Here is a link to the United States DMA map - http://seventhpoint.com/images/pdfs/2012...%20Map.pdf

When looking at what adds value to a conference you either have to add a nationally followed program, or one in a high population area, or one in new territory. This is the paradigm of expansion in going from 12 to 14. The Big 10 added one average and one really bad program but obtained entry to the NYC DMA, the DC and Baltimore DMA's. DMA's can and are shared. It's impossible for a single school to provide enough programing to fill the sports channels with 30-50 hours of live programing a week.

As far as the ACC goes, Va, VT, and Pitt penetrate their local markets and those markets spill over into the Tri-Cities TN/VA, Bluefield WVa, Salisbury MD, DC, and Youngstown Ohio. This doesn't mean that Pitt is the most popular team in Youngstown, or that UVa is the most popular team in the Tri-Cities.

The reason I mention Iowa State, is clear when you look at the DMA maps. There are just two programs in Iowa - Iowa and Iowa State. ISU is not the most popular, and it's probably third at best in the Western Part of the State, but in order to sell ads to people in Iowa, the tv and radio folks in the Quad Cities, Sioux City SD, Omaha Neb, and Rochester Minn, have to cater to the ISU crowd at some point during the week.

You can see this by looking at the DC DMA, half of it is Northern Va, just like half the NYC DMA is in NJ.

The ACC will not add, nor will ESPN pay for an expansion that does not expand the particular conferences' network potential unless that program is of national significance.

Now, let's go back and look at everyone's 13th and 14th program -

SEC - TAMU and Mizzou - are these football powerhouses with large national followings? No. But they put the SEC in Texas, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
ACC - Pitt and Syracuse - are these football powerhouses with large national following? No. But they put the ACC in NY State, NYC, Pittsburg, and Western PA.
B10 - MD and Rutgers - we know these are not football powers but they put the B10 in DC, Baltimore, and NYC (The B10 had a foot in southern NJ via Philadelphia and Penn State).
ACC - Louisville - when the ACC had to replace MD, they went into virgin territory for the ACC and took the largest DMA footprints they could get - the entire State of Kentucky, and Southside Indiana. Look at the Cincy DMA in particular, it caters to Cincy, SW Ohio, Northern KY, and SE Indiana. Making Cincy somewhat, but not completely redundant for the ACC.

While it's true the ACC does not have a network at this time. They will, but even if they did not, that would not change the fundamentals of expansion since it's about making more money.

If you are ESPN, where does WVa make you the most money? In the SEC of course as it puts the SEC in the Pittsburgh, and DC DMA through WVa.
How do maximize the value of Iowa State? In the ACC

Every conference makes money with Texas, but not every conference would make more money with Iowa State, WVa, etc.

Cincy adds the most value to the B12. They are redundant to the B10, of very limited value to the SEC, and are of moderate value to the ACC. It's just a function of geography.

There are only a handful of programs that will turn on TV sets even when their programs stink. Notre Dame, USC, Texas, OU, Alabama, Florida, FSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Miami, Navy - for other football programs, they have to have a good team. As far as expansion past 14 goes, unless one of the above schools is involved, new territory is what ESPN seems willing to pay for.

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

Lmao!

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

One of three B12 additions that would help WVa most are East Carolina, UCF, and USF. WVa needs to recruit Florida, and has recruited Tidewater VA, and Eastern NC. A road trip to Florida is always nice and ECU is close enough to not be an onerous trip. While Cincy would help the B12, I don't think Cincy helps WVa as much as one of the other three.

Ultimately WVa needs to be in the SEC.

Marshall wouldn't be an option as conferences are more looking to expand TV viewing audience, and I'm sure B12 has their sights squarely on that if they're going to be expanding their conference, especially if to not just 12 in the near future but 14 not too far after that (and possibly 16 not too far after that one).

Marshall being so close to WVU I would say going to 12 wouldn't do it. Memphis and Cinci would. But with BYU begging to be let in (they'd need some Mormon compromise on other sports covering Sundays), I would say Memphis or Cinci being 1 team, BYU being the other -- as their ideal choices.

