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While it may be farfetched, I would love to add the "D4" schools and become a super conference. They can keep their rivalries and add excitement to the MAC. I know this comes up often, but it's still refreshing to think about. https://www.hustlebelt.com/2025/1/17/24338685/mid-america... Back to Top Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame General User Member Since: 7/30/2010 Post Count: 3,948 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/17/2025 2:05:54 PM  There's been a lot of expansion discussion -- which I've participated in, too -- but there's a part of me that's still a little unclear on the goal of expansion. Other conferences do it for TV money. If the MAC's gonna expand, they have to be absolutely certain that the next TV deal increases enough to support any extra mouths. Back to Top GoCats105 General User Member Since: 1/31/2006 Location: Seattle, WA Post Count: 7,366 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/17/2025 3:10:50 PM  I didn't realize Delaware had that kind of endowment. Sheesh. Back to Top OUcats82 General User Member Since: 1/9/2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Post Count: 1,873 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/17/2025 3:22:59 PM  GoCats105 wrote: I didn't realize Delaware had that kind of endowment. Sheesh. Lots of DuPont money maybe? Ohio-The State University Back to Top BillyTheCat General User Member Since: 10/6/2012 Post Count: 10,246 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/17/2025 3:24:40 PM  OUcats82 wrote: GoCats105 wrote: I didn't realize Delaware had that kind of endowment. Sheesh. Lots of DuPont money maybe? Delaware has LOTS of corporations and sits close to the beltway. Lots of things going for the Blue Hens. Back to Top ExCat21 General User Member Since: 9/29/2014 Post Count: 1,142 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/17/2025 4:09:23 PM  Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: There's been a lot of expansion discussion -- which I've participated in, too -- but there's a part of me that's still a little unclear on the goal of expansion. Other conferences do it for TV money. If the MAC's gonna expand, they have to be absolutely certain that the next TV deal increases enough to support any extra mouths. Totally agree. But I have to ask you, which 2 schools from this list would you select if they were all greenlights? Back to Top Victory General User Member Since: 3/10/2012 Post Count: 2,279 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/17/2025 6:12:54 PM  ExCat21 wrote: Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: There's been a lot of expansion discussion -- which I've participated in, too -- but there's a part of me that's still a little unclear on the goal of expansion. Other conferences do it for TV money. If the MAC's gonna expand, they have to be absolutely certain that the next TV deal increases enough to support any extra mouths. Totally agree. But I have to ask you, which 2 schools from this list would you select if they were all greenlights? Marshall and WKU Back to Top OhioCatFan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Athens, OH Post Count: 14,582 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/17/2025 8:23:34 PM  Victory wrote: Marshall and WKU + the D4. That would bring us to 18, and we'd truly be the Big MAC! The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA "It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right." Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org Back to Top mf279801 General User Member Since: 8/6/2010 Location: Newark, DE Post Count: 2,472 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/17/2025 11:43:35 PM  BillyTheCat wrote: OUcats82 wrote: GoCats105 wrote: I didn't realize Delaware had that kind of endowment. Sheesh. Lots of DuPont money maybe? Delaware has LOTS of corporations and sits close to the beltway. Lots of things going for the Blue Hens. A lot of corporations and a lot of highly paid professionals. From statisticalatlas.com Ohio Median Household Income: $50.7k Delaware Median Household Income: $61.0k And (1) that difference is maintained pretty well up and down the income spectrum (2) Athens is definitely in the/a lower earning corner of the state, Newark DE (home of UDel) is in the economic heart of the state (3) 62k people live in Athens County, 580k live in New Castle County (and additional gobs live in surrounding counties). All statistical tom-foolerly aside, I really do with that we'd gotten Delaware to join the MAC, and I'm not saying that just because I live <5 miles from the stadium. 