Topic: It?s time for Marshall to return to MAC

[forphase1]

It?s just time

The changing landscape is about to leave Marshall without any viable conference home and not enough tv money/conference revenue to offset the travel cost.

MAC provides a safety net and solid home with minimal travel expenses and a tv deal earning a modest income.
 Maybe get MTSU and Appy St to come along.

It?s obvious the CUSA experiment is a failure.

Time to go back home and be the big fish in the little pond.

No.  NO.  NOOOO.  While I completely loved our time in the MAC and enjoyed our domination of that conference, with VERY few exceptions there isn't a single school in that conference that I ever want to see on our schedule again.  While I feel the same way about CUSA schools for the most part, at least they are in good weather places and make road trips at least partly enjoyable.  CUSA sucks, I don't disagree.  But, as other have said, going back to the MAC is WAY down on my list of choices, barely ahead of independence.  AAC (if they get poached), reorganization of eastern teams, CUSA splitting, etc. are all more favorable to me than rejoining the MAC.

[Thundering In MD]

While I prefer the AAC, I am OK with a return to the MAC.

We missed out on our chance to move up significantly.  A move to the AAC now would get us back to the move up we made from the MAC to C-USA 2.0.

If we move back to the MAC, I hope that WKU makes the move with us.

[herdorbust]

No.  NO.  NOOOO.  While I completely loved our time in the MAC and enjoyed our domination of that conference, with VERY few exceptions there isn't a single school in that conference that I ever want to see on our schedule again.  While I feel the same way about CUSA schools for the most part, at least they are in good weather places and make road trips at least partly enjoyable.  CUSA sucks, I don't disagree.  But, as other have said, going back to the MAC is WAY down on my list of choices, barely ahead of independence.  AAC (if they get poached), reorganization of eastern teams, CUSA splitting, etc. are all more favorable to me than rejoining the MAC.

It?s not just about being able to go on a road trip with better weather. It?s more about what we can afford. AGAIN, no TV money and a fortune sending our teams all over America. I want a regional conference. But if that doesn?t happen, we should beg the MAC to let us back in. The landscape is changing and we might fool around and be stuck in a much worse situation than the MAC.

[forphase1]

It?s not just about being able to go on a road trip with better weather. It?s more about what we can afford. AGAIN, no TV money and a fortune sending our teams all over America. I want a regional conference. But if that doesn?t happen, we should beg the MAC to let us back in. The landscape is changing and we might fool around and be stuck in a much worse situation than the MAC.

We can't afford to take a step back to schools that have no desire to improve.  While we can knock the ODU and Charlotte additions, at least they are trying to improve themselves.  When is the last time any school in the MAC tried to make themselves better?  Oh yeah, us and UCF who got out when a better opportunity came along.  While one can say the MAC is stable, another word for stable could also be stagnant.  I'd much rather associate ourselves with some schools who are looking to improve and get better versus those schools that are content to rust in the shadows of their B10 land grants.  As I stated previously, CUSA sucks, and yes something needs to be done there, but the MAC should be about the last option.  I'd MUCH rather see us stay in an south eastern/eastern based conference than one based out of Michigan and Ohio.  Drop the Texas and western schools, and form a new conference, merge with the Sun Belt, join what's left of the AAC after the B12 poaches them, whatever.  Any one of those is a much better option to me than going back to the MAC.

[herdorbust]

We can't afford to take a step back to schools that have no desire to improve.  While we can knock the ODU and Charlotte additions, at least they are trying to improve themselves.  When is the last time any school in the MAC tried to make themselves better?  Oh yeah, us and UCF who got out when a better opportunity came along.  While one can say the MAC is stable, another word for stable could also be stagnant.  I'd much rather associate ourselves with some schools who are looking to improve and get better versus those schools that are content to rust in the shadows of their B10 land grants.  As I stated previously, CUSA sucks, and yes something needs to be done there, but the MAC should be about the last option.  I'd MUCH rather see us stay in an south eastern/eastern based conference than one based out of Michigan and Ohio.  Drop the Texas and western schools, and form a new conference, merge with the Sun Belt, join what's left of the AAC after the B12 poaches them, whatever.  Any one of those is a much better option to me than going back to the MAC.

I?m not a big fan of the MAC. But we better be prepared or we may end up in worse shape than the MAC and actually already are. I would love a more regional conference like is in another thread. But if things don?t fall right we could be screwed forever much worse than the MAC. What we want and what is reality are 2 different things.

