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Topic: WKU / MTSU watch
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Tymaster
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Posted: 11/2/2021 9:50 AM
For divisions:
East - all of Ohio and Buffalo
West - everyone else, or "Ball State and all the directions."
Actually makes the most sense. Unless you wanted to reduce travel and then you could have a "River Division" and a "Lakes Division"
CatsUp
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Posted: 11/2/2021 10:17 AM
I admittedly am “getting the cart before the horse” here but I can’t help but wonder, should WKU and MTSU come aboard, if there might be the potential to have a conferences football challenge series created; especially perhaps the MAC vs the Sun Belt? I believe the changes would bring both conferences to 14 schools for football. I also think both conferences have existing contracts with ESPN, who seem to enjoy creating such arrangements.

There may be a some animosity among schools because of the way conferences have evolved the past few months but I suspect any money realized from this would tend to “soothe the wounds”.

Could probably do the same for basketball although I think the Sun Belt has some additional teams for BBall. Consequently, it may not be quite as “clean” of an arrangement as football.
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Posted: 11/2/2021 10:22 AM
Are we going to force WKU to change their fight song??
Pataskala
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Posted: 11/2/2021 10:34 AM
SBH wrote:expand_more
Are we going to force WKU to change their fight song??
Plus there'd be two Bowling Greens on the MAC map and two "Westerns" to add to the confusion.
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Tymaster
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Posted: 11/2/2021 10:35 AM
CatsUp wrote:expand_more
I admittedly am “getting the cart before the horse” here but I can’t help but wonder, should WKU and MTSU come aboard, if there might be the potential to have a conferences football challenge series created; especially perhaps the MAC vs the Sun Belt? I believe the changes would bring both conferences to 14 schools for football. I also think both conferences have existing contracts with ESPN, who seem to enjoy creating such arrangements.

There may be a some animosity among schools because of the way conferences have evolved the past few months but I suspect any money realized from this would tend to “soothe the wounds”.

Could probably do the same for basketball although I think the Sun Belt has some additional teams for BBall. Consequently, it may not be quite as “clean” of an arrangement as football.
Tell me more...
GoCats105
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Posted: 11/2/2021 12:02 PM
SBH wrote:expand_more
Are we going to force WKU to change their fight song??
Make it a rivalry trophy or bragging rights. Opposing band doesn't get to play it for a year if you win.
Last Edited: 11/2/2021 12:03:14 PM by GoCats105
OhioBobcat
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Posted: 11/2/2021 12:11 PM
Tymaster wrote:expand_more
For divisions:
East - all of Ohio and Buffalo
West - everyone else, or "Ball State and all the directions."
Actually makes the most sense. Unless you wanted to reduce travel and then you could have a "River Division" and a "Lakes Division"
I like this too, which means the MAC will do something totally different.
CatsUp
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Posted: 11/2/2021 12:13 PM
Tymaster wrote:expand_more
I admittedly am “getting the cart before the horse” here but I can’t help but wonder, should WKU and MTSU come aboard, if there might be the potential to have a conferences football challenge series created; especially perhaps the MAC vs the Sun Belt? I believe the changes would bring both conferences to 14 schools for football. I also think both conferences have existing contracts with ESPN, who seem to enjoy creating such arrangements.

There may be a some animosity among schools because of the way conferences have evolved the past few months but I suspect any money realized from this would tend to “soothe the wounds”.

Could probably do the same for basketball although I think the Sun Belt has some additional teams for BBall. Consequently, it may not be quite as “clean” of an arrangement as football.
Tell me more...
Nothing of significance to add. Just seems like an interesting (at least to me) concept. I will offer that I recognize there would be challenges pulling it off; particularly scheduling. Most schools have some of their future OOC games arranged, if not scheduled. In fact, certain teams may already have games scheduled/arranged with a school of the other conference. In addition, would the games all be on one day or on multiple days…at beginning of season, mid-season, etc. (probably ESPN comes into play here).

I do think it might make sense to schedule the 14 games specifically for the “conference challenge”, independent of other arrangements and only count those games in the challenge results. Perhaps the schools would keep the agreed to dates open in their schedule and the assigned games, the following year, would correlate with the final standings of the conferences from the prior year…1 v 1, 2 v 2, etc.

