What does the Horizon League do now?

[SDFS]

Now that the MVC is done for now.What does the Horizon League do?Here is an article has 4 options for theHorizon League:



Do nothing
Turn to the Summit League

Fort Wayne
IUPUI


Expand Footprint

Omaha
NMSU


Get Creative

Look at DII - Southern Indiana


It really does not look good for the Summit League.It looks like they are going to take hit nomatter what the HL does.

http://www.midmajormadness.com/2017/5/9/15576036/horizon-league-expansion-options-valparaiso-mvc-conference-realignment-summit-league

[citdog]

They should ask "le high football 3 guys in a phone booth"...

[BisonFan02]

I would go after Indiana State.

[FargoBison]

Best case for the Summit is that they add IUPUI and the Summit brings back UMKC. It would make for better travel partners and basically just trades one commuter school for another.

[SDFS]

Well - the invite has been made to 1 school.. the only hint is that they have baseball.


http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/2017/06/21/horizon-extends-invitation-unidentified-school/103076944/

[clenz]

It'll be IPFW which puts the Summit at 5 baseball schools and the fun begins.

[BisonFan02]

It'll be IPFW which puts the Summit at 5 baseball schools and the fun begins.

It does. Its time to make the Summit an all sports league and invite entire athletic departments. No more being hostage to BS anymore. :D

[Hammersmith]

It'll be IPFW which puts the Summit at 5 baseball schools and the fun begins.

It's either IPFW or Grand Canyon. Lots of people thinking GCU.

[Laker]

Now they are screwing with us. The latest is that IUPUI was invited. But they don't have baseball.

Kevin Sweeney‏ @CBB_Central (https://twitter.com/CBB_Central) 48m48 minutes ago (https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/878029539103735808)More



Breaking: Horizon League Invites IUPUI as 10th Member. #HLMBB (https://twitter.com/hashtag/HLMBB?src=hash)

[BisonFan02]

Now they are screwing with us. The latest is that IUPUI was invited. But they don't have baseball.

Kevin Sweeney‏ @CBB_Central (https://twitter.com/CBB_Central) 48m48 minutes ago (https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/878029539103735808)More



Breaking: Horizon League Invites IUPUI as 10th Member. #HLMBB (https://twitter.com/hashtag/HLMBB?src=hash)


Same difference-ish....Summit is going to have to protect themselves.

[FargoBison]

IUPUI would probably agree to start a baseball program for a Horizon invite.

[clenz]

They have a club team and played D1 ball until about 01.

I still think it's going to be IUPUI, IPFW and a third for the Horizon by next year.

Who that third team is depends on how far down the rabbit hole of "The Summit and WAC are ****ed" you want me to go - which doesn't take much for the Summit at this point

[FargoBison]

If the Summit can trade IUPUI for UMKC that is a win, similar schools but UMKC fits the footprint better. IUPUI has been horrible in hoops ever since Ron Hunter left for Georgia State and they have maybe five fans.

[Laker]

Grand Canyon says that they are staying in the WAC:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/gcu/2017/06/23/grand-canyon-university-wac-dan-majerle/421875001/

[dgtw]

The Horizon still had six baseball programs even after Valpo leaves. So they don't have to get a baseball school and having an even number makes things easier and you can play a full double round robin in ten weeks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jacksfan29]

What is it UNI fans are afraid of that they so want the Summit to fall apart?

The loss of IPFW and IUPUI won't kill the Summit, as it would seem most UNI fans dream of. Why? Who knows. Must be fear. If the HL invite a 3rd it will be in their footprint. Just like the MVC the HL is a bus league with little to no imagination. Expect them to take RMU. Oh, and expect the Summit to invite UMKC and Northern Colorado. UNC will become the 12th member of the MVFC and the league will split into 2 divisions. Eliminating any chance Murray State have of EVER getting into the MVC. Oh will the UNI folks cry.

Oh, and Murray State will never get into the MVC with no home for FB.


They have a club team and played D1 ball until about 01.

I still think it's going to be IUPUI, IPFW and a third for the Horizon by next year.

Who that third team is depends on how far down the rabbit hole of "The Summit and WAC are ****ed" you want me to go - which doesn't take much for the Summit at this point

[BisonFan02]

What is it UNI fans are afraid of that they so want the Summit to fall apart?

