http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=373975
(06-16-2009 09:00 AM)HuronDave Wrote: [ -> ]With the new commish in place, the current attitude of the presidents and the changes being put in place in the MAC offices, the MAC will drop to FCS within five years. Very bleak outlook from my perspective of what is happening. There is currently no desire for the MAC to continue to move upward and in fact it appears that the decision makers are intent on stepping back and going backward.
My days of covering the MAC are drawing to a close.
Time to find a new conference boys.
C-USA?
Why does this surprise anybody? It's been clear for quite a while that the disparity between the major conferences and the mid-majors is growing. It's also been readily apparent that the days of their being 120 Division I college football programs are numbered.
This is both a MAC thing and the reality facing mid-majors in general. Only a few "powerhouse" mid-majors will be able to maintain status and find a new conference home. The rest of us will be on the outside looking in. There is not a single program within the MAC who I personally believe will be able to find a better conference home and maintain status. The only possible exception may be Temple who we all know is using us anyway to rebuild its football program before jumping conferences again.
...also keep in mind that President John Peters is very close to retirement. His successor is doubtful to be so fervent a supporter of NIU athletics if history of NIU Presidents is any guide. A new university president will have his/her hands very full with the ongoing financial crisis facing NIU (and other public universities in this state).
(06-16-2009 06:06 PM)Nigel Incubator-Jones Wrote: [ -> ]Why does this surprise anybody? It's been clear for quite a while that the disparity between the major conferences and the mid-majors is growing. It's also been readily apparent that the days of their being 120 Division I college football programs are numbered.
This is both a MAC thing and the reality facing mid-majors in general. Only a few "powerhouse" mid-majors will be able to maintain status and find a new conference home. The rest of us will be on the outside looking in. There is not a single program within the MAC who I personally believe will be able to find a better conference home and maintain status. The only possible exception may be Temple who we all know is using us anyway to rebuild its football program before jumping conferences again.
Unfortunately, I think NIJ is right about this one......the disparity between the BCS and non-BCS schools has been accelerating at a very rapid rate. In the end, my guess is that no more than 70-80 programs will retain the top tier designation (whatever it becomes). The economics are crushing the non-BCS schools and what limited ability they have had to compete.
In reality, we are far closer to the Ohio Valley Conference than we are to Ohio State.
OK you Chickens Little, settle down. I read the dire comments in this thread and the "Interview With The Commish" thread and thought wow, something terrible must have been said in the interview. So I read the interview and I must say I don't understand the negativity at all. He said he wants to promote basketball and he should because the league usually stinks with one or two exceptions and basketball is an area where mid-majors can compete with the big boys if they have their act together. The MAC has huge, untapped potential in basketball. And making the MAC a great basketball league would help football. Look how many times we've heard Memphis brought up as a potential conference climber because of their great hoops program. Saying he wants to improve MAC basketball doesn't mean he's against football.
Regarding midweek football games and our place in the BCS it sounded to me like he would like to improve those areas in due time but for now we have to make the best of it, which is true. He said he expects those things to evolve and of course he will work for them to evolve for the betterment of the league as that's his job.
Regarding a drop to FCS for football, where in the heck did that come from? There's nothing in the interview that even suggests that and why would there be? The MAC certainly doesn't want that and I can't think of anyone who would. The bowls? No, they need teams to play in their games. ESPN? No, they need games to fill their airtime during the week. The BCS conferences? No, they need midmajors to play each year as they certainly don't want to play each other in nonconference games! A poster on these threads said the FBS could be down to 75 teams in a few years. That would mean a bunch of bowls would go out of business, ESPN and other cable networks would lose tons of programming and the FCS teams would have to play each other out of conference. No one wants any of those things.
Regarding the dire financial condition of the mid-majors, I would argue they have more opportunities to make money through football than ever before with the payouts from BCS schools skyrocketing and games at NFL venues like Soldier Field and the Browns' stadium. Facilities in the MAC are better than ever, recruiting is better than ever, I could go on and on. I don't get the hand wringing.
