The thread title says it all.

According to the ADs, coaches and league administrators - the positives outweigh the negatives. As a fan of these schools, if you are more than a stone's throw away from these campuses, do you have the ability to take a day off to tailgate, enjoy the games vs. if they were on a Saturday, you could really tailgate and enjoy the games?

ESPN exposure means something I guess, right?

==
#MACtion is going into overdrive. The league released its schedule on Wednesday, and there are zero Saturday games in November.

That’s right, zero.

The last Saturday featuring a MAC team will be Buffalo at Akron on Oct. 28, and that’s the only MAC game that day. See the full November schedule at the bottom of this post. Last year, from Halloween weekend to the end of the regular season, the league had four such games.

http://coachingsearch.com/article?a=Ther...er-in-2017

We're in a football attendance death spiral at NIU and this doesn't help in the least. However for me living out of state it's a godsend for watching the Huskies.

Who doesn't want to sit outside, in the cold and dark of a weekday night, to watch a football game?

Don't make any sense why attendance would plummet ...

(03-01-2017 05:42 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  We're in a football attendance death spiral at NIU and this doesn't help in the least. However for me living out of state it's a godsend for watching the Huskies.

what brings in more donations? alumni out of region having easier access or locals having easier access?

I Wish they would do the weekday MAC games during the entire season but in moderation as in 2-3 per week. I enjoy watching MAC when there is nothing else on and I suspect in places like sports bars and restaurants i gains a lot of viewers who wouldn't normally watch a MAC game.

I certainly understand how it kills attendance but attendance for most was bad anyway and gaining hundreds of thousands of TV viewers for a game becasue it's on Tuesday instead of Saturday outweighs the loss of a few thousand fans at the game.

(03-01-2017 06:18 PM)p23570 Wrote:  I Wish they would do the weekday MAC games during the entire season but in moderation as in 2-3 per week. I enjoy watching MAC when there is nothing else on and I suspect in places like sports bars and restaurants i gains a lot of viewers who wouldn't normally watch a MAC game.

I certainly understand how it kills attendance but attendance for most was bad anyway and gaining hundreds of thousands of TV viewers for a game becasue it's on Tuesday instead of Saturday outweighs the loss of a few thousand fans at the game.

Only in the short run. We had good attendance in the mid-2000s when we played games on Saturday regularly. There is no chance of that now. Also, the difference is going to be more than a few thousand, it would be several thousand at least. And hundreds of thousands of viewers doesn't help the program, it only helps ESPN. Crappy schedules had already caused a drop in attendance. That will be worse now.

So far, the so-called "exposure" the MAC gets has resulted in no gain in recruiting versus other conferences. Who wants to play in front of an empty stadium on a 25-degree (sans wind chill) Tuesday night in November? The only thing the MAC really gets is money. And that will probably be less at the end of this contract since E$PN isn't doing well.

I saw this coming a few years ago. The effect has been cumulative over the years.

(03-01-2017 06:18 PM)p23570 Wrote:  I certainly understand how it kills attendance but attendance for most was bad anyway and gaining hundreds of thousands of TV viewers for a game becasue it's on Tuesday instead of Saturday outweighs the loss of a few thousand fans at the game.

The hundreds of thousands of people that watch it on TV are predominately guys like you who have no invested interest in the schools and won't donate a dime to the school or purchase a ticket to a MAC sporting event ever in your life. People that attend live sporting events at colleges are statistically much more likely to donate than those that don't. The MAC is gaining some short-term TV dollars, but it's sacrificing it's long-term health.

I could see some MAC schools looking for new homes in the future if this keeps up.

(03-01-2017 08:31 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I could see some MAC schools looking for new homes in the future if this keeps up.

I'm sure they are now but there's no place to go.

(03-01-2017 08:04 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 06:18 PM)p23570 Wrote:  I certainly understand how it kills attendance but attendance for most was bad anyway and gaining hundreds of thousands of TV viewers for a game becasue it's on Tuesday instead of Saturday outweighs the loss of a few thousand fans at the game.

The hundreds of thousands of people that watch it on TV are predominately guys like you who have no invested interest in the schools and won't donate a dime to the school or purchase a ticket to a MAC sporting event ever in your life. People that attend live sporting events at colleges are statistically much more likely to donate than those that don't. The MAC is gaining some short-term TV dollars, but it's sacrificing it's long-term health.

