Atlantic 10 and National College Basketball Rumor Mill

[RiseAndGrind]

1 minute ago, billikenfan05 said:

With LaSalle discussing moving out of Division 1, I think the A-10 needs to put in a call to Loyola Chicago. It would be an upgrade for basketball and a much needed upgrade in Soccer.

Where did you see this?

[billikenfan05]

3 minutes ago, RiseAndGrind said:

Where did you see this?

I saw it on their message board awhile back. I can't pull it at work now.

[RUBillsFan]

1 hour ago, billikenfan05 said:

With LaSalle discussing moving out of Division 1, I think the A-10 needs to put in a call to Loyola Chicago. It would be an upgrade for basketball and a much needed upgrade in Soccer.

Meh, I think this is short sighted.  It would be nice to have another A-10 school closer to SLU, but I think that it is only an upgrade in basketball if Moser stays.  If someone backs up the Brinks truck for him and he bolts, where does it leave Loyola?  This is their first NCAA appearance since the 1980s, right?  A-10 added George Mason a few years after their miracle tournament run and I don't really think they've added much to the conference.  VCU on the other hand has been a good addition, but they had much more recent success with multiple different coaches before they were added to the A-10.

[cheeseman]

1 hour ago, billikenfan05 said:

I saw it on their message board awhile back. I can't pull it at work now.

I read the same thing - the school hired a firm to research all their options and one was to drop down from D1.  Apparently money is a problem.  This decision could take a couple of years to be made if made at all.  The smart thing would be do make a quick decision - it has to hurt recruiting to be in limbo.

[brianstl]

1 hour ago, RUBillsFan said:

Meh, I think this is short sighted.  It would be nice to have another A-10 school closer to SLU, but I think that it is only an upgrade in basketball if Moser stays.  If someone backs up the Brinks truck for him and he bolts, where does it leave Loyola?  This is their first NCAA appearance since the 1980s, right?  A-10 added George Mason a few years after their miracle tournament run and I don't really think they've added much to the conference.  VCU on the other hand has been a good addition, but they had much more recent success with multiple different coaches before they were added to the A-10.

Loyola makes sense for expanding the A10 geographical footprint and filling the hole between SLU and Dayton.  

Looking back, Mason was a bad addition for reasons outside of basketball.  It makes little sense to have 4 schools in the same conference within a two hour drive of each other.

[Taj79]

Mark Schmidt rumored next in line for the Pitt job.  Can't really fathom what that is going to be like -- Olean and the A10 with Fordham, La Salle and Geedubya to Pittsburgh and the ACC with Duke, UNC and Florida State.  I like Schmidt for always doing what seems to be more with less but I just can't see him pulling it off at Pitt.  Kind of like Mike Deane at Marquette, Ollie Purnell at DePaul, Quinn Snyder at Mizzou.

[Taj79]

All of La Salle's options are supposed to be explored -- dropping down in athletics is just one of them.  They could also just drop all other things and keep Basketball at D-1.  Right now, it is too early to call.  Have you ever been to 20th and Olney in North Philadelphia?  Kind of reminds me of the 70's wandering Olive and Washington in St. Louis or driving up to I-70 on Grand or Kingshighway.  Not very pretty.  Coming up North Broad Street to La Salle is always an eye opener too.  And Temple is not much better.

[ACE]

1 hour ago, brianstl said:

Loyola makes sense for expanding the A10 geographical footprint and filling the hole between SLU and Dayton.  

Looking back, Mason was a bad addition for reasons outside of basketball.  It makes little sense to have 4 schools in the same conference within a two hour drive of each other.

The A-10 should be extending the invite now. But of course with our luck, the Big East will jump in to expand now and inexplicably decide to add a second team in Chicago based on one Cinderella run to the Elite 8 (and perhaps the Final Four). And Sister Jean's prayers will have been answered.

[almaman]

4 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

With LaSalle discussing moving out of Division 1, I think the A-10 needs to put in a call to Loyola Chicago. It would be an upgrade for basketball and a much needed upgrade in Soccer.

Doable road trip too.

[billiken_roy]

58 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

All of La Salle's options are supposed to be explored -- dropping down in athletics is just one of them.  They could also just drop all other things and keep Basketball at D-1.  Right now, it is too early to call.  Have you ever been to 20th and Olney in North Philadelphia?  Kind of reminds me of the 70's wandering Olive and Washington in St. Louis or driving up to I-70 on Grand or Kingshighway.  Not very pretty.  Coming up North Broad Street to La Salle is always an eye opener too.  And Temple is not much better.

i believe there is a minimum number of sports a school has to participate in to be considered D1 and of course then you have the wonderful Title 9 equalizer that says you need equal women's sports and scholarships as well.   

