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Post by HLFanaticus on Jun 3, 2020 16:28:41 GMT -6
According to "sources" of Jon Rothstein
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2020 16:42:59 GMT -6
It's about freaking time. I see though, that since the vote won't take place until sometime next month, RMU won't join until the '21-'22 season.
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Post by ougrizz05 on Jun 3, 2020 16:50:46 GMT -6
I feel like its not a bad move. It also adds another private school to the fold 2.
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Post by vugrad1314 on Jun 3, 2020 19:01:17 GMT -6
They probably need that year to sort out football too. Good program. New market. New state\recruiting territory for the footprint. Private school. Good addition. Gets them closer to the divisional play goal which could really help out financially struggling schools like Wright State and Green Bay. Still think Bellarmine and USI are distinct possibilities as well but those will likely come down the road.
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Post by ysuindy on Jun 3, 2020 19:21:56 GMT -6
Robert Morris has six men’s sports per their website.
Horizon League only sponsors three of them : soccer, golf and basketball. Do the HL by-laws require a minimum number of sports? I understand it’s all about basketball, but wondering if RMU will have to add sports?
The other men’s sports are football, hockey and lacrosse. They will have to find a home for their football team. The CAA and MVFC are the best geographical fits as football only conferences but they will get the crap kicked out of them in either of those leagues
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2020 19:57:43 GMT -6
So no baseball; no men's track; no men's swimming/diving; no men's tennis. Is getting them into the League worth it for just basketball? I'm beginning to have a bit of trepidation about RMU.
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Post by vugrad1314 on Jun 3, 2020 20:05:19 GMT -6
The league could certainly use a boost in basketball. I'd say for the HL's situation it is worth it. And you don't know how their sports will change. They may decide to drop things like LAX and add track tennis swimming\diving. Football could go to the Big South. Wouldn't be quite as crusehd there. They could also drop hockey or football in favor of some or all of those other sports to make themselves a better fit for the league. But yeah. That program is worth it. Realistically it's among the best options they could hope to add unless there's an elite D2 callup I'm missing.
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Post by gbphoenix1 on Jun 3, 2020 21:02:03 GMT -6
RMU is looking at the maac as well.
That makes more sense for them in almost every regard. Until they actually join I'm not getting too invested in this.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2020 9:17:08 GMT -6
The league could certainly use a boost in basketball. I'd say for the HL's situation it is worth it. And you don't know how their sports will change. They may decide to drop things like LAX and add track tennis swimming\diving. Football could go to the Big South. Wouldn't be quite as crusehd there. They could also drop hockey or football in favor of some or all of those other sports to make themselves a better fit for the league. But yeah. That program is worth it. Realistically it's among the best options they could hope to add unless there's an elite D2 callup I'm missing. LAX is an increasingly popular sport. I doubt they'll drop it. Hockey makes some money for them. RMU's concern would be where to put football and the lack of HL-sponsored sports. Whatever they decide to do with their other sports will be a challenge. I will say that their men's basketball has been a bit better than the lower half of the HL. The Colonials would've come in behind the Flames last season and have been a top tier team in the NEC, but is it worth it for one sport (men's hoops) while RMU has only two other sports that the HL sponsors? I'd truly be surprised if the powers that be at Robert Morris pull the trigger on a move to the HL.
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Post by vugrad1314 on Jun 6, 2020 18:11:26 GMT -6
And if Bellarmine and USI can make some serious noise early on in their HL tenure ala NKU you'd be looking at a pretty good league there. Pretty good geography for a 14 team league. Good rivalries and lots of markets.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2020 20:55:21 GMT -6
My guess is that Robert Morris will be joining the HL. Throwing out the option of joining the MAAC is just Robert Morris' way of saying they have other suitors in their attempt to negotiate down their entrance fee to join the HL. They currently sponsor 3 sports for men and 6 sports for women that the HL competes in. Honestly, that is probably already good enough for most HL ADs but if they do end up in the HL don't be surprised if they eliminate a few of their current sports and add a few more that is sponsored by the HL. I wouldn't be surprised to see the HL officially sponsor a few of the sports that RMU currently has in the future too. Lacrosse for example is currently sponsored by CSU and Detroit. The HL is looking at Bellarmine as a future conference member. They sponsor Lacrosse. You have to remember that LeCrone's grand plan is to get the HL to 14-16 members. Every member doesn't have to compete in every sport to be of value to the conference. My guess is that the HL will be grow to 14 in the next few years with the addition of Robert Morris, Bellarmine, and Southern Indiana. When you look at those 3 schools being added it makes much more sense geographically and the number of sports each of those schools sponsor in the HL. Potential new travel partners: YSU/Robert Morris CSU/IPFW Southern Indiana/Bellarmine NKU/WSU UWGB/UWM UIC/IUPUI Detroit/Oakland That isn't the HL many of us wanted when we started looking at expansion but it is probably the most realistic option the HL has at expansion. Not a bad guess Big DWSU. Didn't even think about the possible negotiating ploy by RMU. If this league is looking to continue to expand, I think 14 should be the optimum number with USI/Bellarmine. It also appears to me that the Horizon League is positioning itself to be one of the "stronger" mid-major conferences if/when the P5 breaks away.
