(01-30-2022 01:57 PM)Horsepower Wrote: I saw this week that UIC is leaving the Horizon to become a member of the MVC. That would leave the Horizon with 11 members. I always thought we were a "better" fit in the Horizon. Thoughts? I think the travel would be alot closer, we would not have to deal with the constant talk of teams leaving the ASUN for football and we would gain a potential rival in NKY.
Interesting. Hadn't heard that about UIC.
Yeah, I've always thought that the Horizon is the next step for Bellarmine (and thought it might be the Knights' first D-I conference). I do believe that the university, as far as recruiting for the general student body, has a legit interest in the southeast; but I think a lot of the official talk about that geographic area when when the D-I move was made was just puffery and an expression of appreciation to the ASUN.
I wasn't expecting a BU conference change any time soon, but, with all of the chaos right now as well as the men's basketball doing well, wouldn't be stunned if a Horizon move happened. Down the road (I'm talking a couple of decades or more), I think BU would like to be in, say, the Big East, but who knows what the NCAA, conferences, etc. will even look like then?
A fun conference affiliation note is that the legendary Bob Pfaadt once told me that BU (then BC) inquired about possible membership when Dayton, Cincy, Marquette, DePaul, SLU, etc. formed the short-lived Great Midwest Conference in the early '90s, but was essentially told "thanks, but come back when you've expanded some."