Also, Sun Belt trying to take MAC's spot in Mobile.

Linky

Since they seldom will have a team for the Motor City Bowl, we would be better off getting an agreement with the ACC or Big East. Since there are now 4 at large spots in the BCS bowls, the Big Ten will usually place two teams in BCS bowls. That means most of the time there will not be a team left for the Motor City Bowl and under current rules we saw how that worked out this year.

I wouldn't put too much stock in those thread rumors.

But... I wouldn't be surprised if more bowls (not of the BCS upper-crust variety) gravitate more toward the regional vs. regional setups in order to "guarantee" better visitor crowds. There may come a day in the future when our 2 or 3 bowl tie-ins are all in the neighborhood up north. Great for proximity, but a bummer for the t-shirt and beaches crowd.

Pretty sure all of this is a fantasy of a Sun Belt fan.

Mostly pure garbage. The GMAC is very happy with the MAC.

Zibby only posts here to slam MAC football anyway.

The Big 10 had an agreement w/ the MCB??? I could never tell.

MidnightBlue&Gold Wrote:The Big 10 had an agreement w/ the MCB??? I could never tell.

Ba da bing!

Exactly. What has the MCB done to hinder the Big 10? Are teams throwing games so they don't have to come to Detroit?

As for the SBC in the GMAC bowl...sure, if they replace C-DOA. So Miss and Memphis might be nice, but when UTEP gets in, I doubt Mobile will be so happy w/ attendance.

I could see SBC in the GMAC and the MAC replacing C-DOA in their NO bowl. That might make some sense.

The B10 has only participated in the MCB one time...right? Besides, the NO Bowl is always one of the worst attended bowls year in and year out, so I think this guy has some "Sun Belt" rose-colored glasses on.

As for the Mobile Bowl, I think that in most years the MAC rep has taken a fair number of fans, and we have always provided (save this year) a very competitive and exciting team to the bowl. I have no inside insights, but I can't see why they'd want to make a switch.

ex Cincy Kid Wrote:The B10 has only participated in the MCB one time...right?

Correct. The idea of having a BigTenleven team in the game is enticing, but the reality is we aren't often going to see that happen. I mean, 1 out of 10 MCBs have included a Big Tenleven team.

The chance to change this dynamic occurred about a year ago, when virtually all bowl contracts were coming to an end.

It seems to me that, by sweetening the pot -- something the Motor City could have made work -- it could have bumped itself up one in the pecking order and ensured a Big Ten team each year.

Perhaps the Big Ten was absolutely uninterested -- which would be disappointing to me, as it would reflect a sort of self-hatred of its own geography.

The Motor City is a damned good bowl. They put butts in seats. They have done things right. And to be stuck with Middle Tennessee last year -- it's disappointing.

I'm not opposed to squaring off with a Sun Belt team, but I don't want to do it in Detroit. That bowl is too strong, and has too much potential.

Alums and fans, especially the well-heeled, want warm weather destinations for their bowls. If you were a diehard Big Ten school fan, how happy would you be with your season if it ended with a game in Detroit against a (probably) unranked MAC team?
I think the big conferences are happy to see Sun Belt vs. MAC in a bowl game: there are two small conf. teams they DON'T have to play, increasing the odds they get a warm location and a fellow big conference opponent, even in a down year.

axeme:

Good point. I guess I'd wager folks from N'western & Indiana would be content with an MCB bid (there was a nice showing of purple for the BG-N'western tilt). But I can't image Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State making a showing.

BGSUalum1987 Wrote:axeme:

Good point. I guess I'd wager folks from N'western & Indiana would be content with an MCB bid (there was a nice showing of purple for the BG-N'western tilt). But I can't image Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State making a showing.

It is very difficult to imagine any of these schools falling to Detroit, even at No. 6.

I think Minnesota was the No. 6 this year (Insight Bowl). Before this year, Minnesota also played three times over the past four years in the Music City Bowl, which I believe was in the equivalent spot. Wisconsin also appeared once in Nashville.

So that's the caliber of team we are talking about.

The Insight Bowl is paying $1.2 million. Seems to me the Motor City could have topped that.

axeme Wrote:Alums and fans, especially the well-heeled, want warm weather destinations for their bowls. If you were a diehard Big Ten school fan, how happy would you be with your season if it ended with a game in Detroit against a (probably) unranked MAC team?

It depends on whether the alternative is stay at home and gripe that said unranked MAC team is on TV.

Honestly, I'd bet that even "loyal" fans don't know that the Big 10 has an agreement w/ the MCB.

Quote:I think the big conferences are happy to see Sun Belt vs. MAC in a bowl game: there are two small conf. teams they DON'T have to play, increasing the odds they get a warm location and a fellow big conference opponent, even in a down year.

Now that's an interesting spin from the Big 10 powers that be. However, they need to free up a bowl slot to make this worth their while.

DrTorch Wrote:Honestly, I'd bet that even "loyal" fans don't know that the Big 10 has an agreement w/ the MCB.

Torch: Spot on assessment there.

DrTorch Wrote:

MidnightBlue&Gold Wrote:The Big 10 had an agreement w/ the MCB??? I could never tell.

As for the SBC in the GMAC bowl...sure, if they replace C-DOA. So Miss and Memphis might be nice, but when UTEP gets in, I doubt Mobile will be so happy w/ attendance.

I could see SBC in the GMAC and the MAC replacing C-DOA in their NO bowl. That might make some sense.

The GMAC is going to stick with C-DOA (Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane, UAB, UCF, ECU, Marshall......all will travel better to Mobile than the MAC)

Would the SBC bump the MAC in the GMAC.......I can't see that happening in the near term.

The SBC has played football for 6 seasons. Out of those 6 seasons only one time has the SBC produced an 8 game winner...MTSU (2001). The MAC has historically sent a 9 or 10 game winner to the GMAC over its 6 years of participation.

Maybe in 2009 when WKU joins the SBC if they continue to improve...

It seems like the MAC has the most success when it builds from an established relationship.

1.The MAC started at the ground floor 10 years ago with the MCB and that relationship blossomed into the GMAC and International Bowls. Also the MAC championship game is now played in Detroit.

2.The MAC moved its basketball tourney to Cleveland for 8 participants, and that is now up to 12 plus you have conference headquarters now in Cleveland. Multiple games have been played up at the Q too.

3.The MACs agreement with ESPN has grown into many conference games in football up from just a televised bowl appearance 10 years ago. The MAC started at the ground floor with bracketbuster and therefore has every school as a participant.

As much as I'd like to see the MAC go out on a limb and pickup on a major new opportunity be it post season event, television, or scheduling it won't last without a strong relationship in place.

Quote:Exactly. What has the MCB done to hinder the Big 10? Are teams throwing games so they don't have to come to Detroit?

If Indiana's coach hadn't needed brain surgery, we likely would have played the Hoosiers in Detroit (Indiana lost to a I-AA right around the time his ailment became public). As it is, I had no issues playing MTSU. The Blue Raiders were, IMHO, no worse than Ohio (definitely had a better offense - more balanced). Obviously, neither did most CMU fans and casual observers. Or at least, they didn't let it deter them from attending. MTSU was the Sun Belt Co-champ, and those who mock the SB had best remember how people were dissing the MAC a decade ago.