http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY0_vSJ6Z...e=youtu.be

.

Lol at Urban Meyer saying "I love the MAC conference," he should've just said that he loved the MA conference. But as far as their actual comments go, I'm not too surprised. They were right on about how similar resources results in a very competitive conference year after year, though they themselves don't mind it when they have the resources of a major flagship and get to pound on Southeast North Dakota Men's Nursing College in non-conference play.

This is what I hear when Beckman speaks:

I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

(07-29-2013 02:57 PM)TARDledo Wrote:  I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

I think the better notion is long term parity. Teams in this conference can be up one year and in the gutter the next, only to rebound to the middle the following. The only team that hasn't really shown this is EMU, but even they were 6-6 a couple of years back.

(07-29-2013 03:37 PM)mufanatehc Wrote:  

(07-29-2013 02:57 PM)TARDledo Wrote:  I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

I think the better notion is long term parity. Teams in this conference can be up one year and in the gutter the next, only to rebound to the middle the following. The only team that hasn't really shown this is EMU, but even they were 6-6 a couple of years back.

Long term parity has been a boon to NFL. If B1G* hadn't actively worked against the MAC for so many years, I believe the conference would be pretty well known and popular.

*MAC administrations haven't always done the best for the programs either, but I believe that's intentional to a degree, and part of the same issue.

They won't be sounding so complimentary when they get beat this fall by MAC teams you can bet on that.

(07-29-2013 02:57 PM)TARDledo Wrote:  I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

Agreed.

1) NIU has won 3 straight MAC West titles in a competitive division and 2 straight MAC Championships. They are predicted this year by almost all publications to win the West for the 4th straight year.

2) Toledo aside from a couple of seasons has been a consistent winner for the past 20 seasons. BCS wins even in years that they are down.

3) In the MAC East only Ohio and Miami have multiple division titles. Kent, Akron and Buffalo only have 1 MAC East title while BG and UMass have never won the East. There is more parity than the West but Ohio since the mid 2000's has been fairly consistent.

(07-29-2013 03:48 PM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(07-29-2013 03:37 PM)mufanatehc Wrote:  

(07-29-2013 02:57 PM)TARDledo Wrote:  I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

I think the better notion is long term parity. Teams in this conference can be up one year and in the gutter the next, only to rebound to the middle the following. The only team that hasn't really shown this is EMU, but even they were 6-6 a couple of years back.

Long term parity has been a boon to NFL. If B1G* hadn't actively worked against the MAC for so many years, I believe the conference would be pretty well known and popular.

*MAC administrations haven't always done the best for the programs either, but I believe that's intentional to a degree, and part of the same issue.

The South has the SEC and ACC as major conferences so you have to wonder why the B1G and MAC couldn't of had the same relationship.

The Big East obviously got in the way of developing the MAC as the second BCS conference in the Midwest. Prior to the Big East the MAC was considering adding Syracuse and Rutgers. If it could have gotten Pitt to join the party it could have been on to something.

Now the ACC backs up both the SEC in the South and the B1G in the North with its footprint. The opportunity for the MAC is long gone though it could be the top G5 league because of low travel costs.

(07-31-2013 09:31 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(07-29-2013 02:57 PM)TARDledo Wrote:  I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

Agreed.

1) NIU has won 3 straight MAC West titles in a competitive division and 2 straight MAC Championships. They are predicted this year by almost all publications to win the West for the 4th straight year.

2) Toledo aside from a couple of seasons has been a consistent winner for the past 20 seasons. BCS wins even in years that they are down.

3) In the MAC East only Ohio and Miami have multiple division titles. Kent, Akron and Buffalo only have 1 MAC East title while BG and UMass have never won the East. There is more parity than the West but Ohio since the mid 2000's has been fairly consistent.

I was thinking more NIU and Central Michigan than NIU and Toledo, but yeah.

Don't forget about Temple in the East. I know as MAC fans we like to pile on the Owls but they had some good teams and just "pulled a Temple" and let Miami or Ohio walk away with the Division when they (Temple) probably had more talent.

Basically it's been 2 or 3 teams in each division having more sustained runs than the "any year any one can win" spiel or even worse the "worst to first" crap that gets regurgitated by those who either don't really follow the MAC closely or have an agenda.

(07-31-2013 09:50 AM)TARDledo Wrote:  

(07-31-2013 09:31 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(07-29-2013 02:57 PM)TARDledo Wrote:  I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

Agreed.

