I think Buffalo is a little lower down the AAC pecking order than UAB, Charlotte, Texas schools but if Buffalo is invited, what does the MAC do?

Do they stay at 11?

Do they add a football-only affiliate? UMass perhaps?

Do they add one all-sports member?

James Madison?

Western Kentucky?

NDSU?

UMass?

They wouldn't go with any football-only schools after going through the Temple/UMass episodes for awhile, and I don't think 11 is in the cards. Probably would invite JMU for all sports (they were pretty obviously going to be the 14th team if UMass accepted the full invitation), nothing since then has indicated that they wouldn't be a great add.

(10-17-2021 10:37 AM)shizzle787 Wrote:  I think Buffalo is a little lower down the AAC pecking order than UAB, Charlotte, Texas schools but if Buffalo is invited, what does the MAC do?

Do they stay at 11?

Do they add a football-only affiliate? UMass perhaps?

Do they add one all-sports member?

James Madison?

Western Kentucky?

NDSU?

UMass?

Well, at the time Buffalo was added, you had to have 12 football-playing schools to have split division championships. Now, this is no longer required.

The MAC could actually scale back but if the loss of the Buffalo market and SUNY flagship is too much they could possibly add a new member. James Madison would likely be their first choice of reasonably attainable members.

Ask Marshall or ask JMU.

If neither takes the offer, stay at 11. NDSU FB-only is fine, but stay at 11 full members.

JMU would have another option

Unsure that the JMU admin view the MAC as a good choice if there are other options (C-USA/Sun Belt). JMU is an east coast school where the majority of the student population is from the mid Atlantic and north east. Although the schools in the MAC are academically better than the south eastern schools of the belt and cusa.

The question for JMU will be if they are fine with being in a Midwestern based conference

(10-17-2021 10:51 AM)All4One Wrote:  

(10-17-2021 10:37 AM)shizzle787 Wrote:  I think Buffalo is a little lower down the AAC pecking order than UAB, Charlotte, Texas schools but if Buffalo is invited, what does the MAC do?

Do they stay at 11?

Do they add a football-only affiliate? UMass perhaps?

Do they add one all-sports member?

James Madison?

Western Kentucky?

NDSU?

UMass?

Well, at the time Buffalo was added, you had to have 12 football-playing schools to have split division championships. Now, this is no longer required.

The MAC could actually scale back but if the loss of the Buffalo market and SUNY flagship is too much they could possibly add a new member. James Madison would likely be their first choice of reasonably attainable members.

Yes, JMU and Marshall are the only prospective full members who’d add value. If neither is attainable, scale back to 11 full members and pocket more money.

If 12 is needed for FB, give NDSU a FB-only invite and put the 6 Ohio teams in their own division.

If I were in charge of the MAC and Buffalo left, I would definitely give WKU a call.

(10-17-2021 10:37 AM)shizzle787 Wrote:  I think Buffalo is a little lower down the AAC pecking order than UAB, Charlotte, Texas schools but if Buffalo is invited, what does the MAC do?

Do they stay at 11?

Do they add a football-only affiliate? UMass perhaps?

Do they add one all-sports member?

James Madison?

Western Kentucky?

NDSU?

UMass?

Go after WKU or one of the other northern CUSA schools. Then UMass. Then Liberty.

WKU won't leave CUSA unless the league completely dissolves, and the alternative is being a 1-A Independent.

(10-17-2021 11:52 AM)All4One Wrote:  WKU won't leave CUSA unless the league completely dissolves, and the alternative is being a 1-A Independent.

I think we would consider the MAC, but like you said, it would come after the crap hits the fan in C-USA.

I think we would prefer to get invited to the AAC, but that isn't happening.

After that we would prefer for the C-USA East teams to remain somewhat in tact and have the bulk of the conference losses come from the West.

If Marshall goes to the SBC I think we would strongly consider going with them if an invite was extended.

If everything falls apart (AAC, MWC, and SBC pick apart most of C-USA except for UTEP, FIU, LaTech, WKU, and MTSU) then I could maybe see us cutting our losses and lobbying for a MAC invite.

I'd say C-USA just backfilling with more teams (Missouri State, Southern Ill, UMass/UConn football, NMST, etc.) is more likely though. Hard to kill a conference with a basketball autobid.

