Old Titan Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 Whoever they are, they need to play baseball. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 I really don't like the idea of our nationally-ranked baseball team going into Macomb next weekend for the final games of the Leathernecks' season and their last hurrah as a member of the Summit League. It will be way too easy for their team to take out some of their frustrations from a long, painful season on the "prima donna ORU team" and play the game "the dirty way" with little risk for sanctions, penalties, etc. If they're going to leave so abruptly, the League might as well just pull their membership now. There is absolutely no benefit to ORU to travel and play those three games to close out the regular season. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, TrueBlue82 said: If they're going to leave so abruptly, the League might as well just pull their membership now. How is that even possible? Are there not additional penalties for leaving within only a few weeks? I thought after ORU left for the Southland higher buyouts for members were at least discussed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, TrueBlue82 said: I really don't like the idea of our nationally-ranked baseball team going into Macomb next weekend for the final games of the Leathernecks' season and their last hurrah as a member of the Summit League. It will be way too easy for their team to take out some of their frustrations from a long, painful season on the "prima donna ORU team" and play the game "the dirty way" with little risk for sanctions, penalties, etc. If they're going to leave so abruptly, the League might as well just pull their membership now. There is absolutely no benefit to ORU to travel and play those three games to close out the regular season. Aw, here’s hoping you’re mistaken. Ryan Folmar is such a stand-up guy and ORU plays the game is such a respectful way, I pray the Leathernecks coaches and players will rise to the occasion and just play some good ol’ country hardball to close out the regular season. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 13 minutes ago, Old Titan said: Aw, here’s hoping you’re mistaken. Ryan Folmar is such a stand-up guy and ORU plays the game is such a respectful way, I pray the Leathernecks coaches and players will rise to the occasion and just play some good ol’ country hardball to close out the regular season. Yes, I'm hoping the same - and I'm 95% confident that the weekend will proceed without incident. It's the 5% that concerns me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 So, to sum up: Remaining Summit School w/ Earliest Entry Date: UMKC (originally joined 1994, 21 seasons total ; 7 years in Western Athletic Conference) Remaining Summit School w/ Longest Tenure: Oral Roberts (originally joined 1997; 23 seasons total; 2 years in Southland Conference) Remaining Summit Schools w/ Longest Current Membership Span: the XDSU's (joined 2007; 15 consecutive seasons each) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted May 15, 2023 Author Share Posted May 15, 2023 On 5/12/2023 at 3:23 PM, TrueBlue82 said: I really don't like the idea of our nationally-ranked baseball team going into Macomb next weekend for the final games of the Leathernecks' season and their last hurrah as a member of the Summit League. It will be way too easy for their team to take out some of their frustrations from a long, painful season on the "prima donna ORU team" and play the game "the dirty way" with little risk for sanctions, penalties, etc. If they're going to leave so abruptly, the League might as well just pull their membership now. There is absolutely no benefit to ORU to travel and play those three games to close out the regular season. Interestingly, Western actually has something to play for this weekend. The Leathernecks played St. Thomas SIX times this past week (to make up a previously cancelled series plus the regularly scheduled weekend series) and won five of six. Prior to this week. WIU had lost five of every six games for the ENTIRE season (for a dismal 7-35 record), so to "flip the script" on St. Thomas had to leave them with some positive momentum. As a result, they are only a half game back of Omaha for fourth place and the final Summit League tourney spot. If WIU wins two of three from ORU, and Omaha wins one game less than Western wins, the Leathernecks will play ORU in the tourney's first round in Fargo. Obviously, winning two of three from ORU is unlikely, but at least they enter the weekend with some "hope". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 This article is kinda silly, since it does not address the elephant in the room re: the fact Chicago State does not play baseball, but it does include this head-shaking nugget: Time for some trivia. What is the only Division I Olympic sports conference without a national media or streaming deal? If you guessed the Summit League, you won. Shockingly, the Summit League does not have a contract with ESPN/ESPN+ or even Flosports like the CAA. The Summit League relies completely on school-produced broadcasts or RSNs to carry their events. