I read this on Ohio's sports forum, did you guys almost join the MAC? I know Cincy was in the MAC back in the 50s...Louisville you guys were MVC, Indy and Metro, never in the MAC, right?

"Well, I don't think anything like this will happen now, but years ago the MAC blew a deal that had Louisville and Cincinnati ready to join the MAC. It was a big headline in newspapers around the area -- including the Columbus Citizen-Journal (anybody remember that one?). However, the deal fell through because at the last minute the MAC Daddies refused to increase the MAC football scholarship number to the then national D1 limit of 105. In UC's case, of course, it was a chance to rejoin the MAC. This was back in the days when the MAC was a seven team league with Ohio, Toledo, BGSU, WMU, Kent State, Miami, and Marshall."

Louisville’s conference history

Independent (1912–1962)
MVC (1963–1974)
I-A Independent (1975–1995)
Conference USA (1996–2004)
Big East Conference (2005–2012)
The American (2013)
The Atlantic Coast Conference (2014)

Except for a 12 year period between ‘63 and ‘74, Louisville was a football independent until joining CUSA in 1996. While I don’t know anything about UofL and The MAC, it does seem plausible. The timeline would fit.

Yeeaahhh...

I don't claim to be an insider, but I know a few people that have been in the athletic department and I've never heard anything of this sort.

I know in the 80's we were becoming very interested in joining a league because indies didn't have any bowl tie ins. I don't think we were ever desperate enough to go back to the MAC though.

This is true, and I think it was the 70’s. I am pretty sure I shared the info on here at some point. In the 80’s, Cincinnati was again interested in the MAC.

(08-08-2021 09:29 AM)esayem Wrote:  This is true, and I think it was the 70’s. I am pretty sure I shared the info on here at some point. In the 80’s, Cincinnati was again interested in the MAC.

Lets see it.

You could probably search my posts.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

While I was there they even considered dropping football, but not joining the MAC.

How bad did UofL’s program have to be to lose its head coach, Vince Gibson, to Tulane in 1979?

I know Louisville considered dropping down to FCS after Bob Weber left just before hiring Coach Schnellenberger in December 1984.

Louisville made its first real commitment to big time college football in the fall of 1984 after Bob Weber resigned after losing to Cincinnati 40-21. UC finished 2-9 that season as did UofL. Man I’m glad I missed that titanic struggle between two awful football teams.

Ohh, I’m a heartbreaker! I actually don’t think this is what you thought:

MAC Will Make It Without NIU

As for the original topic of Louisville and Cincinnati joining the MAC as a package deal, that was close to happening in the 70’s when the MAC added EMU and CMU. Once they did that, the aforementioned two pulled out. The MAC played it safe.

Doing a little research to try and answer Mark’s question in the OP, I did discover this.

In December of 1990 The Southwest Conference was talking to Louisville about joining.

“A plan is being bounced around in SWC circles -- and it better bounce to the forefront quickly -- that could add two members right away and then two more teams eventually for a total of 12. It would enhance basketball without hurting football. If done correctly, it could even help football.

Here's how the plan would work. The SWC already has been in contact with two members of the dying Metro Conference -- Tulane and Louisville -- which is down to four members. Other SWC targets for full membership could be New Mexico, BYU, UTEP and-or Tulsa.

Louisville, which is a bona fide football school now, would go into one SWC division with Baylor, Houston, Texas A&M;, Texas and Texas Tech. This would be the so-called strong football division, and the winner would retain its affiliation with the Mobil Cotton Bowl. Tulane would go into a division with TCU, Southern Methodist University and Rice and perhaps New Mexico or Tulsa. It would be a junior football league and could have a minor bowl tie-up.

There could be even a 12th game, a title matchup between the strong and the weak football divisions, a la the SEC.”

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm...story.html

(08-08-2021 10:49 AM)esayem Wrote:  Ohh, I’m a heartbreaker! I actually don’t think this is what you thought:

MAC Will Make It Without NIU

It looks like that article mentions Cincinnati having an interest in the MAC, but no mention of Louisville.

(08-08-2021 10:48 AM)CardinalJim Wrote:  I know Louisville considered dropping down to FCS after Bob Weber left just before hiring Coach Schnellenberger in December 1984.

