Friday, February 26, 2010

NCAA Division I Football Championship to Move to Frisco, Texas


The NCAA announced on Friday that the NCAA Division I Football Championship game will move to Frisco, Texas beginning with the 2010 season.

The event will be hosted by the Southland Conference and the championship game will be played at Pizza Hut Park on Jan. 7, 2011.

For the previous 13 years the event was held in Chattanooga, Tenn. at Finley Stadium/Davenport Field.

Next year also marks the first with an expanded bracket, as 20 teams will be in the field (up from 16 a year ago).

What are your thoughts about the event moving to Texas?

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

News Articles From Monday's OVC Tournament Announcement

A few of the new stories about Monday's announcement about the future of the OVC Basketball Tournament.

"OVC tournament will change venues" - Tennessean
"Coaches agree: Move to Municipal is right decision" - Murray Ledger & Times
"Reworked OVC tournament has implications for Cougars" - Alton Telegraph
"Changes to OVC basketball tournament announced" - Richmond Register
"Eastern coaches in favor of proposed changes in OVC basketball tourney" - Charleston Times-Courier
"OVC tweaks tournament" - Southeast Missourian
"New venues in store for conference tournament" - Daily Eastern News
"OVC Tourney Moving to Municipal" - WSMV.com
"OVC announces tournament changes" - KFVS12.com
"OVC Basketball Tournament Changes (VIDEO)" - WZTV (Fox17.com)

Audio: Commissioner DeBauche on The Sports Zone

OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche appeared on "The Sports Zone" on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 24). Click below to hear her interview with George Plaster and Willy Daunic.


OVC Insider - Episode 5 Now Available

The webisode companion to our blog, fans can now watch episode five of "OVC Insider" to catch-up on the latest news and information from around the league.

Below is the fifth episode hosted by OVC interns Grant Finley and Viki Arias.

Please let us know what you think and if you have any topics you would like to see covered in a future episode.


Monday, February 22, 2010

Audio: Commissioner DeBauche on the Thom Abraham Show

OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche appeared on the Thom Abraham Show on 560 WNSR in Nashville on Monday afternoon (Feb. 22). Click below to hear her interview with "The Big Dawg."

OVC announces changes to future OVC basketball tournaments



The OVC announced it will move its men's and women's basketball tournaments to Municipal Auditorium in Nashville starting next year, with all 8 seeds playing at one neutral site in a 4-day tournament. It is a change from previous tournaments where first round games are played at home sites with the semifinal and final rounds played at the Sommet Center in Nashville.

We as a conference are so excited to have the tournament at Municipal Auditorium starting next year. Not only is it a much more intimate atmosphere, allowing for fans to be closer to the action, but it also allows the basketball tournament to become a centered event in the city of Nashville. We can brand the event as "March to Music City" or "Music City Madness," and brand the Municipal Auditorium as "our" venue. The change helps us with planning and logistics as well because we will be able to know all 16 teams (8 men, 8 women) that will be playing about a week before the tournament starts. As it stands now, because of first round games being played at home sites we don't know the teams traveling to Music City until a few days out. That makes for a much more stressful week!

The bracket also shifts from a 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7 format and gives first and second seed teams first round byes. A little different than the past, but a lot like some of the tournaments the bigger conferences hold.

Municipal auditorium is also getting a brand-new, finished floor that comes from the 2010 NBA All-Star game, as well as a few more changes around the stadium such as new scoreboards. So, not only can we brand the Municipal Auditorium as "our" stadium, we have more control over the branding inside as well.

Players and fans should be excited for the change all around. We are moving from the large Sommet Center to a much more fitting location for our tournament. More teams means more school's fans, and a more appropriate atmosphere to March Madness! Bring on the fans!






You can see the live blogging from the press conference below:





At 11 a.m. CST we will be holding a press conference in our OVC offices in Brentwood, Tenn. We transformed our conference room into a press conference room, which looks pretty darn good if you ask us! See the transformation here:




Pretty good huh? The press conference will include an announcement from OVC commissioner Beth DeBauche regarding future OVC basketball tournaments. Stay tuned for live updates, and reactions after the announcement!

You can also stream the announcement live, for FREE, here:

10:51:
Press beginning to trickle in! We should be ready to go in a few minutes. Just waiting for Beth to finish up a conference call.

