How much time have you spent in Philadelphia to make such a blanket statement? I mean come on, when you say things like that it makes you sound so freaking ignorant. Believe me I dislike MH55's trolling as much as anybody but Philly actually has a lot to offer. I personally like it better than any of the major Ohio cities. Center City is a nice place with a lot of cultural, dining, and entertainment opportunities and there are beautiful neighborhoods like Spruce Hill, Society Hill, and Passyunk Square.

I'll take your opinions more seriously when you actually weigh in on something you have the slightest clue about.

I spent 5 months straight in Philly on a consulting assignment (M-Thurs).  Downtown, Villanova (Conshohocken), King of Prussia, and Quakertown - I feel qualified to speak on the shortcomings of the place. I've also been there on 3 other occasions.

Temple has not been offered membership in the Big East yet, but an invite and MAC departure is a forgone conclusion.

I have no alternative for us. Because of our woeful alumni/private contributions, we have no choice but to wither away in the MAC. It's a sad reality. I'm simply stating that I refuse to be a standard bearer for a conference that comes up short in so many attributes when compared to other conferences. 

What do you think Temple's exit fee will be? Thought so. My point is made. While other conferences are commanding tens of millions of dollars in exit fees combined with keeping schools locked into the conference for a number of years - the MAC will most certainly let Temple go with nary a reasonable exit fee or a contractual obligation to fulfill their remaining commitments. The weakness of this conference administration will never prove more vivid when this comes to bear. Mark my words.

Love,

According to this article I found, UMASS and Temple have the same agreement with the MAC. This link contains the actual contract between UMASS and the MAC: http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/05/03/contract-details-football-upgrade-released

Excerpt:

Temple originally joined the MAC on a six-year contract in 2007 after being dropped by the Big East. UMass' contract calls for an open-ended agreement with no termination date. According to McCutcheon, Temple now has the same membership agreement as UMass. 

If the Minutemen chose to withdraw from the MAC to join another Bowl Subdivision conference or become an FBS independent, UMass would be assessed a fee of $2.5 million and would be required to give two years advanced notice.

But if either UMass or Temple were to announce a decision to leave, the other's membership could change.

The MAC would have the option of retaining the remaining school as a full member, replacing the departing school with another program or converting the remaining team's membership to a term contract of no less than two years.

In the event of a term contract, the remaining school would only need to pay $500,000 if it chose to withdraw.

Actually, the opposite is true, more schools, even below current MAC levels, are going up to the FBS level.  Those considering and probably making the move include Delaware, UMass, Appy State, ODU, JDU, and a few others that I can't recall right at the moment.

it must be tough, always having to be the smartest guy in the room while looking at everything with such utter contempt.

A. 69, you are lost. Read my posts. There is no solution. Our private donors simply aren't there. We are stuck in neutral or reverse.

B. TU Video Guy - Ask the folks at the closed Wampler Turkey plant in Franconia whether I was in Philly or not. Trust me, they know I was there.

C. Now that Ted is here, we have to argue logically and without insult. This cripples me, but I'll do my best.

1. For all intents and purposes, Temple leaving actually HELPS Umass according to the contract. When (not if) Temple leaves, the contract converts to a term agreement and the exit fee goes from $2.5 Million to basically $250,000 if they play one season of football after Temple leaves. Even without the exit of the other school, Temple or UMASS can claim other conditions and get out scot-free with no exit fee.

2. The contract (I'm paraphrasing) states that UMASS is joining an NCAA DIvision 1-A football conference that competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision. That is the set market in my opinion (no AQ or non-AQ status specified), so lets look at other exit fees from the same group of schools from the set market:

Texas A&M = $28 Million to be negotiated to $10-$15 Million
Nebraska = $9.2 Million
Colorado = $6.863 Million

Those are all Big 12. No checks will be written, but they will lose that revenue from the sharing pool and it will go to other schools, so essentially they are paying to get out.

Syracuse = $5 Million
Pitt = $5 Million
TCU = $5 Million

Syracuse and Pitt will pay the $5 Million and stay 4 years to get to the ACC after bolting from the Big East. TCU will pay $5 Million without having played a single game in the conference to get to the Big 12.

Fresno State = $900,000
Nevada = $900,000
Boise State = $750,000

All negotiated payouts for schools to leave the WAC for the Mtn West.

Missouri's exit fee from the Big 12 is going to have negotiations starting at $40 million according to the KC Star.

3. The contract was signed in March of 2011. Well after conference realignment talks heated up, and well after Nebraska, Colorado, and the host of WAC/C-USA/Mtn West teams had made moves.

