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Topic: Conference Only Games?

Topic: Conference Only Games?

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FanInTheStands
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Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/9/2020 5:56:07 PM

I just saw that Gene Smith from OSU in a news conference today said the Big Ten just announced that if a fall season is played it will be limited to only conference games. Will anyone be surprised if the MAC doesn't follow suit shortly?
I hate to lose the Marshall home game but won't be surprised if we only play league games this year.

Last Edited: 7/9/2020 6:02:03 PM by FanInTheStands

Doc Bobcat
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/9/2020 5:57:07 PM

FanInTheStands wrote:

I just saw that the Big Ten just announced that if a fall season is played it will be limited to only conference games. Will anyone be surprised if the MAC doesn't follow suit shortly?
I hate to lose the Marshall home game but won't be surprised if we only play league games this year.

OSU has Buffalo on their schedule.

BillyTheCat
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/9/2020 5:57:44 PM

FanInTheStands wrote:

Probably shouldn�t be surprised if they play zero games

Doc Bobcat
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/9/2020 6:13:21 PM

Doc Bobcat wrote:

FanInTheStands wrote:

OSU has Buffalo on their schedule.

Now they�re saying conference games only.

rpbobcat
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/9/2020 6:38:54 PM

Assuming there are bowl games.

How many wins will a team need to be bowl eligible ?

Diamond Cat
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/9/2020 7:51:06 PM

Boston College game out. So what happens in September? No games or do we move conference games around? It just seems to me the chances of NCAA sports are in serious jeopardy until a vaccine is found.

Pataskala
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/9/2020 9:43:14 PM

rpbobcat wrote:

Assuming there are bowl games.

How many wins will a team need to be bowl eligible ?

I presume a team would have to win at least half of whatever number of games it plays.

Diamond Cat wrote:

Boston College game out. So what happens in September? No games or do we move conference games around? It just seems to me the chances of NCAA sports are in serious jeopardy until a vaccine is found.

Don't expect any games in September for MAC teams. The current spike in the virus probably won't die down until sometime in August, and maybe not then. September might be needed for training camps. There are five Saturdays in October and four in November so the MAC could schedule a week off for each team as a seque into mid-week MACtion. And even the leagues that play nine conference games can skip September if they need to.

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Pataskala
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/9/2020 11:48:07 PM

A couple months ago when I had absolutely nothing to do I got to thinking about what would need to be done to have a conference-only MAC schedule in October and November. I finally found the file and it looks like there would be little difficulty.

There are three conference games in Sept that would have to be moved: Buffalo-BG; Fiami-Akron; and NIU-EMU.

Saturday, Oct 3: Move Akron-Buffalo to Oct 24. Scratch Army-Fiami and Liberty-BG. Insert Fiami-Akron and Buffalo-BG.

Saturday, Oct 17: Scratch EMU-Army and UMass-Akron. Move NIU-BSU to Oct 24. Insert NIU-EMU and Akron-BSU (from Oct 24).

Saturday, Oct 24: Scratch BYU-NIU and Buffalo-Army. Insert NIU-BSU (from Oct 17) and Akron-Buffalo (from Oct 3).

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Bobcat1996
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/10/2020 7:18:31 AM

Pataskala good job and those changes make sense. Although it seems the MAC office at times doesn't use common sense when scheduling. If they did Toledo and Miami wouldn't go at least ten years between playing one another.

SBH
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/10/2020 8:43:18 AM

I don't get why we'd have to lose the Marshall game. Schools are so close there's little/no financial downside. Why can't conferences get creative - play games with nearby non-conference foes - OSU could play 1-2 MAC schools, Akron could play Youngstown.

Of course this is all meaningless since I'm convinced we're going to face a second shutdown.

Last Edited: 7/10/2020 8:43:54 AM by SBH

Pataskala
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/10/2020 12:28:02 PM

SBH wrote:

It all depends on when the virus subsides enough to safely let players get to training camp. It looks like it'll be several weeks before the current spike goes down enough to let players get back to training. So at this point early Sept games are probably gone in most states. I'm sure we'll see pick-up games as the season goes along, like what happened at the end of the 2018 season when several teams needing a win for bowl eligibility added games at the end of the season to make up for games cancelled by hurricanes. But I don't expect that the "P" conferences will want to run the risk of being exposed to the virus in a meaningless (for them) OOC game. Conference games are much more important.

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Pete Chouteau
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/10/2020 4:24:47 PM

LOL Saturdays in November

Jeff Hill
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/10/2020 5:25:54 PM

From today's The Athletic

https://theathletic.com/1920678/2020/07/10/mac-impact-big... /

�This is the tip of the iceberg�: The MAC moves forward without the Big Ten

By Chris Vannini and Justin Williams Jul 10, 2020

No Power 5 conference and Group of 5 conference have a tighter relationship than the Big Ten and the Mid-American.