1) NIU has won 3 straight MAC West titles in a competitive division and 2 straight MAC Championships. They are predicted this year by almost all publications to win the West for the 4th straight year.

2) Toledo aside from a couple of seasons has been a consistent winner for the past 20 seasons. BCS wins even in years that they are down.

3) In the MAC East only Ohio and Miami have multiple division titles. Kent, Akron and Buffalo only have 1 MAC East title while BG and UMass have never won the East. There is more parity than the West but Ohio since the mid 2000's has been fairly consistent.

I was thinking more NIU and Central Michigan than NIU and Toledo, but yeah.

Don't forget about Temple in the East. I know as MAC fans we like to pile on the Owls but they had some good teams and just "pulled a Temple" and let Miami or Ohio walk away with the Division when they (Temple) probably had more talent.

Basically it's been 2 or 3 teams in each division having more sustained runs than the "any year any one can win" spiel or even worse the "worst to first" crap that gets regurgitated by those who either don't really follow the MAC closely or have an agenda.

Temple had the most talent in East as they have the PA-NJ recruiting grounds all to themselves. The problem was they haven't been able to build a credible passing game.

The MAC is moving away from parity of the past. We've seen it a lot this past decade in basketball with Kent, Akron and Ohio while the other 9 MAC basketball members have done basically nothing. In the last 5 years I would say FB has come to be dominated by a small group of programs in a bowl game every year.

With the FBS expanding to 129 and further diluting the talent base its becoming more difficult for a program like Akron or UMass to get off the mat if they have to dip into more contested recruting areas like Florida and Georgia to do.

For programs like NIU it's the opposite because success and visibility will land players over the glut of AAC, CUSA and SBC schools. Hence things will continue to become more top heavy. If WMU continues to recruit like they are they will separate themselves from the MAC.

(07-31-2013 09:39 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  Now the ACC backs up both the SEC in the South and the B1G in the North with its footprint. The opportunity for the MAC is long gone though it could be the top G5 league because of low travel costs.

I disagree, the opportunity is still there.

Short of a couple of programs ACC football is not strong at all, it is a basketball conference and always will be with the NC school running the show.

The "Medium 10" may always have a lock in the great lakes/midwest part of the footprint but the MAC can make some serious headway in the Northeast portion if it grows smart (See: My 14/17 Hybrid).

UMass just beat out the two other New England schools for a recruit, and it's unfortunate that UMass had to transition in the way that it did (thanks Temple/Dead Big East), but I do believe that they have the potential to be the PREMIER New England Big Boy Football Club. UConn was FCS last week and has no history and only had a good season or two that were a DIRECT result of the "AQ" status of the old Big East that will be gone. BC is a small private religious school that is absolutely atrocious right now, there is no reason to believe that UMass can't blow right by them. BC's football ceiling is severely capped in the 15-team (Notre Dame included) ACC football model.

If this "G4" happens the A-10 and CAA will be marginalized and the Mid-Atlantic to New England corridor is a free-for-all, at least in football. Basketball will still have to compete with the Big East, very likely, but "Football Drives the Bus" I think I may have heard someone say once or twice.

At the very least, the MAC will become a TOP "Non-Cartel" league.

MAC Goggles: They're MACtastic!

(07-31-2013 09:50 AM)TARDledo Wrote:  

(07-31-2013 09:31 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(07-29-2013 02:57 PM)TARDledo Wrote:  I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

Agreed.

1) NIU has won 3 straight MAC West titles in a competitive division and 2 straight MAC Championships. They are predicted this year by almost all publications to win the West for the 4th straight year.

2) Toledo aside from a couple of seasons has been a consistent winner for the past 20 seasons. BCS wins even in years that they are down.

3) In the MAC East only Ohio and Miami have multiple division titles. Kent, Akron and Buffalo only have 1 MAC East title while BG and UMass have never won the East. There is more parity than the West but Ohio since the mid 2000's has been fairly consistent.

I was thinking more NIU and Central Michigan than NIU and Toledo, but yeah.

Don't forget about Temple in the East. I know as MAC fans we like to pile on the Owls but they had some good teams and just "pulled a Temple" and let Miami or Ohio walk away with the Division when they (Temple) probably had more talent.

Basically it's been 2 or 3 teams in each division having more sustained runs than the "any year any one can win" spiel or even worse the "worst to first" crap that gets regurgitated by those who either don't really follow the MAC closely or have an agenda.

