KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

Apologies if this was posted elsewhere here, but I just saw that Valparaiso has gained admittance to the Missouri Valley Conference. I know their name was occasionally mentioned as a possible A-10 candidate; that would appear to be off the table....

Good move by MVC

NHRamFan wrote:Apologies if this was posted elsewhere here, but I just saw that Valparaiso has gained admittance to the Missouri Valley Conference. I know their name was occasionally mentioned as a possible A-10 candidate; that would appear to be off the table....

For now, depending on the agreement they signed. They went from a one bid conference to a better one bid conference that has an outside shot of getting an at large if everything breaks right.

This will be Valpo's third league since going D1 back in 1978-79. They were independent the first four seasons before joining (1982-83) the Mid-Continent Conference (which later became the Summit League). They became a Horizon League member in 2007-08. They have made nine NCAA appearances in their short D1 tenure mainly as a result of dominating the Mid-Continent getting its automatic bid seven times. It was not as dominant in the more competitive Horizon getting the auto-bid just twice in ten seasons. It will be interesting to see how they do in an even tougher league such as the MVC.

RF1 wrote:This will be Valpo's third league since going D1 back in 1978-79. They were independent the first four seasons before joining (1982-83) the Mid-Continent Conference (which later became the Summit League). They became a Horizon League member in 2007-08. They have made none NCAA appearances in their short D1 tenure mainly as a result of dominating the Mid-Continent getting its automatic bid seven times. It was not as dominant in the more competitive Horizon getting the auto-bid just twice in ten seasons. It will be interesting to see how they do in an even tougher league such as the MVC.

MVC will not be as competitive without Wichita State . I would be shocked if they get a second bid. Heck they could not even get one this year with Wichita.

woodennickel1 wrote: MVC will not be as competitive without Wichita State . I would be shocked if they get a second bid. Heck they could not even get one this year with Wichita.

It will however be a more difficult prospect for Valpo to win the league tournament and get the MVC automatic bid. The MVC league schedule along with winning the tournament for its automatic bid will be tougher. Valpo dominated the regular season in the Horizon gaining the #1 seed which meant hosting the tournament games. The Crusaders will no longer have that luxury as the entire MVC Tournament (Arch Madness) is always played on a neutral court in St Louis.

RF1 wrote:

woodennickel1 wrote: MVC will not be as competitive without Wichita State . I would be shocked if they get a second bid. Heck they could not even get one this year with Wichita.

It will however be a more difficult prospect for Valpo to win the league tournament and get the MVC automatic bid. The MVC league schedule along with winning the tournament for its automatic bid will be tougher. Valpo dominated the regular season in the Horizon gaining the #1 seed which meant hosting the tournament games. The Crusaders will no longer have that luxury as the entire MVC Tournament (Arch Madness) is always played on a neutral court in St Louis.

Agreed it will be a much tougher road for them now.

Was the A10 not interested in expanding? Seems like Valpo made a lot of sense to help lock down Dayton and SLU.

Though Butler showed that there's no limit on how quick a team can switch conference allegiances.

Blue Man wrote:Was the A10 not interested in expanding? Seems like Valpo made a lot of sense to help lock down Dayton and SLU.

Though Butler showed that there's no limit on how quick a team can switch conference allegiances.

Im ok with not getting Valpo. They smell like a strong candidate to be the next Fordham.

dominate a low major conference
move to a 1 bid mid major and struggle to win consistently
move to a stronger mid major....results unknown

Looks like a recipe to be in over their heads program wise and plummet for it

Da_Process_Survivor wrote:

Blue Man wrote:Was the A10 not interested in expanding? Seems like Valpo made a lot of sense to help lock down Dayton and SLU.

Though Butler showed that there's no limit on how quick a team can switch conference allegiances.

Im ok with not getting Valpo. They smell like a strong candidate to be the next Fordham.

dominate a low major conference
move to a 1 bid mid major and struggle to win consistently
move to a stronger mid major....results unknown

Looks like a recipe to be in over their heads program wise and plummet for it

Fair points, but Fordham didn't exactly dominate the Patriot League before coming up, and Fordham has NEVER had a basketball fanbase, or program history. Valpo is much closer to being a Butler than a Fordham. They at least commit to basketball.

I like Valparaiso. Was A10 in contact?

Valpo would have been a sweet get for the A10 definetly an upgrade over the dregs of our league

Blue Man wrote:Was the A10 not interested in expanding? Seems like Valpo made a lot of sense to help lock down Dayton and SLU.

Though Butler showed that there's no limit on how quick a team can switch conference allegiances.