11:01:
Beth DeBauche and General Manager of the Municipal Auditorium just walked in. Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations Kyle Schwartz just introduced the two.

11:04:
DeBauche announces OVC tournament will move to Municipal Auditorium and all 16 teams will play at the neutral site. Tournament will now be 4 days long. The hope is to increase fan support and competitive play.

11:07:
Municipal Auditorium General Manager Bob Skoney up to podium. Says Municipal Auditorium will purchase new floor, bring exciting new changes to auditorium.

11:09:
Q&A's--DeBauche says the new format will allow schools chance to work with fanbase and make the tournament an event in Nashville.

Says there will be more prep work allowed to allow the structure of the 4-day event be stronger.

Says it was a thoughtful, but make-sense decision for the league. Says it enhances OVC basketball and now we can build on progress of making basketball a premier sport for the OVC.

Skoney:

Any improvements (to the auditorium) are good, continues to be improvements, city has backed it whole heartedly, very excited for the change.

Size enhances college basketball atmosphere, more intimate setting, good fit for us for the auditorium.

11:12:
Press conference has ended. DeBauche and Skoney are conducting one on one interviews with members of the press.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Murray State Needs More Than Just Mid-Major Love

CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major poll has Murray State ranked fourth behind Butler, Gonzaga and Northern Iowa. Record wise, Murray State is up there with the best of them. Right now the Racers are at 24-3. Butler, ranked first in the polls is 23-4, while Gonzaga stands at 21-4 and Northern Iowa is at 22-3. If you think of the best Mid-Major programs in the country, those programs certainly come to mind. And Murray State should definitely be added to that mix.

The interesting thing is that Murray has yet to recieve any votes in the USA Today or ESPN rankings. Not one. At virtually the same record as Butler, and granted, I'm sure Butler has played a harder schedule and has a few more key wins than Murray, but it's a wonder why they have yet to earn the attention of national basketball writers. Each of the top three teams in the Mid-Major poll are ranked and have been the majority of the season. Other teams like Old Dominion and Cornell are receiving votes to be ranked in the top 25, yet are both behind Murray in the Mid-Major poll at 5 and seven respectively.

We are sure glad those in Mid-Major land have taken notice of the balanced attack that is conference-undefeated Murray State, but wish they could get some love in the top-25 polls as well. If you look at the numbers, they certainly deserve it!

View the Mid-Major poll here
















































































Wednesday, February 17, 2010

OVC Insider - Episode 4 Now Available

The webisode companion to our blog, fans can now watch episode four of "OVC Insider" to catch-up on the latest news and information from around the league.

Below is the fourth episode hosted by OVC interns Grant Finley and Viki Arias.

Please let us know what you think and if you have any topics you would like to see covered in a future episode.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Murray State's Isaiah Canaan Hits Half Court Shot From His Knees

Check out this video of Murray State freshman guard Isaiah Canaan who hit a shot from half court on his knees during the first half of the Racers win over Southeast Missouri on Tuesday.

The play-by-play call is Neal Bradley (who does an OUTSTANDING job all the time if you haven't listened to him before).


Friday, February 12, 2010

It's a Bird. It's a Plane. It's a SUPER CONFERENCE!

How will conference re-aligment affect the OVC?


Conference expansion is hot topic around the camp fire lately. The Big XI announced in December that they would be reviewing possible expansion in the next 12-18 months. Schools that have been rumored as possible additions are Notre Dame, Missouri, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, and probably the most intriguing, Texas. It was reported yesterday that Texas and the Big Ten had a preliminary discussion about the league adding a team(s).

The Big Ten had said previously that expansion was "a back burner issue" so for it to become a front burner issue so suddenly suggests to me that the young Big Ten Network is starting to take off and Big Ten officials feel they can make a great argument as to why schools like Notre Dame and Texas should be interested in joining now when both had previously turned down invitations. If the network is the key ingredient in all of this, than we need to look at viewership numbers. It's been long assumed that if the Big Ten expanded, they would look to the New York market, which is why names like Syracuse and Rutgers are thrown around. Obviously, Notre Dame, with a large national following is a no brainer, but they've spurred the Big Ten before, and even though Northwestern brings in more television revenue that Notre Dame (not a typo), I doubt ND is ready to make that move. So what other markets are available? Penn State already controls most of Pennsylvania so the Pitt argument doesn't hold as much water as Missouri who has a fan base in St. Louis and Kansas City. It's also important to remember the academic standards schools in the Big XI are held to. So far all the schools mentioned fit that criteria. The biggest fish out there though is Texas. Texas owns the Dallas metroplex and have large followings in Houston, San Antonio and throughout the country.


