I'm basically neutral on it, but I will see that I don't see how it helps us get more bids.

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Belmont has pretty good facilities, in a sizeable new market, and a basketball budget that would put them at or near the top in the MVC.

Adding to that, some analysts have Belmont pegged as a potential top 25 team this year. If they have that kind of year, and follow that up by joining the MVC, that’s a very good look for the conference. It’s also about whether that could lead to adding another quality team. If that happens, in terms of National perception we could be looked at as on par with the A10. That won’t automatically mean multiple bids every year, but it won’t hurt the chances for it.

Outside of adding SLU or bringing back Wichita State, this is probably the best case, realistic addition.

Finally another MVC city worth visiting!

Belmont itself is a pretty campus. My parents were married in the chapel on campus which is now a performance venue for the music department.

Belmont is a great mid major program that has been hamstrung by its conference. It obviously won't have the same level of dominance in the MVC that it had in the OVC, but it's reign there has been impressive and I can speak from experience that people (at least the Baptists) in Nashville care about the team. I think away games there will consistently be quad 1s.

The MVC has obviously upset the apple cart further in the OVC. It'll be interesting to see if we pick off the other decent program there (not my first choice) or we see if we can nick someone from the AAC or another program looking to move as the ripples of the power conference shifts have their effect (what I would prefer the MVC do).

Now if the MVC can add Howard University and Cal State Fullerton, we would be well on our way to having an all Red Line Conference!

I've got to hand it to you, that was a good one

I found out about the Belmont add earlier today, while I was at work, and didn't have time to make a considered comment.

A couple of years ago, when the MVC was talking about replacing Wichita State and adding more schools to get to 12, I did some research on Belmont. I considered them a bad option for a number of reasons. But that was a couple years ago, and some of their data has changed.

First, the Belmont I was considering in 2018-19 or so had a men's basketball budget of $2.6 million as of 2016-17. That was about $200k below Loyola, when Loyola was still operating only a bit above their Horizon League budgets. The most recent data shows their men's hoops budget at $5.1 million, well above Loyola's $4.3 million budget from a couple years ago. This would put Belmont as the highest-spending program in the MVC. That's really good.

But why did they double their budget in the span of two years, and is that a trend or an aberration? The huge jump in the budget coincides with the retirement of longtime coach Rick Byrd, who took Belmont from an NAIA startup in the 80s to a somewhat perennial mid-major powerhouse. Was the doubling of the budget related to Coach Byrd's retirement, or is it reflective of continued spending?

Belmont's endowment is excellent, at $200 million or so. That's fantastic for the conference. Belmont has very good facilities, even if they're not the size that many MVC schools desire. They're much better off in the endowment and facilities department than Valpo was (and still is).

But now we get to the troubling areas... academics, location, a change in coaching, and other areas. As I understand it, Belmont's primary academic focus is music and the music business. Yes, they offer degrees in many other disciplines, but they are known for music and a large part of their giving comes from the music industry. The basketball arena is named for Mike Curb, who was responsible for The Mike Curb Congregation in the early 1970s....


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As for basketball, Belmont has terrorized the Ohio Valley for years. Under longtime coach Byrd, they were regular OVC champions and had KenPom numbers in the 50s and 80s. But since Coach Byrd retired, Belmont has finished at 109 and 110 in KenPom. Last year, their best win was against KenPom 134 Morehead State (they won the home game and lost the road game in OT). They lost their league championship game to Morehead by 15. In 2020, their best win was against #113 Western Kentucky at home. In short, they kick ass against the OVC teams below 150 in KenPom.

But what is Belmont spending their money on, if the latest figure ($5.1 million) is right? Last year Belmont was 296th in NCSOS according to KenPom, despite having more than enough money to pay for bye games. The year before (pre-pandemic) it was 262nd. Joining the MVC should help their scheduling, but it seems like they depend on piling up the wins against sub-par teams.

Look, I realize that the MVC needs additional teams. Belmont could be a great acquisition if they keep their budget over $4.5 mil and their new coach schedules and wins games against the top 100 and gets to some good MTEs. My preference for new members has always been to get schools like Saint Louis and Dayton to come to their senses and join the MVC-- instantly making the conference the 7th or 8th best and leapfrogging the A10 and WCC. The lower-spending teams in the conference would have to boost their budgets to compete. But if Belmont is going to keep spending in the $4 million plus range and the AAC implodes, we might have people knocking at our doors instead of having to convince.

Within the last year or two Belmont just expanded their facilities to include a practice facility similar to ours. Their spending is legit, and their average kenpom ranking over the last five years is top 100…even playing in the OVC where pretty much every school not named Murray State was sub 200. They’ve spent and played beyond what they’ve should’ve done. Way beyond.

And I’m not sure what you mean by location, but Nashville is a great city. Borderline amazing if you’re looking for a place to visit from Chicago in the middle of winter.

I mean, look….The point about the former associations, my understanding is they cut ties with those groups over a decade ago….but maybe jmiller can fill in more of that with his family links. Even if there are groups you’d feel uncomfortable associating with, if Wichita State came crawling back they’d be welcome with open arms…and their associations are, well, you know. In terms of academics, it’s the MVC, not the Ivy League. SIU agreed to give me a law degree, for goodness sake. Let’s be fair, here.

Would I prefer SLU? Yes, but….that doesn’t seem likely. And, Bottom line is, out of all the schools that would legitimately come to the MVC, Belmont is near or at the top on every level, and it’s a great move IMHO

I'm not exactly sure when you graduated, but doesn't it coincide more or less with when SIU began its long slide in enrollment? And didn't it trigger an emergency Accreditation Review of the University by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)?

https://www.hlcommission.org/component/ ... nstid=1156

I can neither confirm nor deny that. But when I graduated (2006) it was probably pretty close to their peak in enrollment, at least in terms of the law school. My class also had one of the higher bar passage rates in the State (pats self on back for not ruining that). Like a lot of schools a handful years later, I think they were hit hard by a law school enrollment bubble popping nationwide. Or….it’s reputation might have taken a hit after they let me out…that’s fair.

I really do hope it bounces back as a school. It was a great place to live for 3 years in my 20’s.