http://www.dispatch.com/football/foo...212-E7-00.html
This is interesting:
Quote:
|
As part of the 12 th-game legislation, the NCAA decreed that a victory over a I-AA school could count toward the seven wins a team needs to be bowl-eligible. Previously, I-AA wins could be counted only once every four seasons.
|
Twelfth game gives leverage to mid-major schools
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio State is learning that when it comes to scheduling a Mid-American Conference football team, it’s not as easy as it used to be. No more dialing 1-800-NEED-WIN.
For that reason, it’s likely the Buckeyes eventually will announce a date with Division I-AA Youngstown State. The Penguins are more willing to travel and take a beating in exchange for a few hundred thousand dollars.
College teams continue to scramble to add 12 th games to their schedules, thanks to legislation passed in April. Since then, Ohio State has announced a 12 th game with Bowling Green in 2006 and Ohio University in 2008, but open dates remain in both 2007 and 2008.
"I feel pretty good that (an OSU-YSU game) is going to happen," Youngstown State athletics director Ron Strollo said. "We’ve been in discussions. (Buckeyes officials are) obviously trying to fill in with those MAC schools. I expect to hear a phone call when they run out of those type of options."
And those options are getting scarce. MAC schools are discovering that they are sellers in a seller’s market, and they are becoming choosy about whom they play and where.
"We have great tradition — two years ago we ended up the 10 th-ranked team in the nation," Miami University athletics director Brad Bates said. "So we feel we’re a program worthy of trying to schedule as many home-and-home (series) as possible.
"We realize it’s a tiered system, and some teams aren’t going to want to sign home-and-home, but we’re trying to exhaust all those possibilities first."
In other words, Bates would rather set up a home-and-home series with a middle-of-the-road team from a power conference than schedule a series of road games at OSU, Michigan or another perennial powerhouse.
That’s why Miami has a home-and-home with Syracuse the next two seasons and no plans for another date with the Buckeyes anytime soon.
"No question, if a school like Ohio State or Michigan or Florida or someone like that gives us an opportunity to take a shot at them, strategically we need to try to play that into our schedule," Bates said. "But you have to be very calculated how you try and do that. It’s a complex issue."
The MAC is proud of its 11-5 record in bowl games since 1998. Between then and 2003, a MAC school finished in the Associated Press Top 25 poll every year.
MAC athletics directors are wary of overscheduling.
"We’re trying to get more quality opponents into our facilities," Bowling Green AD Paul Krebs said. "We recognize some Big Ten programs are not going to come into a MAC venue. Ohio State, Penn State or Michigan isn’t going to come to Bowling Green. But a number of other programs will, and that puts us on a more competitive level field."
Bowling Green signed a modified home-and-home with Wisconsin. The Falcons and Badgers will play in Cleveland Browns Stadium this fall and in Madison in 2007.
Last year, Purdue agreed to a two-for-one series with Toledo, with a game at Toledo in 2007.
Ohio State is trying to make the puzzle pieces fit, and the MAC is trying to take advantage of some newfound leverage.
Meanwhile, Youngstown State’s Strollo finds his school in demand. The Penguins played Pittsburgh last season and will travel to Penn State this year.
As part of the 12 th-game legislation, the NCAA decreed that a victory over a I-AA school could count toward the seven wins a team needs to be bowl-eligible. Previously, I-AA wins could be counted only once every four seasons.
"My phone is ringing off the hook. Teams want to pay a lot of money to play us," Strollo said. "Our hope is that when it does come to a point where (Ohio State) needs to schedule a I-AA program, they stay in state. We’ll wait (on OSU) as long as we can."
kgordon@dispatch.com