Their footprints almost completely overlap. They regularly play each other in nearly every sport. They�re part of the same officiating consortium. The Big Ten is the oldest P5 conference, and the MAC is the oldest G5 league.

But when the Big Ten announced Thursday it would move to a conference-only schedule plan for fall sports this year, the move took many in college sports by surprise. Rumors and rumblings had swirled, but no one knew the announcement was coming down Thursday. And no conference is impacted more by the decision than the MAC, whose schools use football guarantee game payments to help fund their athletic departments, especially through football.

The surprise of the announcement irked many across the college sports landscape, including some in the MAC.

�The decision by the Big Ten is the tip of the iceberg,� Bowling Green athletic director Bob Moosbrugger said in a statement, while also noting he understood the difficult decision. �Ten FBS conferences have signed a College Football Playoff agreement with an expectation that we will work together for the good of college football. If we are to solve these challenges and be truly dedicated to protecting the health and safety of our student-athletes, we need to do a better job of working together.�

Bowling Green, which cut baseball earlier this summer before community fundraising saved the program, was scheduled to make $1.2 million from its football trip to Ohio State and $1 million from its trip to Illinois.

But not everyone in the league was so surprised. Given how closely the conferences work, other ADs in the MAC figured this was coming, and it was part of their preparation models.

�The Big Ten, I gotta congratulate them on doing something, on making a decision,� Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier, a former Wisconsin administrator, said on Thursday.

Miami (Ohio) football head coach Chuck Martin added: �To me, the Big Ten opened the door finally, sent shockwaves across the country that this is effed up and this is real.�

NIU, which annually plays multiple guarantee-money games, was set to play at Maryland and at Iowa in September. Those games would have brought in about $1.4 million for NIU, including more than $1.1 million for the Iowa game. (NIU-Maryland is a home-and-home series.)

The MAC has been in a difficult financial situation for months. Its schools are among the most heavily subsidized in FBS. In May, the league announced it would trim its future basketball tournaments and cut the postseason in eight other sports. Its football teams would not stay in hotels the night before home games, and the travel roster would be reduced from 76 players to 70. The league also received a Paycheck Protection Program loan in April (as did every G5 conference). The MAC�s loan was between $150,000 and $350,000 and saved 18 conference jobs, according to PPP data released this week. Schools within the conference have also made job and salary cuts on staffs.

Could any of the financial loss from the football cancellations be recouped through cancellation fees or settlements? Northern Iowa, an FCS school, told The Athletic�s Scott Dochterman it didn�t believe it would receive such a settlement from Iowa. Some administrators in college sports believe there could be lawsuits, depending on contract wording. For example, if the conference canceled a game � not the school � would the clause still apply? That could be up to lawyers to litigate.

But not every MAC AD was immediately concerned about that on Thursday as it related to the Big Ten opponents on their 2020 schedules. Frazier pointed to his relationship with Iowa athletic director Gary Barta and the many games NIU and Iowa play and said he was confident the sides would work out something, whether that�s money or adjustments to future games. Ball State was scheduled to play at Michigan and Indiana this fall for about $1.6 million total. Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz said she spoke with Michigan AD Warde Manuel and Indiana AD Scott Dolson on Thursday and was also focused on future relationships.

�We all want to just focus on what we need to do with the task in front of us and making some of these other decisions for the fall,� Goetz said. �Regardless of how these specific contracts are settled, just ensuring that we can continue to be great partners and have these relationships in the future.�

So what could the football season look like for the MAC? Conversations are ongoing. Industry insiders told The Athletic�s Nicole Auerbach that the Pac-12 is expected to make a scheduling decision similar to the Big Ten soon. Other Power 5 conferences could follow.

The MAC could decide to play a conference-only schedule as well. It could even play nonconference games against other G5 teams, if those leagues are open to it. But without those payday matchups and with large home crowds unlikely, games could be financial drains, on top of the player safety questions. Some college sports administrators have pointed to spring as a safer option and potentially a better financial option for non-P5 football, if more games and fans are possible. In some places, ticket revenue is worth more than TV revenue, and student attendance and fees dictate the biggest chunk of the athletics budget.

�I�m not banking on a vaccine, but what if there was one?� Martin said. �If there isn�t one, I would like to think, in seven months, we can be in a better place than we are right now. � If we haven�t figured this thing out by February while other countries have, that would be pretty disappointing.�

The first goal is making sure games are safe. Then it�s making sure games happen � whenever that is.

