Temple granted immediate release from MAC.

[RowdyZip]

Temple will pay $6 million to exit immediately and BG moves back to the East for football.

[MDZip]

Dang it. Was looking forward to seeing the Zips play at Temple this coming year.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Wonder how this will affect everyone's 2012 football schedules? Do we need to give phone calls to whomever Temple's new BE opponents stiffed in order to put Temple on their 2012 schedule? This late in the game, I don't see many other alternatives. Maybe the MAC schools could pick up 1-AA programs, but paying them to travel to your home stadium would pretty much waste the $500,000 "windfall" everyone just received.

I see YSU on our schedule due to the extrodinary circumstances.

[zippy5]

Wonder how this will affect everyone's 2012 football schedules? Do we need to give phone calls to whomever Temple's new BE opponents stiffed in order to put Temple on their 2012 schedule? This late in the game, I don't see many other alternatives. Maybe the MAC schools could pick up 1-AA programs, but paying them to travel to your home stadium would pretty much waste the $500,000 "windfall" everyone just received.

I see YSU on our schedule due to the extrodinary circumstances.

I don't think any BE teams stiffed anyone. Most were looking for games after WVU and TCU left. Pitt has 2 1-AA teams on the schedule, and I believe that's even with Temple. I'd guess we'd just pick up a game with another MAC team? Would the MAC add an extra league game?

[Captain Kangaroo]

I don't think any BE teams stiffed anyone. Most were looking for games after WVU and TCU left. Pitt has 2 1-AA teams on the schedule, and I believe that's even with Temple. I'd guess we'd just pick up a game with another MAC team? Would the MAC add an extra league game?

That would make sense, I guess.

[zippy5]

Then it might get messy for teams without Temple on their schedule.. They'd have to get rid of someone to add an extra league game? This is confusing.

[MDZip]

I don't think any BE teams stiffed anyone. Most were looking for games after WVU and TCU left. Pitt has 2 1-AA teams on the schedule, and I believe that's even with Temple. I'd guess we'd just pick up a game with another MAC team? Would the MAC add an extra league game?

Yeah, but right now we are big time. More home games than away.

[BirdZip]

I don't think any BE teams stiffed anyone. Most were looking for games after WVU and TCU left. Pitt has 2 1-AA teams on the schedule, and I believe that's even with Temple. I'd guess we'd just pick up a game with another MAC team? Would the MAC add an extra league game?

Not everyone in the MAC was scheduled to play Temple, so some teams still have all their games. The teams that were slated to play Temple are missing a MAC game from their schedule. Those MAC teams will simply play each other and be done I would think.

[g-mann17]

Not everyone in the MAC was scheduled to play Temple, so some teams still have all their games. The teams that were slated to play Temple are missing a MAC game from their schedule. Those MAC teams will simply play each other and be done I would think.

All 6 teams in the east and 2 in the west had Temple on their schedule.

Moving BG to the East means all 6 Teams in the west now have to fill that whole with a team from the east. and BG likely won't play 6 east opponents, it will go down to 5 with 3 in the west.

To balance the schedule to 5 division games for each east team, means the whole schedule will likely be thrown out and redone.

[MDZip]

Not everyone in the MAC was scheduled to play Temple, so some teams still have all their games. The teams that were slated to play Temple are missing a MAC game from their schedule. Those MAC teams will simply play each other and be done I would think.

Except all of those teams would have been scheduled to play Temple on different weeks. I would think the whole schedule would have to be re-done for this to work.

[Lee Adams]

What does this look like for the MAC,long term? It appears that the coference is gradually being minimized,especially in football to the point it will eventually become insignificant. UMass is probably looking at this as a stepping stone. The MAC higherarchy better hookup with another conference quickly or there will not be any chairs left in D-I.

[g-mann17]

What does this look like for the MAC,long term? It appears that the coference is gradually being minimized,especially in football to the point it will eventually become insignificant. UMass is probably looking at this as a stepping stone. The MAC higherarchy better hookup with another conference quickly or there will not be any chairs left in D-I.

Yes cause temple was key member, what with their 0 championship appearances and astounding attendance.

[GP1]

What does this look like for the MAC,long term? It appears that the coference is gradually being minimized,especially in football to the point it will eventually become insignificant. UMass is probably looking at this as a stepping stone. The MAC higherarchy better hookup with another conference quickly or there will not be any chairs left in D-I.

I would say that the MAC is already a marginal D1A conference and is already insignificant to most of the college athletics world.

The bad news is it is a terrible league. The good news is it couldn't get much worse. Doing nothing for five years to see if the BCS level schools start their own division or not wouldn't be that bad of a decision. We should not react to what they do because we can't control what they do. If they start their own division, then we made the right choice and can figure out how we prosper in the new world of college athletics. We could do very well in a division between IAA and BCS.

