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Topic: MAC expansion question
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sargentfan
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Posted: 11/30/2012 12:59 PM
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I know many times people have talked about creating a whole new conference or did what if the MAC got rid of these teams and added these teams.  Since I think there is no way either of those could happen, but we do have diluted competitiveness of our rival conferences including the Big East now.  Would it all be possible to do some kind of analysis that would hypothesize what kind of tv contract money we could get in football and basketball with an explicit list of possible school additions?  I figure that would be the biggest thing any new schools would want since we currently have less revenue than the Big East and C-USA in that regard.  The best plan in my opinion would be to look to add schools that are close enough in our geographic region and sell them on what our increased value as a conference would be with them, our already expanding brand, and the fact that their fans and teams would have a much easier travel schedule.  Again I understand it is still unlikely, but it was a thought.
SouthernCat
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Posted: 11/30/2012 9:38 PM
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The only way to expand now is to get to App State and Georgia Southern before the Sun Belt.
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 12/1/2012 10:43 PM
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Those southern schools will NOT play in a northern conference.  Weather is too cold and the travel too difficult.  Not saying I wouldn't want them...they'd be fine additions to the MAC.  
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 12/1/2012 11:01 PM
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I agree that Georgia Southern would probably not join a northern conference; however, Appy State is maybe a different story.  It's in the mountains of northwestern North Carolina not far from W.Va. and Kentucky.   I could see them joining some "new MAC" with Marshall and Ohio as fellow Appalachian schools.  If the Big East folds, ECU could join in the fun.  I'm not saying that this is all likely to happen, just that Appy State does have some natural affinity to some schools in our region and they are not as "southern" as Georgia Southern.  They are rugged mountain guys and can handle the cold unlike those pansies in southern Georgia.
cc-cat
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Posted: 12/1/2012 11:46 PM
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App St would also benefit from recruiting more if they played in the MAC versus Sun, and they would unveil the school to more prospective students that would consider a beautiful school in the mountains.  I think they would be very interested in the MAC - should the interest ever be mutual.
Last Edited: 12/1/2012 11:47:47 PM by cc-cat
SouthernCat
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Posted: 12/2/2012 9:25 AM
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Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more
Those southern schools will NOT play in a northern conference.  Weather is too cold and the travel too difficult.  Not saying I wouldn't want them...they'd be fine additions to the MAC.  


Boone is like Ohio in weather. And Georgia Southern will do ANYTHING to get out of the SOCON.
OUBob
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Posted: 12/2/2012 10:51 PM
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No chance App St goes MAC. Straight to Big East. Or ACC if they wait long enough for the B.E. to be defunct.
Jerry86
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Posted: 12/2/2012 11:12 PM
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OUBob wrote:expand_more
No chance App St goes MAC. Straight to Big East. Or ACC if they wait long enough for the B.E. to be defunct.


App State has no chance now, or ever of being in the ACC. They're in Boone, NC, not exactly a thriving city and facilities are not up to ACC standards.
cc-cat
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Posted: 12/2/2012 11:20 PM
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UNC and NC State will black ball App St. forever.  ACC is a no go and they bring nothing to the Big East re: TV market
SouthernCat
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Posted: 12/3/2012 8:17 AM
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cc cat wrote:expand_more
UNC and NC State will black ball App St. forever.  ACC is a no go and they bring nothing to the Big East re: TV market


Or a basketball team.
Mike Coleman
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Posted: 12/3/2012 8:30 AM
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Ohio69
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Posted: 12/3/2012 8:42 AM
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Too many coaches just stay too long, eh?

Charlotte is going to steal App St.'s thunder anyway.
perimeterpost
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Posted: 12/3/2012 10:56 AM
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the last thing the MAC should do is dilute the waters by promoting up another team from the minor leagues. We are a league of public schools in the mid west with ~20K students and a history of D1 athletic mediocrity with flashes of greatness. Our next addition should share those traits. Marshall and Temple come to mind. Oddly enough that profile has become a strength in these days of senseless re alinement.
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 12/3/2012 11:44 AM
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Perimeter, I disagree.  I think Appalachian State would be a very good fit for the MAC.  Boone is a great college town.  The school has a good tradition in both football and basketball. 
greencat
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Posted: 12/3/2012 12:04 PM
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There was talk about Western Kentucky and MTSU years ago to the MAC and nothing ever happened with it.  Those two would have been perfect.  Both in the Nashville area media market.

