More MVC expansion on the way?

[Da Coach]

There are rumors that the MVC is again considering expansion. The rumor, unconfirmed so far, is that the MVC is considering adding 3 more schools- University of Missouri- Kansas City, University of Nebraska- Omaha, and St. Thomas University of St. Paul, Minnesota. That would expand the conference to 14 schools, which would likely mean the MVC would split into two divisions.
What do Bradley fans think? 14-teams for a conference that usually gets one bid seems suicidal. Especially 3 teams that lost a combined 54 games between them in one of the lowest ranked conferences (The Summit League). Is there any benefit to this? I can think of a dozen better choices.

 

[bradleyfan124]

There are rumors that the MVC is again considering expansion. The rumor, unconfirmed so far, is that the MVC is considering adding 3 more schools- University of Missouri- Kansas City, University of Nebraska- Omaha, and St. Thomas University of St. Paul, Minnesota. That would expand the conference to 14 schools, which would likely mean the MVC would split into two divisions.
What do Bradley fans think? 14-teams for a conference that usually gets one bid seems suicidal. Especially 3 teams that lost a combined 54 games between them in one of the lowest ranked conferences (The Summit League). Is there any benefit to this? I can think of a dozen better choices.

I dont know what benefit we would get by adding those teams.. Unless they are quality teams to enhance your league. Otherwise you are just adding numbers

 

[Bradley8792]

I agree with your comments. Not sure there is an advantage to being “bigger” if overall quality doesn’t improve along with it. And I’m not a big fan of division within a conference. Every team should be playing every team the same number of time.

So this potential change along with the changes made to arch madness really makes you question the valley leadership.

 

[tomahawk chop]

Not inspired by the Valley leadership. They already screwed up Arch Madness and I do think more teams are needed just not these 3.

 

[JMM28]

Jeff Jackson's biggest accomplishment in his life was being the #2 guy to the guy who nearly destroyed the Big 12. Everything he has touched in his professional life has failed.

 

[MacabreMob]

I like St Thomas for how they have gone from D3 to D1 and continue to build their basketball program which went to the NIT last year. I've never liked UMKC as an addition and am still opposed to it. Not much of an opinion on UNO. UMKC and UNO have had some success with other programs besides basketball (soccer and hockey I believe). So maybe that's what the MVC is trying to add - some better competition for other sports besides basketball. As Bradley basketball fans, maybe pressure needs to be put on elevating the basketball program to a level that gets it drawn to a better league - but that opens all kinds of different issues to debate. So actually, as the MVC has become mediocre as well as Bradley... at this point does it really matter? A couple more mediocre teams added to a mediocre league, it's hard for me to get excited one way or the other.

 

[yoda]

I like St Thomas ….

If true ( see below), I suspect the league gurus are lusting for the large populations involved…
The metro areas are 4 mil, 2 mil & 1 mil for St Paul, KC & Omaha - and that would make those three teams among the biggest market areas in the Valley.
And as for the MVC being a 1- bid league — I really can’t think of a single thing or any other team that would join the Valley and make any difference anyway, can you?

BTW- The two biggest mid-major conferences (A-10 & MAC) were both multi-bid leagues in 2026 & the A-10 sent as many as 5 teams recently.

** I don’t know if this “rumor” is legit BUT- this rumor appears to originate from an X account who is notorious for posting garbage, lies & satire- so believe at your own risk. He actually just said Drake is a better football team than Iowa or Iowa State. More than once that very account has gotten ticked off when I called him out on his BS & the guy blocked me.

 

[Da Coach]

And as for the MVC being a 1- bid league — I really can’t think of a single thing or any other team that would join the Valley and make any difference anyway, can you?

BTW- The two biggest mid-major conferences (A-10 & MAC) were both multi-bid leagues in 2026 & the A-10 sent as many as 5 teams recently.

I can think of a lot of better options than these three- In the recent past, the MVC expanded by taking the best teams from the Horizon league, then it was the weaker Ohio Valley Conference, and now we are hearing that they want to raid the ultra-weak Summit League. And not the best Summit League teams, but the absolute worst! UMKC was a last place team. They were 4-27 last year, and 1-15 in conference with an NET of 358! And Omaha hasn't been much better in recent years. They've had one winning season this decade in one of the weakest conferences in the country. If expansion is inevitable, why not at least look at the better teams and cities of the Horizon again- Oakland, Milwaukee, Wright State, NKU, etc.?
If anyone thinks expanding with the 3 rumored Summit League teams is going to make the MVC an automatic multi-bid league, they are deluded.

