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FS2 and random mid-major expansion stuff

Lemoyne is moving up to D1 and joining the NEC this Fall.

The NEC has gone to shit. The only conference in history where its champion hasnt won an NCAAT game. 3 recent D2 additions plus St. Francis, Wagner, LIU, FDU, CCSU, Sacred Heart. Glad RMU escaped that.
 
Yes. LIU got a 13 seed with that kid thrown out of SHU for rape back in the 90s. CCSU got a 14 seed against us. Wagner a 15 vs us. RMU was jobbed vs Nova as a 15. Those were the glory days
A 13 seed might be an improvement over the current seeds the conference gets, but I would not call it special.
 
Chicago State finally has a home! The NEC it is. The NEC is losing Merrimack and Sacred Heart to the MAAC. They added LeMoyne in July and now Chicago State in July 2024. Chicago State is probably going to be adding football so that will help the NEC.

My guess on NEC travel partners. They usually play Thursdays and Saturdays.

Chicago St/St. Francis
FDU/LeMoyne
Wagner/LIU
Stonehill/CCSU
 
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Chicago State finally has a home! The NEC it is. The NEC is losing Merrimack and Sacred Heart to the MAAC. They added LeMoyne in July and now Chicago State in July 2024. Chicago State is probably going to be adding football so that will help the NEC.

My guess on NEC travel partners. They usually play Thursdays and Saturdays.

Chicago St/St. Francis
FDU/LeMoyne
Wagner/LIU
Stonehill/CCSU
That's EXCITING!!
 
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Chicago State finally has a home! The NEC it is. The NEC is losing Merrimack and Sacred Heart to the MAAC. They added LeMoyne in July and now Chicago State in July 2024. Chicago State is probably going to be adding football so that will help the NEC.

My guess on NEC travel partners. They usually play Thursdays and Saturdays.

Chicago St/St. Francis
FDU/LeMoyne
Wagner/LIU
Stonehill/CCSU
I hope someone’s taking action on whether Chicago State launches a football program or dissolves entirely first… OK, maybe that’s a little harsh.
 
Chicago St 75
#25 Northwestern 73

Saw the post about Chicago St moving to the NEC and was going to comment about how the record wasn’t much better but they had been much more respectable the past 2 seasons. Did not think they were capable of this kind of road win though.
 
Chicago St 75
#25 Northwestern 73

Saw the post about Chicago St moving to the NEC and was going to comment about how the record wasn’t much better but they had been much more respectable the past 2 seasons. Did not think they were capable of this kind of road win though.
I wouldn’t be surprised if their head coach, Gerald Gillion, moves up sooner than later. IIRC, they surprised people with how they finished last season as well.
 
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I wouldn’t be surprised if their head coach, Gerald Gillion, moves up sooner than later. IIRC, they surprised people with how they finished last season as well.
There’s taking a program over from nothing, but what Gillion is trying to do is even a step above that. Hes done a great job there the last couple years.
 
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Washington State and Oregon State to the WCC. They will remain in the Pac 2 for football for now with a scheduling agreement of playing 6 games/year vs the Mountain West.

With Pac 12 basketball officially gone, this opens up another at-large bid.
 
Washington State and Oregon State to the WCC. They will remain in the Pac 2 for football for now with a scheduling agreement of playing 6 games/year vs the Mountain West.

With Pac 12 basketball officially gone, this opens up another at-large bid.
Oh well, I guess you can't tell the whole story since it doesn't fit your agendas (how many thousands of them are there anyway). THE WHOLE STORY is its only a 2 year deal. But half truths fit you better than the whole story. Please go to the Hugley posts and tell how he humiliated UNC and Bacot. Your silence there is telling.
 
UMass to the MAC in the first major downgrade of basketball in this expansion era. The A10 is a 1 bid league more often than not but there's always that hope a 2nd or 3rd team can get in and once in awhile they do. I definitely think the A10 has to do more MWC style NET gaming because its no worse than the MWC but they dont have the metrics. UMass leaving A10 basketball is a bit sad, especially going to the MAC. Some of us grew up on UMass basketball being a really good program.

