The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

If we don't win the conference this year, something is wrong. Look at these results today.

Detroit over CMU 75-49. (An a$$ whipping at home to Detroit?)
St. Bonny over OU in 4 OT (How were they predicted to win the MAC?)
Wright State smokes Miami 66-51
Akron has to go to OT to beat Bethune-Cookman? (Game was at the JAR)
Milwaukee beats BG
WMU squeaks by South Dakota State at home 77-74

I honestly don't know how or why the MAC has fallen so far, but the conference is absolutely pitiful this year. By the time we are done with the conference schedule, we have no chance of having a good RPI because all of these teams are a joke.

If KSU continues to recruit well and these other programs stay the same or get worse it maybe time to look at moving to another conference in the next 5-10 years.

All of those games are unimpressive, can't argue that. But when conference games come down to taking care of the ball and making free throws, Kent could come back to the pack really quick. I hope that over the next three games the Flashes motto is doing the little things, because this could be the Flashes conference to take!

There is no doubt that the MAC continues to slide down the ladder regarding quality of conference teams. The Horizon League has blown by the MAC.

The men are down to 20th out of 31 conferences. The Horizon is number 7 being buoyed by Cleveland State. Twenty is aboiut as bad as it gets for the MAC although if it doesn't get better the last 2 weeks of the non- conference schedule we might set a record in the wrong direction.

The Horizon has no dead weight at the moment (no teams below #250 in the RPI), while the MAC has 5 teams. I figured that Toledo, EMU and NIU would stink, but I am surprised that BGSU and CMU are that bad too. That helps a lot.

Horizon has Cleveland State and Butler, which means they probably have two legit top 50 teams. The MAC has no legit top 50 teams.

The bottom of the MAC is getting larger and suckier. The top of the MAC (Kent and Akron) have been consistantly second 50, and Miami and Ohio have been pretty good, but never really stepped up consistantly. It's the bottom of the MAC that is killing the MAC conference overall. Teams like Toledo, NIU and EMU need fixing.

Shopping for a new conference would require either getitng football together or giving up on football.

(12-19-2010 01:17 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  I honestly don't know how or why the MAC has fallen so far, but the conference is absolutely pitiful this year.

Money.

Not money, COACHING

And how do you get good coaching?

Hire well. I don't know. Why is Kent 4 for their last 4 and so many other can't get out of first gear?

Why has Kent been so bad on football coaches and others can peg it?

It's not just cashy-money.

I agree bopol the hiring process is key. Sometimes you can get lucky (or unlucky) but if you have a good process you will come out with a good choice much more often than not.

The real success of programs is based the knowledge of and may I say, the luck, of the athletic director. I do not blame a coach for being bad. I blame the athletic director for not selecting the right coach. I do believe that a good AD can make a bad hire, but more often than not, his knowledge and process will give good results. And, if and when that coach selection goes down, a good AD will know when and how to cut the damage. Being a good AD is tough. You have to not just hire good people, but good people who can win. There is no good AD alive, with a knowledge of the sport, who would have stayed with our FB coach for 7 years, based upon what was happening on the field. We had half the formula, good people. Lack of discipline, uncalled for penalties, no game plan, predictable offense; etc, all are visible to a knowledgeable fan. If you do your job, a change is made sooner, not latter.

When I look around the MAC BB programs, I wonder who the heck does the hiring, the AD's secretary. The Ball State hire, IMO, was a good one and I said so when it happened. Outside of that, we have the best 3 Head Coaches in the conference on our staff, right now. What is CMU doing? Just watch the play. What is EMU doing? Watch the play. What is BG doing? Love CC at MiaOh, but that trick is yesterday. The Toledo guy may be OK, not a bad hire. NIU, how long do you need to look? Go on and on. This is not nuclear physics. It is with the Athletic Directors, Peter Principle in spades.

Just to add to this thread, CMU beat CORNERSTONE tonight 63-60. Really, CORNERSTONE???

(12-22-2010 09:29 PM)dannyb73 Wrote:  Just to add to this thread, CMU beat CORNERSTONE tonight 63-60. Really, CORNERSTONE???

Probably the "Cornerstone" of their season.

But seriously, it beats a loss for the RPI

NAIA teams do not count into D1 NCAA team's RPI.

FWIW, they got beat by Calvin which is a decent but not great D3 team.

Oof.

Cornerstone ????
Sounds like a daycare center !

(12-22-2010 05:39 PM)GFlash68 Wrote:  When I look around the MAC BB programs, I wonder who the heck does the hiring, the AD's secretary. The Ball State hire, IMO, was a good one and I said so when it happened. Outside of that, we have the best 3 Head Coaches in the conference on our staff, right now. What is CMU doing? Just watch the play. What is EMU doing? Watch the play. What is BG doing? Love CC at MiaOh, but that trick is yesterday. The Toledo guy may be OK, not a bad hire. NIU, how long do you need to look? Go on and on. This is not nuclear physics. It is with the Athletic Directors, Peter Principle in spades.

I almost wonder what is really in place in the coaching hiring process. How does one really know what they have in the hot seat? Is Kennedy that much of a genuis or was he lucky in hiring the last decade of b-ball coaches? I mean, LK hired the coaches before Waters too.

Kennedy probably did have a little luck with Waters (who in turn had some luck with Huffman, Mitchell, Edwards etc). I doubt anybody anticipated what was going to happen. After that he took safe choices by hiring known assistants. That usually avoids disaster but it rarely takes a program to the next level. Things usually beging to slide down hill slowly as people get too set in there ways. Sooner or later you have to take a chance and hire an outsider even if there is more risk.

I don't know why everybody is so down on the MAC. Ball St. destroyed Mt. St. Joseph and Toledo did the same to Indiana Northwest. We're making a comeback!!!!

And don't forget, CMU took down Cornerstone!