And one more reason not to add these 3 schools (KC, Omaha, St. Thomas)- why does the MVC want to expand their footprint by adding 3 more states and schools that lie far outside the current footprint? We finally got rid of Nebraska in 2013 (the longest trip for most of the MVC teams), and now they want to add Omaha back into the Valley? Plus Kansas City and St. Paul? Travel expenses for every sports program in the MVC will skyrocket. Those are not cities that most MVC teams can easily bus to and back from. That means a lot more charter flights for every sport at every school.

And, BTW, the A-10 is a 14-team league, filled with a lot of once-powerful basketball programs. But it's days of getting more than 2 bids are long over. It's been 12 years since they got more than 2 bids, and [b[twice in the last few years they have gotten just 1 bid [/b](see below).

A-10 Season Number of NCAA Bids
2026 2 (VCU, Saint Louis)
2025 2
2024 2
2023 1
2022 2
2021 1
2020 0
2019 2
2018 3
2017 3
2016 3
2015 3
2014 6 (Record high: Saint Joseph's, Saint Louis, VCU, George Washington, Dayton, UMass)
2013 5
2012 4
2011 3
2010 3
2009 3
2008 3
2007 2

 

[yoda]

So you never mentioned any alternative that would consider joining the MVC and would make it stronger, and you confirmed the A-10 is multi-bid. I'd love to get Saint Louis, Dayton, Butler, Miami (OH) or Memphis but let's get serious. No major football school is ever gonna join, so that rules out the MAC.
LET’s face it, the “days of ANY mid-major league being a multi-bid league” are all but over.

Anyway the account where that originated has some bug up his butt and hates Bradley. Check some of his posts. I would give the guy zero credibility - just trying to stir up engagements.

The guy's very statement about this supposed expansion is silly - claiming... "rumors have been circulating...".

But we stay on top of this topic more than anyone and I have never seen, heard nor read of any such rumors.

and if you really want to see how clueless and out of touch Drake fans all are-- check this discussion where they want to LEAVE the MVC and go to the Summit League so they can play Omaha and Kansas City.

 

[yoda]

(see above)
but I think I found where the Drake guy saw this "rumor" and claims now that the "rumor is circulating"....

I appears to come from this single obscure post a month ago on the Drake message board
from a guy who has a lifetime count of just 45 posts- LINK

 

[Da Coach]

So you never mentioned any alternative that would consider joining the MVC and would make it stronger, and you confirmed the A-10 is multi-bid.

Yes, I did. It is right there in my post- "If expansion is inevitable, why not at least look at the better teams and cities of the Horizon again- Oakland, Milwaukee, Wright State, NKU, etc.?"

Those schools are all much better aligned with the footprint of the MVC and are historically good programs with far better financial support and fan support. And, I could name many more that are superior in every way to Omaha and Kansas City. I am not as much opposed to St. Thomas, which has proven a solid dedication to all their sports programs both in D2 and since joining D1. But St. Paul, Minnesota is just too far for schools like Belmont, Murray State, Evansville, Indiana State, Valparaiso, and SIU to have to travel for every one of their sports teams.

And for a conference filled with schools that regularly used to play in the NCAA Tournament like Dayton, VCU, Davidson, Loyola, and many others, now, as I listed, each of them rarely make the NCAA tournament any more.
You said- "The two biggest mid-major conferences (A-10 & MAC) were both multi-bid leagues in 2026 & the A-10 sent as many as 5 teams recently."
I don't know how you define "as many as 5 teams recently", but it has been since 2013 and 2014 since the A-10 has had 5 or more teams in the NCAAT. The A-10 has averaged LESS THAN 2 bids per year over the last 10 years, including a couple 1-bid seasons for a 14-team conference filled with programs that used to appear frequently in the tournament.
And the MAC Conference is perennially a 1-bid conference. Last year was the first time they got more than one bid since 1999! And Miami was lucky to get the final at-large bid, even after going 32-2 and 18-0 in the conference.
It is pretty clear that expansion has not helped the A-10 or the MAC get more bids.

 

[Bradley8792]

But St. Paul, Minnesota is just too far for schools like Belmont, Murray State, Evansville, Indiana State, Valparaiso, and SIU to have to travel for every one of their sports teams

This is a very important point to consider. Travel costs can bury not only the athletic department, but the school itself. Our ability to survive in Div 1 is directly dependent on us being in a “regional” conference. There have been posts suggesting Bradley move up to a bigger conference. That would probably mean a larger geographical territory to cover. I don’t see Bradley being able to afford travel costs beyond what we currently have. If you can’t get there on a bus in under 6 hours, it’s probably not feasible.