(08-05-2019 09:01 PM)Nittany_Bearcat Wrote:  

(08-05-2019 05:54 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Would Horizon add D2 Wayne State, Mich. as another member? Wayne State could play in MVFC. They are an R1 research school by Carnegie.

I received my Masters from Wayne State - so I'm familiar with them.

I'd be shocked if they move from D2. They seem content there. The school has decent academic chops and most Detroit-ers know that. But D1 athletics would cost significantly more $$$ and likely not gain them further publicity in the Detroit market.

EMU is already there as a D-1 school that gets ZERO attention in the Detroit market. That's the "canary in the coal mine" as regards Wayne State and a potential move-up.

I mentioned NoCo in a previous post and I can say this as I now live in Denver. They have been utterly irrelevant since their D2 move-up. A legitimately good D2 football school that is now a complete non-entity at the FCS level. They simply don't exist in the minds of the Denver media. They rank behind the 5 pro sports teams, the lacrosse team, the rodeo in town every January, and all of CU, CSU, Wyoming, AFA, DU hockey, KU hoops and UNL football in the minds of locals.

NoCo is the "2nd canary in the coal mine" as regards WSU and a D-1 move-up.

It's simply HARD to be a lower-tier D1 school in (1) a large DMA that (2) contains many professional pro teams AND (3) contains many other higher-tier D1 schools.

There are other D2 move ups that have done well like Boise State, Jacksonville State, Troy, North Dakota State, UNLV, UNR, South Dakota State, Northern Kentucky, Belmont, Delaware, Youngstown State, Eastern Washington, UCA, UC-Davis and so forth. Wayne State do have the money to recruit better than Eastern Michigan. There is like a very few like Omaha not doing well. UNC did made it to the FCS playoffs and the 68 team field for men's basketball.