In addition to Belmont and Murray State, the Missouri Valley is adding UIC. Announced Tuesday. The Flames are leaving the Horizon after about two decades. No word on whether the MVFC will accept Murray State football; maybe someone else has an update. Just an FYI for anyone concerned about competition for attention in the Chicago market. Read somewhere that the MVC's production team works with NBC Chicago.

There are a ton of links out there on this. Here's just one:

https://mvc-sports.com/news/2022/1/26/ge...rence.aspx

(02-03-2022 06:56 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  In addition to Belmont and Murray State, the Missouri Valley is adding UIC. Announced Tuesday. The Flames are leaving the Horizon after 28 years. No word on whether the MVFC will accept Murray State football; maybe someone else has an update. Just an FYI for anyone concerned about competition for attention in the Chicago market. Read somewhere that the MVC's production team works with NBC Chicago.

(Would post links but there are a ton of them out there on this.)

Just think what could be if the MAC production team worked with stations in not only Chicago but with stations in Detroit, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Buffalo.

Yeah. It would be nice. Remember, though, that the MAC HQ is a private entity and doesn't have to tell us anything (just like not disclosing details of the MAC-ESPN contract, which might contain some language about contracts with other tv media).

From Valley Hoops Insider, Jan. 22 (prior to the formal announcement):
"The Valley’s in-house television production team has contracts with NBC Chicago, so this addition continues the league’s ability to advertise into one of the nation’s largest cities."

I hope the MAC has some long-term strategy in mind, because the Sun Belt, possibly CUSA, American and now the MVC are all making moves to get better, grab more attention, whatever. In the meantime, we sit with a mostly secret contract that doesn't expire end of 2026 (Jan 2027, or...?) waving our stability and MACtion flags.

(Also corrected original post ... UIC joined the Horizon for the 2001-02 season, about two decades, not 28 years.)

(02-03-2022 07:24 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  Yeah. It would be nice. Remember, though, that the MAC HQ is a private entity and doesn't have to tell us anything (just like not disclosing details of the MAC-ESPN contract, which might contain some language about contracts with other tv media).

From Valley Hoops Insider, Jan. 22 (prior to the formal announcement):
"The Valley’s in-house television production team has contracts with NBC Chicago, so this addition continues the league’s ability to advertise into one of the nation’s largest cities."

I hope the MAC has some long-term strategy in mind, because the Sun Belt, possibly CUSA, American and now the MVC are all making moves to get better, grab more attention, whatever. In the meantime, we sit with a mostly secret contract that doesn't expire end of 2026 (Jan 2027, or...?) waving our stability and MACtion flags.

... just frustrated. And things are dull right now. And I really, really don't want to go deal with all that snow.

I hear ya, PVK, the MAC had the opportunity to do something from the fallout of Texas and OU going to the SEC but did nothing. Even though the Big 10, ACC, and PAC10 did not expand they at least did something exciting by signing an OOC agreement.

I really wish the WKU/MTSU expansion talks did not collapse. Not only would it have extended the footprint South and some decent weather in the later months, but would have attracted the Louisville and & Nashville markets. Plus they would have brought in a long standing rivalry that has been established for a century.
I know MTSU backed out but still, it should have been.

The Horizon is the renamed Midwestern Collegiate Conference, so UIC had been in the same spot 28 years.

This is a pretty good grab for the MVC.

They lost the Chicago market when Loyola chose to go to the A-10 (which I think is a really good move for them) but then replaced the caliber of team when they grabbed Belmont (very similar makeup and type of school, also an immediate replacement of Loyola at the top of the conference) along with Murray State which pushed their footprint south but also added two mid-major basketball powerhouses.

Then, not to rest on their laurels, they regain the Chicago market with UIC. The Flames are no Loyola but they don't have to be. The MVC replaced 1 really good team with two and then kept the Chicago market.

Quite savvy.

(02-03-2022 08:11 AM)Max Power Wrote:  The Horizon is the renamed Midwestern Collegiate Conference, so UIC had been in the same spot 28 years.

Thanks. Forgot about that.

Also, reply to Big Red ... now we get to see what the Horizon does. Southern Indiana has just completed a study of going DII>DI, and the Horizon already has IUPUI and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Evansville right across town too. With what USI invested in their facilities, wouldn't take much. Horizon could also pick up Chicago State to get back into Chicago but -- nothing against CSU -- that's iffy at best for now.

I also think the MAC can forget adding Illinois State to pair with WKU (I favored that for a while when MTSU dropped off) since the MVC seems determined to restore/establish itself as a two-bid league. Waiting to see if Murray State gets a fb invite to the MVFC (or did it?).

So much happening ... everywhere else.

(02-03-2022 08:50 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:11 AM)Max Power Wrote:  The Horizon is the renamed Midwestern Collegiate Conference, so UIC had been in the same spot 28 years.

Thanks. Forgot about that.