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 10 minutes ago, Old Titan said: They would fit in well with the rest of the League's RPI, at least! On a more serious note, having Chicago as a media and recruiting market would be beneficial to the League and provide a travel partner for UST in Minneapolis. Another potential add could be affiliate-member Northern Colorado. They too fit the RPI-mold of the league (they wouldn't help us rise up), but be a good travel partner for Denver and help keep that media market in place. As the league footprint is now, Denver is a outlier just like ORU, but Denver is in a much bigger media market and a hub city for air travel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 24 minutes ago, Old Titan said: This article is kinda silly, since it does not address the elephant in the room re: the fact Chicago State does not play baseball, but it does include this head-shaking nugget: Time for some trivia. What is the only Division I Olympic sports conference without a national media or streaming deal? If you guessed the Summit League, you won. Shockingly, the Summit League does not have a contract with ESPN/ESPN+ or even Flosports like the CAA. The Summit League relies completely on school-produced broadcasts or RSNs to carry their events. Following up on the TV/streaming contract: new Big XII commisioner Brett Yormark needed only NINETY DAYS after taking office to sign a 2+ billion dollar deal with ESPN and ABC for broadcast rights over the next six years, and that's AFTER Oklahoma and Texas announced their departure for the SEC. In contrast, Summit League commissioner Josh Fenton has been in charge for over a YEAR and we've not heard ONE WORD officially re: anything new in the broadcast/streaming arena. If anything, the league appears cozier than ever with regional Mom-&-Pop MIDCO, which covers only a fraction of the league footprint for a small (but obviously pampered) viewing audience. It's time to earn your salary, Mr. Commisioner, before other schools give up waiting for anything resembling rights fees and simply bolt to another league like WIU just did. GET A REAL DEAL - NOW. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 THis article from Forum Communications out of Fargo (who cover and broadcast NDSU sports) gives a great overview of the current broadcast rights tangle: McFeely: Summit League Nears Media Deal It Hopes Will Include National TV Games Translation of Commissioner MIDCO's comments in the article: QUOTE: "We're nearing the end point. We're not quite there yet." TRANSLATION: "We've gotten some really fantastic bids from outside providers, so we're giving MIDCO as much time as they need to come up with anything technically or financially resembling those offers." QUOTE: (Goals in signing a new media deal include) "national visibility, brand and fan affinity, revenue generation, and finding ways to protect our local linear relationships that are important to a good portion of our schools". TRANSLATION: (Goals in signing a new media deal include) "just that part about local linear relationships, Which means keeping South Dakota State, MIDCO, Sanford Health, and the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau happy." 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timt89 Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 This is Denver’s point of view: https://letsgodu.com/2023/05/13/western-illinois-limps-out-of-the-summit-league-whats-next-for-du/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUSwagger Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 8 minutes ago, timt89 said: This is Denver’s point of view: https://letsgodu.com/2023/05/13/western-illinois-limps-out-of-the-summit-league-whats-next-for-du/ This article packs a punch. POW Just learned so much about the Summit League in this post. Wow oh wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUSwagger Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 A few Articles from the Dakota Drive-By Media……. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 2 hours ago, timt89 said: This is Denver’s point of view: https://letsgodu.com/2023/05/13/western-illinois-limps-out-of-the-summit-league-whats-next-for-du/ Thanks for the article, timt89. I realize it's written from Denver's point-of-view re: the conference sports that would be lacking enough schools to qualify for NCAA championships; but it should be noted that baseball is the primary immediate concern for Golden Eagle fans. Losing Western drops the Summit League to just six baseball schools, including St. Thomas who have not yet qualified for D1 postseason participation as part of their transition from D3. Can't help but wonder if the Tommies will require some sort of emergency waiver from the NCAA to keep Summit League baseball from also falling into the dreaded "less than six teams" category for 2024 postseason qualifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted May 18, 2023 Share Posted May 18, 2023 I am not sure that the Denver article correctly reflects the feelings of the schools. For instance, I don’t think ORU looks back longingly on its 2 year stint in the Southland conference. However, if there was an opportunity to add Northern Colorado as a full time member, I think that would be a great move. Certainly much better than Chicago State. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Additional evasive quotes from Commissioner MIDCO in this article out of Sioux Falls, with the author pushing an "Augustana In" agenda: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 I would like to see ORU leave the Summit League in the next 4-5 years. Let's face it, the Eagles will always be chopped liver in the Summit League, no matter what they do in sports. It is a Dakota league and eventually Augustana will be in the league. The only question is where should they go? Maybe the WAC as there are some interesting match ups/future rivals with say UT Arlington or Grand Canyon. The only question about the WAC is that they have had quite a few teams come and go recently. Who are the interesting rivals in the Summit League for ORU? I was hoping KC would become a rival but that has fizzled out. NDSU has become a good rival in basketball but they are generally too far way to make it very interesting between the fan bases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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