Here's a summary of my points:

A. The conference knew well in advance what the market for exit fees should be in FBS football, yet they still crafted a contract where the MAXIMUM NEGOTIATED EXIT FEE will be around $500,000 in a best case scenario (that is my own hypothesized number based on the UMASS contract and current realignment events ). That is WELL below the exit fees negotiated at other Non AQ conferences, and a farce compared to the set market mentioned above. I personally think Temple and UMASS could get out with no exit fees, but that's a solely personal opinion.

B. Jack Welch is a $5+ Million donor at Umass. They have other $5+ Million Donors, PLUS a slew of $1+ Million and $500,000+Donors. The market and alumni base is huge and appears to be wealthy and supportive. Hell, John Calipari gives between $25k and $100k per year. Temple is in a similar, favorable financial condition with a more bottom heavy giving pyramid in comparison to UMASS's top heavy pyramid. If you have leverage (and the MAC did, as UMASS wanted in) with schools that have a lot of money in big markets - why not use the leverage to enhance conference stability via huge exit fees, especially as conference realignment unfolds exactly at the time of contract inception and negotiation?

I'm lumping Temple in with UMASS in these points, as it sounds like some sort of amendment/negotiation was done to Temple's deal when UMASS joined to make them virtual equals in the eyes of the MAC.

C. Again for the deaf, dumb, and blind posters - we're screwed.  My original post was to say what a dumpster fire the MAC is and that I won't sit and heap praise on the conference, it's direction, or it's administration any longer.  I didn't make any overtures that we could leave and head for greener pastures. The reality is quite the opposite and probably more skewed towards the First Street Forever idea of impending FCS status. Until the University finds a way to keep all our donor money in house, and not headed up 33 to Columbus - we're going to be bent over like Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction.

It's a shame your client didn't show you the wonderful city that Philly is, as well as the beauty of the Main Line.  Having grown up there and visited much more than 3 times while living in NYC I can assure you it is a great city.  Your other comments (as is often the case) are sound and thought out.  Unfortunately, as is often the case, they are diluted and distracted by angst and rants.  Oh well.

Will be interesting to see what happens with the Big East and Temple.  Not sure the conference will survive, certainly not in any shape or form versus its current structure.  Don't be surprised if Nova takes considerable efforts to keep Temple out - if they want to move up to FBS football, they would be better served being the only B.E. dog in town.  And as a critical B-ball member, they have considerable clout.  While the conference needs teams, they may be better served adding geography than doubling down in Philly (especially with an aspiring FBS team (Nova) and a historically poor performing and drawing team (Temple).  East Carolina (which draws 45,000+ per game), Central Florida and Memphis add TV markets.  Much more important than adding Temple (assuming Nova moves up).  We'll see.

Love,

I read the contract a bit differently. The exit fee is $2.5M unless, for whatever reason, the MAC decides to shorten the term of the contract. If $5M is market for the Big East, then $2.5M doesn't seem out of line for the MAC. RCU, Utah and BYU didn't even have to pay exit fees to leave the Mountain West.

A turkey processing plant in Franconia is not Philadelphia. Franconia is an hour away.

Franconia is closer to Allentown than Philadelphia.

A. Would you expect a 26 year old Consultant to stay in Franconia 4 days a week? I lodged in several different locations around Philly and commuted up 476. This is getting pretty lame.

B. Ted, what are we reading differently? I'm confused. Here is a quote from the article/contract:

But if either UMass or Temple were to announce a decision to leave, the other's membership could change.

The MAC would have the option of retaining the remaining school as a full member, replacing the departing school with another program or converting the remaining team's membership to a term contract of no less than two years.

In the event of a term contract, the remaining school would only need to pay $500,000 if it chose to withdraw.

Basically if Temple or UMASS opts out, the other can play in the MAC for one more year and then get out for $500,000 instead of $2.5m. Am I reading it wrong?

C. 695, love love love the car in the lake analogy. The Gimp Room is still more apt, but the car bobbing in the lake is pretty spot on.

476 is not in Philadelphia either.  You said earlier you stayed in Conshocken.
If you're going to bash a place. tell us exactly where you stayed.

Only if the MAC puts a "term contract" on the remaining school. (Right now there apparently is no expiration on the contract.) If the MAC replaces Temple with another program, the buyout stays. If the MAC wants to keep UMass with no expiration, the buyout stays. It seems like the ball is in the MAC's court if Temple leaves, not UMass'.