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This is the absolute worst thing the MAC could do. Don't confuse movement with motion. Change for the sake of change is a terrible idea. And pointing to the Sun Belt as a model? Are you serious? 5 of their 11 teams joined FBS in 2012 or later. They have two schools that didn't even have a football program 5 years ago. You want to be more like that? No way. 

Let's be clear, the AAC, CUSA and SBC did not add teams because they "didn't want to sit on their proverbial asses", or because "they get it" or because they "wanted to enlarge their footprint". They did it for one reason- SURVIVAL. If they did not add more schools when they did then they would not have had enough members to continue to be a conference. Period. that's it. No strategy, No grand vision. No forward thinking. Add or die. It's that simple. The AAC, CUSA and SBC should have consolidated into 2  conferences, instead they stole from each other and added 8 new FCS teams, a whole conference worth of new mouths to feed, to keep from collapsing.

Each of those conferences is now weaker as a result.

Meanwhile, the MAC already has what these other conferences crave- STABILITY.  IDENTITY. COMMONALITY. Why would we go and screw that up? The AAC, CUSA and SBC added programs from the bottom to survive. IF the MAC ever adds another it should not be from the bottom, but from the top. We have emerged stronger for not adding based on desperation. If we add another school the list should start- UConn, UC, Temple, Marshall, etc..

I like UMass but we would be better off going back down to 12. There is no longer a non-AQ conference that can offer enough to lure away a MAC school so there is no need to worry about attrition. As is we'll be better than every Go5 conference except maybe MWC in 5 years, there's no need to dilute what we have.

News Flash to all you naysayers...take a look at the Sagrins in football and basketball for these schools.  On the field or court, they are all mid to upper level MAC in either football and basketball.  Each and everyone probably adds more to the MAC than the EMUs, Akrons, Buffs, etc.  And, the Ill and Ind schools are in the footprint of the MAC.  The other two are in a geographically "makes sense" area.

The real question, as has been pointed out, is do any of these want to throw the money down the toilet.

My other take is that the BIG5 conferences are going there own way sooner or later.

The LITTLE5 conferences plus some of the better "wannabe" FCS schools will form a "tweener" level.

Then there are all the other FCS teams. 

and there you have it. These schools are not good in football AND basketball. Indiana State, Illinois State, N Iowa... these are all bball schools. Unfortunately, realignment is driven by Football.

Akron and Buffalo are our two newest schools before UMass. Further proof that adding new schools from FCS doesn't solve our problems.

If the MAC expands, it should obviously do it for quality and not just quantity, but it should also look for schools that aren't just using the MAC as a waystop on the road to bigger things.  In the past 15 years, the MAC has added Terd, UCF and Temple knowing full well that they'd move on at the first opportunity.  UMass is likely to do the same.  Let's look for schools that are wanting to commit long-term to the MAC.  We need to add them for all sports, not just football.  I don't care if they're from Times Square or Bumfuque, Egypt.  I just want them to be full partners in the MAC, and not just associates.

I fail to see how new or different membership is going to help the MAC. The problem is the cartel keeps making its hold on major college football deeper. I can remember when the old Big East and MWC both averaged 35,000 in football and the ACC was in the low 40's. The new MWC averages 24,000 per school while the ACC and PAC are in the 50's and Big XII is over 60k. The MAC is on more equal footing with the MWC than previously but how do you build a legitimate program when the middle tier has disappeared? The old MWC, CUSA and Big East in the early 2000's had middle tier attendance, middle tier bowl games and it was thought those leagues played legit schedules from a national perspective. That middle tier dynamic has always been part of FBS but now the MWC, CUSA and AAC are small time and play in what are considered marginal bowls. Today either you're a Big 5 or a Small 5 there is no in between. The MAC can't do anything to change that in this climate. More specifically what can Ohio do to get recognition nationally?