Miami (ohio) could be looking for a new home

[BULLfreak]

Six MAC Teams to Lose Division I-A Status?

A little known requirement is threatening to make the Mid American Conference a predominantly Divison I-AA conference in 2007.

Generally, in order for a college football team to maintain D-I status, NCAA guidelines state that a school must average 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home games one time during a rolling two-year period. Failure to meet this requirement triggers a 10-year period during which time the school must meet the attendance benchmark or it will be placed in 'restricted membership.' Once in restricted membership, the school "would have to correct the deficiency (i.e., average 15,000 fans at home during the season) the following year or else they would lose their status as a (Division I-A)  institution," said NCAA mouthpiece Erik Christianson.

The MAC teams in trouble (with their 2005 record and their average home game attendance) are:

Bowling Green (6-5), 14,929

Ball State (4-7), 12,953

Akron (7-6), 10,893

Buffalo (1-10), 8,914

Kent State (1-10), 6,658

Eastern Michigan (4-7), 5,219

It should be noted that Temple, which is to join the MAC for the 2007 season, is also in attendance trouble (averaging 12,735 at home in 2005).

Various press releases by the above schools spit out the same crap as to how they will increase ticket sales: we are hiring more marketing people, the games will be more fan friendly, nude girls will dance, blah blah blah.

Our take: the above teams suck anyway ... drop them down to NAIA.

http://www.collegefootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

What do you you all think about Miami (ohio) in the Big East

[Joe]

Miami (Oh)...Oxford that is...is one of the most fun college towns you will ever go to.

It could work, the fan base is there it's just the fact that the town is literally in teh middle of nowhere taking 2 lane highways in.

[E.T.]

I think it's good that 1A football will be smaller.

[lotsofbull99]

And to think, there where certain people a few years ago that believed the MAC was superior to CUSA. ;D

[lotsofbull99]

However, now those same people claim CUSA is superior to the Big East.  lol amazing

[Joe]

Bowling Green and Ball State will not lose tehir status. Bowling Green has a rumored 40,000 tickets sold for their game with Wisconsin in Cleveland, which is a home game for them.

Ball State has Indiana playing at them this year and has sold out that game with a concert featuring Cheap Trick and 38 Special afterwards...Further they have Gretchen Wilson, John Stone, and Bo Diddley coming in and playing after another game.  

[Mtneer001]

IMHO, I don't believe this will come to fruitition.  At the next NCAA conference, it is going to be recommended that Div-1AA and Div-1A football schools be merged.

I don't see enough votes coming up at the NCAA to stop it.

[Joe]

They will not merge...mark my words on that.

[BULLfreak]

That would make over 313 teams in D-I

Current I-AA teams 194

Current I-A teams 119

[BULLfreak]

This is college football not basketball