[Cowboy]

2 hours ago, brianstl said:

Loyola makes sense for expanding the A10 geographical footprint and filling the hole between SLU and Dayton.  

Looking back, Mason was a bad addition for reasons outside of basketball.  It makes little sense to have 4 schools in the same conference within a two hour drive of each other.

-says Wake, Duke, UNC and State.....

56 minutes ago, ACE said:

The A-10 should be extending the invite now. But of course with our luck, the Big East will jump in to expand now and inexplicably decide to add a second team in Chicago based on one Cinderella run to the Elite 8 (and perhaps the Final Four). And Sister Jean's prayers will have been answered.

-are people serious about adding Loyola to the A10 with one trip to the E8 and their Chicago location as the reasons? I don't see it, don't see it all when comparing to Butler's pedigree that got them to the BEast

[slu72]

I applaud Loyola for a great run but some on here suddenly think they're the second coming of Wichita State. Time to curb the enthusiasm.

[ACE]

29 minutes ago, slu72 said:

I applaud Loyola for a great run but some on here suddenly think they're the second coming of Wichita State. Time to curb the enthusiasm.

I'm not ready to declare Loyola a great program at all, but getting into the Chicago market could really help SLU. I'd rather have Loyola in the A-10 than some current members - most notably LaSalle. And I would think Loyola getting into a conference with a lot of Catholic schools and getting into some big city East Coast markets might be more appealing than road trips to outposts in Iowa and Indiana. Plus, the A-10 has proven to be a consistent multi-bid league. MVC - not so much.

[brianstl]

40 minutes ago, Cowboy said:

-says Wake, Duke, UNC and State.....

 

A different decision making process went into to forming conferences 65 years ago.  They didn't think about overlapping media markets then and traveling by plane wasn't really a viable option for athletic departments then.

Quote

-are people serious about adding Loyola to the A10 with one trip to the E8 and their Chicago location as the reasons? I don't see it, don't see it all when comparing to Butler's pedigree that got them to the BEast

Yes, it makes complete sense from a SLU perspective.  Chicago is the most important recruiting market outside of St. Louis for both athletes and students for SLU. Loyola has really invested in athletics over the past decade and they have facilities that would put many A10 programs to shame.

[billikenfan05]

6 minutes ago, brianstl said:

A different decision making process went into to forming conferences 65 years ago.  They didn't think about overlapping media markets then and traveling by plane wasn't really a viable option for athletic departments then.

Yes, it makes complete sense from a SLU perspective.  Chicago is the most important recruiting market outside of St. Louis for both athletes and students for SLU. Loyola has really invested in athletics over the past decade and they have facilities that would put many A10 programs to shame.

Good stuff brian. Conference alignment and expansion takes way more into account than just basketball. If they can improve the league in multiple other sports along with the reasons you noted then Loyola Chi would be a welcome addition

 

[slufan13]

I've pretty much accepted that we won't be getting into the Big East and if we do it's not going to be anytime soon. If that's the case, I want the A10 to be the best, most fun conference possible. Adding Loyola would help both of those desires I think. They aren't a great program yet but they have had a better kenpom ranking than us for each of the past 4 years and their kenpom rank would have been 9th, 12th, 6th, and 1st compared to A10 teams over that same timeframe. I'd take them now while they're seemingly on the rise rather than take George Mason 7 years after their Final Four run.

[Quality Is Job 1]

2 hours ago, slufan13 said:

I've pretty much accepted that we won't be getting into the Big East and if we do it's not going to be anytime soon. If that's the case, I want the A10 to be the best, most fun conference possible. Adding Loyola would help both of those desires I think. They aren't a great program yet but they have had a better kenpom ranking than us for each of the past 4 years and their kenpom rank would have been 9th, 12th, 6th, and 1st compared to A10 teams over that same timeframe. I'd take them now while they're seemingly on the rise rather than take George Mason 7 years after their Final Four run.

So the *metrics like Loyola more than Rhode Island in 2017-18?  Then perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise they've gotten this far.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Quality Is Job 1
typographical omission that changed meaning!

[Bobby Metzinger]

2 hours ago, Taj79 said:

Have you ever been to 20th and Olney in North Philadelphia?  Kind of reminds me of the 70's wandering Olive and Washington in St. Louis or driving up to I-70 on Grand or Kingshighway.  Not very pretty.  Coming up North Broad Street to La Salle is always an eye opener too.  And Temple is not much better.

