The Richmond game interests me.  Enjoyed visiting with their fans in Providence before Georgetown game.  Similar program in stature. Could drive out on Saturday and back after the Sunday 1pm game or out on Friday and do weekend in DC or a Colonial Williamsburg visit.  

With these thoughts in mind, what would everyone call their favorite road trip in the MAC?  I've not been to a bunch of places personally, but I'm curious.

What about the areas around the UB Arena?  Could you park and walk for the whole day fairly easily?  I mean for lunch and beverages, and then to the game without having to move a car.

I agree on Savage.  I was hoping for a weekend road game up there this year.

Akron is my favorite MAC road trip for both basketball and football.  The football stadium is really nice and we always win.  The JAR is a dump, but Akron is our biggest basketball rivalry right now.  It is easy to get in and out of and the teams really dislike each other.  My favorite regular non-conference trip is Marshall for many of the same reasons.

I've been to a lot of road games for both sports and it's tough to pick a favorite.  Penn St is probably the best football experience I've had on the road (Miami the day after Thanksgiving in 2006 is a close 2nd) and my all-time favorite hoops trip was OSU in 1994.  The NCAA trips were great the past few years, but those large corporate venues are too sterile.  I am glad I chose to go to St. Louis, and my all-time regret was not making the trip to UNC in 2002. 

I went to the Stroh Center with fellow poster Bleed Green & White for the inaugural conference game there vs. Ohio.  Students weren't on campus, so the turnout was not good.  The venue itself, while shiny and nice, is just okay.  The main entry and concourse are outstanding, but the remainder of the arena is a bit bland.  Part of the blandness to me are the dark brown seats.  If they ever got a decent team up there, I could see it being an absolute pit for opponents to come into though.  The nice thing about BG to me was the selection of college town bars to choose from for lunch.  I'd recommend a trip there when the Bobcats play there.

MAC Venues I'd like to see for the sake of the venue include EMU, Ball State, Western and Toledo.  I'd love to go to Kent because I've heard good things about the campus and the area.  Miami is a good visit for me because I have family there, but the venue is simply dreadful.

As a side note, I also was contacted by an Akron ticket person last year.  He touted the JAR as "the best arena in the MAC".  I laughed, and said, "I'm not so sure about that."  Delusional Zippies.

I went to the Kent game last year and although I hate everything about the MAC Center, I really enjoy being around the campus. All of the new development is quite impressive and probably very attractive to prospective students. Plus, the X-wing restaurant is a good place for the novelty.

Believe it or not, the best collection of college bars in the MAC is not in Athens, but rather, Bowling Green. I have never been to a game of any kind at BG, but the quantity and variety of pre and postgame spots in uptown BG should make it worth the trip.

The only thing I really enjoy about a trip to Miami is Steinkeller, a German-style basement bar. Think the shootout scene in Inglourious Basterds.

I have twice taken the drive from Cincinnati to Muncie and I got lost both times before I even made it to town. Once there, not much of an uptown area or basketball atmosphere to make up for it.

This is spot on. There's really nothing on UB's campus that's great for food or walking distance but if you want to go 10-20 minutes out of your way, there's a bunch of good places.

The original Duff's is a hot spot and there's a bunch of chain restaurants on Niagara Falls Boulevard and the Galleria Mall which are both within 10 minute drives of UB's campus.

Niagara University was on my list of schools. I was a bit turned off when I watched them do WT/LT on my college visit.

I have a buddy who is a Duquesne grad, who talks about getting to a basketball game there, and perhaps at Robert Morris or Pitt in a weekend.  While I have disdain for the Steelers, I love visiting Pittsburgh.

I agree the Schott sucks -- unless you're in the Club level.   As for the Michigans, I have zero desire to go up to Mt. Pleasant, but I would like to see Western's barn.

my .02.. Pretty much any road trip where you have to stay overnight is better than those where you do the up and back. How the team is doing though makes it more exciting to me. So roadies to Nashville/STL/Akron/Kent are at the top of my list.

Other thoughts.
Delaware was fun, and Devaughn was a man possessed in the land of Joe Flacco.
BGSU's old place was worse than a high school. Their new place is a nice high school gym. Nothing impressive either way, and we still can't seem to win with consistency there.
Eastern Kentucky has the coolest arena from an odd perspective. It has a wooden roof, sort of, and is pretty amazing looking. I think the women's team plays there tomorrow(or did today). Too bad we lost when I went there.
BSU is not bad, but very standard.
NIU is decent too, but also sterile.
Buffalo & Akron have the best attempts at student sections. Both about 25% as good as the O Zone. And a couple of us on our trip to UB got food poisoning at Jack Astor's, so screw that place.
Western Michigan isn't anything special, but they do roast their own almonds in-house. That's a must have.
Miami is terrible, nothing impressive.
Kent/Akron have high schoolish gyms. But the competition/games are typically good/fun. At least Akron has Chik-fil-a.
Haven't made to Central for hoops yet. I doubt I'm missing much.





EMU's arena is very nice. I'd say maybe top 2/3 after the Convo. Has luxury boxes and all that. Free programs too. Still nobody comes. But the location, next to Ann Arbor, is very nice. Tons of places around there to imbibe. And the UM crowd isn't like the tOSU crowd if that is what you are expecting.



Agree the JAR stinks. But the games are the best so I give it my nod for #1 MAC road trip, for the competition & hate. Agree 1000% on the Convo. You're spoiled if you've gone nowhere else in the MAC. You'll quit whining about pretty much everything after taking a couple MAC roadies. Everyone else in the MAC dreams of Ohio when it comes to attendance, atmosphere, student section, etc. We've got it best. Our season ticket base beats almost every other average attendance number.


We're going to Asheville & Oakland. Asheville is a great downtown, lot of fun to be had. Can't wait. I didn't make that call until recently when I was sure Ohio Football wouldn't be bowling, and thus no overlap with GoDaddy bowl. But glad it will work out.


Agree with almost everything RSBobcat said here. Schott is too big for hoops. Probaly 50% decent seats, and the rest.... well that's why it didn't sell out in a 1,000,000+ city I suppose. Nutter Center is nothing special. Louisville, YUM center was rocking, and the Freedom Hall was pretty cool. Cintas Center was blah imo. STL was super exciting because of the situation, but boy was it cavernous and an awful setting for hoops. Nashville is the best city to play in, and conveniently we've gotten to play there two times now.