Conference Realignments - Take 2

[The Sicatoka]

Not really affecting much of anything at first glance, but it seems UMass-Lowell is moving from Division II to Division I and will be joining America East (replacing the recently departed Boston University).

UML currently plays in DII except for hockey (Hockey East).

http://collegesportsinfo.com/2013/02/13/report-umass-lowell-to-join-america-east/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+collegesportsinfo+%28CollegeSportsInfo.com%29

[zonadub]

Not really affecting much of anything at first glance, but it seems UMass-Lowell is moving from Division II to Division I and will be joining America East (replacing the recently departed Boston University).

UML currently plays in DII except for hockey (Hockey East).

http://collegesports...SportsInfo.com)

too bad for NJIT

[The Sicatoka]

First, I'm unabashedly stealing most of this information from a source on another board. I believe it is accurate based on my own research.

The Forum had a story on if the Summit League will retain the autobid in baseball. According to the story, the Summit League has already entered its grace period for baseball, as the sixth team Omaha is not a DI member yet. What the story doesn't state is that having six members in baseball is critical to the Summit being recognized as a DI conference. As a non-football conference, just like the WAC now, the Summit has to maintain autobids in two men's team sports other than basketball, to maintain its conference standing.

To keep an autobid you need six full DI members playing the sport under your conference banner. To stay a conference you need either FB plus another mens team sport or MBB and two other mens team sports. The Summit is right now MBB, mens soccer, and baseball. Lose baseball's status and you could lose conference status in the eyes of the NCAA.

The Summit currently has five baseball-tournament-eligible programs in North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne, Western Illinois and Oakland. Nebraska-Omaha won’t finish its NCAA reclassification until 2016. Now imagine if Oakland bolts to a different league (as has been rumored).

By not setting whatever bad blood or politics aside, the Summit has put itself in a dangerous position by not getting Northern Colorado or UND (or both) to join as affiliate baseball members.

I'll say it again: It's good to be the ones watching and munching on the popcorn this time.

[homer]

Nice update Sic. It will definately be interesting to watch. Withall the things going on behind the scenes, conference AD's and their commissioners may feel comfortable in the morning, only to end up watching a press conference of a school leaving for another conference that afternoon.

[GeauxSioux]

Not that it is directly realignment related, but the new president at Northern Iowa is a UND guy, William Ruud.

Now if Ruud has a choice amongst USD, SDSU and NDSU for a slot in the MVC who do you think he would not pick? Hmmm.

[jodcon]

Agree that the Summit would be a much better fit for baseball for North Dakota (if we must continue to sponsor that sport). But I doubt that UND wants anything to do with the Summit League in any aspect as long as their current commissioner is in place.

And even when you throw out the bad blood between Faison/Kelley and Douple, one has to question the leadership abilities of the Summit commissioner. For example:

• He made false public statements to the media regarding the existence of a policy forbidding league members to schedule UND because of the nickname
  
• USD publicy announced intentions to leave the conference before ever playing a game in it
  
• They lost the marquee program of the league in Oral Roberts
  
• The current defacto marquee program, Oakland, has for years publicly expressed their desire to be in a different conference
  
• The oldest remaining member of the league, UMKC, just left to become a member of what is perhaps academically the most hideous conference in all of the NCAA
  

If my favorite school were a member of this league, I'd be pushing my A.D. and President pretty hard to have this clown removed.

When it comes to Douple...

[Cratter]

Behind the doors, the commissioner knows his league will soon be gone. Probably this summer. So he's not worrying. The schools already have plans in place. And he's probably already got his new job lined up.

[homer]

I disagree. I think the Summit schools have an idea where they would like to end up, I don't think they know exactly where they are going to end up.

[darell1976]

I disagree. I think the Summit schools have an idea where they would like to end up, I don't think they know exactly where they are going to end up.

Possible homes for the SL teams:

Oakland- Horizon

NDSU, SDSU, USD-MVC, BSC

WIU-MVC

UNO-MVC (as a Creighton replacement only)

DU-WAC or BSC

IUPUI, IPFW-??

