Bobcat Attack - Ohio Football

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Topic: WKU / MTSU watch

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greencat

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Posted: 11/5/2021 7:56 AM

Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more

I am in Cincinnati. Was just joking about all the MAC championships being moved here.

As far as air travel, Southwest goes nonstop from Nashville to both Cleveland and Detroit. (and of course, Columbus)

Cincinnati is not a bad drive for WKU/MT but not quite as geographical middle as Indy or Pittsburgh. Would an NHL arena count as prestigious? That's what Nashville has and nobody grips when they have SEC/NCAA hoops tournaments there.

Last Edited: 11/5/2021 7:56:38 AM by greencat

GoCats105

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Posted: 11/5/2021 9:56 AM

Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more

Now that I live in Cincinnati....I'm all FOR the MAC championships being moved here!

Just kidding. ...But I think a move further south has to at least be considered. I understand the desire to have a domed stadium. Cincinnati doesn't have one. And I guess the arena for hoops would have to be US Bank? Fifth Third and Cintas are nice arenas, but we would lose the prestige of having it in an NBA arena. Maybe Indianapolis?

Ted Thompson wants it moved to UD.

I also understand the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset regarding Detroit and Cleveland. Things are good there.

Ted might be on to something with UD. That would be awesome. But they have such a busy schedule between OHSAA tournament games and the First 4 I doubt they could squeeze the MAC Tourney in too.

shabamon

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Posted: 11/5/2021 10:15 AM

Detroit to Indy for football seems like a lateral move.

Despite how good Dayton is for the OHSAA and First Four, I think there is something lost by having our tournament in another team's arena that isn't even in our conference. Nationwide/Columbus would be great, but does that move really make a difference for WKU/MTSU fans?

Moving hoops to Cincinnati would make a difference, but it would have to be Heritage Bank Center. Oh yeah, it's not US Bank Arena anymore. I was just there for the Cyclones home opener and that arena really blows. There were only about 7,000 people, which is great for minor league hockey, and the concourse was still crowded and concession lines stretching into the arena area. The RNC and NCAA Tournament had great reason to back out.

One of the benefits to having hoops in Cleveland is the relatively short drive for teams that are consistently good. Akron and Kent are next door. Buffalo is pretty much a two hour straight shot. BG and Toledo not far. And most of our alumni congregate in Cleveland or Columbus. What do you have in Cincinnati? Miami, but they don't show up all that well for regular season stuff.

Last Edited: 11/5/2021 10:21:08 AM by shabamon

mf279801

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Posted: 11/5/2021 10:38 AM

Moving the Football championship game to a more southerly location does run into the issue of venue. Does anyone really want to go to Paul Brown stadium for a Buffalo/CMU title game? (For instance). For basketball, i could see some positives from rotating between Cleveland and Nashville

As it happens, the old geographical center of the conference (least squares, based on the location of the 12 member schools) ) is in the vicinity of Toledo, and the new geographical center only moves 30 or so miles south when WKU and MTSU are added in. So it’s not like Detroit is a huge outlier…i can’t see anyone signing up for MAC championship games/tournaments in Lima haha

OhioCatFan

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Posted: 11/5/2021 10:53 AM

The general consensus on the MACbbs site is that this is now a "done deal." The MAC presidents are reportedly meeting today for a formal vote. Meanwhile, there are reports that the MAC Commissioner will be at the MTSU-WKU game tomorrow in Bowling Green, Ky. There is still, of course, a chance that that MAC presidents could screw this up, but it does appear that the die is cast.

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Pataskala

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Posted: 11/5/2021 1:02 PM

Remember we're talking about schools that have had to play their basketball tourney in Birmingham, AL and Frisco, TX over the past six years and Tulsa and El Paso the two years before that. Cleveland probably doesn't sound like such a hike.

As for football, CUSA plays its title game at the home of the team with the best conference record. Over the last six years WKU hosted twice and MTSU hosted once. Neither team was in the other three games, but two were in Boca Raton and one at Huntington. I'm not sure what difference playing in Detroit might mean to them, especially if the money's right.

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GoCats105

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Posted: 11/5/2021 1:37 PM

Pataskala wrote:expand_more

Not to mention the MAC Tournament is in an NBA arena. Huge upside for them.

greencat

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Posted: 11/5/2021 2:32 PM

GoCats105 wrote:expand_more

Pataskala wrote:expand_more

Not to mention the MAC Tournament is in an NBA arena. Huge upside for them.

The arena at WKU is in pretty good condition and reminds me of the one at University of Georgia post-renovation. Murphy Center at MT has had some improvements but still has pull-out wooden bleachers in the upper bowl that no semi-decent D-1 school should ever have. The lighting used to suck there but I think it's been replaced.

Still, I did see one MTSU fan compare away football games in the MAC to going to bowl games. Glad they will have trips to enjoy. Mac fans should enjoy their visits to middle TN. They could easily stay at the Smyrna exit...halfway between Nashville and MTSU and pick from tons of good hotels and even more places to eat.

Make a note of this as needed...

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9753079,-86.5632649,16z

My choices: Hickory Falls and any Hilton or Marriott brand hotel.

Pataskala

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Posted: 11/5/2021 8:27 PM

Since this thread is WKU/MTSU watch, if you want to watch tomorrow's game it's carried by Stadium TV at 3:30 ET and will be on two TV subchannels in Columbus on Channels 6.4 and 28.3. To find out where to see it elsewhere, go to https://watchstadium.com /.

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greencat

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Posted: 11/5/2021 8:51 PM

Pataskala wrote:expand_more

I re-added Stadium to Roku (free) to watch tomorrow. I might keep it on there for a while as it doesn't hurt anything and will see if they have some college hoops that ESPN+ misses on.

