UMass *did* join the MAC

[72 Roo]

I would court UMass as hard and strong as possible, but only with the stipulation that they join in all sports. Bringing UCF in for Football only was a mistake. Bringing Temple in for football only was a mistake. Umass in for football only is also a mistake. The football only schools are basically saying wei'll play until we can go somewhere else.

I can't believe some of the comments on this thread that rip K.e.n.t. and other schools while seemingly believing we bring so much more to the Mid "Atlantic" Conference. Geez folks, get real. we are 1-11. We suck and outside of Summit county the rest of Ohio thinks we are a joke. Let's actually accomplish something on a sustained basis before we go placing ourselves above the rest of the conference. Unfortunately, that includes K.e.n.t.

[UAZipster0305]

The MAC is once again going to prositute themselves, I say all in or all out.

+1

[UAZipster0305]

Actually, "Mid Atlantic Conference" sort of has a nice ring to it. Maybe that's what we can call the conference we wind up in after we blow up the MAC?

ECU

Marshall

Miami

Ohio

Akron

Buffalo

Toledo

UMass

Temple

I love the idea but the new conference is unbalanced with 9 members. I would prefer 12 members that include Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, and Dayton (moving to FBS). I am curious, where might this leave Can't?

Dayton doesn't offer any football scholarships as it stands now...how would they jump from 0 to 85?

I was thinking Dayton because of their strong academic, soccer, and basketball programs along with the potential rivalry with Miami. I know nothing about their football.

As an alternative 12th school, I'd consider Western Kentucky.

[Captain Kangaroo]

If UMass wants to join for football only, let them do it. Like Temple, have them give the MAC a few OOC hoops games and call it a done deal.

What is anyone smoking to think that UMass would drop from the A-10 to the MAC in basketball?

The MAC is basically stem cells to any incoming football program... with the exception of Akron.

Northern Illinois re-entered at the same time Akron entered the MAC... now they are #1 in football.

UCF used the MAC to springboard to Conference USA.

Marshall slapped the MAC around for a while, then spring-boarded to Conference USA.

Temple was a D1-A laughing stock for decades... then got a stem cell injection from Rick Christ and are now winning 8 to 9 games per year. They represent the MAC well.

I would love love love to see NIU, UCF, Temple and Marshall play at InfoCision every year. They were great additions to the MAC.

UMass is an upper-echelon 1-AA program. They would bring good, competitive football to the MAC, and to InfoCision. They would win 8-9 games per season in short order, and lift the MAC's image. There're no drawbacks to bringing UMass into the MAC.

Ultimately, they would be a logical fit for the Big East. And the MAC stem cells will have worked their magic once more.

[johnnyzip84]

Northern Illinois re-entered at the same time Akron entered the MAC... now they are #1 in football.

Actually NIU rejoined the MAC with Marshall (also rejoined) and Buffalo (new member) in 1997.

Source

[Captain Kangaroo]

Northern Illinois re-entered at the same time Akron entered the MAC... now they are #1 in football.

Actually NIU rejoined the MAC with Marshall (also rejoined) and Buffalo (new member) in 1997.

Source

CK modification -- Northern Illinois re-entered at roughly the same time Akron entered the MAC... now they are #1 in football.

Note - I intended to reply to this segment of your original post. However, I was in "Edit Mode" and accidentally erased everything else. Sorry about that.

[johnnyzip84]

Northern Illinois re-entered at the same time Akron entered the MAC... now they are #1 in football.

Actually NIU rejoined the MAC with Marshall (also rejoined) and Buffalo (new member) in 1997.

Source

CK modification -- Northern Illinois re-entered at roughly the same time Akron entered the MAC... now they are #1 in football.

Note - I intended to reply to this segment of your original post. However, I was in "Edit Mode" and accidentally erased everything else. Sorry about that.

No problem!

I was just making the point that maybe we (the MAC) should see how serious UMass is about wanting to move up to FBS. NCAA rules now dictate that an FCS team wanting to make the jump to FBS must 1st receive an invite from an FBS conference. The MAC actually has some leverage for once and I'd like to see them play hardball, at least from an initial negotiating position. Maybe it's far fetched to think UMass would enter for all sports. BUT if their ultimate goal is getting in the Big East, what would be the harm (from UMass' perspective) in dominating MAC hoops for a few years before that opportunity arises?

[Blue & Gold]

1. Akron

2. Toledo

3. Ohio

4. Buffalo

5. Temple

6. Northern Illinois

7. UMass

8. Army

9. Navy

10. ECU

11. Marshall

12. Western Kentucky

Rather decent conference.

[akzipper]

1. Akron

2. Toledo

3. Ohio

4. Buffalo

5. Temple

6. Northern Illinois

7. UMass

8. Army

9. Navy

10. ECU

11. Marshall

12. Western Kentucky

Rather decent conference.

get rid of Buffalo and Western Kentucky and I'd be happy...get 2 decent teams from C-USA to switch

[johnnyzip84]

get rid of Buffalo and Western Kentucky and I'd be happy...get 2 decent teams from C-USA to switch

What's your BEEF about BUFFALO?

