Will CUSA come calling for MAC teams?

[xu9697]

Big East looking to possibly add Memphis, East Carolina, UCF and maybe even Southern Miss (along with acadamies and Temple) Looking to get to 12...WVU and Lville possibly to leave.

Might end being 2-4 spots open in the CUSA.

Tough time to be so bad at football. We have the other programs moving along nicely, great facilities, great area/market...dammit Ianallo!!!!

[Dr Z]

Big East looking to possibly add Memphis, East Carolina, UCF and maybe even Southern Miss (along with acadamies and Temple) Looking to get to 12...WVU and Lville possibly to leave.

Written in the PG. Reports have indicated that military academies Navy, Army and Air Force along with Boise State are the latest schools on the radar as football-only members.

[Lee Adams]

Big East looking to possibly add Memphis, East Carolina, UCF and maybe even Southern Miss (along with acadamies and Temple) Looking to get to 12...WVU and Lville possibly to leave.

Might end being 2-4 spots open in the CUSA.

Tough time to be so bad at football. We have the other programs moving along nicely, great facilities, great area/market...dammit Ianallo!!!!

MAC doesn't have any really attractive teams save for Temple which is in the middle of a big media market. This was discussed before. Its not all about W-L's. Its about the money a team can attract. To a lesser extent its about whether a team can raise the profile of the conference. Navy and Army would also make sense IF they wanted to attach themselves. They haven't so far.

[g-mann17]

Big East looking to possibly add Memphis, East Carolina, UCF and maybe even Southern Miss (along with acadamies and Temple) Looking to get to 12...WVU and Lville possibly to leave.

Might end being 2-4 spots open in the CUSA.

Tough time to be so bad at football. We have the other programs moving along nicely, great facilities, great area/market...dammit Ianallo!!!!

It is a more likely scenario (if the Big 12 steals WV, Louisville or any combination) that CUSA becomes the Big East. It would make CUSA a 16 team conference, and by taking the Big East name they acquire the BCS AQ status for at least 2 years.

The question I have, is what happens to UMass, Temple will only leave to get to an AQ status conference. However, UMass's football only status was contingent on Temple staying in the MAC. If Temple leaves, the MAC has the option of rescinding the offer, doing a 2 year probation (meaning no championship or bowl eligibility), or forcing UMass to join as a full member.

And blaming that whole thing on Ianello is assinine. Considering the BCS (and therefore all conferences wanting AQ) look at a 5 year period. Much more blame would need to be put on Brookhart for not holding up his end of the deal. By all accounts, he should have been able to repeat 2005 at least twice if he knew how to handle QB development.

If MAC schools get taken, it will be based on commitment to athletics, market potential, and not performance. The whole thing can be cleaned up with out taking any MAC schools (including Temple).

[xu9697]

Big East looking to possibly add Memphis, East Carolina, UCF and maybe even Southern Miss (along with acadamies and Temple) Looking to get to 12...WVU and Lville possibly to leave.

Might end being 2-4 spots open in the CUSA.

Tough time to be so bad at football. We have the other programs moving along nicely, great facilities, great area/market...dammit Ianallo!!!!

It is a more likely scenario (if the Big 12 steals WV, Louisville or any combination) that CUSA becomes the Big East. It would make CUSA a 16 team conference, and by taking the Big East name they acquire the BCS AQ status for at least 2 years.

The question I have, is what happens to UMass, Temple will only leave to get to an AQ status conference. However, UMass's football only status was contingent on Temple staying in the MAC. If Temple leaves, the MAC has the option of rescinding the offer, doing a 2 year probation (meaning no championship or bowl eligibility), or forcing UMass to join as a full member.

And blaming that whole thing on Ianello is assinine. Considering the BCS (and therefore all conferences wanting AQ) look at a 5 year period. Much more blame would need to be put on Brookhart for not holding up his end of the deal. By all accounts, he should have been able to repeat 2005 at least twice if he knew how to handle QB development.

If MAC schools get taken, it will be based on commitment to athletics, market potential, and not performance. The whole thing can be cleaned up with out taking any MAC schools (including Temple).

Settle down there, killer. Just a bit of off-based humor, I guess. :-)

[g-mann17]

Settle down there, killer. Just a bit of off-based humor, I guess. :-)

My bad, your humor is so many other's truth, it is hard to distinquish.

