(03-28-2013 10:17 AM)miko33 Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 09:48 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 08:07 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  Most MAC fans in Ohio still follow Ohio State. I've got lots of family in Ohio MAC country that follow the Buckeyes, and my father, who covered WVU for decades, went to Ohio U. They may be MAC fans. But they still follow the big dog in their state. I don't know about NIU, but as far as the MAC goes, they're not the norm...

Well you aren't talking about MAC fans really. You're talking about OSU fans that went to a MAC school.

Ehhhh to be honest most people who go to private or more regional schools will have bigger CFB name teams as "their team" along with the school the graduated from. I bet there are a lot of OSU fans at John Carroll U and Case Western Reserve too. Pitt has fans who are CMU grads and I'm sure an awful lot of Gonzaga grads like the bigger CA schools for CFB too.

I don't know anyone who went to a non-division I school who follows major college football, so maybe it's the area one lives in. I live in a big NFL market so those without a big college rooting interest follow the Bears instead (or Packers...blah). I do think that some of the fans that follow a MAC school AND a larger school, would not follow the larger school if their MAC school got officially separated from the top level of football.

(03-28-2013 04:42 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  I don't know anyone who went to a non-division I school who follows major college football, so maybe it's the area one lives in. I live in a big NFL market so those without a big college rooting interest follow the Bears instead (or Packers...blah.

Yeah, given the football prowess of the Browns, the odds have been definitely tilted toward happy Saturdays following the Buckeyes versus happy Sundays following the Browns in Northeast Ohio for over a decade. I don't know what the longer term fan culture has been like, since I've lived up here in the lake effect belt for less than a decade.

(03-28-2013 04:42 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 10:17 AM)miko33 Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 09:48 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 08:07 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  Most MAC fans in Ohio still follow Ohio State. I've got lots of family in Ohio MAC country that follow the Buckeyes, and my father, who covered WVU for decades, went to Ohio U. They may be MAC fans. But they still follow the big dog in their state. I don't know about NIU, but as far as the MAC goes, they're not the norm...

Well you aren't talking about MAC fans really. You're talking about OSU fans that went to a MAC school.

Ehhhh to be honest most people who go to private or more regional schools will have bigger CFB name teams as "their team" along with the school the graduated from. I bet there are a lot of OSU fans at John Carroll U and Case Western Reserve too. Pitt has fans who are CMU grads and I'm sure an awful lot of Gonzaga grads like the bigger CA schools for CFB too.

I don't know anyone who went to a non-division I school who follows major college football, so maybe it's the area one lives in. I live in a big NFL market so those without a big college rooting interest follow the Bears instead (or Packers...blah). I do think that some of the fans that follow a MAC school AND a larger school, would not follow the larger school if their MAC school got officially separated from the top level of football.

Then I think your circle of friends is smaller than you think. You need to get out of Chicago more often...

(03-25-2013 08:45 PM)Tulsafanzz Wrote:  

(03-25-2013 01:17 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  Ratings for the NCAA tournament are up 5% over last year and are the best ratings in 23 years. People may be tuning out football more as ratings are down for that sport, but the NCAA tourney ratings this year are solid.

Ratings are up in the NCAA tournament as much for Florida Gulf Coast, etc. as the top dogs. That is the beauty of the NCAA basketball tournament. The Davids can get in there & beat Goliath every now & then.

That is why I agree that NCAA football needs to stop with the "Super 64" garbage, if it is even is a real plan. That will turn NCAA football in to NFL's "D-league" or MLB's "AAA Minor league". Either way, it will be a fail.

Besides, I don't think the Delaney's of the world can get around losing tax-exempt status if they turn it in to a closed club. That alone may keep him & his cronies from completely ruining college football.

Keep college football with a system where the Boise States of the nation can rise up & compete for a national championship & you will keep college football alive & growing.

Amen. That will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. No one will care about college FB if they get down to 64 ... or 48 ... or 32.

(03-25-2013 02:14 PM)mj4life Wrote:  i think we're headed toward a reorganization of the NCAA. what is now FCS will eventually become div. II level football. the Gang of 5 conference schools end up with their own 8 team playoff similar to the current FCS playoff & bowl eligible teams from those conferences fill out the lower tier bowls like they currently do.

That can't happen soon enough for my tastes. Otherwise, Appalachian State's move to the current FBS-lite is a complete head-scratcher.

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Beyond that, I have no problem with all of the realignment, as it's not the first time it's happened -- it's just that alot of us "purists" are finding ourselves out of the "target demographic" for the networks.

I can see a day when each network has an anchor conference, and especially if NBC can get ahold of the ACC by way of Notre Dame -- this is where I see the upper crust headed.