Random Idea: The MAC Should Sponsor Non-Sports

by Matt Sussman on Aug 17, 2011 10:15 PM CDT in MAC Other Sports

We've previously floated the idea out there that the MAC could someday have their own hockey league. BGSU, Miami and WMU have teams with interest in Ohio, EMU and Buffalo. My personal dream is for the MAC to have a curling league. In college I curled for BGSU against teams from EMU and Miami.

It's probably not going to happen, but with all the discussion of the MAC trying to gain more national mainstream attention, HDTV networks and additional revenue, perhaps it wouldn't take much to set up some stuff the other way, making competition totally accessible to those in the conference.

Sponsor non-NCAA sports, or non-sports altogether. MAC euchre. MAC mini-golf. MAC chess. MAC air hockey. MAC rock-paper-scissors.

MAC Mario Kart. MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE MARIO KART TOURNAMENTS.

These are low-cost events that wouldn't need much more than a game room, a webcam to simulcast the tournaments and student interns to write up simple recaps.

We are all seeing what's happening down in Miami of Florida. Big sports corrupt and there's no way out. Emphazing the purity of competition is one of the great assets the MAC has, and they could underscore this tenet by sponsoring ridiculously non-athletic, good-natured competitions.

It comes back to curling. Now, curling is a serious sport to some, but college curling was simply a blast to play. The competition level is low, low, low. That people organized tournaments and round-robin events centered around guys like me, who gets winded easily and can barely catch a football, was one of the most incredible experiences I had. And other could have it too. It's a great way to network and have a bit of needed hilarity.

If nothing else: MAC Mario Kart. I would be willing to referee. Or live blog it.

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Euchre, for sure. According to Wikipedia, “The game has declined in popularity since the 19th century, when it was widely regarded as the national card game, but it retains a strong following in some regions like the Midwest, especially Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Western New York.” In other words, MAC territory!

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by cmadler on Aug 17, 2011 10:23 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Yes so much.

Don't forget to hustle.

by Matt Sussman on Aug 17, 2011 10:24 PM CDT up reply actions

I feel like euchre

advantages OH/MI/IN over other MAC states.

That said, we need to start laying ground rules. Farmer’s hand? Ace no face?

"It's like a koala bear crapped a rainbow in my brain!" -- Captain Murphy

by thechuck_2112 on Aug 18, 2011 12:07 AM CDT up reply actions

OH/MI/IN is 10 of 12 MAC schools; that’s pretty good. The main competition will be the Big (12) Ten, and if the MAC gets the jump on them we can probably claim a dozen national championships before they really start competing.

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by cmadler on Aug 18, 2011 5:02 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

MAC Euchre

would have made me seriously consider Akron. Slogan: “Akron Euchre: We’re in the barn.”

Ground rules: ace no face is BS, and farmer’s hand usually is too, but maybe to make it interesting teams could get one farmer’s hand per match. Stick the dealer. Best three games out of five? Would there be set doubles partners like in tennis or a rotation to show the skill of the team as a whole? I’m loving this.

Show them Ohio's here.

by slidingscrapes on Aug 18, 2011 7:34 PM CDT up reply actions