FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[kate]

Any Albright posters on here?   Huge game next Saturday for them and DVU!

[@d3jason]

That was a long time ago, Scott 😀 Great job, didn't pay enough.

[tweisman5]

The MAC office announced the 2018 conference schedule with the addition of Alvernia the other day. With Alvernia, the conference now sits at 11 football members. Below is the link:

http://gomacsports.com/news/2017/9/29/FB_0929175338.aspx

A few interesting takeaways:

• Each conference member plays 8 conference games
• Each team has 2 non-conference games
• Teams are allowed to schedule other conference members not on the schedule as a non-conference matchup

I'm curious how long the imbalance will last until conference additions occur or some members elect to move elsewhere.

[D3MAFAN]

The MAC office announced the 2018 conference schedule with the addition of Alvernia the other day. With Alvernia, the conference now sits at 11 football members. Below is the link:

http://gomacsports.com/news/2017/9/29/FB_0929175338.aspx

A few interesting takeaways:

• Each conference member plays 8 conference games
• Each team has 2 non-conference games
• Teams are allowed to schedule other conference members not on the schedule as a non-conference matchup

I'm curious how long the imbalance will last until conference additions occur or some members elect to move elsewhere.

This is interesting. I would have loved to see a conference championship at Week 11. I can't remember which conference does or had done this in the Mid-west.

[Pat Coleman]

You need to have 12 teams in order to do this. The NEFC used to do it when it had 14 teams and the Midwest Conference is doing it this year with 12, but unless you have 12, then you have to take one of your regular 10 games to play a conference championship and I don't think many coaches would prefer to go that route.

[Warren Thompson]

Pat: have you heard of any other MAC venues possibly initiating football?

[Pat Coleman]

Pat: have you heard of any other MAC venues possibly initiating football?

I have heard Eastern has talked about raising money for a stadium.

[tweisman5]

Pat: have you heard of any other MAC venues possibly initiating football?

I have heard Eastern has talked about raising money for a stadium.

Do you believe it is more likely another MAC member adds football or a current football sponsor member leaves?

[Warren Thompson]

Pat: have you heard of any other MAC venues possibly initiating football?

I have heard Eastern has talked about raising money for a stadium.

Do you believe it is more likely another MAC member adds football or a current football sponsor member leaves?

tweisman5: have you heard rumblings about a "current football sponsor member" leaving? If so, which venue?

[Pat Coleman]

I haven't heard anything lately about any football members leaving. And I'm not sure which conference with football they would go to.

[tweisman5]

Pat: have you heard of any other MAC venues possibly initiating football?

I have heard Eastern has talked about raising money for a stadium.

Do you believe it is more likely another MAC member adds football or a current football sponsor member leaves?

tweisman5: have you heard rumblings about a "current football sponsor member" leaving? If so, which venue?

Warren Thompson:

I haven't heard anything; instead, I was pondering which was more likely to happen first. I would think it would be more likely to see conference change before another institution member sponsors football mainly due to the costs. I know it seems to only be speculation, but jmcozenlaw has posted multiple times hints at a new East region conference forming with Stevenson leaving for a more geographical fit. I can see it happening in the next 5-10 years, but I was curious to hear others thoughts about if it's more likely to see another program added to bump the conference to 12 football members or if someone will leave to return membership to 10 programs.

[tweisman5]

I want to extend a big cudos to Stevenson for the great game they played today.  The score belies the difficulty Wesley had today especially in the first half.  Stevenson is a real deal team.  They were disciplined and athletic and the Stevenson defense pretty much shut down Falkenburg and stopped some deep drives early to keep the game close  through the first half.  Several key fumbles scratched their plans, though.

If the coach keeps to his path, I see Stevenson as a true powerhouse at some point close on the horizon.  I gotta say, I was REALLY impressed with the Stevenson fans and their incredible band.  Seriously, I felt that this was a road game at a Stevenson homecoming.  I have never, ever seen that kind of show at Wesley.  Friggin' bravo!

-Ski

I'll opine more come next mid-August when the board comes back to life (and maybe some of the dearly departed rise from the dead), but I fully expect Stevenson to remain at the top of the MAC going forward. As they plan to become a school with around 10,000 students, they will be 4X/5X the size of the average MAC school. This will give them huge advantages with the onslaught of facilities that are planned and the aid packages as a result of the burgeoning tuition and ancillary fee income. At a time when several MAC schools are cutting aid packages to athletes (especially Widener and DelVal), Stevenson joins Albright and Lycoming with handing out large packages.

Stevenson also enjoys not having 6-8 schools in their backyard competing for talent. The Maryland area is a solid area for high school football, with not many D-III schools in the state, especially close to them.

Another huge advantage comes in 2018 when Alvernia starts their football program. As it has happened in basketball and a few other sports, Alvernia and Albright (minutes apart), will be competing for the same players and it should over the years have a negative impact on Albright's success. One only needs to look at King's and Wilkes in football, where you need 100+ players. These two schools are separated by a street. Literally, a street. Throw Misericordia in the mix, about 10 minutes away. I don't ever see any of these three schools having sustained success in football.