The loss of IPFW and IUPUI won't kill the Summit, as it would seem most UNI fans dream of. Why? Who knows. Must be fear. If the HL invite a 3rd it will be in their footprint. Just like the MVC the HL is a bus league with little to no imagination. Expect them to take RMU. Oh, and expect the Summit to invite UMKC and Northern Colorado. UNC will become the 12th member of the MVFC and the league will split into 2 divisions. Eliminating any chance Murray State have of EVER getting into the MVC. Oh will the UNI folks cry.

Oh, and Murray State will never get into the MVC with no home for FB.

Would Murray State cut football or just go non-scholly Pioneer to secure an invite? I bet they would.

[dgtw]

Would Murray State cut football or just go non-scholly Pioneer to secure an invite? I bet they would.

I lurked on their board a bit when they were up for the MVC. Most didn't seem to care about the football team and a couple suggested dropping the program if that got them in the MVC.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BisonFan02]

I lurked on their board a bit when they were up for the MVC. Most didn't seem to care about the football team and a couple suggested dropping the program if that got them in the MVC.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly.

[Laker]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDQvHtkXcAATO2e.jpg

[Bisonator]

Good now if we can get them to take IPFW with them.....xcoffeex

[ST_Lawson]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzoazPPC7b8?t=1m16s

[clenz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzoazPPC7b8?t=1m16s
You'd be smart to sell yourself with IPFW at part of a Horizon package otherwise you're really going to be all by yourself once the Summit fills their openings with UMKC, and some WAC schools.

Maybe Murray State will get the MVC/MVFC call and you'll get an OVC call. You'd have EIU on the football side, plus SIU-E and SEMO aren't too far. Take the Indiana's out of the Summit and the Horizon and OVC are far better fits, geographically speaking.

[ST_Lawson]

You'd be smart to sell yourself with IPFW at part of a Horizon package.

Yea, of our options at this point, none are great, but that'd be the best one.

Option 1 - Somehow get ourselves in the Horizon League
Option 2 - Stick with the Summit and absorb the added travel costs of dropping a bus-distance school (IUPUI is ~5 hours away) and adding a flight-distance school (UND is like...idk...11+ hours away if you drive it).
Option 3 - Start talking to the Ohio Valley (although I hate that option, since they'd want all sports, and I REALLY would hate to lose the opponents/rivalries that we have in the MVFC).

[TheRevSFA]

Bring SFA to the summit. It'd screw us in football though.

[clenz]

Yea, of our options at this point, none are great, but that'd be the best one.

Option 1 - Somehow get ourselves in the Horizon League
Option 2 - Stick with the Summit and absorb the added travel costs of dropping a bus-distance school (IUPUI is ~5 hours away) and adding a flight-distance school (UND is like...idk...11+ hours away if you drive it).
Option 3 - Start talking to the Ohio Valley (although I hate that option, since they'd want all sports, and I REALLY would hate to lose the opponents/rivalries that we have in the MVFC).
UNI would love a rotating H/H series with you, but yeah giving up 30+ years against ISUb, ISUr, SIU, MSU and UNI would suck.

Through your options:

1: Best case. Travel stays low. It's a non-football league so the football can stay in the MVFC with no loss of rivals. However, is the Horizon looking for a "high level of comitment" football program. I've heard a ton of rumors around Robert Morris. They have football but don't have the same level of commitment as WIU. Maintain ties with "traidtional" rivals with the Indiana schools. Add proxmity rivals in UW-M and UIC. However, you'd be the very edge of the conference, and coupled with the football issue I don't know it's realistic for the Horizon to pull the trigger on.

2: That would kill your budget, and in the state of Illinois how long could that last? UND joining next year, NDSU, SDSU, USD, UNO, UMKC (probably), ORU. All are on the I-29 corridor but you'd also have Denver and likely another far west school to replace the other Indiana (SUU, GCU or NMSU?). The Summit and WAC are in interesting places. I'm not exactly sure where to go with even guessing what happens. Does Denver get a WCC invite with one of NMSU/GCU? Does the Summit try to start football, doesn't help travel costs as your potential additions to get that going are Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, Weber State. Long term I just don't know how WIU survives in the Summit.

