Below is the map of the Summit League starting in July 2021. Just subtract Fort Wayne and add UMKC.
They'll be at a nice, round 10 members, good for an 18-game, double round robin conference season.
The geography makes a decent amount of sense:
- Six chools close to I-29
- A seventh school (ORU) in that same north-south direction.
- An eighth (St. Thomas) within reasonable driving distance of the Dakota schools and UNO.
- A ninth (WIU), the only original member, that isn't too far from two of the I-29 schools.
- Only one real outlier in Denver.
I think they'll be more interested in Augustana from South Dakota than they'd be in Chicago State.
With the OVC and Horizon both at 12, what would be their incentive to add a school struggling as much as CSU is?