Realignment Season continues....

 

2 hours ago, Walter said:

Realignment Season continues....

 

Walter as a kid I watched that old Missouri Valley Conference basketball. My Bearcats battling the Bradley Braves(Chet Walker) and the Witchita Wheat Shockers. Drake Bulldogs too. Brought back memories of black and white TV coverage!

Where does this leave Murray State?

3 hours ago, The Flea Market said:

Where does this leave Murray State?

Good question... There's been talk of them trying to join the Sunbelt or MVC but nothing confirmed.

 

I'm all for the OVC falling apart.

On 9/25/2021 at 9:18 PM, Walter said:

Good question... There's been talk of them trying to join the Sunbelt or MVC but nothing confirmed.

 

Have to think a move to the Sun Belt would require a move to D1-A in all sports. The Sun Belt appears to be very active, however. It wouldn't surprise me to see them poach a couple of C-USA clubs (Southern Miss for one) and dismiss UALR and Texas-Arlington (neither play football). If not the Sun Belt, I would expect the Missouri Valley to be interested in the Racers.

I understand conferences have to "invite" members to join, but I assume there exists back-channeling in each of these circumstances. With Murray State, the desire by fans to get out of the OVC has been there for as long as I can remember, but it has never seemed administration has been all the concerned about leaving. They would rather stay course in the pitiful OVC. There is obviously a money element to all of this and not just about playing capabilities.

1 hour ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I'm all for the OVC falling apart.

Absolutely.

With all of this I am most interested in what will happen with OVC football. The writing seems on the wall for dissolvement of that sport from the league.

On 9/28/2021 at 2:51 PM, gchs_uk9 said:

Have to think a move to the Sun Belt would require a move to D1-A in all sports. The Sun Belt appears to be very active, however. It wouldn't surprise me to see them poach a couple of C-USA clubs (Southern Miss for one) and dismiss UALR and Texas-Arlington (neither play football). If not the Sun Belt, I would expect the Missouri Valley to be interested in the Racers.

There's also discussion of WKU going back to the Sun Belt if Conference USA gets poached too badly by the AAC in any realignment.

On 9/30/2021 at 11:14 AM, DanvilleFan said:

There's also discussion of WKU going back to the Sun Belt if Conference USA gets poached too badly by the AAC in any realignment.

I'm really surprised the AAC hasn't pursued WKU... I get they're in a small market, but their goal should be to replace the departing members with the best available football programs. (App St, Louisiana, Coastal Carolina, WKU/Marshall)

2 hours ago, Walter said:

I'm really surprised the AAC hasn't pursued WKU... I get they're in a small market, but their goal should be to replace the departing members with the best available football programs. (App St, Louisiana, Coastal Carolina, WKU/Marshall)

Yeah, the smaller Bowling Green market is destroying WKU's hopes of moving up.  Just the nature of it despite football's decent track record and basketball more than holding its own in Conference USA.  As an alum, I'd HATE to go back to the Sun Belt but there are a lot of fans who also aren't happy with how we're treated in Conference USA (like how the conference tournament has to happen in Frisco, Texas in a weird AAU setup with a curtain between courts).

I believe there is a bowl agreement between CUSA, MAC, and Sunbelt. The teams for the Myrtle Beach Bowl at CCU come from those conferences. Must be good relationship between the schools.

Not sure anyone saw a tweet from a couple days ago from Matt Jones saying Murray State is set to land in the MVC for basketball. Nothing official has been announced and to my knowledge he is the only one to report this. 

On 10/1/2021 at 3:57 PM, Walter said:

I'm really surprised the AAC hasn't pursued WKU... I get they're in a small market, but their goal should be to replace the departing members with the best available football programs. (App St, Louisiana, Coastal Carolina, WKU/Marshall)

The names most commonly mentioned for the AAC is UAB, Charlotte, UTSA, and Georgia State. Western has a nice program but the coaches in the league would certainly prefer regular games in Birmingham, Charlotte, San Antonio, and Atlanta for recruits instead of Bowling Green. That’s just the way it is. 

Murray is strongly looking at the Valley but is not sure what this will do to the football program is what I am told?