(11-08-2021 03:41 PM)TexasTerror Wrote:  My two cents...

The MAC will be able to add Western Kentucky & Middle Tennessee if and when it wants to. It can take its time to do its due diligence and see if it makes enough dollars and cents (and any other benefit) to make such a move. They should not feel like they are rushed in the least bit to make a move on this front.

If these two institutions stay in CUSA - you have nine institutions that play all sports. So you are set as a FBS league. Nine schools and eight conference games (four home, four away) is perfect balance.

However, does it make sense for scheduling in other sports to add Little Rock and/or Arlington? It certainly would help from a travel partner standpoint - right? Arlington and Sam Houston are under 3 hours apart, same with Little Rock and Louisiana Tech. It also helps create somewhat of a 'pod' to the west if this league wants to ever solidify its geography.

(11-08-2021 05:16 PM)mjs Wrote:  So the latest rumor is that WKU wants to move to the MAC, but MTSU doesn't. The MAC wants both or no deal. So WKU's biggest rival will determine if they move to the MAC or not.

(11-08-2021 05:08 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(11-08-2021 03:41 PM)TexasTerror Wrote:  My two cents...

The MAC will be able to add Western Kentucky & Middle Tennessee if and when it wants to. It can take its time to do its due diligence and see if it makes enough dollars and cents (and any other benefit) to make such a move. They should not feel like they are rushed in the least bit to make a move on this front.

If these two institutions stay in CUSA - you have nine institutions that play all sports. So you are set as a FBS league. Nine schools and eight conference games (four home, four away) is perfect balance.

However, does it make sense for scheduling in other sports to add Little Rock and/or Arlington? It certainly would help from a travel partner standpoint - right? Arlington and Sam Houston are under 3 hours apart, same with Little Rock and Louisiana Tech. It also helps create somewhat of a 'pod' to the west if this league wants to ever solidify its geography.

Thanks for your input. That was my argument and why I thought CUSA would consider us and UTA. I've become less optimistic, since I haven't heard much talk about this, but maybe it will still happen. I would think making travel easier for all sports, other than football, would be a priority for any conference.

(11-08-2021 09:37 PM)RamblinRedWolf Wrote:  This is from a former WKU broadcaster…

https://twitter.com/toddoham/status/1457868302978531332?s=21

(11-10-2021 07:02 PM)mjs Wrote:  MAC will not expand. Only questions that remain- what will CUSA do? What will LR and UTA do? Still see these questions as rather intertwined. They could take us, they could take team(s) from a conference we are considering, or they could do nothing more at this time.

MAC: "While a number of institutions have expressed interest, we never requested any institution to apply for membership nor did we have a formal or informal vote concerning any institutions. … Today’s announcement is intended to end the speculation that has been occurring."

(11-11-2021 08:55 AM)PTJR Wrote:  

(11-10-2021 07:02 PM)mjs Wrote:  MAC will not expand. Only questions that remain- what will CUSA do? What will LR and UTA do? Still see these questions as rather intertwined. They could take us, they could take team(s) from a conference we are considering, or they could do nothing more at this time.

MAC: "While a number of institutions have expressed interest, we never requested any institution to apply for membership nor did we have a formal or informal vote concerning any institutions. … Today’s announcement is intended to end the speculation that has been occurring."

My guess is that CUSA stands pat at nine teams for a while. So, depending on what the SBC does about the idea of “inviting” us to leave, our situation may very well stand pat for a while. But if nothing else, it should make us actively look for possibilities going forward. And although the latest shuffle at the FBS level may be over for a while, I don’t think the shuffle is over at non FBS conferences just yet.

(11-11-2021 11:07 AM)ez272 Wrote:  

(11-11-2021 08:55 AM)PTJR Wrote:  

(11-10-2021 07:02 PM)mjs Wrote:  MAC will not expand. Only questions that remain- what will CUSA do? What will LR and UTA do? Still see these questions as rather intertwined. They could take us, they could take team(s) from a conference we are considering, or they could do nothing more at this time.

MAC: "While a number of institutions have expressed interest, we never requested any institution to apply for membership nor did we have a formal or informal vote concerning any institutions. … Today’s announcement is intended to end the speculation that has been occurring."

My guess is that CUSA stands pat at nine teams for a while. So, depending on what the SBC does about the idea of “inviting” us to leave, our situation may very well stand pat for a while. But if nothing else, it should make us actively look for possibilities going forward. And although the latest shuffle at the FBS level may be over for a while, I don’t think the shuffle is over at non FBS conferences just yet.

We are looking.

(11-15-2021 01:21 PM)mjs Wrote:  Interesting to me that the WKU Athletic Director, in an interview, made it clear WKU was very much wanting to join the MAC. This was nixed by the MAC when MTSU decided to stay put. It seemed to me that the WKU AD pretty much said they were hoping for a MAC invite in the future. Pretty strange thing for an AD to say publicly while they are still in CUSA for the foreseeable future.

(11-15-2021 01:26 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(11-15-2021 01:21 PM)mjs Wrote:  Interesting to me that the WKU Athletic Director, in an interview, made it clear WKU was very much wanting to join the MAC. This was nixed by the MAC when MTSU decided to stay put. It seemed to me that the WKU AD pretty much said they were hoping for a MAC invite in the future. Pretty strange thing for an AD to say publicly while they are still in CUSA for the foreseeable future.

Part of his statement:
"I really enjoyed the dialogue I had with everybody associated with the MAC," Western Kentucky athletic director Todd Stewart told The Blade. "I had conversations with athletic directors. Our president had conversations with presidents. I had multiple conversations with commissioner Steinbrecher and his staff, and I really enjoyed it. I have a lot of respect for everybody. The league clearly has good, strong leadership, and it was something we would have loved to be a part of. We were hoping it was going to work out, and certainly, we were disappointed when it didn't."

MTSU's reluctance and the MAC's final decision left Western Kentucky fans feeling spurned, with most of the vitriol directed at their archrival for what they believed to be a short-sided financial decision that negatively affected the future of WKU athletics.

"The fans are stakeholders," Stewart said. "They are our shareholders, so to speak. When word initially got out that the MAC might be a possibility, the response was overwhelmingly positive. I anticipated that it would be good, but it was even better than I thought. Everyone I ran into expressed how much they hoped it would get done, across the board. The more people looked at it, the more it made sense."