The league's recent highlight might have been in 1999. It was when the Missouri Valley Conference went from a league that lived on its past reputation to one that can compete in the new world of college basketball.

It was that year when the Missouri Valley got three teams into the NCAA Tournament and they delivered. While Evansville lost in the first round that year, Creighton won a first-round game and Southwest Missouri State won two games and advanced to the Sweet 16.

	Dana Altman's Creighton beat Florida in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

As the countdown toward the beginning of the 2002-03 season begins, there may be no better mid-major conference in the country than the Missouri Valley. And as good as the Valley was a year ago -- Southern Illinois was a Sweet 16 team and Creighton won a first-round NCAA Tournament game -- the league might be better this year. It certainly will be deeper.

Creighton didn't have a senior on its roster a year ago when it defeated Florida in the NCAA Tournament. Southern Illinois lost center Rolan Roberts, but returns Kent Williams and Jermaine Dearman.

But that isn't the entire Valley list.

Wichita State should be improved. With junior gunner Luke McDonald, Drake is a potential title contender. Illinois State will be better now that NC State transfer Trey Guidry is eligible. Northern Iowa was the most improved team in the league a year ago. And Bradley has good young talent.

While the Missouri Valley certainly isn't in the top eight conferences -- ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC, Pac-10, Conference USA or Mountain West -- it isn't that far behind. A case can certainly be made that the MVC is at the same level as the Atlantic-10 and the WAC.

"We're not the big guys," Southern Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "But we're a step right below them."

So what makes the Missouri Valley different than most of the other mid-major leagues? The biggest reasons are that it isn't a league run by football and where the schools are located.

Only six of the 10 Valley schools even field football teams, all at the Division I-AA level. Drake doesn't even offer football scholarships. As a result, basketball is a big deal at nearly every school. At Bradley, for example, homecoming is a hoops weekend.

In addition, most of the schools are located in mid-sized cities where there are enough fans to support the school, but not so many other options that college basketball gets lost like it can in New York, Los Angeles and even places such as Houston, Dallas and Chicago.

	“	The real good players leave the big schools early so much that they have start over every two years. We can keep guys for four and five years and develop them. ”
		— Southern Illinois' Bruce Weber on coaching in the MVC

The result is more interest, more fans and, consequently, more resources than many programs. The league averaged more fans per game in 2001-02 than either the Atlantic-10 or WAC. Bradley and Wichita State averaged more fans per game than schools such as Virginia, Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Pittsburgh and Oregon.

So what does this mean? It means schools can pay coaches more money and keep them longer. It doesn't mean they'll never leave, but Valley coaches don't seem to always have one foot out the door.

Creighton coach Dana Altman has stayed longer than a lot of people would've guessed considering his success. Weber signed an extension after being approached by Saint Louis, West Virginia and Texas Christian in the offseason.

Will they both stay forever? Maybe, but probably not. But they can afford to be patient when looking for a new job. They can try to avoid the mistakes that others have made. While Tony Barone and Steve Robinson both got good raises when they left mid-majors for Texas A&M and Florida State respectively, neither is currently a head coach.

"Is that extra $200,000 worth it," Weber said. "I'm not going to leave just for extra money and I think that's what Dana's saying."

Said Altman: "It's hard to tell if that next situation is going to be any better than what you have."

Altman knows what it's like to be at a major-conference school that isn't a traditional power having been at Kansas State.

"There's not much difference between Creighton and K-State," Altman said.

"Our league draws pretty well and that's pretty important because it provides some finances. I've got a great athletic director and an administration that's very, very successful. They want this program to be successful and they give us the opportunity to be successful.

	Bruce Weber led the Salukis to two wins in last year's NCAA tourney.

That combination of resources and coaching stability helps teams show they're as good as the big names.

The Salukis certainly showed that a year ago when they took Illinois to overtime in a Las Vegas tournament, defeated Indiana early in the year and then took out both Texas Tech and Georgia in the NCAA Tournament.

"The real good players leave the big schools early so much that they have start over every two years," said Weber, a long-time Gene Keady assistant at Purdue. "We can keep guys for four and five years and develop them."

The key player for Southern Illinois -- and the only real competition to Creighton's Kyle Kover for Valley player of the year -- is guard Kent Williams, who averaged 15.8 points per game a year ago.

Southern Illinois, however, does have a pair of holes to fill. First, either Josh Warner or Stefan Jabkiewicz has to develop into a workable center. It was a spot expected to be filled by junior college transfer Levi Jones of Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Jones, however, didn't complete his degree.

Second, either junior college transfer Bryan Turner or freshman Tony Young, who led his Schaumburg High School team to the Illinois big-school state title, has to run the point.

"I think our guys understand what it takes," Weber said. "They've had a taste of the big time and they want to get back."

Getting back is pretty much expected in Omaha. Under Altman, Creighton has been able to be more than a one-March wonder.

That shouldn't change this year. Not with Korver scoring from everywhere and doing a bit of everything. Korver, who is looking to be the first back-to-back Valley player of the year since Hersey Hawkins did it at Bradley, averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game as a junior.

Terrell Taylor averaged 12.6 points per game for the year, but he averaged 17 points per game in the final nine games. In the victory over the Gators, Taylor hit eight second-half three-pointers and finished with 28 points. In addition, transfer Brody Deren averaged nearly 10 points per game.

Not surprisingly very few high-major schools want anything to do with the Salukis or the Bluejays.

"People just laugh at us," Weber said. "It's a joke. We tell people we'll come to your place for just a guarantee and they laugh, but I understand why."

Southern Illinois will play at Charlotte, at Saint Louis and home against Colorado State in the non-conference schedule.

Altman has reached the point where he just calls other schools in the same position as Creighton when it comes to scheduling. As a result, the Bluejays will play Xavier, BYU, Western Kentucky and Wyoming. Creighton will also play in the February "Bracket Buster" event. While many of the coaches involved think the event is a good one, Altman has concern that too much emphasis may be put on it.

"I'm a little worried that teams who lose there are out (of contention for and at-large NCAA berth)," Altman said. "It's an opportunity to play a good team, but I don't think it should hurt anybody."

Jeff Shelman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (www.startribune.com) is a regular contributor to ESPN.com