MAC To All Wednesday?

[Mustangs35SMU]

The lure of national television exposure is likely to sack Saturday-afternoon football at Waldo Stadium in November.

The Mid-American Conference is close to giving the OK to move the league's entire November schedule to Wednesday nights this fall, Western Michigan University Athletics Director Kathy Beauregard said Wednesday.

The league has scheduled occasional midweek contests for years to have its games broadcast by ESPN and ESPN2, but moving all conference games to Wednesdays would be a first for a mid-level conference such as the MAC.

Beauregard said ESPN favors the MAC moving all November games to Wednesdays so the network can broadcast games that have the greatest impact on the races for the East and West division titles. The league would gain no additional revenue for making the change, which Beauregard said would be done as a one-year trial.

If league athletics directors give their approval, which Beauregard expects at a meeting early next week, negotiations with ESPN to televise at least one MAC game each Wednesday night in November would move forward.

http://www.mlive.com/broncos/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1137687733296280.xml&coll=7

[MFFL02]

Conference USA should really consider doing something like this, so not only SMU, but the other CUSA teams get more national exposure.

[Captain E J Smith]

Conference USA should really consider doing something like this, so not only SMU, but the other CUSA teams get more national exposure.

Games on a Wednesday nights in November that will really boost attendance!

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Actually, on-campus games on a weeknight would be virtually guaranteed to fill Ford Stadium.

When the kids know they will be on national television, they will turn out en masse.

They may be drunk, but they will be loud and full of spirit!

I hope C-USA does this. I know I watch a lot more Tuesday and Wednesday night games than Saturday afternoon games.

The students are too busy partying and hanging out on the weekends because Dallas weather is so nice, etc.

A football game during the week is a perfect study diversion. I guarantee there will not be a ticket to be had when we have a Wednesday home game.

GO PONIES!

[abezontar]

um.....I kinda doubt it, we have bball games on campus during the week, and guess what.....the students don't come, why would a football game be any different?

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Football is 100 times more popular than basketball.

Plus, the basketball games aren't on TV!

Televised Wed/Tue night games will be filled to the brim!!!!!!!!

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Plus, just imagine.

It's mid-October. SMU is 6-0 and ranked 17 and we have an ESPN game on a Wednesday night. The seasons are turning and it is a nice crisp Dallas evening.

I guaraneffintee you Ford is overflowing!

IT WILL HAPPEN. GO PONIES!

[abezontar]

I've been to a lot of nationally televised SMU games that weren't well attended. I remember a thursday night football game against Fresno State on national tv that was filmed in front of an empty stadium.....we won too, I just don't think it would be a good idea to move all of the November games to Wed....I think our 'fan support' is going to be just as lackluster as it always has been without a consistently winning team and huge marketing push into the city of Dallas. The novelty might work for a game that first year, but no one will care after that.

Come to think of it, the entire time that I have been at SMU, the only games that were sold out or close to sold out with SMU fans were bball games, and that was during the Sasser/Davis years, when we had some good teams to play against (Fresno, UNLV) and a shot at winning the game.

What happens if we are 0-6? I hate to be a pessimist but given our recent history that is far more likely, and with our upcoming schedules that ranking is nothing more than a crack induced delusion.

[Ponymon]

This might be great for students, but for interested working alumni its not so great. Once you get out of school and actually have to start work (I wake up at 5:30 am and am at work at 7:00 am) you get a little tired when 8:00 pm comes around especially after enduring this schedule for over 30 years! Getting my other working friends to show up for a weekday game will be near impossible. Plus there is also the fact that I travel and might miss several of these games. If I miss too many I would have to reconsider my annual season ticket purchase of 6 tickets. My vote is for a majority of the games to remain on Saturday with an OCCASIONAL TV televised game during a weekday.

[abezontar]

Another factor is that when I see (and I doubt I am the only one with this perception) college teams playing on weekdays I automatically think it is just some crummy teams from some no-name conferences. Do we really need to be futhuring the perception of being in a weaker conference by moving our games to weekdays just because the 'big boys' won't let us play on 'their' day?

[KickedintheDingDing]

Actually, on-campus games on a weeknight would be virtually guaranteed to fill Ford Stadium.

When the kids know they will be on national television, they will turn out en masse.

They may be drunk, but they will be loud and full of spirit!

I hope C-USA does this. I know I watch a lot more Tuesday and Wednesday night games than Saturday afternoon games.

The students are too busy partying and hanging out on the weekends because Dallas weather is so nice, etc.

A football game during the week is a perfect study diversion. I guarantee there will not be a ticket to be had when we have a Wednesday home game.

GO PONIES!

Yeah, like those few THURSDAY night games REALLY had the turn out up...oh, and as an example...let's check out TCU's attendance during any of the goofy night games...

I don't think so. Homey don't play that.

[PK]

And don't forget the fans of the opposing team that help fill Ford up...they aren't going to travel all the way to Dallas for a week night game. If, and that is a big IF, all the under graduate students really did show up for a week night game, you are only talking about between 5 and 6 thousand seats...who is going to fill the other 26,000 seats? Lastly, what part of the 'Vard do you not like that you are willing to give that up. This is in no way a good idea.

[Lamont_Cranston]

Wednesday night is also a 'church night' for some alumni, not just the Baptists. Parents are involved in their kids' activities, too.

Deep six this idea...NOW!

[mrydel]

And don't forget the fans of the opposing team that help fill Ford up...they aren't going to travel all the way to Dallas for a week night game. If, and that is a big IF, all the under graduate students really did show up for a week night game, you are only talking about between 5 and 6 thousand seats...who is going to fill the other 26,000 seats? Lastly, what part of the 'Vard do you not like that you are willing to give that up. This is in no way a good idea.

This is a quote to read. We depend on the other teams right now to "up" our attendance. If all the students show up, we will have attendance equivalent to the ECU game. Now that is something to be proud of. Also, remember that attending the games, just like buying merchandise from the Locker Room is a 500 mile (or more) round trip for some of us.

[EastStang]

Let's turn that one around. How many weeknight roadtrips could you make in a season. Part of the reason for joining CUSA was so that our fans could more easily travel to away games in a more geographically desireable conference. You might road trip to New Orleans for a Saturday game, but for a Wednesday night game? Or how about to Southern Miss, Tulsa or even Houston for that matter? And for us eastcoasters. I will definitely drive down to East Carolina for the game this fall, but if it was on a Wednesday, that would mean essentially missing two days of work.