Right now my wish on WSU and Conference realignment is...

[SubGod22]

I'm not sure if there's a MWC school that the PAC would look favorably upon. If the PAC expands, they're going after Texahoma

[ShockTalk]

Just a lot of questions out there regardless which direction you look at.

1) I'd prefer the MWC. Better conference, much better locations as a fan to travel to, IMHO. Big questions: What would happen if Hawaii left the MWC? As the only basketball-only school, we would be a minority of just that, one. So how vunerable would we be to the whims of all the football schools?

2) Revamped MVC. With (preferred) or without CU, as long as the Valley has quality left-overs from the A-10 to invite (Dayton and St Louis), NM St, Denver, and Murray St, getting at least 2 if CU stays, 3 if they leave. Would also prefer Evansville and one other Valley team that doesn't want to pony-up enough to have a quality basketball program to leave and add 2 more of the above. Questions: Would Dayton, St. Louis, and CU be leaving soon after? What in Ill St, UNI, IN St and MSU's football future?

3) A more distant 3rd is to get an offer from the C7 to be what most likely will be a 14 team conference. Questions: Can the original C7 and their minions be trusted to do what's best for all, not just themselves? Also, for all the WSU teams, travel, travel, travel (and as for me, a fan, not many places where I'd prefer to go).

4) Further down the line, stay as is MVC. Questions: Will CU eventually bolt to the Whatever C7? Feel very uneasy about some of the football schools (just losing one, Ill St would hurt)? Too many Sisters of the Poor, whether it's due to paying for football first or they just don't have the funds, makes for a weakening basketball conference.

5) Can't even see joining a weakened Atl-10? Why? If what's left is not all far to the East, the few that may be left in the West should join the Valley.

[shox1989]

If the Valley could pick up Dayton and/or St. Louis from the A-10 after all is said and done, staying in the Valley might be just fine. (Especially if the Valley dumps Evansville to make room for one of them).

[wsushox1]

MWC.

[Kung Wu]

3) A more distant 3rd is to get an offer from the C7 to be what most likely will be a 14 team conference. Questions: Can the original C7 and their minions be trusted to do what's best for all, not just themselves? Also, for all the WSU teams, travel, travel, travel (and as for me, a fan, not many places where I'd prefer to go).

Such a sage post.

The politics in the Big Priest are potentially concerning for a couple of reasons: a) They have been through this before together and are likely to structure it with more control this time, b) even if you are elite you could end up like a star employee at a small family owned business. No matter how key you are to the business' success, if you don't share a last name with the owners you aren't getting rewarded.

This should be easy to sniff out when you receive an invitation, but you'd have to be thinking in those terms.

The same concerns probably hold true for MWC but to a lesser extent.

[wusphlash]

This is a very difficult situation. Go back 5 years and look at the conferences. Look today. Now try and predict 5 years from now. Who knows what the picture will look like. For me, I would like to keep a midwestern flavor to our conference. I don't want to go to either coast. There is something to be said for regionalism.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

MWC is by far our best option. Lots of quality programs, and if the speculation is somewhat true about Houston, UTEP, and Tulsa, travel won't be an issue with those schools and the Front Range schools. That would be a really good situation for us.

[12eagle]

MWC

[pie n eye]

Upgrade the MVC. Officially change the name of conference to Valley of Death. Or the Big Valley of Death. Or the Big Major Valley of Power.

[KC Shox]

If you go to the MWC board, there is no mention or discussion of the possibility of us joining them. Unless I overlooked it. If I saw us being seriously discussed then I'd think it would be a baby step in the right direction, but the MWC expansion talk appears to only address programs with football.

I would like to see Elgin get off his ass and start looking to expand the Valley. But we are in no mans land due to our geographic location and lack of a football team. We're screwed.

[ShockerFever]

If you go to the MWC board, there is no mention or discussion of the possibility of us joining them. Unless I overlooked it. If I saw us being seriously discussed then I'd think it would be a baby step in the right direction, but the MWC expansion talk appears to only address programs with football.

I would like to see Elgin get off his ass and start looking to expand the Valley. But we are in no mans land due to our geographic location and lack of a football team. We're screwed.

Clearly message board chatter is the best way to determine if and when teams are joining new conferences.

[shock]

Upgrade the MVC. Officially change the name of conference to Valley of Death. Or the Big Valley of Death. Or the Big Major Valley of Power.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Premier Conference.
Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Murray State, UTEP, S F Austin U, North Texas, ISUR, UNI, WSU, Ohio, Davidson, St. Louis/Bradley

[shox1989]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Premier Conference.
Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Murray State, UTEP, S F Austin U, North Texas, ISUR, UNI, WSU, Ohio, Davidson, St. Louis/Bradley

Okay if we are just picking teams I would prefer a conference more like this: WSU, CU, Tulsa, Memphis, St. Louis, Bradley, Illinois St, Dayton, Illinois-Chicago (or some other Chicago school, they appear to be the best in basketball right now), UTEP.

There are others I would prefer over some of these but I was trying to be somewhat realistic, picking teams that aren't in a BCS conference, the MWC, or aren't sure fire bets to be invited by the Catholic 7 (ie- Butler, Xavier).

I left off Missouri State. I would love to include them (proximity) but they would have to be more committed to basketball. Their basketball budget wreaks of small time.

[Ixiah]

If you go to the MWC board, there is no mention or discussion of the possibility of us joining them.

???? There is quite a bit of talk about a WSU addition.

Thread specifically about adding WSU and inclusion in an expansion poll:

http://www.mwcboard.com/index.php?showtopic=44761

http://www.mwcboard.com/index.php?showtopic=44954

There are several other threads discussing WSU - here are a couple of examples.

For oly sports I would love it. But we have a sweet indy football gig. Pick up BYU for oly sports along with Creighton and Wichita St.
Bring in Gonzaga or Wichita state as BB only schools to help with schedule balance.

http://www.mwcboard.com/index.php?showtopic=44928&st=0&p=979746

http://www.mwcboard.com/index.php?showtopic=44539

[KC Shox]

Clearly message board chatter is the best way to determine if and when teams are joining new conferences.

I don't recall ever saying that message board material was thee best way or to be construed as gospel. It simply is a tool to measure the 'pulse of the people'. Had I observed our name being heavily discussed, it would give me a small measure of belief that the fans' administrators would be thinking the same thing. Capiche'?