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Post by usdtator on Mar 26, 2017 18:41:45 GMT -6
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Post by Yotes on Mar 26, 2017 22:32:48 GMT -6
The gap is closing alright. Look no further than the MVC adding Loyola to replace Creighton a couple years ago. Being in Chicago was just that important I guess.
If Wichita State is gone then I see little separation between the I-29 half of the SL and the entirety of the MVC. Attendance is the one gap that the Summit isn't going to bridge anytime soon. UNI appears to be the only school paying their coach more than $400k, a mark that the Dakota schools are working towards. Plus we learned this year that the MVC is no longer a sure two-bid league with Illinois State being snubbed with 26 wins.
Honestly, why aren't the Dakota schools being looked at to shore up MVC membership?
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Post by gopheryote on Mar 27, 2017 8:06:25 GMT -6
Not sure there is a cultural for between the Dakota schools and much of the MVC (at least the private schools). Sans WSU, the Summit is on par and trending upwards and same can't be said of MVC. SL just needs a bit of better marketing (ex. - ditch the Summit League name for something that sounds like a real conference, like North Central Conference?). And some better luck/success in the NCAA tourney (sorry rabbit fans, going 0-4 hurts the conference). MVC is clinging to a long-past era at this point, as even UNI being a national footprint team pre-dates our entering D1.
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Post by wrj on Mar 27, 2017 11:15:04 GMT -6
Not sure there is a cultural for between the Dakota schools and much of the MVC (at least the private schools). Sans WSU, the Summit is on par and trending upwards and same can't be said of MVC. SL just needs a bit of better marketing (ex. - ditch the Summit League name for something that sounds like a real conference, like North Central Conference?). And some better luck/success in the NCAA tourney (sorry rabbit fans, going 0-4 hurts the conference). MVC is clinging to a long-past era at this point, as even UNI being a national footprint team pre-dates our entering D1. How about the Medium 10? Oops! Make that the Medium 10 Conference. I really don't think there is all that much in a name, unless you keep changing it trying to fake a new identity. As far as 0-4, it is still slightly better than 0-0. Keep trying. Make the dance and I will cheer for you to do us one better.
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Post by Yote 53 on Mar 27, 2017 11:33:34 GMT -6
I have always hated the Summit League name. Just so stupid and phony. I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to rebrand it that name, like they chose the winner from a 3rd grade name the conference contest. Summit - because we are reaching for the summit. Except there is only one school located near a mountain and they weren't even in the conference when the name was changed. Should go back to what it originally was, the Mid-Continent Conference. Perfect synergy with Midco (Midcontinent Communications) being a major TV provider for the conferences sports.
Too late to change it now, though, as a name change would indicate instability.
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Post by thumper76 on Mar 27, 2017 12:21:05 GMT -6
I have always hated the Summit League name. Just so stupid and phony. I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to rebrand it that name, like they chose the winner from a 3rd grade name the conference contest. Summit - because we are reaching for the summit. Except there is only one school located near a mountain and they weren't even in the conference when the name was changed. Should go back to what it originally was, the Mid-Continent Conference. Perfect synergy with Midco (Midcontinent Communications) being a major TV provider for the conferences sports. Too late to change it now, though, as a name change would indicate instability. Nailed it. Summit makes no sense as a name for the middle of the country. As it pertains to prestige and receiving multiple bids, changing the name of the Summit or even the fact that it is called the Summit is irrelevant. We can all claim to be on par with MVC as a league, but the reality is the MVC has enough built up reputation that it will take many years and multiple runs by Summit teams to pass the MVC from a national perspective. The MVC wasn't close to as good as the Summit on the wbb side and they still got two bids with teams that got beat by a couple of Summit teams.
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Post by gopheryote on Mar 27, 2017 13:37:16 GMT -6
When I said better marketing, I simply listed the conference name as an example. It is irrelevant - unless it is noticeably bad like Yote 53 mentioned.