Also, reply to Big Red ... now we get to see what the Horizon does. Southern Indiana has just completed a study of going DII>DI, and the Horizon already has IUPUI and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Evansville right across town too. With what USI invested in their facilities, wouldn't take much. Horizon could also pick up Chicago State to get back into Chicago but -- nothing against CSU -- that's iffy at best for now.

I also think the MAC can forget adding Illinois State to pair with WKU (I favored that for a while when MTSU dropped off) since the MVC seems determined to restore/establish itself as a two-bid league. Waiting to see if Murray State gets a fb invite to the MVFC (or did it?).

So much happening ... everywhere else.

I was just thinking about CSU to the Horizon.

It's not a great grab but it regains them the Chicago market.

(02-03-2022 09:11 AM)Big Red Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:50 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:11 AM)Max Power Wrote:  The Horizon is the renamed Midwestern Collegiate Conference, so UIC had been in the same spot 28 years.

Thanks. Forgot about that.

Also, reply to Big Red ... now we get to see what the Horizon does. Southern Indiana has just completed a study of going DII>DI, and the Horizon already has IUPUI and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Evansville right across town too. With what USI invested in their facilities, wouldn't take much. Horizon could also pick up Chicago State to get back into Chicago but -- nothing against CSU -- that's iffy at best for now.

I also think the MAC can forget adding Illinois State to pair with WKU (I favored that for a while when MTSU dropped off) since the MVC seems determined to restore/establish itself as a two-bid league. Waiting to see if Murray State gets a fb invite to the MVFC (or did it?).

So much happening ... everywhere else.

I was just thinking about CSU to the Horizon.

It's not a great grab but it regains them the Chicago market.

For CSU, it would cut down travel expenses immensely. Money that they could use internally.

(02-03-2022 06:56 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  In addition to Belmont and Murray State, the Missouri Valley is adding UIC. Announced Tuesday. The Flames are leaving the Horizon after about two decades. No word on whether the MVFC will accept Murray State football; maybe someone else has an update. Just an FYI for anyone concerned about competition for attention in the Chicago market. Read somewhere that the MVC's production team works with NBC Chicago.

There are a ton of links out there on this. Here's just one:

https://mvc-sports.com/news/2022/1/26/ge...rence.aspx

Now makes sense why ISU football is on NBC Sports.

Meanwhile, NIU and MAC is tied into ESPN. Great for those 3-4 weekday football games a year and the national exposure that no doubt has let our football recruiting expand and evolve.

But for local coverage, every other sport such namely basketball it it does nothing for NIU or any other MAC team just outside of a large market.

(02-03-2022 08:50 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:11 AM)Max Power Wrote:  The Horizon is the renamed Midwestern Collegiate Conference, so UIC had been in the same spot 28 years.

Thanks. Forgot about that.

Also, reply to Big Red ... now we get to see what the Horizon does. Southern Indiana has just completed a study of going DII>DI, and the Horizon already has IUPUI and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Evansville right across town too. With what USI invested in their facilities, wouldn't take much. Horizon could also pick up Chicago State to get back into Chicago but -- nothing against CSU -- that's iffy at best for now.

I also think the MAC can forget adding Illinois State to pair with WKU (I favored that for a while when MTSU dropped off) since the MVC seems determined to restore/establish itself as a two-bid league. Waiting to see if Murray State gets a fb invite to the MVFC (or did it?).

So much happening ... everywhere else.

Watch out. They have won 6 games this year I saw. 1ST conf win in 4 I think. Baby steps.

(02-03-2022 10:49 AM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:50 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:11 AM)Max Power Wrote:  The Horizon is the renamed Midwestern Collegiate Conference, so UIC had been in the same spot 28 years.

Thanks. Forgot about that.

Also, reply to Big Red ... now we get to see what the Horizon does. Southern Indiana has just completed a study of going DII>DI, and the Horizon already has IUPUI and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Evansville right across town too. With what USI invested in their facilities, wouldn't take much. Horizon could also pick up Chicago State to get back into Chicago but -- nothing against CSU -- that's iffy at best for now.

I also think the MAC can forget adding Illinois State to pair with WKU (I favored that for a while when MTSU dropped off) since the MVC seems determined to restore/establish itself as a two-bid league. Waiting to see if Murray State gets a fb invite to the MVFC (or did it?).

So much happening ... everywhere else.

Watch out. They have won 6 games this year I saw. 1ST conf win in 4 I think. Baby steps.

Chicago State going Division I reminds me of us going "Big Time" in '84. We both wandered aimlessly as an independent and then joined a conference that did not make sense geographicly.

I just saw an article on their website that on Jan. of '21, they were going to leave the WAC after the 2022 season. It doesn't say if it will join another conference or go Independent. It says nothing about the future.
I wonder if they are going to downgrade the basketball program.

