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Ohio Football Topic
Topic: SBC rumor
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Andrew Ruck
7/7/2025 9:05 AM
Dumb. Midwest for life.
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OhioCatFan
7/7/2025 10:53 AM
MUsince96 wrote:expand_more
I did see Lori Stewart Gonzalez was provost and executive vice chancellor at App State when they joined the Sun Belt.
Her connection to Kentucky and North Carolina are the only things that make this story have any legs at all. But, exploring this possibility, and actually executing it are two different animals.
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MUsince96
7/7/2025 11:20 AM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
I did see Lori Stewart Gonzalez was provost and executive vice chancellor at App State when they joined the Sun Belt.
Her connection to Kentucky and North Carolina are the only things that make this story have any legs at all. But, exploring this possibility, and actually executing it are two different animals.
I agree that it's probably a long shot. But I think you guys would be an exciting addition.
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GreenDaddy
7/7/2025 11:44 AM
MUsince96 wrote:expand_more
I did see Lori Stewart Gonzalez was provost and executive vice chancellor at App State when they joined the Sun Belt.
Her connection to Kentucky and North Carolina are the only things that make this story have any legs at all. But, exploring this possibility, and actually executing it are two different animals.
I agree that it's probably a long shot. But I think you guys would be an exciting addition.
Yeah, Ohio would be an awesome addition. I'd like to see them, WKU, and Delaware to the SBC. Would really help strengthen basketball.

I don't blame you Ohio fans for wanting to stay put. The MAC has been a pretty stable home and the travel is very friendly. However, wouldn't it be nice to get rid of some of the Tuesday night games and you know Marshall, JMU, and App State would bring fans to Athens. Probably always get a nice bump in ticket sales.
Last Edited: 7/7/2025 11:45:22 AM by GreenDaddy
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cbarber357
7/7/2025 2:32 PM
GreenDaddy wrote:expand_more
I did see Lori Stewart Gonzalez was provost and executive vice chancellor at App State when they joined the Sun Belt.
Her connection to Kentucky and North Carolina are the only things that make this story have any legs at all. But, exploring this possibility, and actually executing it are two different animals.
I agree that it's probably a long shot. But I think you guys would be an exciting addition.
Yeah, Ohio would be an awesome addition. I'd like to see them, WKU, and Delaware to the SBC. Would really help strengthen basketball.

I don't blame you Ohio fans for wanting to stay put. The MAC has been a pretty stable home and the travel is very friendly. However, wouldn't it be nice to get rid of some of the Tuesday night games and you know Marshall, JMU, and App State would bring fans to Athens. Probably always get a nice bump in ticket sales.
I’ve enjoyed the MAC and don’t have a strong opinion on leaving for the Sun Belt, but I will admit that I’d enjoy having Marshall, App State, and JMU regularly on the schedule. Would not be mad at it.
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Chris Galloway
7/7/2025 10:55 PM
First, the Ohio legislature would not care at all if Ohio left for the SBC.

Second, Ohio should jump given the chance. The MAC is not doing well. I love the conference, but it has been backsliding for nearly two decades. Just as Ohio finally got football right. Sad.

I'd prefer the two conferences merge into a super G5 (strength in numbers), but if that's not possible, then bolt to the stronger conference. SBC has been steadily getting stronger while the MAC has continued to weaken.
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The Optimist
7/8/2025 7:52 AM
A little birdie told me the Board of Trustees recently reached out to the SEC about membership.

I like the idea. We have a bit of a natural rivalry with Kentucky
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Victory
7/8/2025 9:17 AM
The Optimist wrote:expand_more
A little birdie told me the Board of Trustees recently reached out to the SEC about membership.

I like the idea. We have a bit of a natural rivalry with Kentucky
I have no idea what is going on and I get not taking things based on rumors too seriously. I also think that I'd rather stay in the MAC but comparing this is to rumor about joining the SEC hyperbole. I don't think that it is crazy at all to think that the Sunbelt might have interest in Ohio and that Ohio might have interest in the Sunbelt.
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STVCastle
7/8/2025 9:26 AM
Chris Galloway wrote:expand_more
First, the Ohio legislature would not care at all if Ohio left for the SBC.

