I would watch schools like Virginia Tech playing mid week on ESPN playing for conference championships and thought there was no reason why Ohio with the campus and strong in-state recruiting grounds couldn't have a program like that. Ohio does now have that kind of presence on ESPN and is consistently in contention for conference championship games and bowls every year. That is what big time football is about and its light years from where the program was in the 80's. Aside from the fact the teams played in the same stadium there is no comparison to the level of football played today. I know some on here think big time in the football world means to be up there with OSU and Alabama packing 100,000 seat stadiums and 5 million a year HC salaries. That is for programs whose place in the college football world is to contend for national titles. The Ohio program where it is right now is about where it should be; strong enough to contend for a Top 25 finish. The administration fortunately is trying to avoid some of the mistakes made by Marshall like over expanding to 38,000 and ending up marooned in a dying CUSA. My only complaint is the non-conference scheduling at Ohio should be stronger with the team built up and IPF in place plus the level of talent now in the program.
Uncle Wes has captured my thoughts better than I could have. Except that I would add that, athletically, this is not just a "football school." The men's BB program is also very strong. In fact, over the last 5 years, Ohio is in the top 30 of ALL D-I schools for combined winning percentage of MBB and FB teams. Very impressive and a very good time to be a Bobcat fan!
Uncle Wes has summarized my feelings as well. I keep trying to say what he said but I can't quite make the point. I also agree with OhioStunter about the OOC schedule..it could be better. I do still contend that when the playoff system is tweaked to the point the big guys (schools, networks, sponsors) are happy Ohio, et. al. will be playing a very competitive full schedule among themselves. Perhaps those teams that continually rise to the top will have opportunities to move up and play in the early part of the "BCS" schedule against Ohio State, et. al. but the stakes will be too high for teams to risk a poor showing against a "lower tier" school that has no standing. Still just my humble opinion.