[MUther]

Most of the MAC talk is just nostalgia.  One thing new about the MAC is Tuesday, Wednesday games.  Won't that be a hoot.  When we were there we occasionally got Thursday primetime ESPN games.  Now a good portion of their schedule is on early weekdays as mandated by ESPN.  It's why they got such a good deal.  They provide content on off days.  It works for them because none of them put people in the stands. 

Now, what good does the MAC region do us if our stadium is empty on a Tuesday night in the late fall?  How much traveling are we going to do to Bowling Green on a Wednesday night?  The MAC has a decent contract but it won't offset an empty Joan.  And while a few people on here may want to see Ball State play here again.  Most people would rather play Charlotte to get to see LaTech, WKU, and USM as often as possible.   MAC talk is just silly and clearly has not been thought through.  It is a huge net loss for any school averaging over 20k per game to have mid-week games that aren't at least on Thursday where you can make a long weekend of it.  And they will never send another soul to our stadium, with the exception of Ohio, if their band is playing. 

Enough is enough.

[Toro Toro Taxi]

According to CBSports , CUSA has 9 teams in the bottom 30 , the MAC has 6 .

The highest ranked CUSA team is UAB at #63
 ( MU is #70)

 the highest ranked MAC team is Ball State at #50 .

Of course all this will change thru the year but it appears CUSA and the MAC , like it or not , are pretty much in the same boat when it comes to football. The MAC wouldnt be my pick but it would save the Herd alot of travel money.

[coalherd]

WTF is a travel agency?   ;D

Not sure, MUther, but I hear that term all the time on those 60s and 70s television dramas I watch!!  ;D  ;D

[Flat Tire 2]

I have heard the idea of the MAC possibly adding WKU and Marshall.  It would keep the conference geographic compact and not increase travel expenses.

[wasbarryb]

MAC no.  In this context MAC is a four letter word.

[MUther]

According to CBSports , CUSA has 9 teams in the bottom 30 , the MAC has 6 .

The highest ranked CUSA team is UAB at #63
 ( MU is #70)

 the highest ranked MAC team is Ball State at #50 .

Of course all this will change thru the year but it appears CUSA and the MAC , like it or not , are pretty much in the same boat when it comes to football. The MAC wouldnt be my pick but it would save the Herd alot of travel money.

Which you'll immediately spend in attendance loss from Tuesday/Wednesday games.  It's not a net gain for teams that have higher attendance to cut it in half on a midweek game.

[wasbarryb]

There is a reason the MAC is considered such a stable conference.

No other conference wants any of it's members.

[svherd]

Which you'll immediately spend in attendance loss from Tuesday/Wednesday games.  It's not a net gain for teams that have higher attendance to cut it in half on a midweek game.

Only the November games are all weeknights. It?s not like they play all their games on weekdays.
We play a couple of weeknight games already, at least we did last year. I wouldn?t have a problem wi the one weeknight game at home and one away each year if that got us on national tv. No one watches Facebook or Stadium. Our brand has suffered greatly with this leagues shitty package.

We were ranked last year due to our national games on ESPN and CBS Sports - the big one.

[chris88]

We aren't going back to MAC.  There would be severe fan backlash from most people who don't live in Hton. And I guarantee you Grassie, Huff, and maybe Dantoni would be against it. If travel expenses were the #1 issue we might as well join the WVIAC. Outside of OU, WVIAC schools would bring more fans to Hton than any other MAC school. Outside of OU, we have no rivalries in MAC.

[ThunderValley]

Going back to the MAC will not bring new fans. But that move will cost MU some valuable fans.

[puma]

Only the November games are all weeknights. It?s not like they play all their games on weekdays.
We play a couple of weeknight games already, at least we did last year. I wouldn?t have a problem wi the one weeknight game at home and one away each year if that got us on national tv. No one watches Facebook or Stadium. Our brand has suffered greatly with this leagues %^&*ty package.

We were ranked last year due to our national games on ESPN and CBS Sports - the big one.

App St plays a couple games on weeknights each season. It's a big reason why every CFB fan knows who they are and why they went into 2020 ranked. You don't get that on Facebook.

Hopefully, the rumors about a new conference are true. That's about the absolute best case scenario right now. We need out of C-USA.

[svherd]

We aren't going back to MAC.  There would be severe fan backlash from most people who don't live in Hton. And I guarantee you Grassie, Huff, and maybe Dantoni would be against it. If travel expenses were the #1 issue we might as well join the WVIAC. Outside of OU, WVIAC schools would bring more fans to Hton than any other MAC school. Outside of OU, we have no rivalries in MAC.

