Ohio Football Topic
Topic: MAC D1 Status?
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Buckeye to Bobcat
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Posted: 4/24/2020 9:22 PM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
I know one easy way to cut our football budget: Quit housing our team in a local hotel prior to home games. That's like 20-30K per game right there.
I imagine that is on the chopping block as well as flying to Buffalo, Western and Central.
Can we also start with those stupid development booklets they send out? Just fine with getting a pdf version. Those things cost a boatload then from on-campus printing, and cost twice as much now. It's gonna be funny when university departments quit using each other because of the "inflated rates" they created for each other
Bobcat1996
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Posted: 4/24/2020 10:10 PM
Billy is probably correct as flying to Buffalo, Central and Western in both basketball and football will probably be no longer allowed. Also probably scrap any preseason Bahamas, Jamaica or Hawaii basketball tourney in the near future. For that matter throw out any preseason Europe trip that any college hoops or other sports program plans to make in the next decade. Tough times! Since we are cutting big time, why is Ohio University paying Rio, Capital, Wilbenforce, Northwestern Ohio, Prairie View, Bama A@M , and Heidelberg to play in the Convo? The budget may dictate that Ohio no longer hosts these lower division hoops teams and now is forced to play at Kentucky, Louisville, and Kansas on a regular basis.
Last Edited: 4/24/2020 10:28:18 PM by Bobcat1996
Pataskala
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Posted: 4/25/2020 11:35 AM
Bobcat1996 wrote:expand_more
Billy is probably correct as flying to Buffalo, Central and Western in both basketball and football will probably be no longer allowed. Also probably scrap any preseason Bahamas, Jamaica or Hawaii basketball tourney in the near future. For that matter throw out any preseason Europe trip that any college hoops or other sports program plans to make in the next decade. Tough times! Since we are cutting big time, why is Ohio University paying Rio, Capital, Wilbenforce, Northwestern Ohio, Prairie View, Bama mailto:A@M , and Heidelberg to play in the Convo? The budget may dictate that Ohio no longer hosts these lower division hoops teams and now is forced to play at Kentucky, Louisville, and Kansas on a regular basis.
One reason we have to play so many D2 teams is that the "P" teams are playing more conference games because most of them have so many teams. There are 15 in the ACC for b-ball, 14 in the SEC and B10. They're now going to 20 conference games (I think the SEC starts it next season) and even some of the mid-majors and small majors are playing 20. They're even playing conference games in early December. Their availabilities are limited.

As for travel budgets, unfortunately I think the 110's travel will be cut back as well, even though they're a great ambassador for the school.
cbus cat fan
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Posted: 4/25/2020 11:42 AM
As much as budget cuts and perhaps even ending some D1 affiliations are being discussed in MAC football circles and perhaps even some American Conference and Mountain West schools, I can't imagine any Sun Belt and CUSA schools thinking this way. Think of the money that it took to resurrect the Lazarus like UAB's football program after it came back from the dead? We may have a situation developing where once we get back to business as usual, it won't be business as usual for the MAC and some other football D1 conference, but it probably will be for the Sun Belt, CUSA and especially the SEC.
Last Edited: 4/25/2020 11:43:25 AM by cbus cat fan
Bobcat1996
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Posted: 4/25/2020 3:27 PM
cbus cat fan wrote:expand_more
As much as budget cuts and perhaps even ending some D1 affiliations are being discussed in MAC football circles and perhaps even some American Conference and Mountain West schools, I can't imagine any Sun Belt and CUSA schools thinking this way. Think of the money that it took to resurrect the Lazarus like UAB's football program after it came back from the dead? We may have a situation developing where once we get back to business as usual, it won't be business as usual for the MAC and some other football D1 conference, but it probably will be for the Sun Belt, CUSA and especially the SEC.
The Sun Belt, CUSA and SEC all being down south have a different approach to football. NASCAR and Football are king down south. Maybe the MAC should consider playing two more league games in basketball?
Last Edited: 4/25/2020 3:29:44 PM by Bobcat1996
Pete Chouteau
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Posted: 4/25/2020 6:01 PM
cbus cat fan wrote:expand_more
As much as budget cuts and perhaps even ending some D1 affiliations are being discussed in MAC football circles and perhaps even some American Conference and Mountain West schools, I can't imagine any Sun Belt and CUSA schools thinking this way. Think of the money that it took to resurrect the Lazarus like UAB's football program after it came back from the dead? We may have a situation developing where once we get back to business as usual, it won't be business as usual for the MAC and some other football D1 conference, but it probably will be for the Sun Belt, CUSA and especially the SEC.
I think you're wrong. The budget issues are just as strong down south AND the MAC holds an advantage with the cheapest travel costs.