A much larger school down the road, with facilities that beget a 10,000 student university (twice the size of Duke and Villanova undergrad), large aid packages, recruiting advantages by not having a bunch of competition in your backyard (like DelVal/Widener/Rowan.........or Albright/Alvernia.........or Wilkes/King's/Misericordia), I see Stevenson clearly at the top of the pack going forward. I also see Stevenson out of the MAC (their doing) within 5-7 years when the MAC expands sports in their current institutions and Arcadia, DeSales and Messiah all add football.

My (more educated than you think or know) guess............Stevenson, Salisbury, Frostburg, Hood, McDaniel (rumors growing about leaving the Centennial down the road) team up with some combination of Wesley, a couple of Virginia schools and maybe a Central PA school to form a conference that makes much more geographical sense than where many of the schools are currently based from a conference perspective.

If it happens, just remember where you heard it

I was literally thinking about this the other day. I believe as of this moment, Stevenson is perfectly happy with the MAC conference. Main reason I say this is because the MAC aligns with there mission, which is to be a National Championship contender every year in every sport. Stevenson's athletic program covers a vast array of sports. Additionally, they are always looking to add more sports. Reason why the MAC fits is because they offer something no other conference currently can claim, the most conference championships awarded. The MAC just announced Men's and Women's Ice Hockey plus Men's Volleyball as there 27th sport. This offers Stevenson a central home conference. Until another conference can form to offer the same package, I believe Stevenson will be content.

Looking ahead, I do believe Stevenson is always open to better options that would fit their growing program and University. Ideally, I would like to see them target other geographical institutions to form a new conference. I tried to have a little fun with this and here are some institutions I identified for a hypothetical conference: Stevenson University, Salisbury University, Wesley College, Johns Hopkins University, Frostburg State University, McDaniel College, Christopher Newport University, and York College. Questionable options I like would be Washington and Lee University/Lynchburg University and Gettysburg College/Mulhenburg College. Also, Hood and St. Mary's would be another pair of good options. Now if this could happen, this would be a great lineup of institutions; however, I believe an agreement would have to be made by the ADs to commit to adding more athletic programs at certain institutions to build a stable base. Until a dream scenario like this happens, I see Stevenson remaining in the MAC.

Pat:

Is this story still developing or has it passed since it was posted:

http://www.d3sports.com/notables/2017/06/new-conference-shuffle-coming

Also, as you can see from jmcozenlaw and my own posts on this board, we can see speculation developing about a new conference forming with Stevenson, Salisbury, Frostburg St, McDaniel, Hood, John Hopkins (Hopeful would joins too), Wesley, a few Virginia schools, and maybe a PA school too. What are your thoughts?

[jmcozenlaw]

A car accident and a few broken bones kept yours truly from his week five predictions last week.....................but I do have a prediction or three for the 18 year old kid who was texting while driving and crossed the center line. Cha-Ching!!!

Week Six Predictions:

Lycosimba - 37     FDU - 20     This might be the game that brings Simba out of the witness protection program!!
King's - 40      Miserables - 33     Miser looks like they've found a QB.................King's is ticked for choking up the 24-7 lead at home last week.
Widenerbman - 47     Wilkes - 13     The misery in Wilkes Barre continues!!

Albright - 20     DelVal - 16     My preseason #1 nips my preseason #3 at home. The kicking game factors in large!

Eagles - 27     Cardinals - 17     3-1 and at the top of the NFC East.......who would have thought it missing half of the defensive starters!

[jmcozenlaw]

tweisman - Some have more of an "inside track" to information, but nobody has the market cornered. When Jason states that Wesley will be in the NJAC, it is an opinion, and they probably will be for several years to come. The NJAC, like many other conferences in the Northeast, will undergo changes over time, it's just a matter of how much change and who it affects.

I happen to know, from very firsthand accounts (feasibility studies, fundraising, etc.) that DeSales, Messiah, Arcadia, Eastern and a few other schools have looked at adding football. Most will not (will not name names here). One will. Two might. That's about it. You may very well see that 12 team MAC and a championship game, but not for several years.

This is my opinion, based on facts as I know them, and how the conference shuffle spins down the road is anybody's guess. If anybody, and I do mean anybody thinks they know......they don't.

[wesleydad]

A car accident and a few broken bones kept yours truly from his week five predictions last week.....................but I do have a prediction or three for the 18 year old kid who was texting while driving and crossed the center line. Cha-Ching!!!

Week Six Predictions:

Lycosimba - 37     FDU - 20     This might be the game that brings Simba out of the witness protection program!!
King's - 40      Miserables - 33     Miser looks like they've found a QB.................King's is ticked for choking up the 24-7 lead at home last week.
Widenerbman - 47     Wilkes - 13     The misery in Wilkes Barre continues!!

Albright - 20     DelVal - 16     My preseason #1 nips my preseason #3 at home. The kicking game factors in large!

Eagles - 27     Cardinals - 17     3-1 and at the top of the NFC East.......who would have thought it missing half of the defensive starters!

JM, I love your predictions, but I see little to no chance that Albright beats Del Val.  2 teams playing at different levels at this point.