My pick would be Clemson and Florida State.

Clemson gives the MAC a legit playoff program and membership in the P5.

Florida St adds to the MAC with NCs and recruiting.

No doubt they would help the MAC.

(10-29-2019 07:39 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  My pick would be Clemson and Florida State.

Clemson gives the MAC a legit playoff program and membership in the P5.

Florida St adds to the MAC with NCs and recruiting.

No doubt they would help the MAC.

Nah too far out of our footprint. How about Ohio State and Michigan, it helps shore up the Columbus and Ypsilanti markets. The former might take up synchronized skating some time soon to compliment Miami's NC-winning squad.

(10-29-2019 08:27 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(10-29-2019 07:39 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  My pick would be Clemson and Florida State.

Clemson gives the MAC a legit playoff program and membership in the P5.

Florida St adds to the MAC with NCs and recruiting.

No doubt they would help the MAC.

Nah too far out of our footprint. How about Ohio State and Michigan, it helps shore up the Columbus and Ypsilanti markets. The former might take up synchronized skating some time soon to compliment Miami's NC-winning squad.

Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.

MAC becomes a 3rd conference for the NFL to go with the AFC and NFC.

(10-29-2019 08:27 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(10-29-2019 07:39 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  My pick would be Clemson and Florida State.

Clemson gives the MAC a legit playoff program and membership in the P5.

Florida St adds to the MAC with NCs and recruiting.

No doubt they would help the MAC.

Nah too far out of our footprint. How about Ohio State and Michigan, it helps shore up the Columbus and Ypsilanti markets. The former might take up synchronized skating some time soon to compliment Miami's NC-winning squad.

Nah, too many Ohio and Michigan schools in the MAC already. I'd say add Pitt and West Virginia. It expands the footprint without being TOO far away. Swings Bowling Green into the Western Division, too, so there is no more need for locked crossovers between divisions.

They are also natural rivals, so that keeps things set up for the Third Saturday in October MAC Rivalry Weekend ...

East: Kent/Akron, Miami/Ohio, WVU/Pitt
West: Toledo/Bowling Green, Two Michigans (in 3yr rotation, 6yr H/A cycle)
Rotating Schedule: Buffalo, Third Michigan, NIU, Ball State

Army, Army, Army, and Army!!!

Would be the highlight road trips for every school in the MAC. Nothing else compares to the game-day experience at West Point. No better place to visit, especially in the fall, than West Point. Not to mention that Army has a very popular and far reaching brand name, fantastic football history, passionate fan base, and its academics are at least equal to any Ivy League school. Can't beat Army as a conference addition. Unfortunately, I don't think Army has any intention of going to a conference again.

Im not a backer of their school but Liberty might be a decent 2nd choice if JMU is unwilling.
They are well funded and already in FBS but not in a conference.

NDSU

(11-02-2019 07:22 PM)voss749 Wrote:  Im not a backer of their school but Liberty might be a decent 2nd choice if JMU is unwilling.
They are well funded and already in FBS but not in a conference.

Yeah........ an online diploma factory/ hard core Christian university doesn’t fit in the MAC.

Liberty is already scheduled solid for several years. I imagine it would cost a fortune to buy your way out of all of those games just to schedule conference games that have zero draw to them as they aren’t exactly close and rivalries won’t be there.

FUTURE LIBERTY OPPONENTS
2019
08/31 - Syracuse
09/07 - at Louisiana
09/14 - Buffalo
09/21 - Hampton
09/28 - New Mexico
10/05 - at New Mexico State
10/19 - Maine
10/26 - at Rutgers
11/02 - at UMass
11/09 - at BYU
11/23 - at Virginia
11/30 - New Mexico State

2020
09/05 - at Virginia Tech
09/12 - North Carolina A&T
09/19 - at WKU
09/26 - FIU
10/03 - at Bowling Green
10/10 - ULM
10/17 - at Syracuse
10/24 - Southern Miss
10/31 - at UConn
11/14 - Western Carolina
11/21 - at NC State
11/28 - UMass

2021
09/04 - Campbell
09/11 - at Troy
09/18 - Old Dominion
09/25 - at Syracuse
10/02 - at UAB
10/09 - Middle Tennessee
10/16 - at ULM
10/23 - at North Texas
10/30 - UMass
11/13 - at Ole Miss
11/20 - Louisiana
11/27 - Army

2022
09/03 - at Southern Miss
09/10 - UAB
09/17 - at Wake Forest
09/24 - Akron
10/01 - at Old Dominion
10/08 - at FIU
10/15 - Gardner-Webb
10/22 - BYU
10/29 - at UMass
11/05 - at Arkansas
11/19 - Virginia Tech
11/26 - New Mexico State

2023
09/02 - Bowling Green
09/09 - at Coastal Carolina
09/16 - at Buffalo
09/23 - Eastern Michigan
09/30 - at Miami (Ohio)
10/07 - Old Dominion
10/14 - at Virginia
11/04 - at South Carolina
11/11 - UConn
11/18 - UMass
11/25 - at New Mexico State

