Loyola Joining the A-10

[The Truth]

The MVC would be stupid to expand past 12. There's not another school in that region that improves their brand. Murray State and Belmont were good adds, while UIC got in for the same reason Loyola did (location).

[SubGod22]

The MVC would be stupid to expand past 12. There's not another school in that region that improves their brand. Murray State and Belmont were good adds, while UIC got in for the same reason Loyola did (location).

I really think that they want Kansas City, but Kansas City has to show some investment desire. When Wichita and Creighton were in the conference they got some decent exposure there. There's good talent and I believe a number of schools recruit students there. The Roos just have to show some commitment and they'll get in and a 14th will come with.

Though the prospect of I believe it's St. Thomas in Minnesota could be an interesting one to watch. New to D1 but they're the 2nd D1 in the state and I know the Iowa schools at least would be interested. I want to say it's located in or near Minneapolis but I'm not 100 on that.

[RoyalShock]

This is interesting, regarding UIC leaving the Horizon for the Valley.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2022/02/10/illinois-chicago-breaks-rules-horizon-league-uic-basketball/6740655001/

Basically, UIC is upset the Horizon is following the very rules and by-laws UIC agreed to and made the motion to adopt in 2013.

[SubGod22]

The Horizon has backed down and will allow UIC athletes to compete.

I'm all for rules are rules but these rules have been seen as poor by many for at least a few years now. I believe the CAA and American East have the same and are enforcing them but they receive a lot of backlash when they do. I get maybe changing locations and not allowing leaving schools the ability to host and capitalize off of that, but do think the schools should still compete. It will be interesting to see if the other conferences that have this rule re-evaluate it.

I would also wonder if any of these conferences may have difficulty gaining new members as these issues become more known. I believe the CAA has added a few this year, or at least were rumored to be doing so, so maybe not. I could see schools that see conference X as their forever home not having an issue, but any school that may see it as a path to a better conference may look elsewhere for that path instead. Though I'm not sure how many schools would look at things quite like that. Most just want to find a home at a higher level or one that makes more sense for them regionally or culturally and that's where it ends. In which case, it just comes down to how the conferences will handle the poor publicity anytime it happens.