(07-15-2015 09:36 AM)esayem Wrote:  

(07-12-2015 02:46 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(07-12-2015 12:40 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(07-11-2015 11:56 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(07-11-2015 10:02 AM)JMU2004 Wrote:  UD seems to be deemphasizing athletics, period. Stony Brook would likely be JMU's partner to the MAC now.

Why would the MAC go after stoner when it could pursue an existing FBS school?

Marshall. Charlotte. Appy St.

Marshall would not take a step back. They might be looking to the AAC, and hopefully that the ACC gets raided enough that they get in.
Charlotte does not have the history, and may not fit.
App. State will not pay that exit fee right now just shortly after joining the FBS.

Only teams that are ready for FBS is James Madison, Youngstown State, Towson, Delaware, Stony Brook, Liberty, Northern Iowa and Missouri State within the footprint, but I see some MVC schools like Illinois State and Indiana State as well. Richmond is too small to even go to FBS.
New Hampshire is also upgrading their stadium as well. New Hampshire and U. Mass. could make an all sports MAC members. New Hampshire would be a much better travel partner with U. Mass.

James Madison is the #1 FCS draft pick for the MAC. I've said this many times.

There is no openings in the MAC right now, not even for the #1 draft pick.

Akron has dropped Baseball. EMU at one time was permitted to stay in the MAC even if it dropped football. What that says is nobody is going to be booted from the conference regardless of what they drop.

Most likely the 12 schools will just stick together. When the AAC gets raided its first replacement target will be Army, shutting out Buffalo. Ohio has 7 schools in the MAC within a 4 hour drive. Toledo has 10 schools in the MAC within a 4 hour drive. NIU is a big fish in a regional MAC pond which works.

Budgets in the MAC are very similar. For a while there has been pressure at MAC schools to get more in line salary wise with run of the mill G5 schools. That has largely been accomplished and now the goal is to reduce reliance on student fees over increasing budgets.

Please tell us how NIU is a bigger fish than any other school in the MAC? It it their 70 million dollar endowment? Their 20 thousand students? I'm sorry, they fit the MAC profile exactly.