I'm not saying don't blame Ianello either, but Brookhart is more responsible for this mess. Ianello came with a tear down/rebuild approach, that is exceptionally painful, especially if we spent all this money on athletics only to be passed by during the big "shuffle".

[Z.I.P.]

Why?

[Big Zip]

Contrary to popular belief...the CLE+ market (that means only one team in this market) would make a large market for a conference. Also, a week or so ago in Sports Business Daily there was a list of the Top 15 Naming Rights Deals Among College/Minor League Venues....Summa Field at Infocision Stadium was tied for 8th with UCF, Louisville, Creighton and the Sacramento River Cats. Also, the University set a fundraising record last year with something like $48 million (in a year). Akron is not a small player and has huge potential in the financial game. Not to mention the facilities, the increasing size of the school, the alumni base is quite large too!

If you look past the football past becaus it is not all about football I think Akron is a fine candidate for promotion to another conference.

[Dave in Green]

Good info, Big Zip. Much as some folks don't like to lump Akron in with the Cleveland area, the Cleveland-Akron-Canton market taken together could have a lot of marketing clout.

[Lee Adams]

Settle down there, killer. Just a bit of off-based humor, I guess. :-)

My bad, your humor is so many other's truth, it is hard to distinquish.

I'm not saying don't blame Ianello either, but Brookhart is more responsible for this mess. Ianello came with a tear down/rebuild approach, that is exceptionally painful, especially if we spent all this money on athletics only to be passed by during the big "shuffle".

Ianello has made a choice. As he and the AD said the cupboard was not bare. Ianello could have chosen to accomodate the personnel he inherited. Oh,just like JD did in '04 and '05. I am not a JD apologist. It was time for him to go. But he had the good sense to work with what he had and make a few key additions. Like Brett Biggs. Result? MAC Championshionship. Lest we forget. JD said it himself. They got lucky before they got good. One creates his own luck.

[skip-zip]

Contrary to popular belief...the CLE+ market (that means only one team in this market) would make a large market for a conference. Also, a week or so ago in Sports Business Daily there was a list of the Top 15 Naming Rights Deals Among College/Minor League Venues....Summa Field at Infocision Stadium was tied for 8th with UCF, Louisville, Creighton and the Sacramento River Cats. Also, the University set a fundraising record last year with something like $48 million (in a year). Akron is not a small player and has huge potential in the financial game. Not to mention the facilities, the increasing size of the school, the alumni base is quite large too!

If you look past the football past becaus it is not all about football I think Akron is a fine candidate for promotion to another conference.

If we become a candidate, I would absolutely try to make this argument.

But, the truth is, there's 3 schools in that market that can all make the same argument. And, that market doesn't currently show much support for Akron. Even in basketball, where we are successful, I'd clearly say that OSWho and Cleveland State get far more media support on TV, which is the media outlet that would certainly get the most interest from a potential conference in terms of how the media market could help the league.

So, if they were to look at Akron, would they see that Akron is virtually ignored in their own local TV market? And how much would that reflect negatively on our chances?

And would our local TV market potentially turn a great deal of attention our way if we joined a more notable league?

[Dave in Green]

..... And would our local TV market potentially turn a great deal of attention our way if we joined a more notable league?

I think it would. Belonging to a higher-profile conference would be a clue even to the clueless that UA is worthy of more coverage than other area schools in lesser conferences.

Looking at the top TV markets, I was a little surprised that Cleveland-Akron is only ranked 17th. But that's still not bad being ranked just behind Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, and ahead of such hotspots as Denver, Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Portland, Charlotte, San Diego, etc. Columbus is way down in 32nd, just ahead of Cincinnati (34th).

Another way to look at it is that Cleveland-Akron represents the 4th largest TV market in the midwest behind only Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Top 100 Television Markets

[ZachTheZip]

Locally, joining a not-MAC league would benefit, simply to differentiate ourselves from the five other similar-sized state institutions who also happen to be in the MAC. We're all just blended in together as "one of them MAC schools".

[Lee Adams]

Good info, Big Zip. Much as some folks don't like to lump Akron in with the Cleveland area, the Cleveland-Akron-Canton market taken together could have a lot of marketing clout.