(06-16-2009 07:34 PM)NIU1981 Wrote: [ -> ]OK you Chickens Little, settle down. I read the dire comments in this thread and the "Interview With The Commish" thread and thought wow, something terrible must have been said in the interview. So I read the interview and I must say I don't understand the negativity at all. He said he wants to promote basketball and he should because the league usually stinks with one or two exceptions and basketball is an area where mid-majors can compete with the big boys if they have their act together. The MAC has huge, untapped potential in basketball. And making the MAC a great basketball league would help football. Look how many times we've heard Memphis brought up as a potential conference climber because of their great hoops program. Saying he wants to improve MAC basketball doesn't mean he's against football.
Regarding midweek football games and our place in the BCS it sounded to me like he would like to improve those areas in due time but for now we have to make the best of it, which is true. He said he expects those things to evolve and of course he will work for them to evolve for the betterment of the league as that's his job.
Regarding a drop to FCS for football, where in the heck did that come from? There's nothing in the interview that even suggests that and why would there be? The MAC certainly doesn't want that and I can't think of anyone who would. The bowls? No, they need teams to play in their games. ESPN? No, they need games to fill their airtime during the week. The BCS conferences? No, they need midmajors to play each year as they certainly don't want to play each other in nonconference games! A poster on these threads said the FBS could be down to 75 teams in a few years. That would mean a bunch of bowls would go out of business, ESPN and other cable networks would lose tons of programming and the FCS teams would have to play each other out of conference. No one wants any of those things.
Regarding the dire financial condition of the mid-majors, I would argue they have more opportunities to make money through football than ever before with the payouts from BCS schools skyrocketing and games at NFL venues like Soldier Field and the Browns' stadium. Facilities in the MAC are better than ever, recruiting is better than ever, I could go on and on. I don't get the hand wringing.
My comments have nothing to do with the Commissioners interview. Just look at the growing disparity in athletic budgets. Look at BCS coaches salaries. The non-BCS schools are getting farther behind with every passing year. The budget discrepancies between the BCS and non-BCS schools are massive.
Ohio State spent $99 million on their athletic programs last year. The U of I spent $53 million. NIU spent $17 million. That is NOT a sustainable, competitive business model.
i don't think huron dave was necessarily referring to anything said in the interview.. which is more scary, meaning it became evident to him somewhere behind the scenes that a move to FCS is in the near future.. remember that MAC fan/athlete survey last year.. there were several questions about a possible move to 1AA
Every outcome is Possible. No outcomes are Impossibe.
Any speculation about the future of college athletics and composition of divisions is as good as the next guy's.
Huron Dave has been pretty informed and reasonable with commentary here and that alone to me may be worrisome to NIU and some other fans. I dont think too many other EMU or some other MAC students really give a fat rat's azz.
What's even more hilarious is the fact that we have morons on this board who for the life of them cannot understand why NIU plays Wisconsin at Soldier Field and goes on the road against BCS teams for the financial payout. Priceless the irony.
+1 to that.. I'll never get why some people here don't want to play in Soldier Field. When we are one of the MAC teams still playing D1A ball you'll be thanking our AD's for getting us games there.
(06-16-2009 07:59 PM)DSniu41 Wrote: [ -> ]i don't think huron dave was necessarily referring to anything said in the interview.. which is more scary, meaning it became evident to him somewhere behind the scenes that a move to FCS is in the near future.. remember that MAC fan/athlete survey last year.. there were several questions about a possible move to 1AA
There was a thread a while back that had mentioned that several schools were seriously thinking about dropping down. I am starting to think the number is larger than thought and growing every day this economy worsens. I hope we can avoid having to drop. I agree with 7, we need to start looking around and see if there is a 1A fit for us somewhere.
