11-17-2004, 11:05 AM
Well, the short stint of UCF in the MAC is drawing to a close, and although it did solve short-term scheduling issues I think it's fair to say that having a school well outside the MAC's geographical "footprint" did not work out so great. UCF came in with a lotta bluster (from fans and especially their previous Coach), which as I recall was praised by many a Herd fan (comparing UCF fans to the more modest MAC fans around here), but I've always felt that it's meaningless boasting unless you can back it up on the field, and for the most part, UCF couldn't.
But, the relationship didn't do anyone harm......UCF got to fill out their schedule and the MAC got an even number of teams, some MAC folks enjoyed traveling to the sunny south and the MAC got some exposure on the Florida TV Sunshine network. In the end, UCF got into the conference that fits them much better (C-USA), and now has a high profile coach that will likely turn their program around eventually. I think that there may have been some hope that UCF would field better teams and perhaps help the MAC grab a southern-based bowl slot somewhere, but of course that didn't materialize, either.
I've oft heard of how UCF had a winning record against the MAC since they moved up to DIA, and although I don't know the overall record now (after all, UCF was a respectable 6-2 in conference play one year), I would guess that they now might have a losing record overall. I have to commend UCF fans for supporting their team so well this yea during a very difficult season. I would also say that both the MAC and UCF learned quite a bit from the experience. Hopefullly the MAC office will consider those learnings if expansion is put back "on the table" for the conference.
Curious: What do UCF fans think about things now? Do you wish that the "MAC experiment" never happened? Or do you think some good came out of it for the UCF program?
But, the relationship didn't do anyone harm......UCF got to fill out their schedule and the MAC got an even number of teams, some MAC folks enjoyed traveling to the sunny south and the MAC got some exposure on the Florida TV Sunshine network. In the end, UCF got into the conference that fits them much better (C-USA), and now has a high profile coach that will likely turn their program around eventually. I think that there may have been some hope that UCF would field better teams and perhaps help the MAC grab a southern-based bowl slot somewhere, but of course that didn't materialize, either.
I've oft heard of how UCF had a winning record against the MAC since they moved up to DIA, and although I don't know the overall record now (after all, UCF was a respectable 6-2 in conference play one year), I would guess that they now might have a losing record overall. I have to commend UCF fans for supporting their team so well this yea during a very difficult season. I would also say that both the MAC and UCF learned quite a bit from the experience. Hopefullly the MAC office will consider those learnings if expansion is put back "on the table" for the conference.
Curious: What do UCF fans think about things now? Do you wish that the "MAC experiment" never happened? Or do you think some good came out of it for the UCF program?