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Post by ougrizz05 on Jun 7, 2020 9:12:20 GMT -6
My guess is that Robert Morris will be joining the HL. Throwing out the option of joining the MAAC is just Robert Morris' way of saying they have other suitors in their attempt to negotiate down their entrance fee to join the HL. They currently sponsor 3 sports for men and 6 sports for women that the HL competes in. Honestly, that is probably already good enough for most HL ADs but if they do end up in the HL don't be surprised if they eliminate a few of their current sports and add a few more that is sponsored by the HL. I wouldn't be surprised to see the HL officially sponsor a few of the sports that RMU currently has in the future too. Lacrosse for example is currently sponsored by CSU and Detroit. The HL is looking at Bellarmine as a future conference member. They sponsor Lacrosse. You have to remember that LeCrone's grand plan is to get the HL to 14-16 members. Every member doesn't have to compete in every sport to be of value to the conference. My guess is that the HL will be grow to 14 in the next few years with the addition of Robert Morris, Bellarmine, and Southern Indiana. When you look at those 3 schools being added it makes much more sense geographically and the number of sports each of those schools sponsor in the HL. Potential new travel partners: YSU/Robert Morris CSU/IPFW Southern Indiana/Bellarmine NKU/WSU UWGB/UWM UIC/IUPUI Detroit/Oakland That isn't the HL many of us wanted when we started looking at expansion but it is probably the most realistic option the HL has at expansion. I like how the league would look should we go in that direction. A mix of old & new with some new to D1 faces. Also, I like the idea of the league adding LAX as a sport. I've watched some high school matches in person and they were kind of exciting. Of course, the impact of COVID19 has caused many schools to lose $ and reduce sports. We will see what happens. Maybe that is a down the road kind of thing. There is some hope on the Horizon. Pun intended (see what I did there). Haha
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Post by oklahomamick on Jun 8, 2020 18:37:21 GMT -6
YSU/Robert Morris CSU/IPFW Southern Indiana/Bellarmine NKU/WSU UWGB/UWM UIC/IUPUI Detroit/Oakland
OR
Butler/Valpo Loyola/UIC UWGB/UWM Detroit/YSU CSU/WSU
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Post by vugrad1314 on Jun 8, 2020 20:46:02 GMT -6
In fairness, Oakland and NKU have been really good additions, Robert Morris would add value to the league even in the old Horizon and Southern Indiana and Bellarmine have significant upside potential (especially USI) to be a strong add to the conference. Yes, the old Horizon was far and away the better league but it's pointless to even bring that up since a return to the old Horizon is not a viable option. It represents a bygone era that is not going to return. For reference while Butler Loyola and Valpo are no doubt very happy to be where they are, I also have no doubt that the old guard Big East teams would rather still be in a conference with Syracuse Pittsburgh Louisville West Virginia Cincinnati Notre Dame and South Florida. And the non-Chicagoland MVC fans would no doubt rather be back in the days when Creighton and Wichita State were still a part of the conference. How would it feel to you as a Valpo fan to hear a fan of Bradley UNI Illinois State or some other old guard MVC school say "Valpo sucks I miss Wichita State; or why didn't we pick Murray State instead of Valpo?" That's basically what you're saying to the fans of the new schools when you bring up the old conference. It's unnecessarily disparaging to the new conference members, some of whom have already contributed greatly to their new home (like Oakland's multiple McCafferty trophies) and NKU's multiple NCAA tournament berths.
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Post by freewind on Jun 9, 2020 6:58:41 GMT -6
I just hope if they do divisions, they have a fluid schedule so the top teams play each other twice and model the post season tournament like the A10 to try to build team resume's going into the tournament.
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