This can't be.....get in touch with Doug Elgin

[Quality Is Job 1]

The rest of the MVC likes playing in St. Louis. If SLU joined, I don't think they would bail on St. Louis as host. They might rotate it a little bit, but St. Louis would still be a frequent host. Besides, we wouldn't be playing on our home floor, since we'll be in the on-campus arena after this year.

The Valley is already considering rotating the conference tourney out of St. Louis. There was a story about it a few months ago. I believe they are soliciting bids from Kansas City and Omaha.

[Clock_Tower]

I thought he mentioned the Big East.

I feel leaving the A10 for the MVC would be nothing more then a wash with one big difference> if we went to the MVC now, Elgin would have us sign a contract that it would be almost impossible financially for us to break if the opportunity came for us to enter the Big East or a new high profile conference. With RM at the helm and a new arena, getting into the Big East is not as far fetched as was this time last year. Lots depends on who we get as a AD.

I have no inside information with respect to the Big East but also found it quite odd that Cincy, Louisville and South Florida joined left Conf USA to join the Big East for football and yet so did Marquette and DePaul. Why add private/non-football schools if the conference wants to be a football conference. At the same time, these public/football schools joined the Big East when the best football schools - Miami and Boston College - left the Big East. Also, why not bring Memphis with you to the Big East since they have D-1 football. All I can presume is that the private schools (Villanova, Georgeown, Seton Hall and St. John allowed these public/football schools as a compromise for adding a few private/non-football schools - DePaul & Marquette.

Clearly, this is a very divided conference. It is just a matter of time and football will divide this conference just like it did Conf USA. The private schools are happy with the exposure, media, large cities (just like we say about the A10 v. Valley) and will not initiate the break. Instead, the football schools will.

[billiken_roy]

Mo St was a great game last year. I am looking forward to the SIU game this year. As a whole the valley has been better over the last 5 years.

not five years. just in 2004 the a-10 was the higher ranked conference and had two teams in the elite 8. the a-10 was then the higher ranked conference going back to 1999 where the mvc was the higher ranked conference, and prior to that the a-10 was always the higher ranked conference.

so the truth is that the mvc has been the higher ranked conference in 1999, 2005, 2006 and 2007 in history.

[powerballer]

not five years. just in 2004 the a-10 was the higher ranked conference and had two teams in the elite 8. the a-10 was then the higher ranked conference going back to 1999 where the mvc was the higher ranked conference, and prior to that the a-10 was always the higher ranked conference.

so the truth is that the mvc has been the higher ranked conference in 1999, 2005, 2006 and 2007 in history.

Roy thank you for proving my point. mvc was better than the a10 3 out of the last 5 years. So, overall the mvc was better the last 5 years, just as good the last 6 years and not as good the last 7 years.

[billiken_roy]

Roy thank you for proving my point. mvc was better than the a10 3 out of the last 5 years. So, overall the mvc was better the last 5 years, just as good the last 6 years and not as good the last 7 years.

no the mvc was better the last 3 years and prior to that was dominated by the a-10.

[powerballer]

no the mvc was better the last 3 years and prior to that was dominated by the a-10.

Okay roy I will try and make this simple for your simple anti-catholic mind. I hope you like baseball. Last year the Cards played the Padres in a best of 5 series. The Cards won 3 and the Padres won 2. who was better over a 5 game series? Who moved on to play the Mets? Great now I am going to find out roy is 6 and all of you are going to get mad at me for taking a shot at him.

[billiken_roy]

Okay roy I will try and make this simple for your simple anti-catholic mind. I hope you like baseball. Last year the Cards played the Padres in a best of 5 series. The Cards won 3 and the Padres won 2. who was better over a 5 game series? Who moved on to play the Mets? Great now I am going to find out roy is 6 and all of you are going to get mad at me for taking a shot at him.

first i question why you needed to say, "your simple anti-catholic mind"? what gave you that idea? i take great offense to that accusation. for you to make that statement really shows what you are.

second, you didnt phrase your original comment as though it was some sort of a 5 game series. you said "the valley has been better over the last 5 years. "

that to me says that every year over the last 5 years the mvc has been superior over the a-10.

or if you want to play the series card, then over the last 7, the world series equal, the a-10 has been superior with the higher rank 4 out of 7.

btw metz, you know i am not 6. i must say though, i am amazed at your ability to continuously get by steve and get new approved board monikers.

