Great article on what the MAC needs to do.

[ZachTheZip]

Tom Gaffney wrote a good article about what the MAC needs to do. He specifically uses the MVC as the example we should follow. I like some of their ideas that they used to bring their conference back from the brink. http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/17055456.htm

With that in mind, the MVC instituted a policy before the 2001-02 season that essentially forced its members to schedule better. It said a school would forfeit its share of the NCAA Tournament pool (about $50,000 each) if it did not meet one of three criteria: a team Ratings Percentage Index of 149 or lower in the current year, an RPI of opponents for the current year of 149 or lower, or an RPI of opponents for the latest three years of 149 of lower.Two schools did not make it in 2001-02 and in 2002-03, but every one has reached it during the past four years, and the worst RPI this season was Indiana State's 139.``Our teams were not scheduling strong enough,'' Elgin said. ``We established what we called a `strength-of-scheduling threshold' if you wanted your share of this segregated chunk of money from the NCAA. This was groundbreaking policy at the time. Several other leagues have mimicked us.``What it has done for us is to be strong from top to bottom. You are only as strong as your weakest link.''The idea for member schools was to schedule well and schedule smart.``We want our teams to have a balanced and competitive schedule, with at least 50 percent of your games at home,'' Elgin said. ``The leagues that send their teams on the road for guarantees (large amounts of money against established powers) are not doing themselves any long-term favors.''

That pretty much sums it up. Get better or don't get paid. Just like at work.In short, the MAC should:

• have all teams with at least a 200 RPI
• schedule tough, but winable games
• NOT schedule "money" games against elite teams
• not pay teams that aren't pulling their weight

I like Dambrot's approach to this, which is to schedule mid-majors who can compete in their own conferences and hopefully get winning records, while at the same time padding your record with more wins than losses. The RPI is 25% your record, 50% opponents' records, and 25% opponents' opponents' records. This basically means that your conference RPI is set once conference play begins. The best thing for weak teams in the MAC to do is schedule other weak teams to boost their number of wins. The middle-of-the-pack teams should play other teams at their level and occasionally some tougher teams as well. The elite MAC schools need to schedule teams in the MVC and weak high-major teams that they can easily beat. NO one in te MAC should play "Money games". I think that playing winnable games against weak high majors and strong mid-majors will help the most due to the last part of the RPI formula. You need a balance of different types of teams on your schedule to succeed. Just look at the teams in the "Major" conferences. They play cupcakes in the pre-conference schedule, with a few "challenge games" thrown in to te mix, and then rely on their tough conference schedule to boost them. We should do the same, only replace the cupcakes with winning mid-major teams because we can't rely on the MAC schedule to help us.

[zipdiehard]

He also brings up what my buddy and I have discussed for years...schools such as Akron, Can't, Toledo, CSU, YSU, etc.. have something to compete with that many of their peer schools/conferences don't have to...other major colleges and multiple pro teams in their area.It all boils down to spending cash, and on any given weekend you can have the Zips, Can't State, OSU, Browns, Cavs, Cleveland State, and others all competing for your $$. As Gaffney said, many schools are the only game in town. I still remember being in Huntington, WV one weekend and Marshall having huge crowds at both a football game and an exhibition basketball game going on the same day.Unfortunately, the Zips are more than likely going to lose out when choices have to be made. Hopefully that will change as we improve our teams and facilities. Even that offers no guarantees, as Can't has built a winning tradition in hoops and they draw less than we do.

[ZachTheZip]

He also brings up what my buddy and I have discussed for years...schools such as Akron, Can't, Toledo, CSU, YSU, etc.. have something to compete with that many of their peer schools/conferences don't have to...other major colleges and multiple pro teams in their area.It all boils down to spending cash, and on any given weekend you can have the Zips, Can't State, OSU, Browns, Cavs, Cleveland State, and others all competing for your $$.  As Gaffney said, many schools are the only game in town.  I still remember being in Huntington, WV one weekend and Marshall having huge crowds at both a football game and an exhibition basketball game going on the same day.Unfortunately, the Zips are more than likely going to lose out when choices have to be made.  Hopefully that will change as we improve our teams and facilities.  Even that offers no guarantees, as Can't has built a winning tradition in hoops and they draw less than we do.

True about the competition for $$$ and fan support. It makes it tougher to do, but at the same time, if go out and win games against good competition, we will draw more fans to the JAR. Attendance has been going up ever since Dambrot became coach. I think we can outgrow the JAR in just a few seasons if we keep it up.Also, a key to next season is winning that tournament in Alaska. Last year we really screwed ourselves by losing to UALR. Winning that tournament is an essential piece to the strength-of-schedule puzzle.