Second, Ohio should jump given the chance. The MAC is not doing well. I love the conference, but it has been backsliding for nearly two decades. Just as Ohio finally got football right. Sad.

I'd prefer the two conferences merge into a super G5 (strength in numbers), but if that's not possible, then bolt to the stronger conference. SBC has been steadily getting stronger while the MAC has continued to weaken.
I would agree.

For starters, I support the MAC and believe that the MAC can still be a fun and viable conference. However, recent history has not been kind to the MAC.

As much as I think Northern Illinois is making a mistake going to the MWC, there is an underlying reason why NIU left the MAC. Money.

The MAC's media rights deal with ESPN (which isn't all that great) ends in 2027. There's no guarantee it will be renewed. Every other G6 conference has been making significant moves. The MAC added UMass but now needs to get back into the Central Time Zone after losing NIU. This is key because their media rights value won't increase without a school in the Central.

We can wait until around 2028 to see if the MAC will make any moves with their media rights deal and expansion, but if they stay quiet then there's reason to be concerned about the long-term health of the conference.

Those rumors of Toledo/Buffalo going to the AAC for now aren't going away, much like how NIU to the MWC never went away.

In summary, I want the MAC to succeed, but we all should think about having a backup plan. For Ohio that could be the Sun Belt.
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M.D.W.S.T
7/8/2025 9:36 AM
Not unless they finally accept my idea to combine forces, making the MAC "Sun Belt North". MAC Belt.

MAC is a bus league. Joining the Sun Belt would increase travel costs for OU in huge numbers, and those numbers are not likely to be offset by any current media deals.

I'm all about thinking long term, and big picture, and I think that is G5 conferences combining and making themselves stronger vs outside noise but I don't think OU can do it by themselves without a couple others. Toledo. Miami. Etc. Enough to make it at least a split travel schedule. Maybe a large conference would bring in more tv dollars when these current deals end, but right now the MAC has a pretty similar deal, payouts between conferences (will shift with bowls) are pretty similiar. MAC actually has double the viewership on ESPN, driven by MACtion.

Outside of just the newness, and a somewhat stronger conference, I don't see any real value today from a dollars perspective.
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SBH
7/8/2025 10:35 AM
East Division of Mountain Conference

Ohio
Toledo
Miami
Western MI
Ball State
Akron or BGSU (Kent wants to drop football anyway)
Western Kentucky
Buffalo
UMass
Rhode Island
Last Edited: 7/8/2025 10:37:01 AM by SBH
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M.D.W.S.T
7/8/2025 10:56 AM
SBH wrote:expand_more
East Division of Mountain Conference

Ohio
Toledo
Miami
Western MI
Ball State
Akron or BGSU (Kent wants to drop football anyway)
Western Kentucky
Buffalo
UMass
Rhode Island
I see what you're doing here with Rhode Island, but are they even a potential viable FBS option? Aside from last season, they're not very good and have spent the last decade plus as a below .500 fcs squad. For two, their stadium only holds 6K, so they'd have to upgrade in a massive way outside just the costs to jump to FBS.

If we're going East, and taking into account Delaware is headed to CUSA, I'm not sure we have any NE viability, I think you have to start pulsing Norfolk State. With Mike Vick coming into town it seems like they care about building a program. They also have a fairly newly upgraded stadium that holds 30K.

Feels like they would prefer to hold out for CUSA or Sun Belt, if they wanted to move up.

Ideally, I think to build a viable conference we have to move west - even though that extends everyones travel and seems unlikely geographically. NDSU, South Dakota, Montana State.

