CSNbbs

I wouldn't have nearly the problem with this apparent situation had NIU been even the least bit competitive in their losses to BG and UT. I have a hard time taking them seriously as the best possible team even if BG loses to Miami again simply because of the magnitude of those losses. I am not saying they are not bowl worthy. I am saying that are not as worthy as we are.

We all know that bowl bids are determined by $$ and potential ticket sales. We all know some conferences buy bowl bids. This is something different though. This is one MAC member attempting to buy their way into a bowl that another conference member earned on the field of play.

I saw the same news interview that FalconFrenzy did this evening. I don't think that Mr Huffman was being truthful. I fear that the MCB is giving BG a few days to match NIU's bid and if we don't, we're screwed if we don't beat Miami.

BG has to win on Thursday, I'm afraid. Otherwise, you will likely be joining the ranks of Toledo and Miami in more ways than on the field play.

When the officials at the rest of the MAC schools stood by and allowed Chryst to hose Toledo a few years back, even going so far as agreeing to pay the MCB to take Marshall, they set up this scenario. Many of you even got a chuckle out of seeing Toledo have to pony up cash for a deal that cost them their coach and their Top 25 ranking that year. Maybe this time the conference will stand up to Chryst and make him do the right thing, but don't bet on it. That particular box has already been opened.

Unless another bowl makes an offer, which is highly unlikely, the above scenario is probably taking place behind the scenes right now. I, for one, believe it is a travesty.

Oddball Wrote:When the officials at the rest of the MAC schools stood by and allowed Chryst to hose Toledo a few years back, even going so far as agreeing to pay the MCB to take Marshall, they set up this scenario. Many of you even got a chuckle out of seeing Toledo have to pony up cash for a deal that cost them their coach and their Top 25 ranking that year. Maybe this time the conference will stand up to Chryst and make him do the right thing, but don't bet on it. That particular box has already been opened.

First of all, the NIU rumor was presented emphatically as that,rumor. I hope the members of this board don't get too hasty in gutting a conference member. At least one that hasn't been working in opposition to the MAC.

Even if NIU is offering up that sort of incentive, frankly I'm not sure I care. It would be a bummer for BG, but it's the bowl system at fault. At least three MAC teams deserve shots, not 6-6 teams. I'm inclined to look at the problem, not a victim's response to the problem.

As for the Ft Worth bowl, the best money maker for them is a SWC member, or a Big 8 member. More power to them. Besides, Texas sucks and I don't want to drive to BWI to get a Southwest airlines flight.

Oddball, I don't remember the details, but I don't think most folks laughed at Toledo's plight. Honestly, despite not being the better team, didn't Marshall win the MACC (or are you talking about a different year)? You can't slight such a team, or the MACC means even less. Once again, the real problem was where the MACC was hosted. That should have been addressed long before. The consequences were and are far reaching, but dealing w/ the real problem is the only way to come to a solution.
Patchwork answers of "This team is better than the champ" may have made sense then, but it's exactly what may be the problem now.

You touch on the problem that year, Torch, but don't quite make the connection. Marshall won the MACC because they were allowed to host it again, despite the protests of many conference members. Toledo was not in the game due to more conference stupidity. How can anyone claim that the MACC meant anything to begin with? It was a joke. Toledo was the punchline...and many folks did laugh. Not everyone, but there were plenty. The Toledo boards were buried by Marshall and BG fans having a grand old time rubbing it in. If BG sits home, I won't laugh...but I won't pretend that the roots of it don't lie in the conference leadership's inability to see farther than the end of their noses when making these type of decisions. Chryst screwed Toledo and will probably allow BG to get screwed just as badly, too.

Like you, I can't blame NIU...they deserve a bowl, as do at least 4 teams in this conference. Someone will be sitting at home. That's the only thing that you can take to the bank in this whole mess.

Okie Chippewa Wrote:Fast Fact: If BGSU wins the MACC, the Motor City Bowl MUST select them.

Incorrect.

Flipper Wrote:

redskins4ever Wrote:So Is BG guranteeing 26,000 tickets being sold?

How many tickets has Miami gaurenteed the GMAC bowl? When did it become mandatory to purchase a spot in a bowl game?

The GMAC Bowl sells out every year. They don't worry so much about selling tickets. Sponsors by thousands of tickets for the locals.

