I doubt it. I wouldn't mind alternating the two teams but I do not see ISU locking in place 2 out of 3 non-conference games every year. I'd imagine the most likely possibility is that we can expect to play a PFL team or WIU or Lindenwood in addition to EIU on the typical 11 game season.
Murray State Football to MVFC?
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MadBird
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I feel pretty sad about this, overall, with no disrespect to the OVC intended. WIU was "somebody" back in the day, an outstanding program at one point, sent some guys to the NFL, had "legendary" coaches - Lou Saban, Darrell Mudra. Me and my pals at ISU as students always looked forward to the WIU game since it seemed we had the most friends over there. We'd go there, they'd come here. Some fun games over the years. If I had my druthers, I'd say keep the rivalry with WIU instead of EIU, but that isn't gonna change. Times change. We move on.
Peach Blossoms anyone??
How about alternating each year? Even years with one and odd years with the other?
MadBird
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I was kinda focused on the football side of it, but when you look at all the sports programs being in the OVC, and "natural" geographic rivalries with SIUE, SEMO, Lindenwood, EIU, even Southern Indiana, kinda makes sense, given where WIU sports seem to be these days.
ST_Lawson
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Personally, I would have preferred to stay in the MVFC for football and go to the OVC for everything else. We don't really have any history or connection to any of the Summit League teams, whereas we do have an old rivalry with EIU and a chance to get something going with SIU-E and Lindenwood. I'm sure that wasn't really an option though; OVC probably said "All-in or not at all".
Maybe someday the Dakota schools will join up with the northern Big Sky schools and the MVFC can shift back to more of it's traditional footprint. Have ILSU, INSU, EIU, WIU, SIU, MO State, and UNI all together again with maybe Murray State, SEMO...maybe bring in Central Arkansas...and I suppose YSU can stick around too if we're shifting back towards the east. For now, it's just a dream.
MadBird
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The FBS dreamers on this board wouldn't go along with your "reunion" idea, for sure. Even tho it would bring back or sustain a lot of old rivalries. Except UNI "belongs" with its old DII conference mates in the Dakotas, that's where their history is. Who knows what will happen, college sports is pretty wacky these days.
ST_Lawson
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Oh, I know it wouldn't work out for a number of reasons. I'm just a fan of smaller "local" conferences with a lot of teams within just a few hours driving time. Going MVC would have been my absolute dream since I know we're pretty centrally-located within the conference footprint, but I know that would NEVER happen (I feel like I need to extra bold that "NEVER").
fourthandshort
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I wouldn't mind alternating years, but no way we should tie up both our FCS non-conf games like this .. assuming we get an FBS game each year .. unlike this year.
p.s. our non-conf schedule sucks this year. Did we once have an FBS abd get bought out ?
fourthandshort
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Lawson ... definitely going to miss WIU football games. You guys did more with less until more recently .. cuts in budgets and enrollments took a toll eventually.
Back in 2019, we signed a contract with Oklahoma for 2023, but Oklahoma postponed to 2025.
fourthandshort
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thanks, thought so.
crazzymark
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Their Olympic sports are in the summit League
ChiRedbirdfan
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nothing says more about the history and current state of ISU football than the fact that our football "rivalry" game is vs eiu. Get rid of that game as there is poor value to playing it from ISU's perspective...little or no fan interest, no recruiting draw, no media draw, no university/athletic department image boost, no financial gain other than a cheap game to be played. time to look strategically at the long term value proposition of this annual low profile game as the value trend has been downward for a long time
redbirds2000
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We really don't have a rival in football.
topiarydan
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God if somehow FCS doesn't get enveloped with the non- Power 5 conferences in FBS in near future then I wish we'd just jump to the MAC (we'd have NIU, Ball State, Western Michigan, Toledo, Miami OH, etc.... better in my opinion. Plus all regional. IL, IN, OH, MI.
WIU enrollment is down to like 6k. They simply cannot compete at the MVFC level any more just from a school size. The next smallest school is Murray St with 9.4k, then USD with 9.8k and every one else is over 10k.
fourthandshort
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I wouldn't mind if the EIU game went to every other year for a few years, then maybe less often after that. Fact is, it is/was a rivalry game .. no hiding from that, it just is what it is ... or was. It doesn't seem to carry the true grudge match rivalry it did even 7 years ago. It was still pretty strong up thru 2015 even. But it just feels like it has slipped a ways from where it was. We used to struggle to beat them when we were good and they were below average - and that is the sign of a good rivalry game .. kind of like the Bears-Packers in 1980s.
But the last 5 years, we usually blow them out, even when we're mediocre .. I doubt their players/coaches get as fired up as they used to get for our game. I think that means the rivalry is over.
crazzymark
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Hope not..need quality schools that can compete.
It's already one. They are leaving after this year.
Unfortunately a school can’t jump to another conference. A school has to be invited by that other conference. I don’t get the impression ISU is high on their list of potential expansion candidates and the question remains if the MAC is even interested in expansion considering the Western Kentucky/Middle Tennessee fiasco a year or two ago.