(04-08-2017 02:13 PM)uakronkid Wrote:  Strange how West Virginia holds the fate of an entire MAC sport in their hands.

I think that if MAC soccer collapses, you'll see a few of the schools just drop the sport instead of moving to a conference that requires much more travel.

Probably right. But if the Horizon, which is losing Belmont Soccer in 2018-19, and likely another school to the MVC would seem a likely home for potentially two of the MAC schools. That should not be a travel problem.

The MWC might be forced to start Men's soccer as the WAC is getting a 7th and possibly 8th in-house team, and maintaining 12 or 13 from having 5 affiliates seems not to be a something they will want. That would pull New Mexico out of CUSA. I would expect Akron to join that conference with West Virginia. The MVC might take a refugee as well. So I don't think any MAC schools would be stranded

(04-08-2017 02:13 PM)uakronkid Wrote:  Strange how West Virginia holds the fate of an entire MAC sport in their hands.

West Virginia would be a good MAC fit all sports.

With their geography, within 2 hours of Ohio, Kent St and Akron.

They poured all of their resources into football though which is the difference.

(04-08-2017 03:07 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  

(04-08-2017 02:13 PM)uakronkid Wrote:  Strange how West Virginia holds the fate of an entire MAC sport in their hands.

I think that if MAC soccer collapses, you'll see a few of the schools just drop the sport instead of moving to a conference that requires much more travel.

Probably right. But if the Horizon, which is losing Belmont Soccer in 2018-19, and likely another school to the MVC would seem a likely home for potentially two of the MAC schools. That should not be a travel problem.

And the loss of Belmont makes it less so.

I'm not sure if travel partner's are as important in soccer as they are in basketball, but at least for the Horizon, picking up Akron would make up for Youngstown State's lack of having a soccer team as a travel partner for Cleveland State, and Northern Illinois could be a travel partner for UIC now that Valparaiso is gone. Bowling Green and Western Michigan aren't that much further apart than Milwaukee and Green Bay are. West Virginia and Northern Kentucky are pretty far apart, but could be travel partners if Wright State drops athletics in 2019 like many people expect to happen.

NoDak called it.

(04-06-2017 09:05 AM)NoDak Wrote:  SIU-E has won the DI soccer before and plays in the MVC, which has seven teams and Wichita St is not one of them. Cent Ark is also an affiliate there. SIU-E would be a strong pickup for the MAC.

(04-07-2017 12:48 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-06-2017 03:19 PM)orangefan Wrote:  I think you're right. Their only men's team sports are basketball, soccer and baseball. They currently have six members and one affiliate playing soccer and six members playing baseball.

The MAC only needs one, if WVU is happy enough with the new affiliate to stay around ... which is why I brought up Eastern Illinois.

Southern Illinois Edwardsville is basically the same situation, a 7th school as an affiliate, and the sponsoring conferences needs it as one of their three men's team sports.

SIU-Edwardsville could well be a good add, if available ... few soccer programs would mind having regular trips to the St. Louis area.