MAC makes up half of ESPN's Bottom 10

[kdog27]

The conference needs a quality basketball member in my opinion. Or we're never going get past winning the mac tourney as your only prayer of going to the Big Dance. I think a good program like that would help

[UK Peregrine]

So, really, what has the MAC gained here? A school with a good basketball program? So what does that mean, really?

Well, I think kdog has a point that the MAC could use a little improvement with a nationally recognized hoops program. The downside is of course Temple's football team, but if we get their basketball program too it may help soften the blow. The MAC is already rated the lowest conference in 1A football this year (see Jeff Sagrin's ratings in the USA Today) so its not like Temple would hurt conference strength.

Just no more adding the UCFs of the world who are no good at either sport. At least with Temple, you have a respectable basketball program, this may help to increase the overall respectablity of the MAC and allow us to get more than one bid per season to the NCAA. Granted their football team is really bad, but they do have a big upside over UCF and that is Philly. Geographically, its a better fit than UCF and would act as connector of Buffalo to the rest of the MAC and begin to center the conference around a Cleveland epicenter. If the MAC does add to the conference in a year or so, they'll likely add two teams, so they then have to pick up a semi-respectable football school to offset Temple's team, i.e. a Marshall type program. I hope Chryst does consider them and only takes them if the become a full member. Heck, if you look at their schedule next year, they're already playing half of a MAC schedule. Should be interesting either way.

[1987alum]

I'd bet a big, shiny nickel that adding a good hoops program like Temple would get the MAC zero leverage for a second NCAA tourney bid. Maybe in a fluke year where Temple is 20-1 but somehow loses the MAC tourney championship, but that would be a rarity.

Geographically, it may sound good, but no one ... and I do mean no one ... is going to travel more than an hour to see Temple in any sport. They cannot draw at home - that includes basketball where attendance is above average and does not match the program's reputation.

[bgmike29]

The MAC is a funny conference when it comes to football. It seems that MAC schools are either good or bad. To me, it seems that there is no in between.

[Flipper]

If we're going to take on a bad football program for the sake of adding a decent hoops program, we'd be better off adding Western Kentucky. Sure they're still 1AA, but they're probably closer to being competitve in 1A than Temple