(02-25-2019 06:27 AM)NoDak Wrote: [ -> ] (02-25-2019 12:23 AM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2019 05:41 PM)NoDak Wrote: [ -> ]The UMKC AD was talking in the student paper that there would be a big announcement in May.
I'm interested in that. I couldn't find anything about it. Do you remember any specifics about that announcement? Do you have a link?
There was a link in this section of the forum:
https://info.umkc.edu/unews/martin-lays-...athletics/
Any prediction that UMKC will be going D2 or the Summit will be refuted by his words.
That actually came out in November:
https://info.umkc.edu/news/introducing-d...on-martin/
He never mentioned any announcement in May. In the article it stated that "Martin’s goals for UMKC Athletics are straightforward: Become a Top 100 Division I program. Win Western Athletic Conference championships and earn NCAA tournament berths."
(02-25-2019 01:47 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote: [ -> ]I wish we could keep these threads to WAC specific conversations with credible information on possible expansion; not some posters speculation based off some ambiguous actions by a school.
One article did mentioned that the WAC talked to several RMAC schools. We know Metro State was one, but denied about Colorado Mesa. Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado Christian, CSU-Pueblo and Regis are the other schools in large populated areas, and Colorado Mines in Golding is the other. I think talking about which RMAC school should be allow because an article did mentioned other schools in the RMAC besides Metro State.
(02-27-2019 03:48 AM)DavidSt Wrote: [ -> ] (02-25-2019 01:47 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote: [ -> ]I wish we could keep these threads to WAC specific conversations with credible information on possible expansion; not some posters speculation based off some ambiguous actions by a school.
One article did mentioned that the WAC talked to several RMAC schools. We know Metro State was one, but denied about Colorado Mesa. Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado Christian, CSU-Pueblo and Regis are the other schools in large populated areas, and Colorado Mines in Golding is the other. I think talking about which RMAC school should be allow because an article did mentioned other schools in the RMAC besides Metro State.
"One article" that only you know about is the basis of your argument. Show the evidence. And; Colorado Mines is in the town of GOLDEN, not Golding.
So collegiate consulting gave the MSU Denver board of directors the feasibility study today.
I'm hoping that they do move up but if they dont then good luck to them and their failing programs.
I feel like they are just content with being average. If they wanna be more competitive then upgrades and effort are needed
(03-14-2019 06:06 PM)AZcats Wrote: [ -> ]Another article from Metro State: https://www.mymetmedia.com/news/athletic...ransition/
The board did not make a final vote on the matter because the meeting ran roughly three-and-a-half hours, causing a handful of members to leave during the unveiling of the feasibility study results.
In what is possibly the most important decision the college is going to make, board of trustees members left in the middle of the meeting?
This is what D1 ticker said based on the linked article:
Quote:The prospects of a move to DI for MSU Denver have become murkier following this week’s board of trustees meeting, during which officials from the school, RMAC and WAC heard results from a feasibility report. The study, conducted by Collegiate Consulting, cited the school’s decline in the Learfield Directors' Cup as a significant obstacle. From 2009-13, MSU Denver averaged a finish of 35th in the DII rankings. Since then, the average rank has been 155th. Additionally, MSU Denver’s $5.6M budget would put it second-to-last in the WAC, and to cover further financial needs, such as increases in scholarship dollars and student athletics fees, MSU Denver would need to increase its operating budget by $4M to $6M. AD Grant was among those who contend that now is not the right time to make a move to DI: “This institution is a regional comprehensive institution, so our footprint is within the local area and the surrounding states. The philosophy of Division II athletics fits more seamlessly than Division I.” Trustees are likely to vote on whether to approve the transition in early May.
The handwriting is on the wall. Metro State isn’t coming. The search for at least one more solid addition continues.
Tartleton State or Metro State would be the best additions/markets for the WAC. Tartleton would be able to go independent (could do a yearly 1-1 with Dixie State) or join a conference in football.
It's official.. no Metro State.
https://msudenver.edu/early-bird/2019/03...vote.shtml
The Metropolitan State University of Denver Board of Trustees decided Friday by electronic vote that the institution will remain in NCAA Division II and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rather than pursue a potential move to NCAA Division I’s Western Athletic Conference.
Board members had met Monday in a special work session to hear presentations and ask questions about the pros and cons of a potential move. The Board wasn’t scheduled to meet again until May but decided to hold an electronic vote after considering the results of the special session.
I think that all could see that coming.
Just pack up your power point presentation and drive 64.2 miles south of MSU on Interstate 25 (or 58.8 miles from WAC hq in Englewood CO).
Quoting from the article linked in post #326 above:
MSU Director of Athletics Anthony Grant was convinced that MSU Denver isn’t ready to transition into DI athletics. “This institution is a regional comprehensive institution, so our footprint is within the local area."
