The unofficial online home for fans of the Western Michigan University Broncos. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(10-05-2026 01:10 PM)BroncoFilly Wrote:  

(10-05-2026 08:29 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  

(10-05-2026 01:22 AM)BroncoFilly Wrote:  Being in an established conference offers mid-major programs like Western a lot. The MAC may not be big-time, but we've had more schools wanting to come in than wanting to leave.

Regarding leaving-to where, exactly? Who is going to pay the travel budget if we moved to a new conference in another region? It's a lot more expensive to move football programs around than bball or even ice hockey. We don't have deep pockets-everyone proposes moving to a 'better conference', but when you bring up additional financial support they all remember an appointment they're supposed to be at-and disappear.

Like it or not, the MAC is probably our first, best situation. We have the guarantee of 7-8 conference games every season and we can line up some big names for OOC to keep it interesting. And we have the attraction of a championship game at the end of the season for our two best teams as well as 3-4 invitational bowl games. For those of us old enough to remember when it was the Cal Bowl or nothing, we've come a long way.

That doesn't even get into the NIL situation, were our cupboards are bare. We are what we are-and that ain't half bad. The MAC isn't going anywhere, there are 10 schools that need it.

It's no different than your job. You may like it there, it's a good fit, etc. But if the top talent starts leaving one by one and business turns south, the best path may be exploring what other options exist out there.

I would agree that there needs to be mutual interest for someone else to "hire" you, obviously.

I assume if (big if) schools like Miami, Toledo, Buffalo and/or Ohio follow NIU out the door over the coming years, the MAC either falls into further irrelevancy in some manner or recruits a bunch of mid FCS members to join, a la CUSA.

NIU tried life outside the MAC before and were eminently UNsuccessful. What makes them think this time will be any different? Their AD is a blockhead, IMO.

NIU will never be anything more than a mid-major in DeKalb, Illinois. They had some success in the MAC, they need to recognize that is their best fit. As a perimeter school, I understand their situation is not exactly the same as the Ohio and Michigan schools-but it's not that much different. One thing is almost certain, when NIU find out this was a mistake, they will NEVER be allowed back in the MAC again. There were several schools that didn't want them back in the last time they left the conference, they're a long trip for most of the schools and travel to DeKalb has always been expensive.

Football is not basketball or even ice hockey, it costs a lot more to operate a program and travel. For a mid-major in the midwest, the only real options other than the MAC are to go Independent-and that is almost always a mistake-or try to position yourself to attract Big 10 interest. And the Big 10 isn't interested in MAC schools, they're trying to get rid of Northwestern and Rutgers in football as it is.

NIU should have never jumped ship again, IMO. I have no doubt they will have regrets going forward. Logistically, the MAC makes sense for our school that are on strict athletic budgets. Personally, I am happy staying with MAC for the time being. The only way to move from the MAC, IMO, is if we were to do it with a number of MAC intuitions in a similar position -- maybe a 5-6 other institutions.

(10-11-2026 09:08 PM)BroncoMD Wrote:  

(10-05-2026 01:10 PM)BroncoFilly Wrote:  

(10-05-2026 08:29 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  

(10-05-2026 01:22 AM)BroncoFilly Wrote:  Being in an established conference offers mid-major programs like Western a lot. The MAC may not be big-time, but we've had more schools wanting to come in than wanting to leave.

Regarding leaving-to where, exactly? Who is going to pay the travel budget if we moved to a new conference in another region? It's a lot more expensive to move football programs around than bball or even ice hockey. We don't have deep pockets-everyone proposes moving to a 'better conference', but when you bring up additional financial support they all remember an appointment they're supposed to be at-and disappear.

Like it or not, the MAC is probably our first, best situation. We have the guarantee of 7-8 conference games every season and we can line up some big names for OOC to keep it interesting. And we have the attraction of a championship game at the end of the season for our two best teams as well as 3-4 invitational bowl games. For those of us old enough to remember when it was the Cal Bowl or nothing, we've come a long way.

That doesn't even get into the NIL situation, were our cupboards are bare. We are what we are-and that ain't half bad. The MAC isn't going anywhere, there are 10 schools that need it.

It's no different than your job. You may like it there, it's a good fit, etc. But if the top talent starts leaving one by one and business turns south, the best path may be exploring what other options exist out there.

I would agree that there needs to be mutual interest for someone else to "hire" you, obviously.

I assume if (big if) schools like Miami, Toledo, Buffalo and/or Ohio follow NIU out the door over the coming years, the MAC either falls into further irrelevancy in some manner or recruits a bunch of mid FCS members to join, a la CUSA.

NIU tried life outside the MAC before and were eminently UNsuccessful. What makes them think this time will be any different? Their AD is a blockhead, IMO.

