Temple fan thinks we'd jump at the chance. Let's see.

I think that it goes without saying that the Big East will sometime either in the near future or distant future fall apart.  I think that in the long term the best thing for everyone would be if it split into two wit the basketball only schools forming their own league.  Then the remaining football schools could look to form a stable league without all of these football only invitations.

If the Big East did invite us it isn't with the intention on keeping us as an equal.  The Cincinnatis Louisvilles, and Connecticuts would be looking for warm bodies to keep the Big East alive so as to give themselves a better chance of getting one of the final tickets into the Big 4 conferneces.

A few years back Idaho and New Mexico State left the Sunbelt for the WAC.  Now the WAC is gone and the Sunbelt will not take them back out of spite.

I think that we would be foolish to allow ourselves to be used like that.

At this point, unless Ohio gets an invite to the ACC, SEC, Big 14, or Big 12 I like the MAC and where it's at. 

I didn't vote in this poll because I couldn't decide what BE I would be voting for or against.  The BE as it is today would be a definite NO.  The BE has it might become at the time Ohio would be asked to join might be something different altogether.  If OHIO was asked to join along with Marshall and a few good MAC teams in a new Eastern Division that was very Eastern Time Zone centric, I might very well vote YES.  In short, I think that this poll as worded is premature.  

I think TUV is looking for validation that Temps did the right thing in leaving the MAC for the Big Least.  He ain't gonna find it here.

I would like to join A-10 in basketball.

This sums it up for me as well.  None of those invitations are on the horizon.

With 2 local B-Ball only Big East schools, the issue of the B-Ball only schools and the Big East has been a hot topic in the newspapers and on sports talk radio out here in NJ.
The consensus is that the B-Ball only schools woud either like the BE to go back to a B-Ball only conference or  for the schools to form a new B-Ball only conference.
Problem is,they don't want to give up the share of the football revenue they get as a conference member.

With all due respect to our Temple friend, I see no value to OHIO joining the newest incarnation of the Big East.  While I may have been able to rationalize membership in the Big East that we all respected, this Frankenstein version of the Big East (or any of the remaining non-BCS conferences for that matter) would never return value to the stakeholders of the Athletic Department, who are the students of Ohio University.

The students pay the bills for our program, and if I cannot rationalize a return on THEIR invested capital for a higher bill each year, I would rightfully not expect the students, faculty or staff to do so either.  I would surmise that the Presidents of the MAC are all in agreement with that, as all their programs are financed by student fees, and all those state institutions continue to see their state share of support decrease annually.

As I see it, the problem's facing the Frankenstein East are:

• If BC gives up on their stance against UConn being a member of the ACC, which I believe their new AD will eventually convince their trustees to do, then the Cincinnati and UConn acquisitions by the ACC are going to happen within a day.
• With those chess pieces off the board, the basketball only schools in the Big East then immediately make their move to couple with the select A10 members that has been widely reported.
• Then BYU/SDSU/Boise go back to MWC, Navy likely goes back to independent.
• I wouldn't be shocked if UMASS goes into membership with A10/BECatholics conference and is approached by the Big East for FB only.
• Perhaps Temps begs to go into that new hoops conference as well, which would be famously more compelling for them to participate in than the remaining Big East conference, because after all, Temps is a basketball school with a football problem.
• What's left of the Big East becomes close to the former CUSA, further poaching CUSA members for all sports members and is no closer to AQ status and a spot in the BCS tourney than the MAC.
• And then, there isn't a compelling enough offering from the new Big East/former CUSA to warrant a significant revenue stream from TV rights for that Frankenconference's schools to make it worth OHIO's while to move up without incurring a significant increase in student fees to pay for the additional travel for all the non revenue generating sports.

And that, my friends, is in no way compelling for us.

PLUS, with conference realignment and a shift in the balance of power with the non-AQ's, the bowl tie in's may change dramatically, and if the MAC continues to outperform its peer conferences in non-AQ, it may be the MAC that is playing in the more prestigious mid tier bowls, with more automatic tie ins than we have now PLUS better payouts and match ups for the division champs.

What then for the MAC and OHIO: (I get tired of repeating myself on these points year in and year out)

• OHIO remains in the MAC.
• Prune some limbs from the MAC tree.
• Offer Marshall an olive branch.
• Throw WKU a lifeline (even though they hate the MAC for being spurned in the past, and despite sharing SUAC).
• And then make a similar move to the Big Ten and look southeast to help bolster recruiting in the mid Atlantic, but keep your pursuits geographically reasonable: Charlotte, ODU, Delaware/App State/James Madison/Richmond (if they want to move up).
• And/or, make offers to Army and Navy for FB only, although I still hate the concept of FB only, because they would be serious draws every other year.
• Negotiate a more lucrative FB TV deal.
• Spend those additional proceeds and any additional funds you might have considered for a "move up" in conferences to improving the hoops product, which would hopefully lead to additional TV revenues and more NCAA tourney spots as well.

I don't feel compelled to change conferences at this point, especially when you consider what this program has achieved over the last two years, and when you see how much exposure short money can buy you when we are performing at a high level in the MAC.  In my humble opinion, there is a lot to be said for the tight geographic footprint of the MAC, and it does add the benefit of being able to travel to a number of visiting contests.  With strategic pursuit of additional members, I believe an enhanced MAC can become perhaps not a diamond, but a nice little pearl.  Reasonable budgets, priorities remaining on maintaining true student athlete traditions, achieving results the right way.  Victory with honor.

Some good food for thought, DA.

If we get to 14, should we change our name to the Big 14, before for some other conference does?

But what about #MACtion!?!?!?!