I’m pretty sure this just “scratches the surface” I wouldn’t see it even being feasible until at least 2024 and probably later than that.
OhioBobcat
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Posted: 11/2/2021 12:14 PM
WKU and MTSU are both farther west than any other MAC school except for NIU. Which means, if they join the MAC, conference officials will put them both in the East and move BG to the West. Mark my words.
GoCats105
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Posted: 11/2/2021 12:22 PM
OhioBobcat wrote:expand_more
WKU and MTSU are both farther west than any other MAC school except for NIU. Which means, if they join the MAC, conference officials will put them both in the East and move BG to the West. Mark my words.
They're also way further South than most schools in the West. If you're a Michigan school you don't want them in the West. Two of three schools they're closest to (Miami and Ohio) are both in the East.
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 11/2/2021 12:38 PM
Crazy question: Could some of the Olympic sports have games at neutral sites geographically in the middle--in cities like Cincinnati?
OhioBobcat
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Posted: 11/2/2021 12:48 PM
GoCats105 wrote:expand_more
WKU and MTSU are both farther west than any other MAC school except for NIU. Which means, if they join the MAC, conference officials will put them both in the East and move BG to the West. Mark my words.
They're also way further South than most schools in the West. If you're a Michigan school you don't want them in the West. Two of three schools they're closest to (Miami and Ohio) are both in the East.
And if you're Buffalo, Kent State and Akron, you don't want them in the East for the exact same reasons. If you split them up and give them the protected crossover game, then both divisions would have to make some allowances to them coming on board.
Last Edited: 11/2/2021 12:56:01 PM by OhioBobcat
GoCats105
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Posted: 11/2/2021 2:46 PM
OhioBobcat wrote:expand_more
WKU and MTSU are both farther west than any other MAC school except for NIU. Which means, if they join the MAC, conference officials will put them both in the East and move BG to the West. Mark my words.
They're also way further South than most schools in the West. If you're a Michigan school you don't want them in the West. Two of three schools they're closest to (Miami and Ohio) are both in the East.
And if you're Buffalo, Kent State and Akron, you don't want them in the East for the exact same reasons. If you split them up and give them the protected crossover game, then both divisions would have to make some allowances to them coming on board.
That's why I don't think you go East/West at all. Go North/South and it starts to make a whole heck of a lot more sense. WKU is 4 hours from Oxford, 4.5 from Muncie and about 6 from Athens.
Last Edited: 11/2/2021 2:48:52 PM by GoCats105
Long Train Runnin'
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Posted: 11/2/2021 6:07 PM
OUcats82 wrote:expand_more
[QUOTE=Jeff McKinney] In the event this expansion happens, could there be a North and South Division for football?
The one that fits the worst is BG, but we could just pretend that this was put together by United Methodists who didn't see anything wrong with placing Athens County, which borders the Ohio river, in their West Ohio District! ;-)
That is one of the most bizarre arrangements I have ever seen (as someone who grew up in the West Ohio Conference).
In the southern part of the state, the boundary between the East Ohio Conference and the West Ohio Conference is the Muskingum River.

Duncan Falls UMC is in the East Ohio Conference, but Philo UMC (less than a mile away, but on the opposite side of the Muskingum River) is in the West Ohio Conference.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 11/2/2021 6:15 PM
Long Train Runnin' wrote:expand_more
[QUOTE=Jeff McKinney] In the event this expansion happens, could there be a North and South Division for football?
The one that fits the worst is BG, but we could just pretend that this was put together by United Methodists who didn't see anything wrong with placing Athens County, which borders the Ohio river, in their West Ohio District! ;-)
That is one of the most bizarre arrangements I have ever seen (as someone who grew up in the West Ohio Conference).
In the southern part of the state, the boundary between the East Ohio Conference and the West Ohio Conference is the Muskingum River.

Duncan Falls UMC is in the East Ohio Conference, but Philo UMC (less than a mile away, but on the opposite side of the Muskingum River) is in the West Ohio Conference.
I sure hope there aren't many UMers in the MAC commissioner's office! ;-)
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Posted: 11/2/2021 6:55 PM
OhioBobcat wrote:expand_more
WKU and MTSU are both farther west than any other MAC school except for NIU. Which means, if they join the MAC, conference officials will put them both in the East and move BG to the West. Mark my words.
Assuming they get brought on, I’d expect this SE and NW division setup, with a diagonal line drawn right through the footprint as the split.
Victory
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Posted: 11/2/2021 8:44 PM
ts1227 wrote:expand_more
WKU and MTSU are both farther west than any other MAC school except for NIU. Which means, if they join the MAC, conference officials will put them both in the East and move BG to the West. Mark my words.
Assuming they get brought on, I’d expect this SE and NW division setup, with a diagonal line drawn right through the footprint as the split.
This is my best guess too.
greencat
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Posted: 11/2/2021 11:45 PM
So, east of the slanted line is MTSU,WKU,Ohio,Fiami,Kent,Akron,Buffalo

West is everybody else. Is that the diagonal concept??
Pataskala
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Posted: 11/3/2021 12:40 AM
I saw an article today said the MAC was like Switzerland in previous conference realignments. Strict neutrality -- didn't bother anybody and nobody bothered the MAC. Now, it said, Switzerland has armed itself and is looking to expand into Kentucky and Tennessee.
We will get by.
We will get by.
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We will survive.

ts1227
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Posted: 11/3/2021 7:00 AM
greencat wrote:expand_more
So, east of the slanted line is MTSU,WKU,Ohio,Fiami,Kent,Akron,Buffalo