I see there is some mid-major women's hoops listed for tonight.

Victory

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Posted: 11/5/2021 9:26 PM

GoCats105 wrote:expand_more

Pataskala wrote:expand_more

Not to mention the MAC Tournament is in an NBA arena. Huge upside for them.

Some conferences move theirs around every once in a while to accommodate members on the edge of the footprint. I think the setup with Cleveland has been positive enough I don't think that it will be moved. Maybe they will move it to Indy or Louisville every once in a while or something like that. Who knows? My feeling is that it probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Football in Detroit seems set to me. The Big Ten is in Indy. Where else are you going to play indoors? I don't think the new fans, of all people, are going to be seeking an outdoor venue unless its moved all of the way to Nashville.

greencat

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Posted: 11/6/2021 1:04 PM

It was 32 degrees in Nashville this morning. You really don't want the MAC title game played outside here in late Nov./early Dec. if indoors somewhere is an option.

I left Chicago off the non-stop list from NashVegas...WMU's and NIU's closest major airport city. My bad. There are connecting flights to Grand Rapids if WMU people are really against driving to Chicago or Detroit to fly.

Last Edited: 11/6/2021 1:07:03 PM by greencat

Jeff McKinney

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Posted: 11/6/2021 7:43 PM

Any update on the expansion announcement?

Victory

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Posted: 11/6/2021 8:52 PM

Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more

Any update on the expansion announcement?

It seems that nothing was announced at halftime on today's game as was speculated. Posters on an MTSU board said that they were one of 4 members allowed to vote on CUSAs new members. WKU was not. That likely means WKU has put pen to paper and MTSU has not. That in itself is a little speculative but if true it is easy to further speculate that there is some sticking point in negotiations for MTSU. We don't know what it would be. It could be over a time commitment but it could also be Division alignment, or location the MAC championship or whatever else. It is hard to imagine them choosing to stay in CUSA especially since it seems WKU has already signed up for the MAC.

greencat

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Posted: 11/6/2021 11:37 PM

I've heard rumors that the MAC had people at the game as did Toledo.

There has been some MTSU related grumbling that a 15 year GOR is too long... just in case (get a load of this).... the Big 12 is going to want them in a few years!!!

LOL!! ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!!!

OhioCatFan

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Posted: 11/6/2021 11:53 PM

greencat wrote:expand_more

From what I've gathered, the person from Toledo at the WKU-MTSU game was not a representative of UT but a sports reporter for The Blade. The reporter is Kyle Rowland. Here's a link to a story he wrote earlier this week about the prospects of WKU and MTSU joining the MAC:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/western-kentucky-middle-tennes...

ohio9704

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Posted: 11/7/2021 1:00 AM

WKU vs. MTSU is a massive rivalry (100 miles of hate). It was only available on crappy stadium online. Should be an example of why they should run to sign the papers to join the MAC. TV deal is a shit show in C-USA.

Pataskala

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Posted: 11/7/2021 1:11 AM

ohio9704 wrote:expand_more

Stadium is what became of Sinclair's American Sports Network. It shows up on a lot of Sinclair subchannels. I watched the WKU-MTSU game on a Channel 6 subchannel. It was a bare-bones broadcast but not bad. Much better than the Facebook webcast that T'erd had a few years ago. The announcers very much played up the notion that CUSA would survive. Trying to keep that contract with the new CUSA alive. I chuckled, though, at CUSA's spot about "grinding on." At this point, trudging would be a better term.

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greencat

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Posted: 11/7/2021 9:46 AM

ohio9704 wrote:expand_more

To quote a poster from an MTSU forum:
"That broadcast looked like it was shot using RING doorbell cameras." Which brought the question "Will the next one be broadcast using a beginners podcasting kit from Radio Shack?"

Translation: MT needs to stop dragging their feet and sign off on this. People think WKU has already signed up.

** Other than the MTSU band, word is they only had 25-50 fans there...that friggin' close to Murf./Nash. If people have lost interest in MTSU sports to that proportion, they need this change more than WKU needs it.

UpSan Bobcat

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Posted: 11/8/2021 7:13 PM

According to Brett McMurphy on Twitter:

No final decision on Western Kentucky & Middle Tennessee to MAC, but sources told
@ActionNetworkHQ
move depends if MTSU will go. If so, MAC will add both. If MTSU stays in C-USA, MAC likely wouldn’t invite only WKU, sources said. MTSU hang up is financially motivated, source said

OhioCatFan

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Posted: 11/8/2021 7:34 PM

UpSan Bobcat wrote:expand_more

MTSU apparently has delusions that if they stay in C-USA that they will in the near future get the call from AAC. If this derails the deal, it will be a travesty. Some WKU fans on MACbbs and their fan boards are furious at this possible turn of events.

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Posted: 11/8/2021 7:40 PM

OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more

UpSan Bobcat wrote:expand_more

MTSU will end up accepting. But I could care less about them. WKU is by far the better school/parter between the two. The MAC won't do it, but I'd rather see the MAC take WKU and find someone else other than MTSU. But they'll get drug into this thanks to WKU. I'd rather have WKU and EKU than MTSU.

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Posted: 11/8/2021 9:13 PM

OhioBobcat wrote:expand_more

OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more

UpSan Bobcat wrote:expand_more

Apparently WKU would nix EKU, according to posters on MACbbs. They are all downcast now, because a reporter from Hopkinsville has tweeted that the whole thing has blown up and that neither team is going because the MAC has lost interest. This seems unlikely at this juncture, but it is the MAC, and they’ve been known screw up slam dunks before. I certainly hope that the reporter from Hoptown doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He cites unnamed “sources;” maybe they are MTSU never-MACers.