(06-16-2009 09:53 PM)Nigel Incubator-Jones Wrote: [ -> ]What's even more hilarious is the fact that we have morons on this board who for the life of them cannot understand why NIU plays Wisconsin at Soldier Field and goes on the road against BCS teams for the financial payout. Priceless the irony.
Yes sir. Could not agree with you more.
I also think the BCS and the NCAA would love this. This is why they have stacked the deck against the other FBS conferences all along. I think there will be three divisions in 1A, BCS, FBS, and FCS. That is ultimately what the NCAA wants.
(06-16-2009 07:42 PM)HuskieDave Wrote: [ -> ] (06-16-2009 07:34 PM)NIU1981 Wrote: [ -> ]OK you Chickens Little, settle down. I read the dire comments in this thread and the "Interview With The Commish" thread and thought wow, something terrible must have been said in the interview. So I read the interview and I must say I don't understand the negativity at all. He said he wants to promote basketball and he should because the league usually stinks with one or two exceptions and basketball is an area where mid-majors can compete with the big boys if they have their act together. The MAC has huge, untapped potential in basketball. And making the MAC a great basketball league would help football. Look how many times we've heard Memphis brought up as a potential conference climber because of their great hoops program. Saying he wants to improve MAC basketball doesn't mean he's against football.
Regarding midweek football games and our place in the BCS it sounded to me like he would like to improve those areas in due time but for now we have to make the best of it, which is true. He said he expects those things to evolve and of course he will work for them to evolve for the betterment of the league as that's his job.
Regarding a drop to FCS for football, where in the heck did that come from? There's nothing in the interview that even suggests that and why would there be? The MAC certainly doesn't want that and I can't think of anyone who would. The bowls? No, they need teams to play in their games. ESPN? No, they need games to fill their airtime during the week. The BCS conferences? No, they need midmajors to play each year as they certainly don't want to play each other in nonconference games! A poster on these threads said the FBS could be down to 75 teams in a few years. That would mean a bunch of bowls would go out of business, ESPN and other cable networks would lose tons of programming and the FCS teams would have to play each other out of conference. No one wants any of those things.
Regarding the dire financial condition of the mid-majors, I would argue they have more opportunities to make money through football than ever before with the payouts from BCS schools skyrocketing and games at NFL venues like Soldier Field and the Browns' stadium. Facilities in the MAC are better than ever, recruiting is better than ever, I could go on and on. I don't get the hand wringing.
My comments have nothing to do with the Commissioners interview. Just look at the growing disparity in athletic budgets. Look at BCS coaches salaries. The non-BCS schools are getting farther behind with every passing year. The budget discrepancies between the BCS and non-BCS schools are massive.
Ohio State spent $99 million on their athletic programs last year. The U of I spent $53 million. NIU spent $17 million. That is NOT a sustainable, competitive business model.
At some point the NCAA needs to come in and put a stop to some of this. They need to set a maximum for coaching salaries and break up the BCS monopoly. The BCS conferences get 86% of the BCS revenue, yet only make up 56% of the 1-A schools.
Contraction, in the end will not be good for the BCS schools. They need the doormats like NIU to become bowl eligible. If you are Illinois or Northwestern, do you want a full Big 10 Schedule then also have to schedule at least three of your games against other BCS teams. Illinois could start off the season with Florida, Texas and USC then go to the big ten schedule. No chance that they would get to the magical 6 wins without playing MAC like teams. The number of bowls would decrease drastically and the lower end BCS schools would feel the pinch.
(06-16-2009 05:28 PM)epasnoopy Wrote: [ -> ]http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=373975
(06-16-2009 09:00 AM)HuronDave Wrote: [ -> ]With the new commish in place, the current attitude of the presidents and the changes being put in place in the MAC offices, the MAC will drop to FCS within five years. Very bleak outlook from my perspective of what is happening. There is currently no desire for the MAC to continue to move upward and in fact it appears that the decision makers are intent on stepping back and going backward.
My days of covering the MAC are drawing to a close.
