I will admit it: I like the OVC a ton more than I did the Belt. The geographic footprint is much more compact, which cuts costs and makes the schedule have more of a feel of "these are teams we ought to be playing," instead of "why in the world are we playing this team?" And we escaped that irritating, condescending football snobbery. And we are much more competitive. It is just a far better fit, in my humble opinion. Sure, the OVC is not as highly ranked, but who cares?

(02-07-2023 11:23 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  I will admit it: I like the OVC a ton more than I did the Belt. The geographic footprint is much more compact, which cuts costs and makes the schedule have more of a feel of "these are teams we ought to be playing," instead of "why in the world are we playing this team?" And we escaped that irritating, condescending football snobbery. And we are much more competitive. It is just a far better fit, in my humble opinion. Sure, the OVC is not as highly ranked, but who cares?

I have to agree after being quite skeptical at first. It was bad enough having to travel GaSou, Coastal Carolina (almost 900 miles), and APPST (which I heard was a terrible trek), but now the league has Marshall (700 miles), James Madison (900 miles), and ODU (1050 miles). Those trips would be a terrible drain on our limited budget. Our facilities, budgets, attendance, and enrollment are much more aligned with the Ohio Valley schools. No matter what the computers say, the competition in the OVC is plenty tough enough for us in all the sports we have played so far. While the women's basketball team will finish in the Top 2, they certainly are not running away with the league title (they could still win it, but an undisputed first place finish appears unlikely at the moment). I am interested to see what happens in baseball. It does appear that we may be the top program in golf, but we shall see. Other than ASU, there is no team in the Sun Belt that would be more of a natural draw than any team in the OVC. While I was way off thinking we would compete for the title in men's basketball, this season, I believe when we get our house in order we will be regularly competing for the championship in men's basketball. Finally, while the OVC has football (FCS), it certainly does not drive the conference like it does in the Belt.

(02-07-2023 11:23 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  I will admit it: I like the OVC a ton more than I did the Belt. The geographic footprint is much more compact, which cuts costs and makes the schedule have more of a feel of "these are teams we ought to be playing," instead of "why in the world are we playing this team?" And we escaped that irritating, condescending football snobbery. And we are much more competitive. It is just a far better fit, in my humble opinion. Sure, the OVC is not as highly ranked, but who cares?

The OVC looks to be a great fit for USI as well as we start our D1 transition. I'm surprised how much parity there is - any team can legitimately win on any night. We are also spoiled to be dead center geographically in the league while you all are on the far reaches.

Looking forward to seeing how these last few weeks play out. Some critical games left on the schedule to earn one of the top 8 spots.

(02-07-2023 12:12 PM)schnautza Wrote:  

(02-07-2023 11:23 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  I will admit it: I like the OVC a ton more than I did the Belt. The geographic footprint is much more compact, which cuts costs and makes the schedule have more of a feel of "these are teams we ought to be playing," instead of "why in the world are we playing this team?" And we escaped that irritating, condescending football snobbery. And we are much more competitive. It is just a far better fit, in my humble opinion. Sure, the OVC is not as highly ranked, but who cares?

The OVC looks to be a great fit for USI as well as we start our D1 transition. I'm surprised how much parity there is - any team can legitimately win on any night. We are also spoiled to be dead center geographically in the league while you all are on the far reaches.

Looking forward to seeing how these last few weeks play out. Some critical games left on the schedule to earn one of the top 8 spots.

I was impressed by your facility, fan support, and team when I attended our game in Evansville. Didn't expect you to be this competitive right away. USI is certainly a great addition to the league.