(05-10-2022 05:06 PM)MU88 Wrote:  

(05-10-2022 03:46 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I feel (and many others seemingly do too) the A10 is going to get a very nice boost with the addition of Loyola, while the WCC will dip with the departure of BYU. This will firmly make the A10 the "No. 2 non-FBS football league." And if the Big East sees Nova slip (which could happen with the departure of Jay Wright) and traditional powers Saint John's and Georgetown continue to fumble and bumble about ... the A10 could close the gap some on the BE.

As a Belmont fan, I don't want to be a homer and note the MVC is going to elevate significantly with the additions of BU and Murray. Plus, the loss of Loyola will sting. So I rank the MVC at "3B."

A league I feel is underrated in men's hoops: the Ivy.

I don't think the A-10 will get a boost for Loyola. Loyola has a few nice seasons over the past 10 years, but overall, have struggled for a long period of time. They found lightning in a bottle the past few years, but the coach is gone and I can see them fall back significantly. We'll see.

This is likely to be correct. The remnants of Porter and Krutwig are soon to be gone and Loyola will be back in another drought. They graduate a crapton of seniors this year and next year, and recruiting hasn’t replenished that talent so far.

Yeah, the part I fear is that potential for “settling in,” where a school/program gets to a good place and then fails/chooses not to commit more toward their own or the conference’s overall success. The A10 has/had its share of those.

(05-10-2022 05:06 PM)MU88 Wrote:  

(05-10-2022 03:46 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I feel (and many others seemingly do too) the A10 is going to get a very nice boost with the addition of Loyola, while the WCC will dip with the departure of BYU. This will firmly make the A10 the "No. 2 non-FBS football league." And if the Big East sees Nova slip (which could happen with the departure of Jay Wright) and traditional powers Saint John's and Georgetown continue to fumble and bumble about ... the A10 could close the gap some on the BE.

As a Belmont fan, I don't want to be a homer and note the MVC is going to elevate significantly with the additions of BU and Murray. Plus, the loss of Loyola will sting. So I rank the MVC at "3B."

A league I feel is underrated in men's hoops: the Ivy.

I don't think the A-10 will get a boost for Loyola. Loyola has a few nice seasons over the past 10 years, but overall, have struggled for a long period of time. They found lightning in a bottle the past few years, but the coach is gone and I can see them fall back significantly. We'll see.

Your might be proved correct in a general sense. But I don't foresee Loyola "falling back significantly" (as you note) when it joins the A10. The program has a .534 winning percentage since 1914. Very solid history.