Loyola joining A-10

[natetheskate]

So you think the Athletic Department did a survey or reached out to anyone in the fan base for opinions on the move?

[JC64]

I suspect that the move was discussed with some of the biggest Rambler donors. Steve Watson spent a lot of time conversing with Al Norville at last night's game.

[brot4britu]

Everybody involved did most every thing right--LOYOLA decided to commit A 10 is a major hoops conference --they invited us we accepted nuf sed

[swellafelon]

Thanks everybody for the many insightful posts on this thread. I agree with the consensus opinion that it is a good move, and that we also owe a debt of gratitude to the MVC.

My hope is that we follow the Butler path and use the A10 affiliation as a stepping stone to what should be our ultimate goal, membership in the Big East.

Alternatively, I would like to see the Big East and A10 (at least their top teams) merge, then realign along regional lines. A conference or division consisting of Loyola, Creighton, Butler, DePaul, St.Louis, Dayton, Xavier, and Marquette would be a dream come true.

[swellafelon]

I wonder if the University considered the environmental impact of the shift in conferences? I'm thinking mostly of the increased travel entailed by joining the A10. I'm sure there are ways to quantify the impacts.

Loyola touts its environmental record, so I hope this issue was at least part of the discussion.

[natetheskate]

well maybe nuf said from your end Brot ...but not mine...this will change my relationship with the basketball team and the University...not intentionally but it changes a lot of traditions built up over the last 8 years ....friends who attended Southern and Illinois State and we attended games together...it became our yearly connection....Have family in Peoria and that had become a yearly gathering...and there were others...I had a conversation with several season ticket holders last night and more than half were not happy with the move...but we are the little guys and we wont change anything....and while no one can argue that at the moment the A10 is a better basketball Conference and the east coast exposure will be good for the University overall....it may end up being a diminished experience for the local fan and the student body. It is still a personal world for me and this seems less personal.

[440Rambler]

I think its interesting to see the fans who are Illinois local (folks who grew up here etc.) vs. the fans who came to Loyola from elsewhere (Ohio, NY etc.). It seems theres an impact on how you view the move based on your relationship with the surrounding area. As a native Ohioan playing in the conference of Dayton (and Xavier when I was a kid) is very exciting as I hold a lot of the A10 teams in much higher esteem than schools like Missouri State or Illinois State. I can see the flip side though of a native Illinoisan being sad about losing affiliation with other local schools. My understanding of the student demographics since Father G was here is that we're much less local than we were 2-3 decades ago. If that is true I don't think current students will be very upset to not play Valparaiso or Southern Illinois regularly.

[m52]

My understanding of the student demographics since Father G was here is that we're much less local than we were 2-3 decades ago. If that is true I don't think current students will be very upset to not play Valparaiso or Southern Illinois regularly.

I think it is a good thing for the school to become more of a super-regional or even national university, parlaying its basketball success to help achieve that. A school like Villanova, which had been traditionally ranked by US News (for what it is worth) in the regional university category, is now highly ranked in the national university category. One of the original schools to achieve that transition was Boston College, called the "Flutie effect" (or something like that).

[Blers]

Arch Madness is a blast. But the reality is if we lose in 18 or even 21 because of a bad shooting night we potentially miss the tournament entirely. In 20 we went 14-4 in the valley - lost in the first round and werent even a sure in for the NIT (projections had us as an 8 seed). It was never fair to those teams that they had SO MUCH pressure in the tourneys. Similarly the lack of respect the valley gets nationally isn’t fair - but it is a reality. This is a huge boost IMO. There are several teams in that league that are consistently extremely competitive.

Last year the A10 had 2 tourney teams and 4 in the NIT. So many opportunities for quality wins.

[m52]

Arch Madness is a blast. ... It was never fair to those teams that they had SO MUCH pressure in the tourneys. Similarly the lack of respect the valley gets nationally isn’t fair - but it is a reality. This is a huge boost IMO. There are several teams in that league that are consistently extremely competitive.
Last year the A10 had 2 tourney teams and 4 in the NIT. So many opportunities for quality wins.

couldn't agree more, especially the pressure on the team.