Murfreesboro to Miami is 700 miles. To El Paso is over 1,300. To Lynchburg VA is 500. I'm not buying that this could even be an issue even for the M/M boys.
MAC talk
- Thread starter BRaiderDave
- Start date
This means MT and wkcc are leaving. They need five to get up to the mandatory eight to maintain the conference.
Same vibe I'm getting. Currently, it seems very likely we will be joining the MAC.
That's another $8 million in exit fee's for CUSA, bringing the total up to $44 million.
That's going to be a lot of cash for FIU, UTEP, and La. Tech
I wonder what the possibility is that some of the newbie CUSA schools say no if we and WKU do leave? Not saying we'd be the reason ourselves but that they might worry other decent schools couldn't be found.
Travel is a wash. Regardless of 600 miles or 3000 miles once you get to about 500 you're looking at eight hours via bus. Schools are going to fly that distance. So, if you look at the MAC nine of the 12 members (not counting wkcc) are right at 500 or way above that, so 75% of your road trips are flights.
Six out of eight in the new C-USA would be flights, which is the same 75%, so there's literally not a damn bit of difference difference in terms of travel impact. Because travel is either a) about time away from class for going by bus or b) costs associated with chartering or commercial airfare.
That said, in the MAC you're actually spending more on travel because there would be more away games in conference (simply cause there are more teams). MT could offset costs in the new C-USA with more regional/local OOC games, matches, etc. (pending the sport).
Six out of eight in the new C-USA would be flights, which is the same 75%, so there's literally not a damn bit of difference difference in terms of travel impact. Because travel is either a) about time away from class for going by bus or b) costs associated with chartering or commercial airfare.
That said, in the MAC you're actually spending more on travel because there would be more away games in conference (simply cause there are more teams). MT could offset costs in the new C-USA with more regional/local OOC games, matches, etc. (pending the sport).
First off -- NIU has beaten more Power 5 teams in a single season than Coastal Carolina has beaten in their entire history. NIU is one of a very short list (what, 4 or 5 teams?) of G5 programs to make a new years eve bowl (one of the others on that list, Western Michigan, also MAC). How many current CUSA teams are on that list? Answer: Zero. NIU has been one of the most dominant G5 programs over the last two decades with wins over Alabama, Maryland, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Northwestern, Iowa, Purdue, etc etc etc.
The MAC is a storied, stable conferences with teams often ranked in the top 25. We have a 4x better TV deal than the Sun Belt, and there really is no CUSA TV deal to speak of.
The facts are these: The Sun Belt didn't want you - you burned that bridge jumping ship to the 'superior' CUSA, and look where it brought you. The AAC doesn't want you. Your choices are the New (new new new, that conference rebuilds so many times I can't even remember what iteration you're on) CUSA or independence. The new CUSA will essentially be a hodge podge of FCS programs and Liberty (a fake university, literally a degree mill, and they are also an FCS upstart..) Your travel will consists of awesome 20 hour bus rides to new mexico or 12ish hour rides to FIU, and just as long travel to play Texas FCS schools.
The MAC is the premier G5 conference along with the MWC. Why? It's stable. It's respected. We have a great TV deal. We will be here in 100 years, while the Sun Belt, CUSA, and AAC fight amongst themselves for the same 12 schools that all think they deserve to be somewhere else. The fact is that the MAC is throwing you a life raft. The MAC does not need MTSU or WKU. Humble yourself.
I for one, but like most MAC fans, am happy to welcome WKU and MTSU. You fit geographically, and add a good bit of prestige to the basketball side of things with potential to add to the football side. I love the rivalry your schools have and think you will fit in great in the MAC. But again - be humble.
