Past,Present and Future

[Rambling0101]

So my point on the MVC vs the A10 is this...if they are both 1 bid leagues, or possibly 1 for MVC and 2 for A10, then why move? I realize more $ comes in from the A10, but a strong NIL budget could replace that need.

Ultimately, the program was on top of the league, moved to the A10 and has not been back to the tournament. If this continues in 3 years or so, all the buildup of the final 4 and sweet 16 will be gone. I mean for years Gonzaga was the king of a bad league...they still got a ton of talent through Spokane. I feel like that was a possibility here before the move to the A10.

[natetheskate]

I think 3 teams in the MVC ended up higher ranked than us. 2 teams we played ended up in the bottom 5, Canisius and Chicago State and then you throw in Eureka....and there you go....but yes the A-10 has a lot of teams to be a 1 bid league. The Conference ended up as the 6th or 7th best league while the Valley was in the top 10....To me what needs to change is no team with a less than .500 win in their conference should qualify for the tournament. Most likey behind the curtains for this is the Big 10 and SEC bring state schools that have huge fan bases.....always follow the money.

[goramblers2011]

If you're going to schedule absolute cupcakes at home, you need to absolutely crush them to help you in the metrics. We beat Chicago St KenPom #362 (out of 365) by 7 at home. And Southern Utah #295 KenPom by 5. Beating South Florida (#195 KenPom) at home by only 2 doesn't help. And Canisius (#359) should have been more than 12.

[440Rambler]

The additional money we make from the A10 is going towards retaining and gaining players. Take a look at the MVC transfers out since we left and NIL became a bigger deal to understand why its not a conversation A10 vs MVC.

Emotionally maybe someone misses the close road trips or the banter between your friends who went to one of the Valley schools but that's not logical thinking. Further with the MVC football situation still causing issues (see Missouri State leaving for a worse basketball conference but better football situation) and we should be done with this silly conversation point. Its one thing to say "i preferred the Valley it was more my style" and another to think the Valley is a more favorable situation it is simply by any metric not.

[natetheskate]

well to call the discussion silly is a bit of a stretch...There are all kinds of value,,in the end we spend our money and time for what we value or need....and if some LU fans valued a closer conference with closer road games, better chance to get to the Dance and more familiar schools..that certainly is their right...If the metrics you refer to is $ then you have to start asking why do we have sports teams? just to make $ for LU? If you take the % of the years we went to the Dance from the Valley and % of years we have gone from the A-10. Just based on the fact that since we have been in the A-10 there have been no two bid years and the A10 has more teams metrics say our chances are less.Those are interesting metrics....and maintaining great players? Like who? Miles Rubin as first team defense? The fact that our Conference Champion , regular season as well as tournament is an 11 seed and Drake is an 11 seed. ANd to say end the discussion on what is basically a discussion board?????

[goramblers2011]

well to call the discussion silly is a bit of a stretch...There are all kinds of value,,in the end we spend our money and time for what we value or need....and if some LU fans valued a closer conference with closer road games, better chance to get to the Dance and more familiar schools..that certainly is their right...If the metrics you refer to is $ then you have to start asking why do we have sports teams? just to make $ for LU? If you take the % of the years we went to the Dance from the Valley and % of years we have gone from the A-10. Just based on the fact that since we have been in the A-10 there have been no two bid years and the A10 has more teams metrics say our chances are less.Those are interesting metrics....and maintaining great players? Like who? Miles Rubin as first team defense? The fact that our Conference Champion , regular season as well as tournament is an 11 seed and Drake is an 11 seed. ANd to say end the discussion on what is basically a discussion board?????

Last year was a two bid year in the A10, with Duquesne getting the auto and Dayton getting an at-large. Both won a game too. Drake has been the sole bid for the Valley each of the three years since we left the conference and they are 0-2 so far. Dayton and George Mason were also much closer to the bubble this year than any Valley team. Dayton likely would have been an at-large again if they could have avoid their head-scratching losses to GW, UMass and Bonnies (at least two of those). Mason likely close to getting in if they didn't lose to Central Michigan and ECU (and maybe nabbed a decent non-con win).