Going to 14, I would think they'd grab the other Memphis/Cinci team, and hitting up NIU (Chicago area viewing) if they remained G5 power + improved BBall to bridge the chain between the plain states & texas w/ the east side of the country -- OR UCF/ECU if they wanted to keep the expansion on the SE side of the country for divisional purposes.

(07-08-2015 10:54 PM)lumberpack4 Wrote:  Here is a link to the United States DMA map - http://seventhpoint.com/images/pdfs/2012...%20Map.pdf

When looking at what adds value to a conference you either have to add a nationally followed program, or one in a high population area, or one in new territory. This is the paradigm of expansion in going from 12 to 14. The Big 10 added one average and one really bad program but obtained entry to the NYC DMA, the DC and Baltimore DMA's. DMA's can and are shared. It's impossible for a single school to provide enough programing to fill the sports channels with 30-50 hours of live programing a week.

As far as the ACC goes, Va, VT, and Pitt penetrate their local markets and those markets spill over into the Tri-Cities TN/VA, Bluefield WVa, Salisbury MD, DC, and Youngstown Ohio. This doesn't mean that Pitt is the most popular team in Youngstown, or that UVa is the most popular team in the Tri-Cities.

The reason I mention Iowa State, is clear when you look at the DMA maps. There are just two programs in Iowa - Iowa and Iowa State. ISU is not the most popular, and it's probably third at best in the Western Part of the State, but in order to sell ads to people in Iowa, the tv and radio folks in the Quad Cities, Sioux City SD, Omaha Neb, and Rochester Minn, have to cater to the ISU crowd at some point during the week.

You can see this by looking at the DC DMA, half of it is Northern Va, just like half the NYC DMA is in NJ.

The ACC will not add, nor will ESPN pay for an expansion that does not expand the particular conferences' network potential unless that program is of national significance.

Now, let's go back and look at everyone's 13th and 14th program -

SEC - TAMU and Mizzou - are these football powerhouses with large national followings? No. But they put the SEC in Texas, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
ACC - Pitt and Syracuse - are these football powerhouses with large national following? No. But they put the ACC in NY State, NYC, Pittsburg, and Western PA.
B10 - MD and Rutgers - we know these are not football powers but they put the B10 in DC, Baltimore, and NYC (The B10 had a foot in southern NJ via Philadelphia and Penn State).
ACC - Louisville - when the ACC had to replace MD, they went into virgin territory for the ACC and took the largest DMA footprints they could get - the entire State of Kentucky, and Southside Indiana. Look at the Cincy DMA in particular, it caters to Cincy, SW Ohio, Northern KY, and SE Indiana. Making Cincy somewhat, but not completely redundant for the ACC.

While it's true the ACC does not have a network at this time. They will, but even if they did not, that would not change the fundamentals of expansion since it's about making more money.

If you are ESPN, where does WVa make you the most money? In the SEC of course as it puts the SEC in the Pittsburgh, and DC DMA through WVa.
How do maximize the value of Iowa State? In the ACC

Every conference makes money with Texas, but not every conference would make more money with Iowa State, WVa, etc.

Cincy adds the most value to the B12. They are redundant to the B10, of very limited value to the SEC, and are of moderate value to the ACC. It's just a function of geography.

There are only a handful of programs that will turn on TV sets even when their programs stink. Notre Dame, USC, Texas, OU, Alabama, Florida, FSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Miami, Navy - for other football programs, they have to have a good team. As far as expansion past 14 goes, unless one of the above schools is involved, new territory is what ESPN seems willing to pay for.

Cincinnati and Dayton DMAs are scheduled to merge in 2017, I believe.

(07-08-2015 11:19 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  Marshall wouldn't be an option as conferences are more looking to expand TV viewing audience, and I'm sure B12 has their sights squarely on that if they're going to be expanding their conference, especially if to not just 12 in the near future but 14 not too far after that (and possibly 16 not too far after that one).

Marshall being so close to WVU I would say going to 12 wouldn't do it. Memphis and Cinci would. But with BYU begging to be let in (they'd need some Mormon compromise on other sports covering Sundays), I would say Memphis or Cinci being 1 team, BYU being the other -- as their ideal choices.

