Southland just sold their soul to keep McNeese. https://mcneesesports.com/news/2021...ntain-membership-in-southland-conference.aspx Both basketball tournaments + baseball/softball tournaments moved to Lake Charles for 2023-26. Also, football media day there through 2026. Really, really consequential considering it's a 1-bid league. I guess the Southland felt the conference would collapse if they left.
Why flee for stability when you can stay with a mash up of programs no one else wants and FCS risers?
It sounds like they are staying to college the money the teams leaving have to pay. Always think in the shortest terms possible.
MTSU is run so poorly. Extending Stockstill into infinity for going 6-6, staying in C-USA for exit fees, etc. I guess WKU could try and coax UMass to get them to 14. But the big positive for the MAC was visibility and recruiting in Nashville. Not getting that now.
The MAC has already gone down the road of having UMass as a football-only member. I don't think they're interested in revisiting that. WKU and EKU coming up would make sense geographically but I don't know what that's really getting you. I didn't understand why the MAC was interested in expanding to begin with (unless they are definitely going to have teams drop but I feel like that's been threatened going on 15+ years now and here we are). I don't think they're getting much more from ESPN and CBS with any of these additions so you're just splitting maybe a slightly larger deal among 14 schools.
There was some speculation that UMass could go for all sports. I don't know why they would as a basketball-first school, but maybe they really want to save football.
That's interesting. Going from the A10 to MAC in basketball (and I'm sure other sports) is a huge downgrade.
its wild how stagnant theyve allowed that program to get remember as a kid seeing them play GaSo in a big neutral site game to open up the GaDome. They rose up faster then any of those southern rabid fanbases. Now getting passed by...all of them. Yall were so smart to go Sun Belt.
Extremely poor leadership from the president down. Apathy across the board and from the city/county as well. The leadership has done nothing to address it. We are trying to run a 1A program in OVC facilities and an OVC mindset.
We're really looking forward to it. Being able to drive to 5/6 division games (+ Georgia State from the other side) will be so nice. Also looking forward to going to some of the college towns in the league like Boone, Harrisonburg, San Marcos, etc. It's just such a better fit for us culturally, geographically, institutionally, etc.
tbh I dont think MTSU was going to give the MAC access to the type of recruits that the Sun Belt has access to. HS fball in Tennessee is poor compared to the rest of the south. I thought the MAC should have gone after Marshall along with WKU. Do what the Sun Belt is doing. Build an identity, with fanbases that give a damn, and own it market it.
High school football in Tennessee has improved tremendously in recent years, especially in Murfreesboro (where MTSU is) and other areas near Nashville. It’s not Georgia, Florida, or South Carolina, but the quality is exponentially better than in previous years.
Marshall was banned from the MAC in the 60s for being cheaters. They can’t ruin the conference’s integrity again.
I think the MAC has largely done that. The Sun Belt has a brighter future just because the programs seem more willing to invest and the footprint they operate in. But I think the MAC has a good handle on who and what they are. Makes sense not to expand right now.
Marshall was in the MAC when they first jumped up to FBS in the 90s. 1997-2004. I don't think there was a ton of desire from their people to go back to playing Tuesday night games against Akron and Kent State. They've always wanted an eastern-based alignment. Obviously, the Sun Belt has a Gulf South/Mid-South wing, but they're only going to have to leave the eastern time zone once a year in football with just 2 crossover games. They're in a weird spot because they aren't southern (the Sun Belt's identity) or midwestern (the MAC's identity) plus they're so geographically isolated. But I think they made the right move. Marshall has to recruit Florida and Georgia to be good. They lose games with FAU/FIU but gain games with Georgia Southern/Georgia State which helps their visibility in that state. Additionally, they're going to be able to renew their old SoCon rivalries with App and Georgia Southern. The JMU series could develop into something fun, etc. Not to mention I think most people would agree the Sun Belt's ceiling and exposure in football is higher than that of the MAC (though I'm biased).
I think Marshall is willing to invest far more into football/athletics than most of the MAC. I can’t imagine they would have ever considered going back to the MAC unless it was their only option. While perhaps not geographically perfect, the Sun Belt seems like the right landing spot for them.
MVC is actually at 10 now (counting Belmont). Miscounted. Thought it was 11. A-10 is at 15 now. Weird number. Temple would make a ton of sense if they wanted to de-emphasize football a la UConn and reunite with their Big 5 foes.
Rothstein has been pushing this hard and manages to just slam Temple's football program every time lol
What do the SEC pods look like? Georgia Florida South Carolina Kentucky Alabama Auburn Tennessee Vandy Texas Oklahoma LSU A&M Arky Missouri Ole Miss Mississippi State ???
No, its still two way, it just allows you to play every team in in the conference on a more regular basis by alternating which pod your pod is paired with every two years.
aTm won’t be in the same pod as UT. Bama Auburn UT Vandy UGA Florida Kentucky Carolina aTm LSU Ole Miss State Texas OU Mizzou Slaw
you still have two divisions and the division winners play each other. The make up of the divisions just rotate. So like above every two years AB = Div 1 CD = Div 2 then 2 years later AD= Div 1 BC = Div 2 play your 7 games in the division and the either one or two others that’s the theory at least