Horizon League Commissioner Jon LeCrone, a Vandalia native, said the league is looking to expand, but any potential program that joins the Horizon League has to be the right fit.
The conference has had its current nine-member slate since 2013 when Loyola left the league and Oakland joined. The league has been looking to get to an even number of programs, either 10 or 12.
“For us, it has to be about a financial fit, a competitive fit, about a sport fit, a geographic fit, about a travel fit,” LeCrone said. “We are in an active phase where maybe 12 months ago, we were in a study phase.”
Two potential candidates for Horizon League expansions are Murray State and Belmont. Murray State barely missed getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after a 27-5 regular season.
Belmont joined the Horizon League in 2014 as an associate member in men’s soccer. As part of the four-year agreement with the Horizon League, Belmont has to play a home and home with a Horizon League team each year in men’s basketball.
“We’ve got some good home and homes coming up with Belmont, so I think they are very good games for us,” LeCrone said.
While the goal for the Horizon League is to have to have an even number of competitors in men’s and women’s basketball, not every program fields a full slate of sports. For instance, Green Bay, Cleveland State and Detroit do not field baseball.
Wright State coach Billy Donlon said that he would like to see a 10th member added to the league to help with scheduling. Teams often have to battle playing games on short rest.
Donlon is supportive of Belmont joining the league from a competitive standpoint, but is concerned about the affects of travel as Belmont is an outlier geographically.
“Do we need another team? Absolutely,” Donlon said.
LeCrone also said that the league considered changing its conference tournament format. When Wright State advanced to the finals in 2014 at the No. 3 seed, the tournament had to switch venues for the first time in league history as the No. 1 seed lost in the semifinals.
Changing the venue was a logistical challenge for the Horizon League and Wright State. Attendance is also a concern with the current format. The announced crowd for Wright State’s first round loss at UIC was 1,611.
The NCAA, according to LeCrone, rejected a plan for a double-elimination tournament, which was going to be announced by the league in October.
“It was fantastic, it was creative, it was the kind of thing we like to do,” LeCrone said. “We discussed it with our athletic directors and coaches about it and they were energized by it. What we found out was that it did not meet one of the NCAA rules on how games are counted.”
LeCrone said the league would continue discussions on changing the tournament’s format. One option that is also on the table is for the league to go to a neutral, predetermined site for the tournament.
Donlon said he wants the No. 1 seed to host games up until the championship game when the highest remaining seed should host the finals.
“I would prefer that the No. 1 seed get home court and that the rest of us all play opening round games at the No. 1 seed site,” Donlon said. “The significance of home games makes the regular season mean a lot.”
