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

[Herdmeister]

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.

Yep, been there and done that.
A weekend getaway in Boca, Hattiesburg or  Murfreesboro is far better than a weekend in Akron, Kent or Toledo.

[Johns1124]

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.

Well Put

+1

[Johns1124]

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.

No, we were ranked high, and early last year because the likes of the Big 10 started late. If they hadn't.
The game would not been on CBS and we would have broke into the Top 25 in Week 5-6 (maybe).

[Johns1124]

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.

Pre-Season polls?

Do you really think we would lose a game this year to Ball St?

[svherd]

No, we were ranked high, and early last year because the likes of the Big 10 started late. If they hadn't.
The game would not been on CBS and we would have broke into the Top 25 in Week 5-6 (maybe).

DUH! The exposure got us ranked. That was the point.

[GreenDaddy]

DUH! The exposure got us ranked. That was the point.

Yeah Grant going off in that first week got people talking. The almost 1 million watching on ESPN really got us out there early. I am confident that if the game was on Facebook that would not have been the case.

I can see both sides of the argument when it comes to the MAC. There is no nostalgia there for me regarding Marshall. When we were in that league there was exactly 1 bowl tie in and not very much money, I am thinking around $100K? Fast forward to 2021 and they have multiple bowl tie ins and bring in around $800K per year from tv money. Meanwhile CUSA went from over $1 mill in media money to 400K.

Moral of the story is for everyone frowning upon the MAC. No, I do not want to go back either but stop acting like it is playing I-AA ball. The last time I checked they have put 2 teams in New Year?s Day bowls since we left, and CUSA has laid a goose egg in that category. Empty stadiums on the weeknights? Have you been to Middle TN, Charlotte, FIU, FAU, and others on a fall Saturday?  We play in empty stadiums on weekends, and even worse, have to play in those empty stadiums on Facebook lol.

The crappy locations and the fans that say mean things about Marshall does not negate the fact that they are in a better situation than us right now, and it is okay to admit that while also saying that we do not want to go back.

[herdfan129]

Yeah Grant going off in that first week got people talking. The almost 1 million watching on ESPN really got us out there early. I am confident that if the game was on Facebook that would not have been the case.

I can see both sides of the argument when it comes to the MAC. There is no nostalgia there for me regarding Marshall. When we were in that league there was exactly 1 bowl tie in and not very much money, I am thinking around $100K? Fast forward to 2021 and they have multiple bowl tie ins and bring in around $800K per year from tv money. Meanwhile CUSA went from over $1 mill in media money to 400K.

Moral of the story is for everyone frowning upon the MAC. No, I do not want to go back either but stop acting like it is playing I-AA ball. The last time I checked they have put 2 teams in New Year?s Day bowls since we left, and CUSA has laid a goose egg in that category. Empty stadiums on the weeknights? Have you been to Middle TN, Charlotte, FIU, FAU, and others on a fall Saturday?  We play in empty stadiums on weekends, and even worse, have to play in those empty stadiums on Facebook lol.

The crappy locations and the fans that say mean things about Marshall does not negate the fact that they are in a better situation than us right now, and it is okay to admit that while also saying that we do not want to go back.

We currently play in empty stadiums on the road. In the MAC we would be forced to play in an empty stadium at home because the game would be played on a Tues/Weds night.

If the MAC wants to give us special treatment where our two Tues/Weds games are on the road then I wouldn?t mind going back. Forced to play Tues/Weds at home is an absolute no.

[GreenDaddy]

We currently play in empty stadiums on the road. In the MAC we would be forced to play in an empty stadium at home because the game would be played on a Tues/Weds night.

If the MAC wants to give us special treatment where our two Tues/Weds games are on the road then I wouldn?t mind going back. Forced to play Tues/Weds at home is an absolute no.

I completely agree with you. I was trying to point out that we should not throw stones while living in a glass house.

[Johns1124]

But more than anything, I really want Marshall to be the next App State or Coastal.

But I doubt we're going anywhere. This is just about the absolute worst timing to be without a permanent President or AD.

We beat App. State.

Coastal since coming to FBS 2017

2017- 3-9
2018  5-7
2019  5-7
2020  11-1  (The most f'ed up year College Football has ever seen)

You want to be like that?

[Johns1124]

DUH! The exposure got us ranked. That was the point.

Had more to do with certain well known teams starting late!

[puma]

Pre-Season polls?

Do you really think we would lose a game this year to Ball St?

Probably, at least if Doc were still coach. Ball State had a very good team last year. They beat Buffalo in the MAC championship and an undefeated & ranked SJSU in a bowl game.

[herdorbust]

We beat App. State.

Coastal since coming to FBS 2017

2017- 3-9
2018  5-7
2019  5-7
2020  11-1  (The most f'ed up year College Football has ever seen)

You want to be like that?

You do realize they didn?t even have football until 2003? And they didn?t go D1 until 2016? Looks like they have climbed an impressive ladder. And the year they went 3-9 was the first year in the Sunbelt. The year before we went 3-9. They would have killed us last year.

[svherd]

Had more to do with certain well known teams starting late!

Doesn't %^&*ing matter how we got on there. The point is we did and that's why we were ranked. Jesus, you are dense some times. Facebook and Stadium don't do jack for us.

[puma]

We beat App. State.

