illwauk

Oakland to the Horizon League Oakland is no Butler, but they're a HUGE upgrade from Loyola. Whether they realize it or not, MVC did the HL a huge solid by taking the Ramblers off their hands.

I think you can bank on the Pac 12 (16?) (20?) will be one of the last four. No way are the California schools ever leaving the conference, and no chance the Oregon and Washington schools are leaving for a conference that doesn't have the California schools.

Not to mention, Loyola doesn't even play baseball, which I thought was pretty important in the MVC, but apparently Loyola's promise to increase its athletic budget to $15M was enough for them. I would imagine the rest of the H-League is quite happy about this, since losing UIC or Valpo would've been much more damaging. Oakland is actually an upgrade over Loyola and makes the league the strongest its been since Butler left.

The Pac-12 as a conference doesn't have problems with private religious institutions, but some of the member schools (see: "Science, Not God!" Snobs at Stanford) are more than happy to block a religious school. Also, the two UC-system schools (UCLA, Cal) have given off the impression that they would not want to mix the "Californias" and the "California States". So in theory, schools like UC-Irvine and UC-Santa Cruz would stand a better chance than San Diego State, San Jose State, Cal State Fullerton, etc... Of course SDSU is probably the next best athletic department out there besides the "Big 4 Californias" that are already in the Pac-12. Finally, the league strongly prefers major research institutions, so that's another strike against schools like UNLV and especially Boise State. Up until recently, BSU offered a Truck Driving Program and they're basically the academic equivalent of ITT Tech. The Pac-12 really can't seem to get a consistent message or concept about what they want. I think it's quite clear what they want, they've just tapped the bottom of the well as far as what's available without reaching further into Big XII country.

In a world where Missouri is "Southeastern" and Colorado is "Pacific," that still doesn't bother me. At least those towns can still qualify as "metro" under the broadest definition of the word.

UIC to the Missouri Valley, Oakland to the Horizon League

"Metro" doesn't refer to a region, which makes it perfect for this league. Greenville, NC may not be a bustling metropolis, but neither were Blacksburg, VA or Hattiesburg, MS.

They thought THAT name was better than bringing back the Metro? I suppose the latter is too logical and intuitive for the modern NCAA.

UMKC to get Missouri Valley Conference visit Loyola, UIC, and Valparaiso are also mentioned in the article, but not Milwaukee. I knew the whole thing seemed too good to be true considering the fustercluck thats been going on in our athletic department.

Marge vs. The Monorail and what was the other one? $pringfield

Really, all that's happening is that the BCS is becoming the new FBS, and the mid-major FBS conferences are becoming the new FCS.

Green Bay's athletic budget is way too small for the MVC's liking, and if the 3 Illinois schools won't let UIC in despite being a major market team with an on-campus arena and a shiny new baseball field, they're definitely not going to change their mind for NIU. As much as I want Milwaukee to join, even I have to admit UIC would probably be the best possible addition for the MVC if not for the politics surrounding both parties.

Considering 7/9ths of the Horizon League jumped to there from the Summit/Mid-Con, I'd say that's a fair statement. Although before the mass exodus of Mid-Con teams to the MCC (Horizon), it was actually considered a step up from the OVC. Youngstown State left the OVC for the Mid-Con in the late 80s.

It's really not all that surprising when you consider Marquette, Notre Dame, Xavier, Dayton and Saint Louis have all been Horizon League members at one point or another. Not two years before joining the Big East/Catholic 7 (at least that I can recall . . . but then I don't remember Notre Dame being in the MCC/Horizon League). It's not so much the path that is surprising as it is the speed with which they made the journey. Notre Dame did actually jump straight to the Big East from the MCC. You probably don't remember because I certainly don't remember anyone caring about Notre Dame basketball until they made the jump. That's not to take anything away from Butler's success, of course... they deserve every bit of the rewards they're reaping. D'oh! Once again I've mashed up the MVC membership with the MVFC membership in my head. Encouraging news for Milwaukee if true, but I'm not sure how seriously I can take that report since it says they're looking at "schools in or near major markets in the geographic footprint of the Valley and with strong basketball tradition." Basketball is more/less an afterthought at Denver... their flagship sport is hockey. I don't know much about Belmont, but after some quick research, the only knock on them I can see is that their arena is small (5,085 capacity) by MVC standards. That, or the MVC must really not be impressed with the competition they've faced in the OVC (especially if they want our dysfunctional arses).

