You have selected an odd hill to die on, but so be it.
I personally do not care where WVU ends up, I am simply letting you know that there is literally a 0% chance they end up in the AAC.
It only makes sense to have multiple back-up plans for realignment
- Thread starter Herd Insider
- Start date
I personally do not care where WVU ends up, I am simply letting you know that there is literally a 0% chance they end up in the AAC.
First and foremost, TV in the sense that being in the MAC would get us on ESPN. Granted, many of those games would be on Wednesdays and Thursday nights, but that exposure is exponentially better than being streamed on Facebook. Today's college football is about TV and the money surrounding it. Now, we may get 22k on a Saturday game, but that game is only streamed on Facebook where it is not watched by anyone outside the 22k at the game and maybe a few thousand friends and family members who are willing to stream the game on social media.
The MAC would get us on actual TV, and we would literally have a couple hundred fans watching the HERD at bars and sportsbooks across the country. While a W/T night game may drop attendance from around 20/25 k to 15/20k, the mass exposure of being on TV makes up for that.
Now, lookin at the $ from that drop in gate, look at the media contracts for the MAC against USA. C-USA does get compensated for allowing their games to be streamed on social media, but it is nothing compared to what schools get paid for playing on actual TV (i.e. look at the MAC/ESPN deal).
In regards to competition level, the MAC is superior to USA, but it is not leaps and bounds better, and I think Marshall could jump back into the MAC and compete regularly (at least they should be able to do so).
I meant "we would literally have a couple hundred [thousand] fans watching the HERD at bars and sportsbooks across the country."
I am not sure if the MAC would welcome us back, but I do think we have enough to bring to the table to make them at least think. Maybe we could work out a large buy-out package if we were to leave again. MAC seems like the best realistic option, but we should at least explore the AAC.
I am not sure if the MAC would welcome us back, but I do think we have enough to bring to the table to make them at least think. Maybe we could work out a large buy-out package if we were to leave again. MAC seems like the best realistic option, but we should at least explore the AAC.
Until the TV deal expires after 26. And the MAC is on the internet, ESPN+, many dozens of times every year. ESPN has the "maction" set up for 4 or 5 games, puts one on ESPN, sells one to CBSSN, and shows the rest on ESPN+ internet, depending on records.
The TV ratings for "maction" are hardly indicative of hundreds of thousands. Tens, maybe.
And the live gate for weeknight "maction" is, literally a few dozen people.
According to sportsmediawatch.com from 10 months ago-
Wednesday’s Ohio-Central Michigan college football game averaged 711,000 viewers on ESPN — In the same telecast window, Buffalo-Northern Illinois averaged 199,000 on ESPN2.
While not huge numbers for the MAC, I would imagine the social media feeds for the Marshall games now average a few thousand viewers (mainly family, friends, and a few die hards).
Obviously, the compensation is going to be vastly different for getting a few hundred thousand fans watching on ESPN to a few hundred or a few thousand watching on Facebook or Twitter
Wednesday’s Ohio-Central Michigan college football game averaged 711,000 viewers on ESPN — In the same telecast window, Buffalo-Northern Illinois averaged 199,000 on ESPN2.
While not huge numbers for the MAC, I would imagine the social media feeds for the Marshall games now average a few thousand viewers (mainly family, friends, and a few die hards).
Obviously, the compensation is going to be vastly different for getting a few hundred thousand fans watching on ESPN to a few hundred or a few thousand watching on Facebook or Twitter
Just out of curiosity, do you think we could not jump back up to the MAC, or do you not want to jump back?
I think the biggest problem with a lot of Marshall fans is not striving for better, I personally think that we could compete in the MAC, and I know that the tv audiences and money would be a big bump for our program.
I think the biggest problem with a lot of Marshall fans is not striving for better, I personally think that we could compete in the MAC, and I know that the tv audiences and money would be a big bump for our program.
I hate to plagiarize MUther but, he had the best response on a different forum. When it comes to the MAC.
Other good responses:
"Ahhhh, visions of virtually empty football stadiums in mid to late November Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at venues like at the directional Michigans, Muncie, Indiana, Kent, OH, somewhere along Lake Erie in Buffalo with icicles hanging from the goal posts. Yea, that's the stuff that will definitely fire up the Fan base and no doubt rev up business BIG TIME at ticket offices, travel agencies, etc."
How many would really drive to see a game on a Tues or Wed in Late Oct - Dec weather? My guess probably not many.
