(05-12-2023 04:35 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(05-12-2023 04:18 PM)nodak651 Wrote:  

(05-12-2023 04:02 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  WIU and the OVC are a good fit. The Summit footprint has drifted west and they were out of their depth playing MVFC football.

I think the smart I’ve for the Summit would be to look at 1 (or all 3) of:

Minn St Mankato (fb) (hockey)
Minn-Duluth (fb) (hockey)
St. Cloud St (hockey)

From what I understand, the Gophers wouldn't allow Duluth to move up (same university system). SCSU is also broke. Mankato, however, is located perfectly between the Dakota Schools, St. Thomas, Omaha, and UMKC, and they are in close proximity to the conference basketball location in Sioux Falls. They also have a D1 ready basketball venue and a potential major booster in Glenn Taylor.

Do the Dakotas have enough sway to get Minn St into the MVFC?
What about getting them into the NCHC?

If they could make those two things, or at least the first, happen, I think that makes a lot of sense.

I also think that in the long run it makes sense for the Summit to absorb all or most of the NCHC so they can stop worrying about maintaining enough baseball and men’s soccer teams.

The problem is the Summit League doesn't even have a full consensus of the Summit members in the NCHC.

From Schlossman:
"Although a couple of NCHC teams backed the idea of moving under the Summit's umbrella, others balked and it does not appear there's a large enough consensus to make such a move at this time.

A major concern is that hockey will be an afterthought in Summit League, where the majority of full members don't sponsor the sport. That could especially be the case if Fenton ever leaves for another job."