(08-13-2021 06:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  The MAC. They played footsies with UCF, Marshall and UMass; but the core of Ohio, Miami, the directional Michigan's, Toledo, BGSU and Kent State has been together for over 50+ years. Even the newcomers like Akron and Buffalo have been around for 23-29 years.

And survived the 70s/80s when they were almost demoted to DI-AA but managed to survive on a thread. Then stuck around with the 30K capacity loophole until the NCAA stopped caring about enforcing attendance.

Unquestionably the WAC.

In the 1980s they were in the CFA along with today’s football power conferences. Jump forward to 2013 and WAC football was dead and the committed membership was down to New Mexico State and a handful of “misfit toy” non-football schools desperately recruited from across three time zones. Most conference realignment watchers assumed it was just a matter of time until the WAC folded.

Now here we are in 2021 and the WAC is up to 13 members — in part thanks to successfully poaching schools from two other D1 conferences — and will be sponsoring FCS football with the defending FCS national champion as an incoming member.

Amazing.