Asked an interesting question about the MAC. What would the MAC look like if Marshall University never left. I thought I'd reach out to hear your responses. Thanks.

In most years, Marshall would've continued to land among the top 1-3 of the MAC East. And by now, the MAC would've been forced to add another member (maybe football only) to even the divisions out, or kept UMass around. Would've been a little more lively from a fans perspective.

But other than that, things wouldn't have been that different.

(09-14-2022 10:30 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  by now, the MAC would've been forced to add another member (maybe football only) to even the divisions out,

Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 10:30 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  by now, the MAC would've been forced to add another member (maybe football only) to even the divisions out,

Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

(09-14-2022 04:17 PM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 10:30 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  by now, the MAC would've been forced to add another member (maybe football only) to even the divisions out,

Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

That would have worked. And for those not knowledgeable about the inner workings of Marshall, but their new AD, Christian Spears, is the fmr. Dep AD at EMU. I really liked him and wish he had applied for our (EMU) job.

(09-14-2022 04:17 PM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 10:30 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  by now, the MAC would've been forced to add another member (maybe football only) to even the divisions out,

Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

Should have been a full court press to make that move. I understand why Marshall went a different direction but opportunities like that do not come along often for the MAC. That pair would have been a slam dunk addition.

If one of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools eventually dropped out then you could have added MTSU to that pair. Those three schools plus one less Michigan or Ohio and suddenly the conference has completely been reshaped.

(09-14-2022 05:59 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 04:17 PM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 10:30 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  by now, the MAC would've been forced to add another member (maybe football only) to even the divisions out,

Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

Should have been a full court press to make that move. I understand why Marshall went a different direction but opportunities like that do not come along often for the MAC. That pair would have been a slam dunk addition.

If one of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools eventually dropped out then you could have added MTSU to that pair. Those three schools plus one less Michigan or Ohio and suddenly the conference has completely been reshaped.

Possibly two of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools, and subsequently adding Marshall/WKU/MTSU/ and James Madison … Setting up North - South divisions !!

(09-14-2022 06:37 PM)FMRocket Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 05:59 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 04:17 PM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 10:30 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  by now, the MAC would've been forced to add another member (maybe football only) to even the divisions out,

Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

Should have been a full court press to make that move. I understand why Marshall went a different direction but opportunities like that do not come along often for the MAC. That pair would have been a slam dunk addition.

If one of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools eventually dropped out then you could have added MTSU to that pair. Those three schools plus one less Michigan or Ohio and suddenly the conference has completely been reshaped.

Possibly two of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools, and subsequently adding Marshall/WKU/MTSU/ and James Madison … Setting up North - South divisions !!

All the MAC needs to do is enforce the 15,000 attendance requirement and we would lose EMU, Akron, and NIU. Then invite Marshall, WKU, and JMU.

I’m highly skeptical of any talk of a MAC-Marshall arrangement. A key driver of Marshall leaving the MAC (the second time) was because they wanted to be in a southern-oriented conference.

Even if Marshall used the MAC as a lifeline out of a deteriorating CUSA, they would’ve bolted for the Sun Belt as soon as their name got called.

And I don’t blame them. The South has growing population centers and more passionate fan bases.

I know WKU expressed interest last year. But all in all, schools south of the Ohio River would really prefer not to join the MAC unless out of desperation/short marriage by convenience.

(09-14-2022 07:09 PM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 06:37 PM)FMRocket Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 05:59 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 04:17 PM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

Should have been a full court press to make that move. I understand why Marshall went a different direction but opportunities like that do not come along often for the MAC. That pair would have been a slam dunk addition.

If one of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools eventually dropped out then you could have added MTSU to that pair. Those three schools plus one less Michigan or Ohio and suddenly the conference has completely been reshaped.

Possibly two of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools, and subsequently adding Marshall/WKU/MTSU/ and James Madison … Setting up North - South divisions !!

All the MAC needs to do is enforce the 15,000 attendance requirement and we would lose EMU, Akron, and NIU. Then invite Marshall, WKU, and JMU.

Losing arguably our conference’s strongest program over the past decade seems like a bad idea.

And give us a couple tough seasons and a string of lousy weather on game days, and I guarantee we’d be on the chopping block too.

(09-14-2022 07:09 PM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 06:37 PM)FMRocket Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 05:59 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 04:17 PM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

Should have been a full court press to make that move. I understand why Marshall went a different direction but opportunities like that do not come along often for the MAC. That pair would have been a slam dunk addition.

If one of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools eventually dropped out then you could have added MTSU to that pair. Those three schools plus one less Michigan or Ohio and suddenly the conference has completely been reshaped.

Possibly two of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools, and subsequently adding Marshall/WKU/MTSU/ and James Madison … Setting up North - South divisions !!

All the MAC needs to do is enforce the 15,000 attendance requirement and we would lose EMU, Akron, and NIU. Then invite Marshall, WKU, and JMU.

