CLEVELAND — By now you’ve seen the plays — players have been introduced to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” Twisted Sisters “I Wanna Rock,” and AC/DC’s “Back in Black” with a smoke machine in the background — from the Mid-American’s 2022 football opener Conference.
The event, which was previously held at Ford Field in Detroit, home of the MAC soccer championship, was held Tuesday at the House of Blues in Cleveland.
Each of the 12 member schools was represented by their coach and two players. Ball State representatives included senior linebacker Clayton Call, senior wide receiver Jayshon Jackson and head coach Mike Neu.
Shortly after the release of the preseason media poll, MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher made an opening statement addressing the securing of a $1.8 million grant for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District over five years , Ford Field’s three-year contract extension to host the MAC Championship, conference realignment and more. Also in attendance was Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoffs.
Here are three takeaways from the event:
Ball State isn’t worried about being picked last in the media poll
Before being asked about BSU’s pick in the preseason media poll, Mike Neu said being picked last “wasn’t a bad place to be the last two preseason polls”.
Neu, who is now entering his seventh season at the helm, is not wrong. Just look at the West Division for the past three seasons: in 2021, Northern Illinois was picked last and won the title. In 2020, Ball State was picked last and won the title. In 2019, Central Michigan was picked last and won the West Division while losing the championship by five points.
Ball State, a year after being picked first in the preseason media poll, was predicted to finish bottom in the league after losing 24 letter winners and 13 starters from a 6-7 team last season .
“Honestly, I’d rather be there,” Neu said. “I’d rather be taken there because that automatically puts a chip on everyone in the building without talking about it. I’d rather be there because it annoys you a bit. It annoys you and it challenges you to say, “Oh yeah, you don’t believe in us? Let me show you.’”
Neither Clayton Coll nor Jayshon Jackson had much to say about Ball State’s preseason pick, though Jackson said it was “fuel for the fire.”
For the first time in years, quarterback Drew Plitt, wide receiver Justin Hall, safety Bryce Cosby and other five- and six-year veterans are off the list. Ball State is bringing back 11 starters, though Neu and its players seem confident in the experience it’s bringing back on both sides of the ball.
“There’s more experience in it than it says on paper,” Coll said. “There are guys who got quality snaps during (last) season. …there’s some guys who’ve gotten a chance to play and rotate here and there and get a chance to see what it’s like, so I have no doubt there are guys who step into their roles and will do well. ”
Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher discusses conference realignment, college football playoffs and more
In his opening remarks, MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher addressed several issues related to college football, including the conference realignment, the college football playoffs and more.
With the latest news of USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten, in addition to Oklahoma and Texas joining the Southeastern Conference, two Football Bowl Subdivision conferences will soon have 16 members. Steinbrecher noted that previous 16-team leagues — most recently the Western Athletic Conference in the late ’90s — didn’t last long because of their size or geography. He also noted that previous 16-team conferences were not formed by the highest-grossing conferences in college football.
Steinbrecher said he encourages MAC members to “be patient, critically assess all information and continue to look for opportunities” given the recent waves of conference realignment. Last year, Steinbrecher said the MAC had been contacted by a number of institutions about potentially joining the league, but the league decided there was “not enough added value to do so.”
The MAC, Steinbrecher said, protects its geography and the alignment of culture and philosophy of its institutions. While the MAC will continue to explore opportunities for potential realignment and expansion, no realignment of the conference has materialized to date. Steinbrecher jokingly said, “Maybe we’re just waiting for Notre Dame because its geography and values align very well with ours.”
Regarding the college football playoffs, Steinbrecher said that most of the regular season’s focus is “who will make the playoffs?” With the current four-team format, he said, “it devalues the final two months of the season” as he estimates only 10-15 teams are in playoff talk past the first month of the season.
“Imagine if we extended those playoffs to 12 or 16,” said Steinbrecher. “We would go into the final week of the season with 40 or 50 teams or even more still chasing the CFP. This would add value to any conference television package, championship game(s). It would increase ticket sales and increase interest in the regular college football season late into the season.”
CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock talks about the MAC
Among the athletic directors, coaches and players in attendance Tuesday was College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock.
Speaking to The Star Press, Hancock opened up about where the MAC sits on the current college football landscape.
“The fact is nobody knows what’s going to happen,” Hancock said. “But the Mid-American Conference has such synergy, they’re so close culturally, they’re going to be fine, they really are.”
The four-team college football playoff is in effect for at least the next four years as plans to introduce a possible 12-team playoff were put on hold earlier this year.
Hancock didn’t give much credence to the formation of “super conferences,” which would theoretically leave the Group of Five schools sidelined if the Power Five programs decided to split from the current 131 teams that currently make up the FBS. Still, Hancock seemed confident that the MAC’s position would continue to evolve in the current college football landscape.
“There will always be MAC football,” Hancock said. “People who are talking about superconferences, I don’t think they know what they’re saying. We will not have AFC and NFC in college football. I think MAC schools will be fine.”
Robby General reports on the sports at Ball State and East Central Indiana High School for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com or on Twitter @general jr.