SIU-Edwardsville not to be confused with SIU-C just announced that they are joining the Ohio Valley Conference. They will start playing regular season games in the 2011-2012 season.
I went to SIU-E for 3 years (2001-2004), and I can attest that the basketball program was nothing to get excited about. I went to one game and was bored out of my mind. I had seen several high school games that were more exciting and seemed to have more skilled players on the floor.
Moving to the OVC and becoming a Division I program should be great for the school as a whole. This school currently has very little recognition outside of Illinois and the surrounding areas. However, their sister school SIU-Carbondale is known across the country thanks to several cinderella runs in the Final Four tournament.
Here's to hoping that SIU-E gets some recognition on a national basis, at least so I have to stop explaining that there are two different SIUs in Illinois.