I completely agree with Dave. Perhaps because of the disparity in stadium sizes there will be an upper level of FCS that the MAC would fit into. Let's look at the positives here:
(1) Maybe ESPN will not see fit to continually televise lowly FCS football in empty stadiums and we will get our Saturday games back.
(2) Bye bye to Soldier Field. Who would want to go to SF to see an FCS team?
(3) It will no longer be an embarassment when WIU and SIU beat us.
(4) We save money on future coaches salaries and any stadium improvements/expansions to keep with with the D-1 schools.
Of course, there are many negatives like loss of donor and season ticket revenue, but let's just concentrate on the positives.
(06-16-2009 07:34 PM)NIU1981 Wrote: [ -> ]Regarding a drop to FCS for football, where in the heck did that come from? There's nothing in the interview that even suggests that and why would there be? The MAC certainly doesn't want that and I can't think of anyone who would. The bowls? No, they need teams to play in their games. ESPN? No, they need games to fill their airtime during the week. The BCS conferences? No, they need midmajors to play each year as they certainly don't want to play each other in nonconference games! A poster on these threads said the FBS could be down to 75 teams in a few years. That would mean a bunch of bowls would go out of business, ESPN and other cable networks would lose tons of programming and the FCS teams would have to play each other out of conference. No one wants any of those things.
It came from HuronDave who knows a lot of MAC contacts and has followed MAC sports for a long time.
The interview in question was pointless, as they usually are. The new commish gave us vague answers to questions. He wants to promote basketball more but how does he plan on doing that? He gave us no specific answers to any of the questions asked. Also, he isn't going to come out and say that the MAC is looking into moving down to 1-AA or call out certain MAC presidents and say they don't want to commit to 1-A football anymore.
But it all starts to add up when people like HuronDave have indicated that new MAC presidents aren't as committed and the recent departure of former commissioner Rick Chryst who left because he could no longer move the MAC forward because certain presidents would not cooperate and negated his attempts.
Also, did you not fill out that MAC survey months ago? It asked specific questions about moving down to 1-AA. A conference looking to move forward should not be asking about such questions.
(06-17-2009 08:07 AM)epasnoopy Wrote: [ -> ] (06-16-2009 07:34 PM)NIU1981 Wrote: [ -> ]Regarding a drop to FCS for football, where in the heck did that come from? There's nothing in the interview that even suggests that and why would there be? The MAC certainly doesn't want that and I can't think of anyone who would. The bowls? No, they need teams to play in their games. ESPN? No, they need games to fill their airtime during the week. The BCS conferences? No, they need midmajors to play each year as they certainly don't want to play each other in nonconference games! A poster on these threads said the FBS could be down to 75 teams in a few years. That would mean a bunch of bowls would go out of business, ESPN and other cable networks would lose tons of programming and the FCS teams would have to play each other out of conference. No one wants any of those things.
It came from HuronDave who knows a lot of MAC contacts and has followed MAC sports for a long time.
The interview in question was pointless, as they usually are. The new commish gave us vague answers to questions. He wants to promote basketball more but how does he plan on doing that? He gave us no specific answers to any of the questions asked. Also, he isn't going to come out and say that the MAC is looking into moving down to 1-AA or call out certain MAC presidents and say they don't want to commit to 1-A football anymore.
But it all starts to add up when people like HuronDave have indicated that new MAC presidents aren't as committed and the recent departure of former commissioner Rick Chryst who left because he could no longer move the MAC forward because certain presidents would not cooperate and negated his attempts.
Also, did you not fill out that MAC survey months ago? It asked specific questions about moving down to 1-AA. A conference looking to move forward should not be asking about such questions.
If NIU remains committed to football, then it may be best to look for a new conference affiliation unless we, too, are content to drop to FCS. I know that President Peters would fight it, but as Alum indicated, he will not be our president forever.
Let's focus on reviving basketball in the MAC before we mess with football.
If we go FCS forget about my donations continuing...