I think there's a little more parity in the MAC than the P5 conferences, just because whenever a team is good the coaching staff leaves, and it's a roll of the dice as to whether the next coaching staff will do as well. Buffalo and Akron both won MACCs and then sunk back to the bottom. Can't count UMass yet as they've only been around for a year.

(07-31-2013 10:41 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(07-31-2013 09:50 AM)TARDledo Wrote:  

(07-31-2013 09:31 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(07-29-2013 02:57 PM)TARDledo Wrote:  I'm so tired of the "parity" narrative, that hasn't been true of the MAC since the early 2000s.

Agreed.

1) NIU has won 3 straight MAC West titles in a competitive division and 2 straight MAC Championships. They are predicted this year by almost all publications to win the West for the 4th straight year.

2) Toledo aside from a couple of seasons has been a consistent winner for the past 20 seasons. BCS wins even in years that they are down.

3) In the MAC East only Ohio and Miami have multiple division titles. Kent, Akron and Buffalo only have 1 MAC East title while BG and UMass have never won the East. There is more parity than the West but Ohio since the mid 2000's has been fairly consistent.

I was thinking more NIU and Central Michigan than NIU and Toledo, but yeah.

Don't forget about Temple in the East. I know as MAC fans we like to pile on the Owls but they had some good teams and just "pulled a Temple" and let Miami or Ohio walk away with the Division when they (Temple) probably had more talent.

Basically it's been 2 or 3 teams in each division having more sustained runs than the "any year any one can win" spiel or even worse the "worst to first" crap that gets regurgitated by those who either don't really follow the MAC closely or have an agenda.

I think there's a little more parity in the MAC than the P5 conferences, just because whenever a team is good the coaching staff leaves, and it's a roll of the dice as to whether the next coaching staff will do as well. Buffalo and Akron both won MACCs and then sunk back to the bottom. Can't count UMass yet as they've only been around for a year.

-Ohio hired Solich from Nebraska and JC from Texas Christian. Older coaches who aren't going anywhere. Bowden is also permanently entrenched in Akron it appears. Other MAC programs should follow suit.

-Buffalo really got screwed by Turner Gill leaving so early otherwise they would be further along than they are now. They might have a winning season this year, but overall they aren't a problem school for the MAC just middling. They have their own recruiting base in New York to work with.

Akron is a problem school with 7 straight losing seasons, the worst streak in the conference and a general inability to land any of the top MAC recruits. They used to have a decent MAC program but that was before Kent State became serious about football.

-UMass is in the wrong conference for what it needs to do on the recruiting side of things in football. CUSA or the AAC would be better to help this program dip into Florida. New England doesn't have the talent to support 2 strong programs at the G5 level and UConn has had a big head start.

-The MAC at 12 members and the recognition that EMU/Akron will always be the doormats that help the other MAC schools become bowl eligible is one model that is acceptable. The MAC will never have more than 4-5 bowl tie-ins because of attendance and geography so why split the pie more ways.

(07-31-2013 10:06 AM)TARDledo Wrote:  

(07-31-2013 09:39 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  Now the ACC backs up both the SEC in the South and the B1G in the North with its footprint. The opportunity for the MAC is long gone though it could be the top G5 league because of low travel costs.

I disagree, the opportunity is still there.

Short of a couple of programs ACC football is not strong at all, it is a basketball conference and always will be with the NC school running the show.

The "Medium 10" may always have a lock in the great lakes/midwest part of the footprint but the MAC can make some serious headway in the Northeast portion if it grows smart (See: My 14/17 Hybrid).

I think we can steal the A10's lunch in basketball with some smart growth.

If you're going to cater to UMass though Delaware would be the way to go from an academic and football perspective over URI. Then for hoops only I would go with VCU for another nice market and BB power.

MAC East: VCU, UDel, UMass, Buffalo, Kent, Akron, Miami, Ohio
MAC West: BGSU, Toledo, CMU, EMU, WMU, Ball, NIU, UIC

I'm not really sure what James Madison does for the MAC. They don't have the academic profile MAC presidents are looking for.

Endowment $$$
UDel (1.09 bil)
VCU (438.1 mil)
UIC (224 mil)
URI (122 mil)
JMU (59.6 mil)

ALL of those former MAC coaches can kiss my MACadamia nuts! They're only complimentary if they fail in the P1G League, and need a job to fall back on!