First off, I never said MAC football teams are bad. In fact, I have stated quite the opposite if you actually read through here. I've said multiple times that WKU/MTSU fans are going to get a wake up call if they think we are going to go into the MAC and dominate in football. The same goes for MAC hoops as well, MTSU/WKU will not be dominating jack shit in the MAC or in any conference any time soon for that matter. But back to football. MAC football is not bad, it's decent. You have to be kidding yourself if you think you're better than the MWC and I'd take the top teams in the SBC over the top MAC teams now any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Coastal, App St., and even Louisiana would take care of any team the MAC put forward, including your NIU huskies. CMU is one of the best teams in the MAC right now and needed a 4th quarter miracle to beat arguably the worst CUSA team, FIU. I'll take current CUSA and future AAC members UTSA and UAB as well over anything the MAC wants to put forward. AND future CUSA member Liberty too! So spare me your lectures on how great MAC football is. It's basically no different than any other G5 league as we all essentially recruit the same players.
With that being said....As I've said previously and I'll restate.....the problem with the MAC is your trash budgets, old run down stadiums, terrible fan support, and cold November games. MT will fit right in when it comes to a lack of fan support and poor facilities, but at least we have a slightly more respectable budget and decent weather. There's also the part where you're a northern/mid-western conference and MT is not. You might like adding our geography to your footprint but I can assure you we don't want to add yours to ours, though some will tell you we have no choice.
Thursday, 9/1/2011 Miss St at Memphis was the hottest tailgate I’ve ever attended. People were passing out on Tiger Lane. 99 degrees at kickoff with a heat index of 108. For comparison
tonight:
Akron, OH - 43
Toledo, OH - 41
Athens, OH - 35
I can handle that.
tonight:
Akron, OH - 43
Toledo, OH - 41
Athens, OH - 35
I can handle that.
The MAC is historically, and currently, a more respected and better football conference than the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt is essentially an FCS conference - literally half of their conference are FCS call ups. The schools you listed - App State and Coastal are recent FBS upstarts. App State has been a complete non factor since their upset of Michigan years and years ago, and Coastal had one good season where they beat absolutely nobody of note. Their best win since moving up is against..Kansas? I mean, it's great for them that they have had their success so early since joining FBS, but they've not done anything compared to what NIU, WMU, Toledo, etc have done
And - have you looked at a map recently? Where do you think MTSU is located, Miami? You're not even in what anyone considers to be the south. You are two hours southern of the tip of Illinois. You are 100% in yankee territory in the true south's eyes.
Also - take a look at your own facilities. Are they better than what we have in the MAC? No. Is the MACs facilities better than your would-be CUSA conference mates, Liberty, Sam Houston, and other random FCS schools? Yes.
I can understand you wanting to play southern teams. But don't make asinine attacks at the MAC. The Sun Belt is not, and has never been on par with the MAC. Our TV deal (4x bigger than the Sun Belts) is proof of that. The Sun Belt will be what it always was - a temporary, unstable conference for teams who want to make the jump to FBS.
If you think taking a piddly 20m in exit fees would be enough for you to go Power5, or whatever your end goal is, you are completely wrong. Not only will laywers see that you never get anything near that amount, and even if your inept AD didn't squander it, 20m isn't enough to build a new equipment shed. You're far better off in the MAC, earning 4x more in TV money every year than you currently are, and not having to worry about being left in the lurch every single time a conference realignment is kicked off.
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44° in Nashville right now as I watch Toledo/Eastern Michigan
By the way, Toledo’s stadium looks really nice. Better than Floyd.
I personally don't mind the cold. Maybe cause I grew up in WV winters. I've been to games with single digit wind chills (even some in Murfreesboro...51-49 Marshall in 2013 anyone?). Been to WVU games where they shoveled snow off the yard lines during TV timeouts and we went to the bathroom to warm up. Now I have a battery heated jacket and just go.
November winter in cold IS football weather.
November winter in cold IS football weather.
The Glass Bowl is one of the coolest stadiums in the MAC. And I hate Toledo, lol
Both these MAC games are really good so far. Ohio just blocked a field goal and 28pts in 1st quarter alone between Eastern and Toledo.
We don’t need to be in that conference 😂
Lotta incorrect information here.......
Those "FCS starts ups" in the SBC would dominate nearly every team right now in your "Respected and better football conference." And they've only been FBS for less than a decade. What does that say about your conference? I don't think you thought this one through all the way....
Tennessee is a southern state through and through. No state taxes, red as red can be, and chock full of good ole' country folk. You are a clown if you think Tennessee is Yankee anything outside of the flamers who have invaded the Nashville area over the last decade.