3. Seems most likely. I really think the MVC pulls the trigger on going to 12 for the 2018/2019 year. I think that means Murray State (along with bringing football from the OVC to the MVFC) and probably UA-Little Rock/UT-Arlington. That's going to open an OVC football spot they will want to fill. Do they go after a D2 move up, or take WIU who fits with the OVC in terms of budgets across the board and mostly fits the footprint? Murray State to the MVC might be the final straw to force WIU's hand - which then forces the Summit/WACs hands.

I've had this discussion to an absurd length with IBY, Thumper, and BF02 through text. Maybe eventually the Summit starts football and the Dakota's leave the MVFC and pillage a few Big Sky schools. That leaves the MVFC with UNI, SIU, ISUR, ISUB, YSU, MUSU and MOSU. I'd love to still have WIU in there, which is why I'm hoping for the Horizon for you guys.

I'd also like to see the Summit raid the hell out of the WAC to kill it.

The MVFC needs a stable Summit - and Thumper continually lets me know that the MVC taking Valpo to start the Horizon's moves doesn't help that. For the Summit to be stable they need to find a way to kill the WAC. Maybe the Horizon can help them.

If the Summit can raid some combo UMKC (who wants out of the WAC, bad), UTRVG, Chicago State, GCU and NMSU that will kill the WAC. I'd like to see the Summit land UMKC and rename it the I-29 Conference......more on track.

GCU, Seattle and NMSU are angling for WCC invites. I don't see all three getting them. I think the best play to get members is UTRGV, UMKC, Chicago State and Utah Valley. Strength in numbers and wait for Chicago State to die.

[clenz]

Bring SFA to the summit. It'd screw us in football though.
I...uh....heard a few rumors of SFA to the MVC along with UTA or UALR at one point. Plus we have DBU in the baseball conference.

Clearly going no where at this point, but that was a thing from well connected people.

The MVC wants to move east, but it needs at least one school by Missouri State. SFA's chances were dashed when Murray State became a thing. Won't be adding two football schools. MVFC can't handle it. Though if Murray State joins, WIU goes OVC to replace Murray State and we can talk YSU into the CAA then we might be on to something.


Arlington and UALR remain possibilities though

[TheRevSFA]

I...uh....heard a few rumors of SFA to the MVC along with UTA or UALR at one point. Plus we have DBU in the baseball conference.

Clearly going no where at this point, but that was a thing from well connected people.

The MVC wants to move east, but it needs at least one school by Missouri State. SFA's chances were dashed when Murray State became a thing. Won't be adding two football schools. MVFC can't handle it. Though if Murray State joins, WIU goes OVC to replace Murray State and we can talk YSU into the CAA then we might be on to something.


Arlington and UALR remain possibilities though

That's interesting for sure.

[clenz]

That's interesting for sure.
Then maybe we can get a couple basketball games against each other that don't start at 7 freaking AM.

[BisonFan02]

Bring SFA to the summit. It'd screw us in football though.

It doesn't if we make our own league.

[ST_Lawson]

UNI would love a rotating H/H series with you, but yeah giving up 30+ years against ISUb, ISUr, SIU, MSU and UNI would suck.

Especially the 100+ years and (as of this year) 100 meetings between Western and Illinois State. I'd hate to lose all of those (some seriously great games in those matchups), but we've been playing ISUr since our school was 4 years old, so that's the big one for me.




Through your options:

1: Best case. Travel stays low. It's a non-football league so the football can stay in the MVFC with no loss of rivals. However, is the Horizon looking for a "high level of comitment" football program. I've heard a ton of rumors around Robert Morris. They have football but don't have the same level of commitment as WIU. Maintain ties with "traidtional" rivals with the Indiana schools. Add proxmity rivals in UW-M and UIC. However, you'd be the very edge of the conference, and coupled with the football issue I don't know it's realistic for the Horizon to pull the trigger on.

2: That would kill your budget, and in the state of Illinois how long could that last? UND joining next year, NDSU, SDSU, USD, UNO, UMKC (probably), ORU. All are on the I-29 corridor but you'd also have Denver and likely another far west school to replace the other Indiana (SUU, GCU or NMSU?). The Summit and WAC are in interesting places. I'm not exactly sure where to go with even guessing what happens. Does Denver get a WCC invite with one of NMSU/GCU? Does the Summit try to start football, doesn't help travel costs as your potential additions to get that going are Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, Weber State. Long term I just don't know how WIU survives in the Summit.

