American Athletic Conference

[rrshock]

http://m.espn.go.com/ncb/story?storyId=9000502 This says that they will join for the inaugural year with the Big East playing an 18 game schedule.

[rrshock]

Creighton that is

[60Shock]

I completely fail to see anything positive happening for WSU if CU goes and we STAY in an extremely weaken MVC with schools weaker than our present bottom dwellers the only possible replacement(s).

Unfortunately, there does not appear, at the present time, any conference jumping up and down begging us to join them either.

And of course there could be other disastrous fallouts from this as well.

[Shocks2005]

Look, it will be ok even if CU leaves.. All it takes is a scheduling of a OOC rival game with them every year. I see no harm in that. I can't blame them for grabbing this opportunity.

Now having said that, I think we all know that the only thing that will hurt is if we don't add better OOC games to our schedule every year. We have to adopt the Gonzaga rule and I don't see why the Shockers couldn't make a similar situation happen. There really isn't anyone that MVC could add that would make the conference better, but a 9-team league isn't exactly ideal.

Either way, it is NOT the end of the world. It just gets a little tougher..

[ShockerFever]

I'm sure Eric Sexton is on top of this. He's THAT GOOD.

[cjp27]

We are going to be the last ones on the titanic and stuck without a life boat.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

God help us

[hizzshock]

I think the conference would completely suck. At this point, aside from us, who do your see in the next couple years even sniffing an at-large bid. I can't think of any. And that's not good.

[AndShock]

I don't doubt that we could dominate the conference and be good enough for an at-large bid every year. I just don't know if Marshall will want to be in a perennial one bid conference again.

[GoShockers89]

God damnit.

[ShockerGorilla]

I think the conference would completely suck. At this point, aside from us, who do your see in the next couple years even sniffing an at-large bid. I can't think of any. And that's not good.

Don't forget about UNI!

[EB 22]

One thing some people are forgetting is losing Creighton isn't just a dent in basketball. I hate to say it but Creighton is really good in other sports other than just bball. It'll hurt many other sports as well like volleyball.

Plus we are losing our biggest rival.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I don't doubt that we could dominate the conference and be good enough for an at-large bid every year. I just don't know if Marshall will want to be in a perennial one bid conference again.

That's what I worry about as well.

[hizzshock]

I don't doubt that we could dominate the conference and be good enough for an at-large bid every year. I just don't know if Marshall will want to be in a perennial one bid conference again.

I was going to make that point too. We need to move quick, he's not dumb, he knows where this league is going. We need to be sure he's along for the ride.

[SubGod22]

It's not as dire as you guys seem to think. I truly believe that Bradley is on the verge of being a contender year in and year out. Ford is a hell of a coach and he's made good progress there. UNI is solid as long as Jake is there. I think Illinois State has a staff that could push them towards competing on that level.

And whoever said the only additions are worse than our bottom dwellers is full of crap. Sure, nobody on the level of Creighton, but there are top 100-125 teams that based on RPI would be top half finishers most years. What you have to do is find the school that you think could improve their standing the most in recruiting and results by being upgraded to a better conference. If we're adding one, you have to decide if that's Belmont, ORU, Murray St, Wright St or whoever.

There's no need to freak out. Even with the loss of CU, I don't think that automatically puts us in one bid territory. Not with the improvements being made elsewhere. And even if we were a one bid league, if we take care of our business, we're still getting a respectable seed and one that we could do damage from. That's how Gonzaga went about things.

Everybody breathe