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Post by biglew on Jan 19, 2015 11:45:23 GMT -5
Northern Kentucky would be great.
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Post by Grizzfan1 on Jan 19, 2015 12:04:47 GMT -5
Northern Kentucky would be great. Meh. They have good facilities but I would prefer the HL go after a program a bit more established. I also agree with what was mentioned earlier about not going after IUPUI just because they are in Indy along with the HL offices.
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Post by ougradbob on Jan 19, 2015 12:35:09 GMT -5
Northern Kentucky would be great. That would put the Atlantic Sun in a bad place...they only have 8 teams as is. But, like I said earlier -- if we are going to get Belmont, it would be nice to have a team in between in Kentucky.
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Post by Gary McCarrick on Jan 19, 2015 13:11:36 GMT -5
The key here is will the Horizon League expand by 1 or 3 teams and will they divide into divisions as Bob mentioned such as East/West or they could do North/South. I like name recognition of established universities and programs but the strategic partnering of universities will be key. I see Northern Kentucky as a potential travel partner for WSU. Robert Morris for YSU but what about Belmont? Or another school like Murray State or Morehead State? Murray State would be a good travel partner for Belmont.
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Post by Gary McCarrick on Jan 19, 2015 13:19:55 GMT -5
I wouldn't mind seeing Belmont, Murray State and Northern Kentucky as the teams to join the Horizon next year and all would be matched with suitable travel partner universities.
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Post by ouguy on Jan 19, 2015 14:00:33 GMT -5
I really like the idea of 12 teams and two divisions. If they were divided geographically, we would still most likely place Mercy in a home and home every year, but maybe miss out on a game against Milwaukee or Green Bay. This would cut down on travel costs again. I'd love to see it! Although I feel like it's more likely they add one this summer and keep it at one division and then add two more down the road. Adding three teams at once seems difficult.
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Post by ougradbob on Jan 19, 2015 14:20:09 GMT -5
I like all of your ideas, I just don't know enough about Northern Kentucky, in terms of what they can bring to the HL. They are a relatively new D1 team, no?
I like the idea of bringing teams in that have made it to the tourney in the past few years...like a Robert Morris, who happens to play OU every once in a while, and did have a tourney appearance or 2 in the past few years. Plus, like I said earlier -- it brings exposure to the Pittsburgh TV market for the Horizon League.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if IUPUI is in the running - they have a top of the line pool for swimming, and host a lot of hi level events there. It would bring the IPLS market into the mix as well.
You know the HL has to be looking at TV markets where they don't currently have exposure for their expansion. With that said, Nashville will probably be number one on the list (thanks to Belmont being halfway thru the door), with Lexington/Cinci, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis in the running as well.
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Post by ouguy on Jan 19, 2015 14:23:57 GMT -5
Please keep IUPUI and their alphabet soup of a school name and their middle school gym full of 27 fans out of the Horizon. I know they're our Summit buddies, but the national stigma would negatively affect the Horizon
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Post by ougradbob on Jan 19, 2015 14:25:55 GMT -5
The key here is will the Horizon League expand by 1 or 3 teams and will they divide into divisions as Bob mentioned such as East/West or they could do North/South. I like name recognition of established universities and programs but the strategic partnering of universities will be key. I see Northern Kentucky as a potential travel partner for WSU. Robert Morris for YSU but what about Belmont? Or another school like Murray State or Morehead State? Murray State would be a good travel partner for Belmont. This was my logic, Gary: UWGB/UWM Valpo/UIC UDM/OU CSU/WSU YSU/RMU (maybe if added) Murray St or Morehead St/Belmont These would be great travel partners. I believe the longest distance would be between the Kentucky and Tennessee schools. The League could be set up in 2 divisions, like this: Oakland Valpo UIC Green Bay Milwaukee (Algonquin for "the good land") Mercy Cleveland St Youngstown Wright St Belmont Robert Morris Morehead/Murray? This is fun -- maybe the HL can hire us as consultants?
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Post by Gary McCarrick on Jan 19, 2015 15:10:17 GMT -5
I like all of your ideas, I just don't know enough about Northern Kentucky, in terms of what they can bring to the HL. They are a relatively new D1 team, no? Bob, I think the interest in Northern Kentucky comes from the fact that they've got great new facilities, corporate sponsorship and an AD that was at UWGB - I believe. They've prepped for the opportunity to join the HL. Travel partner wise they'd be a close fit with Wright State. They are relatively new to D1 but some universities have to start somewhere. We wanted in the HL when we went D1 but we're stopped by the UDM/Loyola/Butler relationship. I'm not the biggest fan of this potential move but I understand why it will be entertained and considered. I just really hope that we don't try to shoe horn IUPUI into the HL because of the Indy market. If it doesn't fit it doesn't fit. Maybe they could change their name to Indianapolis State University.
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