There are a number of reasons why or why not adding Texas would be a good fit for the Big Ten. Before we dive into that, lets look at the situation going on in the Pac-10. It was recently announced that they would be looking to add teams as well. The Pac-10 is coming to the end of their network deals and are considering their own network much like the Big Ten. This explains why this would make for the perfect time to look into expansion. Schools that are being discussed on the inter webs include BYU, Utah, Boise State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Texas (they must be popular...) TCU, and Colorado.

Allow me to throw a few of these suggestions away: SDSU & SJS will not be asked to join. The travel expense wouldn't add a lot, but they wouldn't bring in enough additional revenue via television markets to offset the cost of splitting the money 12 ways instead of 10. Boise State has been great at football recently, but aside from that they don't carry enough weight and the Boise Market isn't anything to write home about. That leaves us with BYU, Utah, TCU, Texas and Colorado. Texas declined the Pac-10 to join the Big 12 and they seem to be the envy of both the Big Ten and the Pac 10. Texas is interesting becasue they have been looking into creating their own network as well. Even though Texas brings in more money than any other Big 12 school due to the leagues unequal distribution, they still feel there is more money to be made in exclusive television rights. The Big Ten has an established network that is gaining ground while the Pac-10 is just starting discussions, so one would have to think the Big Ten is in a better position to gain Texas if they choose to realign. TCU, located in Fort Worth, also has some of the DFW market share but its clearly not the size of Texas.

BYU seems like a logical choice if you base the decision off of athletics, enrollment, proximity, etc. but culturally they do not. They do not participate in events on Sundays, and Stanford has said publicly they would not support a faith based university in the league. This dilemma is compounded when you consider BYU's in state rival, the Utah Runnin' Utes, are the most plausible addition to the conference. The Salt Lake City market is a large one and Utah dominates it. They were the original BCS busters when Urban Meyer was still around and have continued to crash the party since his departure. Their basketball program won the national championship in 1944 and more recently, played in the national championship game against Kentucky in 98, so they definitely meet any athletic requirements and are the obvious first choice.

The last time the Pac-10 added members it took Arizona and Arizona State, so many think Utah and BYU are a logical choice but as explained above, I don't see BYU being asked to join, but when Texas joined the Big 12, it was pre-determined that the other Texas schools in the Big12 had to go with them. It was very much a package deal and some figure Utah to the Pac-10 would be a package deal with BYU. Because I don't see BYU being a good fit, the next best, and most likely the best scenario anyway, is taking Colorado and the Denver and Boulder market.

Colorado would be a bit of a jaunt for travel reasons, but if Texas to Penn State is plausible in the Big Ten than Colorado in the Pac-10 isn't that outrageous. Not to mention the travel involved with Hawaii, Louisiana Tech in the WAC and Miami to Boston College in the ACC. States don't necessarily have to be touching for it to be a good fit. The notion of Colorado to the Pac-10 is where things begin to get complicated and impact not only the Pac-10 but the entire college athletics landscape. If the Pac-10 can lure Colorado away for a more lucrative network deal and if the Big Ten can successfully pull Missouri, who has done everything but ask for an invitation, out of the Big 12, than one has to wonder what will become of the Big 12? Also, if the Big 12 is going to be pillaged, and left for dead, why would schools like Texas or Oklahoma even, want to stay when they may have an opportunity to join the Big Ten or Pac 10?

The days of "Super Conferences" are approaching and the landscape of college athletics will be changing. Imagine if the Big Ten added 3 teams or 5 teams? Can you imagine a day where Texas vs Ohio State, Michigan vs Oklahoma, Penn State vs Pitt, Iowa vs Missouri are all considered conference games? What if the Pac 10 took Utah, Colorado, and other teams from the Big 12? The world is getting smaller folks and these scenarios may seem unlikely at first blush they are a very real possibility.