Aside from Villanova's campus and the bubble that envelops Penn, this is the most accurate comparison between Phila and St. Louis I've ever read. When Wilt was playing for the 76ers, he lived in NYC and commuted to Philly. There's about 6 or 7,000 reasons why he did this, but if you had that kind of clout and cash, you'd do the same.

[Taj79]

Loyola?  Seriously?  How many of you are enticed by the fact that for four small points, Loyola is in the Elite Eight and not sitting at home?  Loyola was in the Midwestern Cities Conference BEFORE we were.  They LET us in.  They stayed there even as it deteriorated into the Horizon League after we all bolted in 1991 to form the Great Midwest.  We didn't want them.  Heck, they only joined the Missouri Valley in 2013.  I saw them in 1984-85 when they upset Georgetown and made it to the Sweet Sixteen.  Alfrederick the Great.  Short of that, the rest is garbage.  After that year, they never made a post season tournament until Porter's second year in 2014-15 when they were CBI champs.  Prior to Portter, Whitesell was there seven years and went 109 - 107.  Porter, there now five years, is only 117 - 115 and that includes a +23 this year.  This is the first year Loyola has finished above 5th in the Valley.

All I'm saying is Loyola is riding high but it seems somewhat meaningless unless he continues his climb for a while.  Much like Miller and Hurley, let's see how long you can sustain it.  Do it next year and then he's a hot-shot up-and-comer.  Of course, I would gladly endorse Loyola in the A10 over some o four scumbags who I will not insult by naming.

[MusicCityBilliken]

6 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

D

All I'm saying is Loyola is riding high but it seems somewhat meaningless unless he continues his climb for a while.  Much like Miller and Hurley, let's see how long you can sustain it.  Do it next year and then he's a hot-shot up-and-comer.  Of course, I would gladly endorse Loyola in the A10 over some o four scumbags who I will not insult by naming.

I'll mention it, I hear Bernadette is high on bringing in Old  Dominion. Do we really want another Virginia state school?

I would be in favor of bringing in Loyola just to add a school in our time-zone. Don't be surprised if Porter splits after this is over. Loyola could be the just the annual Cinderella. Remember Florida Gulf Coast a few years back?

[brianstl]

17 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

Loyola?  Seriously?  How many of you are enticed by the fact that for four small points, Loyola is in the Elite Eight and not sitting at home?  Loyola was in the Midwestern Cities Conference BEFORE we were.  They LET us in.  They stayed there even as it deteriorated into the Horizon League after we all bolted in 1991 to form the Great Midwest.  We didn't want them.  Heck, they only joined the Missouri Valley in 2013.  I saw them in 1984-85 when they upset Georgetown and made it to the Sweet Sixteen.  Alfrederick the Great.  Short of that, the rest is garbage.  After that year, they never made a post season tournament until Porter's second year in 2014-15 when they were CBI champs.  Prior to Portter, Whitesell was there seven years and went 109 - 107.  Porter, there now five years, is only 117 - 115 and that includes a +23 this year.  This is the first year Loyola has finished above 5th in the Valley.

All I'm saying is Loyola is riding high but it seems somewhat meaningless unless he continues his climb for a while.  Much like Miller and Hurley, let's see how long you can sustain it.  Do it next year and then he's a hot-shot up-and-comer.  Of course, I would gladly endorse Loyola in the A10 over some o four scumbags who I will not insult by naming.

Loyola isn't the same university it was.  Father Garanzizi dramatically changed the place for the better.  Loyola makes far more sense from a SLU perspective as a conference member than any other potential expansion target and several current conference members.

[RiseAndGrind]

We are in a conference with Fordham and LaSalle. Give me Chicago and the Ramblers. 

[cheeseman]

18 minutes ago, tarheelbilliken said:

I'll mention it, I hear Bernadette is high on bringing in Old  Dominion. Do we really want another Virginia state school?

I would be in favor of bringing in Loyola just to add a school in our time-zone. Don't be surprised if Porter splits after this is over. Loyola could be the just the annual Cinderella. Remember Florida Gulf Coast a few years back?

What!!

[slufan13]

Absolute worst case for me with Loyola is that Porter leaves, the program tanks, and we have another Fordham except this is one where we can all enjoy a road game win every year.

[MusicCityBilliken]

41 minutes ago, cheeseman said:

What!!

ya! The A10 headquarters is in the Tidewater. She wants a nearby school.