http://www.toledoblade.com/College/2003/10/28/Marshall-leaving-MAC-for-money.html
The shuffling of Division I-A college football conferences, which began June 30 when Miami announced it would join the Atlantic Coast Conference, finally touched the Mid-American Conference last Friday.
On that day Marshall's board of governors voted unanimously to sign a membership agreement with Conference USA, and the Thundering Herd is expected to join its new league once other conference realignment issues around the country are resolved.
Marshall football coach Bob Pruett said the move was based on money more than anything else.
“This was a financial move - it's not a competitive move, as the MAC has proved this season,” he said. “Basically this comes down to dollars and cents. We have to find a way to generate more money, and [the board] thought this was the best way to do that.”
Much of the revenue would come from Conference USA's eight-year, $80 million television deal with ESPN. Marshall expects to receive $500,000 in TV revenue from its new league, compared to the $37,500 the school expects to receive in MAC television money this year.
But there will be increased costs as well. First Marshall will pay a $1 million entry fee to join Conference USA in 2005 and a $400,000 exit fee to leave the MAC, with both payments coming from private funds.
Travel expenses for the Herd also are expected to increase. Outside of the 684-mile trip to Orlando, Fla., to play Central Florida, the most distant MAC school to Huntington, W.Va., is Northern Illinois, which is roughly 400 miles away in DeKalb, Ill.
With nearby schools such as Cincinnati and Louisville expected to bolt Conference USA, the closest school in Marshall's new league is East Carolina, which is 340 miles away in Greenville, N.C. No other school is closer than 400 miles away, and schools such as Houston, Rice, SMU and Texas Christian are roughly 900 miles away.
Another factor that makes Conference USA attractive is its five bowl affiliations: the New Orleans, the GMAC, the Fort Worth, the Hawaii and Liberty bowls. But those connections might be tenuous since the league has only one school, TCU, receiving votes in the national polls. The MAC has three in the Top 25 - Bowling Green and Northern Illinois, while Miami also received votes.
While Marshall has determined its new direction, Central Florida ponders its fate. The football-only MAC member received a bid to join the league in all sports, but UCF is hoping for a bid to join the Big East, which is expected to announce its plans to replace Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College next Tuesday.
This week the Knights face Big East member West Virginia(a 36-18 WVU win), and coach Mike Kruczek said the game could serve as an audition for the new league.
“This is another opportunity to show people where we're at,” he said. “We can show the Big East that we're a competitive program that needs to be looked at.”
The shuffling of Division I-A college football conferences, which began June 30 when Miami announced it would join the Atlantic Coast Conference, finally touched the Mid-American Conference last Friday.
On that day Marshall's board of governors voted unanimously to sign a membership agreement with Conference USA, and the Thundering Herd is expected to join its new league once other conference realignment issues around the country are resolved.
Marshall football coach Bob Pruett said the move was based on money more than anything else.
“This was a financial move - it's not a competitive move, as the MAC has proved this season,” he said. “Basically this comes down to dollars and cents. We have to find a way to generate more money, and [the board] thought this was the best way to do that.”
Much of the revenue would come from Conference USA's eight-year, $80 million television deal with ESPN. Marshall expects to receive $500,000 in TV revenue from its new league, compared to the $37,500 the school expects to receive in MAC television money this year.
But there will be increased costs as well. First Marshall will pay a $1 million entry fee to join Conference USA in 2005 and a $400,000 exit fee to leave the MAC, with both payments coming from private funds.
Travel expenses for the Herd also are expected to increase. Outside of the 684-mile trip to Orlando, Fla., to play Central Florida, the most distant MAC school to Huntington, W.Va., is Northern Illinois, which is roughly 400 miles away in DeKalb, Ill.
With nearby schools such as Cincinnati and Louisville expected to bolt Conference USA, the closest school in Marshall's new league is East Carolina, which is 340 miles away in Greenville, N.C. No other school is closer than 400 miles away, and schools such as Houston, Rice, SMU and Texas Christian are roughly 900 miles away.
Another factor that makes Conference USA attractive is its five bowl affiliations: the New Orleans, the GMAC, the Fort Worth, the Hawaii and Liberty bowls. But those connections might be tenuous since the league has only one school, TCU, receiving votes in the national polls. The MAC has three in the Top 25 - Bowling Green and Northern Illinois, while Miami also received votes.
While Marshall has determined its new direction, Central Florida ponders its fate. The football-only MAC member received a bid to join the league in all sports, but UCF is hoping for a bid to join the Big East, which is expected to announce its plans to replace Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College next Tuesday.
This week the Knights face Big East member West Virginia(a 36-18 WVU win), and coach Mike Kruczek said the game could serve as an audition for the new league.
“This is another opportunity to show people where we're at,” he said. “We can show the Big East that we're a competitive program that needs to be looked at.”
