I don't even think an improved media deal would prevent members from courting other conferences.

There's an unlikely but non-zero-chance scenario in which the P4 could all reach the 20 member ceiling. That would obviously have downstream implications for the AAC/PAC - generally considered the top two G6 conferences - which in turn would backfill with the upper echelons of the MWC, Sun Belt, CUSA and MAC. And whoever's left behind when that dust settles is really left for dead, or FCS, whichever you prefer.

That would sound like crazy talk just 15 years ago, but now nothing would shock me.

Well said Motown Bronco. The key to the MAC, in my mind, is to get a much stronger media deal and be able to raid a top team from CUSA. Perhaps a strong Illinois State as well. That will lessen the impact of the movement of teams out of the conference and keeping the MAC somewhat whole.

Whiffing on WKU and MTSU was shown to be a tough pill to swallow.

That said, I don't think any CUSA team is moving to the MAC, or vice-versa. Both conferences are pretty much even at the bottom of the totem pole.

(09-25-2026 10:50 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Like I said, when MAC gets another terrible offer from espn for continued Tues & Weds games the best schools left--Ohio, Toledo, and Miami are going to try even harder to get out of the MAC.

At least NIU was paid to leave, Miami is offering $40 million and still getting turned down. I guess they don't want to be in SBC but they really have no other choice but SBC.

The MAC is a better choice than the SBC, lol... That's the choice.

(09-30-2026 09:12 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  Whiffing on WKU and MTSU was shown to be a tough pill to swallow.

That said, I don't think any CUSA team is moving to the MAC, or vice-versa. Both conferences are pretty much even at the bottom of the totem pole.

The MAC is better, not even really that close.

(09-29-2026 04:24 PM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  Miami may never make it to the American, much less ACC, but I’m not going to hate on them for trying to put together a vision

That's true. There are so many other reasons to hate them!

(09-30-2026 09:22 AM)astr083 Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 09:12 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  Whiffing on WKU and MTSU was shown to be a tough pill to swallow.

That said, I don't think any CUSA team is moving to the MAC, or vice-versa. Both conferences are pretty much even at the bottom of the totem pole.

The MAC is better, not even really that close.

Sagarin rankings:

5. 75.90 ACC
6. 64.66 Pac12
7. 63.64 AAC
8. 60.94 SBC-East
9. 58.83 SBC-West
10. 58.73 Mountain West
11. 57.42 CUSA
12. 57.36 MVC
13. 54.04 MAC
14. 50.21 Big Sky
15. 48.52 Ivy League

Better than the Big Sky or Ivy, but the MAC is actually below an FCS conference. The AAC and SBC put teams in the CFP last year and will be front runners for the G6 slot again this year.

(09-30-2026 09:22 AM)astr083 Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 09:12 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  Whiffing on WKU and MTSU was shown to be a tough pill to swallow.

That said, I don't think any CUSA team is moving to the MAC, or vice-versa. Both conferences are pretty much even at the bottom of the totem pole.

The MAC is better, not even really that close.

FWIW: Just looking at football; Sagarin currently has PAC12 at #6; the AC at #7; SBC East #8; SBC West #9; MWC#10; MVC #11; CUSA #12 and MAC #13.
http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm

(09-30-2026 07:25 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 06:48 AM)cmufanatic Wrote:  Miami is so gone. https://x.com/johnbreech/status/2105086862935085418

MAC is gonna be quite different in a few years.

I don't believe NFL coach's or CEOs make the type of money to make a difference. You need billionaires. Nice to have goals though.

Miami is 30th in the nation in alumni wealth, we’re not Stanford but there are a lot of high level corporate execs and Wall Street/Chicago finance types who went here.

https://miamioh.edu/news/2022/10/study-m...ealth.html

(09-30-2026 04:31 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 09:22 AM)astr083 Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 09:12 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  Whiffing on WKU and MTSU was shown to be a tough pill to swallow.