$20 million WOULD do a lot for our athletics programs. Our AD is on record saying we have secured 90% of the needed funding for our facilities expansion project. I personally don't believe him, but $20 million should more than put us over the top for what we need for our new athletics complex.
You don't read or comprehend very well. I literally said we would fit right in because our facilities suck too, so I don't need to take a look at my own facilities to know they suck.
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The weather thing is a poor argument.
You play 2 games, max, on the road in November. And you're just as likely to have a cold wet gross rainy Tennessee Saturday at that point of the year than anywhere up north.
You play 2 games, max, on the road in November. And you're just as likely to have a cold wet gross rainy Tennessee Saturday at that point of the year than anywhere up north.
Let's get some facts strait :
1) App State has been nationally ranked twice (I believe) since transitioning to FBS and they've won at least 9 games 6 of their 7 completed seasons as an FBS program. They've been a factor since the Michigan win over a decade ago.
2) Your are correct. At this point, Coastal Carolina doesn't have a period of sustained success, but they've won a lot of games over the past two seasons.
3) Liberty is a solid program with Hugh Freeze as HC. Sam Houston is one of the nations best FCS programs in a hotbed for football talent. I see them making the jump to FBS smoothly. As for NMSU transiton to CUSA and Tarleton State's transition to FBS, who knows?
4) TN is the south. It may not be the deep south, but it's definitely not "yankee territory." An argument can be made that the culture in Bowling Green (home of WKU) is more midwestern than southern, however.
5) MT's facilities need work. You are right. Any MT fan on this site that doesn't agree MT's facilities are behind isn't being truthful.
6) You bring up the Sun Belt being unstable. And that's true. But culturally, MT fits more with Sun Belt than MAC. It fits MT's recruiting territory too. That's why I favor staying put in the CUSA (though I understand why a move to the MAC may happen).
7) Quite frankly, I'm not a huge fan of the move to the MAC. Don't get me wrong, while the MAC has good tradition for a G5 conference. And Tuesday night #MACaction can be fun to watch. I'd just rather take the exit money (whatever amount it ends up being) and put it toward new facilities, coaches salaries, etc.
1. Incorrect. The MAC's TV deal is far better than the CUSAs. From what I am reading, 400k per school. The MAC TV deal (through ESPN) nets each school nearly $1m per year. You HAD a better deal back when the CUSA actually had decent teams (2-3 realignments ago, lol) https://www.theringer.com/2019/11/1...es-maction-television-networks-fan-experience
2. Coastal and App state would absolutely NOT dominate the MAC. Coastal has had one good season since joining FBS, and App State has had none. NIU alone has more BCS bowls than the entire sun belt combined. We don't even have to call in our buddy Western Michigan, who has also been to one.
3. You're not the south. You are two hours south of Illinois. Your weather is nearly identical to every MAC team in Ohio (there are a lot of them). But whatever - this point is really irrelevant because GEOGRAPHICALLY, you will be far better off in the MAC than the CUSA. And since you can't join the Sun Belt...
4. The $20m figure is completely imaginary at this point. It would be lawyered to hell. And again, a piddly return compared to doubling or tripling your yearly cashflow with the MAC's TV deal. You would be lucky to see half that money, a decade from now.
5. OK. Great. So you fit right in.
6. FCS championships? Wow! That's ultra impressive. Unfortunately, none of the MAC teams got a chance to compete for FCS championships, because we don't add FCS programs. and half our conference isn't FCS upstarts.
I wish you luck. It's good for your school that your terrible opinion is in the minority. Can't wait to see you in the MAC
I don't mind the cold either really. I live in Ohio. It gets old around February/March when you're ready for it to just F off.....but November/December are not terrible
However
This isn't about me or you. This is about recruits. Do you see any teams in the MAC with a roster full of southern kids? The answer is no, you don't. The are filled with a vast majority of northern kids.
This will undoubtedly make recruiting more challenging. Not impossible, but more difficult for sure. And the last thing our football staff needs is more difficult anything. At this point we need to be doing everything we can to make it easier on them. Half of our staff is about to be Medicare eligible.
