Interesting article coming out of Kent State:

http://www.recordpub.com/sports/2016/08/...-game-plan

Are they the first MAC school to openly say men's basketball is more important/more of a revenue generator than football?

It seems as if Kent State is slowing abandoning football and Kent and EMU could end up dropping the sport. It wouldn't be a bad idea if Kent and Akron completely merged schools altogether with basketball played at Kent and football at Akron campus. Ohio Poly U. This announced seems to have given up on football for Kent.

Dear Miami (Oh) Yeah !,
Eastern has no plans to drop football.

Any school that dropped Football would lose its membership in MAC.

Never heard of two separate colleges such as Kent State and Akron merging.

Silliness. Emphasizing basketball does not equate to dropping football any more than emphasizing football equates to dropping basketball.

Using that logic one might conclude that Miami is dropping both given their recent history.

(08-08-2016 11:15 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Any school that dropped Football would lose its membership in MAC.

Never heard of two separate colleges such as Kent State and Akron merging.

Seems like I've heard lots of different merger talks over the years ... CSU/Akron ... KSU/Akron .... YSU/Akron ... note all the urban campuses merging in some way ... which is why I think in the last 10 years or so we suddenly saw this rush for GREEN SPACE' with all of them.

Had nothing to do with athletics ... I believe, although it makes sense on a lot of levels, though I doubt, with the possible exception of YSU, any of the others would want to give up their BB brand via merger.

Just my 2-cents.

(08-08-2016 10:13 AM)Miami (Oh) Yeah ! Wrote:  It seems as if Kent State is slowing abandoning football and Kent and EMU could end up dropping the sport. It wouldn't be a bad idea if Kent and Akron completely merged schools altogether with basketball played at Kent and football at Akron campus. Ohio Poly U. This announced seems to have given up on football for Kent.

Why would Akron give up basketball, especially on the men's side? That will never happen, nor should either school give up the sport.

If Kent wants to drop football, that's their business, and shouldn't have any effect on what Akron does/does not do.

In a perfect world, the minor sports should probably not be duplicated. But you have Title IV criteria and DI sports minimums to meet. And you're talking about the two best overall top athletic departments in the league for the last decade. Any sort of give-and-take would likely involve giving up a sport one of the schools has had success in.

Plus, there already are a bunch of sports the schools don't overlap. Baseball (Kent), wrestling (Kent), women's swimming (Akron), men's soccer (Akron).

Akron just dropped baseball, they also could concede golf to Kent (the much better program). But Kent would have to be willing to drop track and field. But I don't see Kent doing that. Like Akron and EMU, it is one of the three consistent MAC programs that produces national level athletes in that sport. Plus, the MAC needs the Kent's men program to maintain league status, though I guess they could get an affiliate program to keep it going.

I will say, however, if there ever was a complete athletic department merger. Goodbye MAC. That is instantly a P5 program.

(08-08-2016 11:34 AM)cleveland Wrote:  

(08-08-2016 11:15 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Any school that dropped Football would lose its membership in MAC.

Never heard of two separate colleges such as Kent State and Akron merging.

Seems like I've heard lots of different merger talks over the years ... CSU/Akron ... KSU/Akron .... YSU/Akron ... note all the urban campuses merging in some way ... which is why I think in the last 10 years or so we suddenly saw this rush for GREEN SPACE' with all of them.

Had nothing to do with athletics ... I believe, although it makes sense on a lot of levels, though I doubt, with the possible exception of YSU, any of the others would want to give up their BB brand via merger.

Just my 2-cents.

All four schools did merge the medical school (NEOMED), which probably was the worst decision they could have made, because now you have a half-rate medical school in a cornfield 20 to 40 minutes away from any of the campuses.

Even as an Akron guy, if you wanted to put a shared medical school between Akron-Canton-Cleveland-Youngstown, it should've been built on the Kent campus.

(08-08-2016 11:46 AM)Wadszip Wrote:  

(08-08-2016 11:34 AM)cleveland Wrote:  

(08-08-2016 11:15 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Any school that dropped Football would lose its membership in MAC.

