New conference of Catholic schools...

Two posts in one day?  Some kind of record for me recently...

I wanted to touch base on the report that several schools, including DePaul, St. John's, Marquette, and Notre Dame, are forming a new conference made up of all Catholic schools.

This is where Loyola should be.  I know they're a founding member of the Horizon League.  I was there when they formed it.  It was then called the Midwestern City Conference, and included Butler, Oklahoma City, Oral Roberts, Detroit, Xavier, Evansville and Loyola, and maybe one or two more.  That's right, Xavier.  They were a founding member of this conference also.  They didn't let that keep them from joining a better conference.  Back then, they were often in the NCAA tourney as a representative from this conference when they went to that automatic bid system.  They were good.  They've gotten better because they're in a better conference.  Of course, now Butler's gone too.

Loyola isn't good.  But if they were playing ND and St. John's regularly, they might be.  They might be able to recruit better players, and do better things.

Maybe there's going to be a requirement that the team play in a certain sized stadium, and the Gentile Center won't be big enough.  But if they can, they should move to that conference.

Hey, a Jesuit is now pope, so why shouldn't LU embrace their religious background and play in this much better conference?

*****