I agree with a couple of thoughts for sure. We are in no shape to criticize anyone’s facilities or fan support, let me say it loud for the folks in the back…. We are in no place to throw any shade at any conference. What makes us think we are ANY better is beyond me.
MT, or anyone else who thinks we pay or collect anywhere close to the advertised exit fees is hallucinating. Those are fictional, monopoly dollars that will NEVER come to fruition. Lawyers will chew that up and spit it out. I’d say it’s not even half.
We had a window to turn our program into something AAC worthy in 2009 in Football and Kermit‘s last 2-3 years and we failed. We should be glad anyone wants to take us at this point. Let’s not pretend we are anything more than what we are. Facts are facts.
MT, or anyone else who thinks we pay or collect anywhere close to the advertised exit fees is hallucinating. Those are fictional, monopoly dollars that will NEVER come to fruition. Lawyers will chew that up and spit it out. I’d say it’s not even half.
We had a window to turn our program into something AAC worthy in 2009 in Football and Kermit‘s last 2-3 years and we failed. We should be glad anyone wants to take us at this point. Let’s not pretend we are anything more than what we are. Facts are facts.
Where did the Sunbelt talk come from? I'd prefer the Sunbelt. But the Sunbelt doesn't want us. So if it comes down the MAC vs Sunbelt, the Sunbelt and all its teams can EBD as far as I'm concerned.
I want no part of a conference with a bunch of teams in Texas. That does nothing for us.
I want no part of a conference with a fake university like Liberty. I want no part of a conference with Jacksonville State or half of the rumored fill outs from FCS. I want no part of anything with UConn football.
I want no part of a conference with a bunch of teams in Texas. That does nothing for us.
I want no part of a conference with a fake university like Liberty. I want no part of a conference with Jacksonville State or half of the rumored fill outs from FCS. I want no part of anything with UConn football.
1. Incorrect. The MAC's TV deal is far better than the CUSAs. From what I am reading, 400k per school. The MAC TV deal (through ESPN) nets each school nearly $1m per year. https://www.theringer.com/2019/11/1...es-maction-television-networks-fan-experience
2. Coastal and App state would absolutely NOT dominate the MAC. Coastal has had one good season since joining FBS, and App State has had none. NIU alone has more BCS bowls than the entire sun belt combined. We don't even have to call in our buddy Western Michigan, who has also been to one.
3. You're not the south. You are two hours south of Illinois. Your weather is nearly identical to every MAC team in Ohio (there are a lot of them).
4. The $20m figure is completely imaginary at this point. It would be lawyered to hell. And again, a piddly return compared to doubling or tripling your yearly cashflow with the MAC's TV deal.
5. OK. Great. So you fit right in.
6. FCS championships? Wow! That's ultra impressive. Unfortunately, none of the MAC teams got a chance to compete for FCS championships, because we don't add FCS programs. and half our conference isn't FCS upstarts.
I wish you luck. It's good for your school that your terrible opinion is in the minority. Can't wait to see you in the MAC
CUSA was the first to renegotiate it's new TV deal and did get the short end of the stick. I was probably looking at old numbers. However, overall revenue being paid out to CUSA schools (CFP + TV + NCAA units) I believe is still higher than the MAC despite the new TV deal.
How can you say App St. has had no good seasons since joining FBS? Are we talking about the same schools here? Without checking records/results I am 99% certain they've outperformed your prestigious NIU huskies since they became an FBS program
I'm not going to argue about if TN is the south or not. It is 100% the south in every possible way imaginable. From it's geographic location, and more importantly to it's culture and politics. Illinois is a blue state liberal hell hole and is NOTHING like Tennessee. It's honestly comical that you think TN isn't a southern state. Come on down to Grundy County and meet the locals and then we'll talk.
Does it bother you that an FCS upstart has had more success since joining FBS than NIU? (Or any MAC team actually) Knock them all you want but last I checked Coastal was a ranked team last year and is ranked again this year. How many MAC teams have been in the Top 25 this year? 0. MAC's best team is a 6-2 NIU team that couldn't even beat a bottom feeder MWC team Wyoming at home. Wyoming Cowboys came into your stadium and paddled your rear end. Ouch.