Let's spin this story locally now. Once the dominoes start falling and everything is mixed up, what will the Ohio Valley Conference look like? Has anyone left? Has anyone joined? You tell us what your ideal conference alignment is.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The OVC is a Softball Conference

People may think that the Ohio Valley Conference is a basketball conference maybe even a football conference but it’s really a softball conference.

Softball has been the Ohio Valley Conference’s most successful sport in recent years. Over the last three years an OVC team has won at least two games in the NCAA Tournament. Last season was the first time that the conference had two teams in the tourney with UT Martin earning the league’s automatic bid and Jacksonville State getting at-large selection.

The Gamecocks also became the first OVC team to advance to the Super Regional. In addition to winning games in the NCAA tournament, Jacksonville State received votes in two preseason polls and senior Niki Prior has been named to Amateur Softball Association's Top 50 Watch List for the 2010 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

Be on the look out for another exciting year of OVC softball as the season gets started today.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Murray's Key to Success: Balance

SportsIllustrated.com columnist Steve Trocchi wrote a Mid-Major Report about Murray State's balanced attack. Really an interesting article, as he notes: "Through Monday, the top six scorers for the Racers were averaging 10.6, 10.4, 10.3, 10.1, 10.0 and 10.0 points per game." Ivan Aska, B.J. Jenkins, Danero Thomas, Tony Easley, Isaiah Cannan, and Iaasac Miles are the top scorers for the team. Cannan is the sixth man, coming off the bench while the other five are regular starters.

Impressive numbers when you think about it, I don't know many other teams in the nation that are as balanced as that through their sixth man. Many of the top mid-majors are leaning on one or two top scorers, but Murray is hanging with them with six well-coached, like-minded players. The six players are helping MSU hit the top of many statistical lists, as it is second in the country in field goal percentage (.515), fourth ins teals per game (11) and scoring margin (+19.0).

That depth has helped them rise to the top ten of CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major poll. They are 13-0 in the OVC and riding a 13-game win streak.

With the exception of last week's nail biter against Austin Peay where the team narrowly escaped with a two-point victory in the closing seconds of the game, the team has won by double-digit numbers in just about all of its conference games this season. The team will be looking to carry that victory into the OVC Championship, just three weeks away, March 5-6.

Read the rest of the article here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/bill_trocchi/02/08/mid.major.report/

Monday, February 8, 2010

The OVC Has Rifle?

The 2010 OVC Rifle Championship was held this past weekend on the campus of Murray State University.

That may bring you to ask ... The OVC has rifle? Any conference has rifle?

Well those are excellent questions. The OVC is the only Division I Conference to sponsor rifle. There are currently five OVC schools who sponsor rifle, including Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Murray State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin.

Rifle teams include both males and females, sometimes as a mixed squad and sometimes as a male or female-only team.

To find out more about Rifle, check out the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Web site.

Below is a highlight video from this year's championship, which was won by Murray State. It was produced by OVC intern Grant Finley, who has been making these highlight videos for each of our championships this year. So if you haven't checked out all of Grant's hard work, check out the below video and then log onto OVCSports.com and check out the others.



OVC is Super Bowl Champs!!!!

Sean Payton, EIU Alum, hoisting Vince Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl XLIV win

For all those who said a collegiate athletic conference couldn't win a super bowl, to you we say "You're right. An NCAA athletic conference can, in no way, win a super bowl." However, that won't stop us from using transitive property in our favor!

Sean Payton, former Eastern Illinois quarterback, is the Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints and current super bowl champion. Granted, EIU wasn't technically in the OVC when Payton was the Panthers' quarterback, but again, we'll use mathematical properties to strengthen our argument whenever we can, and they're sure as shootin part of the league now, which exo-facto, makes the OVC champions too.

Yes, it does feel good to be champions of the most viewed super bowl in history. Yes, it was worth all the long work days and excruciating position meetings. We've dreamed of this moment since we were a little kid and its even more fulfilling than we ever imagined.

So, to sum it up, Sean Payton won the super bowl as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints and Sean Payton played quarterback for Eastern Illinois and Eastern Illinois is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, therefore, if a=b and b=c than a=c and you can stop by the office to view the VinceLombardi trophy on display whenever you'd like because we're the champs!