NIU will never be anything more than a mid-major in DeKalb, Illinois. They had some success in the MAC, they need to recognize that is their best fit. As a perimeter school, I understand their situation is not exactly the same as the Ohio and Michigan schools-but it's not that much different. One thing is almost certain, when NIU find out this was a mistake, they will NEVER be allowed back in the MAC again. There were several schools that didn't want them back in the last time they left the conference, they're a long trip for most of the schools and travel to DeKalb has always been expensive.

Football is not basketball or even ice hockey, it costs a lot more to operate a program and travel. For a mid-major in the midwest, the only real options other than the MAC are to go Independent-and that is almost always a mistake-or try to position yourself to attract Big 10 interest. And the Big 10 isn't interested in MAC schools, they're trying to get rid of Northwestern and Rutgers in football as it is.

NIU should have never jumped ship again, IMO. I have no doubt they will have regrets going forward. Logistically, the MAC makes sense for our school that are on strict athletic budgets. Personally, I am happy staying with MAC for the time being. The only way to move from the MAC, IMO, is if we were to do it with a number of MAC intuitions in a similar position -- maybe a 5-6 other institutions.

This.

The downstream ripple effect of James Madison to the AAC may have upcoming MAC implications, especially if the AAC wants to even things up to 16 which would create two Sun Belt holes to backfill.

I suspect the Sun Belt would hedge more toward filling with more southern leaning CUSA schools, but you never know. And it's that constant instability Kavalhuna and Gary will need to consider in the upcoming years. MAC is no longer insulated, we're like every other conference now where musical chairs may become a thing (unfortunately).

Ohio has been flirting with the SBC, or at least was a year ago. They're not a massive geographic outlier either.

Seeing the cash commitment it apparently takes to join the American ($23M for JMU), I wonder if NIU's move wasn't as much about reading the tea leaves and finding a landing spot that they could afford before the dominoes really started to fall. Not sure if NIU could come up with that kind of money upfront (if they would have interest from conferences besides the MW to begin with).

While WMU I think has some advantages and is in a relatively healthy spot within the MAC, I don't know about our ability to come up with that kind of lump sum either. It wouldn't be the biggest donation we've gotten in recent years, but you do have to wonder how often donors are willing to keep throwing that kind of money down.

(10-13-2026 09:48 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  Ohio has been flirting with the SBC, or at least was a year ago. They're not a massive geographic outlier either.

Seeing the cash commitment it apparently takes to join the American ($23M for JMU), I wonder if NIU's move wasn't as much about reading the tea leaves and finding a landing spot that they could afford before the dominoes really started to fall. Not sure if NIU could come up with that kind of money upfront (if they would have interest from conferences besides the MW to begin with).

While WMU I think has some advantages and is in a relatively healthy spot within the MAC, I don't know about our ability to come up with that kind of lump sum either. It wouldn't be the biggest donation we've gotten in recent years, but you do have to wonder how often donors are willing to keep throwing that kind of money down.

Our 1 big donor gave 50 million to Bronco athletics for DEI initiatives 5 years ago, would have been better spent on NIL and moving conferences.

(10-13-2026 10:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 09:48 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  Ohio has been flirting with the SBC, or at least was a year ago. They're not a massive geographic outlier either.

Seeing the cash commitment it apparently takes to join the American ($23M for JMU), I wonder if NIU's move wasn't as much about reading the tea leaves and finding a landing spot that they could afford before the dominoes really started to fall. Not sure if NIU could come up with that kind of money upfront (if they would have interest from conferences besides the MW to begin with).

While WMU I think has some advantages and is in a relatively healthy spot within the MAC, I don't know about our ability to come up with that kind of lump sum either. It wouldn't be the biggest donation we've gotten in recent years, but you do have to wonder how often donors are willing to keep throwing that kind of money down.

Our 1 big donor gave 50 million to Bronco athletics for DEI initiatives 5 years ago, would have been better spent on NIL and moving conferences.

I've seen this claim about DEI initiatives on here before. Not sure if it was you or someone else, but I never saw it substantiated. The official release just says "increase athletic competitiveness."

I've also seen folks indicate that that money can't just be spent outright but is a sort of endowment. Again, not sure if that is true or has been stated publicly.

(10-13-2026 11:05 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 10:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 09:48 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  Ohio has been flirting with the SBC, or at least was a year ago. They're not a massive geographic outlier either.

Seeing the cash commitment it apparently takes to join the American ($23M for JMU), I wonder if NIU's move wasn't as much about reading the tea leaves and finding a landing spot that they could afford before the dominoes really started to fall. Not sure if NIU could come up with that kind of money upfront (if they would have interest from conferences besides the MW to begin with).

