Sultan,
All I can tell you is that when I was at Miami I didn't really feel the intensity of the OU rivalry...probably a timing issue as Miami was more relevant on the national stage having been ranked 3 of the four years I was in school and beating FL, Georgia and So. Carolina in bowl games. OU was just a "speedbump" then, just as we've seemingly become now, and we beat UC 3 of the 4 years I was there as well.

(10-08-2015 12:22 PM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  Sultan,
All I can tell you is that when I was at Miami I didn't really feel the intensity of the OU rivalry...probably a timing issue as Miami was more relevant on the national stage having been ranked 3 of the four years I was in school and beating FL, Georgia and So. Carolina in bowl games. OU was just a "speedbump" then, just as we've seemingly become now, and we beat UC 3 of the 4 years I was there as well.

All of these rivals fluctuate in intensity. The problem, as mentioned earlier, with the Ohio-Miami rivalry is that it's been 40 years since both were good at the same time. BG-UT and CMU-WMU are more interesting now and probably more passionate because the games are important on top of being a rivalry.

Even in years when CMU and WMU were both down the game seems to generate quite a bit of interest on both campuses.

(10-05-2015 11:56 AM)Nick in Cleveland Wrote:  1. Western/Central; and more so on the Central side

The idea that the rivalry somehow matters more to CMU than to WMU is ridiculous.

I'm biased, so I'd put WMU-CMU at the top, but I think a strong case could also be made for Toledo-BG and Ohio-Miami. The MAC is fortunate to have four excellent true rivalries, including Akron-KSU.

Here's a list of each MAC team's most frequent opponent, all time-

120 Miami v Cincinnati
92 Central Michigan v Eastern Michigan
91 Ohio v Miami
85 Western Michigan v Central Michigan
82 Bowling Green v Kent State
79 Toledo v Bowling Green
57 Ball State v Eastern Michigan
56 Akron v Kent State
50 Northern Illinois v Central Michigan
23 UMass v Boston College
21 Buffalo v Ohio

(10-05-2015 05:53 PM)Huron Boy Wrote:  

(10-05-2015 05:16 PM)eich41 Wrote:  

(10-05-2015 04:57 PM)Huron Boy Wrote:  

(10-05-2015 01:28 PM)george14 Wrote:  

(10-05-2015 01:07 PM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  Also in football how close are teams in the win column with their so called rivals? Toledo winning 5 in a row to MAC EAST top dogs narrows the all time series to very very close in favor of BG.

The amount of times played is also a good deciding factor in rivalry's

I don't mean to stir this debate up, but that's like saying UM-OSU is less of a rivalry because MSU wants a part. They are 2 separate rivalries, UM-MSU and UM-OSU.

CMU-WMU is a big rivalry. It's no disrespect to EMU, I don't really view them as a rival. If those fans want to take that as an insult because of their program, ok, I never said that but I know that is the response. There is the Michigan MAC trophy yes, but CMU and I don't think WMU views EMU as much of a rival simply because our big rivalry is each other. I view EMU just like I would view any other MACW opponent.

CMU-WMU has a trophy, the all time record is 47-36-2 in favor of WMU, and the last 10 is 6-4 in favor of CMU. Since CMU became D1 in the 1970's I'm pretty sure we have a substantial lead by like 20 wins.

At this time - cannot argue with that assessment. EMU needs to win a few of these games with Central and Western to make it a meaningful rivalry game (hopefully) in the future. Wins that impact recruiting and reputation - then a true rivalry will emerge.

I think the big issue in the EMU rivalry is that fanbases tend to make the rivalry. Unfortunately, right now the EMU fanbase is nearly nonexistent (save for the handful of you guys on here). What fun is a rivalry if there's nobody on the other side to rub it in on when you win?

Nothing a few years of winning could take care of - I was there in late '80s - early 90s. It's possible, but yeah - need to pick up some W's and fill the seats.