If we decide in the next five years to make a move, it can't be alone because no conference appears to be interested in bringing on a single MAC school from traditional MAC states. We would have to do it as a group of schools from the MAC looking to make a move to a CUSA or when the Big East gets done turning itself into CUSA (The Big East is in its death throws right now. Once UCONN and Louisville depart in the next few years, it is over for it being a serious conference.) or Sun Belt or something like that. Would we be invited as a small group from the MAC to join another conference? That question worries me a little, but we could. If we didn't, God help us.

Whatever the nonBCS conferences do, they should do it on their own and not worry about things they can't control like what the BCS schools are going to do.

[Lee Adams]

Yes cause temple was key member, what with their 0 championship appearances and astounding attendance.

Has little to do with Temple or any one school. It is simply that the MAC as it stands competitively as as a football conference and as individual teams is/are not attractive to any of the bigger coferences. Temple got back in because they are in a big market,the were in the BE before and because they improved their program.

[GP1]

Temple got back in because they are in a big market,the were in the BE before and because they improved their program.

Absolutely. Years ago I said the BE would take Temple back in a second and nobody believed me. Last year some told me nobody would take WVU other than the BE because of academics and the Big 12 came calling with excellent schools like Baylor and Texas. When are some of you going to start listening.

Nobody cares about anything other than money. The NCAA pimps the conferences. The conferences pimp the schools. The schools pimp the players. This is the state of college athletics.

[ZachTheZip]

Temple had the right idea; get out of the MAC at all costs as soon as possible. The Big East isn't an option, but the Alliance is. We can't stay here. The MAC will never be able to raise their profile or get any better than they currently are.

[zippy5]

Absolutely. Years ago I said the BE would take Temple back in a second and nobody believed me. Last year some told me nobody would take WVU other than the BE because of academics and the Big 12 came calling with excellent schools like Baylor and Texas. When are some of you going to start listening.

Nobody cares about anything other than money. The NCAA pimps the conferences. The conferences pimp the schools. The schools pimp the players. This is the state of college athletics.

I told you the ACC or Big Ten wouldn't take WVU. I was right.

[GP1]

I told you the ACC or Big Ten wouldn't take WVU. I was right.

Whatever. They are in a better conference than either the Big Ten or ACC. Depending on the reports, academics had nothing to do with it. There is not difference in the academic stadards of the Big 12, Big 10 or ACC.

[Wally B]

Temple had the right idea; get out of the MAC at all costs as soon as possible. The Big East isn't an option, but the Alliance is. We can't stay here. The MAC will never be able to raise their profile or get any better than they currently are.

I disagree. If we have learned anything over the past 10 years, the power of non-aq conferences is fluid at best, and AQ conferences will never allow one (see Mt.West) to "move up" as they pluck the best teams. Therefore, each conference is only as good as its best team. In the latest spat of realignment most came out of the Mtn.West, a few from CUSA and one from the MAC. This included Memphis, San Diego, UCF and Temple; each not known for their football prowess (see UCF's record in MAC, and Temples vs ones w/ winning record). As a result, the Alliance meerly represents the table scraps if you will. It's way too early to determine if inclusion in that mess would harbor any benefits for us AT ALL! I would further propose that the Allinace is probably closer to the MAC than either of its predecessors. There is no indication that moving there would improve our lot over staying within the stability of the MAC. The only sure thing about the Alliance is that AGAIN only its top tier members (see ECU) are positioned to move up. ECU -that in itself is wholly predicated on its location in N.Carolina not the overall quality of its athletic program, or its inclusion in the Alliance.

Stadium, Arena, reknown soccer support, packed Q, T.Bowden, J.Tressell, Akron is doing everything it possibly can right now to improve it's potential. I don't see how joining the leftover Alliance helps at this point. Now, if both sides of this equation prove themselves over the next few years, and we are courted then it might be prudent to re-evaluate. Till then, I say sit tight and enjoy the ride....

[johnnyzip84]

I don't know how accurate this is, but this website (one I check in on every now and then for possible conference realignment information) claims the MAC can basically kick UMass out after 2 years since Temple has decided to leave (scroll about 1/3 of the way down the page). If true, will they?

[Dave in Green]

Also interesting on that website is that they say exactly the same thing about each MAC school: "Not a viable candidate at this time."

But for Buffalo, they add: "If there is continued growth of the athletic programs, the school could one day be a Big East candidate after decades of success."

[UAZipster0305]

I don't know how accurate this is, but this website (one I check in on every now and then for possible conference realignment information) claims the MAC can basically kick UMass out after 2 years since Temple has decided to leave (scroll about 1/3 of the way down the page). If true, will they?

What I found interesting is that every MAC school was labeled as: "Not a viable candidate [to move to another conference] at this time."

...except UB: "Not a viable candidate at this time. If there is continued growth of the athletic programs, the school could one day be a Big East candidate after decades of success."

UB has terrible facilities. Their only advantage is academics because they have a huge research budget. Our profile currently favors athletics with an expanding research profile. So I ask, over the course of a couple decades, what is easier to grow: athletics or research? My answer: research because athletics relies more on tradition and alumni interest. UB has no more potential to change conferences than we do. I actually think UA and UT are the only MAC schools with a shot at upgrading conferences.