October 17th, 2007, 3:44 pm · 1 Comment · posted by sporter
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007
By STEVE PORTER
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville announced earlier this year it was taking the plunge into Division I athletics. The Cougars will officially compete at that level in 2008-09. SIUE is participating in D-2 for the final year and the Cougars will say goodbye to the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which has been good for them.
Likewise, SIUE has been a snug fit in the GLVC, which includes UMSL, Quincy and Southern Indiana, among others.
Now, the Cougars are hunting for a new conference, most likely The Summit (formerly Mid-Continent) or the Ohio Valley. The OVC includes Eastern Illinois, Southeast Missouri state and a bunch of Kentucky and Tennessee schools. But that all play football and that’s a sticking point for SIUE.
The Summit includes Western Illinois, a couple of Indiana schools, Missouri-Kansas City, but also stretches to Centenary in Shreveport, La. and Southern Utah in Cedar City.
The Horizon and Missouri Valley don’t seem to be on SIUE’s map yet, but anything could happen down the road.
The Cougars are taking a calculated gamble going D-1. How do you think it will play out?
Let me know.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Why?
Do they have the established fan base, tradition or monitary support to make this step? I have attended many SIUE events with fewer than fifty spectators. If that is division I than what constitutes lower divisions?
SIUE would be much better off to, as they did with soccer in the seventies, to be happy as a large fish in small pond in niche sports such as wrestling and ice hockey. Expansion in this direction would make more sense than to pretend to compeate at the same level as the big schools in major sports.