UConn is going to have a tough time with scheduling 2025, 2026, 2027 due to the fact they have UMass and Delaware scheduled. Army is also on the schedule for 2027. No way Army plays that game.
Looked up U Albany Stadium and see that it was built in 2013 with a capacity of 8.5K and expandable to 24k. They could be worthy of upgrading, fellow SUNY member for Buffalo, closer to UMass. We do play them from time to time and they are a good fcs team.
I think an East Coast team makes sense, they’ve been trying to expand East w/ all their additions going back to Central Florida & Temple, & adding one more would help cement them as the region’s G5 conference. Delaware makes the most sense but I can’t see them backing out of their new conference.
WKU doesn’t fit as well culturally unfortunately. It made more sense to bring them in when MTSU was on the table too, but that door closed, & it’s sad to see b/c I’d have liked them both.
UCONN won’t do it, even as an affiliate, & the MAC doesn’t like football affiliates which is why they closed the door on expansion 10 years ago.
I think they’re stuck at 13, tho it sounds like they’re trying to get WKU, which I wouldn’t mind, just think East Coast makes more sense.
(03-06-2024 01:40 PM)ZooMass84 Wrote: UConn is going to have a tough time with scheduling 2025, 2026, 2027 due to the fact they have UMass and Delaware scheduled. Army is also on the schedule for 2027. No way Army plays that game.
(03-06-2024 01:40 PM)ZooMass84 Wrote: UConn is going to have a tough time with scheduling 2025, 2026, 2027 due to the fact they have UMass and Delaware scheduled. Army is also on the schedule for 2027. No way Army plays that game.
If we stop playing UConn each year we're dumb AF.
I would think UMass would go to great lengths to keep that series going.
(03-06-2024 02:07 PM)Bronco14 Wrote: I think an East Coast team makes sense, they’ve been trying to expand East w/ all their additions going back to Central Florida & Temple, & adding one more would help cement them as the region’s G5 conference. Delaware makes the most sense but I can’t see them backing out of their new conference.
WKU doesn’t fit as well culturally unfortunately. It made more sense to bring them in when MTSU was on the table too, but that door closed, & it’s sad to see b/c I’d have liked them both.
UCONN won’t do it, even as an affiliate, & the MAC doesn’t like football affiliates which is why they closed the door on expansion 10 years ago.
I think they’re stuck at 13, tho it sounds like they’re trying to get WKU, which I wouldn’t mind, just think East Coast makes more sense.
Delaware or WKU. WKU would be a great fit. I don't know how "Midwestern/Southern" WKU is. Are they more "Southern" than "Midwestern"? or vice versa?
I think it makes sense that the MAC would want Western Kentucky but why would WKU want to stop playing southern schools and join a conference of mostly rustbelt schools in MI and OH ? Wouldnt that hurt their recruiting ?
(03-06-2024 02:07 PM)Bronco14 Wrote: I think an East Coast team makes sense, they’ve been trying to expand East w/ all their additions going back to Central Florida & Temple, & adding one more would help cement them as the region’s G5 conference. Delaware makes the most sense but I can’t see them backing out of their new conference.
WKU doesn’t fit as well culturally unfortunately. It made more sense to bring them in when MTSU was on the table too, but that door closed, & it’s sad to see b/c I’d have liked them both.
UCONN won’t do it, even as an affiliate, & the MAC doesn’t like football affiliates which is why they closed the door on expansion 10 years ago.
I think they’re stuck at 13, tho it sounds like they’re trying to get WKU, which I wouldn’t mind, just think East Coast makes more sense.
Delaware or WKU. WKU would be a great fit. I don't know how "Midwestern/Southern" WKU is. Are they more "Southern" than "Midwestern"? or vice versa?
I always see KY as more Midwestern whenever I'm there, but unfortunately many at Rust Belt schools still see KY as ex-Confederate & hyper-conservative, there's a attitude at Rust Belt schools to not like the South except for vacations in the winter.....Maybe a good rivalry would be helpful
(This post was last modified: 03-06-2024 02:33 PM by Bronco'14.)
UConn has no need financially (until the legislature in CT gets tired of supporting UConn) to join a conference. I know they make bank in the Big East but scheduling has got to be a pain in November. sure August and September are easy but all 134 schools except for UConn and Notre Dame have got their conference schedules in November.
I dont see how if it came to a vote that the MAC schools would vote in favor of adding UConn for football only. Not sure what they get out of that.
(03-06-2024 01:40 PM)ZooMass84 Wrote: UConn is going to have a tough time with scheduling 2025, 2026, 2027 due to the fact they have UMass and Delaware scheduled. Army is also on the schedule for 2027. No way Army plays that game.
If we stop playing UConn each year we're dumb AF.
I would think UMass would go to great lengths to keep that series going.
100% - I hope both schools realize at this point that keeping the rivalry going is of the utmost importance for building football up in New England.
(03-06-2024 02:07 PM)Bronco14 Wrote: I think an East Coast team makes sense, they’ve been trying to expand East w/ all their additions going back to Central Florida & Temple, & adding one more would help cement them as the region’s G5 conference. Delaware makes the most sense but I can’t see them backing out of their new conference.
WKU doesn’t fit as well culturally unfortunately. It made more sense to bring them in when MTSU was on the table too, but that door closed, & it’s sad to see b/c I’d have liked them both.
UCONN won’t do it, even as an affiliate, & the MAC doesn’t like football affiliates which is why they closed the door on expansion 10 years ago.