I think UCCS has aspirations greater than being simply a regional university. According to wiki, the UCCS undergraduate engineering program ranked 14th in the nation. But outside of Colorado, who really thinks of them?
(03-19-2019 04:51 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote: [ -> ]Just pack up your power point presentation and drive 64.2 miles south of MSU on Interstate 25 (or 58.8 miles from WAC hq in Englewood CO).
Quoting from the article linked in post #326 above:
MSU Director of Athletics Anthony Grant was convinced that MSU Denver isn’t ready to transition into DI athletics. “This institution is a regional comprehensive institution, so our footprint is within the local area."
I think UCCS has aspirations greater than being simply a regional university. According to wiki, the UCCS undergraduate engineering program ranked 14th in the nation. But outside of Colorado, who really thinks of them?
UCCS is in a similar situation as Metro State. There is not enough support for 3rd D1 program in town. We already have Air Force and Colorado College Ice Hockey. When the Olympic Training Center is added to the list of community activities, UCCS is 4th string on getting support. I have lived just outside of The Springs for nearly 20 years and I have been to USAFA, CC, and Sky Sox MILB games and visited the OTC, the Rodeo Hall of Fame, and the Garden of the Gods but, sadly, I have yet to enter the UCCS campus for any event. The military also has a major presence here. UCCS athletics does get the occasional local media attention.
(03-19-2019 06:31 PM)AZcats Wrote: [ -> ]UCCS is in a similar situation as Metro State. There is not enough support for 3rd D1 program in town.
I don't doubt that is a very real concern. I know that when UNOmaha went D1 that issue was also raised: What room in there for UNO in the shadow of Creighton (currently #7 in the nation in MBB attendance, 4 miles away) and the Univ Nebraska (currently #13, just 55 miles away)? But support for UNOmaha is growing.
When university administrators think about going D1, their thought process is different than a sport's fan. They are thinking "How will this affect the profile of our university?" more than "What will be our won-loss record?" I think UNO administrators are very pleased with the transformation taking place at UNO. Sports was not the only thing they did, but it was a key thing.
From UCCS's website:
UCCS is repeatedly ranked highly for our undergraduate, graduate, online programs and much more. U.S. News & World Report calls UCCS a top-10 public university in the West
Maybe being part of the
Western Athletic Conference can help promote and expand that identity. That's how I would pitch it if I worked for Jeff Hurd.
http://stats.ncaa.org/reports/attendance?id=17900
(03-20-2019 09:43 AM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote: [ -> ] (03-19-2019 06:31 PM)AZcats Wrote: [ -> ]UCCS is in a similar situation as Metro State. There is not enough support for 3rd D1 program in town.
I don't doubt that is a very real concern. I know that when UNOmaha went D1 that issue was also raised: What room in there for UNO in the shadow of Creighton (currently #7 in the nation in MBB attendance, 4 miles away) and the Univ Nebraska (currently #13, just 55 miles away)? But support for UNOmaha is growing.
When university administrators think about going D1, their thought process is different than a sport's fan. They are thinking "How will this affect the profile of our university?" more than "What will be our won-loss record?" I think UNO administrators are very pleased with the transformation taking place at UNO. Sports was not the only thing they did, but it was a key thing.
From UCCS's website: UCCS is repeatedly ranked highly for our undergraduate, graduate, online programs and much more. U.S. News & World Report calls UCCS a top-10 public university in the West
Maybe being part of the Western Athletic Conference can help promote and expand that identity. That's how I would pitch it if I worked for Jeff Hurd.
http://stats.ncaa.org/reports/attendance?id=17900
If you're already "there" in some respects, do you really need to make the investment?
Omaha has Berkshire Hathaway, is a larger market overall, and it's not nearly as much in Kansas City's sphere of influence as C-Springs is in Denver's. Furthermore, let's say this about UNO... with hockey, they offered something that Creighton didn't have and was able to grow from there. What would UCCS do?
Not that they're trying (and we'd probably already know by now if they were), just that this discussion was already swimming in the Northern Pacific rather than anywhere that could catch fire.
(03-20-2019 02:50 PM)Pounder Wrote: [ -> ]Not that they're trying (and we'd probably already know by now if they were), just that this discussion was already swimming in the Northern Pacific rather than anywhere that could catch fire.
Yeah, I admit that I am kind of "
fishing" for a potential move up.
Hockey does make the dynamics different at UNO. But the hockey crowd (which has averaged 6000-8000) wasn't going to basketball or volleyball games (which numbered in the 100s). I would argue they were more "hockey" fans than "UNO" fans, given the history of hockey in Omaha. But UNO had something to build on.