As far as the MAC goes, they also need to be better and need to start gaming. I think some of these leagues should do what the Sun Belt tried a few years ago. You play everyone once, your rival twice, then your last X games are determined by NET, standings, etc.

Example, Akron should play the other 12 teams once plus Kent St. That's 13 games. The final 5-7 games should be based on where they fall in the conference standings and NET rankings. So maybe Akron, Kent, UMass plus 3 more wind up at the top of the league, they play their final 5 games vs each other.

This leaves the A10 with 14, which is more than enough but you still wonder if they would needlessly backfill. I still say they should add a few and break into 2 legally separate conferences with each having an auto bid.

Atlantic 10 East
URI
Fordham
St. Joseph's
LaSalle
GWU
GMU
VCU
Richmond

Atlantic 10 West
St. Bonaventure
Duquesne
Davidson
Dayton
Loyola
Saint Louis

Then add Wichita State and 1 from the CAA (Charleston or Hofstra/Stony Brook for more NY presence or Northeastern to backfill for UMass)
 
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Another WAC exodus. Grand Canyon and Seattle to the WCC and Texas-Rio Grand Valley to the Southland. The WAC is back to the 8 team minimum so they'll probably backfill.

GCU and Seattle seemed like no-brainers for the WCC forever so they finally made the switch. I'd expect GCU to be the #3 program in the WCC right away with Gonzaga and SMC and maybe they can land some at-large bids if the WCC can figure out a way to game the NET like the Mountain West.

Missouri State is also leaving the Missouri Valley to join CUSA.
 
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Another WAC exodus. Grand Canyon and Seattle to the WCC and Texas-Rio Grand Valley to the Southland. The WAC is back to the 8 team minimum so they'll probably backfill.

GCU and Seattle seemed like no-brainers for the WCC forever so they finally made the switch. I'd expect GCU to be the #3 program in the WCC right away with Gonzaga and SMC and maybe they can land some at-large bids if the WCC can figure out a way to game the NET like the Mountain West.

Missouri State is also leaving the Missouri Valley to join CUSA.
Keep an eye out on the MVC targeting UT-Arlington + St. Thomas and the Summit League looking at Utah Valley.
 
Keep an eye out on the MVC targeting UT-Arlington + St. Thomas and the Summit League looking at Utah Valley.

I dont understand why the MVC doesnt add North Dakota State and South Dakota State. They are already in the league for football (though the football league is a separate entity) and their basketball programs are good.
 
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I dont understand why the MVC doesnt add North Dakota State and South Dakota State. They are already in the league for football (though the football league is a separate entity) and their basketball programs are good.
There are a few elements to this:

1. NDSU and SDSU like being with UND and USD from an intuitional and traveling perspective. If they get the perks of being in the MVFC while still being the favorites to win the Summit every year in MBB, why move?

2. The MVC is a basketball-first conference and their members, especially the smaller schools like Drake, would prefer schools who are basketball schools and aren’t a threat to leave for the FBS like MO State just did. They also want to target schools in large markets for academic recruiting purposes, which is why they went after UTA, UMKC, UNO, UWM, etc. last cycle. And frankly, there’s the issue of Ohio and Indiana schools driving to Fargo and Brookings.
 
There are a few elements to this:

1. NDSU and SDSU like being with UND and USD from an intuitional and traveling perspective. If they get the perks of being in the MVFC while still being the favorites to win the Summit every year in MBB, why move?

2. The MVC is a basketball-first conference and their members, especially the smaller schools like Drake, would prefer schools who are basketball schools and aren’t a threat to leave for the FBS like MO State just did. They also want to target schools in large markets for academic recruiting purposes, which is why they went after UTA, UMKC, UNO, UWM, etc. last cycle. And frankly, there’s the issue of Ohio and Indiana schools driving to Fargo and Brookings.

The MVC doesn't have any Ohio or Eastern Indiana schools. The furthest east they go is Western Indiana. Driving to the Dakotas wouldn’t be ideal but they are also considering UT-Arlington, which would require a flight. Can these schools fly to the Dakotas?

