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Future of The MAC


What Conference Would You Want Zips In If MAC Dropped MSOC?  

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As 2019 begins and Winter sets in, just thought I'd kill some time and think about what would happen if another team drops out of The MAC as far as Men's soccer is concerned.  We kinda dodged a bullet last year when we were able to snag SIU Edwardsville to round out the number to an even 6.  But let's say WVU or SIU-E decide the MAC isn't where they want to be, or NIU or BG drop their program...then what?  There are 24 DI Conferences out there....which one would be best for the Zips?  I ruled out The Western Athletic Conference, The West Coast Conference, The PAC 12, The Ivy League and the Big West as possibilities.  That leaves the America East Conference (8 current teams, U Mass Lowell), American Athletic Conference (8 teams, USF, UCF), Atlantic 10 (13 teams), ACC (12 teams), ASUN (7 teams, Florida Gulf Coast), Big East (10 teams), Big South (9 teams, Radford), Big 10 (9 teams), Colonia Athletic (9 teams,, James Madison), Conference USA (8 teams, 2 from the SEC), Horizon League (9 teams), Metro Atlantic (11 teams, Rider), Missouri Valley (7 teams, 1 from Southland Conference), Northeast Conference (9 teams, Robert Morris), Patriot League (10 teams, Lehigh), Southern Conference (7 teams, 1 from Ohio Valley), Summit League (6 teams, 1 from OVC), and The Sun Belt (5 teams, 1 from MEAC).

 

My thoughts are the ACC would not probably add anyone, but The BIG10 might welcome us, wioth an odd number of teams and our familiarity with scheduling them every year on OC.  I also think the Atlantic 10 (Dayton, Duquesne, UMass and St. Louis) and American Athletic (UConn, Cincy, Tulsa, Temple and the two FL schools) would be nice fits, from a budget and travel standpoint and might welcome an Akron.

 

Share your thoughts and vote in the Poll above, please....

Edited by ZipsVoice
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I voted for the American Athletic Conference.  Since we don't really have a realistic shot of ever being invited to join the B1G for all-sports, my thinking was it may be a good move to get our foot in the door & develop relationships w/ the member schools of the AAC.

Edited by Blue & Gold
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If the MAC was untenable for the Zips, which is a real possibility, I prefer the AAC. It is better than the MAC and it could open doors for the rest of our athletic programs. My second choice would be CUSA. It's not bad in soccer, especially with UK, and I think they would welcome us. To me, those are the only real options.

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1 hour ago, MDZip said:

Incorrect - Johns Hopkins is an affiliate member of Big Ten lacrosse. 

I stand corrected, and happily so.

 

Since precedent has already been set for Big 10 affiliate membership in only one sport, Akron Soccer should apply forthwith, and without delay.  I cannot see a downside to Akron Soccer joining the Big 10.

 

This would be the best option should MAC Soccer ever become untenable.  It arguably should be pursued even if MAC Soccer remains unchanged.

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Buf, I agree with you wholeheartedly, but Williams may be under pressure from the MAC not to pull out. an exit from the MAC may negatively affect our other programs. But all things being equal I would love to see us in the Big 10.

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I've said it before, I believe the league needs to fix the problem and not the individual schools. There are a few MAC sports that have low participation based on how many schools sponsor teams. Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Men's swim/dive, Women's Tennis and Women's Swim/Dive is a pretty complete list. In checking the Missouri Valley Conference (I assume their are others but I looked here) match up perfectly on these sports for also having low participation. So... for my solution have the two leagues combine for these sports only. For example the MAC would have teams from both leagues for Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis and Women's Tennis. The MVC would have Men's Swimming and Women's Swimming. It would reduce many issues of scheduling (more league contests so less non-league to fill), costs of holding championships, and maybe even spur some rivalries by playing teams more specifically.

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As a full member of the MAC, I don't believe Akron can pull out of the conference for a sponsored sport. The MAC would have to drop Men's Soccer first. Steve1982's solution is interesting if both conferences would be open to it.

Edited by Zip_ME87
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Steve's suggestion would never work. It makes too much sense. But I applaud him for thinking creatively and coming up with a novel solution. Wish I was smart enough to think of it.

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