I doubt Nick Saban would care. Wait, I take that back, he would miss a possible cupcake game.

(03-17-2015 03:52 PM)ilovegymnast Wrote:  I love how it always comes down to kicking out the teams at the bottom, as if there would be no bottom teams after that. Somehow every team will win the conference each year.

And as if having teams at the bottom is what prevents the MAC from being considered as a stronger conference. In 2014 FB, it was not Colorado in the P12 (Massey #93), Purdue in the B10 (Massey #94), Iowa State in the B12 (Massey #97), Vandy in the SEC (Massey #102), or Wake Forest in the ACC (Massey #103) that set the perception of the P12, B10, B12, SEC or ACC in people's minds. And the perception of the AAC and MWC was not set by the fact that the AAC had four schools that Massey's average of rankings placed below the worst P5 school, or that the MWC had three. It was, first, in how the schools at the top of the conferences, and second, how much of a challenge they were given by the schools in the middle of the conference.

Its the teams in the top and the middle of the conferences that people judge conferences by ... where those Massey FB rankings place 6/13 MAC schools below the weakest P5 school, that hurts, but there's no benefit available to the other 5 MAC schools with average power rankings below the weakest P5 school from kicking out EMU. That won't magically push Buffalo, UMass, our neighbor Akron, our Golden Flashes, or my alma mater MiamiU up into greater competitiveness on the national stage.

(03-17-2015 07:02 PM)HarmonOliphantOberlanderDevine Wrote:  I doubt Nick Saban would care. Wait, I take that back, he would miss a possible cupcake game.

With Saban being a Kent State Alum I think he would care a bit if something happened to our football program. Kent played Bama a couple years ago making $1.2 Mil for their troubles and are lined up to play them again next year for $1.5 Mil. He is definitely taking care of Kent.

https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1693159

(03-21-2015 05:08 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 03:52 PM)ilovegymnast Wrote:  I love how it always comes down to kicking out the teams at the bottom, as if there would be no bottom teams after that. Somehow every team will win the conference each year.

And as if having teams at the bottom is what prevents the MAC from being considered as a stronger conference. In 2014 FB, it was not Colorado in the P12 (Massey #93), Purdue in the B10 (Massey #94), Iowa State in the B12 (Massey #97), Vandy in the SEC (Massey #102), or Wake Forest in the ACC (Massey #103) that set the perception of the P12, B10, B12, SEC or ACC in people's minds. And the perception of the AAC and MWC was not set by the fact that the AAC had four schools that Massey's average of rankings placed below the worst P5 school, or that the MWC had three. It was, first, in how the schools at the top of the conferences, and second, how much of a challenge they were given by the schools in the middle of the conference.

Its the teams in the top and the middle of the conferences that people judge conferences by ... where those Massey FB rankings place 6/13 MAC schools below the weakest P5 school, that hurts, but there's no benefit available to the other 5 MAC schools with average power rankings below the weakest P5 school from kicking out EMU. That won't magically push Buffalo, UMass, our neighbor Akron, our Golden Flashes, or my alma mater MiamiU up into greater competitiveness on the national stage.

To quote David Byrne 'Stop Making Sense'

This thread is pointless. Kent State football is not shutting down. Our administration is absolutely dedicated to the program.

(03-12-2015 12:20 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(03-12-2015 11:39 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  "KENT: A consulting firm is not recommending that Kent State cut any sports programs, but it says the university needs to boost private donations for athletics and has concluded that Dix Stadium and the MAC Center “are tired and outdated.”"

So basically this consulting firm was hired to say that Kent St needs to update their Football stadium and Basketball arena.

I love those studies which basically said what everyone knew yet they made it 'official' by putting it into a consultant's study.

That said, there is an 'arms race' in collegiate athletes and KSU (and some other MAC schools) need to keep up.

Did I miss the point when you say Kent State needs to keep up? That sounds funny coming from an EMU fan.

I still think this report is a way for the administration to give itself justification to do more even if it will cost more money than before. Yes everybody in the know already knows this but sometimes you have to get some outside source to say the same thing to convince outsiders and the people that do not pay that much attention (and there is a lot of that here) to what may need to be done.

(03-21-2015 06:47 PM)Sultan of Euphonistan Wrote:  I still think this report is a way for the administration to give itself justification to do more even if it will cost more money than before. Yes everybody in the know already knows this but sometimes you have to get some outside source to say the same thing to convince outsiders and the people that do not pay that much attention (and there is a lot of that here) to what may need to be done.

It seems probable that there is lot of that here. Its likely that many of the contributors are people who were involved in the programs at some point in the past whether as participants or as fans on campus, and now have become successful in business or the professions ... and the "but, back when I was playing/watching, XYZ was good enough" reaction is something that the fund-raisers have to have compelling answers for if they want to get the signatures on the checks.

Also note that "Could Kent State be the next UAB" could easily be understood differently post-March Madness 2015, with UAB going 1-1 at the Big Dance, and Kent State the only MAC school still playing basketball, even if it is only in the CIT.