HenryB Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Bernie says a move to the MVC could be part of a Majerus hire. http://www.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=450132 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Law Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 If this is true, it would be awesome for SLU! I saw a good hoops blog that mentioned something similar about members of the SLU family.... By the way, we still hear some members of the SLU family would prefer the school switch allegiance from the A-10 to the geographically desirable Missouri Valley Conference, which played to huge crowds during its conference tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Assuming Bernie's info is right, and it very may well not be correct, I find it interesting that an outside observer such as Majerus would believe strong enough in the value of a move to the Valley to include it in his demands. I've said for a while on this board that I would support a move and of course few agree with that which is fine, but at least from a basketball only standpoint (which ignores the SLU as a national university argument) the Valley makes a lot of sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapes of Wrath Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 I like the idea of playing schools closer to home, too bad Woolard didn't (it was his decision, not CL's). However, it costs money to enter/exit conferences, and, I am told, a substantial (don't know what that means)amount. Adding that to whatever it will cost to sign Majerus would be a budget buster I don't think Biondi would buy. Too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 >Bernie says a move to the MVC could be part of a Majerus >hire. > >http://www.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=450132 I like this guy more everyday. Hire him! Move to the Valley (if they'd have us)! Rekindle the rivalry with Bradley, maintain the rivalry with MoSt and SIU! Beautiful! So much for those of us who got told we were idiots for wanting the change to the MVC, I guess we have some solid supporters now(if this is indeed true) If we switched back to the MVC, and hired Majerus, it could be the dawning of a golden era of SLU basketball... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 >If this is true, it would be awesome for SLU! I saw a good >hoops blog that mentioned something similar about members of >the SLU family.... > >By the way, we still hear some members of the SLU family >would prefer the school switch allegiance from the A-10 to >the geographically desirable Missouri Valley Conference, >which played to huge crowds during its conference >tournament. The Valley averaged a little more than 7500 fans per game this year. Only two schools averaged 10,000 or more. (Creighton far and away the leader, not close). St. Louis area fans will go to any special event run by the St. Louis Sports Commission. This has been proven many times over the years. NCAA Wrestling set NCAA records for attendance. Division 3 tennis will likely do the same next month......all special sporting events college and pro have done well under the STL Sports commission. Womens Final Four is coming back as well. People braved the bitter cold for College Cup soccer sell out. Frozen Four sold out quickly. We've been through this before and there is no extra interest when SLU plays at home or away against the MVC teams, ....as much as everyone wants to hope otherwise. You are actually equating a special event to an entire regular season of a league? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLfan Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 The Valley does have some advantages - Better home crowds and better facilities throughout the conference - More natural rivals - Less traveling costs for other sports - Better leadership at the top - I believe better soccer but I don't follow that sport much so I'm not sure 2007 Attendance figures aren't up yet but here is the attendance for both conferences in 2006. MVC Creighton - 13,900 Wichita St. - 10,435 Bradley - 9,220 Southern Il. - 7,291 Missouri St. - 6,965 Northern IA. - 6,898 Evansville - 6,025 Illinois St. - 5,409 Indiana St. - 4,278 Drake - 4,267 A10 Dayton - 12,422 Xavier - 9,774 Saint Louis - 9,325 Charlotte - 6,641 Temple - 5,725 UMass - 4,903 Rhode Island - 4,759 Richmond - 4,748 St. Joseph's - 4,422 St. Bonaventure - 4,281 George Washington - 3,811 La Salle - 2,669 Fordham - 2,444 Duquesne - 1,528 If we went to the Valley though I would hope that either X or Dayton would come with us. That would help ensure that the Valley would be decent to strong every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcglotherirvin Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 frankly, i don't believe a word miklasz says. every post on that forum is made with an agenda. i don't think miklasz knows any more than any of us. he probably read that off a message board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Best I can tell from STLFans