You’re an idiot! Looking forward to EMU kicking your arse on the football field three consecutive times and on the basketball court this season!

As a Marshall fan since 1991 when my wife and I lived Huntington for a few years. My best memories of Marshall football, other than winning FCS championships, was when they became members of the MAC. The rivalries were real and intense. And at the time the MAC was the premier Mid Major conference. I know at the time the move to CUSA offered a bigger payday, however you can't buy organic fit. I don't know what the future holds, but the MAC and the Sun Belt are very much alike simply separated by geography.

(09-14-2022 10:35 PM)Herd-in-ATL Wrote:  As a Marshall fan since 1991 when my wife and I lived Huntington for a few years. My best memories of Marshall football, other than winning FCS championships, was when they became members of the MAC. The rivalries were real and intense. And at the time the MAC was the premier Mid Major conference. I know at the time the move to CUSA offered a bigger payday, however you can't buy organic fit. I don't know what the future holds, but the MAC and the Sun Belt are very much alike simply separated by geography.

SBC teams care about FB Most. Especially when the teams in the current league invested so much that they made the jump from a lower FCS to FBS, in not even 30 years. So Geography and commitment differ.

We have hockey schools, a soccer school, some basketball schools. Maybe a baseball school. Not everyones eggs are in the same basket. The MAC can drag lots of leagues in a sport like Wrestling. But FB isnt where all of our money is. And when non revenue sports are dedicated to, fb is just there to provide for them.

The SBC of old comprised of markets and schools of many kinds. Now that its the fb schools left... you have a fb league. The MAC is a hodgepodge and only rarely will stack up. Toledo, CMU, WMU, NIU, and UB will have to do the heavy lifting as FB is the focal point.

(09-14-2022 04:17 PM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 10:30 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  by now, the MAC would've been forced to add another member (maybe football only) to even the divisions out,

Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

Adding a school that has no interest in applying is one of the more common non-starters proposed on this board ... it's oddly comforting to know that non-starter realignment ideas are not restricted to just this board, and sometimes conferences come up with them too.

As far as "enforcing the attendance rule", the MAC was one of the conferences fighting hard to get it amended from turnstile count to either turnstile count or tickets sold, precisely because any MAC school in a five or ten year down period is going to be at risk with a pure turnstile count rule.

Luckily there were "power" conferences with small stadium members who would also have been at risk during a down period, so the power conferences realized that they didn't WANT enforcement of the attendance count to be rigorous after all.

And of course, this is the kind of proposal that would need a supermajority to pass. I don't know whether the supermajority in the MAC is 2/3, 3/4 or 4/5, but it doesn't really matter whether the target is 8, 9, 10 "Yes" votes, because the idea of kicking out NIU, Akron and EMU has the Presidents of Toledo, Kent State, CMU and WMU voting against as well.

IOW, it's an idea that needs either 8, 9 or 10 "Yes" votes, and it starts out with 7 out of 12 "No" votes.

As non-starters go, can't get much non-startery than that!

Now, technically, with divisions no longer required for a CCG, it would be possible to go to 13, playing a 4+3/3+1/1/1 schedule. So the MAC could "just add WKU" if there is some side effect of power conference realignment that cripples CUSA even further.

(09-14-2022 07:09 PM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 06:37 PM)FMRocket Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 05:59 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 04:17 PM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  

(09-14-2022 02:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  Western Kentucky comes to mind. That would have been lots of fun.

Adding Marshall and WKU reportedly was the MAC's initial realignment plan last year.

Should have been a full court press to make that move. I understand why Marshall went a different direction but opportunities like that do not come along often for the MAC. That pair would have been a slam dunk addition.

If one of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools eventually dropped out then you could have added MTSU to that pair. Those three schools plus one less Michigan or Ohio and suddenly the conference has completely been reshaped.

Possibly two of the excess Michigan or Ohio schools, and subsequently adding Marshall/WKU/MTSU/ and James Madison … Setting up North - South divisions !!

All the MAC needs to do is enforce the 15,000 attendance requirement and we would lose EMU, Akron, and NIU. Then invite Marshall, WKU, and JMU.

1) NIU has been one of the premier MAC football programs the for last two decades;
2) Based on TV visuals, not sure everyone in the MAC is using the same accounting method for "Attendance"

The esteemed gentleman from EMU, Luckeyone, is right, you are an idiot.

(09-16-2022 07:57 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  Adding a school that has no interest in applying is one of the more common non-starters proposed on this board ...

Yeah, but the MAC should make a strong push for Notre Dame. The fact that the Irish are still independent shows a lack of vision by this conference's leaders.

The MAC also needs to finally play hardball with ESPN so all our games are on Saturday. And no more of this ESPNU baloney. All of our games should be on the Deuce.

Also, MAC needs better marketing.