RE: Any movement before July 2021?
This is what I've been told on the WIU/OVC/MVC business.
1) Like almost every other realignment move, these things take time.
2) There *have* been conversations. The idea that WIU would never want to talk to the OVC in any circumstances just isn't true. Yes, going from the MVC to the OVC would be a "downgrade" as far as football is concerned, but the last year should have made it very clear that under the right circumstances, schools are prepared to leave conferences for less prestigious offerings at the FCS level, if money, institutional fit, etc are in line.
3) There is an element of monetary savings involved here, but when we talk about saving money, we're talking more about the future cost curves. WIU is not in a healthy place as an institution, and this donor base, never particularly large, is close to tapped out. The state isn't going to meaningfully bail them out. If you're already not competitive in the MVC, and you believe your costs are likely to increase even more over the next decade, looking elsewhere may make sense.
4) The way it's been explained to me, one of the OVC's big concerns is how competitive WIU might be THERE. If you stink at football, *really* stink at basketball, aren't great at baseball, and primarily are there to help with scheduling, maybe not every institution is wild about your value.
5) FWIW, staffers at three different MVC schools have told me "man, I wish those guys would leave."
6) There is no chance in hell WIU is getting a full sports MVC invite, especially given what I've reported about the current MVC expansion philosophy.
I think this move is more likely to happen eventually than not, but a lot can change this summer.
(This post was last modified: 06-04-2021 08:12 AM by MattBrownEP.)
|