3. Seems most likely. I really think the MVC pulls the trigger on going to 12 for the 2018/2019 year. I think that means Murray State (along with bringing football from the OVC to the MVFC) and probably UA-Little Rock/UT-Arlington. That's going to open an OVC football spot they will want to fill. Do they go after a D2 move up, or take WIU who fits with the OVC in terms of budgets across the board and mostly fits the footprint? Murray State to the MVC might be the final straw to force WIU's hand - which then forces the Summit/WACs hands.

I've had this discussion to an absurd length with IBY, Thumper, and BF02 through text. Maybe eventually the Summit starts football and the Dakota's leave the MVFC and pillage a few Big Sky schools. That leaves the MVFC with UNI, SIU, ISUR, ISUB, YSU, MUSU and MOSU. I'd love to still have WIU in there, which is why I'm hoping for the Horizon for you guys.

I'd also like to see the Summit raid the hell out of the WAC to kill it.

The MVFC needs a stable Summit - and Thumper continually lets me know that the MVC taking Valpo to start the Horizon's moves doesn't help that. For the Summit to be stable they need to find a way to kill the WAC. Maybe the Horizon can help them.

If the Summit can raid some combo UMKC (who wants out of the WAC, bad), UTRVG, Chicago State, GCU and NMSU that will kill the WAC. I'd like to see the Summit land UMKC and rename it the I-29 Conference......more on track.

GCU, Seattle and NMSU are angling for WCC invites. I don't see all three getting them. I think the best play to get members is UTRGV, UMKC, Chicago State and Utah Valley. Strength in numbers and wait for Chicago State to die.

Pretty much agree with you on most of that stuff.

Chicago State - I don't know how they're still operating as a university, without even getting into the costs of being a DI program. They had 86 freshmen last fall and are at ~3.5k total students. That's gotta be one of the smallest public schools that sponsors D1 athletics. I don't think "waiting for them to die" is going to take very long.

UMKC - I would imagine they'll be back in the Summit now that IUPUI leaving is "official". It's just a much better fit for them and helps us with our "letter salad" team quota. They don't have baseball, so that doesn't really help with that aspect, although we're still at 6 teams right now, so we're not toast yet.

WIU's Athletics Budget - if we had to stay Summit, I think you'd likely see us drop a sport or two...we tried to drop Swimming & Diving once, but alumni and parents stepped up to save it. Not sure that would happen this time. We already dropped men's Tennis, maybe Women's tennis will go too (although we might have to adjust some things to make that work with Title IX).

I-29 Conference - maybe the "Great Plains Conference" or "Great Plains Athletic Conference"....GPAC....hmm...sounds like a fundraising arm of a political party.

[ST_Lawson]

It doesn't if we make our own league.

https://i.imgflip.com/1rlh68.jpg

[clenz]

GPAC is already taken at the D2 level.

[ST_Lawson]

GPAC is already taken at the D2 level.

Fine...Great Plains Division I Athletic Conference (that isn't the Division II one...we're completely different).

GPDIAC(TITDIIOWCD)

[Laker]

UMKC - I would imagine they'll be back in the Summit now that IUPUI leaving is "official". It's just a much better fit for them and helps us with our "letter salad" team quota. They don't have baseball, so that doesn't really help with that aspect, although we're still at 6 teams right now, so we're not toast yet.

I wonder if the Horizon will force IUPUI to start baseball. And I wonder if the prodigal son returns to the Summit, if UMKC will be required to start the sport.

[clenz]

I wonder if the Horizon will force IUPUI to start baseball. And I wonder if the prodigal son returns to the Summit, if UMKC will be required to start the sport.
Depending on who the next adds for the Horizon are (they've said they want 14...currently at 10 with IUPUI) that might not be needed.

[ST_Lawson]

Depending on who the next adds for the Horizon are (they've said they want 14...currently at 10 with IUPUI) that might not be needed.

Ooooh...I didn't realize they wanted to get to 14.

WIU and Fort Wayne get them to 12.
We'd have 5 (maybe 7, depending on your distance limit) bus-trip schools.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-NHDCVCAAAzvCu.jpg

[BisonFan02]

https://i.imgflip.com/1rlh68.jpg

**** yeah!

[Laker]

Horizon makes it official:

http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/iupui-to-join-horizon-league