nert Wrote:I believe BGSU's endzone bleachers came down after last season, but I haven't been there yet this year to verify that (I'll let you know).

Our south end zone bleachers came down as soon as the 30,000-seat rule was eliminated. A kids zone amusement area and a tent for members of the booster organization has replaced it. Despite the loss of those bleachers, we are still able to get 30,000 people in the stadium (as the photo above, of the 2003 Northern Illinois game, shows).

Our north end zone bleachers came down over the summer. Construction will soon start on a student athlete center in that end zone.

The goal is to consistently sell out our 24,000 capacity and work from there.

Quote:No college with an outdoor football stadium is going to invest in plastic folding seats (which is what I assume you must be preferring), because it eliminates too many potential seats.  Some provide some seats like that near the 50 yard line as a major donor season ticket perk - but few have the majority of seats of that style.  That's more of a basketball arena thing - because there aren't nearly as many seats to buy. 

Well, Louisville's Papa John's Stadium is all chairbacks, and I believe a majority of the seating at Western Kentucky's stadium will be chairbacks once they get done redoing the stadium.

I actually think MAC schools would be smart to invest in more chairbacks. It would make fans happy and it would distinguish us from the Big Ten stadiums, which don't bother with such things.

Given an unlimited capital budget and unlimited authority, I would:

1. Replace every bench in Perry Stadium with a chairback.
2. Build a second deck of bench seating along the west sideline.

But that's just me.

nert Wrote:Having been to more than a few WAC stadiums when I was in college (graduated from school that was in the WAC at the time) - and having been to many of the MAC's stadiums - I can tell that your posts aren't worth the time it took you to "not" spell check them.

Quote:Playing in real stadiums alone should through (could you mean "throw"?) Toledo and Bowling Green off their game.

Quote:....at home isn't a factor (which all that my stadium comment was initially ment (or perhaps "meant") to imply)?

As for the stadiums you mentioned:

CMU has very few stands in the endzones (despite your claim that they got to 30,000 by adding end zone seats) - in fact - it has only 15-20 rows of them in one end zone. The other end zone houses locker rooms, etc (which is new). The vast majority of its over 30,000 capacity is between the 20 yard lines on the home side. And the stadium is beautiful - built into the ground up to the top of the endzone and visitors' side, surrounded by pines, etc.

Toledo's Glass Bowl has been listed multiple times as one of the nation's best stadiums - and they often surpass its official capacity of 26,000. In fact, they have even averaged more than their official capacity. Your description of the Glass Bowl does not mirror reality. I assume you could not have actually been there - despite your claim. I will devote absolutely no time to defending this very fine (albeit slightly undersized) stadium.

WMU's Waldo stadium is a less picturesque stadium than CMU's or Toledo's but most of its seating is on the sidelines and of course, they average more fans than Idaho could hold.

BGSU's stadium is boring, ugly and old (I would never claim otherwise - it's my least favorite MAC stadium) - but it often gets filled - with about twice the capacity of Idaho's warehouse and practically the same capacity as BoiseSt's stadium. BGSU wasn't effected by the crowd size (which they are used to) - they were affected by not being very good this year (they nearly lost to perrenial cellar dweller BallSt last week). This is not "last year's BGSU". That said. Miami(OH) isn't what it was last year either - so BGSU might still win the MAC east division.

The sheer stupidity of someone whose team has a 16,000 seat warehouse calling Buffalo's 31,000 seat facility high school-ish is defenseless. I guess that makes Idaho a junior high.

And if you want to know what kind of facilities your conference has look for the post on the CUSAbbs from a UTEP fan about UTEP having to erect a tent so that their players could have someplace to change before their game at NMSU. That would never happen in the MAC.

<a href='http://www.ncaabbs.com/forums/confusa/invision/index.php?act=ST&f=22&t=28631' target='_blank'>I couldn't believe this, How bad is NMSU's stadium</a>

EMU (a stadium I assume you have been to, since you played them recently) has no seats in the endzones - none. And all those aluminum benches (which Michigan, NotreDame etc would love to have to replace their old wood benches) are new, spacious and perfectly suited for a Michigan climate. Rynearson is a much better facility than the warehouse Idaho plays in (and yes, regretably, I have been there as well).

