Stand pat or go big? Examining the future of Missouri Valley Conference basketball

PEORIA — Missouri State will soon start its basketball farewell tour in the Missouri Valley Conference as it exits next spring at the end of the 2024-25 season to join Conference USA.

What should the Valley do next? Stay at 11 teams? Go back to 12? Bring in several teams and dramatically raise its numbers with an eye on the day when the music stops in the conference re-alignment boom and someone gets left without a chair?

From Valley commissioner Jeff Jackson to athletic directors and head coaches with prominent teams like Bradley University, Belmont and Northern Iowa, opinions vary.

MVC candidates: Missouri State is gone. 11 schools that could replace them in the Missouri Valley Conference

“We wish Missouri State the best, they’ve been a great partner of the Missouri Valley Conference,” Valley commissioner Jeff Jackson said. “(But) … I don’t think we feel any need to fill the spot. I don’t think between myself and my board room — the presidents and chancellors who make the decisions on who we bring into the Valley — I don’t think we feel the need to do anything or change anything in our approach to how we look at membership realignment.”

Jackson went on to say if the right fit comes along and can “enhance the overall value” of the Valley, the league would certainly take a look — but they have not changed their approach. Valley basketball sits at 12 teams headed into the 2024-25 season and will drop to 11 after Missouri State’s departure.

“I don’t think even number, odd number, matter. It’s math,” Jackson said. “In most of our sports, not all of our institutions participate.

“We have not had any serious conversations with anyone about expansion. None.”

One thing was clear in talking to those in the league office, coaches at the helm or athletic directors overseeing programs: The Valley’s present focus is more targeted toward getting a second team in the NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid. For the first time, the league this offseason put into play a scheduling…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/stand-pat-big-examining-future-081220222.html

Author : Journal Star

Publish date : 2024-08-23 08:12:20

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