[Quickzips]

Seems like the only way for this to make sense from both sides is for UMass to join for football only with an agreement for their basketball team and other programs to schedule a set number of games each year with MAC opponents. Similar to what Temple did. That said, this only makes sense if Temple sticks around. If Temple leaves the conference in the coming years adding UMass makes little to no sense. We would be right back in the same boat we are in now with unbalanced divisions and an outlier East-Coast school playing in football only. At that point we would pretty much have to find another East-Coast school to join up with UMass and that may be easier said than done.

In the long run the best case scenario for the MAC in all of this is Temple staying put and adding UMass for football only. Then the MAC needs to get serious about adding two more schools for all sports that can bring strong enough basketball programs that Temple and UMass could be tempted down the road to make the make the move for all sports creating a 16 team conference. Western Kentucky would make a lot of sense in this scenario, possibly Middle Tennessee. If we are looking to strengthen football more than hoops James Madison, Delaware or Southern Illinois would be decent options. Something like this would be a very nice long term goal for the MAC.

East:

Akron

Buffalo

James Madison

Can't State

Miami

Ohio

Temple

UMass

West:

Ball State

Bowling Green

Central Mich.

Eastern Mich.

Northern Illinois

Toledo

Western Kentucky

Western Mich.

[UAZipster0305]

1. Akron

2. Toledo

3. Ohio

4. Buffalo

5. Temple

6. Northern Illinois

7. UMass

8. Army

9. Navy

10. ECU

11. Marshall

12. Western Kentucky

Rather decent conference.

Agreed. And I love your additions of Army and Navy. I really like Southern Illinois though too...perhaps in place of ECU?

[Zipmeister]

1. Akron

2. Toledo

3. Ohio

4. Buffalo

5. Temple

6. Northern Illinois

7. UMass

8. Army

9. Navy

10. ECU

11. Marshall

12. Western Kentucky

Rather decent conference.

Agreed. And I love your additions of Army and Navy. I really like Southern Illinois though too...perhaps in place of ECU?

Like the idea of 3 divisions; very Conference USAish.

Here's an even more decent conference:

East:

Penn State

Maryland

Virginia Tech

U of Miami

Florida

Florida State

Alabama

TCU

Midwest:

Akron

Michigan State

Nebraska

Ohio State

Wisconsin

Arkansas

Iowa

LSU

West:

Boise State

Oregon

Oklahoma

North Texas

USC

Texas

Texas A&M

Utah

[Captain Kangaroo]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

[johnnyzip84]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

It’s a challenge, but I’ll give it a shot

1. How many downs will Ryan Bain play this year?

2. Will the next hoops arena be built downtown or on-campus?

3. When will the Zips finally win by 14 so that Zipmeister can start up his long-desired gambling web site?

4. What’s going to happen if the MAC only has 5 soccer playing members left????

5. Can we fix the blasted audio on these ZTV reports already?

6. Will we begin the 2011 gridiron campaign in the infamous “Bottom 10”?

7. Hey, what’s with the band taking up all of the seats on the lower portion of the JAR?

8. Did you hear LeBron is refusing to urinate or defecate in the Q during his 1st game back, instead preferring to “hold it” until his armada makes its way to the Summit County line?

9. When will Zips and Buckeyes ever learn to “just get along”?

10. When is the NCAA going to enforce the attendance clause on us and send us back to 1-AA??

[UAZipster0305]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

It’s a challenge, but I’ll give it a shot

1. How many downs will Ryan Bain play this year?

2. Will the next hoops arena be built downtown or on-campus?

3. When will the Zips finally win by 14 so that Zipmeister can start up his long-desired gambling web site?

4. What’s going to happen if the MAC only has 5 soccer playing members left????

5. Can we fix the blasted audio on these ZTV reports already?

6. Will we begin the 2011 gridiron campaign in the infamous “Bottom 10”?

7. Hey, what’s with the band taking up all of the seats on the lower portion of the JAR?

8. Did you hear LeBron is refusing to urinate or defecate in the Q during his 1st game back, instead preferring to “hold it” until his armada makes its way to the Summit County line?

9. When will Zips and Buckeyes ever learn to “just get along”?

10. When is the NCAA going to enforce the attendance clause on us and send us back to 1-AA??

I'd say that's a pretty good effort!