[BirdZip]

Also, a key to next season is winning that tournament in Alaska. Last year we really screwed ourselves by losing to UALR. Winning that tournament is an essential piece to the strength-of-schedule puzzle.

That tournament to me is also a key to drumming up some interest by the local casual fan--and media.

[Zips Win!]

Finally some coverage from the local paper other than the obligatory story on spring practice! Is Tom felling well?Many good points and ideas on how the MAC can get better! One other major note not mentioned was that several MVC schools do not have football programs and the ones that do, are at the 1-AA level. Those schools are able to shift most of their athletic budget to basketball and it is paying off.

[ZachTheZip]

One other major note not mentioned was that several MVC schools do not have football programs and the ones that do, are at the 1-AA level. Those schools are able to shift most of their athletic budget to basketball and it is paying off.

True. One of the best ways to help the budget problem is to get butts in the seats at home games. Playing at OSU or Indiana or Duke for a quick payday and a loss doesn't help as much as having a winning record and having people pay to see a winning team at home. It's too bad some teams just don't understand that.

[skip-zip]

I still would like to see a couple of high-ranked teams on our schedule each year. It helps recruiting and fan interest.And this year in particular, the Nevada game presented a great opportunity for some national notoriety. And those kinds of wins really get the attention of post-season selection committees, if you can pull an upset.

[zipboy]

A very good article with some stuff that was new to me. So how do we end up getting decent teams at home? What I thought this year was that no one would come to the JAR even if we overpaid them. Are we targeting the wrong teams?KD also said a while back and Tim O'Shea mentioned this last year going to 22 conference games. You then have more funds to set the nonconference schedule with quality rather than just fill it out. Once you are in conference play, RPI never moves anyway. Something new has to be done. Call me a cynic, but if the RPI of the MAC shot up, I somehow feel that RPI would not mean as much anymore. RPI only means something when the selection committee wants to trumpet it.

[Valpo Zip]

I like where the MVC commissioner states that you are as good as your weakest link.We can schedule whoever we want, we still have to play Buffalo and BG (twice) and many cup cakes in the west. Some of those games may lower our RPI (win or loose).I don't know what needs to be done to improve the whole conference.

[Captain Kangaroo]

One other major note not mentioned was that several MVC schools do not have football programs and the ones that do, are at the 1-AA level. Those schools are able to shift most of their athletic budget to basketball and it is paying off.

True. But it is possible to be successful in both, if the University is committed to excellence. I still contend that K.e.n.t. went to the NCAA's 4 out of the previous 8 years. K.e.n.t. has a football team. Miami went to the NCAA's this season...they've been to 17 NCAA tourneys in their history. And, they've been to several football bowl games in recent years. The MAC, and its lone NCAA bid, is there for the taking year-in-year-out. We can control ourselves only so far. We need to MAC to step it up. But I don't see it happening. Our commissioner's idea of strengthening the MAC is to add Temple in football-only. A guy that thinks like that isn't the "idea guy" that's going to catapult the MAC into a 2-bid NCAA touney conference. I like the MVC's method of "calling out" the bottom feeders. Make them produce, or hit them in the wallet. I really think that's the only way to up the level of play in the MAC. It would take a commish with some big kahunas to integrate it. And as cyclical as the MAC is, I don't know that the concept would be welcome by the member schools. Within the last decade, most all MAC schools have been in the top-3 as well as the bottom three. It wasn't all that long ago the Ball State and EMU dominated.

[Zipgrad1990]

Call me a cynic, but if the RPI of the MAC shot up, I somehow feel that RPI would not mean as much anymore. RPI only means something when the selection committee wants to trumpet it.

I agree! The committee has not selected high rpi teams on many occasions because they weren't from a major conference. And on the flip side the committee likes to argue rpi when it lets too many teams in from a major conference. One 2007 example of this was the Big Ten getting 5 teams in when they should only have gotten 2-3.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Playing at OSU or Indiana or Duke for a quick payday and a loss doesn't help as much as having a winning record and having people pay to see a winning team at home. It's too bad some teams just don't understand that.