(02-03-2022 10:49 AM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:50 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:11 AM)Max Power Wrote:  The Horizon is the renamed Midwestern Collegiate Conference, so UIC had been in the same spot 28 years.

Thanks. Forgot about that.

Also, reply to Big Red ... now we get to see what the Horizon does. Southern Indiana has just completed a study of going DII>DI, and the Horizon already has IUPUI and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Evansville right across town too. With what USI invested in their facilities, wouldn't take much. Horizon could also pick up Chicago State to get back into Chicago but -- nothing against CSU -- that's iffy at best for now.

I also think the MAC can forget adding Illinois State to pair with WKU (I favored that for a while when MTSU dropped off) since the MVC seems determined to restore/establish itself as a two-bid league. Waiting to see if Murray State gets a fb invite to the MVFC (or did it?).

So much happening ... everywhere else.

Watch out. They have won 6 games this year I saw. 1ST conf win in 4 I think. Baby steps.

They're still terrible but not as bad. Currently, in the WAC, somehow Lamar is way worse than Chicago State and if they were in the Horizon League this year, they'd probably be ahead of IUPUI.

Like you said...baby steps. But, they're in a positive direction.

(02-03-2022 11:37 AM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 10:49 AM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:50 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 08:11 AM)Max Power Wrote:  The Horizon is the renamed Midwestern Collegiate Conference, so UIC had been in the same spot 28 years.

Thanks. Forgot about that.

Also, reply to Big Red ... now we get to see what the Horizon does. Southern Indiana has just completed a study of going DII>DI, and the Horizon already has IUPUI and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Evansville right across town too. With what USI invested in their facilities, wouldn't take much. Horizon could also pick up Chicago State to get back into Chicago but -- nothing against CSU -- that's iffy at best for now.

I also think the MAC can forget adding Illinois State to pair with WKU (I favored that for a while when MTSU dropped off) since the MVC seems determined to restore/establish itself as a two-bid league. Waiting to see if Murray State gets a fb invite to the MVFC (or did it?).

So much happening ... everywhere else.

Watch out. They have won 6 games this year I saw. 1ST conf win in 4 I think. Baby steps.

Chicago State going Division I reminds me of us going "Big Time" in '84. We both wandered aimlessly as an independent and then joined a conference that did not make sense geographicly.

I just saw an article on their website that on Jan. of '21, they were going to leave the WAC after the 2022 season. It doesn't say if it will join another conference or go Independent. It says nothing about the future.
I wonder if they are going to downgrade the basketball program.

Chicago State joined the WAC along with Kansas City as part of an East expansion that never developed beyond those two schools until this year which added a bunch of Texas teams from the Southland Conference.

At least Kansas City fits somewhat geographically in that conference. Chicago State still doesn't.

Along the same lines, Seattle U doesn't fit either. No one is remotely close (although, at least the time zones are similar and/or the same for them). But I believe the closest school in the conference to Seattle is Dixie State and that still almost 1,200 miles.

Actually Utah Valley is a little closer at 877 miles.

CSU has undergraduate enrollment of 1700 students. Find me a conference they would add value?

(02-03-2022 11:57 AM)NIU75 Wrote:  CSU has undergraduate enrollment of 1700 students. Find me a conference they would add value?

Any conference or a Division 1 conference?

(02-03-2022 11:57 AM)NIU75 Wrote:  CSU has undergraduate enrollment of 1700 students. Find me a conference they would add value?

Chicago State is in over its head when it comes to Division I conference affiliation. It would be better off dropping to D II and begging the Great Lakes Valley Conference to let them join.

(02-03-2022 08:41 AM)Big Red Wrote:  This is a pretty good grab for the MVC.

They lost the Chicago market when Loyola chose to go to the A-10 (which I think is a really good move for them) but then replaced the caliber of team when they grabbed Belmont (very similar makeup and type of school, also an immediate replacement of Loyola at the top of the conference) along with Murray State which pushed their footprint south but also added two mid-major basketball powerhouses.

Then, not to rest on their laurels, they regain the Chicago market with UIC. The Flames are no Loyola but they don't have to be. The MVC replaced 1 really good team with two and then kept the Chicago market.

Quite savvy.

Good for them for trying something, but the changes they made do not bring them up very much. Still a one bid league with lowish double digit NCAA seeding. Glory days are long gone for MVC.

(02-03-2022 11:57 AM)NIU75 Wrote:  CSU has undergraduate enrollment of 1700 students. Find me a conference they would add value?

That is a dead school. A shame, they need something in that area. How upside can their budget be with only 2k students? How big was CSU in its heyday?

(02-03-2022 12:53 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(02-03-2022 11:57 AM)NIU75 Wrote:  CSU has undergraduate enrollment of 1700 students. Find me a conference they would add value?

That is a dead school. A shame, they need something in that area. How upside can their budget be with only 2k students? How bug was CSU in its heyday?

I don't think it had a heyday for athletics. It was an educational hub in the 60's and 70's.