�The biggest determining factor for us is that we need to play games,� said Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler, whose team does not have a Big Ten game scheduled but is supposed to open the season at ACC member Pitt on Sept. 5. �If we play games, we think we can generate revenue. That�s where our focus is and where a lot of our discussions have been as a league. One of the frustrating points for me right now is reading and hearing these statements from leaders in our industry about spring being the last resort, or spring being whispered about but not seriously discussed. I just have a really hard time with that.

�If we�re not really evaluating spring and kicking the tires on it, we�re doing a disservice to our student-athletes, frankly. I�m less concerned about when we play, and more concerned about just giving our student-athletes the ability to compete and play in a safe environment and get as many games in as they can.�

The MAC�s TV revenue has been boosted by playing most of its November games on weekdays in games that have become known as �MACtion.� Sayler believes that could still happen in the spring.

�Maybe in the spring we can play a couple less games but have 80 percent capacity, that certainly would be a big chunk of revenue we could make up for right there,� Sayler said. �To me, we have to play it out and think about what gives us the best opportunities. Even if we lost (our guarantee game against Pittsburgh), I�d be more interested in trying to find ways to have bigger crowds in the spring. And I believe the television partners would still want to cover us.�

Asked about the viability and benefits of spring football, Frazier was open to it. The logistics could be a headache, but it�d be better than nothing.

�Honestly, I think that gives us more time where a professional can say they have more data points, more understanding about the virus, if we can ensure some ability for health and safety,� Frazier said. �If we can have some semblance of a schedule, hey, I�m for college football and college sports. If we can have some fall competition in the spring and can make that work in some hybrid kind of way, I would be supportive of that.�

Whatever the result, an already-strained MAC took another blow on Thursday, as did the hopes for college football in the fall. In early June, spirits were high as COVID-19 case numbers came down and players returned to campus. But as numbers increased again, especially with spikes in the South, that optimism turned to pessimism. The only question now is if enough can be done to turn it around in time to save fall football.

�When the Big Ten said what it did, now people are thinking, �Should I put that mask on? Maybe it�s more real than I think it is,�� Martin said. �It was a major decision that sent shockwaves.�

The message from college sports leaders to fans remains to listen to public health experts. That means wearing masks, washing hands, avoiding indoor crowds and staying home if you�re sick. Time is almost up. Final decisions on fall football could be made in the coming weeks.

�My biggest message is that you need to lead from the chair that you�re sitting in,� Frazier said. �You don�t have to be the AD, you don�t need to be the head football coach, you don�t need to be the head basketball coach, you just need to lead from the seat that you are at. That means the academic support person, the janitor, the person who turns on the lights in the stadium, the person who turns off the lights at the stadium, I think we all have to believe and pitch in.

�The reality around COVID is that that people feel, does it make a difference to put on a mask? Does it make a difference that I wash my hands? The answer is yes. You can make that determination. Only you can make that commitment. As soon as you stop believing you make a difference, the whole chain of command falls apart. Leading from the seat that you are currently at means so much. Everybody makes a difference when it comes to combating this issue.�

UpSan Bobcat
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/10/2020 8:19:41 PM

And the PAC-12 did as rumored in the article, also cancelling their nonconerence games.

Bobcat1996
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/10/2020 9:16:56 PM

Another reason why Ohio's former AD didn't negotiate a decent deal! See below.

Bowling Green, which cut baseball earlier this summer before community fundraising saved the program, was scheduled to make $1.2 million from its football trip to Ohio State and $1 million from its trip to Illinois.

But not everyone in the league was so surprised. Given how closely the conferences work, other ADs in the MAC figured this was coming, and it was part of their preparation models.

�The Big Ten, I gotta congratulate them on doing something, on making a decision,� Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier, a former Wisconsin administrator, said on Thursday.

Miami (Ohio) football head coach Chuck Martin added: �To me, the Big Ten opened the door finally, sent shockwaves across the country that this is effed up and this is real.�

NIU, which annually plays multiple guarantee-money games, was set to play at Maryland and at Iowa in September. Those games would have brought in about $1.4 million for NIU, including more than $1.1 million for the Iowa game. (NIU-Maryland is a home-and-home series.)

Buckeye to Bobcat
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/11/2020 4:20:07 PM

Bobcat1996 wrote:

We've left a lot of money on the table through the years.....that's a given.