numbers below the MVC averaged 7,469 in 2006 while the A-10 (excluding SLU) averaged 5,240 or put another way 42% more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 >Best I can tell from STLFans numbers below the MVC averaged >7,469 in 2006 while the A-10 (excluding SLU) averaged 5,240 >or put another way 42% more. Why would one exclude SLU? SLU was in the A10 in 2006. The A10 also has 14 teams compared to 10 teams in the MVC. Top 10 vs top 10 are pretty comparable, with slight edge to MVC by hundreds. Comparing a special event to actual attendance during the course of the season in the MVC is extremely misleading. Big difference between 20,000 and 7500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 I have a VERY hard time believing that. It's pretty absurd, actually. Since when do head coaches dictate the conference it's school plays in. It's all BS by Bernie. We're all aware of his agenda. At least I hope it's all bs. Here's an idea. We're trying to improve our teams image. What do we do? Join a mid-major conference, who after having the greatest year of all time gets a measley 2 NCAA invites. Yeah, good move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 "Why would one exclude SLU?" SLU should not be included because we are evaluating which conference is better attendance wise for SLU to belong to. Our attendence should not be a factor when evaluating the attendence of all the other teams in the league. My analysis is independent of whatever league SLU is in (i.e., it is a fair analysis). "The A10 also has 14 teams compared to 10 teams in the MVC. Top 10 vs top 10 are pretty comparable, with slight edge to MVC by hundreds." Nobody really questions that if the bottom four teams in the A-10 were dropped it wouldn't be a much better league, but the reality is we have to play those teams too. I don't blame Majerus for not wanting to play in 80% empty highschool gyms, if indeed what your boy Bernie says is true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 "Join a mid-major conference" Um, what do you think we are currently in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Um, a mid-major conference smart guy. Yet, a mid-major conference who dwarfs the MVC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 "Yet, a mid-major conference who dwarfs the MVC." If you say so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 >I don't blame Majerus for not wanting to play in 80% empty >highschool gyms, if indeed what your boy Bernie says is >true. I've spent a lot of time with Rick over many years as well....who cares? The incentive for SLU to join the MVC should not be attendance. I am unimpressed with attendance in either conference...both are similar. There is no extra or big advantage to join the MVC based on attendance. To try to portray the MVC with vastly superior is misleading. It's a long term decision over many many years....and the A10 has a lot of work to do as a conference, no question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 "I've spent a lot of time with Rick over many years as well....who cares?" Are you name dropping? "There is no extra or big advantage to join the MVC based on attendance. To try to portray the MVC with vastly superior is misleading." I don't know know how to exactly define vastly, but 43% is significant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Hey, I think that's a pretty largely held opinion. Especially for those outside of STL. 2 good years and 2 bad years doesn't make a conference. Other than last years attendance figures, I don't see how the MVC is superior to the A-10. What good is the RPI if you get the shaft because of everbody's stereotypes? Oh and the best arguement of all time...the MCV tourney had a big crowd! Somebody...PLEASE TELL ME...what does that mean?! I've never understood it. They hold the SEC tourney in Nashville sometimes. Get's piss poor attendance. So, is the SEC a mid-major too? Conference USA couldn't get anybody to show up in Memphis. And it was considered a Major toward the end. I have never understood that arugment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Join >a mid-major conference, who after having the greatest year >of all time gets a measley 2 NCAA invites. Yeah, good move. Hmmm...only 2 NCAA invites? The only reason that the A10 got 2 invites this year was because Xavier blew it in the conf tourney. Had both SIU and Creighton lost in the MVC semis, they would have had 3 or 4 depending who made it. Why don't people just accept that the MVC is heads and shoulders above the A10? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 No arguement that it has been the better conference 2 years in a row. But... Has the Valley have had a 1 seed? Has the Valley ever had the #1 team in the country? How many 1st rnd draft picks has the valley ever had? How to the total NCAA appearences compare? How about overall success in the NCAA's? Or diversity of top teams? SIU and Creighton have always been the best, compared with the A-10 where the top half of the league has achieved a high level of success at some point. 