[Adman]

You're correct. Rick mentioned " I have ideas I'll share with Fr. Biondi..." about what conference he'd like to see the Billikens play in. But then he elaborated, "...I'd really like to see us in the Big East."

[Pistol]

first i question why you needed to say, "your simple anti-catholic mind"? what gave you that idea? i take great offense to that accusation. for you to make that statement really shows what you are.

second, you didnt phrase your original comment as though it was some sort of a 5 game series. you said "the valley has been better over the last 5 years. "

that to me says that every year over the last 5 years the mvc has been superior over the a-10.

or if you want to play the series card, then over the last 7, the world series equal, the a-10 has been superior with the higher rank 4 out of 7.

btw metz, you know i am not 6. i must say though, i am amazed at your ability to continuously get by steve and get new approved board monikers.

Roy, I would be willing to bet that it's not Metz. Metz consistently went to great lenghts to write elaborate sports jokes, obscure references, and Bill Simmons-like rants. He loved the shock value, and got kicked off numerous times for it, but his style was easy to pick up on.

The poster known as powerballer is barely literate, and his posts require reading over at least twice to figure out what moronic point he's trying to make. Unless Metz, who has a bit of a journalistic background, is trying so hard to disguise himself that he's now forcing himself to write at a second grade level, then this is not him.

[brianstl]

Roy, I would be willing to bet that it's not Metz. Metz consistently went to great lenghts to write elaborate sports jokes, obscure references, and Bill Simmons-like rants. He loved the shock value, and got kicked off numerous times for it, but his style was easy to pick up on.

The poster known as powerballer is barely literate, and his posts require reading over at least twice to figure out what moronic point he's trying to make. Unless Metz, who has a bit of a journalistic background, is trying so hard to disguise himself that he's now forcing himself to write at a second grade level, then this is not him.

It could be the return of Canadian Billiken.

[Pistol]

It could be the return of Canadian Billiken.

Nah, that was Metz, too.

[Clock_Tower]

I don't think it's Metz either. Instead, it's just the new school year which has brought in another young, immature guy with Internet access, time on his hands and the desire to disrupt and post anonymously.

[ACE]

Roy, I would be willing to bet that it's not Metz. Metz consistently went to great lenghts to write elaborate sports jokes, obscure references, and Bill Simmons-like rants. He loved the shock value, and got kicked off numerous times for it, but his style was easy to pick up on.

The poster known as powerballer is barely literate, and his posts require reading over at least twice to figure out what moronic point he's trying to make. Unless Metz, who has a bit of a journalistic background, is trying so hard to disguise himself that he's now forcing himself to write at a second grade level, then this is not him.

It could be Mizzouphan. He was really stupid and was also obsessed with Roy.

[Quality Is Job 1]

People, don't make this so hard. If you're annoyed with what powerballer is saying, click on his username and choose "ignore poster."

[kshoe]

Okay roy I will try and make this simple for your simple anti-catholic mind. I hope you like baseball. Last year the Cards played the Padres in a best of 5 series. The Cards won 3 and the Padres won 2. who was better over a 5 game series? Who moved on to play the Mets? Great now I am going to find out roy is 6 and all of you are going to get mad at me for taking a shot at him.

There is something that bothers me about people that simply have their facts wrong.

The Cards and Padres only played a 4 game series last year.

