UMass needs to join the MAC for all sports, improve BB & FB, and hope someone thinks they're pretty.

Q: Which MAC school am I describing-

- public university
- over 100yrs old
- strong academics
- under grad pop approx 20K
- located in scenic college town
- Midwest culture
- has been in the MAC for decades

A: All of them, mostly. It was a trick question. In theory the MAC is what every conference should be- a collection of very similar academic institutions in a compact geographic footprint with a shared history and similar cultures. Where the MAC falls short is that it doesn't take full advantage of this.

Imagine how fun MAC football would be if fans traveled the short distances to most away games, you wouldn't need 100K people in the stands for it to be an enjoyable college football experience. Hopefully one day MAC fans will take advantage of what they have.

With that being said, I'm leery of adding schools that don't fit that mold.

(06-18-2015 08:20 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  Q: Which MAC school am I describing-

- public university
- over 100yrs old
- strong academics
- under grad pop approx 20K
- located in scenic college town
- Midwest culture
- has been in the MAC for decades

A: All of them, mostly. It was a trick question. In theory the MAC is what every conference should be- a collection of very similar academic institutions in a compact geographic footprint with a shared history and similar cultures. Where the MAC falls short is that it doesn't take full advantage of this.

Imagine how fun MAC football would be if fans traveled the short distances to most away games, you wouldn't need 100K people in the stands for it to be an enjoyable college football experience. Hopefully one day MAC fans will take advantage of what they have.

With that being said, I'm leery of adding schools that don't fit that mold.

Not everyone is as lucky as the MAC schools. UConn would love to be in a conference of generally similar institutions in a geographically compact area:

BC
UMass
UConn
Syracuse
Rutgers
Temple
Penn State
Pitt
WVU
Maryland

That's a nice 10 team conference. Or add Army & Navy to get to 12. But this will absolutely never happen, so UConn has to go to "Plan B", or "Plan C". We have to deal with the world as it is instead of how we'd like it to be.

(06-18-2015 07:22 PM)uakronkid Wrote:  Missouri State and JMU work well as a package. MSU is already a MAC member in multiple sports.

We fit the MAC profile and all of our sports matchup (JMU as well, help strengthening some of the minor sports) it just seems geographically we don't fit as well. If we were in St. Louis it would make more sense.

Missouri State would be an outlier, but I think they do fit in terms of enrollment, but they are not a research university. I would gladly see EMU replaced with Missouri State, the school has lots of potential.

In terms of fitting most the profile (research RU/H, academics, enrollment) of most MAC institutions (mins EMU of course), would be Southern Illinois. Plus SIU has a better sports resume than Illinois State.

Both, MSU and SIU have alot of alumni in STL. A couple of years ago, they played a game in Busch Stadium, pretty good turnout.

Illinois State, makes sense, its a similar institution as CMU being a doctoral research school. I just don't see what the MAC gains from having a team next door to UofI. The school is doing well though, this might change in a couple of years.

(06-18-2015 08:27 PM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  

(06-18-2015 08:20 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  Q: Which MAC school am I describing-

- public university
- over 100yrs old
- strong academics
- under grad pop approx 20K
- located in scenic college town
- Midwest culture
- has been in the MAC for decades

A: All of them, mostly. It was a trick question. In theory the MAC is what every conference should be- a collection of very similar academic institutions in a compact geographic footprint with a shared history and similar cultures. Where the MAC falls short is that it doesn't take full advantage of this.

Imagine how fun MAC football would be if fans traveled the short distances to most away games, you wouldn't need 100K people in the stands for it to be an enjoyable college football experience. Hopefully one day MAC fans will take advantage of what they have.

With that being said, I'm leery of adding schools that don't fit that mold.

Not everyone is as lucky as the MAC schools. UConn would love to be in a conference of generally similar institutions in a geographically compact area:

BC
UMass
UConn
Syracuse
Rutgers
Temple
Penn State
Pitt
WVU
Maryland

That's a nice 10 team conference. Or add Army & Navy to get to 12. But this will absolutely never happen, so UConn has to go to "Plan B", or "Plan C". We have to deal with the world as it is instead of how we'd like it to be.

Six of those ten were in the A10 tegether, seven if you count UConn football.

As a JMU fan, I like the idea of a JMU/Missouri State package, just because I feel both schools are great candidates. However, observing the MAC's history with expansion over the past decade or so, lone eastern schools never seem to stick around long. If JMU were invited to the MAC, I'd really like another eastern school to join us. Delaware is probably the top choice. Stony Brook would be cool (and everyone loves an AAU), but I just don't think they're ready for FBS for a few years, at least.

Some of the other mentions I've seen in this thread (CCSU, Richmond, Rhode Island, etc.) are looney tunes. Then again, I never in a million years saw Georgia State as a viable FBS candidate. LOL.

(06-18-2015 10:48 PM)madizoned-level2004 Wrote:  As a JMU fan, I like the idea of a JMU/Missouri State package, just because I feel both schools are great candidates. However, observing the MAC's history with expansion over the past decade or so, lone eastern schools never seem to stick around long. If JMU were invited to the MAC, I'd really like another eastern school to join us. Delaware is probably the top choice. Stony Brook would be cool (and everyone loves an AAU), but I just don't think they're ready for FBS for a few years, at least.

Some of the other mentions I've seen in this thread (CCSU, Richmond, Rhode Island, etc.) are looney tunes. Then again, I never in a million years saw Georgia State as a viable FBS candidate. LOL.

Richmond was also a former FBS in the late 70s and early 80s. Their stadium is too small right now.

Only in the ears of paranoid schizophrenia fans who live in Ohio or Michigan.