2 years - The MVC has won. Overall - A-10 by a landslide The MVC is a nice little conference. But it is by no means, "a step up" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 >"I've spent a lot of time with Rick over many years as >well....who cares?" > >Are you name dropping? > >"There is no extra or big advantage to join the MVC based on >attendance. To try to portray the MVC with vastly superior >is misleading." > >I don't know know how to exactly define vastly, but 43% is >significant. lol...too funny. You for no apparent reason needed to reference my friendship with Miklasz, ...so I responded. You call the 3s "significant" or significantly different between the MVC and A10 when the numbers are that small for both?....in a one year sample...well I can't help you then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOStateFan Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 I've been following your board lately to keep up with the Majerus watch and the coaching search. Would a move to the Valley b/c of Majerus further undercut Levick as AD? Just a month and a half ago she was on Bernie's show building up the A10 and tearing down the Valley. She spent a lot of time talking about how successful the A10 has been in comparison to the Valley over the past 15 years while largely ignoring the comparison of the two conferences since SLU joined the A10 (which is really where the comparison is relevant to SLU). I also wonder if SLU could really reverse field so soon after the move to the A10. I always thought a dream conference would be this one: SLU, Dayton, Xavier, Marquette, DePaul, Loyola (Chi), Detroit Mercy, and Creighton. As a Valley fan I'd hate to lose Creighton. However, as a Catholic basketball fan that would be a fun conference. In February when Lent starts, you could have a Friday Game of the Week. No meat would be served in the arena, of course. (Sell fish sticks, cheese pizza, and nachos.) The trick would be getting DePaul and Marquette to come aboard, but there would be fewer travel issues for all schools involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOStateFan Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 I'm not one who thinks that the Valley is inherently "stronger" or "better" than the A10. We had two years recently when we were up and the A10 was down. The Valley and the A10 are both mid-majors, and recently the Valley has been better than the A10. Not because of attendance, but because of better basketball. Both conferences had the same number of bids, but the A10 would've had just one bid if Xavier wins the conference tournament. The Valley also had a team in the Sweet 16 (3 teams in 2 years) that almost took down #1 Kansas. Conferences have upswings and downswings. And that's okay. There isn't any need to rip on another conference. No unbiased national source believes the A10 "dwarfs" the Valley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOStateFan Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 What's relevant isn't "Overall" as you say. What is relevant is how the teams have done since SLU's been in the conference. Since SLU has been in the A10, the Valley has had 6 bids compared to the A10's 4. The Valley has had 3 teams reach the Sweet 16 (3 different schools: Bradley, Wichita, SIU). The A10 hasn't had a team reach the Sweet 16 since 2004. If you want to compare "overall", the Valley's history compares with any other. The Valley, SEC, and Pac10 are the only three conferences who have had teams that repeated as champion. I'm not arguing the Valley is a "significant" step up from the A10. But the Valley is better positioned for the future IMO, because Elgin is a much better commissioner than whomever the A10 has (see CSTV deal.) Both conferences are mid-majors, and both will have ups and downs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 MOStateFan, these are good posts and it's hard to argue with a lot of what you say. I'm no expert in the MVC (or A-10 for that matter), but IMO the a-10 has been places that the MVC hasn't...and that puts it above the MVC right now. Doug Elgin is a hell of a commisioner, and perhaps in 5 years, I'll change my mind. One thing that I weigh heavily are the players that have come through the A-10. We've had 2 national POY's in the last decade (David West Jameer Nelson). We've had some NBA all stars come through here. There's been some really big name coaches. X just got a commitment from a 5 star center. The caliber of player seems to be consistently higher than the MVC. Granted, Dana altman has gotten his share of players. SIU has been doing pretty good lately. You guys are on the upswing. I'm not trying to dog the MVC. And I'm not delusional that the A-10 is some high major confernce. Perhaps it's because I grew up in New Jersey...and I'm debating people who grew up in STL. But, at this point, I think the A-10 is the place to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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