(02-18-2018 03:51 PM)Chipdip2 Wrote: (02-18-2018 03:36 PM)broncofan1 Wrote: Our alignment with the MAC is the only thing keeping WMU Athletics afloat. If you think it's bad scraping by year after year now, just imagine what it would be without the conference. There is just no way we will ever be 'independent'. Jumping to another conference? Maybe.
But, the original post in this thread was about scheduling Cincy. I would love to see us schedule more mid-tier P5 schools. Indiana, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt... they all make sense.
You are the perfect WCHA/MAC fan. Think small, be small, stay small.
When we were playing in the MAC in 1965, UCF didn’t exist, Boise was a JC, Marshall was DII, and Temple was hoping to get in the MAC someday. All saw an opportunity to build on something.
Lol. I think it is funny how this thread looks so much like those on the CMU board that you, dip, routinely make fun of. Every once in awhile they say how they want to go big time, because the MAC is no longer worthy of the quality athletic school that they are. WMU has been an above average team in the MAC in the big sports for the last couple decades, except for the success we had under Fleck, who dip hates and believes was bad for our football program.
Here is the deal. Let's simply improve our big sport programs to an extent that we are consistently at the top or at least challenging every year for a league title, by getting innovative and energetic head coaches who reject the status quo, and have the understanding and confidence to go against "conventional wisdom ". Our budget is not, and won't ever be, what schools in the P5 or even AAC spend. And contrary to Dips claims, we do not have billionaires throwing money at us. We have some wealthy supporters who are interested in boosting our academic programs, and a wealthy alum in California who loved PJ Fleck, and who Fleck understood how to take advantage of. Not saying he isn't someone we should try to tap again, but buying a scoreboard and doing a little video with sly Stallone ain't the same as underwriting what we need to go "big time ".
The AAC thinks they are a P5 school, even though they are not even close. They are a very solid G5 though, and on the level of the Mountain West (except that the AAC teams can't win bowl games). Why do you think we would compete well in the AAC when we haven't been able to do the same in the MAC, except when Fleck was running things? Is it the longer distances that we would have to travel to each game that would make us win more, or the fact that we would simply play better against teams like Houston and Memphis in football and basketball? If we have powerful boosters willing to put tens of millions into our programs then where is the money now?
I get a lot of crap for even suggesting that it was unwise to move to the NCHC in hockey, but those folks refuse to own the fact that we had just come off a couple NCAA tournament bid seasons in a "lesser" league, but in our first five seasons in the nchc we have finished mostly in the bottom half, with our best year finishing in third place. Our schools financial or other commitment to hockey hasn't increased, nor has our attendance. It is exactly as I suggested it would be, but people still respond that I "think small". Lol. Fleck thought big, but he was an idiot, right? And he never suggested we leave the MAC. No need. Do what it takes to win right where you are.
This talk is just silly. It usually starts with some current studen, or recent grad, who doesn't really understand things.
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Cincinnati home and home
