The argument that BCS schools are unwilling to play us 1 for 1 based on having a competitive MAC program no longer has any legs with these WMU game contracts. Bill Cubit like Frank is in his 7th year at WMU and he has exactly the same number of wins as Frank with 40. Regional BCS teams have frequented Cubit's schedule in recent years: 2007 (WVU, Indiana, Mizzou), 2008 (Nebraska, Illinios), 2009 (Michigan, Indiana, Michigan St), 2010 (Michigan St, Notre Dame). Cubit is scheduling WMU out exactly as I would prescribe for Solich. The scheduling strategy in place was agreed to after the 2008 season when the Bobcats were coming off of a 4-8 season. Where the program is right today, I'd like to see at a minimum some gradual stepping up in the selection for home games. I would start by axing the 2012 Norfolk State game and replacing it with a BCS game to pair with NMSU at home that year. The return game can be in 2013 with UNT and Marshall scheduled already at home. In 2014 I would replace Eastern Illinois with a BCS home game to go along with Idaho. This would give the program a BCS team in the house 2 out of 4 years from 2012-2015, Beyond that I would like to see the program move to an annual BCS game at home replacing the WAC/SBC series.

Once again, money concerns have nothing to do with it.  Any home-and-home series involves no guaranteed payment to the opposition (other than travel costs).  So a home-and-home with Illinois will actually cost WMU less than our home-and-home with New Mexico State, due to the much lesser travel costs incurred.  The only reason we are not scheduling these type of games is that Solich wants to dumb down the schedule, end of story.

I hate to say it, but what is the travel cost for some of the schools we are facing? New Mexico State's cost has to be reasonably high. We can't afford to bring in a big name school for 400K, but if we can do a 2-1 deal without the payout that might be the way to go.

Tell me the numbers that let us pay a visitor $400,000 to come to Athens--and still leave some revenue to cover our game costs.

WMU AD Speaks

http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2011/04/wmu_ad_says_latest_deal_that_b.html

Huh?  I'm not talking about a net profit of zero from the game, just that the guarantee WMU is receiving from the road trip to Champaign would cover the guarantee its promised to the Illini to play in Kalamazoo.  WMU will still make money off of the game from any ticket sales, concessions, etc. they sell.  The point is that the guarantee payments are a wash, just like our (presumably non-existant) guarantees with NMSU or North Texas are a wash. 

There is no significant financial difference between our playing a home-and-home with NMSU and WMU playing a home-and-home with Illinois.  If anything, the Broncos will actually be better off financially, given that the travel costs to Champaign are much lower, and the game will likely attract more fans than ours with NMSU.

That's my understanding, Jeff.  One can of course debate the merits of that decision either way, but ultimately that is a competitive issue, not a financial one.

Time value of money -- exactly!  A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.

Look out for the unintended consequences if Ohio was to make the same Big Ten deal.  

The academic side at Ohio is hostile to athletics; football in particular.  Put money in the bank and they'd scream for the next year's budget to be $400,000 less.  Then when it comes time to pay for the return game they'd scream even louder that there is no money to pay such a outrageous amount!  Like politicians the memories of these folks is very very short and I'd bet that the new mouthpiece for the cause would not remember the terms of the wash deal.

Furthermore, in the WMU article it clearly pointed out that Minnesota had no interest in a 1 and 1 with WMU.  All you on here who think it is just a matter of picking up the phone and saying hey Hoosiers come to Athens are deceiving themselves.  There are many Ohio contemporaries seeking these deals with only a few like Illinois willing to ink the deal from the other end--there simply aren't enough to go around.  I don't see any advantage for Illinois playing the series.  Consider if the Illini had the same deal with the Bobcats and got embarrassed three times! (two wins by the Cats and the after game band show at the Illini field in 2006 was a no doubter)  Better to take the W against the same types of opponents that we have scheduled.

Perhaps creative financing is involved.  Ohio State doesn't mind shelling out the $750,000  to host MAC games but maybe the Illinois powers cannot justify the shelling out of a big sum in their annual budget and preferred the wash deal?

Wins.  If we take The Big Step Up, we are a more compelling team.  Demand will be there for big schools to play us.  The People will speak.   Though the schools will resist to some extent; who wants to lose to a MAC team, of all things!  Most of the big games will be on the road, of cour$e.


Victories solve problems.

Sorry but it doesn't work like that Monroe. Some of the very strongest non-conference schedules in the MAC are played by Eastern Michigan a program that hasn't had a winning season in 15. Ohio without constraint could have 3 or 4 BCS games on the road every year if it so chose. Kent State is opening at Alabama next season, what have they ever done on the football field? Ohio should be putting the Penn States, Nebraskas, Wisconsins regularly on the schedule and have Illinios, Indiana, Northwestern, ect regularly in a 1 for 1 situation. The more Big Ten this school plays the better as most students/alumni are in/from Big Ten country. If Ohio can pack the house for a Big Ten school every year that will trickle over to season ticket sales and donations for the athletic department. The current scheduling strategy by the athletics department says to the fans we don't care about you. Not a great way to build a fanbase.

I think we are doing exactly what we need to be to produce consistent winning seasons and reaching bowl games. Playing 3 non-conference games that we have a fair chance at winning plus one money game where we play a BCS conference school and cash a check is perfect.  Frank is doing exactly what we need yo do. At the very least we should be 2-2 or 3-1 non-confrence every season and with a 5-3 or better MAC season we go to a bowl. End of Story

When we recruit we can say we have been to 3 bowls in 6 years and a strong favorite to make that 4 in 7 years. You keeping reaching bowls every year and you are looked upon as the top program in the MAC.  Teams that play 3 BCS teams like Akron go 1-3 non-confrence and are bowling with a 5-3 MAC record.  We go bowling with a 5-3 MAC record.  If you playing Indiana or Pitt in Athens you are not going to a bowl. Until we start winning MAC titles and bowls games we aren't at that level where we can beat a BCS team home or away. Take the game you can win and have that carrot of a bowl game for the team.  No team that travels well will come to Athens. West Virginia would be the one team that comes to mind and they would never do that.