next few weeks,” he said.

But Taylor said he’s not going to put the full-court press on the league. First, he’ll wait to see what the Mid-Con’s next step will be. The league’s Presidents Council does not meet until July.

With Chicago dropping out, the Mid-Con will be left with Valparaiso, Missouri-Kansas City, Western Illinois, Oakland University (Mich.), Oral Roberts (Okla.), Southern Utah, Indiana University Purdue-Indianapolis and Centenary (La.).

“The Mid-Con would be tremendous,” NDSU men’s basketball coach Tim Miles said. “The Big Sky would be tremendous. Obviously, conference affiliation is the next step to being a bona fide Division I institution.”

There will be competition if the Mid-Con opts for expansion. Besides South Dakota State, other independents likely looking to the Mid-Con for membership would be Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne, Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley State.  .  .  . (read more)




I wonder when the Argus is going to run a story?  When Chris gets back maybe.


Go State!  

[jackmd]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

Valpo's take on CSU exit.

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/04...5600145aac.txt

VU disappointed in Chicago State's exit from Mid-Con

Search for new member begins

by JOHN O'MALLEY
jomalley@nwitimes.com
219.462.5151

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, April 20, 2006 12:23 AM CDT

Drew had to return to the Athletics-Recreation Center for a meeting with Valpo's director of athletics Mark LaBarbera to discuss the impact of Chicago State University's decision to withdraw as a member of the Mid-Continent Conference on Wednesday.

The move, which is effective June 30, will ultimately have an impact on all league schools, in terms of scheduling and future travel, among other things, after a possible replacement for CSU is chosen -- and perhaps even league expansion is completed.

"The only real discussion (Wednesday night) was that everyone in the conference would still play them (next year) and that's what we intended to do,'' Drew said.

The Cougars will compete as an NCAA Division I independent during the 2006-07 school year, but will play nonconference contests against Mid-Con schools in men's and women's basketball and volleyball.

While neither Drew or LaBarbera would discuss possible reasons as to why the Cougars decided to leave the league, they expressed disappointment.

"We're disappointed, because we enjoy CSU, because it's close and it's a drive trip for us and them,'' Drew said. "I think anytime that you can play a team within proximity where you can drive and not have your players miss class, it's a good thing. It's easy to get our fans up there. CSU's location was super for us.

"We'll miss not having them in our league.''

Said LaBarbera: "Certainly, I think CSU has been a good conference member. They feel they're doing what's right for their institution and I think that has to be respected.''

Mid-Continent Conference commissioner Tom Douple echoed LaBarbera's feelings in a statement released by the league office.

"We respect the decision of (CSU) President Elnora Daniel to relocate Chicago State's athletics programs and are here to assist in any way that we can in that process,'' Douple said in the statement. "We wish Chicago State the best of luck in its future endeavors and in the next steps in the progression of its athletics programs.''

Chicago State President Elnora Daniel said the Cougars will seek membership in a new conference that will reflect its evolving institutional profile.

"We have enjoyed our time in the Mid-Continent Conference and look forward to future athletic successes,'' Daniel said.

Chicago State hasn't been without its flaws.

In 2003, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions placed Chicago State on probation for two years for violations involving by-laws of out-of-season practice activities, practice-time limitations, recruiting violations and ethical conduct in the Cougars' women's basketball program.

LaBarbera hesitated to speculate on CSU's possible replacement or if the league would expand.

North Dakota State, South Dakota State and IPFW have all expressed interest in the league in the recent past and are all independents.

[Jacks15]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

Mid-Con women’s basketball has solid showing in NCAA RPI Report



ELMHURST, ILL. — The NCAA released its final women’s basketball Rating Percentage Index (RPI) report Thursday and the Mid-Continent Conference finished the 2005-06 campaign as the 17th-ranked conference in NCAA Division I. The Mid-Con had five teams that finished with an RPI of 160 or better, which is the highest total in conference history.

The 17th-place ranking is the league’s highest since finishing 17th during the 2002-03 campaign and is second only to a 16th-place performance during the 1996-97 season. Mid-Con regular-season champion Western Illinois posted an RPI of 96, which was tops in the conference. The Westerwinds were followed closely by Mid-Con Tournament Champion Oakland in the 127th slot while Oral Roberts finished 134th. Rounding out the list of league leaders are IUPUI in 151st and Valparaiso in 159th.

“We are very pleased in the progress that our conference’s women’s basketball programs are showing,” Mid-Con Commissioner Tom Douple said. “This performance shows a level of commitment to our women’s basketball teams by our universities, administrators, coaches and players to improve the league standing on a national level.”

How much higher would they go if you could ad the SU's to the mix

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

It's nice to have some potentially great news on the board for a change.

I've always kind of hoped for the Big Sky first and Mid-Con second but the Mid-Con would be better for everything but football.

Let's cross our fingers and jope this thing pans out. The Mid-Con is very familiar with us and that HAS to be a good thing.

SUPERBUNNY

[filbert]

Re: Huge Mid-Con news

Never once did I consider that Chicago State would leave the Mid-Con. If anything I thought it would be the other way around (and of course, maybe it was, but the conference decided to be magnanimous in the method of CSU's departure).

The Mid-Con's going to have to do something. Eight is way too close to seven which is the minimum league size for basketball, especially when one of your remaining eight is Centenary.