I still believe NIU has positioned itself greatly to move to another conference, so I'm not taking that away....

but the biggest game of the year hosting Toledo and they get 8,000. Thats NOT P-5 attendance. If Toledo and NIU move to AAC together, does that game increase attendance or stay the same- AAC also has some weeknight games too FYI.

(12-17-2014 11:53 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  If attendance was a big deal for the AAC i doubt they would have added Tulane, Temple, etc.

I think they want markets and success (not that Temple and Tulane had much of it) and NIU provides both.

When i went to NIU we always averaged over 20k and had quite a few sellouts. Hopefully the trend goes back towards that end with stadium/facility upgrades. I do think Huskie fans are acting like spoiled brats now. I think because they expect us to be good and they can just sit in their comfy recliners at home and watch the game on TV they no longer feel obligated to go.

(12-17-2014 12:11 PM)rocketinchitown Wrote:  I still believe NIU has positioned itself greatly to move to another conference, so I'm not taking that away....

but the biggest game of the year hosting Toledo and they get 8,000. Thats NOT P-5 attendance. If Toledo and NIU move to AAC together, does that game increase attendance or stay the same- AAC also has some weeknight games too FYI.

(12-17-2014 11:53 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  

Didn't the NIU Toledo in 2001 draw 36K? I would imagine moving the game back to a Saturday and maybe earlier in the season would significantly increase attendence. Playing it late September or early October on ESPNews or ESPNU would sure beat Tuesday night in November.

Yeah but this was the 4th game of the year, Toledo was ranked #25, also when Toledo was in the prime of its stretch run years with capacity crowds for several straight years

(12-17-2014 01:00 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  

(12-17-2014 12:11 PM)rocketinchitown Wrote:  I still believe NIU has positioned itself greatly to move to another conference, so I'm not taking that away....

but the biggest game of the year hosting Toledo and they get 8,000. Thats NOT P-5 attendance. If Toledo and NIU move to AAC together, does that game increase attendance or stay the same- AAC also has some weeknight games too FYI.

(12-17-2014 11:53 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  

Didn't the NIU Toledo in 2001 draw 36K? I would imagine moving the game back to a Saturday and maybe earlier in the season would significantly increase attendence. Playing it late September or early October on ESPNews or ESPNU would sure beat Tuesday night in November.

the 2002 game at NIU had to be a large attendance. It was the only MAC loss for NIU that year and they finished 8-4.


Also thinking if NIU and Toledo went together, they'd become instant rivals so the fans would show up to that game more than say UCF or USF.

(12-17-2014 01:00 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  

(12-17-2014 12:11 PM)rocketinchitown Wrote:  I still believe NIU has positioned itself greatly to move to another conference, so I'm not taking that away....

but the biggest game of the year hosting Toledo and they get 8,000. Thats NOT P-5 attendance. If Toledo and NIU move to AAC together, does that game increase attendance or stay the same- AAC also has some weeknight games too FYI.

(12-17-2014 11:53 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  

Didn't the NIU Toledo in 2001 draw 36K? I would imagine moving the game back to a Saturday and maybe earlier in the season would significantly increase attendence. Playing it late September or early October on ESPNews or ESPNU would sure beat Tuesday night in November.

(12-17-2014 11:53 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  If attendance was a big deal for the AAC i doubt they would have added Tulane, Temple, etc.

I think they want markets and success (not that Temple and Tulane had much of it) and NIU provides both.

When i went to NIU we always averaged over 20k and had quite a few sellouts. Hopefully the trend goes back towards that end with stadium/facility upgrades. I do think Huskie fans are acting like spoiled brats now. I think because they expect us to be good and they can just sit in their comfy recliners at home and watch the game on TV they no longer feel obligated to go.

does NIU really bring the chicago market? chicagoens aren't going to drive to dekalb to watch them play. the papers are mostly notre dame and illinois, with nw, niu and other big ten splitting up the other ink.

I think we deliver Chicago to an extent. The Orange Bowl had its highest tv viewership ever in the Chicago market when NIU played in the game. As evidenced by ESPN viewership ratings, NIU has the highest viewership when it comes to G5/MAC games on ESPN.

We get a decent amount of articles in the Chicago newspapers.

We used to get football coverage on CSN Chicago but that has gone by the wayside the last 4 years. We need to get back onto that network, if possible (not sure if the new ESPN contract affects that at all).

Yes, Notre Dame gets more coverage than us for Chicago. Probably Illinois by a little bit too, but no one cares about Illinois football only their basketball.