Never heard of two separate colleges such as Kent State and Akron merging.

Seems like I've heard lots of different merger talks over the years ... CSU/Akron ... KSU/Akron .... YSU/Akron ... note all the urban campuses merging in some way ... which is why I think in the last 10 years or so we suddenly saw this rush for GREEN SPACE' with all of them.

Had nothing to do with athletics ... I believe, although it makes sense on a lot of levels, though I doubt, with the possible exception of YSU, any of the others would want to give up their BB brand via merger.

Just my 2-cents.

All four schools did merge the medical school (NEOMED), which probably was the worst decision they could have made, because now you have a half-rate medical school in a cornfield 20 to 40 minutes away from any of the campuses.

Even as an Akron guy, if you wanted to put a shared medical school between Akron-Canton-Cleveland-Youngstown, it should've been built on the Kent campus.

I think that the medical campus existed before those 4 schools through their support behind it. I think that is why it is where it is.

(08-08-2016 11:34 AM)cleveland Wrote:  

(08-08-2016 11:15 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Any school that dropped Football would lose its membership in MAC.

Never heard of two separate colleges such as Kent State and Akron merging.

Seems like I've heard lots of different merger talks over the years ... CSU/Akron ... KSU/Akron .... YSU/Akron ... note all the urban campuses merging in some way ... which is why I think in the last 10 years or so we suddenly saw this rush for GREEN SPACE' with all of them.

I thought I heard a rumor of EMU and UofM merging.

The new school would be called "Washtenaw State University" and reflect geographic diversity (eastern and western Washtenaw County).

(08-08-2016 11:46 AM)Wadszip Wrote:  

(08-08-2016 11:34 AM)cleveland Wrote:  

(08-08-2016 11:15 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Any school that dropped Football would lose its membership in MAC.

Never heard of two separate colleges such as Kent State and Akron merging.

Seems like I've heard lots of different merger talks over the years ... CSU/Akron ... KSU/Akron .... YSU/Akron ... note all the urban campuses merging in some way ... which is why I think in the last 10 years or so we suddenly saw this rush for GREEN SPACE' with all of them.

Had nothing to do with athletics ... I believe, although it makes sense on a lot of levels, though I doubt, with the possible exception of YSU, any of the others would want to give up their BB brand via merger.

Just my 2-cents.

All four schools did merge the medical school (NEOMED), which probably was the worst decision they could have made, because now you have a half-rate medical school in a cornfield 20 to 40 minutes away from any of the campuses.

Even as an Akron guy, if you wanted to put a shared medical school between Akron-Canton-Cleveland-Youngstown, it should've been built on the Kent campus.

If you haven't been past NEOMED in the last couple of years you will be amazed at how nice it is now. They have put up dorms and new academic buildings making into a true campus. And even though it's not in a major city it is right off the freeway so it is easily accessible.

http://www.neomed.edu/map

A complete merger into a mega-university doesn't make much sense. Putting Akron, KSU, CSU, YSU, and NEOMED together under the umbrella of a Northeast Ohio University System makes tons of sense. Each campus gets to retain its individuality (and sports teams), but the universities share their resources and each campus could specialize further than they do now which saves money and creates more attractive specialty programs.

Maybe it's just semantics, but I like the System idea better.

(08-08-2016 04:10 PM)uakronkid Wrote:  A complete merger into a mega-university doesn't make much sense. Putting Akron, KSU, CSU, YSU, and NEOMED together under the umbrella of a Northeast Ohio University System makes tons of sense. Each campus gets to retain its individuality (and sports teams), but the universities share their resources and each campus could specialize further than they do now which saves money and creates more attractive specialty programs.

Maybe it's just semantics, but I like the System idea better.

So that means ..... POLY TECH LIVES AGAIN!!!

(08-08-2016 11:15 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Any school that dropped Football would lose its membership in MAC.

Never heard of two separate colleges such as Kent State and Akron merging.

Egad. Hmp! Don't know exactly what you mean by "such as" but how about Case Western? It was also an Ohio merger.

