(02-13-2012 12:36 PM)Louis Kitton Wrote:  

(02-13-2012 12:18 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(02-13-2012 11:01 AM)Louis Kitton Wrote:  

(02-12-2012 10:11 PM)uakronkid Wrote:  

(02-12-2012 09:34 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  There's a pretty big exit fee if only Temple leaves. Quite a bit smaller if UMass leaves too.

The school's buyouts are tied to each other. The first to leave has to pay $2.5 million. The second pays $500k. So if both leave, the MAC gets $3 million. But I don't see UMass having anywhere else to go right now, and I would rather keep them and bring up a replacement for Temple. Maybe a school that can come in for all sports and help convince UMass to do the same.

If UMass is still on board (which we aren't fully sure about) then I think the only way to go for the MAC is to pick up an Eastern member as a replacement.

JMU is the most prepared with that expanded 25,000 seat stadium and brings the MAC back into a large market in DC/Richmond. They have the look of a prototypical residential MAC campus so they fit the culture well.

The question I'm wondering is not if JMU would be interested in joining MAC football because I'm almost certain they would be.....the question is more would it be a football or an all-sport arrangement? Would the CAA kick JMU out in other sports if they left for football? If JMU demands an all sport invite, who else does the MAC target for balancing divisions?

The MAC then is in a situation where its adding 2 all sport schools, going to 15 overall football members with a need of a 16th football only.

Yea it kinda sucks but what if we brought in a school all-sports and then got rid of the divisions in non-football sports?

That is also an option. I've thought about Western Kentucky in that capacity as a 13th but doing away with basketball divisions.

JMU might want all-sports but demand another all-sport member in the East. That is where Appalachian State may come into play. ASU is only a 4 hour drive from James Madison and surprisingly also Ohio. Harrisonburg is only a few hour bus ride to Athens through West Virginia.

Both JMU and ASU would be delighted to get a MAC invite. The Big East is not going to look their direction and the ACC is completely out.

Assuming Temple left though, we'd be at 13 for football. Adding 2 more would put us at 15.