But as always, all roads lead me back to Youngstown State (might not be financially feasible, but still makes the most sense), Western Kentucky (tick tock), and bumping Eastern Kentucky into the big time (WKU rival).
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Andrew Ruck
7/8/2025 12:38 PM
My dream scenario would be to get rid of Buffalo & Umass (and NIU) and bring in Marshall, WKU & App State. Then have MAC South (Ohio, Miami, Ball St, those 3) and a MAC North (4 Northern Ohio & 3 directional Mich)

Being in a conference with a bunch of random teams from the south really nauseates me.
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The Optimist
7/8/2025 1:48 PM
Victory wrote:expand_more
A little birdie told me the Board of Trustees recently reached out to the SEC about membership.

I like the idea. We have a bit of a natural rivalry with Kentucky
I have no idea what is going on and I get not taking things based on rumors too seriously. I also think that I'd rather stay in the MAC but comparing this is to rumor about joining the SEC hyperbole. I don't think that it is crazy at all to think that the Sunbelt might have interest in Ohio and that Ohio might have interest in the Sunbelt.
It's just under 200 miles from Athens to Lexington, Kentucky
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GoCats105
7/8/2025 3:08 PM
One of the biggest problems with realignment is finding enough like-minded institutions willing to spend money on athletics. The Sun Belt was very meticulous in who they added the first go round and also their deal with ESPN: (1) bus travel league for the most part (2) schools that are willing to invest more into football and actually cared to do so and (3) wanting to keep playing more games on Saturdays to drive fan attendance.

I'm not sure if Ohio fits into that. And I'm not sure our academic leaders would approve the move solely for athletics.
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cbarber357
7/9/2025 10:27 AM
GoCats105 wrote:expand_more
One of the biggest problems with realignment is finding enough like-minded institutions willing to spend money on athletics. The Sun Belt was very meticulous in who they added the first go round and also their deal with ESPN: (1) bus travel league for the most part (2) schools that are willing to invest more into football and actually cared to do so and (3) wanting to keep playing more games on Saturdays to drive fan attendance.

I'm not sure if Ohio fits into that. And I'm not sure our academic leaders would approve the move solely for athletics.
For years I’ve seen people talk about academics being tied to athletic conferences, but I have no idea how this works in practice. Genuinely curious if this even matters in any meaningful way? Like, is there anything anyone can point to academically between schools that could not still happen if we weren’t in the same conference?
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GoCats105
7/9/2025 10:36 AM
cbarber357 wrote:expand_more
One of the biggest problems with realignment is finding enough like-minded institutions willing to spend money on athletics. The Sun Belt was very meticulous in who they added the first go round and also their deal with ESPN: (1) bus travel league for the most part (2) schools that are willing to invest more into football and actually cared to do so and (3) wanting to keep playing more games on Saturdays to drive fan attendance.

I'm not sure if Ohio fits into that. And I'm not sure our academic leaders would approve the move solely for athletics.
For years I’ve seen people talk about academics being tied to athletic conferences, but I have no idea how this works in practice. Genuinely curious if this even matters in any meaningful way? Like, is there anything anyone can point to academically between schools that could not still happen if we weren’t in the same conference?
You can look at the PAC 12's demise for an example. Stanford, Cal and Washington refused to be in the same conference with the likes of Boise State, Fresno State and San Diego State simply because they didn't fit the academic profile. They quite literally would have rather seen their own conference die. There were obviously other factors that played into that, but the PAC 12 had chances to expand and they just didn't.

The Big Ten has stated for years that they would only target schools that fit their type of institutional profile. Probably why they went as far west for UCLA and Washington, but hasn't thought twice about a school like West Virginia in its own backyard. You could argue the biggest target on everyone's radar right now is North Carolina. They fit the academic profile for the Big Ten, but it's right on the border of the SEC who also wants them.
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SBH
7/9/2025 10:56 AM
GoCats105 wrote:expand_more
One of the biggest problems with realignment is finding enough like-minded institutions willing to spend money on athletics. The Sun Belt was very meticulous in who they added the first go round and also their deal with ESPN: (1) bus travel league for the most part (2) schools that are willing to invest more into football and actually cared to do so and (3) wanting to keep playing more games on Saturdays to drive fan attendance.