Also doesn't help either when we build a schedule to go win 8 games a year

1 Buy Game at P5 school that is potentially winnable
1 FCS Game at home
1 Home-and-home with G5 that's good (Marshall Normally)
1 Home-and-home with G5 that sucks (Insert directional Texas school or Idaho)

MonroeClassmate
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/11/2020 11:07:52 PM

Will Notre Dame and the other independents go undefeated this season?

ohio9704
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/12/2020 1:12:05 AM

MonroeClassmate wrote:

Will Notre Dame and the other independents go undefeated this season?

The ACC has said they will help ND fill their schedule. IF a season happens, a ND vs. Clemson game in South Bend would be a ratings winner for the ACC.

MakeEmDance
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 7/18/2020 8:07:36 AM

And/Or the SEC?!?!

https://www.uhnd.com/football/schedule/2020-07-17-rumors-... /

Home opener against Bama!?

Why not throw OSU in there too, make it a real fun season for the fans!

OUcats82
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 8/6/2020 9:35:18 AM

Looks like the Boston College game is still on, at least as far as the ACC is concerned.

https://theacc.com/news/2020/8/6/acc-unveils-2020-footbal...

Ohio-The State University

OhioBobcat
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 8/6/2020 10:15:34 AM

Buckeye to Bobcat wrote:

[QUOTE=Bobcat1996]
Also doesn't help either when we build a schedule to go win 8 games a year

1 Buy Game at P5 school that is potentially winnable
1 FCS Game at home
1 Home-and-home with G5 that's good (Marshall Normally)
1 Home-and-home with G5 that sucks (Insert directional Texas school or Idaho)

When people are surprised to see that Ohio has NEVER beaten a Top-25 team in its history, looking at the current schedule model will show you how that fact won't likely ever change until the schedule does. You can't actually beat a Top-25 team unless you actually play one. Every year I look at Phil Steele's toughest schedule for every team, and Ohio is always at or near the very bottom. Obviously playing in the MAC is automatically going to push Ohio into the bottom tier, but the schedule model above is why Ohio takes up residency in the basement of that tier on an annual basis. This schedule guarantees Ohio a winning season, which is good. But I would trade any of these yearly crappy bowl matchups that Ohio gets for a chance to face off against some good teams in the non-conference in a heartbeat.

Last Edited: 8/6/2020 10:16:44 AM by OhioBobcat

ExCat21
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 8/6/2020 11:22:51 AM

I would like the to see Top 2 teams of each conferences side play in Bubble game for Championship.

Then those champions play in a single elimination conference tournament for the NCAA title. You can even mix it up and have Power 5 champion vs G5 champion. Power and G5 can play for Ultimate Title game (if consumers are interested).

So back to my concept. After OU plays 5 conference games (my prediction 5-0) Kent, Buffalo, Akron, BG and Miami.....the top 2 play the West.

My guess would be OU and Buffalo vs Central Michigan & Ball State this year.

Preferably mix the MAC championship bubble by have East 1 play West 2 and West 1 play East 2. For this example, let's say OU plays Ball State and Buffalo plays Central Michigan. Let's say OU wins and play Central for title. OU wins it all.

After 7 games we have a champion. More emphasis on each game. Now to the really fun part.

The top two teams who make it to their championship qualify for the G5 championship. Seeded off record and conference strength, a one game elimination to win G5 championship.

The G5 champion will play the Power 5 champion for Ultimate bragging rights.

Cons: Not every school will play 8 - 10 games, home vs away games can be unfavorable, a lot of TBD games later in the season, G5 is overmatched on Power 5 championship, Power 5 viewership higher than G5 championship, etc.

Pros: Importance of each game, potential to win division, conference, G5 and Ultimate championships in one season, exposure, potential to be invited to Power 5 with continued success, leverage to pull weak Power 5 teams into G5 conferences.

What are your thoughts fellas? Details and things I've missed. I'd love to hear your perspective.

Last Edited: 8/6/2020 11:24:10 AM by ExCat21

Bobcat1996
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 8/6/2020 2:51:56 PM

OUcats82 wrote:

Looks like the Boston College game is still on, at least as far as the ACC is concerned.

https://theacc.com/news/2020/8/6/acc-unveils-2020-footbal...

Looks like the game with BC is scheduled for Sept. 9th, according to the Boston Globe.

Bobcat1996
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 8/6/2020 8:59:09 PM

"Eagles slated to begin the season by hosting Ohio on Sept. 9. The game will be held without fans as a result of COVID-19." This was from the Boston Globe, but I have noticed other reports stating the game will be on the 12th. Maybe the 9th was a typo??

Pataskala
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RE: Conference Only Games?

Posted: 8/6/2020 9:51:49 PM

The 12th is a Saturday, so it looks like that's it. I've seen several sites that list it as the 12th.

We will get by.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will survive.

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