Saw this the other day and

https://bracketologists.com/conferences /
 

Where does the MAC typically land in these rankings? Surprising to see the MAC ranked lower than the Horizon.

My stomach turned looking at this. We have to stop the bleeding...I am not OK with being in the bottom half let alone bottom 3rd.

Very hard to move much as a conference once conference play starts since every conference will go exactly 500 as a whole and good plays good but bad plays bad.

This hopefully puts into perspective my comments saying we aren't good this year but we'll still probably be around or slightly above 500 in conference because the league as a whole is terrible.

Money talks, or in the case of MAC basketball, walks.

You want to pay for a backup middle linebacker or a new power forward? We can't afford both until our endowment for sports grows by multiple 0's or Athens magically generates some serious marketing revenue (TV, radio, businesses etc).

The Horizon is in a much better situation long-term than the MAC. They have Cincinnati (NKU), Dayton (WSU), Cleveland, Detroit (Oakland, UDM), Milwaukee, Green Bay, Pittsburgh (Bobby Mo) and Indianapolis (IUPUI) all as metro areas in the league. That doesn't count Ft Wayne and Youngstown. The available economy in the Horizon obliterates the rural towns of the MAC. And they don't have to worry about funding football.

Check out the Ivy at number 11 and then look at some of the teams they've played. Yale has played Kansas, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Rhode Island, and Vermont. I'd take that non conference schedule any day of the week.

Swank's old buddy James Jones is the head coach at Yale.

Alan, do you think he's ready to return to Athens? I'd have to doubt it since he's been in New Haven for over 2 decades with a good amount of success.

This brings up an age old question that, I'm curious to think about/wonder about: What happens in 2024 and beyond if the MAC isn't D1 in football? I only say this as it relates to our new friend NIL and the beloved Transfer portal. Seems to me that it might just change how we've all looked at things prior to this. Also, it seems to me that a landscape shift is underway, and perhaps the MAC, and other similar conferences might be best served to re-evaluate D1 football status and whether it is financially sensible or not.

I'm not saying they should move to FCS, but I also don't know any of the financials that come into play when thinking about or discussing it.

FCS in football would have no bearing on basketball status.