Ball State's attendance issues

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Bally #47 said:
No argument there but with the bottom half sucking air, what's to say the high level MAC schools don't step up and merge with some other FBS conference? After all, it is all about the money.
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the schools who are doing well change over time. its not a snapshot on a specific day
 

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Bally #47 said:
Staying 1-AA seems to make the most sense because these "money" games keep the athletic department from dropping deep in the hole. Those games make up for the drastic loss in gate sales in both football and hoops it would seem. The Tennessee game pay out has been stated all over the place but say it is $650K, take that chunk out of the budget (or what Louisville is paying in 2018), and Sherard has a huge hole to fill.

Not sure if there is ANY right decision here. I would say that the football "dilemma" is the biggest thing on Clink's plate and he's got more choices than at Golden Corral. Back to the original thought, the advent of my MVC/MAC would neutralize a lot of travel expense, bring back natural rivalries, and finally put us in an all-sports conference. That makes a ton of sense to me.
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According to the 2015-2016 Op Ed report, football actually turned a profit last year.
 
Bally #47 said:
No argument there but with the bottom half sucking air, what's to say the high level MAC schools don't step up and merge with some other FBS conference? After all, it is all about the money.
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such as...

The Sunbelt? They currently have 11 members and add another next season (Coastal Carolina)

C-USA?? They have 12 members today; why add another 5?

The old WAC tried to run a conference of 16 members -- it spanned THOUSANDS of miles (Hawai'i to Houston); it became so unworkable they developed "Quads" to minimize travel expenses

Forget any of the Power 5 and I don't see the American (AAC) or the Mtn West touching them -- any school that COULD leave the MAC has left the MAC (Marshall and UMass most recently)
 
4Q_iu said:
such as...

The Sunbelt? They currently have 11 members and add another next season (Coastal Carolina)

C-USA?? They have 12 members today; why add another 5?

The old WAC tried to run a conference of 16 members -- it spanned THOUSANDS of miles (Hawai'i to Houston); it became so unworkable they developed "Quads" to minimize travel expenses

Forget any of the Power 5 and I don't see the American (AAC) or the Mtn West touching them -- any school that COULD leave the MAC has left the MAC (Marshall and UMass most recently)
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ANY bowl team has value. Period. They could be piece-mealed or absorbed en masse. I just think the MAC is a lot more unstable than you think and something likely will give in the next 3-5 years or less. It's a dream, 4Q, not an argument. I think it might happen but I am not a sooth sayer.
 
I hate all the talk of ISU dropping out of FCS. Put us in any other FCS conference and we are at the top and make the playoffs more than not. We are in the Big Ten of FCS, IMO its a gift. I would rather be poor and have a chance at glory than be dumbed down. However, I have recently "had my privilege checked" and have been told I am a child of Reagan and I don't know any better! So....?

I think Bally's crazy prediction from years ago may actually now have merit.
 
Bally #47 said:
ANY bowl team has value. Period. They could be piece-mealed or absorbed en masse. I just think the MAC is a lot more unstable than you think and something likely will give in the next 3-5 years or less. It's a dream, 4Q, not an argument. I think it might happen but I am not a sooth sayer.
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So you have a dream that the MVC and MAC will dissolve and then re-org into a 'dream conference'...

to what point?

I could see the MAC agreeing, en-masse, to move from FBS to FCS, could 1-2 of the 'stronger' programs remain in FBS? possible...

Will they?

They'd likely all be best served by remaining together, regardless of FBS or FCS.

as to bowl teams... there are too many bowls; for the 2nd, 3rd (maybe more) season, there will likely be sub .500 teams in bowls...

to what end? So that some poor school can take a bath on the costs, play a game in front of fewer fans than a home game.

be honest, how many people watch the Much-Heralded MIAMI BEACH BOWL? Or the Dollar General Bowl?

sh*t at this point, even historic bowls (the Sun, Liberty, TaxSlayer nee' Gator, Citrus nee' Tangerine) can't draw legit crowds. The ONLY thing that saved the Peach and Cotton from the same fate was the willingness of the CFP dickheads to include them in the 'playoffs'
 

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4Q, you sure love to stir up shit when the only thing that needs to be done, is mow the grass. Too many bowls? Who doesn't believe that for God's sake. You ask, "To what point?" I haven't liked a split-sport conference that spreads from near Pennsylvania to lower Slabovia. I am sick of Wichita, North Dakota State, and I am tired of playing the 6 teams that are in the top 25, be good, and just miss out on EVERYTHING. I remember the Midwestern Conference that almost created the same conference 35 years ago and it would have been special, at least in my mind. If you don't think it works, fine. I am in a great mood and I don't need to knit-pick up over Toledo, Louisiana Tech or Texas State.

I like it, our athletic director said he liked it, and others on this board like it. I enjoy reading your posts (most of them) but you just want to stir the pot on this. Don't ruin my good mood.

Bottom line, I think my point has been made.
 
Bally #47 said:
4Q, you sure love to stir up shit when the only thing that needs to be done, is mow the grass. Too many bowls? Who doesn't believe that for God's sake. You ask, "To what point?" I haven't liked a split-sport conference that spreads from near Pennsylvania to lower Slabovia. I am sick of Wichita, North Dakota State, and I am tired of playing the 6 teams that are in the top 25, be good, and just miss out on EVERYTHING. I remember the Midwestern Conference that almost created the same conference 35 years ago and it would have been special, at least in my mind. If you don't think it works, fine. I am in a great mood and I don't need to knit-pick up over Toledo, Louisiana Tech or Texas State.

I like it, our athletic director said he liked it, and others on this board like it. I enjoy reading your posts (most of them) but you just want to stir the pot on this. Don't ruin my good mood.

Bottom line, I think my point has been made.
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No intent to stir any pots and in a PERFECT world the bulk of the old ICC would still be in existence with some of the schools that were in the CMU in the early '70s...

Agree on the MVFC being 'abnormal' wrt the rest of the sports; I believe the biggest reason we added women's swimming/dive.. the Valley sanctioned it. (though I'd have been just as content to see the women's' tennis team return...)

the biggest thing the Trees need (other than a new football stadium) is MONEY. And yes, we can ALL agree on that point.

Hopefully Clink has a way to raise said $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 

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I've said it before but I desire for the Sycamores to be in a unified conference where the same schools play each other in all sports. That is, if we're keeping football and it is in the long term plan. With the P5 further separating from the pack financially and rules wise, college athletics attendance dwindling, the only thing I think can even put a small dent in the financial wake for the rest of us is tight geographic fits and (re)building rivalries.
 
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Jason Svoboda said:
I've said it before but I desire for the Sycamores to be in a unified conference where the same schools player each other in all sports. That is, if we're keeping football and it is in the long term plan. With the P5 further separating from the pack financially and rules wise, college athletics attendance dwindling, the only thing I think can even put a small dent in the financial wake for the rest of us is tight geographic fits and (re)building rivalries.
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AMEN. We have agreed on that for a long time.
 

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