To all those less familiar with MAC which member school has the most recognizable brand name nationwide -
not limited by any one sport or academic reputation?

It think it's Miami O. for having been the cradle of so many coaches who distinguished themselves and succeeded at higher levels.

(12-06-2017 08:38 PM)nucyberdawg Wrote:  To all those less familiar with MAC which member school has the most recognizable brand name nationwide -
not limited by any one sport or academic reputation?

It think it's Miami O.

With the older generation, Miami-OH. I think NIU may be near the top with the younger generation of fans though in terms of most MAC recognizable team.

Considering the number of times we're referred to as "Northern Iowa," it certainly isn't us.

Because pocket rocket sales have soared, I'd have to say Toledo.


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Miami is likely the strongest school in the MAC for academics. It has an excellent national reputation.

(12-06-2017 09:10 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  Miami is likely the strongest school in the MAC for academics. It has an excellent national reputation.

True but it's primarily thru athletics that schools have a national brand - otherwise these schools would be an afterthought nationwide:

Gonzaga
Boise State
Butler
BYU
Southern Miss
USF
UCF
ET AL

(12-07-2017 01:15 AM)nucyberdawg Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 09:10 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  Miami is likely the strongest school in the MAC for academics. It has an excellent national reputation.

True but it's primarily thru athletics that schools have a national brand - otherwise these schools would be an afterthought nationwide:

Gonzaga
Boise State
Butler
BYU
Southern Miss
USF
UCF
ET AL

I think there are a lot of things to take into consideration.

Athletics wise NIU is best known for football but EMU is best for overall sports.

Buffalo is the only MAC school in the AAU for academics which is huge.

Bufallo also has the largest endowment at $619 million, followed by Miami at $447 million and Toledo at $416 million. Many other MAC schools have very small endowments in comparison around $50 million or less so they have very little ability to move the needle.

Ohio, Buffalo and Toledo have Medical campuses and University Hospitals which are very important academically to the entire institution.

Kent State is the largest by enrollment, the smallest is BGSU.

NIU for football and Kent State (their Elite Eight run moved the needle) for basketball.

Miami is best known for academics although Buffalo as head of the SUNY system and AAU member maybe should be.

It use to be Marshall. They moved on to bigger and better things. Lol

If you've been to Miami you'd have wondered why you didn't go there in the first place. It's like a college out of a movie about a perfect looking college. If Miami got their athletics to a Notre Dame level of success, they could have the global notoriety of a Notre Dame.

I have always been disappointed that the re-branding of Buffalo to "New York" didn't work, and honestly I am not sure why they gave up. There's a story there for sure but it seemed to fast. To think that a school of Buffalo's academic reputation is as little known as it is, is a bit mind boggling. If you were a student looking to go to a great school, "Buffalo" doesn't really spark anything, but "University of New York" certainly does. Anyway, not my dog, not my fight.

As much as I don't like to say so outloud, Toledo seems to have a lot of things going for it and could vault into national prominence.

Everyone else in the MAC is probably relegated to their mission, which in general is to be a regional state supported university turning out teachers, nurses, cops, and small businessmen and women.

For instance, NIU's official vision is

Quote:The vision of Northern Illinois University is to be the premier student-centered, research-focused public university in the Midwest, contributing to the advancement of knowledge for the benefit of the people of the region, the state, the nation, and the world.

Seems about right, no? Why not be the best at that?

Not that it matters to folks on here, ESPNU on tomorrow airs the NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup and No. 5 Akron faces No. 9 Stanford -- two-time defending champion which upset No. 1 Wake Forest -- at 5 p.m. (our time). The other Final Four semi has No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Indiana. This is the Zips fourth Final Four since 2009 when they finished second and then won the national title in 2010. Sunday's final is on ESPN2. So it's fair to say Akron in men's soccer.

Tends to fluctuate from decade to decade.

In the late 90s through 00s, it was Miami and Marshall. In the 10s, I'd say NIU and Toledo.

I'm surprised Miami has hit the skids athletically, and stayed there for so long. They have a fine history, cradle of coaches, nice looking Ivy-ish campus (from what I recall seeing), top tier academics. Small college town feel, but not far from a major city in Cincy.

If I were a high school recruit and had a bunch of MAC offers, Miami would've been toward the top of my list.

Oxford seems very isolated. It's still a haul to get to Cincinnati(I've driven it, hiked it, and biked it). I actually prefer Ohio's campus to Miami's(I'm not bias, had family involved with both schools, along with graduates from both). The surrounding hills and river makes Athens a special place. Miami U is what you think colleges should look like. Spent a lot of time at each schools. Both are a credit to the MAC and Ohio.

Miami-OH lure is mainly linked to the whole cradle of coaches thing I would suspect

As someone relatively new to the MAC, coming in the biggest names to me were Ohio, Akron and Toledo.

(12-08-2017 12:24 AM)Ballfan92 Wrote:  As someone relatively new to the MAC, coming in the biggest names to me were Ohio, Akron and Toledo.

Akron (and KSU) bring some conference brand swagger in basketball, which may help explain that recognition. Can't imagine either football programs being anything more than a blip on the regional radar.

I know college hockey isn't as noticeable as hoops and football. But one upside of WMU (and Miami) joining the NCHC is getting more media ink, even if it's relatively modest, west of Mississippi River.

Miami-OH, Ohio University or Kent State.

There are only two schools in the MAC with national recognition Toledo and NIU, just for the teams we have beaten and all the MACtion we have suffered through. Everyone else including WMU is just an afterthought.