[cheeseman]

Up until the name calling started this thread actually had some discussion merit given that we are in kind of a dead period. So, lets try to get it back on track: 1. from what I have heard others say and from what I took from Rick's comments at the luncheon the other day, is that he clearly wants us out of the A10 but realizes that for now he has no control over it so he is content to string along for now. 2. His reference to the Big 12 was simply his way of saying he wants to be in a BCS league with more Midwest connections - not to be interpreted as he wants to be in the MVC. Besides, the Big 12 will never accept a nonfootball school. 3. He clearly wants to be in the Big East or something equal - that would give him Marquette and DePaul who share our same time zone - not sure if ND is in our time zone or not - but that is also a school that he would probably love to have in his conference. By the way ND does play football but they will probably never agree to joining a conf. for football - too much money too loose. If they ever join a BB and Football Conf. it will be the Big 10. 4. He has implied before that being in the MVC would be a deal breaker if we ever were able to move into the a big conf. I also interpret his comment about he has some ideas that he plans to talk to Father Biondi about as he wants to look at forming a new conference. He talked about Father Biondi being an empire builder and the truth be forming a new conf would be something right of Father Biondi's alley. 5. A school like Creighton would be considered but not necessary for this to happen. Stay tuned because in the next couple of years something is likely to bust open.

The reason the Big East did not take Memphis is for two reasons: 1. They did not want anybody west of the Miss. River. 2. Memphis would have caused an odd number of football schools and then they would have had to accept another football school and then two more non-football schools. It was just getting too complicated.

Over the last 11 years the A10 out ranked the MVC 7 times. Ergo, if you prefer to make your decisions based on long term data then the A10 wins out. Lets just let the season speak for itself.

[saluki762]

Up until the name calling started this thread actually had some discussion merit given that we are in kind of a dead period. So, lets try to get it back on track: 1. from what I have heard others say and from what I took from Rick's comments at the luncheon the other day, is that he clearly wants us out of the A10 but realizes that for now he has no control over it so he is content to string along for now. 2. His reference to the Big 12 was simply his way of saying he wants to be in a BCS league with more Midwest connections - not to be interpreted as he wants to be in the MVC. Besides, the Big 12 will never accept a nonfootball school. 3. He clearly wants to be in the Big East or something equal - that would give him Marquette and DePaul who share our same time zone - not sure if ND is in our time zone or not - but that is also a school that he would probably love to have in his conference. By the way ND does play football but they will probably never agree to joining a conf. for football - too much money too loose. If they ever join a BB and Football Conf. it will be the Big 10. 4. He has implied before that being in the MVC would be a deal breaker if we ever were able to move into the a big conf. I also interpret his comment about he has some ideas that he plans to talk to Father Biondi about as he wants to look at forming a new conference. He talked about Father Biondi being an empire builder and the truth be forming a new conf would be something right of Father Biondi's alley. 5. A school like Creighton would be considered but not necessary for this to happen. Stay tuned because in the next couple of years something is likely to bust open.

The reason the Big East did not take Memphis is for two reasons: 1. They did not want anybody west of the Miss. River. 2. Memphis would have caused an odd number of football schools and then they would have had to accept another football school and then two more non-football schools. It was just getting too complicated.

Over the last 11 years the A10 out ranked the MVC 7 times. Ergo, if you prefer to make your decisions based on long term data then the A10 wins out. Lets just let the season speak for itself.

You would think someone who attended or is attending a highly ranked university such as SLU would know that Memphis, TN is not west of the Mississippi river.

[MU88]

The reason the Big East did not take Memphis is for two reasons: 1. They did not want anybody west of the Miss. River. 2. Memphis would have caused an odd number of football schools and then they would have had to accept another football school and then two more non-football schools. It was just getting too complicated.

Nope. If you look at the notes from the BE meeting (still posted on the BE message board) to decide on candidates, Memphis was summarily dismissed in the initial meeting. Memphis does not appear to have a lot of support among the BE schools, but for UL and UC. I think it has more to do with history and academics than location. They obviously could have chosen Memphis to replace BC when they left a few months after VT and Miami . However, the BE chose USF within hours.

Athleticly and geographically, SLU fits in the Valley. In most other respects, it fits in the A-10. The problem with a new conference is, you still have the same problems. SLU, Creighton, Bradley, Butler, X and Dayton make a decent core, but who else do you add? The remaining schools are either 1) competitive public schools that play football (SIU); 2) non-competive privates (Drake, Detroit) or 3) Geographically distant and/or some combination of 1 and 2 (UMass. Temple)

Things will be shaken up again, that is for sure. Maybe SLU will end back up with MU and DePaul. Who knows?