Based upon the NCAA selection process in 2007, that's not true. We won 26 games this season and it didn't get squat. It isn't the number of wins, it is "who have you beaten?" Why would playing Duke be such a mistake? K.e.n.t. only lost to them by 7? Duke lost to VCU in the NCAA's this year? I'd put them on the schedule today if I could.Is playing Indiana such a big deal? Butler beat Indiana this year. Butler can, but the Zips can't? I disagree.OSU was the #2 team in the nation this season. Yeah they would have beaten the Zips, but you can say the same thing for about 330 other D1 schools. This year's Zips squad would have given OSU a decent game.No one cares if you beat Binghamton, NC A&T, Tiffin, and Niagra. The Zips would be better off playing OSU, Indiana, Pittsburgh and West Virginia and winning a game or two than to sweep a bunch of stiffs or 20-win, sub-mid-majors. That was proven this season.

[ZachTheZip]

Playing at OSU or Indiana or Duke for a quick payday and a loss doesn't help as much as having a winning record and having people pay to see a winning team at home.  It's too bad some teams just don't understand that.

Based upon the NCAA selection process in 2007, that's not true. We won 26 games this season and it didn't get squat. It isn't the number of wins, it is "who have you beaten?" Why would playing Duke be such a mistake? K.e.n.t. only lost to them by 7? Duke lost to VCU in the NCAA's this year? I'd put them on the schedule today if I could.Is playing Indiana such a big deal? Butler beat Indiana this year. Butler can, but the Zips can't? I disagree.OSU was the #2 team in the nation this season. Yeah they would have beaten the Zips, but you can say the same thing for about 330 other D1 schools. This year's Zips squad would have given OSU a decent game.No one cares if you beat Binghamton, NC A&T, Tiffin, and Niagra. The Zips would be better off playing OSU, Indiana, Pittsburgh and West Virginia and winning a game or two than to sweep a bunch of stiffs or 20-win, sub-mid-majors. That was proven this season.

I understand your point, and I agree that it wouldn't be that bad for the Zips as I have no doubt that we are capable of pulling off the upset, and getting a quick payday at the same time. I would love for the Zips to go on a rampage to start the season getting wins against "big-name" schools like Butler did last season. I know we have the talent and experience to pull it off.Remember that this is about the entire MAC. I was refering more to some of the bottom-feeders in the conference. You know they have no chance to win, so why give some other team the pleasure of an additional home game and a warm-up for the conference schedule when you could play a team better suited your talent level and produce an exciting game between two equally talented teams, maybe get a win and a return game the next year. Plus you would avoid the humiliation of a 30 point loss.

[GJGood]

For the most part I agree with scheduling high mid-majors and middle of the pack high majors but I'd love to see a couple of those so-called "money games" thrown into the mix as well. After all Oral Roberts beat Kansas in Lawrence this year that tells me that on the right night Akron certainly could have. Even if you lose a game like that it increases your strength of schedule numbers. If you win it gives you instant national recognition.The problem with making RPI requirements or other standards based on statistics like that is that you don't always know how good or bad teams are going to be at the time the scheduling is done. You could think you are scheduling a pretty good schedule and it turns out to be not nearly as great as originally thought. Personally, I think the RPI should be a factor in determining what happens on Selection Sunday but it shouldn't be as strong a factor as it is currently.

[skip-zip]

You know, after reading that article in a little more detail, some of the data is pretty compelling.What really go me is that the worst.....WORST.....average attendance of any team in the MVC is 4,300. This surpasses all but a couple of teams in the MAC. Does this make anyone sick? And it's Indiana State, which is located in the middle of nowhere, in a town about the size of something like Ravenna. I'd like to know if these schools saw dramatic increases in their attendance after they made these decisions that raised the overall ranking of the conference. If that is the case, it would be hard to argue that these folks haven't identified a formula for mid-major success, both in increasing your number of post-season bid, AND in increasing attendance numbers.

[blueandgold]

You know, after reading that article in a little more detail, some of the data is pretty compelling.What really go me is that the worst.....WORST.....average attendance of any team in the MVC is 4,300. This surpasses all but a couple of teams in the MAC. Does this make anyone sick? And it's Indiana State, which is located in the middle of nowhere, in a town about the size of something like Ravenna. I'd like to know if these schools saw dramatic increases in their attendance after they made these decisions that raised the overall ranking of the conference. If that is the case, it would be hard to argue that these folks haven't identified a formula for mid-major success, both in increasing your number of post-season bid, AND in increasing attendance numbers.

You have to remember the fact that there is nothing else to do in many of those areas and the schools don't have much else to offer fans except basketball.

[skip-zip]

blueandgold...That could be a factor. This area certainly has quite a bit more competition for fan support.