45 minutes from Philadelphia's airport (and 15 minutes from Wilmington's airport, which does have limited commercial service and charter capabilities), would make for a great fit in the MAC, and walking around UDel and Newark, there's brick buildings, there are trashy bars and (bad) college student food...I don't expect them to join, but they'd be a great addition. Back to Top oubobcatjohn General User Member Since: 1/1/2005 Post Count: 823 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/18/2025 1:45:31 AM  Youngstown State and Eastern Kentucky would be a nice pair from this list. Close to MAC footprint. Back to Top BillyTheCat General User Member Since: 10/6/2012 Post Count: 10,246 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/18/2025 9:23:39 AM  Curious why everyone is calling on FCS schools, while at the same time we question the viability of the G5 to start with. The economic commitment to move up is pretty steep, just not seeing that decision coming from an EKU, definitely not from a YSU. Delaware has the $$$ but I am not sure I see them wanting to make the move, because I feel (my own opinion) they would have already done so by now. Back to Top Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame General User Member Since: 7/30/2010 Post Count: 3,948 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/18/2025 9:48:00 AM  ExCat21 wrote: Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: There's been a lot of expansion discussion -- which I've participated in, too -- but there's a part of me that's still a little unclear on the goal of expansion. Other conferences do it for TV money. If the MAC's gonna expand, they have to be absolutely certain that the next TV deal increases enough to support any extra mouths. Totally agree. But I have to ask you, which 2 schools from this list would you select if they were all greenlights? The two teams with the highest budgets. Back to Top BillyTheCat General User Member Since: 10/6/2012 Post Count: 10,246 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/18/2025 9:51:02 AM  Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: ExCat21 wrote: Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: There's been a lot of expansion discussion -- which I've participated in, too -- but there's a part of me that's still a little unclear on the goal of expansion. Other conferences do it for TV money. If the MAC's gonna expand, they have to be absolutely certain that the next TV deal increases enough to support any extra mouths. Totally agree. But I have to ask you, which 2 schools from this list would you select if they were all greenlights? The two teams with the highest budgets. +1 Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 5,140 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/18/2025 12:29:45 PM  Budgest are going to have to be $50 million in the future to compete at the G5 level. Not as a rule but as a realistic spending level. I wouldn't look so much at the current athletic budget numbers as much as the capacity to spend. A lot of the MAC is already too stretched on the budgets they are spending. The future at this level appears to be schools like UMass and Delaware (they already moved up for 25') with deeper institutional pockets. Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Bobcat Love General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Post Count: 1,193 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/18/2025 2:37:03 PM  oubobcatjohn wrote: Youngstown State and Eastern Kentucky would be a nice pair from this list. Close to MAC footprint. Are you high? Back to Top ExCat21 General User Member Since: 9/29/2014 Post Count: 1,142 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/18/2025 4:36:20 PM  I didn't realize Illinois State was operating at the capacity it is. Quite surprised. They weren't high on my list at first but now I'm intrigued to see how else they could fit the MAC. Wonder if Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois, Southern Illinois along with Illinois State would be a great fit as well. If Auburn and LSU can share Tigers in the SEC, I guess a battle of Cardinals wouldn't be as bad in the MAC. Ball State needs some rivals. Last Edited: 1/18/2025 4:38:05 PM by ExCat21 Back to Top MiamiBlowsChunks General User Member Since: 4/2/2012 Post Count: 59 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/18/2025 11:54:17 PM  ExCat21 wrote: I didn't realize Illinois State was operating at the capacity it is. Quite surprised. They weren't high on my list at first but now I'm intrigued to see how else they could fit the MAC. Wonder if Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois, Southern Illinois along with Illinois State would be a great fit as well. If Auburn and LSU can share Tigers in the SEC, I guess a battle of Cardinals wouldn't be as bad in the MAC. Ball State needs some rivals. Western Illinois is a terrible D1 school; their football team had to leave the Mo Valley for the Ohio Valley because they couldn't hack it anymore. Eastern ain't much better across the board. Southern is more like ISU but has had steep decline in enrollment. There's Only One OU and it ain't in Norman Back to Top SBH General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Post Count: 4,185 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/19/2025 8:03:17 AM  This is not unlike the "Animal House" scene where the Delta Tao Chi members are viewing photos of prospective pledges. Most of our prospects are Kent Dorfmans. Back to Top GoCats105 General User Member Since: 1/31/2006 Location: Seattle, WA Post Count: 7,366 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/19/2025 3:25:51 PM  BillyTheCat wrote: Curious why everyone is calling on FCS schools, while at the same time we question the viability of the G5 to start with. The economic commitment to move up is pretty steep, just not seeing that decision coming from an EKU, definitely not from a YSU. Delaware has the $$$ but I am not sure I see them wanting to make the move, because I feel (my own opinion) they would have already done so by now. As much as I'd love the Delaware move they'd also now need to presumably pay an exit fee to leave CUSA. The MAC has a more stable geographic footprint, but that's probably too much of a price to pay for little extra return. Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 5,140 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/19/2025 6:08:54 PM  GoCats105 wrote: BillyTheCat wrote: Curious why everyone is calling on FCS schools, while at the same time we question the viability of the G5 to start with. The economic commitment to move up is pretty steep, just not seeing that decision coming from an EKU, definitely not from a YSU. Delaware has the $$$ but I am not sure I see them wanting to make the move, because I feel (my own opinion) they would have already done so by now. As much as I'd love the Delaware move they'd also now need to presumably pay an exit fee to leave CUSA. The MAC has a more stable geographic footprint, but that's probably too much of a price to pay for little extra return. The MAC could apply NIU's exit fee to Delaware's exit fee. Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Pataskala General User Member Since: 7/8/2010 Location: At least six feet away from anybody else Post Count: 9,355 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/19/2025 7:16:18 PM  SBH wrote: This is not unlike the "Animal House" scene where the Delta Tao Chi members are viewing photos of prospective pledges. Most of our prospects are Kent Dorfmans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMENQeCbxfI We will get by. We will get by. We will get by. We will survive. Back to Top ExCat21 General User Member Since: 9/29/2014 Post Count: 1,142 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/19/2025 7:24:52 PM  BillyTheCat wrote: Curious why everyone is calling on FCS schools, while at the same time we question the viability of the G5 to start with. The economic commitment to move up is pretty steep, just not seeing that decision coming from an EKU, definitely not from a YSU. Delaware has the $$$ but I am not sure I see them wanting to make the move, because I feel (my own opinion) they would have already done so by now. I think the success of programs like James Madison and Jax State has opened the discussion as to who's next in the FCS world to move up. Some of us wanted James Madison before they moved up but didn't know how that would work out. Back to Top ExCat21 General User Member Since: 9/29/2014 Post Count: 1,142 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/19/2025 7:35:56 PM  mf279801 wrote: BillyTheCat wrote: OUcats82 wrote: GoCats105 wrote: I didn't realize Delaware had that kind of endowment. Sheesh. Lots of DuPont money maybe? Delaware has LOTS of corporations and sits close to the beltway. Lots of things going for the Blue Hens. A lot of corporations and a lot of highly paid professionals. From statisticalatlas.com Ohio Median Household Income: $50.7k Delaware Median Household Income: $61.0k And (1) that difference is maintained pretty well up and down the income spectrum (2) Athens is definitely in the/a lower earning corner of the state, Newark DE (home of UDel) is in the economic heart of the state (3) 62k people live in Athens County, 580k live in New Castle County (and additional gobs live in surrounding counties). All statistical tom-foolerly aside, I really do with that we'd gotten Delaware to join the MAC, and I'm not saying that just because I live <5 miles from the stadium. 45 minutes from Philadelphia's airport (and 15 minutes from Wilmington's airport, which does have limited commercial service and charter capabilities), would make for a great fit in the MAC, and walking around UDel and Newark, there's brick buildings, there are trashy bars and (bad) college student food...I don't expect them to join, but they'd be a great addition. Really impressed with what they can bring to the table. I've never been there but others have said it's better than advertised. If there was no shot to get D4, I would happily take Delaware and Rhode Island to get us to 14 teams. I'm sure Buffalo would love some east coast brothers/sisters to help with their away schedule. Both schools are 1 hour or less than a trip from Buffalo to Muncie. Back to Top Bobcat Love General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Post Count: 1,193 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/19/2025 8:43:56 PM  SBH wrote: This is not unlike the "Animal House" scene where the Delta Tao Chi members are viewing photos of prospective pledges. Most of our prospects are Kent Dorfmans. Absolutely perfect analogy. Steinbrecher is our Dean Wormer. A completely inadequate, bumbling buffoon of an Administrator. Back to Top Andrew Ruck General User Member Since: 12/22/2004 Location: Columbus, OH Post Count: 5,149 Status: Offline     RE: Hustlebelt Expansion Article    Posted: 1/20/2025 2:29:09 PM  Big conferences are stupid and struggle to crown a true champion with unbalanced schedules year to year. Stick to 12ish. 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