That said, I don't think any CUSA team is moving to the MAC, or vice-versa. Both conferences are pretty much even at the bottom of the totem pole.

The MAC is better, not even really that close.

Sagarin rankings:

5. 75.90 ACC
6. 64.66 Pac12
7. 63.64 AAC
8. 60.94 SBC-East
9. 58.83 SBC-West
10. 58.73 Mountain West
11. 57.42 CUSA
12. 57.36 MVC
13. 54.04 MAC
14. 50.21 Big Sky
15. 48.52 Ivy League

Better than the Big Sky or Ivy, but the MAC is actually below an FCS conference. The AAC and SBC put teams in the CFP last year and will be front runners for the G6 slot again this year.

Is that why the 2026 MAC Champion distroid the CUSA Champion?

(09-30-2026 05:25 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 07:25 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 06:48 AM)cmufanatic Wrote:  Miami is so gone. https://x.com/johnbreech/status/2105086862935085418

MAC is gonna be quite different in a few years.

I don't believe NFL coach's or CEOs make the type of money to make a difference. You need billionaires. Nice to have goals though.

Miami is 30th in the nation in alumni wealth, we’re not Stanford but there are a lot of high level corporate execs and Wall Street/Chicago finance types who went here.

https://miamioh.edu/news/2022/10/study-m...ealth.html

You should have top 30 NIL then!

I’m calling Miami, Ohio, and Toledo to the MWC for football only with Olympics moving to the Horizon. That move keeps travel reasonable in the Horizon, but gets them access to a better media deal without weekdays in November.

A 14 team MWC football conference, with UCD at some point, could also cut down football travel for the whole MWC if you used protected matchups like the SEC. You would be playing some combination of NDSU, NIU, Miami, Ohio, and Toledo frequently but that’s familiar enough.

When NDSU and NIU got added I thought it was silly, but adding those three does make some sense assuming Gloria and Presidents are looking for R1s with good enough football. Not sure the MWC has any prorata slots but entry for those three would probably only be non-dilution for the current deal.


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(09-30-2026 05:38 PM)AllBronco Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 04:31 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 09:22 AM)astr083 Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 09:12 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  Whiffing on WKU and MTSU was shown to be a tough pill to swallow.

That said, I don't think any CUSA team is moving to the MAC, or vice-versa. Both conferences are pretty much even at the bottom of the totem pole.

The MAC is better, not even really that close.

Sagarin rankings:

5. 75.90 ACC
6. 64.66 Pac12
7. 63.64 AAC
8. 60.94 SBC-East
9. 58.83 SBC-West
10. 58.73 Mountain West
11. 57.42 CUSA
12. 57.36 MVC
13. 54.04 MAC
14. 50.21 Big Sky
15. 48.52 Ivy League

Better than the Big Sky or Ivy, but the MAC is actually below an FCS conference. The AAC and SBC put teams in the CFP last year and will be front runners for the G6 slot again this year.

Is that why the 2026 MAC Champion distroid the CUSA Champion?

We already have a 2026 MAC champion? And thanks for that info, but the comparison was of conferences and overall conference ratings, not individual matchups.

(09-30-2026 06:29 PM)EP Bison Fan Wrote:  I’m calling Miami, Ohio, and Toledo to the MWC for football only with Olympics moving to the Horizon. That move keeps travel reasonable in the Horizon, but gets them access to a better media deal without weekdays in November.

A 14 team MWC football conference, with UCD at some point, could also cut down football travel for the whole MWC if you used protected matchups like the SEC. You would be playing some combination of NDSU, NIU, Miami, Ohio, and Toledo frequently but that’s familiar enough.

When NDSU and NIU got added I thought it was silly, but adding those three does make some sense assuming Gloria and Presidents are looking for R1s with good enough football. Not sure the MWC has any prorata slots but entry for those three would probably only be non-dilution for the current deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If the MWC expands to add 3 more members, I'd say it's highly unlikely they'd pull them all from the same state.

