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Yes, I'm happy we won last night (although I got to see very little of it thanks to ESPN ), and I don't mean to be the only downer, but I have to say that I was not overwhelmed by MAC attendance last night. Sure, you can't fault people at the BG-Miami game for not sticking around, or coming out in that weather. But when they switched to the Ohio-Akron game, the lack of attendance there was shocking.

It is hard enough in my Big 12 dominated household to make a case for BG & the MAC, but last night was a prime example & frankly embarrassing. My question for y'all is are any of these teams in danger of being booted from Div I-A??? Obviously not BG, but certainly I would guess Akron has some problems. Great win for us, but in my opinion, bad night for the MAC.

Ineedbotox wrote:Yes, I'm happy we won last night (although I got to see very little of it thanks to ESPN ), and I don't mean to be the only downer, but I have to say that I was not overwhelmed by MAC attendance last night. Sure, you can't fault people at the BG-Miami game for not sticking around, or coming out in that weather. But when they switched to the Ohio-Akron game, the lack of attendance there was shocking.

It is hard enough in my Big 12 dominated household to make a case for BG & the MAC, but last night was a prime example & frankly embarrassing. My question for y'all is are any of these teams in danger of being booted from Div I-A??? Obviously not BG, but certainly I would guess Akron has some problems. Great win for us, but in my opinion, bad night for the MAC.

you sound like the folks at MHT. the fact is, akron's attendence is usually bad. the stadium is 8 miles from campus, back by the old goodyear airdock, and it's not at all convenient for students to attend the games. that's where, in my opinion, attendence at college sporting events (especially in non-major conferences) starts. if you can't get the kids to the game to have fun and create an atmosphere, you're not going to get other folks to come out and watch the games. that's why akron has plans to build a new stadium downtown, down the hill from campus.

attendence is listed at 7614 on the box score. i think a third of that was there.
massillon and mckinley play at the rubber bowl on saturday. the turnout for that game will be 3-4 times that of last night's game.

Excellent point! I haven't heard of any attendance issues like in the past. However, I have heard that the MAC is looking to avoid mid-week games next year early in the season. Perhaps to take advantage of good weather and get butts in the seats. Having mid-week games later in the season gets the exposure on national TV that the league needs, but it really comes back to getting students to games. Studies have shown that if students go to games, then they will go as alumni. Unfortunately, there are too many fair weather fans (an I am talking about won-loss fans and mother nature fans) in the MAC. I have seen attendance issues in BG on non-big game days and by attending games in Kent in 2002 and in Oxford last night. Supposedly 5200 showed up last night, but in truth only about 1000-1500 at the most were present when the game started.

Many Miami fans left at half-time, while most, if not all, BG fans stuck around until midway through the fourth quarter. What is dissapointing about last night is that Miami has done a great job of renovating their stadium and there isn't a bad seat in the house. But then again, Miami fans have been fickle in their support of their teams over the last few years, even during their Rothelsberger years.

Also, with coaches changing jobs all the time in the MAC, there isn't much loyalty. To think that Heppner and Walker (Miami's last two coaches) are in the Big Ten now, and Meyer is in Florida now, the loyalty issue goes both ways. Seeing Amstutz at UT (a new contract extenstion in hand) is a rarity. But they also draw well. Attendance at BG games is cited as one reason Meyer left (money being the other).

That was actually a typical crowd for Akron games...all the more reason why some other top teams in D1 across Ohio should get some more press...including Toledo. Akron paper gives us nothing other than theOSU and some Akron and some Kent.


It will be really embarrasing for the MAC to have Akron represent in a Bowl.

I feel qualified to rip on Akron because I'm from there, but what the heck are they doing in the MAC anyhow??? They weren't in the conference when I was at BG. It is a crappy commuter school. Nobody goes to games because most of the students are non-traditional students who are old & have jobs & families. The Rubber Bowl is a hell-hole & I thought it was a dump when I was a kid. There are many reasons why people don't go to games there, but my ? is why are they in the MAC if they don't have a fan base? If we want respect as a conference, you shouldn't have showings like last night's on National TV. No wonder the Craig James' of the world pick on the MAC.

Really, I was just curious whether someone knew what the NCAA rules on attendance for I-A schools were, and whether in fact Akron & some others were in danger of losing their status. If anything, I feel like it would legitimize our conference more if we could get some of the dead weight.

Ineedbotox wrote:I feel qualified to rip on Akron because I'm from there, but what the heck are they doing in the MAC anyhow??? They weren't in the conference when I was at BG. It is a crappy commuter school. Nobody goes to games because most of the students are non-traditional students who are old & have jobs & families. The Rubber Bowl is a hell-hole & I thought it was a dump when I was a kid. There are many reasons why people don't go to games there, but my ? is why are they in the MAC if they don't have a fan base? If we want respect as a conference, you shouldn't have showings like last night's on National TV. No wonder the Craig James' of the world pick on the MAC.