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Yikes.
Wyoming paddled us..by 7? We beat Georgia Tech, which is a bigger win that Coastal or App State has had since joining FBS, and this is a bad year by recent measures.
Because I respect your board, I won't make any comparisons between NIU and MTSU. I don't even have to go there. Your track record in football is on par with the bottom of the MAC. In basketball however, you'd be a welcome addition even despite your recent struggles.
I am really glad most of the people here disagree with you. You don't make any sense. Just post nonsense about not wanting to play with democrat northern states. What exactly does sales tax have to do with an athletic conference? I can't wait to hear those mental gymnastics.
Again, very much looking forward to you and WKU joining the MAC. It's a shame you seem to think it's such a downgrade, but you are completely and utterly wrong.
The only bone I have to pick with you is your insistence that Tennessee is not the south. Have you ever been here?!? Saying that makes you lose some of your credibility on your other points. 😆🙂1. Incorrect. The MAC's TV deal is far better than the CUSAs. From what I am reading, 400k per school. The MAC TV deal (through ESPN) nets each school nearly $1m per year. You HAD a better deal back when the CUSA actually had decent teams (2-3 realignments ago, lol) https://www.theringer.com/2019/11/1...es-maction-television-networks-fan-experience
2. Coastal and App state would absolutely NOT dominate the MAC. Coastal has had one good season since joining FBS, and App State has had none. NIU alone has more BCS bowls than the entire sun belt combined. We don't even have to call in our buddy Western Michigan, who has also been to one.
3. You're not the south. You are two hours south of Illinois. Your weather is nearly identical to every MAC team in Ohio (there are a lot of them). But whatever - this point is really irrelevant because GEOGRAPHICALLY, you will be far better off in the MAC than the CUSA. And since you can't join the Sun Belt...
4. The $20m figure is completely imaginary at this point. It would be lawyered to hell. And again, a piddly return compared to doubling or tripling your yearly cashflow with the MAC's TV deal. You would be lucky to see half that money, a decade from now.
5. OK. Great. So you fit right in.
6. FCS championships? Wow! That's ultra impressive. Unfortunately, none of the MAC teams got a chance to compete for FCS championships, because we don't add FCS programs. and half our conference isn't FCS upstarts.
I wish you luck. It's good for your school that your terrible opinion is in the minority. Can't wait to see you in the MAC
Cool story on the Ga. Tech win. The last time we played them we went into their house and beat the living $hit out of them too. They're nothing to write home about and quite frankly nobody even cares anymore when a G5 beats a middle of the pack Power 5 program. It happens every Saturday these days.
Make all the comparisons you want between NIU and MTSU. I have no delusions about how terrible our football program is. We have all wanted our coaching staff, athletic director, and school president fired for going on about a decade now. Look at my avatar. That's fire resting below our head coaches face. They have ruined our athletics programs and faced zero accountability for doing so. They are the reason we are in the position we are in and the reason we're even having this conversation right now. Total incompetence.
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.
Exit fees aren’t paid out. Leaving teams forfeit their distribution for the conference for each of the next two seasons. Those revenues will be distributed among remaining members (whether that’s three or five). It’s a substantial amount given so many teams are leaving at once.
He already stated on this forum how the exit fee's would be collected. He probably doesn't feel the need to repeat himself if I had to guess?? The schools leaving will not receive their revenue shares going forward to cover the exit fee's
I feel for you about your AD dept. Sadly there is nothing that can be done about that.
I hope you'll warm up to the MAC in time. It's a good place to be.
NIU left the MAC multiple times in search of a way to get to the P5. Ultimately we have always been led back to the MAC for its stability, and we are better off for it. MTSU will be also. You can build up your football program here, get showcased on ESPN like our teams are tonight, make more money with our TV deal, and if the time comes you get a better shot? You can go. But not many programs choose to go.
That’s wrong too. Addressed that earlier. It’s better in current C-USA. Will be exactly the same in new C-USA where 75% of road trips will be flights in either league.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.
