UNO Changing Conference Affiliation?

[seaofred92]

http://www.omaha.com/sports/shatel-if-when-wichita-state-kicks-off-mid-major-realignment/article_5759bc6e-fdd1-5542-a1b6-b3fbd08ac62b.html

 

Wichita State is expected to leave the Missouri Valley for the American Athletic Conference, possibly as soon as this spring.

That will send the dominoes flying, and one of the dominoes most mentioned is UNO

Several sources in college sports say the Horizon League and Missouri Valley Conference could have interest in UNO.

If Wichita bolts, the Valley will be left scrambling. Valparaiso, a Horizon school, might be high on the Valley’s list of replacements. The Valley could also look at UNO, bringing the city of Omaha back into the league to fill the void left by Creighton.

Several sources say the Horizon League is looking to expand by two schools, and perhaps four. The reason: improving the league’s basketball profile but also providing more conference games and, thus, more home game revenue for members.

UNO, with Baxter Arena bills to pay, would certainly fit that profile.

The Horizon also makes sense for UNO in that several of its members are “city” schools: Oakland (Detroit), Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State, Illinois-Chicago and Milwaukee. Other members are Youngstown State, Green Bay, Wright State, Northern Kentucky and Valpo.

Sources at UNO say the school is happy with the Summit. Another Summit member, Denver, is said to be coveted by the Horizon.

The attraction of the Horizon would be city schools that face similar athletic budget challenges. And it would provide fertile recruiting ground for UNO basketball.

The Horizon also has a weekly Friday night game on ESPN.

Officials at the Horizon and UNO had no comment on Monday. Stay tuned. Now that the Final Four is over, the action might just be starting.

 

[spurs1990]

Think one would be a better fit? I know the MVC has lost a lot of it's fire power. I still don't know if UNO is ready for that though. Horizon might not be too bad.

 

Seems like the Summit was about to add in another strong piece in North Dakota. Still think that's a solid league.

[seaofred92]

http://www.ozarkssportszone.com/2017/05/04/expanding-their-horizons-missouri-valleys-future-decided-soon/

 

I woke up Thursday to various reports saying the Missouri Valley’s university presidents will hold a meeting next week on expansion.

A school hoping to join the Valley will need seven of the nine presidents to say “yes” on Monday. By Tuesday, we’ll learn if any are accepted – with those schools becoming a full member for the next school year.

It appears the Valley has narrowed it’s list to four schools; Murray State, Nebraska-Omaha, Valparaiso, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. MVC officials visited those campuses in recent weeks to see the facilities and meet their potential, new-partners.

For me, you lose one school – you bring in one school. That makes the most sense. But, as I started thinking about it I thought, “why not two or three?”

[Mavric]