Expand the tournament to what? It's at 68 teams now. Technically, every conference tournament with an automatic bid could be considered part of the tournament as "play-in" games.

 

MVC last ten years in NCAA tourney is 16-18 with five Sweet Sixteen berths (none of which were Creighton)......I would love to have the past 10 years of the MVC pedigree over the horrendous numbers the MAC has displayed.

Look at MVC scheduling...they actually have an easier time getting decent teams to play them.  They're more well-known nationally.....and they get much better exposure.  (Not this horrible TWC deal where half the damn games are blacked out....what a f'n joke)

The MAC should aspire to put together a decade the MVC has had.  

There's a reason why Creighton is gone...THEY'RE FREAKIN' REALLY, REALLY GOOD!

UMass would roll into the MAC and dominate it right now.  The went 4-0 vs. MAC teams this year averaging double-digit wins...including road wins at OHIO and EMU by 12 each.  

The reason UMass doesn't want any part of the MAC is because they would be an anchor around their proverbial neck.  It would wreck their basketball program.....kill recruiting and exposure.

Staying in the A-10 is worth sacrificing a sub-par (at-best) football program.......the league got SIX teams in the dance this year.  SIX!!!!!  I would never leave that league if I was UMass.  Even middle of the road teams in that league (i.e. Richmond) were on the NCAA bubble into late February.  The MAC's "best" team (Toledo) was barely on the radar.

Bottom line....MAC just isn't relevant on the national scene.  They don't win enough big games (pull an upset in the non-conf).....and obviously with the exception of OHIO's success.....they don't win in NCAA tourney.  They need to win at least one game every other year to at least get on the map.  

The reality is...the MAC is barely any better than the OVC, A-Sun, Sun Belt, etc. right now.  I wish it was....but they are living off their 90's/early 2000 success (Kent) and it's time to put together some new success.  Not building off Ohio's 2010 and 2012 runs was a huge swing and miss.  How Akron hasn't won at least one game in the dance is absurd.

Look at the OVC...Murray State beats Vandy in 2010.....Morehead State registers wins in 2011 & 2012...then Murray has their crazy 31-2 season where they were poorly seeded and lost to Marquette in 2nd Rd.  Bottom line....that league is starting to build a little momentum....especially with Belmont on board.  Need proof?  Belmont was a five-seed in the NIT...Toledo was a six-seed.  That's reality, folks.

I want the MAC to succeed as much as anyone.....but they have a long road ahead with years of substantial success needed to become once again relevant.


 

THe MAC was rated about as high this season as the MVC in RPI yet Wichita State pulls out an 1 seed after going the season undefeated. What does that say about the MAC? It says that Ohio could go undefeated an earn a 1 seed out of this conference. Therefore the MAC at least at the level it played this year is adequate. Quite honestly some of the programs like Bowling Green and Central Michigan don't belong any higher than 100-200 in the RPI. They shouldn't be sporting 300+ RPIs but they shouldn't be in the Top 40 either. Toledo, Akron, Buffalo should be in the Top 100 with what they have to offer every year. Ohio Top 50+ of the RPI. The point is asking some of these MAC programs to assemble at-large resumes is unrealistic.

 

I'll disagree with that.  A big reason Wichita got a #1 seed was because they went to Final Four the year before.  If OHIO went unbeaten this year (with wins over OSU, UMass, Richmond) they'd be probably at best a #3 seed.

Look at Murray State in 2012...they were 30-1 and were a #6 seed after cracking the top ten nationally in the polls.

To suggest the MAC is on par with the MVC because of RPI numbers is short-sided.  The leagues are light years apart when it comes to success and respect nationally.

 

I for one see a lot of value for having national exposure of the University from August to November by participating in FBS football, and our example below shows you can have both.  By extension, who feels in the last 15 years that we had less national exposure than the UMASS brand, not to mention many of the A10 schools listed below?

