Valpo Leaving Mid Con - TW (5-18-2006)

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Valparaiso leaving Mid-Con

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

5/18/2006

Oral Roberts officials bracing for the aftermath of the Crusaders' decision.

Oral Roberts University officials were stunned Wednesday by Valparaiso's announcement that it is pulling out of the Mid-Continent Conference.

Athletic director Mike Carter said it was too early to assess the damage.

"This came so quickly. I'm not sure anybody has had time to digest it all," said Carter, reached by cell phone in Ohio, where he is officiating the NCAA Central golf regional.

"It was a very well-kept secret," said Rhonda Fowler, ORU's senior woman administrator.

The Crusaders will become the 10th member of the Horizon League, effective with the 2007-08 academic year.

"I think this hurts us. Valparaiso is the most recognizable name in the Mid-Con," said Cris Belvin, ORU media relations director. "Because of their success in men's basketball, they've given the conference the type of notoriety that is hard to get for a league like ours."

A charter Mid-Con member in 1982, the Crusaders won or shared nine league titles in a 10-year span (1995-04), made seven NCAA appearances and became media darlings in 1998 when they reached the Sweet Sixteen, spurred by Bryce Drew's last-second shot to beat Mississippi.

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Of greater concern is how the move will effect the Mid-Con's NCAA status in baseball, men's tennis and men's and women's track and field.

With Chicago State's departure last month and Valparaiso's in 2007, the league would have only five schools competing in the sports mentioned above -- one less than required to retain the conference's automatic NCAA bid in a given sport.

When that happens, a league has two years to boost its membership. ORU has won the Mid-Con's last eight NCAA bids in baseball.

"The conference will immediately explore all of the options available for the future," Mid-Con commissioner Tom Douple said in a statement. "We will make decisions based on what is best for our current membership and the long-term viability of the (Mid-Con)."

"I think the conference will study the issue and take the appropriate steps," Carter said.

Schools such as North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State, Texas-Pan American and Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne (Ind.) have shown an interest in the Mid-Con.

Expansion is due for discussion at the league's presidents council meeting June 27 in Chicago, said Kristina Peterson, director of media relations.

ORU men's basketball coach Scott Sutton said Valpo's move is, "disappointing, but I don't think it's a devastating blow. I think our conference will move forward and be just fine."

Valpo has consistently drawn the largest crowds to the Mabee Center in recent years except for ORU's games with Tulsa and Arkansas (in 2002-03).

"I'm disappointed from the standpoint that every time we played them at home, our fans and student body got excited about it," Sutton said. "They're probably our biggest rival in the conference, so you lose that. But we've been in the league long enough that we're developing other rivalries. Certainly, our fans get excited about playing Indiana-Purdue and Missouri-Kansas City."

The move puts Valpo in a higher league and also makes better geographic sense.

The Horizon League rated 15th to the Mid-Con's 28th among Division I conferences in 2006, according to CollegeRPI.com.

Valpo president Dr. Alan Harre said geographic concerns were the No. 1 factor. He said 61 percent of Valpo alumni reside in the five Horizon League states and 71 percent of the student body comes from the same states.

"Concerns about the demands of extensive travel in a conference of such great geographic breadth and the negative impact of such travel on academic performance have been expressed regularly by our student-athletes and their families, our faculty and our coaches," Harre said.

Mike Brown 581-8390

mike.brown@tulsaworld.com