I think they’re stuck at 13, tho it sounds like they’re trying to get WKU, which I wouldn’t mind, just think East Coast makes more sense.
Delaware or WKU. WKU would be a great fit. I don't know how "Midwestern/Southern" WKU is. Are they more "Southern" than "Midwestern"? or vice versa?
I always see KY as more Midwestern whenever I'm there, but unfortunately many here still see KY as ex-Confederate & hyper-conservative, there's a attitude at Rust Belt schools to not like the South except for vacations in the winter.....
Eastern KY is definitely not midwestern and is very hillbilly.
(03-06-2024 01:40 PM)ZooMass84 Wrote: UConn is going to have a tough time with scheduling 2025, 2026, 2027 due to the fact they have UMass and Delaware scheduled. Army is also on the schedule for 2027. No way Army plays that game.
If we stop playing UConn each year we're dumb AF.
I would think UMass would go to great lengths to keep that series going.
100% - I hope both schools realize at this point that keeping the rivalry going is of the utmost importance for building football up in New England.
Just dont play it in Foxboro. Dumb idea and nobody cares.
(03-06-2024 01:52 PM)Steve1981 Wrote: Looked up U Albany Stadium and see that it was built in 2013 with a capacity of 8.5K and expandable to 24k. They could be worthy of upgrading, fellow SUNY member for Buffalo, closer to UMass. We do play them from time to time and they are a good fcs team.
Yeah how much state money are they gonna receive to get that stadium up to 24k. Gonna cost a lot especially in that state. A UMass fan of all people should know how tough it is to get state funding for sports in that part of the country.
(03-06-2024 01:40 PM)ZooMass84 Wrote: UConn is going to have a tough time with scheduling 2025, 2026, 2027 due to the fact they have UMass and Delaware scheduled. Army is also on the schedule for 2027. No way Army plays that game.
If we stop playing UConn each year we're dumb AF.
I would think UMass would go to great lengths to keep that series going.
If UDel and UMass and UConn were to all 3 play each other then that's 2 of 4 regional opponents for UDel and UMass each season allowing you to play 1 P5 and either another G5 or FCS team. Then you're still playing without the need of sharing a conference.
I read a lot of the posts on the other threads and I like the idea of fortifying Buffalo and UMass with StoneyBrook and UDelaware - but that leaves you at an odd number again - and I still love the idea of having WKU in the MAC (I think it would be better for MTSU as well). Can I pick 3?
Since you'd be adding the east coast to the Great Lakes area, we could re-dub it as "the Conference of the Coasts" to shed the overly regional MAC identity (or maybe just the "more than Ohio Conference").
(This post was last modified: 03-06-2024 03:08 PM by e-bethMSU.)
(03-06-2024 03:05 PM)e-bethMSU Wrote: I read a lot of the posts on the other threads and I like the idea of fortifying Buffalo and UMass with StoneyBrook and UDelaware - but that leaves you at an odd number again - and I still love the idea of having WKU in the MAC (I think it would be better for MTSU as well). Can I pick 3?
Since you'd be adding the east coast to the Great Lakes area, we could re-dub it as "the Conference of the Coasts" to shed the overly regional MAC identity (or maybe just the "more than Ohio Conference").
15 is easier than 13 because you can still make equal number pods out of it.
Since there generally aren't teams breaking down the doors to get into the MAC, the question should be, who is interested in being in the MAC, and which of those would be worthwhile to add.
(03-06-2024 10:38 AM)andybible1995 Wrote: Since my last thread on this subject got closed down due to rampant trash talking, I decided to make another thread, and add a couple of more options to the discussion.
Would the better option for the MAC be to:
A: Bring in a geographic and mutually interested team in Western Kentucky?
B: Steal the C-USA's recent addition in Delaware to reinforce Buffalo and the recently added UMass?
C: Bring in UConn on a no-strings-attached basis for football-only
or
D: Stay at 13 members for the time being
Delaware has no intention of leaving CUSA. They want a broader geographic reach.
03-06-2024 05:01 PM
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(03-06-2024 02:07 PM)Bronco14 Wrote: I think an East Coast team makes sense, they’ve been trying to expand East w/ all their additions going back to Central Florida & Temple, & adding one more would help cement them as the region’s G5 conference. Delaware makes the most sense but I can’t see them backing out of their new conference.
WKU doesn’t fit as well culturally unfortunately. It made more sense to bring them in when MTSU was on the table too, but that door closed, & it’s sad to see b/c I’d have liked them both.
UCONN won’t do it, even as an affiliate, & the MAC doesn’t like football affiliates which is why they closed the door on expansion 10 years ago.
I think they’re stuck at 13, tho it sounds like they’re trying to get WKU, which I wouldn’t mind, just think East Coast makes more sense.
Delaware or WKU. WKU would be a great fit. I don't know how "Midwestern/Southern" WKU is. Are they more "Southern" than "Midwestern"? or vice versa?
Living in Nashville (which is about 60 miles south of Bowling Green, Ky.), I know a decent number of WKU grads and former Bowling Green residents. Bowling Green culturally is, without question, strongly Southern and modestly Midwestern. Worth noting: The city is located in South Central Kentucky (and not Western Kentucky).
Some folks confuse the American Midwest with "Middle America" — and Nashville is as Middle America as you can get with our commercial country music, three Christian universities and location (sandwiched by the North and the South).
Interestingly (but not necessarily surprisingly), Nashville is home to lots of Midwesterners.
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What's the better option of the MAC? (Redo)