Oddball Wrote:You touch on the problem that year, Torch, but don't quite make the connection. Marshall won the MACC because they were allowed to host it again, despite the protests of many conference members. Toledo was not in the game due to more conference stupidity. How can anyone claim that the MACC meant anything to begin with? It was a joke. Toledo was the punchline...and many folks did laugh.

That's a huge load of crap.

Toledo wasn't in the championship game because they LOST to the West Champion ON THE FIELD!

Where do you get this stuff?

Stick4489 Wrote:

Oddball Wrote:You touch on the problem that year, Torch, but don't quite make the connection. Marshall won the MACC because they were allowed to host it again, despite the protests of many conference members. Toledo was not in the game due to more conference stupidity. How can anyone claim that the MACC meant anything to begin with? It was a joke. Toledo was the punchline...and many folks did laugh.

That's a huge load of crap.

Toledo wasn't in the championship game because they LOST to the West Champion ON THE FIELD!

Where do you get this stuff?

Yep, in a year where only divisional games counted, that is a fact. We'd never used that rule before, and changed it again the very next year, but for THAT SEASON, it is a fact.

Bowling Green will be going to a bowl!! I think Chryst is bargaining with another bowl, and if that doesn't happen, they will be going to the Motor City Bowl. They were guaranteed a bowl game to move yesterdays game with UT to Saturday for TV. It is all sort of silly, because BG would take twice as many fans to the MCB as NIU, but I don't think are willing to buy 25,000 tickets. A Northwestern vs NIU game would be the worst game of the year, to anyone other than people from the Chicago area. I have been to Northwestern for football games three times, and two of those games OSU had more fans than Northwestern in Chicago. In the other, Bowling Green had a GREAT turnout when we played Northwestern a few years back, and Northwestern only had a half to two-thirds full stadium, and that is in a city of millions!

factman Wrote:They were guaranteed a bowl game to move yesterdays game with UT to Saturday for TV.

It is all sort of silly, because BG would take twice as many fans to the MCB as NIU.

A Northwestern vs NIU game would be the worst game of the year, to anyone other than people from the Chicago area.

Man, you really have to do something about that name!

No bowl game was guaranteed, nor was our guaranteed slot offered. BG has rarely ever drawn a crowd, and that is partly why they may not go bowling, despite having earned the slot. The other part is because a BG-Northwestern match-up is probably the worst possible one.

I will truly sympathize with BG fans if they get screwed, but your post was complete nonsense.

I don't know if any of these "back-room" discussions are true or not, but the fact is that the MCB folks must be going nutso contemplating how empty Ford Field might be due to NW's presence. NW won't bring many fans at all, and as been already stated in the thread all of NW's bigger crowds are due to the size of the opponent's crowd in their stadium (i.e. Michigan had 13K, Wisconsin had 10K, Miami had 8K, etc.). The MCB will do whatever it takes to try to get 35K plus to get to this game, and I suspect a NIU-NW match-up is one of the considerations (although I don't think it'll help attendance any).

I'd like to think that BG and NIU are in the running for the Fort Worth opening (I know........unlikely), but you've got to think if TCU stiffs us (and at this juncture I don't even give a cr@p if we play 'em in Mobile), then Chryst should be demanding some type of "make-up" in Fort Worth. Also, ESPN will be livid if TCU abandons the Miami match-up. All very interesting.

Oddball Wrote:Yep, in a year where only divisional games counted, that is a fact. We'd never used that rule before, and changed it again the very next year, but for THAT SEASON, it is a fact.

Do you really believe your own bull******? Toledo and WMU both lost one conference game. WMU won the head to head meeting over Toledo. WMU lost to CMU late in the season when they had already clinched the division championship. CMU is also in the West division.

Yes, it was a dumb rule to only count division wins. It was also a rule that had no impact on the conference standings. Even if all games counted, WMU and Marshall would have still won their divisions.

Suggestion for the moderators: We need a Truth Only Day. One day per week (month, year) only truth is allowed to be posted on this board.

Stick4489 Wrote:Suggestion for the moderators: We need a Truth Only Day. One day per week (month, year) only truth is allowed to be posted on this board.

How would oddball be able to post that day?

Stick4489 Wrote:

Oddball Wrote:Yep, in a year where only divisional games counted, that is a fact. We'd never used that rule before, and changed it again the very next year, but for THAT SEASON, it is a fact.

Do you really believe your own bull******? Toledo and WMU both lost one conference game. WMU won the head to head meeting over Toledo. WMU lost to CMU late in the season when they had already clinched the division championship. CMU is also in the West division.

