Nick's Opinion: Why Chicago State Should Be Given a Serious Look in MEAC Expansion

Nick's Opinion Piece: Why Chicago State Should Be Given a Serious Look in MEAC Expansion

The MEAC is in trouble. The league just suffered another blow when Florida A&M announced that they would leave for the SWAC starting in 2021. As a result of this, the league will now have nine full members and only seven of those teams play football. Though there may be a need for someone to come in with a football program, I think that if the league decided that they want to go outside of the traditional promotion of another HBCU school from D2/D3, they should take a serious look at Chicago State, a team already in the Division 1 ranks.

Reason 1: Chicago State Needs to Get Out of the WAC, and This is CSU's Best Option

The Cougars are currently in the WAC, one of the worst placements in all of the country. This nine team league has a geographic footprint exclusively in the Western United States, with the exception of Chicago State. In fact, with the latest realignment that sent UMKC to the Summit League, the closest team to Chicago State in their league is 1066 miles away (Tarleton State). The AVERAGE distance that they would travel is 1600 miles, with a long trip of 2053 miles when they visit Seattle. This is already a faltering athletic department, and the extreme travel in all 15 sports does not help. The distances to WAC opponents: 

Tarleton State--1066 Miles

UTRGV--1408 Miles

Utah Valley--1421 Miles

NM State--1464 Miles

Dixie State--1635 Miles

Grand Canyon--1754 Miles

Cal Baptist--1994 Miles

Seattle--2053 Miles

Geographically and competitively speaking, the MEAC is the best league for Chicago State to join. They would increase the travel distance for MEAC teams, but not to an excessive amount. The current longest trip in the new nine-team MEAC is 893 miles from Delaware State to Bethune Cookman. The distance from Chicago State to the MEAC institutions is less than 893 miles in all but one instance. Those distances:

Howard--690 Miles

Coppin State--691 Miles

Morgan State--707 Miles

Delaware State--777 Miles

NC Central--778 Miles

MD Eastern-Shore--820 Miles

SC State--828 Miles

Norfolk State--861 Miles

Bethune Cookman--1141 Miles

The average trip distance in league contests would surely increase by adding Chicago State, but you could offset this by unique scheduling methods.

Reason 2: In Terms of Non-HBCU Schools, Chicago State has a Similar Demographic Make-Up

Yes, the Cougars are a non-HBCU institution. If however, you wanted a university with a similar demographic make-up of their students, the Cougars would fit the bill. The university does have a predominantly African-American enrollment, fluctuating between 65-70% over the past five years, and when including other minority groups, that number increases to 85-95%. Chicago State also has the Greek life infrastructure. All nine of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations have chapters at Chicago State (ΑΚΑ, ΑΦΑ, ΔΣΘ, ΙΦΘ,ΚΑΨ,ΩΨΦ,ΦΒΣ,ΣΓΡ,ΖΦΒ).

Reason 3: Chicago is a Key City to Recruiting Future Students and Student-Athletes

The Cougars would create an immediate recruiting pipeline for MEAC schools in the city of Chicago. This would serve as a great opportunity for the immense basketball talent in Chicago to find another home at the Division 1 level in the MEAC. The recruiting pitch that you could give to players that they would be able to play in their home city each year would be tremendous. The ability to allow alumni bases around the Chicago area would be a tremendous benefit as well. For Chicago State, the opportunity to sell a steady conference with less travel and games in premier cities across the East Coast of America should help in recruiting. You could also use the Chicago connection to host events, such as the MEAC Tournament, a Football Classic, etc. Chicago is a huge media market and it is an extremely easy to get to via O'Hare Airport.

Reason 4: Chicago State has a Proven Division 1 Track Record

Chicago State has been in Division 1 since 1993, but they have struggled to find a consistent home. They have bounced between the ECC, Mid-Con, Great West and finally the WAC, with a couple of independent seasons sprinkled in there. Despite all of that, the Cougars have remained in Division 1. This is different than former MEAC transition members Savannah State and Winston-Salem State that both reclassified to the Division 1 level, only to return to Division 2 at a later date.

Reason 5: The MEAC Could Now Sponsor Women's Golf

By adding the Cougars, the league would be one step closer to sponsoring women's golf. There are three current schools that sponsor women's golf (Bethune Cookman, Delaware State, UMES) and Augusta University could join the conference like they have in men's golf. Chicago State would give the conference a fifth team, matching the current SWAC total and allowing the conference to hold a conference tournament at the end of the season. This would provide more brand loyalty and unity for the MEAC as a league.

Potential Issues for the Cougars Joining the MEAC

1. Increased Travel for the MEAC Teams--Although the maximum distance is within range, the average numbers would increase for teams in the MEAC. This could be an issue for MEAC teams that already have limited athletic budgets. 

2. Football--The Cougars do not offer football, which the league only would have seven teams for. They could use the affiliate route and get a team like Presbyterian to join the league for football only and move that number to eight (Presbyterian is an FCS independent but they play in the Big South for all other sports), while Chicago State would give the league an additional team in other sports.