[Zipmeister]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

Have you seen this thread?

http://zipsnation.org/forums//index.php?sh...c=20710&hl=

[Blue & Gold]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

It's a challenge, but I'll give it a shot

1. How many downs will Ryan Bain play this year?

2. Will the next hoops arena be built downtown or on-campus?

3. When will the Zips finally win by 14 so that Zipmeister can start up his long-desired gambling web site?

4. What's going to happen if the MAC only has 5 soccer playing members left????

5. Can we fix the blasted audio on these ZTV reports already?

6. Will we begin the 2011 gridiron campaign in the infamous "Bottom 10"?

7. Hey, what's with the band taking up all of the seats on the lower portion of the JAR?

8. Did you hear LeBron is refusing to urinate or defecate in the Q during his 1st game back, instead preferring to "hold it" until his armada makes its way to the Summit County line?

9. When will Zips and Buckeyes ever learn to "just get along"?

10. When is the NCAA going to enforce the attendance clause on us and send us back to 1-AA??

[Dr Z]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

It's a challenge, but I'll give it a shot

Nice.

I could add a few, but it would only tarnish your good effort. I could probably come up with 8 or so of just mine.

[Captain Kangaroo]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

It’s a challenge, but I’ll give it a shot

1. How many downs will Ryan Bain play this year?

2. Will the next hoops arena be built downtown or on-campus?

3. When will the Zips finally win by 14 so that Zipmeister can start up his long-desired gambling web site?

4. What’s going to happen if the MAC only has 5 soccer playing members left????

5. Can we fix the blasted audio on these ZTV reports already?

6. Will we begin the 2011 gridiron campaign in the infamous “Bottom 10”?

7. Hey, what’s with the band taking up all of the seats on the lower portion of the JAR?

8. Did you hear LeBron is refusing to urinate or defecate in the Q during his 1st game back, instead preferring to “hold it” until his armada makes its way to the Summit County line?

9. When will Zips and Buckeyes ever learn to “just get along”?

10. When is the NCAA going to enforce the attendance clause on us and send us back to 1-AA??

#2 is close...but it doesn't make me barf. The mere sight of any thread containing "Western Kentucky" or "Illinois State" send me sprinting to the john...

Nice job, BTW!

[johnnyzip84]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

It’s a challenge, but I’ll give it a shot

1. How many downs will Ryan Bain play this year?

2. Will the next hoops arena be built downtown or on-campus?

3. When will the Zips finally win by 14 so that Zipmeister can start up his long-desired gambling web site?

4. What’s going to happen if the MAC only has 5 soccer playing members left????

5. Can we fix the blasted audio on these ZTV reports already?

6. Will we begin the 2011 gridiron campaign in the infamous “Bottom 10”?

7. Hey, what’s with the band taking up all of the seats on the lower portion of the JAR?

8. Did you hear LeBron is refusing to urinate or defecate in the Q during his 1st game back, instead preferring to “hold it” until his armada makes its way to the Summit County line?

9. When will Zips and Buckeyes ever learn to “just get along”?

10. When is the NCAA going to enforce the attendance clause on us and send us back to 1-AA??

#2 is close...but it doesn't make me barf. The mere sight of any thread containing "Western Kentucky" or "Illinois State" send me sprinting to the john...

Nice job, BTW!

Thanks! You never know when the inspiration will strike. I'll agree, "MAC expansion" has more than its fair share. Here's to hoping Zeke and the rest give us something completely NEW (and positive) to discuss tonight

[lance99]

If there is anything less interesting than speculation on MAC expansion, and possible realignment, I have yet to see it.

It’s a challenge, but I’ll give it a shot

1. How many downs will Ryan Bain play this year?

2. Will the next hoops arena be built downtown or on-campus?

3. When will the Zips finally win by 14 so that Zipmeister can start up his long-desired gambling web site?

4. What’s going to happen if the MAC only has 5 soccer playing members left????

5. Can we fix the blasted audio on these ZTV reports already?

6. Will we begin the 2011 gridiron campaign in the infamous “Bottom 10”?

7. Hey, what’s with the band taking up all of the seats on the lower portion of the JAR?

8. Did you hear LeBron is refusing to urinate or defecate in the Q during his 1st game back, instead preferring to “hold it” until his armada makes its way to the Summit County line?

9. When will Zips and Buckeyes ever learn to “just get along”?

10. When is the NCAA going to enforce the attendance clause on us and send us back to 1-AA??

#2 is close...but it doesn't make me barf. The mere sight of any thread containing "Western Kentucky" or "Illinois State" send me sprinting to the john...

Nice job, BTW!

I am with you. Why would you want to take those schools. Besides, if UMass wants to make the move, DO NOT make another Temple mistake. It's all or nothing!

[tpsjugglerdude]

What no one is addressing is if UMass will join for tennis and rifle. If they join for these just forget everything else and let them in!

[ZachTheZip]

UMass fans appear interested in striking up a rivalry with us. I like the idea.

Also, their admittance to the MAC seems almost certain at this point, looking at the links they posted further down in their thread and since MAC officials visited their campus yesterday.

[Dave in Green]

Zach, really appreciate you keeping up with so many different sports stories and sharing with us.