Whose League Is It?

(St. Louis, MO) – With the Wichita State exodus from the Missouri Valley Conference the question hanging in the air is “whose league is it?” From 1998 to 2009 the conference power structure belonged to Creighton. During those 12 seasons they won three conference titles, finished second six times and won six Arch Madness Titles. They shared that place of influence with WSU for four seasons (2010-13) as each earned a regular season title and between them they claimed all the second place finishes, while Creighton won two more post season tournaments. When the Bluejays left for the Big East, the Shockers grabbed the scepter for the next four seasons, winning four regular season titles and two tournament championships.

With a vacant throne, the question is who’s next? In my nearly 20 years of covering the Valley there was a time when, despite Creighton always being near the top, various programs would challenge for the throne. Seemingly every team took a run at the crown from one year to the next.

Perhaps the league is returning to an ‘equal opportunity’ crowning of champions. But this isn’t just about winning championships, but also about exercising influence throughout the conference. There was a time when Bradley’s Jim Molinari seemed to set the pace of conversation with his wit and wisdom. When Bruce Weber was at Southern Illinois he did more than win titles, he brought a stature, a calm, a gravitas to the neighborhood.

Cuonzo Martin, Mark Turgeon, Greg McDermott, Matt Painter and Steve Alford all brought a ‘big time basketball’ feel to their programs only to leave for ‘big time basketball programs’.

At this week’s MVC media day, there is no doubt that Missouri State will be tabbed as the favorite to win the regular season title, and well they should. They are a veteran team with depth, and talent at all five positions, but is this Missouri State’s time to become the Valley’s next ‘it’ team?

Northern Iowa has a national reputation and Ben Jacobson (“Jake the Giant Killer“) puts a competitive and upper echelon Valley team on the floor every year. His team will be picked no less than third in this week’s poll.

Illinois State and Loyola seemingly recruit at a higher level than the rest of the league and their coaches Dan Muller and Porter Moser are part of a new generation of coaches that, along with Brian Wardle (Bradley) understand social media and what the new age players are all about.

Then there is Southern Illinois’ Barry Hinson who seems to be cut from the cloth of a memorable era where the coaches had unique personalities and their quotes, rivalries and opinions were as much a part of the story as the wins and the losses. He reminds us of Big Eight Conference days when Mizzou’s Norm Stewart was hated in seven other arenas, and revered in Columbia, Missouri. But Norm wasn’t alone in that regard. Oklahoma’s Billy Tubbs and Iowa State’s Johnny Orr and Kansas’ Ted Ownes were in equal parts loved and disdained.

Then there is Valparaiso. Over the past seven years the Crusaders have had as much success, if not more, than any team in the Valley. Valpo has won five conference titles, averaged 24 wins, played post season basketball in each of those seven seasons and the program maintains as high an academic standard as any institution in the league.

In the end, the league belongs to Commissioner Doug Elgin and his great Missouri Valley staff. Elgin who is celebrating 30 years at the helm of this great midwest, mid major conference has built a team with Associate Commissioners Jack Watkins and Mike Kern that rivals any major conference in terms of organization, promotion and inclusion.

But will a team emerge as the dominant ‘on court’ figure?

Do Good