Big East Expansion

[NWLB]

I think the real issue is that their markets really don't matter. People in the markets don't even follow the teams being covered. The value, if any, to a TV network is in the alumni base scattered across the country, and the "content" value of having any notable story in a conference on-air. Why do we need to screw-up our work weeks chasing that? Form an online network, tell ESPN to go to hell. Give us our conference back.

History has illustrated again that the MAC is not a conference in competition for BCS bowl slots, national championships, etc. And for all that glorious BS about bowl games and top 25 rankings being the "be all/end all" I can see it has amounted to jack squat. Thursday night games, miss-matches in bowl games, and playing football pariahs like Temple suck. I want my conference back. I want MAC titles to be meaningful. I want the rest to be icing on the cake.

Too much rah-rah about "gee ma, we're on ESPN" as if that were an achievement.

Exposed to BG? How about we get the games on the net, own the damned time, rather than getting pennies from ESPN, have every "major" game promoted on our time, and get stuck with third-tier timeslots. Put the games online. Make every ad a BGSU ad. Make every game start at a decent time when REAL FANS can attend, not this bull **** with iffy attendance.

Want people to watch, promote the games. Which god forbid might mean the MAC, and sadly, even most of its members, learn how to market their product. You'll get viewers. You'll expose more people than you will with a single-shot TV farce. And god forbid, you might draw-in the far-flung alumni, new fans, others who aren't able to fight for the TV.

It is call adaptation and innovation, something lacking in the MAC.

[Globetrotter]

I think the real issue is that their markets really don't matter. People in the markets don't even follow the teams being covered. The value, if any, to a TV network is in the alumni base scattered across the country, and the "content" value of having any notable story in a conference on-air. Why do we need to screw-up our work weeks chasing that? Form an online network, tell ESPN to go to hell. Give us our conference back.

History has illustrated again that the MAC is not a conference in competition for BCS bowl slots, national championships, etc. And for all that glorious BS about bowl games and top 25 rankings being the "be all/end all" I can see it has amounted to jack squat. Thursday night games, miss-matches in bowl games, and playing football pariahs like Temple suck. I want my conference back. I want MAC titles to be meaningful. I want the rest to be icing on the cake.

Too much rah-rah about "gee ma, we're on ESPN" as if that were an achievement.

Exposed to BG? How about we get the games on the net, own the damned time, rather than getting pennies from ESPN, have every "major" game promoted on our time, and get stuck with third-tier timeslots. Put the games online. Make every ad a BGSU ad. Make every game start at a decent time when REAL FANS can attend, not this bull **** with iffy attendance.

Want people to watch, promote the games. Which god forbid might mean the MAC, and sadly, even most of its members, learn how to market their product. You'll get viewers. You'll expose more people than you will with a single-shot TV farce. And god forbid, you might draw-in the far-flung alumni, new fans, others who aren't able to fight for the TV.

It is call adaptation and innovation, something lacking in the MAC.

I think there are like 6 different arguments in there and I don't know which to address. I agree again with your last point. The others not so much. I think TV markets matter a great deal because there are more people to jump on when that team gets good. if all that matters is alumni then what you really need to do is boost the number of current students tied to BG so when they are alums they are still connected. I think that while alums matter, the local community is whats consistent. I disagree with the value of weekday games. The value of them clearly is not being just another game on a Saturday full of games.

Why is a MAC title meaningful again....you lost me there. I would love to win the MAC title. I also love going to bowl games and playing on ESPN and being in the top 25. Your entire paragraph about this is anti what I beleive this program should be striving for. If all we will ever be is 8-4 with a chance to play a bad Big ten team in the bowls then i might just stop watching. I think we have been better then that and with innovation and adaptation we can be back there.

I agree the promotion of games is poor.

[NWLB]

If the MAC and its member schools OWN what they put out there, then what happens the next time one of the teams gets hot? Then rather than having tossed the baby out with the bathwater, to get some third rate ESPN time, we have the product in demand. That drives people to the service provided.

I'm not against rankings, good bowl games. But the rankings come if you are worth it, that isn't the goal, that is the result of the basic effort we need to see. And bowl games? I will never accept being blasted by a historic point-spread is worth it. It is NOT. You only embarrass the program. You can't see every blowout coming, but with bowl games you can see a lot of them. The MAC has to respect its teams and product more, and go for better matches, not just a game for the sake of it....because it happens to be on TV.