One thing MVC did a number of years ago was to get some TV exposure, as another example. Is it really so crazy to think SL could get a game a week televised nationally on Fox Sports 1 (and regionals), or CBSSports (not CBS), or Roots, etc.? There a ton more outlets now, and they need content as the big boys are tied up with ESPN. Or how about a SL/MVC challenge, similar to B1G/ACC, and show it on the Fox regionals? (They can take few nights off from showing rugby)
There is more than 1 way to raise the profile (other than a few runs in the tourney). Thus my comment above - which isn't a dig - that if SDSU is our best bet, well, they are 0-4, so let's look to some other ways to raise the profile.
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Post by wrj on Mar 27, 2017 14:26:35 GMT -6
When I said better marketing, I simply listed the conference name as an example. It is irrelevant - unless it is noticeably bad like Yote 53 mentioned. One thing MVC did a number of years ago was to get some TV exposure, as another example. Is it really so crazy to think SL could get a game a week televised nationally on Fox Sports 1 (and regionals), or CBSSports (not CBS), or Roots, etc.? There a ton more outlets now, and they need content as the big boys are tied up with ESPN. Or how about a SL/MVC challenge, similar to B1G/ACC, and show it on the Fox regionals? (They can take few nights off from showing rugby) There is more than 1 way to raise the profile (other than a few runs in the tourney). Thus my comment above - which isn't a dig - that if SDSU is our best bet, well, they are 0-4, so let's look to some other ways to raise the profile. I most certainly agree that this is a very good idea from the Summit League point of view. The trick is to get MVC schools to agree. I strongly suspect this isn't the first time this idea has been run up the flagpole. If the MVC prevails in the majority of games, everyone shrugs their shoulders and says it was expected. But, if the Summit League teams were to dominate, it bruises egos and damages reputations. Getting the MVC to take that risk is probably difficult. And they probably don't want to play in our cities on a home and home basis. But I agree that we should try. I suspect that our best opportunities for this would be by having the football playing members promote it. Even though the MVC and the MVFC are different entities, I think they share the same address.
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Post by Yote 53 on Mar 27, 2017 15:39:16 GMT -6
Summit League/Big Sky Conference challenge would be doable, though I don't know how that raises our league profile. Would probably need to do it with another mid-major that is similar in RPI and basketball stature, Horizon League or MAC possibly.
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Post by Yotes on Mar 27, 2017 17:32:08 GMT -6
I think a Summit-Horizon challenge would be feasible. We're in geographically adjacent areas, their schools are already playing in our cities, and it would raise our perceptions if the Summit could win the challenge. It would be a lot better than a Big Sky challenge.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Mar 27, 2017 18:43:07 GMT -6
The Summit is really weak with online message boards. IUPUI, IPFW, Denver and Omaha either have no board or boards that are not even worth going to. I think other than hockey Denver gets lost in their media market much how many of the other schools in big markets get lost. Omaha, IUPUI and IPFW also play in large to very large markets and get squat for coverage and in overall interest level. If I live in Indianapolis what do I choose, hmm lets see. Colts, Pacers, Hoosiers, Boilermakers, Bulldogs or Jaquars.
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Post by usdtator on Apr 4, 2017 8:42:05 GMT -6
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Post by goyotes24 on Apr 4, 2017 9:24:48 GMT -6
From what I have gathered in that article, it looks like the Summit may need to look into a weekly game (a la Horizon League with Friday Night ESPN games) on either CBSSportsNetwork, FS1, or ESPN.
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Post by elcoyote on Apr 4, 2017 11:14:06 GMT -6
I think that article in the Omaha paper is Shatel speculating more than anything based on rumor. The Horizon is a bus league and neither Omaha or Denver fall remotely within their footprint. As for the MVC, UNO doesn't bring a big enough fanbase even though it has an urban profile. The conference discovered that nugget when Loyola was added as a Creighton replacement and didn't exactly deliver the Chicago market. It would also up travel expenses for the Mavs quite a bit I would think.
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Post by Yotes on Apr 4, 2017 12:39:22 GMT -6
From what I have gathered in that article, it looks like the Summit may need to look into a weekly game (a la Horizon League with Friday Night ESPN games) on either CBSSportsNetwork, FS1, or ESPN. Featuring teams with names like IUPUI and IPFW is going to be a tough sell for the Summit. What casual fan is ever going to figure out those acronyms? Fort Wayne had a game on ESPN this year, but I think their appearance was happenstance.
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