(10-22-2012 06:54 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09...ent-chaos/

Scroll down to the MAC section. Granted this has Temple in it and no Umass, but this is the "scientific" findings presented by the New York Times.

For those too lazy to click on the link, the rankings are as follows:

1. Temple
2. Buffalo
3. Akron
4. Northern Illinois
5. Miami (OH)
6. Bowling Green
7. Toledo
8. Ohio
9. Western Michigan
10. Kent State
11. Ball State
12. Central Michigan
13. Eastern Michigan

Well, there you go. I guess that settles it! Good job everyone! Someone turn the lights out.

Sorry, not buying Miami or BG having a larger fanbase than Toledo.

(10-22-2012 07:22 PM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  Sorry, not buying Miami or BG having a larger fanbase than Toledo.

+1

Hell, more kids at Miami walk around wearing osu gear than they do Miami gear.

I can't answer because the poll is invalid.

"largest fanbase" is determined by a quantifiable measurement. Once that measurement is determined the answer to the poll question becomes a fact, not an opinion.

Polls aren't used to determine facts. It's like having a poll that says- which word has the most letters in it, cabbage or rock. There's a right answer and a wrong answer.

A poll question would be something like- what parameters should we use to measure the size of a fanbase- tickets sold, living alumni, tv ratings, merchandise revenue, message board posters, etc.

(10-22-2012 07:57 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  I can't answer because the poll is invalid.

"largest fanbase" is determined by a quantifiable measurement. Once that measurement is determined the answer to the poll question becomes a fact, not an opinion.

Polls aren't used to determine facts. It's like having a poll that says- which word has the most letters in it, cabbage or rock. There's a right answer and a wrong answer.

A poll question would be something like- what parameters should we use to measure the size of a fanbase- tickets sold, living alumni, tv ratings, merchandise revenue, message board posters, etc.

Talk to your fellow fan.

I'm beginning to think there is something wrong with the water in Athens. I suggest going with Dasani or Ice Mountain from here on out.

(10-22-2012 08:08 PM)EA3 Wrote:  

(10-22-2012 07:57 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  I can't answer because the poll is invalid.

"largest fanbase" is determined by a quantifiable measurement. Once that measurement is determined the answer to the poll question becomes a fact, not an opinion.

Polls aren't used to determine facts. It's like having a poll that says- which word has the most letters in it, cabbage or rock. There's a right answer and a wrong answer.

A poll question would be something like- what parameters should we use to measure the size of a fanbase- tickets sold, living alumni, tv ratings, merchandise revenue, message board posters, etc.

Talk to your fellow fan.

I'm beginning to think there is something wrong with the water in Athens. I suggest going with Dasani or Ice Mountain from here on out.

And, LK hasn't even posted on this thread yet!

I have one poster on this board set to "ignore" and its an Ohio fan.

i voted for toledo, simply because they have the highest average attendance of any mac team in the past 5 seasons (including the current one). numbers don't lie.

(10-22-2012 09:12 PM)Dukes09 Wrote:  i voted for toledo, simply because they have the highest average attendance of any mac team in the past 5 seasons (including the current one). numbers don't lie.

Slightly misleading stat IMO. Toledo has been winning during the majority of that time span.

But Toledo certainly is in the discussion and has as much of a claim as anyone else.

(10-22-2012 09:46 PM)EA3 Wrote:  

(10-22-2012 09:12 PM)Dukes09 Wrote:  i voted for toledo, simply because they have the highest average attendance of any mac team in the past 5 seasons (including the current one). numbers don't lie.

Slightly misleading stat IMO. Toledo has been winning during the majority of that time span.

But Toledo certainly is in the discussion and has as much of a claim as anyone else.

That's incorrect. Toledo football had the following records over the last five years:

2007 = 5-7
2008 = 3-9
2009 = 5-7
2010 = 8-5
2011 = 9-4

Three of the last five years Toledo had a losing record in football. I would think the original question is not just talking about football though. Toledo men's basketball has had some pretty horrible years in the last five years.


As for largest fan base from a MAC school. You're not going to get a clear cut answer, but if you want some unbiased answers ask posters to post their vote and tell them they cannot vote for their own school.

Ratings can go beyond attendance. Some will have interest to watch, but won't come out to games. Toledo has had 15 winnning seasons the last 20 years with 5 title games. NIU, 10 of the last 12 with winning seasons. So can they draw any better than they currently do with a winning tradition? Do they draw a large share of eyeballs in their metros?