Also, do you think NDSU and SDSU would turn down an MVC invite? I dont.
 
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The NEC has gone to shit. The only conference in history where its champion hasnt won an NCAAT game. 3 recent D2 additions plus St. Francis, Wagner, LIU, FDU, CCSU, Sacred Heart. Glad RMU escaped that.
Yeah well they are the only conference in history to have their 2nd place team win a tourney game as an 16 seed and the only conference ever to knock off a 1 seed in the first round.
 
The MVC doesn't have any Ohio or Eastern Indiana schools. The furthest east they go is Western Indiana. Driving to the Dakotas wouldn’t be ideal but they are also considering UT-Arlington, which would require a flight. Can these schools fly to the Dakotas?

Also, do you think NDSU and SDSU would turn down an MVC invite? I dont.
Thanks for the correction on OH/IN, I was thinking of the Horizon League. Fargo has an international airport but Brookings does not.
 
Another WAC exodus. Grand Canyon and Seattle to the WCC and Texas-Rio Grand Valley to the Southland. The WAC is back to the 8 team minimum so they'll probably backfill.

GCU and Seattle seemed like no-brainers for the WCC forever so they finally made the switch. I'd expect GCU to be the #3 program in the WCC right away with Gonzaga and SMC and maybe they can land some at-large bids if the WCC can figure out a way to game the NET like the Mountain West.

Missouri State is also leaving the Missouri Valley to join CUSA.
A couple really nice pickups for the WCC. Grand Canyon obviously, but Seattle also has built a solid program under Chris Victor the last few years.
 
St Thomas has a lot of potential as a basketball program.
Absolutely. They see themselves as peers with Marquette and have aspirations for the Big East, or at the very least the A-10. Not to mention the new arena on the way with the capability to play bigger games at the Xcel Center.
 
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Absolutely. They see themselves as peers with Marquette and have aspirations for the Big East, or at the very least the A-10. Not to mention the new arena on the way with the capability to play bigger games at the Xcel Center.

What's really crazy is there are only 2 D1 teams in Minnesota, a state with almost 6 million people. Not everyone is a Gophers fan. Seems like they have a lot of potential to develop a very strong fanbase. Marquette has history but I could see them becoming a Creighton.
 
What's really crazy is there are only 2 D1 teams in Minnesota, a state with almost 6 million people. Not everyone is a Gophers fan. Seems like they have a lot of potential to develop a very strong fanbase. Marquette has history but I could see them becoming a Creighton.
Yeah, that fanbase has a lot of deep pockets and has been integral to their success moving up from D3 thus far. I follow them from a distance since they’re in the same conference as the local school here (UMKC), and they were just as formidable as the Dakotas and Oral Roberts this year, who took a sharp step backwards from the year before.
 
Also, since we’re talking about mid-major realignment:

1. Expect more movement in the CAA, specially with William & Mary and Villanova (football only).
2. The WAC might fall apart completely as the last remaining Texas schools are reaching out to the Southland. Utah Valley and Cal Baptist are two very solid basketball programs who might be left in a bad situation moving forward.
 
Also, since we’re talking about mid-major realignment:

1. Expect more movement in the CAA, specially with William & Mary and Villanova (football only).
2. The WAC might fall apart completely as the last remaining Texas schools are reaching out to the Southland. Utah Valley and Cal Baptist are two very solid basketball programs who might be left in a bad situation moving forward.

Those schools leaving the Southland for the WAC never made much sense to me. I think I posted that in this thread. If they go back, I'd guess the WAC backfills again as they've always done. Probably from D2s but I'm not sure who is left. Just for kicks, I'd like to see Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks and the D2 Hawaii schools (Chaminade, Hawaii Pacific, and Hawaii-Hilo) go D1 but the WAC schools that are left wont want to that expense. The WAC may only be left with the 3 Utah schools (SUU, UVU, and UTU) and Cal Baptist so they may not have many options.
 
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