We are obviously the most regionally constrained or compact athletics program in the MAC, possibly in the entire country, from a major sport recruiting and scheduling perspective.
I agree Miami recruits and schedules fairly locally, but to say possibly MOST constrained seems like a hyperbole. Itâs really interesting to read that when every signing day this site has a bunch of people complaining we donât recruit from Ohio enough for football and basketball.
Regardless, Ford didnât get a MAC offer until February when we already had two guards signed. Toledo landed someone who had a very late breakout year.
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Beating pavement alone isnât the answer. In fact, you really canât actually beat pavement. I still love terror twilight after all these years. Great album.
Where I see it showing up is in our major sport scheduling. Sayler doesnât like taking hockey to Arizona and in hockey we donât play any further east these days than Buffalo. In football we havenât been west of the Rockies in almost 40 years and have never had anyone from out there to our place. Our basketball scheduling - like with our football - has a north south feel with most OOC stuff midwest centric. IMO, that keeps us pretty much a regional brand athletically, although we have a more national brand academically.
We did play Hawaii in football in Honolulu in November 2001.
and at Boise in 2012.
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Lost both. Hawaii was a good game.
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Boise is still in the Rockies. Last time we went all the way to the coast - except for the Hawaii game - was to Washington in 1984 - 39 years ago. Before that was a trip to play Pacific when Bo was at Miami. Most MAC schools have been there at least once in the past 10-15 years. To the best of my knowledge, nobody from west of Iowa has ever been to Oxford.
Besides you and other alums living out west what would the reason to go be
*Travel is longer and more costly
- I doubt PAC 12 guarantees are close to as good as SEC or Big 10
*The PAC 12 network is a joke. I would rather have the game on espn3
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The Darweshi Hunter Effect.
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Hockey just played in Mass this season and next season weâre hosting ASU, which most likely means weâre making a return trip the following season⌠I feel itâs a bit strange to complain that we havenât visited a school that just went D1 less than a decade ago. Especially when it looks like weâre doing a home/home with them start this upcoming season.
And like @D-Day said, football has gone west. Miami has less alum that far west, so the teams go there less. Each away game is pretty strategically placed to make it a fundraising trip from local alumni. Hence all the trips to Chicago. Hell, basketball has somewhat recently played outside of the country.
And I donât know that traveling north/south should be viewed as less geographically centric as east/west? Just because youâre going south, doesnât make it any fewer miles. You made a claim that we were one of the most regionally constrained teams in the the MAC and maybe country, but right now that looks like hyperbole. And I would make a guess that the next basketball schedule is going to include a decently long trip.
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Maybe Western Michigan (@Southern Cal, Wyoming, San Jose State home and home), Bowling Green (@UCLA @Oregon), Eastern Michigan (@Arizona State with a win San Diego State home and home Ssn Jose State home and home and Wyoming), Toledo (San Diego State home and home San Jose State home and home Colorado State home and home), Kent State (@Washington @Arizona State @Fresno), Buffalo (Nevada home and home); Ohio (@San Diego State), Ball State (@Wyoming), Central Michigan (San Diego State home and home Wyoming home and home San Jose State home and home, UNLV and @New Mexico State), Northern Illinois (San Diego State home and home and New Mexico State home and home plus @Arizona), have answers. This is all in the past 8 and 3 future seasons.
We seem to be the definite outlier in terms of playing anyone much beyond our own region.
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If you talking home and home with SdSu or Nevada sign me up. If you are talking a one and done at Arizona with lower payout that starts at 1030pm and isnt on tv no thank you
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Sure would love to see a proficient G5 Miami team play in the Rose Bowl. Ironically it would be against a Big 10 team.
Yeah, right. We go West - once every generation or so. In spite of the fact we have a large alumni base in Southern California, the Bay Area and even in the Pacific Northwest. We had a great turnout at Washington in â84 with alumni attending not only from Seattle, Portland and Vancouver but from Vegas and California, as well. Our alumni base in Seattle has nearly tripled since â84 - up to nearly 1,000 now.
Those exotic games become destination trips. Andy Stef and Vince from Connecticut both found their way to Seattle.
Hells Bells! We have tons of alumni in Southwest Ohio and canât fill half of Yagerâs 24k seats. Alumni from outside the area who would like to come to Oxford for a game end up having to stay in Middletown or West Chester and missing out on the college town ambiance. I usually try to hit our marquee away games instead - Michigan, Army, Ohio State, Minnesota and Notre Dame recently. Hit WKU in 2015. Stayed right near campus everywhere except West Point.
And yes, we do well when we travel to Chicago but not so well in nearby DeKalb. .
Our southern trips usually involve going all the way to UK or WKU. Twice in the last 15 years - including this year - we will have ventured down to Florida for a game. We used to hit UNC fairly regularly but havenât even been there in nearly 20 years. Weâve never played Duke, Wake Forest or NC State - none more than a couple hours further away than Buffalo, Mount Pleasant or NIU.
Our visit to Blacksburg for an upset win was all the way back in 1997. We had a home and home with Vandy about 20 years ago but have never played in Knoxville - straight down I-75.
I stand by my assertion that we are the most homebound football program in the MAC and possibly in the entire FBS.
And Iâm guessing youâre right that basketball under Steele will be trying to create wider exposure starting next season.
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Schedule a trip to play USF, the fighting Sendeks, and someone else in a tourney so I can watch it live! Iâll be there.
Kent State hoops won the Sun Bowl Classic this season, beating New Mexico State in Las Cruces and UTEP 25 miles down I-10 in El Paso.
This one makes no sense to me. I canât imagine any Kent fans made that trip, or Miami fans making a trip to Las Cruces either.
It probably makes more sense than playing football in the Bahamas Bowl on three weekâs notice. Kent probably made some money by it being an official Sun Bowl event.
I saw Miami play basketball in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Bowl Classic in I believe 1995. It was Herbâs team. The whole long weekend was a Big West vs MAC event. Toledo played Nevada in football. Miami and Ball State played Long Beach and UNLV in hoops and Western Michigan played BG in hockey.
By the way, I checked our football history and verified that we have played on the West Coast exactly four times in our 135 year history - 1968 at Pacific under Bo, 1971 at Pacific under Bill and 1984 at Washington under Tim Rose. We spilt with Pacific - losing the first one and winning the second one. We played San Jose in the â86 California Bowl and ASU in the Salad Bowl in 1949. But those werenât games on the regular season schedule.
Several MAC teams have played out there that many times in the last 15 years. And no team from west of Kansas has ever played in Oxford.
We are indeed the most regionally insulated team in the MAC.
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Billy Smith to Bellarmine.
I can see how he would fit well in their offensive system.
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