Louisville made its first real commitment to big time college football in the fall of 1984 after Bob Weber resigned after losing to Cincinnati 40-21.

Many years ago (10-15??) I found myself in a small group talking to someone with close ties to Bob Weber (a son maybe? or son-in-law?? ... something like that ... anyway ...).

There was a little bitterness there, because while Bob Weber was coaching U of L, he constantly asked for more support from the athletic department, and it just wasn't there for him.

As soon as he was fired, the financial support came out of the woodwork, to land Howard Schnellenberger, and as importantly, to support the vision Howard had for football at U of L.

The Webers were convinced that had they received the same level of support, things could have been much different for them. There's probably some accuracy to these statements, but it will always fall into the category of "we'll never know".

First three years at Louisville Weber went 5 and 6. Then 3 and 8, and finally 2 and 9 before being fired.


Bob Weber passed away in 2008 from pancreatic cancer. Sad to find that out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Weber


.

(08-08-2021 11:32 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(08-08-2021 10:49 AM)esayem Wrote:  Ohh, I’m a heartbreaker! I actually don’t think this is what you thought:

MAC Will Make It Without NIU

It looks like that article mentions Cincinnati having an interest in the MAC, but no mention of Louisville.

Correct. The proposed Cincy/Louisville package was in the early 70’s.

(08-08-2021 10:49 AM)esayem Wrote:  Ohh, I’m a heartbreaker! I actually don’t think this is what you thought:

MAC Will Make It Without NIU

Oh please,

If that aint crap thrown against the wall, I don't know what is.

MAC sources? Let me guess... Some joker at little Miami U trying to make us look bad.

LIke I said, we would have dropped football before going back to the MAC.

Well it was printed in the Chicago Tribune and you asked for it.

Louisville beat Cincy to the big boy football world by only about 5 years.


From 76 to 85 Cincy played the following number of P-5's with the exception of each other of course

Louisville/Cincy
76 2 - 2
77 1 - 1
78 1 - 1
79 4 - 2
80 5 - 2
81 3 - 2
82 4 - 4
83 5 - 5
84 2 - 4
85 5 - 6

Those six extra games over three years seem to have really helped Louisville. Then when 1990 rolls around Louisville is 10-1-1 and Cincy is 1-10 - boom Cincy is behind Louisville in the football pecking order.

Nothing in life is fair and this isn't really fair but it's what it is.

(08-08-2021 10:48 AM)CardinalJim Wrote:  How bad did UofL’s program have to be to lose its head coach, Vince Gibson, to Tulane in 1979?

I know Louisville considered dropping down to FCS after Bob Weber left just before hiring Coach Schnellenberger in December 1984.

Louisville made its first real commitment to big time college football in the fall of 1984 after Bob Weber resigned after losing to Cincinnati 40-21. UC finished 2-9 that season as did UofL. Man I’m glad I missed that titanic struggle between two awful football teams.

SU lost its basketball HC to Tulane back in 1975 after he had just taken SU to the final Four. His name was Roy Danforth. Last I checked, he was still alive and maintained that he made the biggest bonehead decision in all of college sports to leave SU for Tulane. I don think I have to mention who his replacement was .

(08-08-2021 01:35 PM)esayem Wrote:  Well it was printed in the Chicago Tribune and you asked for it.

One article. From 1985. And that's the gospel truth, right?

Yet when I bring up a documented direct quote from BC's AD that ESPN told them to add Pitt and Syracuse, I got run outta here like a heretic.

(08-08-2021 03:34 PM)Statefan Wrote:  Louisville beat Cincy to the big boy football world by only about 5 years.


From 76 to 85 Cincy played the following number of P-5's with the exception of each other of course

Louisville/Cincy
76 2 - 2
77 1 - 1
78 1 - 1
79 4 - 2
80 5 - 2
81 3 - 2
82 4 - 4
83 5 - 5
84 2 - 4
85 5 - 6

Those six extra games over three years seem to have really helped Louisville. Then when 1990 rolls around Louisville is 10-1-1 and Cincy is 1-10 - boom Cincy is behind Louisville in the football pecking order.

Nothing in life is fair and this isn't really fair but it's what it is.

So... what happened in 1990? Refresh my memory.