While WMU I think has some advantages and is in a relatively healthy spot within the MAC, I don't know about our ability to come up with that kind of lump sum either. It wouldn't be the biggest donation we've gotten in recent years, but you do have to wonder how often donors are willing to keep throwing that kind of money down.

Our 1 big donor gave 50 million to Bronco athletics for DEI initiatives 5 years ago, would have been better spent on NIL and moving conferences.

I've seen this claim about DEI initiatives on here before. Not sure if it was you or someone else, but I never saw it substantiated. The official release just says "increase athletic competitiveness."

I've also seen folks indicate that that money can't just be spent outright but is a sort of endowment. Again, not sure if that is true or has been stated publicly.

This was right from the press release on the portion for athletics:

Bronco Athletics

Enhance support for student-athletes' academic performance and well-being, and achieve inclusive excellence by expanding diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
Enhance recruiting and overall competitiveness in a championship environment
Create collaborative opportunities to strengthen pipelines through broad community engagement that connects youth with WMU

(10-13-2026 11:12 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 11:05 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 10:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 09:48 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  Ohio has been flirting with the SBC, or at least was a year ago. They're not a massive geographic outlier either.

Seeing the cash commitment it apparently takes to join the American ($23M for JMU), I wonder if NIU's move wasn't as much about reading the tea leaves and finding a landing spot that they could afford before the dominoes really started to fall. Not sure if NIU could come up with that kind of money upfront (if they would have interest from conferences besides the MW to begin with).

While WMU I think has some advantages and is in a relatively healthy spot within the MAC, I don't know about our ability to come up with that kind of lump sum either. It wouldn't be the biggest donation we've gotten in recent years, but you do have to wonder how often donors are willing to keep throwing that kind of money down.

Our 1 big donor gave 50 million to Bronco athletics for DEI initiatives 5 years ago, would have been better spent on NIL and moving conferences.

I've seen this claim about DEI initiatives on here before. Not sure if it was you or someone else, but I never saw it substantiated. The official release just says "increase athletic competitiveness."

I've also seen folks indicate that that money can't just be spent outright but is a sort of endowment. Again, not sure if that is true or has been stated publicly.

This was right from the press release on the portion for athletics:

Bronco Athletics

Enhance support for student-athletes' academic performance and well-being, and achieve inclusive excellence by expanding diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
Enhance recruiting and overall competitiveness in a championship environment
Create collaborative opportunities to strengthen pipelines through broad community engagement that connects youth with WMU

I stand corrected insofar as DEI is at least mentioned, but that hardly means the money can't be spent on anything else. "Recruiting and overall competitiveness" is very broad.

(10-13-2026 10:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 09:48 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  Ohio has been flirting with the SBC, or at least was a year ago. They're not a massive geographic outlier either.

Seeing the cash commitment it apparently takes to join the American ($23M for JMU), I wonder if NIU's move wasn't as much about reading the tea leaves and finding a landing spot that they could afford before the dominoes really started to fall. Not sure if NIU could come up with that kind of money upfront (if they would have interest from conferences besides the MW to begin with).

While WMU I think has some advantages and is in a relatively healthy spot within the MAC, I don't know about our ability to come up with that kind of lump sum either. It wouldn't be the biggest donation we've gotten in recent years, but you do have to wonder how often donors are willing to keep throwing that kind of money down.

Our 1 big donor gave 50 million to Bronco athletics for DEI initiatives 5 years ago, would have been better spent on NIL and moving conferences.

Can you give details on how all of the $50M was spent on DEI and how winning the MAC Championship gives proof these funds were spent poorly merely because you're a racist and a word like diversity triggers you?

This feels a lot like the time you brought up a rainbow captain's arm band on the soccer team as a sign of bad things while we were in the midst of an unprecedented great soccer season.

We'd better hope the MAC doesn't implode, because I think we'd be left among those going down with the ship.

I suspect the three Michigan MAC schools (for whatever reasons) won't get considered by peer G6 conferences, along with Bowling Green, Ball State, Kent and Akron. I'm not saying the others will all get poached en masse, but they seem to occasionally be part of rumor mills. And Miami feels more than just spit-balling at this point.

(10-13-2026 09:48 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  Seeing the cash commitment it apparently takes to join the American ($23M for JMU), I wonder if NIU's move wasn't as much about reading the tea leaves and finding a landing spot that they could afford before the dominoes really started to fall. Not sure if NIU could come up with that kind of money upfront (if they would have interest from conferences besides the MW to begin with).

I'm sure NIU would've preferred AAC: More geographic sense and it'd be all sports. But I agree that NIU made out in that they didn't have to empty their bank accounts to join the MWC. Instead they're making more money.

The perception appears to be the PAC and AAC make up Tier 1 of the Group of Six, MWC and Sun Belt Tier 2, and MAC and CUSA Tier 3. And we have (and will) see this pyramid in the poaching pecking order.