That's a better articulation of your point! I'll step back to the sidelines now and keep reading.Haha, I will give you that point if you like
I'm coming from a geographical standpoint - the travel within the MAC versus the frankenstine CUSA is incomparably better.
MAC talk
- Thread starter BRaiderDave
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Yup. 75% are going to be flights in both conferences. Once you are in the air does it really matter if you're flying an additional 30 minutes to an hour? It doesn't.
Did you guys notice the Sun Belt got better once we left? LOL
Jumping conferences doesn't solve our President, AD, and head coaching problem. It does create a nice distraction in narrative.
Jumping conferences doesn't solve our President, AD, and head coaching problem. It does create a nice distraction in narrative.
Yeah, you're a fun one. How about this? If Renoylds plays, his offense is on the field longer thus time of possession with points added. WKU's offense is very good is gonna score points.A hell of a lot more than Ohio. With Renoylds, he had the ability to keep it more even by extending drives and getting crucial 3rd down conversions. The other team can't score when you have the ball. That was my point but thanks for playing.
By current CUSA , you mean as it is this year, prior to the departures?
Because what would really matter is future CUSA, with NMSU, FIU, Sam Houston, Liberty, etc. I'm pretty certain the travel will be far more severe in that case. Most of your games with the MAC will be just fine by bus.
You are only an 8 hour drive from Dekalb, IL
And wayy closer to all the Ohio schools. The only school you wouldn't want to bus to is Buffalo, at 12 hours. It's far preferable to NMSU which must be an entire day's drive.Since we are changing things up. What do you guys think about a name change. Maybe the university of middle Tennessee? Or jus plain old middle Tennessee?
It is pointless to argue with these two. No matter what you say, what you bring up, they'll always have something to complain about or say how the sky is falling. BuT iTs ThE mAc It MuSt SuCk... we've heard it all ad nauseum between Wiley and MT01... just constant talk about how awful everything is. I, for one, prefer to be optimistic and just accept things as they come.By current CUSA , you mean as it is this year, prior to the departures?
Because what would really matter is future CUSA, with NMSU, FIU, Sam Houston, Liberty, etc. I'm pretty certain the travel will be far more severe in that case. Most of your games with the MAC will be just fine by bus.
You are only an 8 hour drive from Dekalb, IL
Besides App st. Coastal and ULL, who else has been killing it in the belt since we left? There are still a lot of turd birds there and they just added 2 more.
Agree to disagree but we may never get the real story. I don’t see how they will collect for a league that looks to be folding. Inviting teams that aren’t even eligible to join said league to stay afloat would be a start for lawyers to pick apart. We were forced to make the move to stay viable with the league dissolving. Not to mention if this is all a ESPN deal to kill CUSA they already have the upper hand.
I’m pretty sure you didn’t even read (or perhaps comprehend my post above). Let me be clear. The new configuration of C-USA would have the same percentage of flights a the MAC will. The 2021 version of C-USA is less flights.By current CUSA , you mean as it is this year, prior to the departures?
Because what would really matter is future CUSA, with NMSU, FIU, Sam Houston, Liberty, etc. I'm pretty certain the travel will be far more severe in that case. Most of your games with the MAC will be just fine by bus.
You are only an 8 hour drive from Dekalb, IL
I get it, it's a tough time when your programs future is up in the air.
But they will see, the MAC will be great for MTSU, and MTSU will be great in the MAC. Stability does wonders.
Yes, everyone else is incapable of thinking on such a high level as you. You are just on a different plane of reality. I'll put it that way
100 percent agree!!
Until Middle Tennessee gets an AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, or CFP ranking or consistently win conference championships, we have no room to condemn other FBS conferences, except our own imploding conference. Through this episode, C-USA leadership has proven wholly ineffective. Good case in point UTSA at 8-0 is still not ranked or respected by CFP Committee. CBS sports now has removed UTSA ranking from their top 25 slate of games even though they are 16 and 18 in both the other polls. If UTSA were in MAC in a stable conference, they would almost certainly garner CFP ranking between 19-22. Go back to 2014 Marshall under Cato as QB went 13-1 and barely got ranked (#23) and had to win their bowl game to get that! They lost their earlier 19 ranking after losing in OT to WKU by 1 --67-66. Candidly, does a 5-loss Auburn team deserve to be ranked 1 spot higher in the final poll? Basketball can be argued the same if one considered our NCAA #12 seeding while Kermit was here--if we didn't win C-USA Men's Tournament then, would MT have earned an at large? I think not. Whatever cachet or credibility C-USA had in years past is ruined forever...period. No matter what FCS team is filled would change anything. Neither would NMSU or UCONN do it for me. I seriously question if C-USA ever had much in the era MT enjoyed membership as what we saw in 2014 with Marshall and our own seeding in basketball.
Furthermore, MT's shouldn't be counting chickens before they hatch on C-USA exit fee bonanza money. Other schools attorneys will certainly lawyer or negotiate that down. Absolute best case, MT may get money towards an IPF for football and indoor track. Have to cross our fingers to hope our athletic and Cope leadership do not mess things up in transition to MAC or leaving C-USA behind.