2024
08/31 - Coastal Carolina
09/14 - at Eastern Michigan
09/21 - at Ball State
10/05 - Marshall
10/19 - at North Carolina
11/16 - at UMass

2025
08/30 - Wake Forest
09/06 - WKU
09/13 - Ball State
09/20 - at Army
09/27 - Miami (Ohio)
10/04 - at Georgia Southern
11/01 - UMass
11/22 - at Duke

2026
09/05 - at Wake Forest
09/26 - Duke
10/03 - at Middle Tennessee
10/10 - Georgia Southern
11/07 - at UMass
11/28 - Army
TBA - at Marshall

2027
09/04 - at Duke
09/11 - Virginia
11/06 - UMass
11/20 - at Virginia Tech

2028
09/02 - at Virginia Tech
09/16 - North Carolina

2029
09/01 - at Virginia Tech
09/15 - Virginia

2030
09/07 - Virginia Tech
09/14 - at Virginia

2031
09/06 - at North Carolina

It would be a very bad idea to add a private school to a conference of public state universities. There is a very different level of resources available to each that might lead to some inequities for the existing MAC members. And then there’s the vastly different missions of state universities vs religious schools that might occasionally conflict.

(11-03-2019 01:50 PM)axeme Wrote:  It would be a very bad idea to add a private school to a conference of public state universities. There is a very different level of resources available to each that might lead to some inequities for the existing MAC members. And then there’s the vastly different missions of state universities vs religious schools that might occasionally conflict.

Yeah I'd agree with that. It's one thing if there's decades of tradition and geographic relevance holding things together, like Northwestern and Vanderbilt. If Butler or Case Western stayed in the MAC long-term instead of sticking around for a year or two soon after the conference was founded you could maybe see things being fine, but not throwing in an ironically named Christian school into the MAC in 2019.

(11-03-2019 02:27 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(11-03-2019 01:50 PM)axeme Wrote:  It would be a very bad idea to add a private school to a conference of public state universities. There is a very different level of resources available to each that might lead to some inequities for the existing MAC members. And then there’s the vastly different missions of state universities vs religious schools that might occasionally conflict.

Yeah I'd agree with that. It's one thing if there's decades of tradition and geographic relevance holding things together, like Northwestern and Vanderbilt. If Butler or Case Western stayed in the MAC long-term instead of sticking around for a year or two soon after the conference was founded you could maybe see things being fine, but not throwing in an ironically named Christian school into the MAC in 2019.

There goes Notre Dame.

Might be a few differences in many areas between Liberty and ND. And neither one fitting in the MAC, although for vastly different reasons.

(11-02-2019 11:20 PM)utpotts Wrote:  

(11-02-2019 07:22 PM)voss749 Wrote:  Im not a backer of their school but Liberty might be a decent 2nd choice if JMU is unwilling.
They are well funded and already in FBS but not in a conference.

Yeah........ an online diploma factory/ hard core Christian university doesn’t fit in the MAC.

I'm not sure that is entirely fair ... while their hard core on-campus Christian University may be mostly a front for their online diploma mill operation, to some respects that seems to also be a front for property speculation.

But on the main topic, yeah no, while it's not as far away as some schools, it's too far away to go for such a poor institutional fit.

(11-03-2019 07:57 PM)GFlash68 Wrote:  

(11-03-2019 02:27 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(11-03-2019 01:50 PM)axeme Wrote:  It would be a very bad idea to add a private school to a conference of public state universities. There is a very different level of resources available to each that might lead to some inequities for the existing MAC members. And then there’s the vastly different missions of state universities vs religious schools that might occasionally conflict.

Yeah I'd agree with that. It's one thing if there's decades of tradition and geographic relevance holding things together, like Northwestern and Vanderbilt. If Butler or Case Western stayed in the MAC long-term instead of sticking around for a year or two soon after the conference was founded you could maybe see things being fine, but not throwing in an ironically named Christian school into the MAC in 2019.

There goes Notre Dame.

BYU too!

(11-03-2019 02:27 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(11-03-2019 01:50 PM)axeme Wrote:  It would be a very bad idea to add a private school to a conference of public state universities. There is a very different level of resources available to each that might lead to some inequities for the existing MAC members. And then there’s the vastly different missions of state universities vs religious schools that might occasionally conflict.

Yeah I'd agree with that. It's one thing if there's decades of tradition and geographic relevance holding things together, like Northwestern and Vanderbilt. If Butler or Case Western stayed in the MAC long-term instead of sticking around for a year or two soon after the conference was founded you could maybe see things being fine, but not throwing in an ironically named Christian school into the MAC in 2019.

Western Kentucky...strong BBall/ solid other sports/contiguous state-geography to existing markets and.... Willie Taggart now available to come back to coach football team.