Really, I was just curious whether someone knew what the NCAA rules on attendance for I-A schools were, and whether in fact Akron & some others were in danger of losing their status. If anything, I feel like it would legitimize our conference more if we could get some of the dead weight.

i guess you haven't been home in a while. dr. proenza set out on a huge capital fundraising campaign about 6 years ago. akron is in the midst of changing its image and its utilization from a communter school that serves non traditional students, to a bona fide residential campus. first, buchtel and carrol streets through campus have been closed, the streets torn up, and grass planted. that's right! there's legal grass on campus at akron. the chuckery closed, as did the entire old student center, and a new student union was built. new residence halls have been built. lots of remodeling and other facelifting has taken place. the plan also calls for a new stadium downtown, sort of across the street from polsky's (which UA owns). they've already bought up some buildings, and i think they're just waiting on more money to start demo and subsequently new construction. they're really doing an nice job sprucing up campus. i just wonder if they'll be able to attract better students.
i, personally, have fond memories of the rubber bowl, but that entirely comes from watching high school football there. it's dark and dingy, and, frankly, i think it's kinda cool.

if i'm not mistaken, akron used to be in the ohio valley conference, as they were at one time a DII school (i think they won a basketball national championship), then a I school with IAA football. I think that akron moved up to IA recently and at that time joined the MAC.

other folks around here are well versed in the attendence requirements, and can tell you more. i think that the ncaa has made lots of threats about sending IA teams to IAA, and that most MAC schools (including BG) could be bumped down, but nothing has happened.

Ineedbotox wrote:

Really, I was just curious whether someone knew what the NCAA rules on attendance for I-A schools were, and whether in fact Akron & some others were in danger of losing their status. If anything, I feel like it would legitimize our conference more if we could get some of the dead weight.

I think an average of 15K fans is used to gauge whether a team should be D-1A or not. Though this may have been changed, and of course there are probably exceptions. While it sucks to see a stadium so empty, I think that attandance is a crappy way to determine a schools status. They are a decently (loosely used) competive team that has been PSU in the recent past. They are also able to provide the full 80 scholarships.

The real problem is that the MAC is more than just football. How could you penalize a school and drop them from the MAC when some of their other teams are so good (read #1 ranked men's soccer team).

PGY Tiercel wrote: I think an average of 15K fans is used to gauge whether a team should be D-1A or not. Though this may have been changed, and of course there are probably exceptions. While it sucks to see a stadium so empty, I think that attandance is a crappy way to determine a schools status. They are a decently (loosely used) competive team that has been PSU in the recent past. They are also able to provide the full 80 scholarships.

The real problem is that the MAC is more than just football. How could you penalize a school and drop them from the MAC when some of their other teams are so good (read #1 ranked men's soccer team).

I think the 15k number sounds right, but I thought people were complaining about that last year, so I'm not sure if that rule has been changed. And yes, there is more to the conference than football, but we all know that football is king. How much revenue has the men's soccer team generated for the university? Money is what it is all about. It just makes me sad to see our conference look bad, and I thought it looked bad last night.

And jacojdm, glad to hear that Akron U. has spruced things up. It definitely needed some help!

SAdly I doubt we will ever see anyone droped a Div for any reason.
The most likely next play which has been eleuded to several times for around 08 09 is the BCS requiring attendance of x number to BCS bowl eligable. The extent to which they are going to implement this or any plan is shrouded in BCS secrets.
But as far as the NCAA droping anyone...they wont they are to wraped up in PC to drop anyone. Beside if memory serves the only reason so many schools are D1 now is that the last round of D1 eligability rules came out in like 1972.

I am thinking of going down to the Rubber Bowl sat night for McKinley/Massillon. I fully expect 25-30k for that game....maybe even a sell out. That is the best rivalry in HS football and even more intense when these two teams meet in the post season.

Ineedbotox wrote:I feel qualified to rip on Akron because I'm from there, but what the heck are they doing in the MAC anyhow???

That's a very good question. I wish I knew the answer. Maybe others can weigh in.

I think they announced plans to move up from Division I-AA in the mid-1980s. They played I-A as an independent from 1987-91.

So there they were, an independent, playing fairly decent ball -- they were no Temple -- and they had Gerry Faust.

So... at some point, the MAC agreed to take 'em in.

In retrospect, it was a mistake. At the time -- I guess it seemed the right thing to do.

IIRC, Kent State could have vetoed the move, but they let Zippy come on in anyway.

Dumbasses....

Flipper wrote:IIRC, Kent State could have vetoed the move, but they let Zippy come on in anyway.

Dumbasses....

Kent is responsible for a great deal of evil in this world that they do not get credited for.

My mother, for example.

Bleeding Orange wrote:

Flipper wrote:IIRC, Kent State could have vetoed the move, but they let Zippy come on in anyway.

Dumbasses....

Kent is responsible for a great deal of evil in this world that they do not get credited for.

My mother, for example.

Your mother is a sweetie. I'm going to tell her you said that. See if YOU get any turkey!

Miami wouldn't have had any objections... those were the years that Miami's HC was He Who Must Not Be Named. You know, Toledo's DC.