It looks like MTSU will travel to Memphis this upcoming season.

has that been officially announced?

The game has been mentioned several times over thew last few days by both John Calipari and AD RC Johnson. Also our home-opener will probably be Arkansas State.

Thanks for the info

The local paper said today that the MTSU game is likely, but not a done deal yet.

We hear Monday, Dec. 27 is the date for the game.

Where the Raider fans usually congregate:

<a href='http://forums.delphiforums.com/mtraiders/messages' target='_blank'>MIDDLE TENNESSEE SPORTS delphi message board</a>

Check that.

Now we hear the game is not happening. For some reason not yet explained Memphis did not close on the deal.

SpaceRaider Wrote:Check that.

Now we hear the game is not happening. For some reason not yet explained Memphis did not close on the deal.

Calipari tried to change the date to November, so he would not have to face Steve Thomas, who becomes eligible in mid-December. MT would not change the date, and now Calipari is tucking tail and running...........

I hear it was to be a 3-yr deal. Now Calipari does not want to play us since we are going to be great the next couple of years........

So much for us trying to build our RPI by playing better teams. The better teams won't play us. Hopefully, we'll catch Auburn and another couple of decent teams in the Puerto Rico holiday tournament.

That's too bad. I would love to play Memphis, ETSU, Chattanooga, Peay, Tech, ewetee, etc, etc.

KAjunRaider Wrote:

SpaceRaider Wrote:Check that.

Now we hear the game is not happening.&nbsp; For some reason not yet explained Memphis did not close on the deal.

Calipari tried to change the date to November, so he would not have to face Steve Thomas, who becomes eligible in mid-December. MT would not change the date, and now Calipari is tucking tail and running...........

I hear it was to be a 3-yr deal. Now Calipari does not want to play us since we are going to be great the next couple of years........

So much for us trying to build our RPI by playing better teams. The better teams won't play us. Hopefully, we'll catch Auburn and another couple of decent teams in the Puerto Rico holiday tournament.

That's too bad. I would love to play Memphis, ETSU, Chattanooga, Peay, Tech, ewetee, etc, etc.

Sad situation :frown:

When you look at the Tigers there's one thing you can always count on.

They are really big *******.

I have a couple of questions .

1. Who is Steve Thomas ?
2. Why would you presume that Memphis is running from a low major programs stocked with inferior players ? Cal would not even send mail to these guys .
3.We try to do MTSU a favor and we get this type of abuse. Where is the respect ?


You people need a reality check , Memphis is on a higher level than MTSU . It would be very gracious of Coach Cal to play one game against your program.

Mark, isn't this the same attitude that we get tired of seeing from our $EC neighbors???

Yeah....right.

This is Memphis (a national program) working with MTSU (do they really have basketball?) for a game. This is a buy in game for Memphis, why should Memphis bend over backwards for MTSU...Calipari is trying to schedule name opponents here.

Get real.

uofmbrad Wrote:Mark, isn't this the same attitude that we get tired of seeing from our $EC neighbors???

Your right, that is the same attitude we (non-bcs schools) all see from SEC, ACC, etc... :rolleyes:

Quote:Calipari is not stupid. He nearly blew it against Belmont last year, finally winning by 6 when up by only 2 with less than two minutes to play. Belmont proceeded on to Columbia, MO and upset the other Tigers. These "buy-games" can and do bite you in the arse. Memphis could just as easily lose to the Blue Raiders so don't get so high and mighty.

Cal isn't afraid to schedule tough teams for our buy games, which is exactly why we'll be playing ETSU on Dec. 30

Quote:The shoe is on the other foot when you guys whine about why UT bought out of their game with the Tigers in Memphis this year.

That's a completely different situation. We had a five year deal signed with UT that they tried to back out of because we wanted to renew the basketball series in Nashville instead of a home-and-home arrangement.

Quote:Personally, I think it would be great for both schools to re-start a home and home series every year. Instead, Memphis chooses to schedule Murray, TN Tech, and UTC. Boy, those are real stadium packers for you in Memphis.

Perhaps, but the football series doesn't benefit Memphis as much. It might be a good idea to alternate between home and homes with you guys and ASU though. As for our games against 1-AAs, lots of programs schedule them, including yours, and besides we had 28,000 for TN Tech last year.

Quote:Instead, Memphis chooses to schedule Murray, TN Tech, and UTC. Boy, those are real stadium packers for you in Memphis.

Memphis' Out of conference schedule...

Road:
Texas
Purdue

Neutral:
Maryland
Pittsburgh

Home:
Providence
Mississippi

Home Buy Games:
East Tennessee State
Middle Tennessee State (Still possible)
Arkansas State
Austin Peay
Louisiana Tech

with Louisville, Cincy, Marquette all in conference.

i promise thats harder then any MTSU schedule.

Go Tigers!!!
Drew

Quote: OOC Football comparison

well we had planed on having Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Arky State...but ewe T backed out on us...so we had to go the 1-AA route...i was looking foward to beating UT too.

Go Tigers!!!
Drew

It looks like we'll be replacing that buy game with MTSU with a tournament:

Tigers consider exempt tourney

By Gary Parrish,
August 19, 2004

Never mind that fifth home game against a mid-major.

It now appears the University of Memphis will drop that idea and instead compete in an event that would yield two home games and another possible trip to New York's Madison Square Garden.

"It's a tournament they've been after us to do, and they're trying to make it happen, so we're exploring it right now," Tiger coach John Calipari said Wednesday. "If you asked me, I'd tell you it's probably going to happen."

Sources familiar with the situation told The Commercial Appeal the tournament is the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, which is expanding to a 16-team exempted tournament with four schools hosting opening-round games.

If Memphis has its way, FedExForum will be one of the four host sites, meaning the Tigers would be guaranteed two more home games in mid-November. Memphis, if it wins both games, would advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

Other high-profile schools scheduled to compete in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic are Syracuse and California. Event coordinators on Wednesday declined comment on additional possibilities, though Duke and Kentucky have been mentioned.

Assuming Memphis accepts the invitation, this would be an appearance in an exempted tournament, the kind of event that counts as just one of the 27 games a school is allowed per season. Teams are authorized to compete in an exempted tournament only twice every four years.

Consequently, the Tigers would have to renege on a commitment to next season's preseason NIT or the following season's Maui Invitational. However, rule changes are always a possibility, and even a probability in this case, considering how most coaches despise the current setup.

Either way, the Tigers now seem set to compete in three events this season, all of them producing high-profile, nationally-televised games.

In addition to the possible Coaches vs. Cancer Classic semifinal and final, Memphis will play Maryland in the Hall of Fame Classic in Springfield Mass., and Pittsburgh in the Jimmy V. Classic in Madison Square Garden.

"It's a fun schedule to put together," Calipari said. "But then we have to go play it."

- Gary Parrish: 529-2365