3. Sports Matching--In addition to football, the Cougars do not offer Women's Bowling or Women's Softball, two sports that the MEAC sponsors. Fortunately for the MEAC, they do not need the additional members for bowling as they have two affiliates (Monmouth and UAB). They do only have nine softball teams however. On the flip side, Chicago State offers Women's Soccer and Women's Golf, two sports that the MEAC does not, although I talked about women's golf in Reason #5 to add the Cougars. The Cougars would need to find a home for Women's Soccer, but they would be able to bring their Men's Tennis team into their primary conference (unlike the current setup that has them in the MAC). Chicago State could partner up with Delaware State and South Carolina State, who also have independent women's soccer teams, or they could join another league as an affiliate.

Performance Standards: Let's say this idea does appeal to the MEAC and Chicago State. How would they have stacked up over the past eight years? Let's use KenPom and Massey Ratings to find out!

Men's Basketball Analysis

Looking at KenPom rankings over the past eight years, here's where Chicago State would stand in the MEAC Standings each season:

2019-20: CSU ranked 353, would be 12th/12 in MEAC

2018-19: CSU ranked 351, would be 12th/13 in MEAC

2017-18: CSU ranked 346, would be 11th/14 in MEAC

2016-17: CSU ranked 335, would be 7th/14 in MEAC

2015-16: CSU ranked 347, would be 12th/14 in MEAC

2014-15: CSU ranked 327, would be 7th/14 in MEAC

2013-14: CSU ranked 284, would be 6th/14 in MEAC

2012-13: CSU ranked 297, would be 9th/14 in MEAC

It appears that on the men's basketball side of things, the Cougars would be more competitive in the MEAC, something that they have not been since joining the WAC. This would be a good move for both sides in terms of depth.

Women's Basketball Analysis

Looking at Massey Rankings over the past eight years, here's where Chicago State would stand in the MEAC Standings each season:

2019-20: CSU ranked 350, would be 12th/12 in MEAC

2018-19: CSU ranked 350, would be 13th/13 in MEAC

2017-18: CSU ranked 343, would be 14th/14 in MEAC

2016-17: CSU ranked 343, would be 12th/14 in MEAC

2015-16: CSU ranked 320, would be 10th/14 in MEAC

2014-15: CSU ranked 346, would be 13th/14 in MEAC

2013-14: CSU ranked 348, would be 14th/14 in MEAC

2012-13: CSU ranked 344, would be 14th/14 in MEAC

Women's basketball would be a struggle in the MEAC, much like it has been in the WAC for Chicago State. This program is struggling, and I don't think it matters what league they play in.

Volleyball Analysis

Looking at Massey Rankings over the past eight years, here's where Chicago State would stand in the MEAC Standings each season:

2019: CSU ranked 287, would be 2nd/11 in MEAC 

2018: CSU ranked 242, would be 2nd/12 in MEAC

2017: CSU ranked 265, would be 4th/14 in MEAC

2016: CSU ranked 302, would be 5th/14 in MEAC

2015: CSU ranked 315, would be 7th/14 in MEAC

2014: CSU ranked 313, would be 8th/14 in MEAC

2013: CSU ranked 314, would be 8th/14 in MEAC

2012: CSU ranked 313, would be 10th/14 in MEAC

This is a program that would appear to be poised for immense success in the MEAC. Based on Massey Rankings, this team would be in title contention over the past four seasons. This would be a great move for the Cougars, who have struggled in the WAC thanks to other talented teams.

Baseball Analysis

Looking at Massey Rankings over the past eight years, here's where Chicago State would stand in the MEAC Standings each season:

2020: CSU ranked 277, would be 6th/9 in MEAC

2019: CSU ranked 287, would be 9th/10 in MEAC

2018: CSU ranked 263, would be 5th/10 in MEAC

2017: CSU ranked 282, would be 7th/10 in MEAC

2016: CSU ranked 284, would be 5th/10 in MEAC

2015: CSU ranked 285, would be 6th/10 in MEAC

2014: CSU ranked 276, would be 6th/10 in MEAC

2013: CSU ranked 294, would be 9th/10 in MEAC

This is the men's program that seems to be the best to succeed and provide value to the MEAC. This team would be in the mix in the MEAC based on their Massey Rankings, and with a change in competition, they could increase that performance. 

Conclusion

Although there are potential road blocks to the plan, the league should consider Chicago State in their pursuit of finding a tenth full-time member. The traditional route could yield teams such as Bowie State or Virginia State from the CIAA, and a slightly less traditional move could bring Augusta (who already affiliates with the MEAC in golf) into the mix. The Cougars are a team that would increase the travel fold, but it would give the league another Division 1 team that would not have to go through the transition phase. It would expand the geographic footprint of the MEAC, giving the league stronger access to the Chicago area. They could be competitive in baseball and volleyball, and put up a competitive fight in men's basketball. This is a expansion move that should at least be explored by leaders in the MEAC, and I would push for Chicago State to join the league. And given their current situation, I'm sure it's an offer the Cougars would jump at immediately.