And while we're on EMU and their 4-4 MAC record last year: that does not make them a mid-MAC team. Look at who they beat in those 4 games (and every win they had was by 7 points or less):
(4-7) CMU (who beat (1-10) WMU, (2-9) BallSt, (6-5) KentSt and a I-AA team)
(2-9) BallSt (who beat (1-10) WMU, and (0-11) UCF)
(2-9) Buffalo (who beat (0-11) UCF and (4-7) CMU)
(1-10) WMU (who beat a I-AA team).
That's it. Last year, EMU didn't beat a single team with a winning record (which the MAC had 7) and the 4 teams they did beat, combined, only lodged a single win over a I-A opponent with a winning record - an average (6-5) KentSt team. 2 of their combined wins were over I-AA, and 4 were internal games (someone had to win those). 2 others were over hapless (0-11) UCF (which, thank god, is not part of the MAC anymore). So, that was not a middle of the MAC team - they were a team that played 4 other very bad MAC teams and barely beat them.

Finally, I never argued that playing at home wasn't an advantage for BoiseSt and FresnoSt - of course it is. Anyone has an advantage playing at home. But it certainly isn't because of the size or age or shape of the WAC stadiums is far superior to the stadiums they play in, in the MAC (which was your ridiculous and completely unsupportable contention). If you can't recall, here it is again:

Quote:Playing in real stadiums alone should through Toledo and Bowling Green off their game.

Did Nert just say:

"Toledo's Glass Bowl has been listed multiple times as one of the nation's best stadiums"...

I think I missed that SI Cover Article on that (now, "historical" and "one of the nation's best stadiums" are TWO TOTALLY different things).

I think someone is smoking that funny stuff.

KL

PS. Personally, I like the Glass Bowl...but don't think it would ever come up in my Top 5, Top 10, Top 20, Top 30...etc....but as with most Colleges...give ME a College Stadium with all of their originality and tradition vs almost ANY NFL Stadium today.

This turned into a pretty entertaining thread after all, if one has the patience to read it. Vandal9570 was way over the top in his criticism, but so were the MACsters in their responses. Here's to many more games between two conferences that have a lot in common.

IMO, the main reason Boise blew out BG is that the Broncos are sometimes very good at keeping the other team off-balance with confusing schemes. BG's coach even commented at halftime, "we're confused." Nevada has repeatedly fallen victim to the same thing.

BTW...Schadenfreude....I think it's time to ditch this pic. :roflol:



:lolup: :wave: :lolup: :wave: :lolup:

Plans for Yager Stadium(Miami)

Next part... Indoor Practice facility



There are also some plans for a second deck on the new East Grand Stand.

rocketfootball Wrote:Because it pumps up the defense. I simply stated that the crowd noise itself wasn't affecting the BG offense. However, I also said that the crowd would pump up the defense and they would play better because of it, and made some plays on the BG offense to stop them.

Maybe you would understand if you had ever been on the field. Crowd noise takes away the audible, snap counts and offensive timing. If that were not true, you would never see a QB complaining to the ref or the interior of the defense starting at or faster than the outside of offensive formation.

CountryRedHawk Wrote:Plans for Yager Stadium(Miami)

Next part... Indoor Practice facility



There are also some plans for a second deck on the new East Grand Stand.

That looks nice. We will have our indoor facility finished by the end of December, or January at the latest. Here are our plans for the future + the indoor practice facility.

<a href='http://www.broncosports.com/athletic_excellence.asp' target='_blank'>Stadium improvments and Indoor practice facility</a>

This turned into a pretty entertaining thread after all, if one has the patience to read it. Vandal9570 was way over the top in his criticism, but so were the MACsters in their responses. Here's to many more games between two conferences that have a lot in common. [QUOTE]

I think this pretty much covers it...

Good luck, MAC, and thanks for the deluge. I at least can't accuse you of not having any pride for your schools or programs.