(09-30-2026 05:25 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 07:25 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 06:48 AM)cmufanatic Wrote:  Miami is so gone. https://x.com/johnbreech/status/2105086862935085418

MAC is gonna be quite different in a few years.

I don't believe NFL coach's or CEOs make the type of money to make a difference. You need billionaires. Nice to have goals though.

Miami is 30th in the nation in alumni wealth, we’re not Stanford but there are a lot of high level corporate execs and Wall Street/Chicago finance types who went here.

https://miamioh.edu/news/2022/10/study-m...ealth.html

https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-ra...onference/

(09-30-2026 08:48 PM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 06:29 PM)EP Bison Fan Wrote:  I’m calling Miami, Ohio, and Toledo to the MWC for football only with Olympics moving to the Horizon. That move keeps travel reasonable in the Horizon, but gets them access to a better media deal without weekdays in November.

A 14 team MWC football conference, with UCD at some point, could also cut down football travel for the whole MWC if you used protected matchups like the SEC. You would be playing some combination of NDSU, NIU, Miami, Ohio, and Toledo frequently but that’s familiar enough.

When NDSU and NIU got added I thought it was silly, but adding those three does make some sense assuming Gloria and Presidents are looking for R1s with good enough football. Not sure the MWC has any prorata slots but entry for those three would probably only be non-dilution for the current deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If the MWC expands to add 3 more members, I'd say it's highly unlikely they'd pull them all from the same state.

Not sure the state geography is critical. The combination of academics aligning, football being good, opening up a time zone for media, and fixing travel with the west coast schools probably the goal.

The MAC-3 would make a 9 game conference slate more interesting too. If everyone is moving to 9 games a wider footprint without the drag of Olympic travel would have some nice travel opportunities for fans. Speaking as an NDSU fan going to UNLV in October is a hell of a lot better than Youngstown.

To your question though, who else would it be? Likely full members in the west coast footprint that are call-ups or don’t move the needle from a competitive or media perspective. The MAC-3 win on multiple levels versus other options. West coast is picked over, AAC teams are locked on a media deal, Sun Belt is too far, current CUSA gets zero president votes.


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So, how much is the media deal for NDSU. Guessing 2.25M and higher for full membership.

(09-30-2026 09:24 PM)AllBronco Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 05:25 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 07:25 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 06:48 AM)cmufanatic Wrote:  Miami is so gone. https://x.com/johnbreech/status/2105086862935085418

MAC is gonna be quite different in a few years.

I don't believe NFL coach's or CEOs make the type of money to make a difference. You need billionaires. Nice to have goals though.

Miami is 30th in the nation in alumni wealth, we’re not Stanford but there are a lot of high level corporate execs and Wall Street/Chicago finance types who went here.

https://miamioh.edu/news/2022/10/study-m...ealth.html

https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-ra...onference/

Endowment does not equal wealth. Miami basically has no grad programs, how can you compare us with schools that have major medical campuses, law schools, four-year branch campuses, etc?

Miami’s alumni wealth has rarely been dedicated to making our athletic program great, and under our previous AD we basically ignored investing in a modern athletic department. That’s changing, and even if this push fails it still means Miami will probably be winning a lot of MAC games going forward.

Not a major media outlet but looking at his twitter account appears semi-credible with 3k followers.

Quote:Not a major media outlet but looking at his twitter account appears semi-credible with 3k followers.

Paying good $$ for longer travel expenses... better conference, yeah. Better results, but it should be an investment to grow said team, not to be just in it. Should be interesting, as I wonder how much the P12 wants teams, notably other-side-of-Mississippi-river teams vs in the MW/PAC12 area. Where the former teams on east half of the country I expect would require them to be a little better -- especially since the PAC10/12 conference is looking to be the Best G6 conference and up arguably good enough to be allowed back to P4 in the end. But right now they only have 8 football teams. My guess is that they'd consider it if it also helps them to take from American conference. But who knows!