Because there is very little chance that our Women's team could win those games.

I mean, Memphis may not technically be "power 4" but they're a better program than the majority of those supposed P4 teams.

Memphis tied for 5th in the AAC last season. Memphis in late March 2024 was rated 75 in the NET rankings. Dayton, Cincinatti, Ohio State and Xavier were all rated above Memphis. Dayton was rated in the top 25. I find it difficult to believe that Ohio can't get a game with one of the above schools. Two of these programs are power four schools. Ohio will have to travel, but it would be a short trip. Does anyone know what Memphis is paying the Bobcats? Guessing that the schools mentioned above would fork out that type of money?

That NCAA tournament appearance was their first in almost a decade. They've only been twice in the past 30 years. There's no way we'd draw close to what you're thinking because Gameday selected them for football. The name doesn't carry that much weight across sports. They're a good opponent, nothing more. You need a bigger name to draw big numbers.

Speaking of Memphis, we're the MAC favorite and we may be the "easiest" date on their non-conference schedule.

https://x.com/Memphis_MBB/status/1836119398450594166/photo/1

I also saw they just hired Mike Davis and Nolan Smith as assistants.

Are there a lot of examples of college basketball marketing materials that have focused on education over the last 40 years?

They have six NCAA appearances since Calipari left after the 2009 season. They win that. They have 3 NCAA wins so, you're right, they lag behind Ohio there.

This is a stat, NCAA wins since 2010, where we beat the vast majority of D1 programs. Sometimes you watch a sports broadcast where they go out of their way to laud a player. Like, and I made this up, it isn't a real player here - He's the first player with 4 consecutive seasons with at least 52 doubles, 39 homeruns, 47 stolen bases, 87 runs, and 98 RBI. Well, 4, 52, 39, 47, 87, & 98 are arbitrary numbers that you picked to just barely include him and just barley exclude a whole host of other players. NCAA wins since 2010 is the sort of stat the an Ohio fan might pick out, out of a countless number of other things you could use, to intentionally laud their program. That isn't exactly what happened here. 2010 was picked since it was the year Memphis's most well known coach left and NCAA wins was one of two stats you mentioned.

Memphis beats us in the vast majority of comparisons that you could make though. Like NCAA wins since 2013 (three of our wins since 2010 go away), or conference championships since 1995, or all-time final four appearances, or all-time wins (by 32), or times in the AP poll since 2000, or current NBA players, or lots of other things.

In googling this further I found that linking college sports teams and communities in advertising has been a thing for longer than I was aware. Just haven’t experienced it myself I guess.

Central Michigan still hasn't released their non-conference schedule, but that hasn't stopped them from promoting season tickets.

one could be larger and the other more enthusiastic, I suppose. Miami could be sibs weekend with 10-11k, but quieter. If Ohio and Akron are both near the top of the conference, that's going to be more nutso.

Miami is always the larger draw for students/alums, plus the sibs weekend factor. Agree that the Akron game will be more intense for those that are there. Would not be surprised if that Akron game gets flexed to a Friday primetime slot either. At the end of the day I would recommend Miami. Even if they aren't as good as an opponent, crowd will always get into it due to the rivalry.

I would not make any plans until the TV schedule comes out (which by the way, needs to be released already). Then you can make an educated guess on whether those games will be flexed. The Sun Belt home game in February should stay on a Saturday, if you're looking for a sure thing.

If the Miami game stays on Saturday and we have the kind of special regular season that many are projecting, that game is a slam dunk I'm in.

Thanks for the advice. Since this will be my only trip to Athens this fall, we'll come in Thursday night or Friday morning so it will be okay with me if they move the game from Saturday afternoon to Friday night, although I know that will be lousy for fans planning on driving in on Saturday.

When my wife and I come up in for a game, we like to spend at least a couple of days in Athens so we have time to enjoy Jackie Os, Casa Nueva, O'Bettys, Little Fish, Salaam, West End Ciderhouse, Avalanche Pizza, etc. Come to think of it, maybe I'll need a week.