Yep. This sucks for the MAC. I remember when ESPN bullied both CUSA and the MWC in the early 2000's with a proposal to put their football games on weekdays and both conferences told ESPN to shove it and found different network partners to play their football games on Saturdays. Imagine Louisville, Houston, Cincinnati Utah, BYU and TCU playing football games on ESPN on Tuesday and Wednesday nights? Me either. College Football is a Saturday sport. NFL Sunday. HS on Friday..
Cheers!

(03-01-2017 10:08 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 08:04 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 06:18 PM)p23570 Wrote:  I certainly understand how it kills attendance but attendance for most was bad anyway and gaining hundreds of thousands of TV viewers for a game becasue it's on Tuesday instead of Saturday outweighs the loss of a few thousand fans at the game.

The hundreds of thousands of people that watch it on TV are predominately guys like you who have no invested interest in the schools and won't donate a dime to the school or purchase a ticket to a MAC sporting event ever in your life. People that attend live sporting events at colleges are statistically much more likely to donate than those that don't. The MAC is gaining some short-term TV dollars, but it's sacrificing it's long-term health.

Yep. This sucks for the MAC. I remember when ESPN bullied both CUSA and the MWC in the early 2000's with a proposal to put their football games on weekdays and both conferences told ESPN to shove it and found different network partners to play their football games on Saturdays. Imagine Louisville, Houston, Cincinnati Utah, BYU and TCU playing football games on ESPN on Tuesday and Wednesday nights? Me either. College Football is a Saturday sport. NFL Sunday. HS on Friday..
Cheers!

There are some good games on Thursdays here lately but I agree. This is killing the MAC now that I look at the numbers.

At the same time what's good for the fans means almost no viewers when competing with dozens of other games and no reason to even be on anything more than a regional sports network or streaming.

I think the MAC needs to cut a deal with the B1G to put content on their network.

(03-01-2017 10:12 PM)p23570 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 10:08 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 08:04 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 06:18 PM)p23570 Wrote:  I certainly understand how it kills attendance but attendance for most was bad anyway and gaining hundreds of thousands of TV viewers for a game becasue it's on Tuesday instead of Saturday outweighs the loss of a few thousand fans at the game.

The hundreds of thousands of people that watch it on TV are predominately guys like you who have no invested interest in the schools and won't donate a dime to the school or purchase a ticket to a MAC sporting event ever in your life. People that attend live sporting events at colleges are statistically much more likely to donate than those that don't. The MAC is gaining some short-term TV dollars, but it's sacrificing it's long-term health.

Yep. This sucks for the MAC. I remember when ESPN bullied both CUSA and the MWC in the early 2000's with a proposal to put their football games on weekdays and both conferences told ESPN to shove it and found different network partners to play their football games on Saturdays. Imagine Louisville, Houston, Cincinnati Utah, BYU and TCU playing football games on ESPN on Tuesday and Wednesday nights? Me either. College Football is a Saturday sport. NFL Sunday. HS on Friday..
Cheers!

I think the MAC needs to cut a deal with the B1G to put content on their network.

(03-01-2017 08:34 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 08:31 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I could see some MAC schools looking for new homes in the future if this keeps up.

I'm sure they are now but there's no place to go.

For right now.

Edit: I just realized that I actually agreed with DavidSt on something. Yikes!!! The world must be coming to an end!!!

(03-02-2017 02:04 AM)DawgNBama Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 08:34 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 08:31 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I could see some MAC schools looking for new homes in the future if this keeps up.

I'm sure they are now but there's no place to go.

For right now.

Edit: I just realized that I actually agreed with DavidSt on something. Yikes!!! The world must be coming to an end!!!

I've said for a few years a "best of" league that can compete against AAC and MWC for the Access Bowl makes a lot of sense.

A best of can get you into some places that AAC and MWC aren't present.

Cincinnati is the only representation in the Midwest. Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York have no representation.

You've got niches in represented states that are un or under served, like Miami/Ft Lauderdale, San Antonio, Charlotte, and Nashville.

As long as you are guided by program results and commitment rather than simply geography it could do rather well.

One plus of independence for UMass is not having the weeknight games. We have a Saturday "home" game in November and it's at Fenway Park.

time time 4 sum time 4 sum MACtion!

(03-02-2017 08:51 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-02-2017 02:04 AM)DawgNBama Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 08:34 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 08:31 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I could see some MAC schools looking for new homes in the future if this keeps up.

I'm sure they are now but there's no place to go.

For right now.

