Leaderboard

We knew we weren't going to be considered from day one. The American Conference set a strategic vision a few years ago and made the decision that they will be a southern based conference. The believe that football is the driving force that matters and that demographic shifts will make the south even bigger moving forward. They look at Syracuse, BC, and other northern schools and don't see the interest in football. It was known that they would only be considering Southern schools. Temple isn't going to get any regional partner. And the reality is that App State is delivering. Look at their Wednesday night win against Coastal. They sold out the stadium and had a huge crowd on a Wednesday night. Their fans are engaged. Yes, Buffalo is a bigger media market than Boone but media markets don't matter anymore. Streaming and national broadcasts have changed the game. If it is a national broadcast then the media market size doesn't matter. It's more about general interest. And if you're not on national TV then it is about streaming viewership and App State has some very energetic and loyal fans. Rice seems like an odd ball but that serves their Southern Strategy. It gives them a presence in Houston where teams want to be able to recruit and it continues some Texas rivalries. I have said it before and I will say it again. UB should be in a conference with Temple and UMass. Those should be the peer schools we should be with. But even they don't have a good fit. It's unfortunate but if we are going to be in a conference then the MAC is our only option. The American isn't what it use to be. Travel would have killed the budget and other than a few schools there wouldn't be been a step up in games.

I hope so, because it will mean I made it to 112.

Always a good sign when the whole family is involved. Ryan’s father seems to love the culture