My view is it's time to put C-USA in the rear view mirror and fully welcome the Mid American Conference. Middle Tennessee needs to get back to winning championships and making a name for our university on the national stage. Being satisfied to "compete" at our level should no longer be acceptable.
Really. I’m pretty sure that isn’t anything like what I’ve done. Every thing I’ve said has been stated with objective fact based information.
I could certainly say you’ve acted like this is all rainbows and unicorns ignoring every single factually articulated point basing everything on a fuzzy feeling as if the SEC invited us. A little self awareness goes a long ways bud.
I did the mileages today when I had a free minute. Didn’t do it by division. Just did all 12 schools.
You are one of the most biased, complaining posters on here. I have said over and over that we are where we are with crappy administrators and two bad HCs who we need to get rid of. I've said the stability is great for us in the MAC, and of course I'm blind to how AWFUL!!! it will be. No, I'm just choosing to have some optimism and look forward to a future where we're not stuck in a FCS-lite conference.
What happened to you leaving this board and never coming back? I'm not the one going around throwing hissy fits over joining the MAC lol
NIU was our first FBS win when we were FCS/1aa in 92 I think. Kelly Holcomb was our QB then. The Mason Dixon line has to be somewhere and we're below it. We're in the south. But I look forward to the MAC if it goes down.
Ok. Whatever you say. You have it all figured out. Rainbow and unicorns galore. Cupcakes and participation trophies for everyone.
I’m sorry but you’re making me laugh. I will take your comments as a badge of honor because I may be one of the few realistic people left around that doesn’t look at everything through blue blinders. Now Wiley he’s negative. I just shoot straight. Like it or don’t. I don’t really give a flip.
I'd like a Bentley to be in my driveway in the morning, but that probably isn't any more likely than MT getting a last-minute invite to the SBC.
Holy mother of straw men, some of you guys just won't give it up. I'll say it again: the program you're vouching for does not exist. Period. We're bad.
The strongest arguments I've seen against joining the MAC here are exit fees (which no one really seems to understand and even if we lose out short-term, I've yet to hear an advantage 4 years from now by staying in the C-USA beyond rectally-sourced predictions), weather (it's 2 degrees warmer in Buffalo as I type this and it's November) and recruiting (which we're obviously already bad at).
Hissy fit. You’re so adorable. Are you 12?
I’m sucked in by this stuff. Having worked in the AD I know exactly how all this works and the discussions that are being had. I’m enamored with it. But once we join the MAC I will officially be gone for good. Will that make you happy? Perhaps we can get you a lolly since you have a difficult time with dissenting points of view and have to call people names to make yourself feel better about yourself.
It just baffles me how I can say how it is literally not rainbows and unicorns and you think I still do. Clearly you don't get that there's a difference between recognizing what we have at MT and being optimistic for the future. Those are two separate things. Just because I'm optimistic doesn't mean I think we are in such perfect shape and things are going to be totally amazing. No, actually, I think we'll be lucky to finish above the middle of the conference - but it'll be a more competitive and fun league to me.
Is distance a factor?
Here's the distance to a hypothetical MAC - West/South division 6 teams we'd likely be in a conference with:
Miami OH - 379
WKU = 100
Ohio 449
Ball State - 378
Bowling Green - 485
No Ill - 588
Avg - 396 miles.
Here's the new CUSA 6 teams - i'm guessing we won't have enough teams for divisions, so here's the 6 closest opponents (not counting WKU, who seems ok with the MAC move - the new CUSA is significantly worse for them):
CUSA
Liberty - 491
J-ville State - 198
FIU - 886
La Tech - 543
SHSU - 760
UTEP - 1325
Average - 700 miles.
I would say the MAC is more bus-able overall. You also benefit from the more compact MAC - you could in theory bus up the BBall team to Akron on Friday morning, play a Friday game at Akron, and hit Toledo on Sunday, and be back in Murfreesboro for Monday classes by bus. The new CUSA has no real compact-ness other than maybe NMSU and UTEP. If you're heading to Miami or Ruston or Lynchburg, there's no efficiency to be gained.
You guys are right though, it's going to require some flying. But, one thing you guys are missing - not all flights are equal in cost.
The longer distance you fly, the more a charter flight costs - they are billed by flight hours. Plus, the smaller airport you fly into, the more in fees you'll incur. You're going to pay more airport/ramp fees in places like Lynchburg and Ruston than you would in Cleveland. Not only is most of the MAC closer in distance, they are closer to many of the larger airports. So from a charter flight perspective, the MAC stands to save us quite a bit of travel $$$'s.
Commercial - I won't pretend to figure out commercial flight rates - but I'm just going to guess that flying out of BNA to Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland via Southwest is probably going to be cheaper than flying into places like Roanoke, Houston, El Paso, and Shreveport via a non-discount carrier.
Edit: so, swap UTEP for UCONN as the 6th closest, and you drop the average mileage to CUSA to 651 miles.