Only sexting :X

(06-18-2015 06:47 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  MAC should try to grab:
Western Kentucky or Marshall. Then maybe Middle Tennessee. If not just add EKU and James Madison. However I think the MAC should look south of Ohio and go into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri for teams.

Why on earth would WKU, MU, & MTSU want to downgrade conferences?

(06-19-2015 09:45 AM)SigNuTopper Wrote:  

(06-18-2015 06:47 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  MAC should try to grab:
Western Kentucky or Marshall. Then maybe Middle Tennessee. If not just add EKU and James Madison. However I think the MAC should look south of Ohio and go into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri for teams.

Why on earth would WKU, MU, & MTSU want to downgrade conferences?

Lmao

(06-19-2015 09:45 AM)SigNuTopper Wrote:  

(06-18-2015 06:47 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  MAC should try to grab:
Western Kentucky or Marshall. Then maybe Middle Tennessee. If not just add EKU and James Madison. However I think the MAC should look south of Ohio and go into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri for teams.

Why on earth would WKU, MU, & MTSU want to downgrade conferences?

More stability, less spread out, money probably about the same. Same minded institutions and public universities.

(06-19-2015 11:21 AM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 09:45 AM)SigNuTopper Wrote:  

(06-18-2015 06:47 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  MAC should try to grab:
Western Kentucky or Marshall. Then maybe Middle Tennessee. If not just add EKU and James Madison. However I think the MAC should look south of Ohio and go into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri for teams.

Why on earth would WKU, MU, & MTSU want to downgrade conferences?

More stability, less spread out, money probably about the same. Same minded institutions and public universities.

After this year, I'm willing to bet that the MAC's TV deal will be for mroe money than CUSA. Nobody watches FS1 or FS2, which is actually the main channel CUSA games get relegated to anyways.

I love how a fan of a school that has only been FBS for 7 years is talking mad game considering they have only been in CUSA for 1 season.

(06-19-2015 12:08 PM)RedandBlackAttack Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 11:21 AM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 09:45 AM)SigNuTopper Wrote:  

(06-18-2015 06:47 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  MAC should try to grab:
Western Kentucky or Marshall. Then maybe Middle Tennessee. If not just add EKU and James Madison. However I think the MAC should look south of Ohio and go into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri for teams.

Why on earth would WKU, MU, & MTSU want to downgrade conferences?

More stability, less spread out, money probably about the same. Same minded institutions and public universities.

After this year, I'm willing to bet that the MAC's TV deal will be for mroe money than CUSA. Nobody watches FS1 or FS2, which is actually the main channel CUSA games get relegated to anyways.

I love how a fan of a school that has only been FBS for 7 years is talking mad game considering they have only been in CUSA for 1 season.

LMAOoooooo! Didn't WKU play in their first bowl game in 2012 and lost to CMU?

(06-19-2015 09:45 AM)SigNuTopper Wrote:  

(06-18-2015 06:47 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  MAC should try to grab:
Western Kentucky or Marshall. Then maybe Middle Tennessee. If not just add EKU and James Madison. However I think the MAC should look south of Ohio and go into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri for teams.

Why on earth would WKU, MU, & MTSU want to downgrade conferences?

FINALLY! Someone from a lesser conference and school makes fun of the MAC and I can say what everyone else says to NIU and the MAC.

Know your place in the pecking order, directional school and conference! Bow down before my fandom of my school and conference.

(06-18-2015 10:48 PM)madizoned-level2004 Wrote:  As a JMU fan, I like the idea of a JMU/Missouri State package, just because I feel both schools are great candidates. However, observing the MAC's history with expansion over the past decade or so, lone eastern schools never seem to stick around long. If JMU were invited to the MAC, I'd really like another eastern school to join us. Delaware is probably the top choice. Stony Brook would be cool (and everyone loves an AAU), but I just don't think they're ready for FBS for a few years, at least.

Some of the other mentions I've seen in this thread (CCSU, Richmond, Rhode Island, etc.) are looney tunes. Then again, I never in a million years saw Georgia State as a viable FBS candidate. LOL.

Or the B1G taking Rutgers or JMU acting like a squirrel in the road...


LOL!

(06-19-2015 12:27 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  

(06-19-2015 09:45 AM)SigNuTopper Wrote:  

(06-18-2015 06:47 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  MAC should try to grab:
Western Kentucky or Marshall. Then maybe Middle Tennessee. If not just add EKU and James Madison. However I think the MAC should look south of Ohio and go into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri for teams.

Why on earth would WKU, MU, & MTSU want to downgrade conferences?

FINALLY! Someone from a lesser conference and school makes fun of the MAC and I can say what everyone else says to NIU and the MAC.

Know your place in the pecking order, directional school and conference! Bow down before my fandom of my school and conference.

I take offense to this.

(06-18-2015 09:34 PM)HuskieAlumnus03 Wrote:  Missouri State would be an outlier, but I think they do fit in terms of enrollment, but they are not a research university. I would gladly see EMU replaced with Missouri State, the school has lots of potential.

In terms of fitting most the profile (research RU/H, academics, enrollment) of most MAC institutions (mins EMU of course), would be Southern Illinois. Plus SIU has a better sports resume than Illinois State.

Both, MSU and SIU have alot of alumni in STL. A couple of years ago, they played a game in Busch Stadium, pretty good turnout.

Illinois State, makes sense, its a similar institution as CMU being a doctoral research school. I just don't see what the MAC gains from having a team next door to UofI. The school is doing well though, this might change in a couple of years.

SIU is a dying school in a dying part of the state, ISU better in pretty much every facet.

Arrogance abounds in this thread(by the bucket full).