New B1G rights deal

[mbenecke]

Speaking of November MACtion, it was announced today that the Bowling Green-Western Michigan game will be on ESPN2.

Loeffler seems like he loathes MACtion, and I think that's justified.

He said something in a presser that kinda joked about there being 5 people in the stands on Tuesday nights, and I fully agree with the sentiment of the comment. Midweek games have killed the ability to tailgate or enjoy games after week 8, and that's super sad. In the part of the season where the games matter the most and teams are fighting for something real, there's nobody there because it doesn't make sense to play on weeknights. I'm just over it, personally, and I get the sense that a lot of the conference is, too.

[jpfalcon09]

Speaking of November MACtion, it was announced today that the Bowling Green-Western Michigan game will be on ESPN2.

Loeffler seems like he loathes MACtion, and I think that's justified.

He said something in a presser that kinda joked about there being 5 people in the stands on Tuesday nights, and I fully agree with the sentiment of the comment. Midweek games have killed the ability to tailgate or enjoy games after week 8, and that's super sad. In the part of the season where the games matter the most and teams are fighting for something real, there's nobody there because it doesn't make sense to play on weeknights. I'm just over it, personally, and I get the sense that a lot of the conference is, too.

Question becomes what's a suitable alternative? The conference needs that ESPN cash to stay afloat. Does the MAC risk looking elsewhere for a deal? AppleTV? Amazon?

I'd argue that with the proliferation of sports betting that the MAC is still a valuable brand despite its poor quality of football. But there's probably no way they're ever going to go back to mass weekend games in November given the crowded landscape.

[Flipper]

When the conference was good...early 2000's good...a midweek game here and there between the league's best teams made sense. It was a good showcase for the conference and there enough fan interest to draw a decent crowd. Now...the conference is weaker, everyone plays midweek in November and literally nobody gives a crap...the stands are empty and it looks horrible on TV. The announcers spend as much time hyping the "big games coming up this weekend" as they do talking about the teams on the field...teams they know next to nothing about other than what the coaches tell them in their pre production meetings.

I would much prefer taking a step back on football to play Saturdays...cater to the fans and students rather than the networks...or figure out a way to find a broadcast partner who can accommodate us.

The G6 needs to figure this out financially because the cost structure involved with FBS football is only going to get more outrageous

[Schadenfreude]

Question becomes what's a suitable alternative? The conference needs that ESPN cash to stay afloat.

Plus, the ESPN family of networks is probably the most visible place we can be. My guess is that Conference USA would be delighted to have our place on the national sports calendar.

literally nobody gives a crap...the stands are empty

The MAC has always faced attendance challenges when the weather gets cold. The stands were pretty empty last Saturday, and we had a pretty darned good crowd last year for the weeknight Bowling Green-Toledo game. The MAC isn't giving up as much as it may seem in terms of attendance by playing these games on weeknights.

That said: It is a pain in the arse. I've certainly missed games I would have attended on a weekend. We probably all have.

[zete]

ESPN needs midweek content and the MAC needs money. It stinks.

I think it's great. We are the only football games in the country two nights a week every November, and the biggest brand in sports television pays the MAC millions of dollars for the right to broadcast them nationally.

As a season ticket holder I just hate the fact that there might be a game or two I can't attend due to work or family commitments.

..........OR the temperature is 25 degrees

[zete]

ESPN needs midweek content and the MAC needs money. It stinks.

As a season ticket holder I just hate the fact that there might be a game or two I can't attend due to work or family commitments.

..........OR the temperature is 25 degrees

[Flipper]

Question becomes what's a suitable alternative? The conference needs that ESPN cash to stay afloat.

Plus, the ESPN family of networks is probably the most visible place we can be. My guess is that Conference USA would be delighted to have our place on the national sports calendar.

literally nobody gives a crap...the stands are empty

The MAC has always faced attendance challenges when the weather gets cold. The stands were pretty empty last Saturday, and we had a pretty darned good crowd last year for the weeknight Bowling Green-Toledo game. The MAC isn't giving up as much as it may seem in terms of attendance by playing these games on weeknights.

That said: It is a pain in the arse. I've certainly missed games I would have attended on a weekend. We probably all have.

You picked a game with a noon KO that we played the week after one of our worst efforts in years to compare it to our game with our chief rival who probably brought at least half that crowd with them. I'm way too lazy to research it...but I would be willing to bet attendance is higher for later season games that start Saturday afternoons than midweek. Midweek football is an abomination...a crime against God, Nature and probably the United Nations. It is the hell spawn of Satan (ESPN) and should be repudiated by decent folk everywhere

[Schadenfreude]

I'm way too lazy to research it...but I would be willing to bet attendance is higher for later season games that start Saturday afternoons than midweek.

I'm certain this is true. I just don't think the difference is as big as some people assume. We can't compare November weeknight games to September Saturday afternoons. A better comparison is November weeknight games to November weekend games. I remember a lot of thin November crowds back in the day when all games were on Saturdays, contests could still end in a tie and MAC games essentially never got on television.

[Falconfreak90]

Speaking of November MACtion, it was announced today that the Bowling Green-Western Michigan game will be on ESPN2.

Excellent. Can't make this one due to getting back from Germany two days before....but thinking of getting up for the Kent game. IF we get good results against CMU & WMU, that would put us at 5-4, 4-1 MAC. And Kent doesn't look nearly as good this year. Hell, we had a great chance at Dix Stadium last year and lost 27-20. Think of a 3 game winning streak going into the Peace Pipe game. Sure it's a big IF, but it could also happen. This league is so balanced across the board this year. For Coach Loeffler, this is a golden opportunity to break through. If not, he could lose his job at the end of the year. F**K it, I'm tired of losing. Prove to the fans you can get it done.

