Six MAC Teams to Lose Division I-A Status?

[DKW 86 7,419]

http://www.collegefootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

Six MAC Teams to Lose Division I-A Status?

A little known requirement is threatening to make the Mid Atlantic Conference a predominantly Divison I-AA conference in 2007.

Generally, in order for a college football team to maintain D-I status, NCAA guidelines state that a school must average 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home games one time during a rolling two-year period. Failure to meet this requirement triggers a 10-year period during which time the school must meet the attendance benchmark or it will be placed in 'restricted membership.' Once in in restricted membership, the school "would have to correct the deficiency (i.e., average 15,000 fans at home during the season) the following year or else they would lose their status as a (Division I-A) institution," said NCAA mouthpiece Erik Christianson.

The MAC teams in trouble (with their 2005 record and their average home game attendance) are:

Bowling Green (6-5), 14,929

Ball State (4-7), 12,953

Akron (7-6), 10,893

Buffalo (1-10), 8,914

Kent State (1-10), 6,658

Eastern Michigan (4-7), 5,219

It should be noted that Temple, which is to join the MAC for the 2007 season, is also in attendance trouble (averaging 12,735 at home in 2005).

Various press releases by the above schools spit out the same crap as to how they will increase ticket sales: we are hiring more marketing people, the games will be more fan friendly, nude girls will dance, blah blah blah.

Our take: the above teams suck anyway ... drop them down to NAIA.

[AUesquire 1]

There's going to be a lot of teams in that same boat if the NCAA gets tough on it. I'm not real sure Troy could meet the requirements if push came to shove. They couldn't even fill up a 30K seat stadium for the biggest game in Troy history with Mizzou coming to town, touting a Heisman hopeful in Brad Smith, ESPN on campus and a whole off season to promote it. Still 2 or 3 thousand empties.

[Lurking Tiger 62]

http://www.collegefootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

Six MAC Teams to Lose Division I-A Status?

Bowling Green (6-5), 14,929

Ball State (4-7), 12,953

Akron (7-6), 10,893

Buffalo (1-10), 8,914

Kent State (1-10), 6,658

Eastern Michigan (4-7), 5,219

It should be noted that Temple, which is to join the MAC for the 2007 season, is also in attendance trouble (averaging 12,735 at home in 2005).

Various press releases by the above schools spit out the same crap as to how they will increase ticket sales: we are hiring more marketing people, the games will be more fan friendly, nude girls will dance, blah blah blah.

If Bowling Green hires 71 folks in some combination of Marketing People/Nude Girls and makes them go to the game, they will be fine.

E. Michigan is screwed. There aren't that many nude dancing girls in the whole state.

[quietfan 233]

...well, at least Buffalo still counts as 1-A this season on our schedule.

In the long run, I wouldn't object to a thinning of the 1-A ranks from the current 117. Get it down to 96 and you could have eight 12-team conferences and perhaps the makings for an 8-team playoff system.

Besides Troy, where does UAB fall in the "15,000 average" catagory?

[ncaajunkie 172]

$1 dollar tickets