Wishy Washy Valley Office

[ISASO]

During a radio interview this morning on KGSO, Mike Kern, Associate Commissioner of the MVC, was asked a somewhat-loaded question about how the MVC should respond to the conference's lack of respect in the media in the aftermath of the PR gaffe on CBS during the UNI/KU game.

I say the question was loaded because it was presented (as only Paul Savage can do) in a way designed to generate a defensive response, basically accusing them of taking this lying down.

So, given the clear signal to come back with a feisty answer on how the MVC office is going to respond to this issue, Mike Kern's response was:

"I don't have a good answer for that."

I swear, people in this industry are among the worst mush-mouthed, butt-kissing, politically-correct pansies on the face of the earth. Their nightmare scenario is to take a strong stand on anything in public.

[WuDrWu]

That's why the Valley and a lot of Valley fans don't like WSU and Gregg.

People that take a stand, stand up for their own best self interest and don't tow the company kumbaya line are instigators and looked down upon.


That's exactly why we need to get out of this league (which will never happen I am afraid) or beat it to death like Memphis does the CUSA.

[WstateU]

That's exactly why we need to get out of this league (which will never happen I am afraid) or beat it to death like Memphis does the CUSA.

What he said... time to dominate this league in its 'marquee' sport.

:good: :good:

[ISASO]

So we dominate the league and get a 9 seed when we should get a 5-7 seed instead.

A 9-seed beating a 1-seed has only happened three times I believe. We deserve better and it appears that our own conference office is afraid to help. Maybe our own name recognition will help, as it might have in 2006 when we got a 7 seed.

Kern also mentioned that moving the tournament to the following weekend would guarantee we lose TV the coverage we currently have. I guess if you're afraid to sell the conference on a local radio station, how can we hope to improve the conference's rep on a national level?

[Kung Wu]

So we dominate the league and get a 9 seed when we should get a 5-7 seed instead.

A 9-seed beating a 1-seed has only happened three times I believe. We deserve better and it appears that our own conference office is afraid to help. Maybe our own name recognition will help, as it might have in 2006 when we got a 7 seed.

Kern also mentioned that moving the tournament to the following weekend would guarantee we lose TV the coverage we currently have. I guess if you're afraid to sell the conference on a local radio station, how can we hope to improve the conference's rep on a national level?

The extra rest and prep time is certainly a good thing. The theory that having the tournament one week earlier than the "bigs" affects our seeding is just a theory. And probably a bunk one because other similar
conferences that don't play the earlier week still get similar seeds.

Instead of guessing that you might get a better seed by pushing the tournament off a week; go with the known quantity of getting extra rest, prep time, and time for injuries to heal a bit. Don't change it.

[WSUwatcher]

Seeds

ISASO, the reason UNI was a 9th seed wasn't the Valley or its reputation; it was nasty losses to DePaul and Evansville.

Remember, Drake was seeded 5th the year they won the league and the tournament, and WSU was seeded 7th in 2006 despite a worse conference record than UNI had this year, and failing even to reach the final in St. Louis. And Butler was a 5th seed this year coming out of a much weaker league than the MVC is.

The Valley isn't exactly an asset, but it isn't a millstone, either.

[ShockRef]

So we dominate the league and get a 9 seed when we should get a 5-7 seed instead.

A 9-seed beating a 1-seed has only happened three times I believe. We deserve better and it appears that our own conference office is afraid to help. Maybe our own name recognition will help, as it might have in 2006 when we got a 7 seed.

Kern also mentioned that moving the tournament to the following weekend would guarantee we lose TV the coverage we currently have. I guess if you're afraid to sell the conference on a local radio station, how can we hope to improve the conference's rep on a national level?

Although a week earlier, we are on the national stage. To move it a week and compete with Big East 10 & 12 Tournaments means we get pushed to the cable boys and some goofy time slot.

Do you really want to go back to the Monday night Championship on ESPY 1 or 2 @ 9:00, right after the CAA game?

Me neither.

We have the CBS coverage when no other tournaments are doing their thing.

A captive national audience is very attractive & hard to give up. 8)

[Speed]

The Valley has a winning record this year against the Big 12.

In Conference RPI, leagues ranking beneath the Valley were multi-bid leagues while the Valley has been relegated to a 1-seed league.

Valley scheduling is evidently a reason for lack of respect. Perhaps if the league office helped promote the accolades of the Valley, it would get more respect & losses to Valley teams would not be deemed as "bad losses".

WSU was definitley a bubble team. An argument could be made for & against WSU getting into the tournament. I thought Wischita Stae deserved a slot over Washingto & definitely Minnesota. (Washington has proved they belong).

If the Valley has a bubble team that has a resume very similar to a team from another conference, why wouldn't the Valley have the opinion that they may as well support its members & get the $.

All points being made, is the Valley not a business? At the very least it is a mechanism to support its members. Aren't conferences ultimately about the bottom line? As a bussiness who is the Valley's competiion? Could it be other conferences?

