The array of sports that some MVC schools don't have, the ones they do have, and the ones that some schools are adept in is sometimes mystifying.
For instance, Bradley has one of the best and most consistent men's soccer programs, but they don't have women's soccer at all, even though more full membership MVC schools have women's soccer than men's soccer.
Did you know that SIU-Edwardsville and Central Arkansas are MVC conference members in men's soccer? That's because SIU, Illinois State, Indiana State, and Northern Iowa don't have men's soccer.
Southern Illinois doesn't have men's OR women's soccer.
Indiana State doesn't have men's soccer or golf. But they DO have women's soccer and golf.
Loyola and the Iowa schools don't have baseball, but everyone else does.
Loyola, Indiana State, Evansville, Missouri State, and Northern Iowa don't have men's tennis. But Northern Iowa and Evansville have women's tennis.
If Loyola is going to add some sports to fill out the league roster, it seems to me the top candidates should be men's and women's tennis. It would also be less expensive, I think. I would love to have baseball, but given our location near the lake-- where it's often 10 degrees colder than inland in March and April-- I don't see how we could swing it. I remember training for high school baseball in Virginia in February, and we had guys getting nosebleeds from breathing sub-freezing air on running drills. And forget about batting and fielding practice....
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