Going to 14, I would think they'd grab the other Memphis/Cinci team, and hitting up NIU (Chicago area viewing) if they remained G5 power + improved BBall to bridge the chain between the plain states & texas w/ the east side of the country -- OR UCF/ECU if they wanted to keep the expansion on the SE side of the country for divisional purposes.

Sounds good to me!

(07-08-2015 11:02 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

Marshall fans like to talk, and they've done a fantastic job recovering from the plane crash, but the school has seriously topped out. No AAC President craves their academics and 30 miles outside Huntington they are an afterthought. Old Dominion, Charlotte, Rice, and even FCS schools like Stony Brook, Delaware, and JMU offer so much more. Marshall has done well, but academics, demographics, and population growth in the chemical ditch part of the Ohio Valley won't endear them to a higher level conference.

(07-08-2015 11:02 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

First of all, I was just kidding.

Second of all, worse than suggesting NIU, now thats funny. You guys average what, 15k or so a game?


I'm sure WVU would much rather play Marshall than NIU.


Marshall will never get into the Big12, but we have a better shot than NIU.

(07-08-2015 11:48 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:02 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

First of all, I was just kidding.

Second of all, worse than suggesting NIU, now thats funny. You guys average what, 15k or so a game?


I'm sure WVU would much rather play Marshall than NIU.


Marshall will never get into the Big12, but we have a better shot than NIU.

Except you dont. We have a desirable market and a key geographical location. You do not. We make a great travel partner for Iowa St and help to bring B12 sports to a B10 monopolized area. You do not. Also i have no idea what everyone's infatuation with using last year's attendance numbers (an outlier and one of the worst in several years/possibly a decade or more) as the standard for what NIU attendance is and always will be, but it just isn't sensible to parade those numbers around as the only thing that matters. If raw attendance was all that matters, ECU would already be P5. But it doesnt. So sorry, try again later.

(07-08-2015 11:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:02 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

Marshall fans like to talk, and they've done a fantastic job recovering from the plane crash, but the school has seriously topped out. No AAC President craves their academics and 30 miles outside Huntington they are an afterthought. Old Dominion, Charlotte, Rice, and even FCS schools like Stony Brook, Delaware, and JMU offer so much more. Marshall has done well, but academics, demographics, and population growth in the chemical ditch part of the Ohio Valley won't endear them to a higher level conference.

I don't really have to waste time doing this, but I will anyways.

2014 Boca Bowl

Marshall 52

NIU 13


2014 Final Rankings


Marshall- 23rd AP, 22nd Coaches Poll

NIU- NR, NR


2014 Attendance (or just about any other year you want to compare.)


Marshall 27,461

NIU 13,563 (WOW)



TV Market Rank

Huntington, WV- 66th (441,520)

Dekalb, ILL NR


(NO, YOU DO NOT BRING THE CHICAGO MARKET. YOU HAVE NO MARKET, WHICH IS EVIDENT BY YOUR LACK OF ATTENDANCE.)



Now, feel free to run back to fantasy land if you want. You can pretend the Big 12 cares about you, but in the end, you only have around 13k fans that care about you.

Sorry, I realize I quoted the wrong post. Oh well.

(07-09-2015 12:14 AM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:02 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

Marshall fans like to talk, and they've done a fantastic job recovering from the plane crash, but the school has seriously topped out. No AAC President craves their academics and 30 miles outside Huntington they are an afterthought. Old Dominion, Charlotte, Rice, and even FCS schools like Stony Brook, Delaware, and JMU offer so much more. Marshall has done well, but academics, demographics, and population growth in the chemical ditch part of the Ohio Valley won't endear them to a higher level conference.

I don't really have to waste time doing this, but I will anyways.

2014 Boca Bowl

Marshall 52

NIU 13


2014 Final Rankings


Marshall- 23rd AP, 22nd Coaches Poll

NIU- NR, NR


2014 Attendance (or just about any other year you want to compare.)


Marshall 27,461

NIU 13,563 (WOW)



TV Market Rank

Huntington, WV- 66th (441,520)

Dekalb, ILL NR


(NO, YOU DO NOT BRING THE CHICAGO MARKET. YOU HAVE NO MARKET, WHICH IS EVIDENT BY YOUR LACK OF ATTENDANCE.)



