Missouri Valley Basketball: Storylines for league after Loyola-Chicago’s exit

Belmont leaves one valley for another

The first place the MVC looked was to another valley, the Ohio Valley to lure a program that would not only bring more name recognition to the conference but would also further extend their geographic footprint by placing them in the state of Tennessee, the Belmont Bruins. Much like the departed Ramblers, the Nashville-based Bruins spent the previous 10 seasons and were one of the marquee teams in the OVC.

In those 10 seasons, the Bruins were absolutely dominant, finishing either first or second in every season and compiled a record of 245-81. In conference play Belmont could all but be penned into the finals of the conference tournament, making seven appearances in 10 seasons and amassing a conference record of 145-27. While their success in the postseason hasn’t equaled the regular-season dominance with a 1-8 record in the NCAA Tournament, their high-level regular season mid-major pedigree is one that is on par with Loyola-Chicago.

If the MVC wanted to stop their expansion by replacing the Ramblers with the Bruins the offseason would probably be seen as a success from a conference perspective given the circumstances. But, perhaps surprisingly to some the Valley wasn’t satisfied with just Belmont, they would go on to add not one but two more new members for the upcoming season.