This isn't 20 years ago. Or even 10. It is a connected, online focused, social media dwelling world.

The program should strive. It should strive to be the best it can be on the field. The rest comes with winning. Trying to hop-up a program with junk matches, references to having been top 25 for seven days five years ago, just won't work. That was tried, and look where we are at now.

No. Build it right, get back to basics, own our programs, our conference, and get the job done. Quit chasing the windmills.

[Falcon137]

One of my biggest fears is that BG would drop, so any school dropping down makes me realize how close BG is to that and how little momentum we have towards becoming a more legitimate program. I think that when the dust settles it might be us, Ball State and the directional Michigans out to dry. Kent, Akron, Buffalo, Temple and Toledo are all in better markets and OU, Miami, N Illinois all have better programs. Maybe we will end up in the Sun Belt?

Explain to me how Akron, Kent, Toledo and Buffalo are good markets. Toledo is the only one you could make an argument for because they have a decent program, where the city somewhat cares.

No one cares about Kent or Akron, in Cleveland or Akron. No one cares about Buffalo in Buffalo.

Hell, no one cares about Temple football in Philly. No one cares about college football in Philly.

I said better markets. You dont think Akron, Toledo, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Cleveland are better television markets then Muncie and Bowling Green.

But your argument is that BG and Ball State will get left in the dust because of their TV markets. While Toledo and Akron are better markets than Bowling Green, in the grand scheme of things none are a blip on anyone's radar.

[AyZiggy97]

I think the real issue is that their markets really don't matter. People in the markets don't even follow the teams being covered. The value, if any, to a TV network is in the alumni base scattered across the country, and the "content" value of having any notable story in a conference on-air. Why do we need to screw-up our work weeks chasing that? Form an online network, tell ESPN to go to hell. Give us our conference back.

History has illustrated again that the MAC is not a conference in competition for BCS bowl slots, national championships, etc. And for all that glorious BS about bowl games and top 25 rankings being the "be all/end all" I can see it has amounted to jack squat. Thursday night games, miss-matches in bowl games, and playing football pariahs like Temple suck. I want my conference back. I want MAC titles to be meaningful. I want the rest to be icing on the cake.

Too much rah-rah about "gee ma, we're on ESPN" as if that were an achievement.

Exposed to BG? How about we get the games on the net, own the damned time, rather than getting pennies from ESPN, have every "major" game promoted on our time, and get stuck with third-tier timeslots. Put the games online. Make every ad a BGSU ad. Make every game start at a decent time when REAL FANS can attend, not this bull **** with iffy attendance.

Want people to watch, promote the games. Which god forbid might mean the MAC, and sadly, even most of its members, learn how to market their product. You'll get viewers. You'll expose more people than you will with a single-shot TV farce. And god forbid, you might draw-in the far-flung alumni, new fans, others who aren't able to fight for the TV.

It is call adaptation and innovation, something lacking in the MAC.

I've read this multiple times and don't really know what it means. But the MAC championship means as much now as any other year.

[Globetrotter]

One of my biggest fears is that BG would drop, so any school dropping down makes me realize how close BG is to that and how little momentum we have towards becoming a more legitimate program. I think that when the dust settles it might be us, Ball State and the directional Michigans out to dry. Kent, Akron, Buffalo, Temple and Toledo are all in better markets and OU, Miami, N Illinois all have better programs. Maybe we will end up in the Sun Belt?

Explain to me how Akron, Kent, Toledo and Buffalo are good markets. Toledo is the only one you could make an argument for because they have a decent program, where the city somewhat cares.

No one cares about Kent or Akron, in Cleveland or Akron. No one cares about Buffalo in Buffalo.

Hell, no one cares about Temple football in Philly. No one cares about college football in Philly.

I said better markets. You dont think Akron, Toledo, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Cleveland are better television markets then Muncie and Bowling Green.

But your argument is that BG and Ball State will get left in the dust because of their TV markets. While Toledo and Akron are better markets than Bowling Green, in the grand scheme of things none are a blip on anyone's radar.

When picking between two options it certainly will play a factor.