Now, feel free to run back to fantasy land if you want. You can pretend the Big 12 cares about you, but in the end, you only have around 13k fans that care about you.

Except we do provide access to the Chicago market... Dekalb county is in the Chicago metropolitan area and is covered by all of their broadcasting coverages. So we are in the homes of Chicagoans. I get you're a salty Marshall fan, but cherry picking numbers and trying to twist words around to make your argument more valid doesn't work buddy. When NIU fans "claim" the Chicago market, we are by no means saying we own the city and are the big dogs in town. Far from it, Chicago is a pro sports first city. However, we do bring their network coverage with us. We are in their broadcast network and thus we are on their TVs hence our claim. That's what matter to P5 decision makers, getting on TV sets and bringing in new media markets. All things NIU does that Marshall can't even fathom. Of all the flavors in all the world, you choose salty... poor guy.

Oh right, Marshall fan... Marshall education. Ummmmmm maybe this helpful colorful map will help

This is a map of the current Chicagoland Metropolitan area


See that bright blue one on the left that says DEKALB? That's NIU lil guy

(07-08-2015 10:54 PM)lumberpack4 Wrote:  Here is a link to the United States DMA map - http://seventhpoint.com/images/pdfs/2012...%20Map.pdf

When looking at what adds value to a conference you either have to add a nationally followed program, or one in a high population area, or one in new territory. This is the paradigm of expansion in going from 12 to 14. The Big 10 added one average and one really bad program but obtained entry to the NYC DMA, the DC and Baltimore DMA's. DMA's can and are shared. It's impossible for a single school to provide enough programing to fill the sports channels with 30-50 hours of live programing a week.

As far as the ACC goes, Va, VT, and Pitt penetrate their local markets and those markets spill over into the Tri-Cities TN/VA, Bluefield WVa, Salisbury MD, DC, and Youngstown Ohio. This doesn't mean that Pitt is the most popular team in Youngstown, or that UVa is the most popular team in the Tri-Cities.

The reason I mention Iowa State, is clear when you look at the DMA maps. There are just two programs in Iowa - Iowa and Iowa State. ISU is not the most popular, and it's probably third at best in the Western Part of the State, but in order to sell ads to people in Iowa, the tv and radio folks in the Quad Cities, Sioux City SD, Omaha Neb, and Rochester Minn, have to cater to the ISU crowd at some point during the week.

You can see this by looking at the DC DMA, half of it is Northern Va, just like half the NYC DMA is in NJ.

The ACC will not add, nor will ESPN pay for an expansion that does not expand the particular conferences' network potential unless that program is of national significance.

Now, let's go back and look at everyone's 13th and 14th program -

SEC - TAMU and Mizzou - are these football powerhouses with large national followings? No. But they put the SEC in Texas, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
ACC - Pitt and Syracuse - are these football powerhouses with large national following? No. But they put the ACC in NY State, NYC, Pittsburg, and Western PA.
B10 - MD and Rutgers - we know these are not football powers but they put the B10 in DC, Baltimore, and NYC (The B10 had a foot in southern NJ via Philadelphia and Penn State).
ACC - Louisville - when the ACC had to replace MD, they went into virgin territory for the ACC and took the largest DMA footprints they could get - the entire State of Kentucky, and Southside Indiana. Look at the Cincy DMA in particular, it caters to Cincy, SW Ohio, Northern KY, and SE Indiana. Making Cincy somewhat, but not completely redundant for the ACC.

While it's true the ACC does not have a network at this time. They will, but even if they did not, that would not change the fundamentals of expansion since it's about making more money.

If you are ESPN, where does WVa make you the most money? In the SEC of course as it puts the SEC in the Pittsburgh, and DC DMA through WVa.
How do maximize the value of Iowa State? In the ACC

Every conference makes money with Texas, but not every conference would make more money with Iowa State, WVa, etc.

Cincy adds the most value to the B12. They are redundant to the B10, of very limited value to the SEC, and are of moderate value to the ACC. It's just a function of geography.

There are only a handful of programs that will turn on TV sets even when their programs stink. Notre Dame, USC, Texas, OU, Alabama, Florida, FSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Miami, Navy - for other football programs, they have to have a good team. As far as expansion past 14 goes, unless one of the above schools is involved, new territory is what ESPN seems willing to pay for.