So it seems elementary that the Valley's role would be to support the accolades of its members. Why would there be ill-feelings for WSU, or any other school who wants what is right?

Marshall made a point in the middle of the MVC season that the league office made a statement that something like 6 poor calls resulted in points for Creighton. There also happenned to be an issue over 1.9 seconds in the league tournment a year ago. Again is this not another function of the league office. Should WSU be prosecuted for asking for clarification & fairness.

It seems that the Valley office has a job to do & should just do it. If the league has $ to burn, perhaps they wouldlike to buy my season ticket for me. Of maybe they would like to provide scholarships.

[RoyalShock]

A lot of league office bashing here.

For the bashers I have a question . . .

What do you expect the league office to do to "promote" the league and it's members? Be specific and provide evidence that either they are not currently doing those things or that other leagues are.

[martymoose]

A lot of league office bashing here.

For the bashers I have a question . . .

What do you expect the league office to do to "promote" the league and it's members? Be specific and provide evidence that either they are not currently doing those things or that other leagues are.

Fortunatly we're not running the league...also I'm guessing most of us couldn't...however that doesn't take away from the fact that we can tell them when they are doing a poor job.

If an electritian comes out to my house to fix an electrical problem, but he leaves and the problem is still there. I know he didn't do a good job, but I'm not going to be able to tell him specifically what he needs to do to fix it. That's what he's being paid to do.

[RoyalShock]

My point is, how do we know THEY are doing a poor job? How do we know they aren't doing all the same things the other league offices are doing to promote their conference and teams?

Short of buying TV air time, how will any of us know what is or is not being done? And pointing out that we were a 1-bid league doesn't prove anything.

It just seems to me that some are blaming the league office for the failures of the member schools. with no evidence to back it up, except said failures.

[Aargh]

Here's something specific. The league office could put out a media release to CBS, ESPN, (and anybody else with an e-mail address) that mentions the Valley's 8 S16's since 1994. Out of 33 total entries in the tourney, that's a pretty good record.

The misinformation about the Valley's lack of success in the NCAA's is definitely out there and it seems the league office should do something to correct the misinformation.

But, according to a rep from the Valley office, that isn't a good answer. That's the obvious answer, so you would think they thought about it and determined correcting the misinformation was "not a good answer".

[Speed]

My point is, how do we know THEY are doing a poor job? How do we know they aren't doing all the same things the other league offices are doing to promote their conference and teams?

Short of buying TV air time, how will any of us know what is or is not being done? And pointing out that we were a 1-bid league doesn't prove anything.

It just seems to me that some are blaming the league office for the failures of the member schools. with no evidence to back it up, except said failures.

Maybe they are doing the same things, maybe they need to do more. A university should be an institution where free thinking people create solutions to known problems, prospers leadership & new ideas.

Matbe they are doing a diligent & thorough job, but there is evidence that at least makes it reasonable to raise the question.

As far as what can be done, an immediate thought would be contacting media outlets currently covering MVC post-season basketball games & communicating Valley success vs. other confences this year, pertinent history of Valley sccess in such things as Sweet 16 appearances,conference honors, etc. It may not be enough to provide a link to an on-line media guide & expect a commentator to research it.

[shockball]

A lot of league office bashing here.

For the bashers I have a question . . .

What do you expect the league office to do to "promote" the league and it's members? Be specific and provide evidence that either they are not currently doing those things or that other leagues are.

I'd like to see the MVC jump on UNI for the information they gave CBS et al about they are the first MVC champion to make it to the sweet 16 since 1979. The MVC looked bad all over the country in newspapers the next day. Even the Cedar Falls paper got it wrong.

UNI ran the valley down to make themselves look better. The league should respond to this PDQ.

Next is reinstating the scheduling requirements.

[shockball]

Here's something specific. The league office could put out a media release to CBS, ESPN, (and anybody else with an e-mail address) that mentions the Valley's 8 S16's since 1994. Out of 33 total entries in the tourney, that's a pretty good record.

The misinformation about the Valley's lack of success in the NCAA's is definitely out there and it seems the league office should do something to correct the misinformation.

But, according to a rep from the Valley office, that isn't a good answer. That's the obvious answer, so you would think they thought about it and determined correcting the misinformation was "not a good answer".

Argh, they have the information to clarify the job for the second grade SID at UNI . They need to get it out there. This was on the Valley website Sunday morning.

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http://www.mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=204912849

(AP) In an NCAA tournament full of upsets, Northern Iowa pulled off the biggest one: The Panthers took down mighty Kansas. UNI has become the eighth Valley team to reach the Sweet 16 since 1994. Notably, the Missouri Valley has received just 33 total bids from 1994-2010, meaning nearly one of every four Valley NCAA berths since 1994 have resulted in a Sweet 16 trip.

They could alsio bring up the fact that 7 out of 16 at large bids in this time frame have made the sweet 16.