Overall, I think the A10 puts us in a better position to be competitive in the current state of the NCAA. We are competing against more peer schools (SLU & Dayton especially). I don't think it's perfect and I think when the decision was announced, most people agreed that the A10 was better overall and more of a "fit" for us, but the Valley is still a great mid-major conference with a ton of NCAA success.

But, there's a reason there's talks (albeit, mostly on social media) of Drake and/or Bradley (top MVC programs) joining the A10 and not VCU and/or Dayton (top A10 programs) joining the MVC.

[ahunte1]

If you're going to schedule absolute cupcakes at home, you need to absolutely crush them to help you in the metrics. We beat beat KenPom #362 (out of 365) by 7 at home. And Southern Utah #295 KenPom by 5. Beating South Florida (#195 KenPom) at home by only 2 doesn't help. And Canisius (#359) should have been more than 12.

This is pretty much right. There's no way to get into the top 50 in the ratings if you don't blow teams out.

[Rambler88]

I liked the MVC, but I don't really understand the affection for the league. We were in the MVC for 9 or 10 years. It was fun and we started our upward trajectory. There were some good teams. However, I don't see them as our traditional rivals. It was nice to have Bradley, UNI and Drake as competition, but the rest of them are forgettable. It is mostly a one-bid league.

We were in the Horizon League for 34 reasons. The teams that I felt were our rivals were the other private schools, like St Louis, Dayton, Detroit, Xavier, Marquette, Butler, and Valpo. They left. We could have stayed there and dominated as well, if we had the commitment we do now. It's one bid league.

We left for a better league. We have been reunited with some of our old rivals, like St Louis and Dayton. We may have moved further east, but it is worth it. We get much better coverage in the A10 nationally. These are better cities to visit - New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, and DC. I am all behind the A10.

The A10 has been a multi-bid league over the years. It has been a one-bid league in two of the last 25 years. Unfortunately, it has been a one bid league in two of the last three years, which I think it a result of the regular season champ falling early in the league tournament or winning it outright.

[440Rambler]

well to call the discussion silly is a bit of a stretch...There are all kinds of value,,in the end we spend our money and time for what we value or need....and if some LU fans valued a closer conference with closer road games, better chance to get to the Dance and more familiar schools..that certainly is their right...If the metrics you refer to is $ then you have to start asking why do we have sports teams? just to make $ for LU? If you take the % of the years we went to the Dance from the Valley and % of years we have gone from the A-10. Just based on the fact that since we have been in the A-10 there have been no two bid years and the A10 has more teams metrics say our chances are less. Those are interesting metrics....and maintaining great players? Like who? Miles Rubin as first team defense? The fact that our Conference Champion , regular season as well as tournament is an 11 seed and Drake is an 11 seed. ANd to say end the discussion on what is basically a discussion board?????

The A10 was a 2 bid league last year when we were in the conference. The above is objectively false. The metrics I am referring to are things like 2 bid years, TV revenue, nationally televised games, recruiting profile. Its worth noting the significant step up in recruiting that has happened in the last few years when...we moved to a league with increased revenue and a larger national footprint. The money references at least to me are about funding the sports programs, not generating a profit for the university. More revenue in theory means a larger budget for the athletic department, and in the NIL era budget means players. I for one would prefer Loyola to have good players. I believe we have seen this play out with the roster.

I don't recall anyone arguing about missing the close road trips to Detroit Mercy and Valpo when we left the Horizon league. I think the MVC lovers are nostalgic for the good times we had in the Valley and I get that, nostalgia is a hell of a drug. See some of Brots old posts for validation there. Again anyone can feel however they want to, loving an inferior thing is fine it just doesn't mean the thing you love isn't inferior.

[natetheskate]

I stand corrected about last year...but just seems that you want to say I AM RIGHT and everyone else is wrong....and I would argue that the race to get NIL money to compete in a better conference is an arms race that will hurt our lower level sports over the long run...I look at what the track team fields these days...no field members...basically just a cross country team with a couple separate distance runners .Average attendance has been down the last two years. And also say everyone has every right to defend their argument for the Valley... You have made your argument and people will disagree or agree, there really is not a right or wrong, there is what fans like or dislike and what they would prefer. What good are all the metrics if fans become disengaged with the program? Engagement on this site is definitely down...and I am not saying that it is an A-10 v Valley thing but that fan engagement is the most important of metrics.