We need out of CUSA. And travel expenses are a HUGE issue for a small school like ours. I will give CUSA credit, it is one the best leagues fore Mens soccer and pretty good at Mens golf. Certainly more to it than football.

I think we all agree, a new regional league would be best for Marshall, not the MAC, or continuing in CUSA. I'd prefer a new league over a watered down AAC as well.

[MUther]

Only the November games are all weeknights. It?s not like they play all their games on weekdays.
We play a couple of weeknight games already, at least we did last year. I wouldn?t have a problem wi the one weeknight game at home and one away each year if that got us on national tv. No one watches Facebook or Stadium. Our brand has suffered greatly with this leagues %^&*ty package.

We were ranked last year due to our national games on ESPN and CBS Sports - the big one.

Yeah November in a Northern conference.  No thanks.  One game short 10k people in the Joan, because it's Tuesday in November, still costs us what we make right now in CUSA per year.  2 or more is a disaster. 

[Buffalo Bop]

https://twitter.com/Chuckonsports/status/1422538868813795329?s=20

Chuck says the MAC is much better than C-USA in football:

The MAC.

Although it is ranked No. 4, it is considered head and shoulders above C-USA. Then, the Sun Belt is at No. 3, the Mountain West at No. 2 and the American at No. 1.

In my book, the Sun Belt and Mountain West are in a dead-heat for the No. 2 spot.

Yikes!

[sardistim]

This thread is completely pointless for the simple reason that the MAC would never in my lifetime (in my late 50's) take us back.

First, most of the schools fans hate the Herd.  And there was no sense that school administrations loved adding us.  Then, we kicked their butts in football for nearly a decade before we jumped ship, using them as a stepping stone--so you know they just loved sticking their necks out for us.  What in the world would make the administrations of MAC schools want to take us back?

Second, they have enough schools.  They don't need any more.  They have the perfect number of schools (12) for traditional scheduling for football and all other sports.  And it's clear the MAC has no illusions of changing their brand.

Plus, adding Marshall would not increase their TV revenue substantially, nor suddenly make them a 2-bid NCAA March Madness conference. So, financially there would be no point in adding Marshall.

This thread is like two teen boys gushing over a girl that wouldn't date them in a million years.

[elginherd]

This thread is completely pointless for the simple reason that the MAC would never in my lifetime (in my late 50's) take us back.

First, most of the schools fans hate the Herd.  And there was no sense that school administrations loved adding us.  Then, we kicked their butts in football for nearly a decade before we jumped ship, using them as a stepping stone--so you know they just loved sticking their necks out for us.  What in the world would make the administrations of MAC schools want to take us back?

Second, they have enough schools.  They don't need any more.  They have the perfect number of schools (12) for traditional scheduling for football and all other sports.  And it's clear the MAC has no illusions of changing their brand.

Plus, adding Marshall would not increase their TV revenue substantially, nor suddenly make them a 2-bid NCAA March Madness conference. So, financially there would be no point in adding Marshall.

This thread is like two teen boys gushing over a girl that wouldn't date them in a million years.

 ;D ;D ;D

[herdfifteen]

This thread is completely pointless for the simple reason that the MAC would never in my lifetime (in my late 50's) take us back.

First, most of the schools fans hate the Herd.  And there was no sense that school administrations loved adding us.  Then, we kicked their butts in football for nearly a decade before we jumped ship, using them as a stepping stone--so you know they just loved sticking their necks out for us.  What in the world would make the administrations of MAC schools want to take us back?

Second, they have enough schools.  They don't need any more.  They have the perfect number of schools (12) for traditional scheduling for football and all other sports.  And it's clear the MAC has no illusions of changing their brand.

Plus, adding Marshall would not increase their TV revenue substantially, nor suddenly make them a 2-bid NCAA March Madness conference. So, financially there would be no point in adding Marshall.

This thread is like two teen boys gushing over a girl that wouldn't date them in a million years.

You know the MAC well, they have zero interest in us, and likely we feel the same about them. Idle talk.

[svherd]

REMAIN CALM ALL IS WELL! Cue Kevin Bacon in Animal House.

[GreenBison]

There is a reason the MAC is considered such a stable conference.

No other conference wants any of it's members.

the mac is the Doc Holiday of conferences.

Muck the FAC!

[marshallmark]

I'm old enough to remember both times we were in the MAC.  I don't want to go back.  November in Ypsilanti.  Or Kalamazoo. Or Toledo.  Or Bowling Green.  Or DeKalb.  Or Buffalo.  Or Mt. Pleasant.  Or Akron.  Or Kent.  I've been to all and I don't wanna go again.