UNLV and San Jose State drew a million plus viewers even if they are bad. Even Army draws viewers as well. That is why MWC schools from top to bottom do attract. Some CUSA schools as well like UTEP and Rice.

(07-09-2015 12:14 AM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:02 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

Marshall fans like to talk, and they've done a fantastic job recovering from the plane crash, but the school has seriously topped out. No AAC President craves their academics and 30 miles outside Huntington they are an afterthought. Old Dominion, Charlotte, Rice, and even FCS schools like Stony Brook, Delaware, and JMU offer so much more. Marshall has done well, but academics, demographics, and population growth in the chemical ditch part of the Ohio Valley won't endear them to a higher level conference.

I don't really have to waste time doing this, but I will anyways.

2014 Boca Bowl

Marshall 52

NIU 13


2014 Final Rankings


Marshall- 23rd AP, 22nd Coaches Poll

NIU- NR, NR


2014 Attendance (or just about any other year you want to compare.)


Marshall 27,461

NIU 13,563 (WOW)



TV Market Rank

Huntington, WV- 66th (441,520)

Dekalb, ILL NR


(NO, YOU DO NOT BRING THE CHICAGO MARKET. YOU HAVE NO MARKET, WHICH IS EVIDENT BY YOUR LACK OF ATTENDANCE.)



Now, feel free to run back to fantasy land if you want. You can pretend the Big 12 cares about you, but in the end, you only have around 13k fans that care about you.

Northern Illinois draws over 1 million viewers on the ESPN Networks. People do watch winners like Northern Illinois the past few years. Marshall are up and down at times.

(07-08-2015 09:15 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  By the way, several people here have stated that WVU carries Eastern Ohio. I know for a fact they get very little coverage in Cleveland (that's a Big 10 town through and through).

I'm not even sure they get much penetration in Southeastern Ohio. Even if they did, the region is very sparsely populated. The biggest city in that region is Athens with only 23,000 people (Zanesville is about the same size but it's less than an hour from downtown Columbus).

Eastern Ohio in my world means Ohio Valley. Totally agree about Cleveland etc

Jackson

(07-09-2015 05:59 AM)Jackson1011 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 09:15 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  By the way, several people here have stated that WVU carries Eastern Ohio. I know for a fact they get very little coverage in Cleveland (that's a Big 10 town through and through).

I'm not even sure they get much penetration in Southeastern Ohio. Even if they did, the region is very sparsely populated. The biggest city in that region is Athens with only 23,000 people (Zanesville is about the same size but it's less than an hour from downtown Columbus).

Eastern Ohio in my world means Ohio Valley. Totally agree about Cleveland etc

Jackson

Pretty much the same size as Southeastern Ohio. The biggest city in the Ohio Valley is Steubenville with 19,000. After that you are looking at a lot of burgs with less than 5K people (St. Clairsville, Bridgeport, Martins Ferry, Bellaire, Wellsville). Not exactly anything to get excited about.

FWIW the Ohio Valley has a lot of OSU fans and even some PSU fans so that split pie does not account for a lot of fans.

(07-08-2015 02:18 PM)EvilVodka Wrote:  the Big XII has so many possible options....BYU, Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, East Carolina, UCF, USF, Cincinnati, Memphis, UConn

give me a break....any of those schools would flourish with P5 money

Yes, they would, but some offer new TV markets and recruiting territories and make more geographic sense.

(07-09-2015 12:25 AM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-09-2015 12:14 AM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:02 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

Marshall fans like to talk, and they've done a fantastic job recovering from the plane crash, but the school has seriously topped out. No AAC President craves their academics and 30 miles outside Huntington they are an afterthought. Old Dominion, Charlotte, Rice, and even FCS schools like Stony Brook, Delaware, and JMU offer so much more. Marshall has done well, but academics, demographics, and population growth in the chemical ditch part of the Ohio Valley won't endear them to a higher level conference.

I don't really have to waste time doing this, but I will anyways.

