Bobcat Corner 035: MAC: Going Northeast is the Answer

Yahoo! Sports: https://sports.yahoo.com/northern-ill...

USA Today: https://collegesportswire.usatoday.co...

Well, it finally happened... Bobcat Corner Episode 35 addresses the breaking news that Northern Illinois is set to join the Mountain West Conference as a Football-Only member, starting in 2026.

This news is not surprising to me at all, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it's another example of disappointment in conference realignment. I don't blame Northern Illinois for making this move, but as a MAC fan it still hurts.

Now if you're the MAC, what do you do? Where do you go from here? In my opinion, going northeast is the answer for the MAC. There is untapped potential in northeastern America that the MAC can capture if they just do their homework on the FCS schools in that area. Some examples to consider are: University of Albany, Long Island University, University of Rhode Island, and Villanova.

Simple question:
Why did the MAC bring back UMass?

Simple answer:
My theory is MAC officials got together behind closed doors and realized that they can do business in northeastern America, expanding into New England-area markets.