I'm not sure if there's a viable plan right now for adding teams without getting rid of one or two, and that process is, frustratingly, not easy. Being in the A10 can affect recruiting, not because someone chooses to label it high, mid, or low or because of perception. It's the reality of the situation. Conferences can absorb teams having poor years but not when it's the same programs consistently being awful. URI doesn't have a lot of room to talk with this, but the hope should be that, even in down years, they're still competitive and middle of the pack. For programs like Duquesne and Fordham, middle of the pack would represent success.

Agreed, Ace. Don't see the A10 adding programs unless they drop a couple first, or a couple leave for [perceived] greener pastures.

Perceived in the case of Dayton and either St. Louis or VCU leaving for the AAC, or definitely greener if they were to go to the BE.

But hopefully the A10 has made some preliminary contacts with possible targets just in case. Being proactive is the key here.

ace wrote:

Blue Man wrote:Was the A10 not interested in expanding? Seems like Valpo made a lot of sense to help lock down Dayton and SLU.

Though Butler showed that there's no limit on how quick a team can switch conference allegiances.

URI doesn't have a lot of room to talk with this, but the hope should be that, even in down years, they're still competitive and middle of the pack. For programs like Duquesne and Fordham, middle of the pack would represent success.

What does that mean? What is it in reference to? I'm not trying to troll but I'm wondering what that references exactly outside of obvious things that have been discussed here over and over.

Looking through the standings URI over the past 16 years has placed in the top 6(which I think we consider the top half of the league) 7 years. That's almost half the time URI has been in the top half of the league.

Expand that top 6 standings to top 7 and URI placed in the top 7, 10 years out of the past 16. Also as we all know many of the years ended with losses or losing streaks. URI was even higher in the standings most of the conference schedule before bottoming out at the end putting them further down.

All this to say that URI has been a generally competitive A10 team for a long time, just without the high points.

IDK why that would put us next to the Fordhams and Duquesnes of the world.

16-17 URI finished #3
15-16 URI finished #7
14-15 URI finished #3
13-14 URI finished #10
12-13 URI finished #15
11-12 URI finished #13
10-11 URI finished #6
09-10 URI finished #5
08-09 URI finished #3
07-08 URI finished #9
06-07 URI finished #5
05-06 URI finished #9 (tied for 7 with 4 other teams at 8-8)
04-05 URI finished #11
03-04 URI finished #7
02-03 URI finished #4
01-02 URI finished #12

Seawrightspostgame wrote:Looking through the standings URI over the past 16 years has placed in the top 6(which I think we consider the top half of the league) 7 years. That's almost half the time URI has been in the top half of the league.

Expand that top 6 standings to top 7 and URI placed in the top 7, 10 years out of the past 16. Also as we all know many of the years ended with losses or losing streaks. URI was even higher in the standings most of the conference schedule before bottoming out at the end putting them further down.

All this to say that URI has been a generally competitive A10 team for a long time, just without the high points.

IDK why that would put us next to the Fordhams and Duquesnes of the world.

16-17 URI finished #3
15-16 URI finished #7
14-15 URI finished #3
13-14 URI finished #10
12-13 URI finished #15
11-12 URI finished #13
10-11 URI finished #6
09-10 URI finished #5
08-09 URI finished #3
07-08 URI finished #9
06-07 URI finished #5
05-06 URI finished #9 (tied for 7 with 4 other teams at 8-8)
04-05 URI finished #11
03-04 URI finished #7
02-03 URI finished #4
01-02 URI finished #12

Ace's point is more what has URI brought to the A10 over that time. It doesn't really matter what you finish in the conference if you don't bring any NCAA money in with it. We've brought in 2 credits in those near 20 years. We hadn't contributed any funds to the conference coffers before last season. NIT money only goes to the school, whereas NCAA money goes to the conference to distribute out - majority to the school that got it, but then a division amongst the conference and other teams.

Sure NCAA money is important, but it's also important to not kill conference member's RPIs when you play them. We didn't help a ton, but we didn't do harm either, unlike Fordham and Duquesne.

Seawrightspostgame wrote:IDK why that would put us next to the Fordhams and Duquesnes of the world.

It doesn't, which is why I made a pretty clear distinction between them. It's why I would also make a distinction between teams like George Mason, La Salle and Duquesne, Fordham. URI needed to bring something else to the conference besides "being in the top half almost half of the time" and not being a consistent RPI drain. Which, it turns out, they did. And it was fun.

ace wrote:

Seawrightspostgame wrote:IDK why that would put us next to the Fordhams and Duquesnes of the world.

It doesn't, which is why I made a pretty clear distinction between them. It's why I would also make a distinction between teams like George Mason, La Salle and Duquesne, Fordham. URI needed to bring something else to the conference besides being in the top half almost half of the time and not being a consistent RPI drain. Which, it turns out, they did. And it was fun.

well said on all points, though "fun" doesn't even begin to describe that feeling!