Too late now.
OUBob
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Posted: 12/3/2012 11:03 PM
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If they are taking teams based on facilities and market, how long til Akron leaves our ranks?
perimeterpost
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Posted: 12/4/2012 12:00 AM
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I liked the idea where you borrow from the pro soccer model and you have the MAC combine with the B1G and every year the MAC champion moves up to the B1G and the worst team in the B1G moves down to the MAC. That way there's the potential for movement every year and theoretically the B1G would improve because its constantly eliminating its worst team. It also makes every game more meaningful as bottom teams now have a reason to compete at the end of the season.

I forget where I saw it at but the author had estimated Indiana and Minn would basically become permanent MAC teams.
sargentfan
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Posted: 12/4/2012 10:21 AM
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perimeterpost wrote:expand_more
I liked the idea where you borrow from the pro soccer model and you have the MAC combine with the B1G and every year the MAC champion moves up to the B1G and the worst team in the B1G moves down to the MAC. That way there's the potential for movement every year and theoretically the B1G would improve because its constantly eliminating its worst team. It also makes every game more meaningful as bottom teams now have a reason to compete at the end of the season.

I forget where I saw it at but the author had estimated Indiana and Minn would basically become permanent MAC teams.


Won't ever happen due to money and politics, but I assume this wouldn't be for all sports, only football?
LoganElm_grad09
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Posted: 12/4/2012 10:52 AM
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sargentfan wrote:expand_more
I liked the idea where you borrow from the pro soccer model and you have the MAC combine with the B1G and every year the MAC champion moves up to the B1G and the worst team in the B1G moves down to the MAC. That way there's the potential for movement every year and theoretically the B1G would improve because its constantly eliminating its worst team. It also makes every game more meaningful as bottom teams now have a reason to compete at the end of the season.

I forget where I saw it at but the author had estimated Indiana and Minn would basically become permanent MAC teams.


Won't ever happen due to money and politics, but I assume this wouldn't be for all sports, only football?


Football only.  The idea is a double edged sword.  Yes, every team in the MAC would have a shot to get to a national title game (theoretically.)  But we'd just be servants to the Big Tendozen.  Where would our pride be in our conference if we (excuse the term I'm about to use) whored ourselves to the Big Ten?

The solution is to somehow get FBS football to the point where all teams have a shot at the national title like in FCS.  We would be a part of the problem, nothing more.
C Money
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Posted: 12/4/2012 11:24 AM
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Promotion/relegation might serve the haves' purposes if/when the four superconference system emerges. That could be the answer to the anti-trust questions and prevent the complete breakdown of the NCAA (especially D-1). That's the only path I see to it, though. Fun to think about, but probably won't happen.
Robert Fox
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Posted: 12/4/2012 12:49 PM
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That would be a bad approach from a pure marketing of the schools standpoint. MAC schools would be perceived to be second tier status academically, not just athletically.
perimeterpost
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Posted: 12/4/2012 1:56 PM
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the concept as I understood it was theorized in a football only scenario. In regards to the MAC with this set up there is no longer the MAC as we know it, its the 12 big league schools and the 12 not so big league schools joined as one.

For example, last year NIU won the MAC championship so they would have been bumped up to the B1G this year. Indiana was the worst team in the B1G last year at 1-11(0-8) so they would have been bumped down to a MAC this year. To return to the B1G Indiana would have to win the MACC, to return to the MAC NIU would have to finish 12th in the B1G.

Let's pretend that NIU played a B1G schedule this year and didn't finish last and that Indiana played a MAC schedule and didn't finish first. According to results Illinois would be bumped down and the winner of the Kent State v Ball State (since there's no NIU) MACC would go up to the B1G next year. Would Doeren or Hazell or Lembo leave if they knew they could make it to the B1G?

If Herbstreit and his ilk are right then even the worst B1G teams are better than the MAC. So even if a lowly B1G team like Indiana gets bumped down to the MAC for 1 season they are so full of awesome sauce that they could easily win the MACC and get back up to the glory land. Right? And if they don't? Then the B1G just got better by improving its weakest link.

Obviously this would never happen in the real world but it is a fun scenario to play with.
mf279801
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Posted: 12/4/2012 2:41 PM
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The discussion in question was a 4 part story that SBN put out last May. It was interesting/fun, but in a way that'll clearly never happen.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-relegation
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