I've only been here since the early 2000's. The only time that there was any hint of a rivalry was when Genyk was coaching EMU. He was an a** towards CMU, on purpose. He made the team and coaches respect EMU and take them more seriously because he would pull out all the stops to win. He was the last EMU coach to make me nervous about playing them. You need another like him.

I am sorry to disagree with several of my Ohio brethren but sitting in Peden yesterday it was very obvious that Ohio fans get more fired up for Marshall. The level of passion was much higher for the Herd than Miami. I know the alumni who travel in for homecoming once a year will say Miami is the biggest rival but those of us who attend most every home game know that it's Marshall. The announced attendance for both games was over 25,000 but the energy level was night and day.

Just like Miami seems to get more fired up for its backyard rival Ohio gets more fired up (at this point in history) for its backyard rival. Geography matters when it come to stirring the masses up.

Before someone smacks me down, yes I know this is about MAC rivalries but it's been pointed out Miami considers UC the biggest game.

(10-11-2015 08:39 AM)GalliaCat Wrote:  I am sorry to disagree with several of my Ohio brethren but sitting in Peden yesterday it was very obvious that Ohio fans get more fired up for Marshall. The level of passion was much higher for the Herd than Miami. I know the alumni who travel in for homecoming once a year will say Miami is the biggest rival but those of us who attend most every home game know that it's Marshall. The announced attendance for both games was over 25,000 but the energy level was night and day.

Just like Miami seems to get more fired up for its backyard rival Ohio gets more fired up (at this point in history) for its backyard rival. Geography matters when it come to stirring the masses up.

Before someone smacks me down, yes I know this is about MAC rivalries but it's been pointed out Miami considers UC the biggest game.

Actually, if you listened to the student side, the hate is real!
I think the big difference in the two games is that Marshall fans show up, which in turn, energizes our fans into cheering more. In contrast, Fiami fans suck! And, yes, I did just post on Bobcat Attack about how our fans need to step it up in the cheering department, so not wanting to sound too hypocritical!

(10-05-2015 09:13 PM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  

(10-05-2015 12:46 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  Ohio v Miami is, and will always be, the MAC's top rivalry.

Was.

I don't think any rivalry that draws fewer than 12k people is at the top right now.

Ummmmm..... Attendance yesterday was over 25K.
(I know you were referring to games @Miami though)

When one side of the rivalry is bad for so long and their fans stop caring, naturally the other side is going to lose some interest too. When Miami gets good again, we'll be on top of Marshall as far as passion goes if OU is still good, after all OU doesn't play the Herd again until 2019.

Attendance probably makes the rivalry look 'closer' as sad as that is. We drew 12K (we overstate by 6K) last year against OU, but it was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and 20 degrees out. OU wouldn't have drawn anything close to 25K in reality if they were in the same position. And our two previous games in Oxford had 17K and about 20K (that was before we really started to inflate our numbers), but 2010 and 2012 might as well be 1995 by this point. It's ancient history, and doesn't reflect the horrid state of our program.

(10-11-2015 08:39 AM)GalliaCat Wrote:  I am sorry to disagree with several of my Ohio brethren but sitting in Peden yesterday it was very obvious that Ohio fans get more fired up for Marshall. The level of passion was much higher for the Herd than Miami. I know the alumni who travel in for homecoming once a year will say Miami is the biggest rival but those of us who attend most every home game know that it's Marshall. The announced attendance for both games was over 25,000 but the energy level was night and day.

Just like Miami seems to get more fired up for its backyard rival Ohio gets more fired up (at this point in history) for its backyard rival. Geography matters when it come to stirring the masses up.

Before someone smacks me down, yes I know this is about MAC rivalries but it's been pointed out Miami considers UC the biggest game.

Winning 9 out of the last 10 vs. Miami may have taken some of the steam out of the rivalry.