First, playing with 11 in FB is not on the cards ... #MACtion is "football on when no other football is on" for ESPN, so they would likely tolerate a range of adds, but with four games dedicated to midweek games in November, and with some schools having byes in the transition from a weekend game to a series of midweek games, the MAC Presidents would prefer having 12 FB schools.

(1) Talk to JMU first about an all-sports add.
(2) Even though WKU would likely be another footloose add, like Marshall, UCF and Temple, they would probably talk to WKU next in preference to a FB-only solution
(3) NDSU FB-only, Toledo swings East in an "Ohio / Non-Ohio" divisional alignment.
(4) UMass FB-only

(10-17-2021 11:12 AM)Chappy Wrote:  If I were in charge of the MAC and Buffalo left, I would definitely give WKU a call.

I'd prefer they give WKU a call rather than stand pat at 11. If they are interested in jumping or want to bring MTSU with them, then I'd like to see them try to get JMU as well.

1 school or 3 - just not 2.

Don't go back to ask UMass or allow another FB-only from anybody.

Oddly, I've stayed in E-town many times and been to Mammoth Cave a few times and driven past Bowling Green, KY a dozen times at least - yet, I've never gotten off the highway to take a look at the school.

(10-17-2021 11:06 AM)jmu18 Wrote:  Unsure that the JMU admin view the MAC as a good choice if there are other options (C-USA/Sun Belt). JMU is an east coast school where the majority of the student population is from the mid Atlantic and north east. Although the schools in the MAC are academically better than the south eastern schools of the belt and cusa.

The question for JMU will be if they are fine with being in a Midwestern based conference

However, reportedly they were on board with taking a MAC invite if UMass had taken the "all-in" option in the "all-in / all-out" ultimatum ... and also, reportedly, have previously turned down an invite from the SBC.

Now, the SBC they turned down is not the same as today's SBC ... the trips to Las Cruces and Moscow, Idaho are long gone, for example ... but today's MAC is 12 of the 13 schools they were reportedly willing to join with before.

Suppose that the imagined raid of the CUSA by the SBC for two schools comes about ... now SBC has the twelve it wants, CUSA is the conference knocking at JMU's door, and the post-raid CUSA might not look as attractive to JMU as back when JMU was seemingly wanting an invite from CUSA or the MAC and instead received one from the SBC.

(10-17-2021 11:52 AM)All4One Wrote:  WKU won't leave CUSA unless the league completely dissolves, and the alternative is being a 1-A Independent.

Bingo.

(10-17-2021 12:17 PM)nert Wrote:  

(10-17-2021 11:12 AM)Chappy Wrote:  If I were in charge of the MAC and Buffalo left, I would definitely give WKU a call.

I'd prefer they give WKU a call rather than stand pat at 11. If they are interested in jumping or want to bring MTSU with them, then I'd like to see them try to get JMU as well.

1 school or 3 - just not 2.

Don't go back to ask UMass or allow another FB-only from anybody.

Oddly, I've stayed in E-town many times and been to Mammoth Cave a few times and driven past Bowling Green, KY a dozen times at least - yet, I've never gotten off the highway to take a look at the school.

I’ve stayed in that area and there’s a lot more things than you’d expect for a rural area. Mammoth Cave has so many tours, you could go there for days. Bowling Green has the National Corvette Museum. There were also other caves as well as a dinosaur exhibit.

The farthest MAC school from Buffalo is less than 450 miles away.

Half of the AAC is more than 1,000 miles from Buffalo.

Wouldn’t make sense for Buffalo to join the AAC.

How close is WKU to what would be left of the MAC?

I just don’t see it. I realize they have academics and are in a prime location (geographic/market wise) but they don’t draw, only have won one MAC championship and 5 total bowl appearances

I know Aresco said he would raise the profile of some potential new member but Buffalo seems like a mega project

(10-17-2021 01:43 PM)RamblinRedWolf Wrote:  I just don’t see it. I realize they have academics and are in a prime location (geographic/market wise) but they don’t draw, only have won one MAC championship and 5 total bowl appearances

I know Aresco said he would raise the profile of some potential new member but Buffalo seems like a mega project

Every option left is a project on one front or another. Easier to take academics and market and grow it into a fanbase than it is to take a performer with a fanbase and grow their academics and market.

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