(12-17-2014 12:11 PM)rocketinchitown Wrote:  ... but the biggest game of the year hosting Toledo and they get 8,000. Thats NOT P-5 attendance. If Toledo and NIU move to AAC together, does that game increase attendance or stay the same- AAC also has some weeknight games too FYI.

I don't believe that the AAC plays November weeknight games. Indeed, AFAIU it is the the reluctance of other conferences to play November early weeknight games that opened the spot for the MAC to get the #MACtion games on ESPN.

Indeed, not having to turn people away for the Akron and CMU games, which AFAIU sold out days in advance, would likely have meant even that Toledo weeknight game in November likely would have had a higher attendance, because the people who have already gone to a game in the season are your most likely people to come out to another. Being able to seat all the people who wanted to come to the Akron and CMU games might only have only been another 2,000 to 3,000 for that game, but every little bit would have helped.

If they do raise the money to expand to 40,000, I'd think that would be plenty for the American to not be ruling them out, though this is all, of course, based on an entirely speculative scenario. Even if the American is raided by the Big12, there is a substantial strategic question for the American whether they would better off replacing UC by expanding their Western division and shifting Navy over to the Eastern division. As well, NIU's fairly lowly standing in BBall would hurt them in a bid to get into the AAC, so the size of their FB stadium might not be relevant issue.

Most of the teams in the AAC are in different basketball conferences though right? A-10 and Big East? Why would a MAC team have to go for all sports. If the MAC dumped a school because they left for football, the Mizzou valley or Horizon would pick em up in a heartbeat I assume.

(12-18-2014 08:28 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  Most of the teams in the AAC are in different basketball conferences though right? A-10 and Big East? Why would a MAC team have to go for all sports. If the MAC dumped a school because they left for football, the Mizzou valley or Horizon would pick em up in a heartbeat I assume.

Ummm....no.

(12-18-2014 08:31 AM)wleakr Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 08:28 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  Most of the teams in the AAC are in different basketball conferences though right? A-10 and Big East? Why would a MAC team have to go for all sports. If the MAC dumped a school because they left for football, the Mizzou valley or Horizon would pick em up in a heartbeat I assume.

Ummm....no.

The lineup for the AAC is exactly the same for football and basketball. There are no football-only or basketball-only members.

Memphis
UCF
Cincinnati
East Carolina
Houston
Temple
South Florida
Tulane
Tulsa
SMU
Connecticut

(12-18-2014 07:44 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  As well, NIU's fairly lowly standing in BBall would hurt them in a bid to get into the AAC, so the size of their FB stadium might not be relevant issue.

The good news is that you need fewer resources to turn around a basketball team than you do a football program. One new coach, a few recruits here and there and BAM! success.

The bad new is that NIU has been hoping for the above for 20 years now.

(12-18-2014 08:28 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  Most of the teams in the AAC are in different basketball conferences though right? A-10 and Big East? Why would a MAC team have to go for all sports. If the MAC dumped a school because they left for football, the Mizzou valley or Horizon would pick em up in a heartbeat I assume.

Only Navy(Patriot League)

Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App

UCF will grow to 66,000 students in 3 years and then it will be capped. It could grow to 70,000 in the future once the new downtown campus is up and running.

Second to ASU which I think has 80,000.

I think UCF would be a clear cut choice for the Big 12 but I'm not convinced they'll expand. They have "Big East Syndrome" and I predict they'll twiddle their thumbs, do nothing, and both Texas/Oklahoma will bolt to other conferences in 4-5 years' time.

(12-18-2014 08:49 AM)axeme Wrote:  The lineup for the AAC is exactly the same for football and basketball. There are no football-only or basketball-only members.

Though, as noted, when Navy joins, it will be FB-only.

There are members of the Big East that play FCS football, but because its FCS football, that wouldn't be in an FBS conference.

NIU to big 12 is absurd........Oklahoma's football budget is larger than any MAC schools entire athletic budget. Factor in sub standard facilities would kill the NIU dream of moving on up....Not trying to be mean...No MAC school has the required infrastructure required by any big time conference....The ACC is also a pipe dream based on aforementioned reasons....

Merry Christmas

(12-19-2014 10:24 AM)broncojohnny Wrote:  NIU to big 12 is absurd........Oklahoma's football budget is larger than any MAC schools entire athletic budget. Factor in sub standard facilities would kill the NIU dream of moving on up....Not trying to be mean...No MAC school has the required infrastructure required by any big time conference....The ACC is also a pipe dream based on aforementioned reasons....