Here's the distance to a hypothetical MAC - West/South division 6 teams we'd likely be in a conference with:
Miami OH - 379
WKU = 100
Ohio 449
Ball State - 378
Bowling Green - 485
No Ill - 588
Avg - 396 miles.
Here's the new CUSA 6 teams - i'm guessing we won't have enough teams for divisions, so here's the 6 closest opponents (not counting WKU, who seems ok with the MAC move - the new CUSA is significantly worse for them):
CUSA
Liberty - 491
J-ville State - 198
FIU - 886
La Tech - 543
SHSU - 760
UTEP - 1325
Average - 700 miles.
I would say the MAC is more bus-able overall. You also benefit from the more compact MAC - you could in theory bus up the BBall team to Akron on Friday morning, play a Friday game at Akron, and hit Toledo on Sunday, and be back in Murfreesboro for Monday classes by bus. The new CUSA has no real compact-ness other than maybe NMSU and UTEP. If you're heading to Miami or Ruston or Lynchburg, there's no efficiency to be gained.
You guys are right though, it's going to require some flying. But, one thing you guys are missing - not all flights are equal in cost.
The longer distance you fly, the more a charter flight costs - they are billed by flight hours. Plus, the smaller airport you fly into, the more in fees you'll incur. You're going to pay more airport/ramp fees in places like Lynchburg and Ruston than you would in Cleveland. Not only is most of the MAC closer in distance, they are closer to many of the larger airports. So from a charter flight perspective, the MAC stands to save us quite a bit of travel $$$'s.
Commercial - I won't pretend to figure out commercial flight rates - but I'm just going to guess that flying out of BNA to Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland via Southwest is probably going to be cheaper than flying into places like Roanoke, Houston, El Paso, and Shreveport via a non-discount carrier.
Edit: so, swap UTEP for UCONN as the 6th closest, and you drop the average mileage to CUSA to 651 miles.
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I've only pointed out what you yourself said, so if the shoe fits... your posts speak for themselves... 🤷♂️ Yes, we all are sucked in by this stuff. I don't care if you stay or go. I think all MT fans who are such big supporters should be free to post here whether I agree with them or not, but you do you.
I’m really excited for the Mac and to start giving some bigger donations to the program. Change is good. I hope some things change in the admin as well but this will be a fun couple of years getting to know new conference mates and towns. Cheers to the future!
Don't let your optimism show around here! /sarcasm
Yes - it'll be fun to see how it all pans out.
Not that it means anything but Tennessee is in the mid-south
This might be one of the most amazing threads in history. We’ve had infighting, weather reports, a discussion about tax structures, a bet about billable hours, some more discussion about weather (two away football games on average in November will be outdoors and last I checked no program plays basketball outside regardless of season), multiple MAC fans welcoming us (where are the new CUSA fans?), discussions about the length of bus rides, whether Nashville/Murfreesboro is in the South, a fight over academic standing and some vigorous defenses of Sun Belt schools — a conference we thumbed our nose at and … well, that was a bad move in retrospect as their offices aren’t answering calls from 615 area codes.
I’m just a guy who wrote a story in 1998 for the student newspaper that we never should move up to I-A in the first place. 🤷♂️ And look at all the fighting that occurred here 23 years later!
Also, remember that night when we went 4OTs vs Tennessee Tech? Yeah, that was fun.
I’m just a guy who wrote a story in 1998 for the student newspaper that we never should move up to I-A in the first place. 🤷♂️ And look at all the fighting that occurred here 23 years later!
Also, remember that night when we went 4OTs vs Tennessee Tech? Yeah, that was fun.
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Now I’m going to post 96 Ls. EATT
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Well, the way I look at it - if we never made the move - we likely don't have any fans to fight on a rivals message board that likely wouldn't exist.
So, in some respects, for the 25 or so people we have here - the move to I-A/FBS was a smashing success!
I was a student at MT from 03-05 and I remember big crowds and exciting games. We can have that again. I don't see anything that's keeping this school from being great again other than the weak leadership with no will to be great that we're stuck with. At some point, they have to retire....don't they? right?
If CRS sticks around as long as JoePa, he’d be 93 after 46 seasons. 😂
Actually, I undersold the MAC's TV deal earlier. Each team this year is receiving $2m. This is in comparison to the CUSA's current 400k.
Even if ESPN doesn't adjust for the two incoming teams, it's still a far cry from the CUSA's 400k/each deal.
Even if ESPN doesn't adjust for the two incoming teams, it's still a far cry from the CUSA's 400k/each deal.
You all have lost credibility because all I see is internet research. That doesn’t fly! /s
Touché Colin. Might as well throw this in and then it will be whatever the sports message board equivalent is the perfect country and western song. The streaker!
Gonna miss the Planters Bowl with ODU streaker. 😂
Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State expected to join MAC
Who’s ready for a trip to Nashville? The Mid-American Conference is on the verge of expanding south, with two schools an hour’s drive of the Tennessee ...
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