[cheeseman]

You would think someone who attended or is attending a highly ranked university such as SLU would know that Memphis, TN is not west of the Mississippi river.

Thank you for pointing out my error. I am not sure what it adds to the discussion - MU88 did add pertinent information.

[Taj79]

MU88:

Nice points. Can you further explain how you believe that SLU fits in "athletically" with the Valley? I understand the geography and concede that point but counter with that being the only point. Ignoring the obvious, men's basketball, what brings you to your conclusion that they are athleticly aligned?

[billiken_roy]

MU88:

Nice points. Can you further explain how you believe that SLU fits in "athletically" with the Valley? I understand the geography and concede that point but counter with that being the only point. Ignoring the obvious, men's basketball, what brings you to your conclusion that they are athleticly aligned?

taj asks a great question. imo, the mvc buries the a-10 in any sport not men's basketball. to the point that we dont want to be in the mvc for competition reasons. that might hurt some feelings, but next spring go attend the annual slu siu baseball game. siu is clearing their bench and pitching guys from the bullpen that would be slu's ace pitchers. it isnt even close. and the same can be said for the other sports like women's volleyball and softball. and of course you get into the football thing again.

sorry mu, the only thing athletically that slu has in common with the mvc is the current level of basketball and geography.

[brianstl]

taj asks a great question. imo, the mvc buries the a-10 in any sport not men's basketball. to the point that we dont want to be in the mvc for competition reasons. that might hurt some feelings, but next spring go attend the annual slu siu baseball game. siu is clearing their bench and pitching guys from the bullpen that would be slu's ace pitchers. it isnt even close. and the same can be said for the other sports like women's volleyball and softball. and of course you get into the football thing again.

sorry mu, the only thing athletically that slu has in common with the mvc is the current level of basketball and geography.

I don't know if thats the case in women's volleyball. They have had some good results recently. They seem to be on the edge of being a top 25 team.

[billiken_roy]

I don't know if thats the case in women's volleyball. They have had some good results recently. They seem to be on the edge of being a top 25 team.

it is my understanding that missouri state, wichita state and northern iowa are typically very good volleyball teams. while there is no doubt our program is on the rise, it hasnt been that historically. and how much of our success is because we are in the much lesser a-10 conference?

[brianstl]

it is my understanding that missouri state, wichita state and northern iowa are typically very good volleyball teams. while there is no doubt our program is on the rise, it hasnt been that historically. and how much of our success is because we are in the much lesser a-10 conference?

They have done really well ooc this year. Beat an undeafted UConn team, went five sets on the road against #23 LSU, and won Bradley's tournament.

Here is a link that gives a nice recap of the season so far:

http://slubillikens.cstv.com/sports/w-voll.../091807aab.html

[MU88]

taj asks a great question. imo, the mvc buries the a-10 in any sport not men's basketball. to the point that we dont want to be in the mvc for competition reasons. that might hurt some feelings, but next spring go attend the annual slu siu baseball game. siu is clearing their bench and pitching guys from the bullpen that would be slu's ace pitchers. it isnt even close. and the same can be said for the other sports like women's volleyball and softball. and of course you get into the football thing again.

sorry mu, the only thing athletically that slu has in common with the mvc is the current level of basketball and geography.

I have the exact opposite opinion. You want to be in the strongest conference possible. SLU has been making a push to upgrade their athletic programs (not only basketball) and playing in a tougher conference is in line with that goal. Its hard to explain an exact reason, but being a Valley school alum and an MU alum who has watched SLU for 20 years, its seems to me that SLU would be a good athletic program fit with the Valley schools. (BTW, except for hoops, I think MU would be a good fit athleticly in the Valley, culturally, not so much)

The football thing doesn't matter. There are what, 7 A-10 teams playing football? Duquense, La Salle, UMass, Temple, Dayton, Richmond and Fordham. The Valley only has 6, Drake, SIU, ISU, Missouri State, UNI, and Indiana State.

I understand why SLU picked the A-10. The goals and values of the member schools more closely mirror SLU's. In addition, all colleges want to tap the market for potential students in the northeast. Being in the news in the northeast also enhances the academic rep of a school.