(08-08-2016 11:33 AM)axeme Wrote:  Silliness. Emphasizing basketball does not equate to dropping football any more than emphasizing football equates to dropping basketball.

Using that logic one might conclude that Miami is dropping both given their recent history.

The trend in the MAC right now is an arms race in basketball from facilities to coaches.

On the football side of things there is a sense the conference may be getting close to a peak. I expect more improvement on the bowl front for the MAC by 2020 but the TV deal is probably at its maximum.

There is room in basketball for programs to go out and do what Ohio has done, namely rack up wins with a bunch of non-conference home games to give the competitive advantage the big boys have.

Regardless its still a process. Facilities have to be added. Coaches have to be evaluated on success and receive a greater financial commitment or axed for a higher profile coach. It takes 5 years of commitment to build a Kent State into a Wichita State.

The challenge for Kent St is that historically they have one of the worst football programs in FBS, there are no glory days for the Golden Flashes to harken back to and inspire hope for a brighter tomorrow. Out of 128 FBS schools Kent St is ranked 120th in lifetime winning %. Of the 8 teams ranked below Kent St 4 of them have been in FBS for less than 5yrs and could dramatically change their winning % quickly. The only team ranked below Kent St that has been in FBS nearly as long is Idaho and they are moving down to FCS in 2018.

Of course none of this means Kent St would or should drop FBS football but I can see why there could be a lack of optimism.

Rank/School/winning %/(total games played)
120 Kent 0.38932 (899)
121 Florida Atlantic 0.38621 (145)
122 Idaho 0.38112 (858)
123 South Alabama 0.38000 (50)
124 Buffalo 0.36458 (288)
125 Florida International 0.31469 (143)
126 Georgia State 0.18919 (37)
127t UMass 0.16667 (48)
127t Charlotte 0.16667 (12)

(08-08-2016 09:25 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  Out of 128 FBS schools Kent St is ranked 120th in lifetime winning %. Of the 8 teams ranked below Kent St 4 of them have been in FBS for less than 5yrs and could dramatically change their winning % quickly. The only team ranked below Kent St that has been in FBS nearly as long is Idaho and they are moving down to FCS in 2018.

All the more amazing to consider that a few years ago, KSU was a 2OT MACC loss away from playing in the Orange Bowl...

If Kent and Akron merged it would create the largest university system by enrollment in Ohio. Kent already has the most branches and goes back and forth with Cincy for #2 in enrollment. If you add in YSU and CSU it would form one of the biggest systems in the US. I don't know if that would be good for NE Ohio to have just one unified school.

Enrollments
KSU 41,214
UA 25,177
CSU 16,936
YSU 11,348

total 94,675

(08-09-2016 02:42 PM)ilovegymnast Wrote:  If Kent and Akron merged it would create the largest university system by enrollment in Ohio. Kent already has the most branches and goes back and forth with Cincy for #2 in enrollment. If you add in YSU and CSU it would form one of the biggest systems in the US. I don't know if that would be good for NE Ohio to have just one unified school.

Enrollments
KSU 41,214
UA 25,177
CSU 16,936
YSU 11,348

total 94,675

The greater Northeast Ohio region has what 6 million people?

That is like the population of Missouri. They have Mizzou, Missouri St, Missouri Kansas City. SE Missouri State. Total enrollment probably as high as the 4 schools in Northeast Ohio.

Missouri 35,448
Missouri St. 22,735
Missouri KC 16,160
Southeast Missouri St 11,987

The difference is none of the 4 in the case of the Ohio schools are land grant schools so that is why the push to make one really strong public school exists.

You don't hear the same in Southeast Michigan where Michigan, Oakland, Wayne State and Eastern Michigan coexist because Michigan is already part of the elite.

If they were to combine schools to make a flagship University, combining Akron and Kent makes the most sense. YSU and CSU are far enough away to be a logistical nightmare. Also, it would be extremely challenging, if not impossible, to have a 100k campus in NEO and build credibility as a prestigious University.