(10-11-2015 04:32 PM)OUBobcat9092 Wrote:  

(10-11-2015 08:39 AM)GalliaCat Wrote:  I am sorry to disagree with several of my Ohio brethren but sitting in Peden yesterday it was very obvious that Ohio fans get more fired up for Marshall. The level of passion was much higher for the Herd than Miami. I know the alumni who travel in for homecoming once a year will say Miami is the biggest rival but those of us who attend most every home game know that it's Marshall. The announced attendance for both games was over 25,000 but the energy level was night and day.

Just like Miami seems to get more fired up for its backyard rival Ohio gets more fired up (at this point in history) for its backyard rival. Geography matters when it come to stirring the masses up.

Before someone smacks me down, yes I know this is about MAC rivalries but it's been pointed out Miami considers UC the biggest game.

Winning 9 out of the last 10 vs. Miami may have taken some of the steam out of the rivalry.

i'm willing to accept this trade-off! LOL GO OHIO!!!!!!

(10-11-2015 10:54 AM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Attendance probably makes the rivalry look 'closer' as sad as that is. We drew 12K (we overstate by 6K) last year against OU, but it was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and 20 degrees out. OU wouldn't have drawn anything close to 25K in reality if they were in the same position. And our two previous games in Oxford had 17K and about 20K (that was before we really started to inflate our numbers), but 2010 and 2012 might as well be 1995 by this point. It's ancient history, and doesn't reflect the horrid state of our program.

OU is only 10-10 (.500) in its last 20 MAC games. Last year for OU was only 6-6 overall in a rebuilding year. Its not performance that is drawing the fans in.

What's happened is a Halloweenization of homecoming weekend and other fall football weekends.

In the 90's there may have been 20,000 in Athens for homecoming with 12,000 of those at the football game. If you were to go uptown few people were on the street and there wasn't a problem picking up a table at the few restaurants at the time.

Today there are 40,000 in town for homecoming with 25,000 at the football game. The streets are packed and the bars full before a football game. There are two times more places to eat and they are all packed.

The ratio of people interested in being down at the game hasn't changed but the sheer amount of people in town has. The game is part of the party with the parade, tailgating and bars.

Miami is 2-18 in its last 20 MAC games. It would be hard to imagine OU ever that bad again in the MAC and even so it wouldn't change the atmosphere down in Athens.

Kittonhead wrote: Miami is 2-18 in its last 20 MAC games. It would be hard to imagine OU ever that bad again in the MAC and even so it wouldn't change the atmosphere down in Athens.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eCK: In college football, it's all about the coaching....Treadwell managed to destroy our program in short order.....the key for OU will be to find another great Coach when Frank retires....until then, you're obviously in good hands!

(10-12-2015 09:58 AM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  Kittonhead wrote: Miami is 2-18 in its last 20 MAC games. It would be hard to imagine OU ever that bad again in the MAC and even so it wouldn't change the atmosphere down in Athens.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eCK: In college football, it's all about the coaching....Treadwell managed to destroy our program in short order.....the key for OU will be to find another great Coach when Frank retires....until then, you're obviously in good hands!

Indeed. When Miami was riding high from the Walker days, Big Ben, and Hoeppner, who would've ever thought we would be where we are now? In 2025 we might be talking about how Coach XYZ destroyed OU like Treadwell did with us or that one guy did at Southern Miss. Nothing is unbreakable.

(10-12-2015 04:19 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(10-12-2015 09:58 AM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  Kittonhead wrote: Miami is 2-18 in its last 20 MAC games. It would be hard to imagine OU ever that bad again in the MAC and even so it wouldn't change the atmosphere down in Athens.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eCK: In college football, it's all about the coaching....Treadwell managed to destroy our program in short order.....the key for OU will be to find another great Coach when Frank retires....until then, you're obviously in good hands!

Indeed. When Miami was riding high from the Walker days, Big Ben, and Hoeppner, who would've ever thought we would be where we are now? In 2025 we might be talking about how Coach XYZ destroyed OU like Treadwell did with us or that one guy did at Southern Miss. Nothing is unbreakable.

Agreed. A poor athletic director, coaching staff, or a series of poor recruitingd among other factors classes can bring OU back to the dark days of the late 80's and early 90's.

