How about Wichita State and Creighton to the MWC.

[1972Shocker]

wouldn't we be able to buyout or whatever it we would need to do to leave the conference like the other schools have to do when they switch? Like pay the necessary exit fee out of the MVC and then other costs for breaking the BB contract. I think if we were given the chance, we would take it in a heartbeat especially with the conference teams that were discussed above. i think the costs for leaving would not be as great as the benefits for the move imho.

I would think so. I have no idea what kind of exit fee the MVC assesses.

Shouldn't matter what the MVC is committed to once your are no longer a member of the MVC.

[tw805]

Well, it is official, kind of. It looks like the MWC and C-USA will be merging into a 16 team conference. The interesting point is that they see the conference containing 18-24 members. If CU and WSU are invited, I hope we make the jump.

Forget it. I can't read.

[NWShocker11]

We are not involved.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7571596/mountain-west-c-usa-form-new-conference

Is this the day we look back to as the day we were left behind for good?

Thats only for the mean time. They make it sound like they are open for possible expansion after the merger. so it sounds like there is still a chance for us possibly.

[tw805]

Yeah, I'm an *** who can't count. I thought maybe I edited it before anyone saw it, but...

[Steeleshocker]

Yeah, I'm an *** who can't count. I thought maybe I edited it before anyone saw it, but...

It happens to the best of us. The question will be what type of schools are they looking to add to the conference. The next few months should be interesting.

[Aargh]

Are there any FB schools left they could possibly add? If they're still looking to add schools, would they have any option other than adding basketball-only schools? I really question joining a league with 18 - 24 schools. The East division might be fairly weak in basketball.

[GoShockers89]

Are there any FB schools left they could possibly add? If they're still looking to add schools, would they have any option other than adding basketball-only schools? I really question joining a league with 18 - 24 schools. The East division might be fairly weak in basketball.

Agreed.

I think a better option will present itself relatively soon when the stronger programs in the MVC and A10 finally wake up to reality.

[shox1989]

wouldn't we be able to buyout or whatever it we would need to do to leave the conference like the other schools have to do when they switch? Like pay the necessary exit fee out of the MVC and then other costs for breaking the BB contract. I think if we were given the chance, we would take it in a heartbeat especially with the conference teams that were discussed above. i think the costs for leaving would not be as great as the benefits for the move imho.

Since the Valley produces very little revenue for its 10 members, the exit fee can't be very much.

I am one of those that has always been skeptical about leaving the Valley. I have always liked the tradition in the Valley (2nd oldest conference, Valley of Death, The Big O, Larry Bird etc). And the Valley up until the last 4 years has been a multiple bid conference, so I didn't really see a need to leave (and the national TV package has been improving).

Unfortunately things have changed and Elgin has managed to cement the Valley as a "mid-major conference" (code word for one bid). I have always been hopeful things would change and this year looks like it will, but I don't have confidence that the Valley is going to shake this horrible moniker (mid-major/one bid conference) for the long term.

So I now feel like we should strongly consider a move to the MWC/CUSA if the possibility would present itself.

[MadDog]

My math says 16 schools mentioned. I don't think there are that many (2-8) unaligned decent FBS schools available. That says to me they may be looking at schools with strong basketball. We need to go for it if we get the chance. I agree that this may be where we may get left behind for good if we don't get in on this. As I noted months ago, and I still see it today, this whole re-alignment process is going to affect the MVC, and ultimately the NCAA B-ball tourney, and is going to cut out everyone but the big boys. We need to be actively pursuing this if possible. This could be make or break for WSU athletics.

[KC Shox]

Well, it appears it is official regarding C-USA and the MWC. The Valley better do something quick.

[SpanglerFan316]

I don't think WSU will do anything until a new President is in place. The Kansas Board of Regents might or might not care about the opinions on athletic realignment of the candidates to replace Beggs. (The KBOR could have an indirect impact on WSU's choice of conference.)

[rrshock]

Spangler is right. They won't do anything while there is a presidential search.

I think that something has to happen or WSU and a couple other worthy programs in the MVC will be left in the dust. A move must be made in order to protect the athletic programs and to keep the institution on par with the top tier of the NCAA. I don't know if the MWC is the best option but it is certainly better than what WSU is a part of now.

[Kung Wu]

Big 12

[SubGod22]

This new conference has 16 football schools already. (Nevada, Hawaii, UNLV, New Mexico, Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming, Fresno State, UTEP, Tulsa, Tulane, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, Marshall and ECU) If they want to get to 18, They bring in Utah State and F_U. If they want to get to 24 they then look to add North Texas, the other F_U, Temple, Old Dominion, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennesse State, LA-Tech, New Mexico State, Montana, Illinois State, Georgia State. Those are the first ones to come to mind that bring football and markets. The conference would have the potential to pull from Denver, Las Vegas, Houston, DFW, New Orleans, Atlanta, South Florida, Alberquerque, Chicago, Tulsa, El Paso... Some pretty solid markets. They could also hold spots open hoping for Boise or SDSU to decide that the Big East setup doesn't work for them. That would bring them San Diego and Idaho markets.

If they were going to add non-football schools, they'd have to add 6-8 I'd think. Being the only, or one of two or so wouldn't make for an attractive setup. Who would be good to add? Gonzaga, Xavier, Creighton, St. Mary's, Wichita State, George Mason, Saint Joseph's.... Really, I don't see them pulling any A10 schools in this scenario or Gonzaga/SMC. They might be able to entice Creighton and Wichita. But, I'm not convinced that kind of scenario makes a lot of sense. I believe the Big East kind of works because there's some balance between the football and basketball schools. Being outnumbered 5-1 could end up being a bad situation. The best bet would be to hope for a basketball only type of confernce. Or for the Valley to make a move and try to bring in a couple of quality basketball schools to strengthen the conference. Or hope a couple of teams that can't keep up financially would willingly leave.

I love the round robin aspect of the conference, but if we could add 2 schools that would potentially strengthen us I'd be okay with that. I've gone over possible teams in other threads on here and believe that any addition should really be made outside of the current footprint. A couple of teams that jump out as one that could be worth considering are Milwaukee, Belmont, Wright State and even ORU. ORU and Belmont are small schools and you'd have to worry about them tunring into Evansville. But they've had a lot of recent success and expand the borders of the conference. That's just a quick take. I could look into it more later.

[Ta town]

A couple of teams that jump out as one that could be worth considering are Milwaukee, Belmont, Wright State and even ORU.

This is terrible