What is the opinion of Ohio joining CUSA?  It seems that the MAC schools are content with staying put, but what is the opinion of the fans of Ohio in regards to joining CUSA?  I realize that you have recently been given bad news about your IPF and I wonder what your opinion is about the extra revenue that would be realized by moving to CUSA.  I ask this question, as a Herd fan, because Herd fans seem to love the idea of being in a conference with Ohio. 

In regards to the bad news, I was just going off of this thread:

http://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboard/topic.asp?FromPage=2&ForumPID=6&PID=110221#FirstNew

Why the "NO WAY!!!!!" response?  Is it because you think it simply won't happen and it would be easier to act like it would not be a good move or do you have some reasoning that proves it would not be a good move?  I'm just asking the opinion of you as fans of Ohio Athletics, but at the same time wondering why you may not like the idea. 

Bingo!

Look at the footprint of the 2 conferences and let everybody figure out where Ohio belongs. Frankly Marshall as well

The conversation is a Marshall perspective conversation. This would be like me going to the Toledo fan board and saying Rockets Joining MAC East. Then arguing that us Ohio fans like the MAC East because we get to play a road game up in the Cleveland market every year because those are the areas we recruit heavily. Since Toledo has a decent gameday experience, it only makes sense for Ohio fans to want to be associated with the Rockets. This is called begging in a very condescending manner and that is why you are getting the negative responses.

regarding travel preference by fans- I understand some of the southern destinations might be more sexy then the ones in the MAC but how many Marshall fans are really going on the road to Florida, Texas, Louisiana, etc. with any regularity? Seems like those trips would be few and far between for most fans.

I would like to be back in a conference with Marshall.  I have thought that WKY would be a good conference fit if the time were right.  But we have a long, long history with Miami, BGSU, Kent State, Toledo, WMU, Ball State.....I don't see the point in changing just to change and I'm guessing that most of the other schools feel that way as well which makes it make even less sense to leave.

Yes, I can guarantee that many of us on this board have been at Peden when Marshall came in 2011.  You guys did bring 1000's, and that made for a great college football atmosphere.  But Athens, Ohio is a little bit closer to Huntington than El Paso is.  Im not trying to argue against you, but does Marshall draw that kind of attendance in Florida, Texas, etc.  I think that is the question that Perimeter Post wants answered.

Marshall is not currently traveling very well to Huntington these days compared to their glory days. Their fans are berating Doc as a coach and their AD for keeping him, off the field problems are rampant, comparing 10000 going to Clemson with the numbers going to see Florida Atlantic is a joke. Once the novelty wears off in these new locations and all the Marshall fans have expended their vacation budgets, we will see just how great CUSA sounds to Marshall. A problem with all this conference alignment stuff is the added travel time and expense IMO. I'd like to see the travel expense numbers . Frankly, Marshall should start winning again in this watered down conference, so then they can be the football powerhouse their fans think they should be.

It never fails, Herd fan posts something on the board, it then turns to.."Oh yea, well we travel awesome!".  Inevitably the conversation further devolves to "Oh yea, well you guys only brought 12 people to the Joan!".  Hopefully I've sped that process up so we can move on to another topic.

In it's current configuration and with the current BCS rules, there is zero advantage to being in Conference USA vs the MAC.  I believe their TV deal currently produces more revenue, but that is offset by it being on Fox's family of channels so it reaches a smaller audience and less accessible.  Hopefully with the MAC supposedly renegotiating our deal with ESPN that revenue gap will close as well.

I do like playing Marshall regularly.  I hope that continues in both basketball and football.

I don't think mckayt was trying to stir the pot, his comments seemed sincere and its a fair topic for discussion during the slow part of the year.

It's hard to criticize Herd fans for not wanting to travel to MAC schools when they do it better than all the MAC schools currently do. One of the things I like the most about the MAC is the size of the footprint, I only wish we could develop a culture in all of the fanbases of traveling. 

Our MAC away games this year are Akron and  EMU on saturdays, and  Buffalo and BG on Tuesday nights. I fully understand why even a die hard fan would look at that and say no thanks, but how awesome would it be if we could get 8K-10K Bobcat fans at those games? We could quite literally out number the home fans for at least 3 of those games. 

I'm definitely not trying to stir the pot.  I asked a sincere question trying to gauge the fan interest of joining CUSA.  Several people on here for some reason wanted to take it that way, but in now way have my posts been geared toward that.  The name Ohio University is constantly spewing from the keyboards and mouths of Marshall fans when it comes to discussing future schools that we wish would afffiliate with CUSA.  My question has been answered.  It is obvious that Ohio fans do not want that affiliation though.  That's cool, I was just wondering.  Now when that is brought up on our message board (www.herdfans.com), I will tell everybody that Ohio fans would never accept such a move and would rally in the streets to prevent a move like that ever happening. 

In regards to our travel party; I didn't come here to stir that pot either.  I said the affiliation that we now have with the new schools is a huge draw for our fanbase that likes to travel to nice destinations.  Some people asked for numbers and I estimated our travelers.  Those numbers aren't BS.  On a drivable game, The Herd will take 3-5K fans.  It's not just for BCS games (ECU is not BCS) either.  It's just nice to hit the road during football season and enjoy a great tailgate in a fun destination, such as Athens.  Everybody keeps bringing up El Paso.  Well duh, that is halfway across the earth.  That is why our new partners have some of us Herd fans so fired up and I just wanted to know where the Ohio fans now stood.  Again, now I know.  LOL. 

Good luck and I can't wait until September.  We owe a little payback and revenge.  When we invade Peden this time, there won't be that horrible 44-7 tilt from 2011.  At least not in favor of the Bobcats anyway.  Go Herd!