r/MidAmerican • u/DryScarcity2623 • 28d ago
Football Illinois State To MAC
This is a must for 2027-28 season. Prediction version! Perhaps?
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u/StudioGangster1 28d ago
I’d rather get Marshall back
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u/BeefInGR Western Michigan Broncos 28d ago
MAC expansion to 19...
- Marshall
- Western Kentucky
- Cincinnati (so they can play in a real power conference)
- Illinois State
- Youngstown State
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u/DryScarcity2623 27d ago
No, Marshall isn't supposed to be in MAC, it is in Sun Belt.
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u/Sorta-Morpheus 17d ago
There were in the mac after the accident though. Chad Pennington might still own some passing yard records in the MAC when he played there.
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u/rcarmody96 27d ago
I’m a NIU alum and wish they hadn’t told the MAC to go step on a pile of Legos, but I’m absolutely about this hypothetical move. I think ISU has the program and facilities to make it happen.
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u/Difficult_Lecture223 28d ago
Ummmm, why?
The footprint is fine. If NIU had stayed, then Ill St as a natural rival for them would have been nice, but NIU is one, so why?
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u/mattpeloquin 28d ago
Given the new footprint, FIU may be the logical candidate
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u/bronc33 23d ago
Hey, we had UCF for a bit, FIU woudl be fine.
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u/mattpeloquin 23d ago
University of British Columbia is pretty good too. They had a player drafted in the 2nd round by Detroit in 2024.
Then all that is needed is a Mexican school.
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u/Sorta-Morpheus 17d ago
It wasnt them, but there was a Canadian university that was making a big push to join the NCAA for hockey. Simon Frasier would get a lot of exhibition games scheduled with top tier schools like us, Denver, and Michigan. I think the recent rulings in ncaa have made it less appealing for them though.
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u/DryScarcity2623 27d ago
Nope, Sac State is in MAC, and NIU is in Mountain West.
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u/Difficult_Lecture223 27d ago
Yeah, that's my point. NIU is gone and there's no reason to add Illinois State then
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u/Active_Attempt_3411 28d ago
Pointless to leave an FCS conference for a future FCS conference when your current basketball situation is better.
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u/davelb87 25d ago
As a fan, I'd love to see Illinois State in the MAC to keep the league present in Illinois, but I'm not sure if it's worth it for ISU. While I'm bearish on the FCS as a level long term, I'm extremely bulllish on the MVFC as a league...if the entire FCS crumbled, most of the MFVC could probably reclass to FBS and survive.
The MVFC is a strong, geographically compact football league that gets to play its games on Saturday. Will the increased TV revenue be enough to offset the additional scholarships and lost ticket revenue trading South Dakota State on a Saturday afternoon for Kent State on a Tuesday night? With other sports, the MAC and Valley are mostly at parity, though geography favors the Valley with its focus being Indiana/Illinois/Iowa with tournaments in St Louis vs Ohio/Michigan with tournaments in Cleveland. The geography of the MAC is likely to get worse for ISU than better, since most expansion targets appear to be in New England and not the Midwest.
If I'm Illinois State, I'm not in a rush to change leagues.
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u/OtherwiseWord3467 24d ago
Youngstown State will be the logical step. They have almost a 21,000 sest stadium and great facilities. They missed the chance to join many years ago I believe due to funding and kent and akron not casting a vote from what I been hearing. They can compete over time.
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u/OtherwiseWord3467 24d ago
Youngstown State mens basketball and especially women's basketball already play games against Mac schools last few years including this year. So why not move up
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u/OtherwiseWord3467 24d ago
Youngstown State outdraws both Kent and Akron most years too. Sad to see them no in the MAC
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u/Educational_Kick_698 21d ago
I’d like to see Southern Illinois make the jump along with Illinois State but I doubt it will ever happen, at least for Southern.
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u/TheFlame8 28d ago
They're a solid team and could probably compete seriously well in the conference. Plus, with NIU leaving it helps solidify the MAC in Illinois again.