Yes, it was a dumb rule to only count division wins. It was also a rule that had no impact on the conference standings. Even if all games counted, WMU and Marshall would have still won their divisions.

Suggestion for the moderators: We need a Truth Only Day. One day per week (month, year) only truth is allowed to be posted on this board.

You know, my faulty memory on a single point doesn't change the fact that the rest of the conference had to pay Marshall's way into a bowl that didn't want them...and then had to pay Marshall's expenses because of their sense of entitlement. I probably should have looked that part up before letting you take this off on a tangent that really didn't matter much. My mistake.

The point was that Marshall was undeserving, and unwanted...and Chryst screwed the conference over by forcing the issue.

HerdKixButt Wrote:

Stick4489 Wrote:Suggestion for the moderators:  We need a Truth Only Day.  One day per week (month, year) only truth is allowed to be posted on this board.

How would oddball be able to post that day?

Actually, Rube, that would probably have a whole lot more of an effect on Herd fans.

Another thing being brought up that mystifies me is the idea that the MAC somehow had to pay our way to the '00 MCB.........this is the first I've ever heard of it.......in fact I always see stories after the bowl season ends about how much money was lost by going to the bowl.......wvu idiots have had a field day with that for years.

The members schools paid for Marshall to go to the MCB. They also covered the money that Marshall lost. The fact that Marshall was hardly frugal about what they spent going to the bowl obviously had no bearing on the decision.

Chryst has done a lot of good things for this conference. Coddling Marshall wasn't one of them.

If BGSU is passed over for NIU for whatever reason, then the bowl system is even more screwed up than I originally thought. That is, unless there are some behind-closed-doors dealings to get 3 teams locked up in places. But win or lose Thursday, BG deserves the second bid.

FYI - I believe Miami is on the hook for 7500 tickets to the GMAC bowl. It is one reason why all Miami communication urges fans to buy from the school and not directly from the bowl so that the purchase counts towards the total. Also, years ago Cincinnati "bought" themselves the Humanitarian bowl. At the time, they guaranteed a huge number of tickets, plus a 2-for-1 series with Boise St. in basketball I believe. Huggins was none too happy, but it was Cincinnati's first bowl in decades. Just goes to show that it does, and can, happen.

For what it is worth, I also believe BG will go to a bowl. If they can arrange for them to get into another bowl (e.g. Fort Worth) I think it is in everyone's best interest. NIU/Northwestern has the best shot of a decent crowd. Otherwise, I would expect them in MCB. If they win MACC and no other bowl can be arranged, they go anyway.

I've only heard rumors on message boards about this 25K tix thing, so I can't say there's any truth to it - it sounds pretty hefty to me for our administration to be able to afford. Unfortunately, the bowl system is already screwed up enough that it comes down to bribing your way into bowls.

I've already said that I don't like the idea of getting to a bowl at the expense of our conference brethren. But considering the success we've had this year (10 wins for only the third time in our history ), many including myself believe that we deserve to finish the year in a bowl game. To that end, I'm sure our administration will work their tails off to find a way into a bowl game. That is going to involve monetary guarantees - that's just the way it is right now, and that's not NIU's doing.

No one can say for sure that BG would take more fans to the MCB than NIU. Attendance for a top25 ranked BG team at home against another Ohio team with possibly the most exciting player in the conference was a pathetic 12K. We've had the three largest crowds in our history this year. Plus an NIU/NU matchup would play great in Chicago, and last I checked that isn't a small market.

We lost our two most important conference games, but we won a couple very important OOC games. Anyone that says the OOC games mean nothing aren't paying attention, because obviously it was those wins and the stature it gained us that has us in this position - if NIU was 8-4 with losses at home to Maryland and at Alabama, we wouldn't be on the bowl map.

The MCB is obviously waiting to see what shakes out - remember, the MACC still has to be played, and until it is, the MCB still has its choice for what it believes to be the best matchup. Also, don't forget that we still need official confirmation of NU in the MCB, and that won't happen until a week from today when the BCS announces it's selections - Texas, OSU and LSU (if they lose the SEC title game) are all excellent selections - LSU and Georgia (if UGA wins) would each be 11-2, and it would be awfully tough to leave one of them out of it.

Until NU is definitely slotted for the MCB, it's all positioning. NIU ain't in the MCB if NU ain't there. Until then, it's all about positioning. Hopefully we can get a Ft. Worth Bowl bid and make this a moot point. And until someone can substantiate this 25K tix thing, you should be careful ripping NIU.