FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[DuffMan]

Kids these days don't even know what the Metrodome was. 

[hazzben]

Kids these days don't even know what the Metrodome was. 

Back when we played football, you either played in the mud and dirt, or on the concrete turf at Augsburg and the Metrodome. You'd get 3rd degree turf burn just from getting in a 3 point stance. And the offense always got to run their plays downhill, with the wind at their back!

(Insert 57 making a comment about leather helmets and the Polio Vaccine  )

[57Johnnie]

Except for D1 mega events, I think anytime a college game is moved off campus the experience changes and not for the better.

You got that right! 

[57Johnnie]

Kids these days don't even know what the Metrodome was. 

Back when we played football, you either played in the mud and dirt, or on the concrete turf at Augsburg and the Metrodome. You'd get 3rd degree turf burn just from getting in a 3 point stance. And the offense always got to run their plays downhill, with the wind at their back!

(Insert 57 making a comment about leather helmets and the Polio Vaccine  )

I remember when kids played outside............. unsupervised..... and we could make up our own rules!

[MUC57]

Except for D1 mega events, I think anytime a college game is moved off campus the experience changes and not for the better.

You got that right! 

Kids these days don't even know what the Metrodome was. 

Back when we played football, you either played in the mud and dirt, or on the concrete turf at Augsburg and the Metrodome. You'd get 3rd degree turf burn just from getting in a 3 point stance. And the offense always got to run their plays downhill, with the wind at their back!

(Insert 57 making a comment about leather helmets and the Polio Vaccine  )

Oh, THAT "57"! 

[OldAuggie]

Kids these days don't even know what the Metrodome was. 

Back when we played football, you either played in the mud and dirt, or on the concrete turf at Augsburg and the Metrodome. You'd get 3rd degree turf burn just from getting in a 3 point stance. And the offense always got to run their plays downhill, with the wind at their back!

(Insert 57 making a comment about leather helmets and the Polio Vaccine  )

Our home field including my junior year was the old Parade Football Stadium in Minneapolis, talk about mud. We played Bemidji State in the Metrodome Classic, it was not a great college environment but a good crowd. The following year, my senior year we had turf installed at our new place on campus, it was the rock-hard turf from the Pontiac Silverdome. Turf burns all around.

[DuffMan]

Turf burns all around.

Kids today will never understand the horrors of Astroturf! 

[GoldandBlueBU]

Turf burns all around.

Kids today will never understand the horrors of Astroturf! 

Played one HS season's worth of home games on that stuff while PSS in Duluth was being updated from grass to fieldturf, and the games were hosted at UMD, which had astroturf at the time.

I don't know how people could play on that stuff regularly while having any skin exposed.

[Johns Knees]

I agree. Neutral site games generally suck and I think would have a negative effect on turnout being off campus. I think the TCO complex is really cool, but I'm not sure it's the ideal spot for a MIAC Championship game.

I concur.  Sure, it'll suck if BU and SJU win out and SJU has to travel to BU, but I'd really hate it in years in which the Northwoods hosts if SJU were to win out and then get forced to play at a neutral site.

Those of us old enough to remember the MIAC Metrodome showdowns know what an unappealing event those games were.

Yeah, those Tommie/Johnnie games at neutral sites were terrible.

The issue with those Metrodome games was less that they were neutral site and more that the Dome sucked in general as a venue.

I'm from outstate. But if you want to showcase the conference, you'll do better in the Twin Cities.

The other crossover games can go at home sites. They don't decide a playoff berth.

[OzJohnnie]

Kids these days don't even know what the Metrodome was. 

"Ah, you were lucky to have a hole!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE

[AO]

Yeah, those Tommie/Johnnie games at neutral sites were terrible.

The issue with those Metrodome games was less that they were neutral site and more that the Dome sucked in general as a venue.

I'm from outstate. But if you want to showcase the conference, you'll do better in the Twin Cities.

The other crossover games can go at home sites. They don't decide a playoff berth.

I always loved the UMAC dome day.  Attendance was usually higher than what it otherwise would have been at a late season home game in the cold.  Circumstances are different in the MIAC and I agree that the MIAC should not go to neutral sites, but I don't think there's a fair way to pick the host site since it's not basketball where you play a full double round robin.  I'd also say that it will help fans with scheduling to not have to guess whether the last game of the season is home or away.

[OzJohnnie]

Oh, THAT "57"! 

[SagatagSam]

Yeah, those Tommie/Johnnie games at neutral sites were terrible.

Cherry pick much?

Johnnie-Tommie was the greatest D3 rivalry in the country. It managed to rise to levels beyond many of our wildest expectations, levels which many D1 athletic directors would kill for. Most D1 programs scarcely get a mention on ESPN College GameDay. Yet, the GameDay guys picked the game every year from about 2015 onward.

I'm not saying I am forever opposed to neutral sites. I'm just saying let the dust settle for a while.

[AO]

Yeah, those Tommie/Johnnie games at neutral sites were terrible.

Cherry pick much?

Johnnie-Tommie was the greatest D3 rivalry in the country. It managed to rise to levels beyond many of our wildest expectations, levels which many D1 athletic directors would kill for. Most D1 programs scarcely get a mention on ESPN College GameDay. Yet, the GameDay guys picked the game every year from about 2015 onward.

I'm not saying I am forever opposed to neutral sites. I'm just saying let the dust settle for a while.

And yet, athletic directors/coaches from both teams have apparently decided to throw it all away and never play again.

[SagatagSam]

Last bit on neutral site MIAC Championship from me--

I think we could watch some objective metrics over the first 5-8 years and see how the game performs, regardless of the schools that play for the championship. I think we need to see at least 8,000 to 10,000 in attendance consistently before moving the game, and that's no easy feat for mid-November.

I'm not certain you'd get much of an attendance bump from the metro if you're hosting that game at outdoor TCO or outdoor Allianz.

And, I think we can forget U.S. Bank Stadium as a possibility because MSHSL owns the facility for the Prep Bowl during that part of November.