2014 Boca Bowl

Marshall 52

NIU 13


2014 Final Rankings


Marshall- 23rd AP, 22nd Coaches Poll

NIU- NR, NR


2014 Attendance (or just about any other year you want to compare.)


Marshall 27,461

NIU 13,563 (WOW)



TV Market Rank

Huntington, WV- 66th (441,520)

Dekalb, ILL NR


(NO, YOU DO NOT BRING THE CHICAGO MARKET. YOU HAVE NO MARKET, WHICH IS EVIDENT BY YOUR LACK OF ATTENDANCE.)



Now, feel free to run back to fantasy land if you want. You can pretend the Big 12 cares about you, but in the end, you only have around 13k fans that care about you.

Except we do provide access to the Chicago market... Dekalb county is in the Chicago metropolitan area and is covered by all of their broadcasting coverages. So we are in the homes of Chicagoans. I get you're a salty Marshall fan, but cherry picking numbers and trying to twist words around to make your argument more valid doesn't work buddy. When NIU fans "claim" the Chicago market, we are by no means saying we own the city and are the big dogs in town. Far from it, Chicago is a pro sports first city. However, we do bring their network coverage with us. We are in their broadcast network and thus we are on their TVs hence our claim. That's what matter to P5 decision makers, getting on TV sets and bringing in new media markets. All things NIU does that Marshall can't even fathom. Of all the flavors in all the world, you choose salty... poor guy.

Oh right, Marshall fan... Marshall education. Ummmmmm maybe this helpful colorful map will help

This is a map of the current Chicagoland Metropolitan area


See that bright blue one on the left that says DEKALB? That's NIU lil guy

Once again, when you start bringing your own market of Dekalb, then you can start claiming markets over an hour away.

If no one in Dekalb cares, which is proven by your high school attendance average. What makes you think someone/anyone over an hour away in Chicago is going to care?

Markets are def important when comparing teams that actually have a shot of getting into a P5.

When P5s see your attendance they just throw the flyer in the trash without even looking at everything else.

No salt here bro. Things are just fine on my end. I'm actually aware, realize, and can admit Marshall isn't getting into the Big 12 and hasn't done anything to earn that bid yet.......but neither has NIU.

Its funny actually. No way majority of your fan base (all 13k) actually believe they can get into the Big 12. I have to think most people are realistic.

(07-09-2015 05:07 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(07-09-2015 12:14 AM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:41 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:02 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:10 PM)FlyHawk98 Wrote:  Marshall would make a great travel partner. We know the games in Morgantown will sell out and create buzz.

That's even worse than suggesting NIU to B12... at least NIU makes sense for geography and TV market as well as a travel partner for ISU and a semi-bridge east (more so if UC joins). Marshall has... a movie? And a win against a depleted NIU team who played their worst game all season. Not much to go on there.

Marshall fans like to talk, and they've done a fantastic job recovering from the plane crash, but the school has seriously topped out. No AAC President craves their academics and 30 miles outside Huntington they are an afterthought. Old Dominion, Charlotte, Rice, and even FCS schools like Stony Brook, Delaware, and JMU offer so much more. Marshall has done well, but academics, demographics, and population growth in the chemical ditch part of the Ohio Valley won't endear them to a higher level conference.

I don't really have to waste time doing this, but I will anyways.

2014 Boca Bowl

Marshall 52

NIU 13


2014 Final Rankings


Marshall- 23rd AP, 22nd Coaches Poll

NIU- NR, NR


2014 Attendance (or just about any other year you want to compare.)


Marshall 27,461

NIU 13,563 (WOW)



TV Market Rank

Huntington, WV- 66th (441,520)

Dekalb, ILL NR


(NO, YOU DO NOT BRING THE CHICAGO MARKET. YOU HAVE NO MARKET, WHICH IS EVIDENT BY YOUR LACK OF ATTENDANCE.)



Now, feel free to run back to fantasy land if you want. You can pretend the Big 12 cares about you, but in the end, you only have around 13k fans that care about you.

Northern Illinois draws over 1 million viewers on the ESPN Networks. People do watch winners like Northern Illinois the past few years. Marshall are up and down at times.

Marshall used to draw extremely well on ESPN as well.

What else is there to do on a cold Tuesday night besides watch WHATEVER game is on tv?