While this topic may be a joke, I am wondering why there is no MAC TV network for basketball? I just checked UIC's schedule, since we are playing there on 12/10, and I was shocked to see that the vast majority of UIC's games - home and away - are on TV (Horizon Network Television). Apparently, the Horizon League is taking a very active approach in marketing its teams with all that TV coverage.

Does the MAC even have a TV package, outside of televising a game every once in awhile? Will any of our home games ever be on TV? Do you think that ESPN3.com will ever bring a camera to the Convo to computercast one of our home games for the world to see?

Gee, I'm sorta sounding like Cybes!

I get that channel. Its an Indiana channel but something is better than nothing

(09-28-2011 10:20 AM)klake87 Wrote:  I get that channel. Its an Indiana channel but something is better than nothing

Yes, it's WYIN, Channel 56 (on regular TV), out of Gary/Merrillville. However, it is also on other channels throughout the Horizon Conference area.

You would be enormously hard pressed to identify 50,000 meaningful MAC basketball fans in this country. Other than the semi-decent following that Kent and Ohio seem to have the sad truth is basketball is irrelevant in this conference. It's the truth.

I'd imagine if the MAC did have a dedicated channel for basketball it would be in Ohio, possibly Michigan, that is going to be where your largest concentration of fans who actually want to watch MAC basket ball are going to be. Yeah we talk a big game about the Chicago market, but realistically, MAC basketball wouldn't carry at all in Chicago.

The Horizon League is a fairly strong basketball conference with Butler, UIC, University of Wisc-Milwaukee. There is some level of appeal as a secondary market for that in the Chicago/Indiana area, though I think we might be able to get in on the closed circuit public access channel that runs in the NIU dorms, maybe.

All I have to say is do you think that the WNBA draws great numbers? But they have the backing of the NBA.

(09-28-2011 11:44 AM)WhiskeyDick Wrote:  You would be enormously hard pressed to identify 50,000 meaningful MAC basketball fans in this country. Other than the semi-decent following that Kent and Ohio seem to have the sad truth is basketball is irrelevant in this conference. It's the truth.

Or any MAC sport. You wouldn't get many people interested in finding a MAC football, baseball, soccer or any other game either when there are other conference games on. But, honestly, not huge numbers of people probably tune into the Horizon League Network either. They just have the funding to have the network anyway.

Several MAC basketball games are on channels like FSN-Ohio and etc. each year.

ESPN3 wouldn't even need to bring a camera to the Convo. They would only need to tie into HuskieVision which I'd think would be easy to do.

(09-28-2011 11:44 AM)WhiskeyDick Wrote:  You would be enormously hard pressed to identify 50,000 meaningful MAC basketball fans in this country. Other than the semi-decent following that Kent and Ohio seem to have the sad truth is basketball is irrelevant in this conference. It's the truth.

Now we have a real chicken and egg question.