Merry Christmas

Well, they were talking about AAC, not ACC, which is not that big of a stretch. Big 12 is a pipe dream, I agree.

Some combination of MAC schools(NIU, Toledo, WMU, or Ohio) leaving within the next 5 years would not surprise me a bit.
Big 12, I highly doubt it, but some of the better AAC, MWC, MAC, Sunbelt, and CUSA schools banding together to form two (14 or 16 team conferences regionally- maybe east & west) might keep such schools safe from being relegated to FCS status...

(12-18-2014 10:30 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 07:44 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  As well, NIU's fairly lowly standing in BBall would hurt them in a bid to get into the AAC, so the size of their FB stadium might not be relevant issue.

The good news is that you need fewer resources to turn around a basketball team than you do a football program. One new coach, a few recruits here and there and BAM! success.

The bad new is that NIU has been hoping for the above for 20 years now.

The other bad news is that lots of schools know that and so are fishing for the same program-building coach and "few recruits here and there". Improving the facilities is a good start ... making it easier to land those "few recruits here and there" makes it more likely that a school can land that program building coach.

Of course, since its the MAC, once that program-building coach experiences success, you reckon they'll be gone in a year or two, and then you need to land a coach who can build on the previous success ... but that is a less daunting task, and better facilities makes that easier as well.

(12-19-2014 11:42 AM)FMRocket Wrote:  Some combination of MAC schools(NIU, Toledo, WMU, or Ohio) leaving within the next 5 years would not surprise me a bit.

Big 12, I highly doubt it, but some of the better AAC, MWC, MAC, Sunbelt, and CUSA schools banding together to form two (14 or 16 team conferences regionally- maybe east & west) might keep such schools safe from being relegated to FCS status...

On the one hand, the system is not built to make it easy to form a new FBS conference, and on the other hand, the underlying premise of the scenario is that there is a pressure to push existing FBS schools down to FCS status, when the constant expansion of bowl games suggests there is no such pressure.

(12-11-2014 09:24 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(12-10-2014 06:15 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(12-09-2014 02:02 PM)CommonSense Wrote:  Albany and Stony Brook

1) Close geography/low travel costs
2) Large research universities
3) Large markets 56th largest for UA, slightly behind UB @ 52)
4) Built in rivalries
5) Centers in the largest state university in the US
6) Growing universities athletically/academically
7) No pro sports/FBS teams within 2 hour drive

8) No clear evidence that they are interested in moving up at this point in time.

Albany just built a football stadium that is expandable for FBS.
http://www.ualbanysports.com/ViewArticle...=209273988

Stony Brook's new AD has FBS in mind, just like the last one. The President in on0board. They just have a get an expanded stadium.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/st...-1.7983680

Albany MBB just punched their NCAA ticket. 3 years in a row. 5th trip since 2001.

WBB is their 4th straight trip. Both teams are going... Again.

Albany is also flirting with a top 10 LAX ranking. Albany took the equivalent to the Heisman in LAX last year. While MAC doesn't play LAX they should consider it as the Big 10 has started. It's amazingly popular and growing.

Football stepped up to the CAA and a winning record last year.

No campus in the largest state university system has had more success athletically than Albany.

Albany and Stony Brook are a perfect expansion plan for the MAC.

(03-14-2015 11:03 PM)CommonSense Wrote:  Albany MBB just punched their NCAA ticket. 3 years in a row. 5th trip since 2001.

WBB is their 4th straight trip. Both teams are going... Again.

Though success at BBall and exposure in March Madness can leave some schools happy with not taking on the big financial commitment of FBS football ...

Quote: Albany is also flirting with a top 10 LAX ranking. Albany took the equivalent to the Heisman in LAX last year. While MAC doesn't play LAX they should consider it as the Big 10 has started. It's amazingly popular and growing.

It seems unlikely that the MAC as a whole would consider LAX, though if it continues to grow (from an admittedly small base) in Ohio and Michigan, we might see some MAC schools add it in the coming decade.

Quote: Football stepped up to the CAA and a winning record last year.

No campus in the largest state university system has had more success athletically than Albany.

It still starts with FBS football ... even schools with years of FCS success under their belt sometimes struggle in the transition ... one year of success may not yet be the base to build from. If Albany were to get a couple of FCS championship tournament appearances under its belt in the balance of this decade, it could well be looking at building momentum toward an FBS upgrade, and the MAC would be the most natural place for it to look for a conference home.