Report: Loyola-Chicago to join MVC

[shox1989]

Loyola best overall school for sports in the Horizon? http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/loyola-leads-mccafferty-trophy-standings-heading-into-spring-championships.html

It looks like Loyola sports may be on the way up. I hope so at least.

[Rambler63]

Is this what you're talking about?


Friday, April 12, 2013: Loyola hires Sheryl Swoopes as Women's Basketball Coach

http://www.loyolaramblers.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/041213aac.html

[Rlh04d]

Let's stop worring about who is leaving the AAC or A-10. Let's just hope one of them or the MWC gives us an invite. Any of them, no matter what, will be much stonger than the future MVC.

I agree.

Even if Saint Mary's and Dayton leave the A-10, I prefer the A-10 long-term to the MVC.

Quite frankly, this entire process has made it pretty clear what the Valley is looking for in the future. I think there are two schools that are on the short-list for future expansion: UIC and UMKC. And that should tell us all we need to know about what the future of the Valley is going to look like.

[shockerofandover0943]

It looks like Loyola sports may be on the way up. I hope so at least.

Let's hope that basketball follows their lead. The other sports are of secondary importance.

[Rlh04d]

Loyola has a long tradition in college basketball, including a national championship, 2 NIT runner-up finishes, 2 Sweet 16s, a #1 overalll NBA draft pick, two Hall of Fame entries, and an undefeated season. For the past two decades, Loyola has been stuck in a 1-bid conference behind Butler. Loyola is 6-6 in its last 12 games against MVC teams, including a 2-1 record against MVC NCAA teams.

Furthermore, Loyola is ranked as the 106th best National University in the nation by U.S. News and World Report-- in a higher class than any MVC school. Loyola has a higher endowment that departing Creighton, which had the highest endowment by far of any school in the MVC. Loyola has had a higher graduation rate than any other school in the Horizon for many years, including Butler. Maybe that had a role in the MVC decision.

Here's the thing: I think Loyola might be okay long-term. I think it's entirely possible that you will be a contributing, strong member of the MVC long-term, given a commitment to improving athletics. I don't think you'll ever really matter in Chicago, but I could see you rising to a level beyond any of the other Valley teams. I'm not discounting the potential growth of your program here ... I think you have a much higher ceiling than the other eight members of this conference.

However: We're not concerned about what your program is going to look like in ten or twenty years, while the Valley's leadership is. I personally don't really care if you're going to be a team that can get NCAA bids in ten years -- I don't cheer for your school, so it really doesn't effect me either way, and I'm really not worried about what this conference looks like in ten years, if the next nine are going to utterly suck. I'm worried about what you are currently. And what your program is currently is a drain on the Valley, which will be a cellar dweller in both the standings and in RPI, which will negatively impact the RPI of us and every team we have to play, which then impacts us again when we play them.

For your long term future, this is a great move. For the long-term future of the Valley, this might be a good move. For the next ten years, for WSU as a program and for this conference to maintain itself as a top 10 RPI conference or to earn at-large NCAA tournament bids, this is a very bad move. And I'm not worried about the state of your program or the state of this conference in ten years ... I'm worried about how you're going to impact WSU's program for the forseeable future. Which is negatively.

I wish your program nothing but the best long-term. I just think you make us a significantly worse basketball conference in the forseeable future, and are the latest in a line of decisions based on contracting our conference into being more and more regional rather than national to meet the demands of the poor members of our conference in travel costs, due to their insistence on wasting all of their money on FCS football.

[WuDrWu]

Hey, this guy's good!

[SubGod22]

The more I think about it, if we go to 12 it's going to be UIC and SIU-E. We'll leave and they'll bring in Western Illinois. MSU will leave and they'll bring in IUPUI. Within 10 years, every team in the MVC will be located only in states that begin with I.

Have I mentioned how bad this addition is yet? I've constantly said I'd rather have UIC and I didn't want to touch them. I'd have obviously rather have had Denver. But I'd also rather have Valpo, UIC, Belmont, Murray or ORU. The only school that had been mentioned the past couple of weeks that I put Loyola above was UMKC.

God, this is an awful addition. The only question is, which Thursday team now gets to move to Friday?

My prediction, 3 of the 4 Thursday teams will be from IL. And there's a slight chance that all 4 will be.

Have I mentioned how bad this addition is? Can we bribe our way into another conference? One that actually cares about basketball on some level?

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Sorry. Had a fee drinks and working on something big cor the basketball team.


Ive come to grips that whomever they had to come into the conference I was going to hate. I hate this. We need out. FAST. So overly done with all this ****.

[Rlh04d]

The more I think about it, if we go to 12 it's going to be UIC and SIU-E. We'll leave and they'll bring in Western Illinois. MSU will leave and they'll bring in IUPUI. Within 10 years, every team in the MVC will be located only in states that begin with I.

This is exactly what I've been thinking.

The only caveat I have is that I think they might still add UMKC.

[tropicalshox]

If that happens, we should all get together and burn down the Valley offices in STL. If we're going to 12, Denver has to be involved. And we don't need two **** schools in Chicago considering neither will do anything to boost the value of the conference in the city.

The dirt poor Valley schools are not going to vote to bring in Denver. Denver is way out there (to the west). And WSU is a threat to leave. With one or two Chicago schools, they have a nice little grouping for bus rides.

[SubGod22]

This is exactly what I've been thinking.

The only caveat I have is that I think they might still add UMKC.

They won't add UMKC because we'll be leaving and MSU will be looking to leave. Well, I guess they could add UMKC to throw the poor sisters in Iowa a bone... But at that point, I won't give a damn.

[shockerfan]

They basically play in Hartman Arena....

[Metalkatz]

I'm waiting for the call to the mound for Wichita State to move up to the "next level"!!!! I think were ready

[WillieJeffJeffries]

Loyola has a long tradition in college basketball, including a national championship, 2 NIT runner-up finishes, 2 Sweet 16s, a #1 overalll NBA draft pick, two Hall of Fame entries, and an undefeated season. For the past two decades, Loyola has been stuck in a 1-bid conference behind Butler. Loyola is 6-6 in its last 12 games against MVC teams, including a 2-1 record against MVC NCAA teams.

Furthermore, Loyola is ranked as the 106th best National University in the nation by U.S. News and World Report-- in a higher class than any MVC school. Loyola has a higher endowment that departing Creighton, which had the highest endowment by far of any school in the MVC. Loyola has had a higher graduation rate than any other school in the Horizon for many years, including Butler. Maybe that had a role in the MVC decision.

I agree this is a solid move by the MVC to bring in Da Ramblers (Heck of a car BTW). .........If it was 1962!!!!!!! If we stay in the MVC, HCGM will be gone after next year.

[Rlh04d]

They won't add UMKC because we'll be leaving and MSU will be looking to leave. Well, I guess they could add UMKC to throw the poor sisters in Iowa a bone... But at that point, I won't give a damn.

I think they'd be fine with UMKC being the westernmost member of the conference. It's still within a tight geographic region that cuts down on travel costs. I feel like UMKC was only included in the discussions to show them that the Valley wants them and lay out details for what they need to do to be brought in in the future.

But yes, I think MSU should jump to the A-10 with us. Or Bradley. Fine with either.