[bgsufalcon24]

One of my biggest fears is that BG would drop, so any school dropping down makes me realize how close BG is to that and how little momentum we have towards becoming a more legitimate program. I think that when the dust settles it might be us, Ball State and the directional Michigans out to dry. Kent, Akron, Buffalo, Temple and Toledo are all in better markets and OU, Miami, N Illinois all have better programs. Maybe we will end up in the Sun Belt?

Explain to me how Akron, Kent, Toledo and Buffalo are good markets. Toledo is the only one you could make an argument for because they have a decent program, where the city somewhat cares.

No one cares about Kent or Akron, in Cleveland or Akron. No one cares about Buffalo in Buffalo.

Hell, no one cares about Temple football in Philly. No one cares about college football in Philly.

I said better markets. You dont think Akron, Toledo, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Cleveland are better television markets then Muncie and Bowling Green.

But your argument is that BG and Ball State will get left in the dust because of their TV markets. While Toledo and Akron are better markets than Bowling Green, in the grand scheme of things none are a blip on anyone's radar.

Toledo and Bowling Green are in the same tv market so I don't get this argument at all.

[Globetrotter]

One of my biggest fears is that BG would drop, so any school dropping down makes me realize how close BG is to that and how little momentum we have towards becoming a more legitimate program. I think that when the dust settles it might be us, Ball State and the directional Michigans out to dry. Kent, Akron, Buffalo, Temple and Toledo are all in better markets and OU, Miami, N Illinois all have better programs. Maybe we will end up in the Sun Belt?

Explain to me how Akron, Kent, Toledo and Buffalo are good markets. Toledo is the only one you could make an argument for because they have a decent program, where the city somewhat cares.

No one cares about Kent or Akron, in Cleveland or Akron. No one cares about Buffalo in Buffalo.

Hell, no one cares about Temple football in Philly. No one cares about college football in Philly.

I said better markets. You dont think Akron, Toledo, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Cleveland are better television markets then Muncie and Bowling Green.

But your argument is that BG and Ball State will get left in the dust because of their TV markets. While Toledo and Akron are better markets than Bowling Green, in the grand scheme of things none are a blip on anyone's radar.

Toledo and Bowling Green are in the same tv market so I don't get this argument at all.

I guess thats true but Toledo certainly dominates amongst those market fans and the entire market is labeled after them. Technically it is true.

[Flipper]

Toledo doesn't "dominate" anything..... the usual order in local sportscasts is OSU, Michigan, Notre Dame then UT/BG...arguing the impact of any MAC school in a major media market...even a mid sized to small media market... is like guessing the weight of a snowflake as it lands on you

[Ydfalcon]

If you go "online only" you do nothing to help promote yourself. I'm not saying that bending over backwards for so called "third-tier" programming is necessarily the best option, but I will say that I believe very strongly that if the MAC decides to "own" their broadcast rights by going online only, fan bases will not grow. They will stagnate or worse, shrink. The only people who will seek out MAC games online are people who are really and truly invested in them. Like it or not, schools of our size depend greatly on the casual fan.

I love BG and have gone to online streams many times, being way out of our local market. But when we do play a Thursday night game, and we're one of at the most a handful of games that night, people who are just general college football fans DO watch those games. People who I can all but guarantee would never seek out a MAC game online. And I don't think I need to remind anybody that with diminished viewership and diminished fan base support (attendance, merchandising, etc.), the program receives less money. Less money means fewer improvements/maintenance in terms of facilities, less to attract decent coaching, and recruiting suffers. Recruiting suffers and the program suffers and could eventually fold. That's all very doomsday and taking things to an extreme, but I fail to see how making ourselves an online only brand could help us in any way.

[Globetrotter]

Last night went to a Bar with a friend and his neighbor who I had never met. Guy graduated from Miami and was wearing a Miami redshirt and walked in and sat down with sports on all tvs. It was the first Miami game that he had seen since graduating and he had no idea that the game was on before we got there. He was literally wearing the sweatshirt and had no idea that game was on. The random pick ups like that are what make the weekday games worth it. I know someone is going to say some lame joke about Miami but the reality is that the majority of our students don't care about BG football after they graduate and playing during the week helps to keep the opportunity for them to stumble on to BG again. As well as the general public.