UND--Sitting pretty in the Big Sky Conference (and WAC for baseball and women's S&D)

[zonadub]

Hurd may have learned from watching Fullerton outflank Benson and the WAC for Davis and Poly. He has pulled KC out of the Summit, put a little more cohesion into the WAC's baseball with UND, Northern Colorado and Sac State as conference mates in the Big Sky and WAC baseball. This will deepen the ties between these teams beyond UND's NCC history with UNC and the Wanless connection to Sac. Don't know if Denver's move to the Summit is final and irreversible, but they could backpedal if the Summit implodes following the C7 shakeout a'la Boise and San Diego.

When Chicago State's AD said there was more to come, it probably did not stop with UND baseball. There is still men's golf, and while golf doesn't really need much structure from a conference standpoint, it would be yet another link between UND, UNC, Sac and the WAC. They all play in the Great West's American Sky Conference along with Weber and Southern Utah. Soon-to-be WAC full conference members Chicago State, Utah Valley, Texas Pan Am, Cal Bakersfield are also members of the American Sky Conference and will be leaving next year and Seattle was a member in '11 & '12. Women's golf has a home in the Big Sky, like softball does, but suddenly the Summit looks even less appealing to UND, doesn't it? What could really be next?

OR... maybe Hurd is trying to force USD, UNO, and the XDSUs' hand into joining the WAC and pulling Denver back in when the Summit implodes. Can't imagine they would be thrilled with the likes of Grand Canyon, but they may have no other choice. It would actually be a brilliant move by Hurd to strengthen the new WAC since the loss of Idaho and probably New Mexico State.

[dakotadan]

While I haven't seen it stated anywhere, the Big Sky will likely begin sponsoring men's golf once Idaho joins.

[zonadub]

missed that... that would be 6 Big Sky schools that have men's golf

[SiouxVolley]

First, I'm unabashedly stealing most of this information from a source on another board. I believe it is accurate based on my own research.

The Forum had a story on if the Summit League will retain the autobid in baseball. According to the story, the Summit League has already entered its grace period for baseball, as the sixth team Omaha is not a DI member yet. What the story doesn't state is that having six members in baseball is critical to the Summit being recognized as a DI conference. As a non-football conference, just like the WAC now, the Summit has to maintain autobids in two men's team sports other than basketball, to maintain its conference standing.

To keep an autobid you need six full DI members playing the sport under your conference banner. To stay a conference you need either FB plus another mens team sport or MBB and two other mens team sports. The Summit is right now MBB, mens soccer, and baseball. Lose baseball's status and you could lose conference status in the eyes of the NCAA.

The Summit currently has five baseball-tournament-eligible programs in North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne, Western Illinois and Oakland. Nebraska-Omaha won’t finish its NCAA reclassification until 2016. Now imagine if Oakland bolts to a different league (as has been rumored).

By not setting whatever bad blood or politics aside, the Summit has put itself in a dangerous position by not getting Northern Colorado or UND (or both) to join as affiliate baseball members.

I'll say it again: It's good to be the ones watching and munching on the popcorn this time.

Saw on bisoVille that they just want to merge summit and horizon baseball. How in the world would that be allowed? Do they just choose to keep their heads in a dark place?

[The Sicatoka]

Saw on bisoVille that they just want to merge summit and horizon baseball. How in the world would that be allowed? Do they just choose to keep their heads in a dark place?

They could have the Horizon drop baseball and have all those teams become Summit baseball affiliates; however, you then have to ask if the Horizon would still meet the "MBB plus two other mens team sports" criteria to remain a recognized conference.

[homer]

Why would a Horizon school want to add more competition to get a baseball team to the tournament? If they happen to lose a baseball playing school, they know they could add one team only by inviting one Summit team. Thats the problem the Summit league faces, they are on the bottom of the totem pole as far as Midwest conferences are concerned. Their two best baseball options just joined another conference. No one is going to leave another conference to rush to the Summit league for baseball.

[darell1976]

I saw NDSU just lost badly to Western Illinois (scoring only 36 points on their home court). IMO if NDSU or SDSU doesn't get to the dance....their MVC hopes are going bye bye very fast. WIU is a threat as is Oakland. Winning in Sioux Falls is not a guarantee for the SU's like it looked earlier in the year.

[homer]

FU has a solid basketball program and Saul does a good job recruiting. The biggest question with them and the MVC is location.

