(05-12-2021 03:47 PM)solohawks Wrote:  

(05-12-2021 03:15 PM)johnintx Wrote:  

(05-12-2021 01:51 PM)solohawks Wrote:  Circling back to this, the MVC already has Dallas Baptist as a baseball affiliate. I wonder if this affiliation has lead the MVC to look at a full member in Dallas. UTA doesn't sponsor soccer so the big travel increases would be for M/W basketball, softball, and volleyball. Everyone would also get an annual trip to TX in baseball between UTA and Dallas Baptist.

I'm sure their existing baseball trips to Dallas haven't hurt the idea of UTA as a full-time member. The members are now aware of what it takes to travel to north Texas.

DFW is way out of the existing MVC footprint. And, the MVC is primarily a bus league. But, DFW is a massive airline hub, with flights to MVC cities Chicago (Loyola...Valpo is a haul from ORD, a little closer to Midway), Des Moines (Drake), Peoria (Bradley), Bloomington (Illinois State), and Springfield (Missouri State). There is no flight from DFW to Waterloo (UNI), but the UNI campus is 1:12 from the Cedar Rapids airport. Indiana State is 1:09 from the Indianapolis airport. SIU...well, that's hard to get to from anywhere. For this deal, get a sponsorship with American Airlines and you're set.

I'm still not sold on this from the perspective of either UTA or the MVC, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

I could see UTA being the more hesitant party.

They have a pretty good regional setup in the Sunbelt West and also the opportunity to add FBS football if they ever want to do so. That opportunity, however minute it may be, is forfeited if they leave the Sunbelt

They're not adding FBS football any time soon. They're competing with four pro sports franchises and three FBS football programs in the area. That's a steep hill to climb. And, I can't see where there would be enough for UTA to gain with such a move to make it worthwhile. The Valley is a better basketball conference, but is it worth them leaving the Sun Belt? We'll see what happens.