I'm honestly surprised they invited Creighton already... I figured they'd wait at least a year. Now half the Horizon League is jockeying for position to replace them in the Missouri Valley. I'd say the most likely candidates are UIC, Wright State and Milwaukee, in that order. My guess is all but the four Illinois teams would love to have UIC, but I'm not sure how that effects their chances of joining one way or the other. Wright State has an on-campus arena and plays baseball, but if Milwaukee might leap-frog their way to the top of the MVC want list if they take ownership of the old MECCA building. It's really not all that surprising when you consider Marquette, Notre Dame, Xavier, Dayton and Saint Louis have all been Horizon League members at one point or another.

More schools need to extort even more money out of their student bodies? These teams aren't independently financially viable. As far as the money directly generated by them... no, most don't. But schools that don't have football tend to have a much harder time soliciting alumni donations... especially in the fall when most alumni donations are made. Not to mention it's one of the most effective ways for a university to get its name and brand out there. I agree these programs shouldn't be a reason for schools to squeeze even more money from their students, but there are legit reasons why so many schools still keep them around.

That cycling club WAS Montreal AAA... they called themselves an ATHLETIC association because they played more than one sport.

UGH! This stupid NY/NJ statue debate is EXACTLY why I hesitated to bring up the Lady Liberty sweaters in this thread... thanks, Cody.

Shatel: Arch Madness ... or melancholy? More speculation about Creighton... this one specify's Milwaukee as their possible replacement in the MVC.

No chance Loyola would get invited over UIC. Baseball is very important to the MVC, and they're definitely not going to pass up a school that's getting a brand new facility over one that doesn't even have baseball. The only knock on UIC also holds for Loyola... 3 Illinois schools are already members of the MVC. Milwaukee would still be the biggest media market in the MVC, but we'd also expand their footprint. Perfect opportunity for us if our athletic department can just get its together, but... as anyone familiar with our situation could tell you... that's a much bigger "if" than it probably should have ever became. We did just hire a new Athletic Director who understands our need for new facilities though, so we shall see.

UIC plays in a large media market, has an on-campus arena, and is getting a shiny new ballpark for its baseball team (the second-most important sport in the MVC), I'm pretty sure they're near the top of the want list. I do know Milwaukee's had interest in joining the MVC ever since the Bruce Pearl days, but including interims, we've ran through five athletic directors since then and just hired a sixth. The biggest knock on us is that we don't have an (adequate) on-campus arena, but owning (rather than simply renting) the old MECCA might change their mind. We also have money set aside for a new ballpark, but East Milwaukee real estate is more expensive than you think, and finding a place near campus to actually put it is proving to be problematic. Hopefully the if the Big East offers Creighton membership, they wait awhile (read: at least a year) to do so.

Totally agree. I think it's derivative of a bigger-picture "unpopular opinion" of mine, which is that animal full body logos are usually (not always) better than head logos. This logo > any of the bear face logos Coyotes alt logo > primary logo "Leaping Bengal" > "Bengal head" Jags original sleeve patch > either jags head logo Lions helmet logo > any "lion head" rendering that people were doing. Agreed, one thousand percent. How many ways are there to really draw an animal head? Especially the big jungle cats that are used by so many colleges and high schools? With a full-body logo, you can go anthropomorphic, static and dignified, action/attack oriented, and so many other directions.

(Inspired by the Cubs Focus Group thread) This... ...is an awesome logo; and that's from a Brewers fan.

I'd argue that Virginia Tech joining the ACC was a good move for them. They've been in the thick of the conference championship picture for most of their time in the ACC. That's fair, although I wasn't really thinking that far back. The whole Big East/ACC defection with Miami, VT and Boston College was for the best. My point was more towards this notion of the coming super conferences. I'd disagree... I'm pretty sure the ACC cannibalizing the Big East will one day be looked at as the point at which college football jumped the shark, if it isn't already.

I hated the Rangers' "Lady Liberty" sweaters and really don't understand the folks who want to see them replace one of the most classic sweaters in the history of hockey. Most New Yorkers have only visited the statue once, on a middle-school field trip... how is that a good symbol for a team representing New York City?