Big Move for Loyola Chicago

[milkbone]

Joe Henricksen ‏@joehoopsreport 14h
Big move for Loyola. Ramblers headed to the Missouri Valley to replace Creighton

[unclejohn]

Maybe. Last week it was reported that UIC was going and it was a done deal. Maybe the MVC is taking both of them, but I doubt it.

[Nukem2]

Either would be quite a step down for the MVC. Both....?

[IWB]

I think both are a step down, but not a lot of options. When you lose members who leave for a better conference, it is rare that you replace them with an equal.

This is exactly why I have criticized UWM's AD hire. The MVC is in talks with UIC, the MVC is in talks with Loyola.....UWM hired their new AD over a month ago and she won't start for another month, yet conferences that they could move up to are in talks with other programs while they wait. Brilliant.

[TheSultan]

UWM's biggest problems are a lack of decent facilities and an apathetic fan-base. I'm surprised that they are looking at Loyola or UIC frankly. Valparaiso is a better choice than any of them IMO. Not a huge name, but they do put a lot of butts in the seats of their own arena.

[warriorfan4life]

The Valley should be talking to Belmont, Valpo, or Detroit. Neither Chicago program has been nearly good enough to earn a promotion, and Loyola would be especially baffling (have not been to NCAA's since 1985).

[unclejohn]

The MVC is an odd conference. It is one of the oldest in the country, right up there with the Big Tenteen. Actually, there is some dispute as to whether the original conference became the MVC or the Big 6/8/12. Lots and lots of schools have cycled through the MVC on their way to bigger and better places, like Louisville, Cincinnati, Butler, Saint Louis, Detroit, Houston, and a bunch more. It has always found a way to survive. Several times it has looked like it was really dropping, just to bounce back. Creighton joined, left, and came back thirty years later. Indiana State joined just in time for Larry Bird to play all his games on national TV. Several of the original members of what is now the Summit left and joined the MVC as soon as they got good. The MVC is always going to be able to get by because of geography. It is the conference of choice for mid-majors who want to move up.

As for UWM, it's a mess all right. I do not understand why they keep going through AD's like used kleenex. But the fact is, they have never been as good or as strong as they thought they were. They had some nice years by questionable means under Pearl, and have mostly been irrelevant otherwise. It is hard to put together a good athletic program, and schools that have been more stable and more successful than UWM in the past, like Ball State and Northern Illinois, find it hard to do now. With UWM's forgettable history and paltry resources, it is really hard for them to compete.

[MU/Panther]

Valparaiso is a better choice than any of them IMO. Not a huge name, but they do put a lot of butts in the seats of their own arena.

Valpo hasn't sold out the HL title game the past two years, in their shoebox of an arena.