I'm not sure if Ohio fits into that. And I'm not sure our academic leaders would approve the move solely for athletics.
Interested in why you think Ohio doesn't fit into that model. We have shown a willingness to invest in football and basketball. Not that I believe SBC affiliation is even remotely possible due to our institutional priorities, but I don't agree that we wouldn't qualify for membership.
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greencat
7/9/2025 11:30 AM
Besides the NIU stuff, the only other MAC moves that are being whispered about are this Toledo and Fiami to the MWC rumor that doesn't have much to back it up.
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TWT
7/9/2025 1:45 PM
SBC is heavily focused on its divisional structure so if Ohio was to join the SBC probably grows to 16 with two 8 team divisions playing each other round robin.

Ohio
Marshall
James Madison
Old Dominion
Appalachian State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia State
Georgia Southern

Compare this alignment to anything in MAC football currently or a mix of MAC schools + Western Kentucky and strength wise it would be favorable.
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GreenDaddy
7/9/2025 2:02 PM
TWT wrote:expand_more
SBC is heavily focused on its divisional structure so if Ohio was to join the SBC probably grows to 16 with two 8 team divisions playing each other round robin.

Ohio
Marshall
James Madison
Old Dominion
Appalachian State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia State
Georgia Southern

Compare this alignment to anything in MAC football currently or a mix of MAC schools + Western Kentucky and strength wise it would be favorable.
This is spot on. If the SBC goes to 16 WKU will almost certainly be included as well, but since they would be on the western side of things you may not get to see them much.

Ohio+WKU really helps strengthen the basketball side of things though.
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GoCats105
7/9/2025 3:03 PM
SBH wrote:expand_more
One of the biggest problems with realignment is finding enough like-minded institutions willing to spend money on athletics. The Sun Belt was very meticulous in who they added the first go round and also their deal with ESPN: (1) bus travel league for the most part (2) schools that are willing to invest more into football and actually cared to do so and (3) wanting to keep playing more games on Saturdays to drive fan attendance.

I'm not sure if Ohio fits into that. And I'm not sure our academic leaders would approve the move solely for athletics.
Interested in why you think Ohio doesn't fit into that model. We have shown a willingness to invest in football and basketball. Not that I believe SBC affiliation is even remotely possible due to our institutional priorities, but I don't agree that we wouldn't qualify for membership.
You would know more than me how much we're actually investing from a football and basketball perspective. I still think significant upgrades need to be made to Peden if we're getting really, really serious about this. I don't mean expansion, I just mean overall amenities and a fresh look. And most basketball fans on this board, including myself, are pining for that basketball centric practice facility. Without looking at actual travel times, the bus travel would be rough outside of Marshall and maybe App/JMU. Other than those things we absolutely qualify.

But to your point, Ohio might have other institutional priorities that hold us back.
Last Edited: 7/9/2025 3:09:54 PM by GoCats105
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TWT
7/9/2025 4:56 PM
Ohio in preliminary talks with SBC.

https://www.dnronline.com/sports/college/sun-belt-leaders...
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colobobcat66
7/9/2025 5:55 PM
I would think that after a honeymoon period attendance-wise in a new league, that attendance would not be greatly helped in the SBC. I don’t think you can dismiss travel costs as insignificant. Getting rid of midweek games would be okay with me, I haven’t been a fan since pretty much all games are on cable etc now. I know that’s been discussed forever, and some are on board,that’s okay. Leaving without a few of our long time rivals would seem very strange to me.
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GoCats105
7/9/2025 6:42 PM
colobobcat66 wrote:expand_more
I would think that after a honeymoon period attendance-wise in a new league, that attendance would not be greatly helped in the SBC. I don’t think you can dismiss travel costs as insignificant. Getting rid of midweek games would be okay with me, I haven’t been a fan since pretty much all games are on cable etc now. I know that’s been discussed forever, and some are on board,that’s okay. Leaving without a few of our long time rivals would seem very strange to me.
Still important to note that the Sun Belt does weeknight games, but they're mostly in October and there aren't as many as the MAC has in November.
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