(10-12-2015 04:30 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(10-12-2015 04:19 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(10-12-2015 09:58 AM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  Kittonhead wrote: Miami is 2-18 in its last 20 MAC games. It would be hard to imagine OU ever that bad again in the MAC and even so it wouldn't change the atmosphere down in Athens.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eCK: In college football, it's all about the coaching....Treadwell managed to destroy our program in short order.....the key for OU will be to find another great Coach when Frank retires....until then, you're obviously in good hands!

Indeed. When Miami was riding high from the Walker days, Big Ben, and Hoeppner, who would've ever thought we would be where we are now? In 2025 we might be talking about how Coach XYZ destroyed OU like Treadwell did with us or that one guy did at Southern Miss. Nothing is unbreakable.

Agreed. A poor athletic director, coaching staff, or a series of poor recruitingd among other factors classes can bring OU back to the dark days of the late 80's and early 90's.

Can you say " Gene Cross"?

(10-12-2015 04:30 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(10-12-2015 04:19 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(10-12-2015 09:58 AM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  Kittonhead wrote: Miami is 2-18 in its last 20 MAC games. It would be hard to imagine OU ever that bad again in the MAC and even so it wouldn't change the atmosphere down in Athens.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eCK: In college football, it's all about the coaching....Treadwell managed to destroy our program in short order.....the key for OU will be to find another great Coach when Frank retires....until then, you're obviously in good hands!

Indeed. When Miami was riding high from the Walker days, Big Ben, and Hoeppner, who would've ever thought we would be where we are now? In 2025 we might be talking about how Coach XYZ destroyed OU like Treadwell did with us or that one guy did at Southern Miss. Nothing is unbreakable.

Agreed. A poor athletic director, coaching staff, or a series of poor recruitingd among other factors classes can bring OU back to the dark days of the late 80's and early 90's.

So OU is going to roll back from $40 dollar game tickets and big season ticket base to the days of 5,000 in the stands with no videoboard? Days when the MAC had only 1 bowl game and it was tough conference to recruit to. Head coach making 40,000 a year?

I don't think so.

Because OU has a strong athletic profile for a MAC school its able to attract exceptional AD's like the guy from Wichita State and coaches like the guy from Nebraska. The school is very committed to the FBS level and will attract high caliber replacements.

Worst case scenario the school is hit with a lack of institutional control losing scholarships. OU may go through a couple of 3-9/4-8 seasons. The easy non conference schedules pad the record.

As long as OU stays in the MAC where it has *some* advantages. If OU were to leave the MAC for something more competitive then all bets are off.

The same in basketball. OU can compete for conference titles in the MAC. Put OU in the AAC and it would be a struggle against big market schools.

The best case scenario for OU is if the MAC can develop into an MWC with 2 teams in the NCAAs every year with a lot on the line. A very competitive MAC where fans travel big in basketball again. That is where it looks like MAC basketball is heading with its status as a G5 conference paying the full cost of attendance. A huge influx of MAC basketball on television should make a difference in recruiting. Coaching salaries in MAC basketball are on the rise.

The difference between the MAC and FCS conferences wasn't that much. Today between G5 money, ESPN money, paydays at P5, marketing rights etc. MAC membership is worth an extra 4 or 5 million over the Missouri Valley. It will translate over to more success for MAC basketball, IMO.

Quote:If OU were to leave the MAC for something more competitive then all bets are off.

With a 47 year (and counting) MAC football championship drought, I would hate to image how that would work out for OU.

Welcome back oh delusional one. Gee, it's been so rough around here without the endless OU leaving the MAC or fantasy world realignment threads.

(10-12-2015 11:14 PM)HuronDave Wrote:  

Quote:If OU were to leave the MAC for something more competitive then all bets are off.

With a 47 year (and counting) MAC football championship drought, I would hate to image how that would work out for OU.

Welcome back oh delusional one. Gee, it's been so rough around here without the endless OU leaving the MAC or fantasy world realignment threads.