In all seriousness, congratulations to Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints on winning the Super Bowl last night. Payton will be appearing in the Athletic Director's Gala in Effingham, Illinois on Wednesday, Feburary 24. Click on the link above for more information.

Friday, February 5, 2010

The Ping of the Bat is Near; Baseball Season Just Two Weeks Away


Although we are still in the heart of basketball season, we are now just two weeks away from the opening of the collegiate baseball season. The national opening day for college baseball is set for Friday, Feb. 19.

If you haven't had a chance to see it take a look at this link: CollegeBaseballToday.com.

CollegeBaseballToday.com has done an excellent job of breaking down the OVC race this season with an extensive preview.

The site picks Eastern Illinois as this year's favorite. But make sure you click on the link to read all about the year and some of its other predictions.

Also, circle Feb. 10 on your calendars, as the OVC will release the official preseason predictions and All-OVC team as voted on by the league head coaches. That will be done in conjunction with a Preseason Media Day Teleconference.



The RPI

Each year during the college basketball season you will no doubt hear the term "RPI" thrown around. One of the tools the NCAA Selection Committee uses to pick and seed teams for the NCAA Basketball Tournaments, the RPI is misunderstood by many. Here is a quick definition:

The Rating Percentage Index is derived from three component factors: Division I winning percentage (FI, 25%), schedule strength (FII, 50%) and opponent schedule strength (FIII, 25%). Games against non-Division I opponents are not used in calculating the RPI.

A snapshot of the RPI for men's conferences as of this morning (2/5/10) looks like this:

15. MAAC
16. MAC
17. Big Sky
18. Southern
19. OVC
20. Ivy
21. Atlantic Sun
22. Big West
23. Sun Belt

While a 19th ranking (out of 33 conferences) does not look overly impressive for OVC men's basketball programs, let's put some perspective to where the OVC has been the last few years.

2006 - 20th
2007 - 27th
2008 - 29th
2009 - 23rd
2010 - 19th (as of 2/5/10)

The OVC has shown tremendous improvement in men's hoops RPI over the last two seasons and there is hope that ranking will continue to grow. One of the goals for the league is to get its teams in the NCAA Tournament the best seed possible and eventually the hope of once again having multiple teams in the NCAA Tournament field (something that has not happened on the men's side since 1987).

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

OVC Insider - Episode 2 Now Available

The webisode companion to our blog, fans can now watch episode two of "OVC Insider" to catch-up on the latest news and information from around the league.

Below is the second episode hosted by OVC interns Grant Finley and Viki Arias.

Please let us know what you think. If you have any topics you'd like to see covered in a future episode, please let us know.


Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Perrilloux Prepares For Draft



ESPN Article on Perrilloux

Check out this nice article on former Jacksonville State quarterback Ryan Perrilloux as he prepares for the 2010 NFL Draft in April.

It is an story and interview written by Jon Mahoney.

Ryan's story is well know. A 5-star recruit out of Louisiana, he first attended LSU and was named the MVP of the SEC Championship Game in the Tigers National Championship season (2007) as a redshirt sophomore.

After getting into some off-the-field issues he was dismissed from the team and ended up at Jacksonville State.

Everytime I have met Ryan, he is very polite, shakes your hand, looks you in the eye and yes "Yes Sir." Sure he had some prior issues but it is clear that he has turned things around and ready to be a professional football player (and a very good one at that).
We wish him the best.

You can watch Ryan (as well as EKU's Derek Hardman and EIU's Chris Campbell) in the "Texas vs. the Nation" All-Star Game this Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on CBS College Sports.

Lester Hudson Holds His Own Against Kobe Bryant

If you missed it last night, former UT Martin Skyhawk Lester Hudson had a pretty good effort against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hudson, now playing for his hometown Memphis Grizzlies, finished the night with a career-high 13 points and at one point of the first quarter had out-scored Bryant (who became the Laker franchise all-time scoring leader in the game) 11-10.

Here is a link to last night's BOX SCORE.

Also a LINK to the story from UT Martin's story about Hudson.

The Griz have now won 12 of their last 13 overall and are in eighth place in the Western Division.

(Photo to the right by Nikki Boertman of the Memphis Commercial Appeal)