The Cleveland-Akron-Canton market. Can you say OSU?

[K92]

Good info, Big Zip. Much as some folks don't like to lump Akron in with the Cleveland area, the Cleveland-Akron-Canton market taken together could have a lot of marketing clout.

The Cleveland-Akron-Canton market. Can you say OSU?

I don't really think OSU has very deep hooks into this region. I think there is considerable interest in the Buckeyes as of today, but not so much historically. Wasn't the area Browns dominated back in the day? I'm talking 20-25 years ago. Back when the Browns put a good competitive product on the field. I don't recall much hoopla over OSU at that time. When Modell moved the team to Baltimore, it created a football vacuum in NE Ohio. When the Browns returned they consistently dissapointed while the Buckeyes enjoyed an almost unprecedented run of success under Tressel. I don't think OSU has the region sewed up by any stretch of the imagination.

[jupitertoo]

Good info, Big Zip. Much as some folks don't like to lump Akron in with the Cleveland area, the Cleveland-Akron-Canton market taken together could have a lot of marketing clout.

The Cleveland-Akron-Canton market. Can you say OSU?

I don't really think OSU has very deep hooks into this region. I think there is considerable interest in the Buckeyes as of today, but not so much historically. Wasn't the area Browns dominated back in the day? I'm talking 20-25 years ago. Back when the Browns put a good competitive product on the field. I don't recall much hoopla over OSU at that time. When Modell moved the team to Baltimore, it created a football vacuum in NE Ohio. When the Browns returned they consistently dissapointed while the Buckeyes enjoyed an almost unprecedented run of success under Tressel. I don't think OSU has the region sewed up by any stretch of the imagination.

The degree of wrongness in your post defies description.

[K92]

The degree of wrongness in your post defies description.

Enlighten me.

[jupitertoo]

Ohio State's hold over NE Ohio dates back at least 50 years, perhaps longer. I was in elementary school in the early 1960s and our principal had OSU pep rallies twice every fall. OSU has more alumni in this area than virtually any other school. Their domination of this region is total. To believe it is somehow shallow-rooted is absolutely ludicrous. It's cultural, and it ain't gonna change. Accept it.

[K92]

Your anecdotal evidence is wonderful. I have some of my own as well. I grew up as football crazy as any kid. All of my classmates and I could have cared less about the Buckeyes. We lived for professional football. Specifically, the Cleveland Browns. When I came to Akron, I frequently heard students openly mocking OSU. The Buckeyes were equated with bumpkinism. Buckeye fans, we joked, couldn't even pronounce the state correctly. Ohiya.

To say that the Buckeyes have dominated the area for 50 years is ludicrous. 50 years ago College Football enjoyed a mere fraction of the popularity it does now. I never claimed that OSU hasn't always had the largest portion of the CFB pool in NE Ohio. But if you really think that the Buckeyes rivaled the popularity of the Browns, you are dead wrong. 100% wrong.

Furthermore, if the Browns could return to being a perennial playoff team again and if the Buckeyes revert to being the choke artists they were under Cooper and Bruce, you would see people jumping off the Buckeye bandwagon en masse.

Stick to Bobcat basketball.

[jupitertoo]

You can ignore the facts all you want. The Akron Beacon Journal had an Ohio State beat writer living in Columbus as far back as the 1950s. I'm not comparing Ohio State and the Browns; I'm telling you that OSU is the dominant college program in this area. Go to bars around Akron's campus on Saturday and they are watching OSU. I graduated from Firestone High School in the 1970s and twice as many graduates in my class went to OSU as Akron. I am a lifelong resident of this area; my father was an editor at the newspaper. OSU has always dominated college sports coverage and discussion in this area, with Notre Dame a distant #2. This isn't anecdotal evidence. If you think the Zips or any other team will ever dethrone the Buckeyes in NE Ohio, you need to up your dosage of Lexipro.

[K92]

First of all, perhaps you need to increase your reading comprehension. Second of all, go troll somewhere else. Do you think anyone here really cares what you think? I think someone at Bobcat Attack is calling for you.

[jupitertoo]

First of all, perhaps you need to increase your reading comprehension. Second of all, go troll somewhere else. Do you think anyone here really cares what you think? I think someone at Bobcat Attack is calling for you.

