Summit Hot Enough to Stop MVC Lusting

[chuck]

Seems to me that many fans would LOVE for us to (down the road) be full members in the Missouri Valley Conference. That is, the MVC is the hot girlfriend we all drool over. However, after thinking about recent changes in the Summit (adding Dakota schools, UNO)...I am wondering if the Summit doesn't have the potential to eventually rival the Missouri Valley. Before you spit out your coffee, think about the current membership of the Summit vs. the Valley. The Summit now has a similar number of flagship or land grant public universities (USD, SDSU, NDSU) as the Valley (Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State). In addition, if you compare the enrollments in the two conferences they are pretty similar. Both conferences are made up of larger public universities, urban universities, and private midwestern schools. Finally, it doesn't seem to me that the Missouri Valley holds any distinct geographic advantages. That is, the Summit has schools in a number of larger metropolitan areas with good travel options (Omaha, Indianapolis, Detroit, KC, Tulsa, Fargo). Yes, the Valley definitely has a head start on the Summit in terms of facilities and tradition. But--doesn't it seem like the Summit could stabilize, continue to grow in competitiveness, and potentially rival the Valley as the premier Midwestern mid-major? That is, the Summit has the potential to mature to the point that we won't need to consider a jump to the Valley. What are your thoughts? What am I missing?

[#1CoyoteFan (Admin)]

If you look at this year's bracket, Oakland was too far off of Indiana State, and I think Oakland would've won the MVC. It was definitely down this year and once again after complaining about its opponent last year, Creighton could only muster a CIT invite.

[chuck]

Here's another document to somewhat backup what I am saying (from UNO self-study, comparing UNO to Missouri Valley and Summit). The enrollments and academics are VERY similar between the Missouri Valley and the Summit. In fact, the Summit averages will increase once Southern Utah and Centenary are dropped and UNO is added. Really there isn't a difference between academics and enrollments between the two conferences that I can see.

www.omavs.com/documents/2011/3/17/Alden_20_26_20Associates_20-_20Appendix_20Information.pdf?id=1728


Again, I like the "tightening" of the Summit's geography and hope for continued stability and competitive growth.

[Jack]

Just a quick FYI, none of these schools are Land Grants.

Missouri State, Illinois State, and Indiana State

www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/partners/partners_map.pdf


Land Grant and Flagsip definition:

cio.chance.berkeley.edu/chancellor/sp/flagship.htm

[Yote 53]

Read this excerpt from the link above and then consider which state does South Dakota most reflect, Iowa or Oregon when discussing the health of its public universities.

There are some exceptions to this pattern, to be sure. Iowa refused to add universities during the expansion of the 1960s, choosing instead to invest in and expand its two flagship campuses, Iowa State and the University of Iowa, as well as its one teachers' college, which became the University of Northern Iowa. No public university was built in Des Moines, the largest city in the state. As a result, with a population base roughly the same as Oregon, or slightly less, it has two excellent and thriving AAU universities, while Oregon has eight underfunded, struggling institutions.

How many underfunded and struggling institutions does South Dakota have?

[chuck]

"How many underfunded and struggling institutions does South Dakota have?"
Good question. I don't have enough familiarity with other institutions to make a good judgment. I would (possibly selfishly) classify USD as underfunded, but not "struggling."

[chuck]

"Just a quick FYI, none of these schools are Land Grants.

Missouri State, Illinois State, and Indiana State"

Thanks for the info, Jack. I guess we could say these are larger residential state universities. I am still interested in hearing other opinions on this...especially as we consider that I think USD, SDSU, and NDSU all have significant facility plans for the (hopefully) near future. I don't see why the Summit couldn't eventually rival the Valley. As we've somewhat discussed--I don't think the Valley has a significant advantage in terms of enrollment, academic reputation, and geography (population base).