As far as air travel, Southwest goes nonstop from Nashville to both Cleveland and Detroit. (and of course, Columbus)

Cincinnati is not a bad drive for WKU/MT but not quite as geographical middle as Indy or Pittsburgh. Would an NHL arena count as prestigious? That's what Nashville has and nobody grips when they have SEC/NCAA hoops tournaments there.

Detroit to Indy for football seems like a lateral move.

Despite how good Dayton is for the OHSAA and First Four, I think there is something lost by having our tournament in another team's arena that isn't even in our conference. Nationwide/Columbus would be great, but does that move really make a difference for WKU/MTSU fans?

Moving hoops to Cincinnati would make a difference, but it would have to be Heritage Bank Center. Oh yeah, it's not US Bank Arena anymore. I was just there for the Cyclones home opener and that arena really blows. There were only about 7,000 people, which is great for minor league hockey, and the concourse was still crowded and concession lines stretching into the arena area. The RNC and NCAA Tournament had great reason to back out.

One of the benefits to having hoops in Cleveland is the relatively short drive for teams that are consistently good. Akron and Kent are next door. Buffalo is pretty much a two hour straight shot. BG and Toledo not far. And most of our alumni congregate in Cleveland or Columbus. What do you have in Cincinnati? Miami, but they don't show up all that well for regular season stuff.

The general consensus on the MACbbs site is that this is now a "done deal." The MAC presidents are reportedly meeting today for a formal vote. Meanwhile, there are reports that the MAC Commissioner will be at the MTSU-WKU game tomorrow in Bowling Green, Ky. There is still, of course, a chance that that MAC presidents could screw this up, but it does appear that the die is cast.

Not to mention the MAC Tournament is in an NBA arena. Huge upside for them.

Since this thread is WKU/MTSU watch, if you want to watch tomorrow's game it's carried by Stadium TV at 3:30 ET and will be on two TV subchannels in Columbus on Channels 6.4 and 28.3. To find out where to see it elsewhere, go to https://watchstadium.com /.

Some conferences move theirs around every once in a while to accommodate members on the edge of the footprint. I think the setup with Cleveland has been positive enough I don't think that it will be moved. Maybe they will move it to Indy or Louisville every once in a while or something like that. Who knows? My feeling is that it probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Football in Detroit seems set to me. The Big Ten is in Indy. Where else are you going to play indoors? I don't think the new fans, of all people, are going to be seeking an outdoor venue unless its moved all of the way to Nashville.

Any update on the expansion announcement?

I've heard rumors that the MAC had people at the game as did Toledo.

There has been some MTSU related grumbling that a 15 year GOR is too long... just in case (get a load of this).... the Big 12 is going to want them in a few years!!!

LOL!! ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!!!

WKU vs. MTSU is a massive rivalry (100 miles of hate). It was only available on crappy stadium online. Should be an example of why they should run to sign the papers to join the MAC. TV deal is a shit show in C-USA.

To quote a poster from an MTSU forum:
"That broadcast looked like it was shot using RING doorbell cameras." Which brought the question "Will the next one be broadcast using a beginners podcasting kit from Radio Shack?"

Translation: MT needs to stop dragging their feet and sign off on this. People think WKU has already signed up.

** Other than the MTSU band, word is they only had 25-50 fans there...that friggin' close to Murf./Nash. If people have lost interest in MTSU sports to that proportion, they need this change more than WKU needs it.

MTSU apparently has delusions that if they stay in C-USA that they will in the near future get the call from AAC. If this derails the deal, it will be a travesty. Some WKU fans on MACbbs and their fan boards are furious at this possible turn of events.

Apparently WKU would nix EKU, according to posters on MACbbs. They are all downcast now, because a reporter from Hopkinsville has tweeted that the whole thing has blown up and that neither team is going because the MAC has lost interest. This seems unlikely at this juncture, but it is the MAC, and they’ve been known screw up slam dunks before. I certainly hope that the reporter from Hoptown doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He cites unnamed “sources;” maybe they are MTSU never-MACers.

I knew the MAC would screw this up. It's like they are so insular that they have no ability to close a deal on any expansion.