(11-18-2017 01:03 PM)axeme Wrote:  Almost impossible to schedule some schools midweek and others on Saturday unless they never play each other or every school saves their bye weeks for November. Scheduling mess.

MAC needs to decide if they want to be on national tv or not because there’s almost no room on Saturdays for the mid major conferences. Of course, the decision has already been made for most of the next decade so there’s time to debate the issue.

Not an issue if everyone is playing the same number of weeknight games (fewer).

I've loved watching the weekday games. Need sky cameras now.

(11-20-2017 09:58 AM)thxjoenovak Wrote:  Washington Post Column:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/co...9e3a18aaf2

Quote:“We might have some Saturday games in November in the future,” Steinbrecher said. “It really depends on how the schedule falls year to year. I do think, after all these years, our fans are accustomed to it; they understand that this is the deal, and this is one way we’ve been able to make the conference as competitive as it’s been.”

Keep the hash tag, drop the weekday games and the Steinbrecher...

I contacted NIU's current (Acting) President about this. Here was her response.

John,

Thanks for your email and passion for NIU athletics. I appreciate your feedback regarding midweek football games. As you know, the MAC is in the middle of a multi-year contract with ESPN, but I will be sure to convey your concerns (and the similar concerns of others who have expressed them to me) at our next meeting of MAC presidents.

Go Huskies!

Lisa



Everyone else on here needs to do the same thing and contact their schools president and demand that this contract be renegotiated for a maximum of 1 home and 1 away midweek MACtion game per year.

(11-20-2017 03:43 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  I contacted NIU's current (Acting) President about this. Here was her response.

John,

Thanks for your email and passion for NIU athletics. I appreciate your feedback regarding midweek football games. As you know, the MAC is in the middle of a multi-year contract with ESPN, but I will be sure to convey your concerns (and the similar concerns of others who have expressed them to me) at our next meeting of MAC presidents.

Go Huskies!

Lisa



Everyone else on here needs to do the same thing and contact their schools president and demand that this contract be renegotiated for a maximum of 1 home and 1 away midweek MACtion game per year.

What is the email address?

(11-18-2017 01:42 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Miami vs OU this season probably would've gotten well over 20K butts in the seats if it were a sunny Athens Saturday instead of the relatively sparse Halloween Tuesday crowd they got in reality. That's a case where they should've played Miami instead of Kent ten days prior for their last weekend game.

The general principle of playing the rivalry game on the last weekend is so that if a chance for a bowl game is gone, it gives one last chance for a meaningful game.

But for the MAC, given the degree it's rivalry games are overshadowed by other higher profile, more hyped rivalry games, there's at least a case to be made for moving their rivalry games to the opening week of Conference play, both for the live attendance benefits as well as for the opportunities to group-promote a "MAC Rivalry Weekend".

(11-20-2017 09:42 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(11-18-2017 01:42 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Miami vs OU this season probably would've gotten well over 20K butts in the seats if it were a sunny Athens Saturday instead of the relatively sparse Halloween Tuesday crowd they got in reality. That's a case where they should've played Miami instead of Kent ten days prior for their last weekend game.

The general principle of playing the rivalry game on the last weekend is so that if a chance for a bowl game is gone, it gives one last chance for a meaningful game.

But for the MAC, given the degree it's rivalry games are overshadowed by other higher profile, more hyped rivalry games, there's at least a case to be made for moving their rivalry games to the opening week of Conference play, both for the live attendance benefits as well as for the opportunities to group-promote a "MAC Rivalry Weekend".

I agree with this. But I also like the MACtion. I guess I will have to email my Miami President in support of mid-week November games to help balance out the negativity from a couple NIU fans.

(11-20-2017 09:42 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(11-18-2017 01:42 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Miami vs OU this season probably would've gotten well over 20K butts in the seats if it were a sunny Athens Saturday instead of the relatively sparse Halloween Tuesday crowd they got in reality. That's a case where they should've played Miami instead of Kent ten days prior for their last weekend game.

The general principle of playing the rivalry game on the last weekend is so that if a chance for a bowl game is gone, it gives one last chance for a meaningful game.

But for the MAC, given the degree it's rivalry games are overshadowed by other higher profile, more hyped rivalry games, there's at least a case to be made for moving their rivalry games to the opening week of Conference play, both for the live attendance benefits as well as for the opportunities to group-promote a "MAC Rivalry Weekend".

Agreed. Early season rivalry scheduling also opens the door for schools to negotiate and get their games on local TV on top of ESPN3, like Miami-UC getting on the Cincinnati and Cleveland Fox affiliates this year.

I also just noticed that Saturday's MACC is on ESPN while the C-USA matchup is on ESPN2 despite a better combined record between FAU and North Texas. Are Toledo and Akron that much more interesting to justify the better channel assignment, or is ESPN throwing us a bone for putting up with weeknight games?

The new TV deals put out by ESPN have done away with regionalism and move things to a national game of the week.

ABC and FOX broadcast a national game of the week with CBS having the SEC game of the week that is usually in the same range of national importance.

Then on cable (which many have cut) they start stacking ESPN/ESPN2/FS1/CBSSN with the second tier games. Games that are mostly passed over unless there is a rooting interest. During these games there is a lot of advertising going on for the national game of the week. Halftimes are consumed by playoff speculation with the commentators analyzing every team.

Whats happening with the Top 10-12 teams is drowning out everyone else. Pitt and Syracuse pull off upsets against Clemson and Miami but the discussion is centered around Clemson's and Miami's chances at the playoff with Pitt and Cuse neglected as some funky mid major teams that rose up on a lucky day to slay the giant.

Playing midweek helps when the highlights are on sportscenter that night. Play on a Saturday and good luck getting your game covered unless its against a Top 10 team and the entire discussion will be centered around that Top 10 team.

(11-18-2017 06:05 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(11-17-2017 10:03 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  As an outside observer, the $700K per school isn't worth these time slots. Playing on a Tuesday night on front of 2,000 fans isn't helping the conference despite what ESPN tries to tell you.

700K is vital to a school like EMU whose gate receipts are very small.

The ESPN money, the $34 million they gave us last year between the conference TV deal and the CFP money gives the MAC the ability to subsidize bowl trips that it didn't have before.

(11-18-2017 06:52 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(11-18-2017 01:03 PM)axeme Wrote:  Almost impossible to schedule some schools midweek and others on Saturday unless they never play each other or every school saves their bye weeks for November. Scheduling mess.

MAC needs to decide if they want to be on national tv or not because there’s almost no room on Saturdays for the mid major conferences. Of course, the decision has already been made for most of the next decade so there’s time to debate the issue.

Not an issue if everyone is playing the same number of weeknight games (fewer).

Which is exactly the program from an NIU pespective. Over the past 10 years NIU has played 29 Weekend Road Conference Games and 11 MidWeek Road Conference Games but only 22 Weekend Home Conference Games and 17 MidWeek Home Conference Games; that is what you can an imbalance that cannot be sustained