What’s Next For Creighton?

St. Louis, MO – There is a big question on the minds of Missouri Valley Conference basketball fans. Which regionals Wichita State and Creighton will be playing in are big questions, but the bigger question is which CONFERENCE will Creighton be playing in next year?

MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin recently told me that he had no inside information about the future of the Bluejay athletic program and while I found that hard to believe, I do know there is much ambiguity surrounding the possibility of Creighton joining the ‘new and improved’ Big East Conference.

This new conference represents all that is new and wrong about conference affiliations in 2013. No team, no tradition or memories are sacred nor safe. Even our cozy, family-friendly Missouri Valley Conference can take on waters that create Titanic sized problems.

After Creighton’s MVC tournament championship game win, Head Coach Greg McDermott sounded as if his program would play at Madison Square Garden next spring instead of Scottrade Center.

While CU certainly can gain more national notoriety in the re-vamped Big East, this seems to me to be ‘penny-wise, pound foolish.’ This new league comprised of DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Villanova will create a competitive disadvantage for every one of their teams from a travel stand- point. The potential addition of Xavier and Butler would lessen that disadvantage, but not eliminate it.

In speaking with Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen, I did find there are educational and total university reasons why this COULD be a good idea for the Omaha based school.

(courtesy of MVC Sports Properties from Learfield Sports)

If I’m reading between the lines, it seems like the Bluejays are not only heading to the NCAA tournament this year, but to the Big East very soon.

How does the Valley adjust to life after Creighton? Commissioner Elgin told me the MVC family would hate to lose Creighton, but reminded me that they went through this when Tulsa left the league.  The league has fared quite well since then and Elgin believes if Creighton leaves, they will adjust and continue to make their mark in the world of collegiate athletics.

Evansville University joined the MVC around the time of the Tulsa departure and one person close to the league told me that a list of potential Valley newcomers is being formed and that there are ‘three or four schools on the short list.’ They haven’t contacted those schools and want to be very careful about looking as if they are raiding another conference, but make no mistake, Commissioner Elgin and his staff are one of the very best league offices in the country and if forced into that position, they will come to a solid solution.

Do Good