Elgin: Scheduling continues to be a moving target for MVC schools
If you want to bring a frown to a Missouri Valley Conference basketball coaches' face? Just mention scheduling.
Unlike Power Five schools, finances for even the best-financed schools rarely offer the opportunity to "buy" lower Division I teams at-will. And unlike the lowest tier of Division I, MVC teams don't have the opportunity to play Power Five teams at-will either as most Power Five schools have been reluctant to schedule mid-major competition.
It's a situation that's only become worse as some Power Five conferences, such as the Big Ten, have gone to a 20-game conference schedule. Open slots on the schedule are drying up for mid-majors.
So what does the MVC have up its sleeve to help its membership in the future?The Tribune-Star spoke with MVC commissioner Doug Elgin on Thursday to see what the league has in mind.
First, there is no challenge series with any conference currently planned.
Rather, the league is engaging with its peer conferences — the Atlantic 10, Conference USA, the West Coast Conference and the Mid-American Conference — to try to set up individual matchups that are mutually beneficial for both parties.
Elgin noted that process is on-going at present.
"We had the opportunity to engage Conference USA and the Atlantic 10 in some crossover series. It didn't involve all 10 of our teams, but we were successful in getting that together," Elgin said.
https://www.tribstar.com/sports/loca...d58925151.html