	100	$3,222,448	Ohio	Bobcats	Athens, OH	Convocation Center (Ohio)	Jim Christian (since 2012)	Site, Schedule, School
	150	$2,142,779	Buffalo	Bulls	Buffalo, NY	Alumni Arena	Bobby Hurley (since 2013)	Site, Schedule, School
	153	$2,051,314	Akron	Zips	Akron, OH	James A. Rhodes Arena	Keith Dambrot (since 2004)	Site, Schedule, School
	166	$1,900,435	Miami (Oh.)	Redhawks	Oxford, OH	Millett Hall	John Cooper (since 2012)	Site, Schedule, School
	167	$1,867,684	Western Michigan	Broncos	Kalamazoo, MI	University Arena (Western Michigan)	Steve Hawkins (since 2003)	Site, Schedule, School
	168	$1,855,599	Kent State	Golden Flashes	Kent, OH	Memorial Athletics Center	Rob Senderoff (since 2011)	Site, Schedule, School
	169	$1,847,789	Toledo	Rockets	Toledo, OH	John F. Savage Hall	Tod Kowalczyk (since 2010)	Site, Schedule, School
	196	$1,666,104	Central Michigan	Chippewas	Mount Pleasant, MI	McGuirk Arena	Keno Davis (since 2012)	Site, Schedule, School
	205	$1,608,150	Eastern Michigan	Eagles	Ypsilanti, MI	Convocation Center (Eastern Michigan)	Rob Murphy (since 2011)	Site, Schedule, School
	213	$1,561,611	Ball State	Cardinals	Muncie, IN	Worthen Arena	James Whitford (since 2013)	Site, Schedule, School
	230	$1,460,613	Bowling Green	Falcons	Bowling Green, OH	Stroh Center	Chris Jans (since 2014)	Site, Schedule, School
	234	$1,447,289	Northern Illinois	Huskies	Dekalb, IL	Convocation Center (Northern Illinois)	Mark Montgomery (since 2011)	Site, Schedule, School
70 $5,052,379   Virginia Commonwealth Rams Richmond, VA Siegel Center Shaka Smart (since 2009) Site, Schedule, School 84 $4,162,532   Richmond Spiders Richmond, VA Robins Center Chris Mooney (since 2005) Site, Schedule, School 88 $3,985,079   Dayton Flyers Dayton, OH University of Dayton Arena Archie Miller (since 2011) Site, Schedule, School 93 $3,563,735   Fordham Rams Bronx, NY Rose Hill Gym Tom Pecora (since 2010) Site, Schedule, School 94 $3,551,737   Duquesne Dukes Pittsburgh, PA A.J. Palumbo Center Jim Ferry (since 2012) Site, Schedule, School 97 $3,379,619   Saint Joseph's Hawks Philadelphia, PA Hagan Arena Phil Martelli (since 1995) Site, Schedule, School 98 $3,309,395   Saint Louis Billikens St Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena Jim Crews (since 2012) Site, Schedule, School 99 $3,266,120   Massachusetts Minutemen Amherst, MA Mullins Center Derek Kellogg (since 2008) Site, Schedule, School 102 $3,107,005   George Washington Colonials Washington, DC Charles E. Smith Center Mike Lonergan (since 2011) Site, Schedule, School 103 $3,010,170   George Mason Patriots Fairfax, VA Patriot Center Paul Hewitt (since 2011) Site, Schedule, School 110 $2,784,810   Rhode Island Rams Kingston, RI Ryan Center Dan Hurley (since 2012) Site, Schedule, School 111 $2,782,264   La Salle Explorers Philadelphia, PA Tom Gola Arena John Giannini (since 2004) Site, Schedule, School 128 $2,495,445   Saint Bonaventure Bonnies St Bonaventure, NY Reilly Center Mark Schmidt (since 2007) Site, Schedule, School

 

That was actually an April Fools prank by a UMASS alum who writes for SB Nation/BC Interruption: http://www.bcinterruption.com/boston-college-football-uma...