UB has had 1 winning season in FBS so our attendance is depressed to the 15K-18K range. Yet when we won the MAC local interest exploded. We brought a crowd that would fill UB Stadium to Toronto PLUS 18% of all households in the Buffalo media market viewing the game, on the Deuce of all stations. Those numbers truly indicate our immediate, local fanbase. So what could attendance become when we have multiple winning seasons, with 29K students and 70K local alums, in a region where there is no 500-pound gorilla of B10 schools, B10 alums, or T-shirt fans?

(10-22-2012 10:05 PM)BrianNowicki Wrote:  

(10-22-2012 09:46 PM)EA3 Wrote:  

(10-22-2012 09:12 PM)Dukes09 Wrote:  i voted for toledo, simply because they have the highest average attendance of any mac team in the past 5 seasons (including the current one). numbers don't lie.

Slightly misleading stat IMO. Toledo has been winning during the majority of that time span.

But Toledo certainly is in the discussion and has as much of a claim as anyone else.

That's incorrect. Toledo football had the following records over the last five years:

2007 = 5-7
2008 = 3-9
2009 = 5-7
2010 = 8-5
2011 = 9-4

Three of the last five years Toledo had a losing record in football. I would think the original question is not just talking about football though. Toledo men's basketball has had some pretty horrible years in the last five years.


As for largest fan base from a MAC school. You're not going to get a clear cut answer, but if you want some unbiased answers ask posters to post their vote and tell them they cannot vote for their own school.

I read it as he was including this year in his last 5.

I'd also add that Toledo still holds the MAC record for attendance at a single home game.

I took remoteness into consideration and for the teams in decently populated areas, which had a decent following...

...and decided my team must be the most popular!

Actually, I decided that Toledo probably has the best following, whether they are winning or losing, because they have a good sized town with no Pro teams or other/larger colleges to directly compete with. WMU probably has a decent sized following for the same reasons (and they play an additional revenue sport in hockey).

But really - it is all a guess.

The 2 votes for EMU did make me laugh though.

(10-22-2012 08:08 PM)EA3 Wrote:  I'm beginning to think there is something wrong with the water in Athens. I suggest going with Dasani or Ice Mountain from here on out.

Well, if you believe some very vocal Athens locals, it's the fluoride.

Fun fact: Dasani is unsafe to drink for 72 hours after bottling.

Marshall

There must be ratings data available for college football the Grand Rapids market, since K-zoo and other areas are lumped in to create a much larger media area. If not, Temple and UB are the only ones whose beat writers have released local ratings data. Toledo is likely too small to be metered, since similar-sized Albany, Rochester, Syracuse Upstate are not.

(10-22-2012 07:56 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  

(10-22-2012 07:22 PM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  Sorry, not buying Miami or BG having a larger fanbase than Toledo.

+1

Hell, more kids at Miami walk around wearing osu gear than they do Miami gear.

This is a totally untrue statement. Now the statement you were replying to is correct, Toledo has a far greater fanbase than Miami or BG. And Yes, many Miami students follow OSU football (not other OSU sports though) as either their second or even first team. Your statement, however, seems to equate love for or pride in your university only with football. Miami students and grads are very proud of Miami for all kinds of reasons that mostly have little to do with football or basketball. Walking through campus or uptown on almost any day you will see tons of Miami gear. Sports are a source of pride at Miami, but not the primary reason that students/alumni love Miami. Even those students who root for OSU fb chose to attend Miami over OSU.

Ohio has very good mens basketball and football right now. Those are the big two sports. You do very in those are your gonna grow the fan base. Ohio is making a national impact in both sports. Even fans that are more casual and getting excited about the football and basketball teams. That is huge in terms of long term growth. In decades past Miami has done well at the same time at football and basketball. Ohio fans have been hungry for so long and very passionate. For many decades the on-field or on-court product didn't match the passion of the fan base. Now the product in both sports is at that level. That is good for the MAC. The MAC needs that school that brings in the national media. Now that Ohio has brought that atrention they will discover that Akron has a great basketball team, NIU and Toledo have great football teams, Akron in soccer, Kent in basketball. BGSU in womens hoops, Miami in hockey and others. MAC survived re-alignment and came out stronger. Big East, MWC, CUSA, WAC can't say that. MAC is back and so are its fans. Ohio and Toledo always were the sleeping giants in the MAC. 1960's were the MAC's glory days and those days have returned. Record crowds accross the MAC.

(10-23-2012 11:50 PM)OhioBobcatJohn Wrote:  MAC survived re-alignment and came out stronger. Big East, MWC, CUSA, WAC can't say that.

Although, it's true the MAC has survived re-alignment, I would argue the other conferences got weaker and by default, the MAC got stronger in relation (i.e. the MAC hasn't moved, the other conferences just went down...like that Army cliche where they ask for a man to step forward and all but one moves back...lol!).

MAC got a bit weaker losing Temple and adding UMass. Didn't take as big a hit as other conferences though.