The Summit is like the BSC, both are one bid leagues and whoever can string 3 games together in March is the only team going to the dance. When 8 out of 9 teams make the tournament, a February game doesn't mean much.

[darell1976]

FU has a solid basketball program and Saul does a good job recruiting. The biggest question with them and the MVC is location.

The Summit is like the BSC, both are one bid leagues and whoever can string 3 games together in March is the only team going to the dance. When 8 out of 9 teams make the tournament, a February game doesn't mean much.

A lot of the MVC fans on their boards bring up consistency in going to the dance from the SU's which since the 2008-09 season has only 1 appearance each.

[bincitysioux]

In order for Fargo to get an invitiation from the schools that currently make up the Missouri Valley Conference, their new basketball arena would have to be under construction at the very least, the salaries of the coaching staff would have to double if not more, as would the recruiting budget.

[darell1976]

In order for Fargo to get an invitiation from the schools that currently make up the Missouri Valley Conference, their new basketball arena would have to be under construction at the very least, the salaries of the coaching staff would have to double if not more, as would the recruiting budget.

Whoa whoa....that could cut into the football funding and as you know football tops everything else at FU.

[mg2009]

Whoa whoa....that could cut into the football funding and as you know football tops everything else at FU.

lets not toss stones from our glass house here. NDSU does a better job of funding it's side sports than we do (and both need to do better)

on the baseball front i'm still baffled that neither UND of UNC were invited for an affiliate membership. Douple keeps blowing opportunities to stabilize the conference, and its getting pretty annoying. Aside from the schadenfreude, which many here enjoy, i think most can acknowledge that UND and UNC would both be better off in the summit for baseball than whatever is left of the wac. It doesn't take much of an imagination to come up with scenarios where a summit collapse hurts UND via realignment.

edit: holymotheroftypos

[darell1976]

lets not toss stones from our glass house here. NDSU does a better job of funding it's side sports than we do (and both need to do better)

on the baseball front i'm still baffled that neither UND of UNC were invited for an affiliate membership. Douple keeps blowing opportunities to stabilize the conference, and its getting pretty annoying.

That's why their basketball team plays in a garage. Their volleyball team plays in a Jr. high gym. The only facility that is really nice is Newman Outdoor Field that was built for their minor league team and not for NDSU in mind. Face it football is king at NDSU just as hockey is king at UND both teams need to work on their side sports but UND is one up on facilities.

[mg2009]

That's why their basketball team plays in a garage. Their volleyball team plays in a Jr. high gym. The only facility that is really nice is Newman Outdoor Field that was built for their minor league team and not for NDSU in mind. Face it football is king at NDSU just as hockey is king at UND both teams need to work on their side sports but UND is one up on facilities.

NDSU will have a new arena soon,and it will be possibly nicer and will be twice as large as ours, so your really grasping at straws. What matters is how they staff and how they support they actual teams, and I know you saw the salary discussions over the last week or so here.

[PhillySioux]

That's why their basketball team plays in a garage. Their volleyball team plays in a Jr. high gym. The only facility that is really nice is Newman Outdoor Field that was built for their minor league team and not for NDSU in mind. Face it football is king at NDSU just as hockey is king at UND both teams need to work on their side sports but UND is one up on facilities.

Bentson Bunker is a great facility for VB. I wouldn't mind seeing hyslop retrofitted to become a dedicated VB facility.

[JohnboyND7]

That's why their basketball team plays in a garage. Their volleyball team plays in a Jr. high gym. The only facility that is really nice is Newman Outdoor Field that was built for their minor league team and not for NDSU in mind. Face it football is king at NDSU just as hockey is king at UND both teams need to work on their side sports but UND is one up on facilities.

Yep. The team currently plays in a garage. No doubt about it. Sooner or later it will be a real basketball facility. The volleyball arena is a fun place to watch volleyball. It is generally pretty full and I'd rather have them play in there than at the BSA(even the remodeled one) because it has an atmosphere.

Who cares who the baseball venue was built for? Do you think it would be on campus if NDSU's baseball team wasn't going to get to play in it?

Of course NDSU is a football school. That doesn't change the fact that the other sports(and football as well) are going to benefit immensely in the next few years, just like UND's teams will benefit with the indoor facility when that gets built.