This whole deal is going to be an existential fight for universities in general, let alone their athletic departments.
cbus cat fan
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Posted: 4/25/2020 9:43 PM
Pete Chouteau wrote:expand_more
As much as budget cuts and perhaps even ending some D1 affiliations are being discussed in MAC football circles and perhaps even some American Conference and Mountain West schools, I can't imagine any Sun Belt and CUSA schools thinking this way. Think of the money that it took to resurrect the Lazarus like UAB's football program after it came back from the dead? We may have a situation developing where once we get back to business as usual, it won't be business as usual for the MAC and some other football D1 conference, but it probably will be for the Sun Belt, CUSA and especially the SEC.
I think you're wrong. The budget issues are just as strong down south AND the MAC holds an advantage with the cheapest travel costs.

This whole deal is going to be an existential fight for universities in general, let alone their athletic departments.
Athletics, especially in the south is key to fundraising for many universities. Any crisis (including a pandemic) is a cleansing agent for any industry. Look at how many car manufacturers there were before the depression. The most successful and those with the greatest funding survive any crisis.

One missing element not mentioned here is the rebound effect from any crisis. We lost 116,000 men to battle wounds and illness during World War I. We lost 675,000 civilians back home to the 1918-19 Pandemic (keep in mind the US has grown 3.5x what it was then.) It would be like losing more than 2 million today. Yet, a few short years later the Roaring 20s brought the greatest expansion the US economy had ever seen, at that point in our history.

Those universities that are economic viable will get stronger, and as extension of that, so will their athletic programs, not because they will get more funding, but they will not sustain the types of cuts that are coming to non-Power schools, especially MAC and Mountain West schools, as well as few American Conference schools. It is not that basketball is immune, but the overheard for it isn't as big a drain as is D1 football.
Last Edited: 4/25/2020 10:16:09 PM by cbus cat fan
Alan Swank
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Posted: 4/26/2020 8:34 AM
Pete Chouteau wrote:expand_more
As much as budget cuts and perhaps even ending some D1 affiliations are being discussed in MAC football circles and perhaps even some American Conference and Mountain West schools, I can't imagine any Sun Belt and CUSA schools thinking this way. Think of the money that it took to resurrect the Lazarus like UAB's football program after it came back from the dead? We may have a situation developing where once we get back to business as usual, it won't be business as usual for the MAC and some other football D1 conference, but it probably will be for the Sun Belt, CUSA and especially the SEC.
I think you're wrong. The budget issues are just as strong down south AND the MAC holds an advantage with the cheapest travel costs.

This whole deal is going to be an existential fight for universities in general, let alone their athletic departments.
College football is more of a cultural issue in the South for both men and women. Not so much north of the Mason Dixon. They will find a way to survive.
BobcatSports
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Posted: 4/26/2020 12:09 PM
Depends on how “south” you go. Here in North Carolina they consider football a nuisance one must endure to get to basketball season.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 4/26/2020 2:39 PM
Perhaps it's now time to reconsider the new more compact All-America Athletic Conference (AAAC): Ohio, Marshall, WKU, Toledo, BG, Miami, Kent State, Ball State, Indiana State and EKU (the latter two after upgrading to FBS). Just a pipe dream, but hey, that's what we do when sequestered at home with lots of time to ponder the imponderable. ;-)
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 4/26/2020 5:48 PM
Read today that the NCAA denied the petition by the Group of 5 conferences to waive the requirement for a minimum number of sports to be Div. I. Said that those requests would have to be looked at individually.
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 4/26/2020 6:45 PM
BobcatSports wrote:expand_more
Depends on how “south” you go. Here in North Carolina they consider football a nuisance one must endure to get to basketball season.
Been to many games at UNC, NCState, and Duke, and it’s a hold over to basketball.

I so disagree with this statement, OSU, Michigan, ND, Nebraska, Penn State, have some of the largest stadiums in the nation, and have as rabid fans as anyone in the South, and they have larger athletic departments than southern schools. The SEC doesn’t even sponsor wrestling.
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 4/27/2020 7:42 AM
I am not sure why people are talking about which conference to join...I would assume the entire conference would simply become FCS for football but go together and remain the MAC. Many conferences (Missouri Valley, Ivy, etc.) are like this.

My problem is there are already over 120 FCS teams. If the MAC and other non-P5 conferences join, it will be way too big (it's already too big).

I think a new division needs created of non-P5 conferences and pull up a few FCS conferences so both we create 3 divisions all with around 75 teams. I'd consider breaking up D2 (164 teams) & D3 (250 teams) as well based loosely on region. End up with about 8 divisions of a similar size. In a sport like footnall where you can only play about a dozen games a year, it is really dumb to have hundreds of teams in a single division.
greencat
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Posted: 4/27/2020 8:21 AM
Cutting 20 football schollies per year shouldn't save all that much money unless it's a private school. It would save Duke and Vanderbilt and Rice some scratch but don't count on those first two ever going 1aa.
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 4/27/2020 8:23 AM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
I am not sure why people are talking about which conference to join...I would assume the entire conference would simply become FCS for football but go together and remain the MAC. Many conferences (Missouri Valley, Ivy, etc.) are like this.

My problem is there are already over 120 FCS teams. If the MAC and other non-P5 conferences join, it will be way too big (it's already too big).

