Ramblermania.net

The Horizon Conference, from which we have recently departed, is now composed of 10 teams, 9 of which were formerly in the Mid-Continental Conference, re-named the Summit Conference. The only team not in the 9 is the University of Detroit. I am glad we got out while the getting was good.

I never was much for changing leagues names (like the MVC had not done). An exception of course would be the Big 10 Conference that has a serious math problem.

Go Ramblers!

There are only 9 in the HL-- Butler wasn't replaced, and we were replaced by Oakland. But your point is very well taken. No true orginal members left (Detroit joined in the second year of the conference). Former members include St. Louis, Xavier, Marquette, Duquesne, LaSalle, Evansville, Dayton, Northern Illinois, and Oral Roberts. Notre Dame used to be a non-basketball member.

Some have opinions/excuses for why it turned out like this, but I'm convinced that there was-- at the very least-- an unconscious bias toward building up one team in particular at the expense of the others. As a result, it propped up one particular school to the extent that it felt it was too good for the rest of the conference, and alienated fans of the other schools-- many of whom are dying to get out. Now it's almost entirely a collection of schools bound together by nothing more than a practical opportunity to jump from Summit League status to a higher level. UIC and Valpo surely would have left the league if they'd been extended an MVC invitation; Milwaukee would almost certainly go if offered an exit.

The last remaining long-term member that didn't join the MCC/HL to escape the Summit League, Detroit, can't feel all that good about having a state-funded former Summit League addition to the conference to compete with them in their own backyard. Unfortunately for the Titans, their finances, location, and circumstances are not great for moving to another league right now. The A-10 seems appropriate for them, but the average men's basketball budget in that league is about twice what Detroit is now spending, and their travel costs would greatly escalate in non-revenue sports.

So that's 4 out of 9 schools that would bolt the HL without a second thought if the circumstances were remotely possible, on top of two schools leaving in the last two years.

Speaking of Oakland, they are 1-7, but have you seen the schedule they have played? It's nuts.

How's this for a road trip to start the season:

@ North Carolina
@ UCLA
@ Cal
@ Gonzaga

Followed up with:

Louisiana-Lafayette
St. Francis
@ Western Michigan
Rochester
Ohio (first two wins)
@ Indiana tomorrow
Michigan State
Illinois State
Eastern Michigan
Robert Morris

Oakland made themselves a lot of money this year.

I wonder if they had to pay an exit fee to the Summit?

ahunte1 wrote:I wonder if they had to pay an exit fee to the Summit?

Yep. About $250,000 to leave the Summit and another $884,000 or so to join the HL.