GO BG

[Falconfreak90]

Question becomes what's a suitable alternative? The conference needs that ESPN cash to stay afloat.

Plus, the ESPN family of networks is probably the most visible place we can be. My guess is that Conference USA would be delighted to have our place on the national sports calendar.

literally nobody gives a crap...the stands are empty

The MAC has always faced attendance challenges when the weather gets cold. The stands were pretty empty last Saturday, and we had a pretty darned good crowd last year for the weeknight Bowling Green-Toledo game. The MAC isn't giving up as much as it may seem in terms of attendance by playing these games on weeknights.

That said: It is a pain in the arse. I've certainly missed games I would have attended on a weekend. We probably all have.

I'm way too lazy to research it...but I would be willing to bet attendance is higher for later season games that start Saturday afternoons than midweek. Midweek football is an abomination...a crime against God, Nature and probably the United Nations. It is the hell spawn of Satan (ESPN) and should be repudiated by decent folk everywhere

[Flipper]

I'm way too lazy to research it...but I would be willing to bet attendance is higher for later season games that start Saturday afternoons than midweek.

I'm certain this is true. I just don't think the difference is as big as some people assume. We can't compare November weeknight games to September Saturday afternoons. A better comparison is November weeknight games to November weekend games. I remember a lot of thin November crowds back in the day when all games were on Saturdays, contests could still end in a tie and MAC games essentially never got on television.

I remember a more engaged fan base...particularly amongst the students..when we didn't put a bigger emphasis on pleasing ESPN than our core audience

[BillyLP]

I'm way too lazy to research it...but I would be willing to bet attendance is higher for later season games that start Saturday afternoons than midweek.

I'm certain this is true. I just don't think the difference is as big as some people assume. We can't compare November weeknight games to September Saturday afternoons. A better comparison is November weeknight games to November weekend games. I remember a lot of thin November crowds back in the day when all games were on Saturdays, contests could still end in a tie and MAC games essentially never got on television.

I remember a more engaged fan base...particularly amongst the students..when we didn't put a bigger emphasis on pleasing ESPN than our core audience

I think there is certainly a contribution by inconvenient game times, but there is also just less general interest in attending games now than there used to be. A MAC school isn't going to blow it out of the water with student attendance, regardless of schedule, unless there is sustained success over a 3-4 year period. Like, Boise State success, not Central Michigan from 06-09 success. That's almost impossible for us to obtain because we don't have the money to keep people around for that long unless a massive donor comes along and decides to bankroll football or give a massive endowment.

[Schadenfreude]

there is also just less general interest in attending games now than there used to be.

I get the feeling this may be true across FBS.

[hammb]

I'm way too lazy to research it...but I would be willing to bet attendance is higher for later season games that start Saturday afternoons than midweek.

I'm certain this is true. I just don't think the difference is as big as some people assume. We can't compare November weeknight games to September Saturday afternoons. A better comparison is November weeknight games to November weekend games. I remember a lot of thin November crowds back in the day when all games were on Saturdays, contests could still end in a tie and MAC games essentially never got on television.

I remember a more engaged fan base...particularly amongst the students..when we didn't put a bigger emphasis on pleasing ESPN than our core audience

I think there is certainly a contribution by inconvenient game times, but there is also just less general interest in attending games now than there used to be. A MAC school isn't going to blow it out of the water with student attendance, regardless of schedule, unless there is sustained success over a 3-4 year period. Like, Boise State success, not Central Michigan from 06-09 success. That's almost impossible for us to obtain because we don't have the money to keep people around for that long unless a massive donor comes along and decides to bankroll football or give a massive endowment.

This is definitely part of the issue.

College football attendance is down all over the place. The massive exodus of HS players is leading to lower quality of play across the board, even while the number of FBS teams has gone up.

It's not that people don't still care about college football, but they don't watch every minute of their home team anymore. On any given week there might be 3-4 good games on TV, if I am going to watch college football I'm going to be somewhere that I can easily jump over to one of the good games. The quality of play in the MAC is so bad that it is real tough to watch even when the games are competitive. The Akron/BG game was competitive, but my god was that some awful football.

I'm on record, I think weeknight MACtion is terrible for our conference. It is directly responsible for me jettisoning my season tickets, and that quickly came to me not even bothering to go on Saturday games anymore. On the plus side it made me realize how much happier I am enjoying Fall Saturdays and only worrying about football if I have a free day, but that is NOT good for BGSU if it comes to keeping people engaged. That said, it's also folly to think going back to playing Saturday games all year will bring back the fan engagement that we used to have.

This is a new world. College football largely sucks, and the MAC is about as bad as it can possibly be and still be considered FBS football. The finances have made it impossible for me to believe the MAC ever sniffs anything close to what it was 20 years ago. Fan engagement is at an all time low, and I don't see how it improves. I have hated MACtion for as long as it became an every game thing, but at this point I don't know that it even matters anymore. Maybe this was the inevitable end game to a decade or more of not caring about fans, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point. As a fan who readily admits I'm almost never going to dedicate 4 hours of my life to BG football anymore the nice thing about MACtion is I can check in on the game here and there more easily on a Thursday night than I will on a Saturday afternoon.

[Flipper]

Saturdays alone won't bring people back to the program...but I think it's a necessary 1st step. You have to make the product accessible to the people in your core market. For us that's students and people within driving distance.

Of course...I'm not committed to the status quo on football. As I've said repeatedly... at some point in the near future there's going to be a need for a restructuring on the game at our level.