I think a new division needs created of non-P5 conferences and pull up a few FCS conferences so both we create 3 divisions all with around 75 teams. I'd consider breaking up D2 (164 teams) & D3 (250 teams) as well based loosely on region. End up with about 8 divisions of a similar size. In a sport like footnall where you can only play about a dozen games a year, it is really dumb to have hundreds of teams in a single division.
8 NCAA divisions huh? Why don’t we give them all a trophy 🏆
Bobcat1996
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Posted: 4/27/2020 9:13 AM
Correct greencat as Duke and Vandy aren't dropping down. You may as well throw in many other power five schools who have zero shot at winning it all in football. That list is long as no university wants to give up the staggering amount of cash they get from being in a power five conference.
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Posted: 4/27/2020 9:21 AM
BobcatSports wrote:expand_more
Depends on how “south” you go. Here in North Carolina they consider football a nuisance one must endure to get to basketball season.
so true.

and not from fans in seats, but culture on campus perspective, baseball is more passionate than football.
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 4/27/2020 10:22 AM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
8 NCAA divisions huh? Why don’t we give them all a trophy 🏆
It isn't about the trophy, its about how a full season schedule covering less than 10% of the league in which you belong is silly, especially in a sport where roster depth is so important and the disparity as you move up and down the ladder is vast. Why not group things better competitively and geographically?
Alan Swank
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Posted: 4/27/2020 11:45 AM
BobcatSports wrote:expand_more
Depends on how “south” you go. Here in North Carolina they consider football a nuisance one must endure to get to basketball season.
I was talking about the SEC footprint minus UK. The interesting thing too is that come "bowl season" they root for each others teams unlike some big 10 teams.
Good cat Good cat
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Posted: 4/27/2020 5:17 PM
I envision majority of MAC will drop down to I-AA for football. Perhaps a few trying to hold onto D-I status. There could be a few dropping down further or disbanding football altogether for schools that are either in financial turmoil or which have experienced notable enrollment declines in recent years -the Zips of Akron and the Hurons of Eastern Michigan come to mind.

The TV contract and the intangible value of free advertising for the universities to hold onto the football programs has been the life line that has been holding numerous schools up over the last 20 years....I am hoping the economic fallout of the virus impact helps streamline or right-size athletic budgets in the coming years, but not holding my breath. Certainly up Rt 33 in Crazy O$U land the powers-that-be have been formulating new plans to feed the football beast...maybe install slot machines at each seat in the stadium for more revenue? Copyright Buck-I-Guy and sell bobble heads for $75 each? The possibilities are endless!
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Posted: 4/27/2020 6:00 PM
SBH wrote:expand_more
Akron's president announced today that their athletic program will be "much smaller and leaner," beginning with a 20% budget cut in FY 21.
Ours has already been notified of similar cuts. No sport cuts but significant cuts
With Arkley gone and the ANews reporter headed to Cleveland, we'll probably hear about those cuts on here first.
There's an ANews reporter headed to CLE? Why, there are no journalism jobs here. Nothing left of the PD staff (4 people) and Cleveland.com is just a sweatshop that also is cutting people.
Conor Morris to something called Report for America.
Alan Swank
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Posted: 4/27/2020 6:17 PM
JSF wrote:expand_more
Akron's president announced today that their athletic program will be "much smaller and leaner," beginning with a 20% budget cut in FY 21.
Ours has already been notified of similar cuts. No sport cuts but significant cuts
With Arkley gone and the ANews reporter headed to Cleveland, we'll probably hear about those cuts on here first.
There's an ANews reporter headed to CLE? Why, there are no journalism jobs here. Nothing left of the PD staff (4 people) and Cleveland.com is just a sweatshop that also is cutting people.
Conor Morris to something called Report for America.
https://www.reportforamerica.org

He'll be working for Cleveland.com and covering poverty in Cleveland including housing, health and education.

This is a tremendous loss for Athens. There is so little reporting now and I'm afraid by the end of 2021 we'll be down to one "paper" that only publishes a few times a week. To use a term from the late sixties and early seventies, it will be easy to "get over" with no one paying attention.
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Posted: 4/27/2020 6:56 PM
If he's working for the Cle.com sweatshop, he'll be living poverty in Cleveland. A horrible organization.
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 4/27/2020 7:07 PM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
8 NCAA divisions huh? Why don’t we give them all a trophy 🏆
It isn't about the trophy, its about how a full season schedule covering less than 10% of the league in which you belong is silly, especially in a sport where roster depth is so important and the disparity as you move up and down the ladder is vast. Why not group things better competitively and geographically?
Hmmm, basketball has about 320 schools, but that is ok?


The overall dislike of football as a sport on this board never ceases to entertain me.
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 4/27/2020 7:09 PM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
8 NCAA divisions huh? Why don’t we give them all a trophy 🏆
It isn't about the trophy, its about how a full season schedule covering less than 10% of the league in which you belong is silly, especially in a sport where roster depth is so important and the disparity as you move up and down the ladder is vast. Why not group things better competitively and geographically?
So, FBs football plays exactly 10% of the DI membership. DI basketball plays less, but to you that’s ok? Oh the irony here.
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