exit322

I enjoyed it because I enjoy watching football, but it was about as competitive as the CFP has been since it started in 2014. And the BCS before it And most of college football, really

I mean if you really want it to 12, and in that geographic frame, you could try to obtain three of the FCS teams that fit (Youngstown State, Indiana State, Dayton, Valpo)...really not sure what interest they'd have given the $5M buy to FBS and how little more the MAC actually provides anyone.

I kinda hope so, but doubt it...who exactly would want Akron right now?

With the other sports move to something like the Horizon League, their net travel probably decreases by a fair margin even though football jumps.

Having a team that has a chance to win SOMETHING will probably result in more fans. Adding that all of their games would be on Saturdays, instead of this late season Tuesday/Wednesday garbage...yeah, attendance would rise in this instance. Would it make up for the loss of body bag game money? Probably a reason why they're not making this move just yet...

It's not just you.

It appears that commitment time has to be made after your second year at the academy. So I guess freshmen/sophomores have the option (though it's something that doesn't happen often, obviously)

Sure, of course they prefer a system where they could still run away whenever they wanted, while players were generally stuck.

I think if the portal opening happened after bowl games, there'd be more guys that stayed for them. But yeah, that's not going to stop some of these.

It really doesn't destroy much either way - NIU isn't really losing any major longstanding rivalry the way an Akron would if they left the MAC, and who (beyond maybe Ball State) has any buzz when NIU comes to town? If there was one team to lose that wouldn't really upset the status quo either way (despite their success at times), it's probably NIU. The value is likely in lower travel expenses in the Horizon League for everything else (more than offsetting the increased football travel) plus probably a little more TV revenue. This definitely isn't a risk-free move, I'll agree. But I see why NIU is going to try it.

There's probably some value for NIU in going to the MWC for football (and having a bit less travel in all the other sports), even if it's mostly only avoiding the weekday November games that probably cost them a fair number of season ticket holders.

Well when you say it like that, why would anyone ever leave?!! 😄

Of course it is. Akron isn't interested in trying to grow the program and actually win, so why not find more easy money to get everyone hurt and lose by 40?

I was just guessing based on geography. Horizon is probably the most likely (though the Horizon League isn't all that bad at basketball, either) It could very well be the two of them approached the MVC and the MVC wasn't interested, and then Toledo just sat back to the MAC.

I would figure either Horizon League or Missouri Valley Conference for the other sports. I suspect this is what they're waiting on getting sorted before accepting the MWC offer or not.