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I think the MAC might be the worst football league in FBS in terms of national perception.
I don't think the midweek games help.
Playing in front of empty stands on novelty nights for half your season isn't helping in my opinion.
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I think the mid-week MACtion does raise the awareness of the MAC. It also gives people the perception that the stadiums are always empty. The combination is what got them on this list. If you ask yourself "who plays before mostly empty stadiums?", mid-week MACtion pushes some candidates into top-of-mind positions. There are no doubt some CUSA and Sunbelt schools that belong on this list, but the author may not know enough about them to know if they belong.
It raises awareness during weeknights when people are itching for football. I don't think for one iota it did anything to help people understand Buffalo was 9-1 at one point.
It's a promotional stunt that gets people to pay attention when there is nothing else going on.
I don't think it has any long-term value in raising the level of the league. I'm not saying the MAC is going to be the SEC someday ... or even the AAC. But I think it can elevate past the Sun Belt or CUSA in terms of quality?
CUSA is pretty bad .... I think we all agree. But they have weekend TV deals that I think the MAC can renegotiate into.
But I don't think they want to. I think they are all-in on the midweek stuff and they're content with being the CFB sideshow/freakshow. That's their thing. A novelty act.
To them ... that is what separates them from the pact. I think it's short-sighted and hurts the fan bases and the validity of some talented football being played in November.
I agree with this assessment, bshot44. I actually agree with every point. The part about hurting the fan base really hits home with my wife. She can launch into a 20-minute tirade any time I mention the weekday games. She keeps saying, "They don't give a damn about their fans. We should just stop buying season tickets and drop out of the OBC." So far I've resisted these pleas, but it is getting harder and harder. This year it was a bit easier because we were out of town for all the November games, and we enjoyed watching them in various sports bars across the fruited plain.
Where is the quantifiable evidence that the midweek games hurt the "fan base"? Are midweek games harder to attend? Sure, but how many more people are exposed OHIO football because of them? If this was as horrible as you people make it sound I am sure the University Presidents (starting with the coaches) would tell the MAC office NO.
I guess that depends on what you value more?
An alum in Wyoming that is able to watch Ohio on TV on a Wednesday ... in an empty Peden Stadium
Or a filled Peden Stadium with 20,000+ on a Saturday afternoon where you (hopefully) are building a fan base that will continue to support Ohio with money after graduation or as an alum who can actually attend games?
What happens in 10-15 years when the alum that didn't attend football are out in the world .... and they don't have any memories of attending Ohio football games or caring that much because Ohio/MAC didn't provide any sort of atmosphere to gravitate towards? For them, it was simply something that was on TV in the background on Wednesday night at The Pub for Aquarium Night (do they still do that?!!?)
Anyhow ... I just don't see the value in playing 4 or 5 midweek games a year. Two seems sufficient and is a healthy compromise.
It's a watered down promotional stunt when they flood the weeknights with three or four games a night sometimes. It used to be to showcase the league's best ..... but has turned into a cash grab. Plain and simple.