Edit: I just realized that I actually agreed with DavidSt on something. Yikes!!! The world must be coming to an end!!!

I've said for a few years a "best of" league that can compete against AAC and MWC for the Access Bowl makes a lot of sense.

A best of can get you into some places that AAC and MWC aren't present.

Cincinnati is the only representation in the Midwest. Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York have no representation.

You've got niches in represented states that are un or under served, like Miami/Ft Lauderdale, San Antonio, Charlotte, and Nashville.

As long as you are guided by program results and commitment rather than simply geography it could do rather well.

Does this mean that C-USA doesn't compete with the AAC & the MWC? I guess that's a fair statement considering that USM, Marshall, and even UAB want to bolt C-USA.

(03-02-2017 12:34 AM)utpotts Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 10:12 PM)p23570 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 10:08 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 08:04 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 06:18 PM)p23570 Wrote:  I certainly understand how it kills attendance but attendance for most was bad anyway and gaining hundreds of thousands of TV viewers for a game becasue it's on Tuesday instead of Saturday outweighs the loss of a few thousand fans at the game.

The hundreds of thousands of people that watch it on TV are predominately guys like you who have no invested interest in the schools and won't donate a dime to the school or purchase a ticket to a MAC sporting event ever in your life. People that attend live sporting events at colleges are statistically much more likely to donate than those that don't. The MAC is gaining some short-term TV dollars, but it's sacrificing it's long-term health.

Yep. This sucks for the MAC. I remember when ESPN bullied both CUSA and the MWC in the early 2000's with a proposal to put their football games on weekdays and both conferences told ESPN to shove it and found different network partners to play their football games on Saturdays. Imagine Louisville, Houston, Cincinnati Utah, BYU and TCU playing football games on ESPN on Tuesday and Wednesday nights? Me either. College Football is a Saturday sport. NFL Sunday. HS on Friday..
Cheers!

I think the MAC needs to cut a deal with the B1G to put content on their network.

Nothing wrong with being on B1GN.

The reality is the MAC does not do well competing against other ESPN games on Saturdays so looking at other options might be worth it. Playing an early game on BTN might have more viewers than being on ESPN3 for example.

(03-02-2017 09:05 AM)EmeryZach Wrote:  One plus of independence for UMass is not having the weeknight games. We have a Saturday "home" game in November and it's at Fenway Park.

the downside is nobody wants the UMAss games on TV becasue they are on regional channels at best going head to head with much better games on ESPN, Fox, CBS, etc...

Really only 2 games that had any viewers and both were on SECN.
Schedule[edit]
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
September 3 7:30 p.m. at No. 25 Florida Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL SECN L 7–24 88,121
September 10 12:00 p.m. Boston College Gillette Stadium • Foxboro, MA (Rivalry) ASN/ESPN3 L 7–26 25,112
September 17 3:30 p.m. FIU Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, MA ASN/ESPN3 W 21–13 12,202
September 24 3:30 p.m. Mississippi State Gillette Stadium • Foxboro, MA ASN/ESPN3 L 35–47 13,074
October 1 3:30 p.m. Tulane Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, MA ASN/ESPN3 L 24–31 14,892
October 7[a] 8:00 p.m. at Old Dominion Foreman Field • Norfolk, VA CUSA.tv L 16–36 20,118
October 15 3:30 p.m. Louisiana Tech Gillette Stadium • Foxboro, MA ASN/ESPN3 L 28–56 13,311
October 22 12:00 p.m. at South Carolina Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC SECN L 28–34 73,428
October 29 12:00 p.m. Wagnerdagger Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, MA ASN/ESPN3 W 34–10 8,468
November 5 3:30 p.m. at Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL ESPN3 L 31–52 21,763
November 19 2:00 p.m. at BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT BYUtv/ESPN3 L 9–51 51,190
November 26 11:00 p.m. at Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI Oceanic PPV L 40–46 22,739

So when Emery Zack is faced with the reality of UMAss being on TV he won't discuss, just right to the buthurt o meter to whine. LOL. It speaks volumes about you guys who use that feature so much.

So I guess you know I made a good point that UMass might have Saturday games but becasue they are head to head with so much better content being the crap game on SECN is a good game for UMAss and most are on ESPN3 which means nobody is watching.

Hard to compete in FBS when the content is worthless and provides no income from TV or tickets sales, concessions, etc...

That's when you know it probably doesn't make any sense. It's not like its leading to great exposure for the university.