I will be shocked if Toledo makes the jump. NIU on the other hand, I could see them venturing to see what's beyond the horizon.
That said, if they were both to jump, I hope the MAC has a backup plan. Ironically enough, I could see the MAC disintegrating a lot easier than I could any of the other leagues. And the fact that a western conference with minimal amount of schools is the one driving the boat on this, would tick me off.
I only say this because you got Buffalo, UCONN, Temple, UMASS, and Delaware in the northeast. Seeing how many other schools are making the transition to D-1 (granted, FCS) in that corner of the country, could really see the line being drawn in the sand to grab away a couple members like Buffalo and UMASS.
I will be very intrigued to see what happens if Toledo and NIU make the jump to be football only members. At that point, I believe their logical move would either go Horizon League or go Missouri Valley for all other sports.
Based on payouts by ESPN, league/team rankings, market size, attendance, etc, the MAC doesn’t really have much going for it in the current state of college football. It’s a relatively compact geographical conference and that’s about it-and that’s not all important/relevant nowadays. Frankly, even if those 2 schools stay, we continue to fall behind other G-6 leagues IMHO and I’m not sure what we can do about it.
You're correct - but that also would play into Toledo's thinking as well. I don't know what kind of funds MWC is sitting on, but going from a bus league to flying all over the west coast doesn't seem *ideal* for a school that is hemorrhaging enrollment.
Theres been a few of these threads, and I keep throwing out the same opinion that really matters to know one, and certainly no one in charge - but we should strike first. You never want to be left holding the bag. My idea of the MAC BELT started as a joke, but we could do worse. Both conferences should try to insulate themselves.
Outside of that, the usual suspects should be reached out to - and that includes YSU - sorry Kent and Akron. I know most people think thats too much Ohio, but they make the most sense, even from a facility standpoint. They also have some success in basketball, which I like. It feels unlikely, since they didn't jump under Tressel, but the landscape is vastly different now.