Coastal since coming to FBS 2017

2017- 3-9
2018  5-7
2019  5-7
2020  11-1  (The most f'ed up year College Football has ever seen)

You want to be like that?

It's more trajectory. As you said, Marshall beat App St in 2020 "the most f'ed up year in College Football", which amounted to Doc's best win of all time and maybe Marshall's best win in the past 15 or 20 years.

App St is in a good place right now and I fully believe Coastal and Sunbelt as a whole are moving in an upward direction. I wouldn't mind being a part of something like that.

[herd_67]

It's more trajectory. As you said, Marshall beat App St in 2020 "the most f'ed up year in College Football", which amounted to Doc's best win of all time and maybe Marshall's best win in the past 15 or 20 years.

App St is in a good place right now and I fully believe Coastal and Sunbelt as a whole are moving in an upward direction. I wouldn't mind being a part of something like that.

Neither would I & as you mentioned the Sun Belt is in a good place & trending upward..With movements if we would end up there along with maybe another mover or two they could get a nice TV deal? or is it just divided among the FCS no matter what the amount is ?

[GreenDaddy]

Neither would I & as you mentioned the Sun Belt is in a good place & trending upward..With movements if we would end up there along with maybe another mover or two they could get a nice TV deal? or is it just divided among the FCS no matter what the amount is ?

The tv deal they have is not bad, and they just negotiated an extension with ESPN through 2031 I think? Adding us and another school probably would not net them more money, but would probably add enough to keep the payouts the same from 10 to 12 teams. They have not released the financial details of the deal yet, so it is hard to say. IF they get a substantial pay raise it will be a real kick in the nads though, and more salt in the wound known as CUSA.

[chris88]

I believe Coastals only loss last year was to Liberty in a bowl game.  And just because the MAC has a currently better TV deal than CUSA says more about CUSA than the MAC.  We have a way out with a potential new conf. If you like the pageantry/event of a college gameday you loathe the MAC.  I'd rather be back in FCS than MAC. We are not going back, we are going forward.

[herdfifteen]

My nephew is a huge college football fan, his son is going to Miami, he was excited to hear about their football program since they have a very good tradition. He was shocked  to hear about the three Tuesday night games every year. I also told him about Marshall, their first game of the season a couple years ago being homecoming since they would not be playing again on the weekend until the last Saturday in November. Thanks to ESPN the MAC  has destroyed their fan bases and they don?t seem to care.

[wasbarryb]

My nephew is a huge college football fan, his son is going to Miami, he was excited to hear about their football program since they have a very good tradition. He was shocked  to hear about the three Tuesday night games every year. I also told him about Marshall, their first game of the season a couple years ago being homecoming since they would not be playing again on the weekend until the last Saturday in November. Thanks to ESPN the MAC  has destroyed their fan bases and they don?t seem to care.

They have fans bases?

When did that happen? 

Like others I've been around since both our purgatories there and I didn't know they had any fan bases. Also you threw me there at first.  When you said your nephew was a big college fan and his son was going to Miami I thought you meant the real Miami, not Little Miami, took me a little time to realize what you were talking about.

[Johns1124]

It's more trajectory. As you said, Marshall beat App St in 2020 "the most f'ed up year in College Football", which amounted to Doc's best win of all time and maybe Marshall's best win in the past 15 or 20 years.

App St is in a good place right now and I fully believe Coastal and Sunbelt as a whole are moving in an upward direction. I wouldn't mind being a part of something like that.

So are you saying we shouldn't have beat App St?

Personally, I believe the problem with the fb team since '16 is now gone.

[Toro Toro Taxi]

Pre-Season polls?

Do you really think we would lose a game this year to Ball St?

I most certainly think its a possibility , especially since we havent seen the Herd play yet. Rice thumped us last season and nobody expected it .

[wasbarryb]

I most certainly think its a possibility , especially since we havent seen the Herd play yet. Rice thumped us last season and nobody expected it .

I think Rice is steamed about the lack of respect we have for them.

[puma]

So are you saying we shouldn't have beat App St?

Personally, I believe the problem with the fb team since '16 is now gone.

Nope, nothing of the sort. It was an enormous win against a very good program. Should absolutely be proud of that. It was wonderful playing against a team with that kind of a rabid fanbase, who goes into every game with a chip on their shoulder and expecting a win, and then kicking them in their teeth and seeing the meltdown. That's what college football is all about!

Not going to lie. I'm honestly kind of jealous and want a piece of that and would love to play a conference slate against those types of teams. Five or six years ago, if you told me I'd be looking up to the Sunbelt competitively, I would have told you you're crazy. But here we are.

[herd2win]

Until the fight we had a solid team.  After that incident the team was bad and still would have ended up in the top 25 final poll if we would have won against Buffalo.

I hope everything gets blown up and we get a regional conference with no more than 12 teams and prefer 10 to give us some scheduling flexibility.

[Johns1124]

It's more trajectory. As you said, Marshall beat App St in 2020 "the most f'ed up year in College Football", which amounted to Doc's best win of all time and maybe Marshall's best win in the past 15 or 20 years.

App St is in a good place right now and I fully believe Coastal and Sunbelt as a whole are moving in an upward direction. I wouldn't mind being a part of something like that.

That's because of Doc. He is now gone.

Would not surprise me that CC goes back goes .500. We shall see