West is everybody else. Is that the diagonal concept??
Yeah, basically jump BG over into the Northwest division, new guys in the Southeast.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 11/3/2021 10:53 AM
Pataskala wrote:expand_more
I saw an article today said the MAC was like Switzerland in previous conference realignments. Strict neutrality -- didn't bother anybody and nobody bothered the MAC. Now, it said, Switzerland has armed itself and is looking to expand into Kentucky and Tennessee.
Actually, Switzerland has always been armed AND neutral. No one wants to mess with them. They've always had probably the largest army, per capita, of any country in the world, with the possible exception, in modern times, of Israel. Maybe a better analogy would be that us northerners are invading the neutral State of Kentucky and the reconstructed State of Tennessee. I could have made a better analogy if MTSU was a hundred or so miles farther east in the part of Tennessee that was pro-Union during the late rebellion. Forgive me for this, but I couldn't help myself! ;-)
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greencat
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Posted: 11/3/2021 11:03 AM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
I saw an article today said the MAC was like Switzerland in previous conference realignments. Strict neutrality -- didn't bother anybody and nobody bothered the MAC. Now, it said, Switzerland has armed itself and is looking to expand into Kentucky and Tennessee.
Actually, Switzerland has always been armed AND neutral. No one wants to mess with them. They've always had probably the largest army, per capita, of any country in the world, with the possible exception, in modern times, of Israel. Maybe a better analogy would be that us northerners are invading the neutral State of Kentucky and the reconstructed State of Tennessee. I could have made a better analogy if MTSU was a hundred or so miles farther east in the part of Tennessee that was pro-Union during the late rebellion. Forgive me for this, but I couldn't help myself! ;-)
There's one anti-MAC holdout on an MTSU forum...mostly because he's anti-North. So I posted a picture of the giant statue in downtown Cleveland, the tribute to the WINNING side of the Civil War.
GoCats105
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Posted: 11/3/2021 11:04 AM
Good discussion here between the MAC's Hustle Belt and Towel Rack, the "king of Hilltopper content."

https://www.hustlebelt.com/2021/11/2/22758861/examining-w...

"The Houch is a fun environment to be in but it isn’t perfect. Students and fans will show up and be involved, but usually only until halftime and then leave. Even when WKU set a new home attendance record against Indiana this season that was still the case. WKU still averages around 15,000-17,000 fans a year (at least before COVID happened)."

Hey look at that. They'll fit right in!
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 11/3/2021 11:41 AM
greencat wrote:expand_more
I saw an article today said the MAC was like Switzerland in previous conference realignments. Strict neutrality -- didn't bother anybody and nobody bothered the MAC. Now, it said, Switzerland has armed itself and is looking to expand into Kentucky and Tennessee.
Actually, Switzerland has always been armed AND neutral. No one wants to mess with them. They've always had probably the largest army, per capita, of any country in the world, with the possible exception, in modern times, of Israel. Maybe a better analogy would be that us northerners are invading the neutral State of Kentucky and the reconstructed State of Tennessee. I could have made a better analogy if MTSU was a hundred or so miles farther east in the part of Tennessee that was pro-Union during the late rebellion. Forgive me for this, but I couldn't help myself! ;-)
There's one anti-MAC holdout on an MTSU forum...mostly because he's anti-North. So I posted a picture of the giant statue in downtown Cleveland, the tribute to the WINNING side of the Civil War.
Good for you! A picture of the Sherman statue in Lancaster would have been good too, or how about the Union Monument on the OHIO campus, with a closeup of the plaque that says the monument is dedicated to the 2,610 Athens County soldiers who fought to save the Union.

Another plaque reads: “The people of Athens County erect this monument in memory of those who volunteered as soldiers and sailors in defense of the union and to perpetuate free government.”

As an aside, there's one fresco on this monument that is unique and was especially commissioned (we know not by whom, though General Charles H. Grosvenor is a prime suspect) that expresses an emancipationist theme. Here's a link that will tell you more about that brass relief.

https://grosvenor-cwrt.org/round-table-history/more-info-... /
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"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org
Last Edited: 11/3/2021 1:46:51 PM by OhioCatFan
Mike Johnson
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Posted: 11/3/2021 2:05 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
I saw an article today said the MAC was like Switzerland in previous conference realignments. Strict neutrality -- didn't bother anybody and nobody bothered the MAC. Now, it said, Switzerland has armed itself and is looking to expand into Kentucky and Tennessee.
Actually, Switzerland has always been armed AND neutral. No one wants to mess with them. They've always had probably the largest army, per capita, of any country in the world, with the possible exception, in modern times, of Israel. Maybe a better analogy would be that us northerners are invading the neutral State of Kentucky and the reconstructed State of Tennessee. I could have made a better analogy if MTSU was a hundred or so miles farther east in the part of Tennessee that was pro-Union during the late rebellion. Forgive me for this, but I couldn't help myself! ;-)
So far as I know, neutral Switzerland still has mandatory military service. So does Singapore.
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