JMU is a great fit culturally for the MAC, has an excellent fan base, good facilities, and a winning program having just won the FCS national championship for the second time. What is the hold up?

(01-07-2017 03:58 PM)Shox Wrote:  JMU is a great fit culturally for the MAC, has an excellent fan base, good facilities, and a winning program having just won the FCS national championship for the second time. What is the hold up?

James Madison feels that they are too good for the MAC and SBC and will settle for nothing less than C-USA--that's the hold up.

If there weren't so many rules regarding teams moving up having conference invites and such we might have seen a group come up together comprised of UMass, Stony Brook, JMU, ODU, Liberty, Charlotte, App St, Georgia St, and Georgia Southern. Some of those received invites into conferences, others haven't.

We already know UMass will not leave the A10 for the MAC.

UMass doesn't want to be in the MAC. That's the holdup. They were offered full membership, with the agreement that if they turned down full membership their football was out. They turned the MAC down.

If they had joined/stayed in the MAC as #13, pretty-good public school JAmes MAdison University in the demographically attractive state of Virginia, a 2 hour drive from DC and within an 8 hour drive of any of the Ohio schools, would have been the frontrunner for the last spot in the MAC.

But UMass didn't, so JMU isn't, and that's the story.

MAC should offer Marshall and JMU

(01-07-2017 04:11 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(01-07-2017 03:58 PM)Shox Wrote:  JMU is a great fit culturally for the MAC, has an excellent fan base, good facilities, and a winning program having just won the FCS national championship for the second time. What is the hold up?

James Madison feels that they are too good for the MAC and SBC and will settle for nothing less than C-USA--that's the hold up.

If there weren't so many rules regarding teams moving up having conference invites and such we might have seen a group come up together comprised of UMass, Stony Brook, JMU, ODU, Liberty, Charlotte, App St, Georgia St, and Georgia Southern. Some of those received invites into conferences, others haven't.

I don't know know, but I've heard that JMU would take a MAC invitation. But with UMass leaving, they'd have to find a second team to come along for the ride, and that's presuming the MAC wants to expand at all.

JMU's leadership is chickens*t when it comes to moving up (through they're perfectly happy to fundraise under the assumption that they're moving), and UMass already chose basketball over a full MAC membership.

The MAC is staying at 12, there's no team attractive enough to justify splitting our TV money an extra two ways. Had UMass been on board they and JMU would be members now, but they aren't, and won't be unless something dramatic enough in realignment occurs to affect the MAC.

(01-07-2017 06:49 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  The MAC is staying at 12, there's no team attractive enough to justify splitting our TV money an extra two ways. Had UMass been on board they and JMU would be members now, but they aren't, and won't be unless something dramatic enough in realignment occurs to affect the MAC.

If UMass went have went all in, IMHO JMU was not first on the list. I think that they would have went hard after Delaware or Stony Brook. However since they are not interested at all, they would have stayed at 13 until the NCAA says otherwise.

BTY, Not no, but H*LL NO on Marshall! Way, Way too much baggage unless they pay a big time entrance fee and place them year-to-year so when we kick them out, we place a stipulation that they will be in Independence h*ll for all sports for the rest there existence...

JMU had a path to FBS and said no thanks.
UMass had a path to membership in an FBS conference and said no thanks.

Whole thread sort of becomes pointless after that.

(01-07-2017 07:10 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  JMU had a path to FBS and said no thanks.
UMass had a path to membership in an FBS conference and said no thanks.

Whole thread sort of becomes pointless after that.

JMU, Delaware, Stony Brook, and Albany are sticking together. Delaware hired Richmond's coach and nearly his entire staff because it wants to be football relevant again.

Throw in Towson, Fordham, UMASS, UNH, Kennesaw St, Liberty and maybe later Army, Villanova and Buffalo, and you have a nice regional FBS conference.

The WAC can make it happen.

JMU would have had its way in the Belt this year, just as Ga Southern dominated that league as a transition team.

(01-07-2017 07:47 PM)NoDak Wrote:  JMU would have had its way in the Belt this year, just as Ga Southern dominated that league as a transition team.

That's a ridiculous statement. GaSo did so well the first year because 1. The conference wasn't ready for their TO offense and 2. They didn't play ArkSt or ULL.

(01-07-2017 08:22 PM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  

(01-07-2017 07:47 PM)NoDak Wrote:  JMU would have had its way in the Belt this year, just as Ga Southern dominated that league as a transition team.

That's a ridiculous statement. GaSo did so well the first year because 1. The conference wasn't ready for their TO offense and 2. They didn't play ArkSt or ULL.

JMU demolished NDSU in the Fargo Dome during the playoffs. That something Ga Southern failed to do.

(01-07-2017 06:49 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  The MAC is staying at 12, there's no team attractive enough to justify splitting our TV money an extra two ways. Had UMass been on board they and JMU would be members now, but they aren't, and won't be unless something dramatic enough in realignment occurs to affect the MAC.

Yes ... as a FB-only add UMass is a #14, after a compelling #13 says they want to join. As an all-sports add, JMU is a #14, after a compelling #13 says they want to join.

UMass all-sports would have been that compelling #13, but UMass said no.

It really doesn't matter how many #14 adds for the MAC adds you pair up, it doesn't add up to a reason to expand beyond 12.

(01-07-2017 07:10 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  JMU had a path to FBS and said no thanks.
UMass had a path to membership in an FBS conference and said no thanks.

Whole thread sort of becomes pointless after that.

I bet if there is an opening in 10 years JMU will reconsider the SBC should they lose someone.

The amount of money involved will be too good to pass up.

I wonder if Marshall would ever want to go back to playing in the MAC. C-USA is not what it was when they left.

(01-07-2017 10:39 PM)p23570 Wrote:  I wonder if Marshall would ever want to go back to playing in the MAC. C-USA is not what it was when they left.

Neither is Marshall. MAC doesn't want them.

10-12 football playing members is fine for a G5 conference.

I'd like to see the MAC make use of non-FB members.

UIC
Milwaukee
Illinois-State

That would give the MAC 4 schools in the Greater Chicago area. Four schools with large alumni bases; NIU, ISU UWM, UIC.

Try to become the A10 of the Midwest with the heaviest non-P5 saturation.

There's no more money from going from 12 to 14