Again. Some of you guys act like they play every game on a weeknight. That’s not the case at all. We play a couple a games a year already on a Friday or Thursday in some seasons.
I don’t like the weeknight games much either but 1 or 2 a year isn’t gonna kill us.
Our attendance most November games isn’t all that great anyway. Might as well play on ESPN and get a few more viewers than the 400 that watch us on Facebook.
What? You add to the fan base every year with a new Freshman class. Look just because you don't see them at the stadium. That does not mean they are not a supporter. Look at the demographics of the University. A good portion of the SB is transit and out-of-state students.
Playing on Thurs and Fri is one thing. Tues and Wed. are another. Especially when people are burned out after MNF. They need a couple of days off from Football. Are you going to be back on CUSABBS as SVherd and choosing against us this year?
Student attendance has sucked for years. I wouldn’t bank on those kids doing anything more than getting their degree and getting out of dodge. A few may support the school and AD in the future but that’s about it.
The emotional attachment to a school doesn’t exist for many these days. Just a different time.
Yep. One of the most overused ideas in all of college sports. We say it, the Spamies say it, EVERYBODY in a spread out conference says is. I bet that Shepherd's fans, providing they have any, were saying it when they abandoned the Mountain East for the DC suburbs conference they are in now.
Going to an away game is for parents and girlfriends, and 0.00001% niche superfans.
I would wager that in an average year, both football and basketball the majority of Marshall fans you see in that obligatory one shot of the visiting stand that every network does are people who live somewhere nearby, having escaped WV's rotten economy.
Maybe because with the loss of just 2 members, its value dropped by 50%?
Certainly the value dropped, no question; but there are still good programs there. With wise additions (if they go that route), they'll be fine and weather this storm. The fact some think the AAC will raid the B12 is comical.
Ok tell us what they offer power conferences and why they are so much better than UC, UCF, Houston or Memphis? They aren’t
Apparently, Sammie hasn't been to many away Marshall football games. We do travel fairly well if the game is a reasonable distance. Case in point. Check out the green this weekend at Navy. More than girlfriends and parents I'm guessing.
It's possible the tables turned in this, since the AAC schools have looked at their status and revenue, while way behind the Big12, may not be as bad now.
Also, considering the level of travel, they may see it's not worth the cost.
Texas and OU leaving showed, pretty clean and clear, not every program is as big a money generator as seen. They also showed merely by being associated with Texas and OU, they made more money...on their own? Not so much since nobody is rushing to be a part of them and why they can't seem to find anyone.
Yet the B12 will still exist with WVU a part of that league.
The B12 is going into expansion talks and have formed a task force. It's still the B12 and still perceived to be better than the AAC now. Agree, travel expenses are gonna get higher and that hurts the lower tier AAC schools badly, especially those who aren't subsidized heavily. Be interesting to see what happens. All I know is, unless 3-4 schools are poached from the AAC, we aren't gonna get a sniff. Might as well sit back and enjoy CDOA.
And, without Texas and Oklahoma, that league, whether they call it the “Big 12”, or the “ACC 2.0” or “A bunch of guy hanging around the Wal-Mart” is a MID-MAJOR LEAGUE. As predicted.
However, understand what the Big 12 2.0 was all about. The Big 2 killed the Big 12 1.0 with their unequal revenue model. The teams with a choice left. Leaving teams with no choice, and the Big 2 came up with a new model. Create a “Little 8” consisting of the six teams from the Big 12 1.0 and two former mid-majors, WVU and TCU. Dominate a box of cupcakes and settle it among one another.
Didn’t work, so the Big 2 are blowing up Big 12 2.0 and resuming legitimate completion by joining the SEC.
So now we have an attempt to create a Big 12 3.0. Now we must ask two questions.
Since it is established that the TV value of the current AAC and the leftovers are within 90K viewers of one another, and thus, when the TV deals are redone, are going to be about the same, teams would pay exit fees, put themselves in transition limbo, mess with all their other sports, etc. because?
And, WVU’s purpose in joining B12 2.0 was that the SEC and ACC rejected it, and it wanted to avoid the being in the AAC, it took the Texas and Oklahoma $$ to play eternal homecoming opponent to the Big 2; but now with the Texas and Oklahoma $$ (90% of the value of Big 12 2.0) WVU would really want to be half a continent away from the other teams in its league because?
In any event, WVU moving back down to a mid-major level is great for MU marketing.