I'm an Akron faculty member and season ticket holder. I think I have a right to be here. So I give you lots of evidence that you are wrong and you respond with attacks. Very adult of you.

Back in the 1980s when Dr. Muse was president of UofA, he commissioned a study of NE Ohio fans' interest in collegiate sports. Local universities were ranked pitifully low - less than 15%. Ohio State was above 75%. That was 30 years ago. You, my friend, started this debate by claiming, ludicrously, that Ohio's State's hold over NE Ohio isn't deep and is more of a recent thing. You are uncategorically wrong. Am I happy that Ohio dominates this area? Not at all, but I am not deluded enough to think we can change it.

[K92]

I respond with attacks? Laughable. You are the only one attacking. I guess suggesting I need to up my meds is just friendly banter. Ha ha.

You are 100% absolutely correct in saying that OSU has the lion's share of college football interest in the area. Im saying that until the Browns moved, this was Browns country. The 75% share OSU enjoyed 30 years ago, while impressive, paled in comparison to Browns support. Agree? That means this is pro country right? Pro football HOF is in Canton for a reason, right?

Temple is in Philadelphia. Pro country. Eagles are King. The Owls have to be ranked at least 3rd fiddle in the CFB fan popularity behind Penn State and Notre Dame in a fanbase that plays 2nd fiddle to the NFL. Temple is still in the conversation for the Philadelphia market as it pertains to realignment.

The only person that said anything about the Zips dethroning the Buckeyes is you.

[jupitertoo]

I respond with attacks? Laughable. You are the only one attacking. I guess suggesting I need to up my meds is just friendly banter. Ha ha.

You are 100% absolutely correct in saying that OSU has the lion's share of college football interest in the area. Im saying that until the Browns moved, this was Browns country. The 75% share OSU enjoyed 30 years ago, while impressive, paled in comparison to Browns support. Agree? That means this is pro country right? Pro football HOF is in Canton for a reason, right?

Temple is in Philadelphia. Pro country. Eagles are King. The Owls have to be ranked at least 3rd fiddle in the CFB fan popularity behind Penn State and Notre Dame in a fanbase that plays 2nd fiddle to the NFL. Temple is still in the conversation for the Philadelphia market as it pertains to realignment.

The only person that said anything about the Zips dethroning the Buckeyes is you.

Oh, come on. The topic of this thread shifted to NE Ohio's ranking in the media hierarchy and whether Akron, based here, would be more attractive than other schools for a larger conference as a result of this ranking. You then stated that OSU's hold on NE Ohio isn't that deep. Clearly you are (or were) implying that Akron could become the media's primary college program in this region based on your belief that people aren't really devoted to OSU and haven't been on a historical basis. Both of those claims are patently untrue. Believe me, I wish they were true, but they are not.

This thread isn't about pro football - the discussion was and is about college football or whatever it is Mr. Ianello's team has been playing for the past year and a half.

Oh, and the reason why the Football Hall of Fame is in Canton is because that city put together the best financial proposal, based on its own central role in the founding of the league. Neither the Browns nor OSU is #1 in Canton - it's all about high school football.

[K92]

The really funny thing is that we agree on almost everything. I never got to my point in my first post. If you think I was laying the groundwork for the Zips capturing a large portion of the football market, you're wrong. I have listened to the Zips to the Big East dream since I started reading here. Never bought the argument. Pipe dream to me. Now that the Big East is absolutely DESPERATE for football members, Akron isn't getting a sniff. No surprise to me. So to suggest that I would be a "puffer" of Akron's potential would be false.

My point was that, although OSU probably garners the most attention from the region for football fandom today, it was not always that way. Now, my contention is that the balance shifted in favor if the Buckeyes when the Browns left town. The CFB demographic was (and is) growing independently of the Browns situation. I am sure that there were many soured Browns fans that switched their allegiance to the Steelers or the Buckeyes or their local HS team. But to say that OSU has been the historic football top dog in NE Ohio just simply isn't true.

It is the task of CUSA to determine what kind of a market share a prospective new member might garner. How much new interest could Akron generate. How much share could they take away from entrenched interests? My guess is not a whole terrible lot from either, but I don't know. I never got to that part before you started telling me how dumb I was and at this point I really am sorry that I ever commented in the first place. Jeeeeeeeeeeez.