So many streaks have been broken this weekend. Toledo basketball has a winning record in November. Michigan State hoops went to a MAC venue. Temple has stopped beating up on MAC opponents. And on Friday, either a 28- or 43-year streak will be broken when NIU or OHIO wins the MAC Football Championship.
Now here's another one which dates back to 1997; Turner Gill has been fired by Kansas, two years after being hired away from Buffalo. It's the first time a MAC football head coach was hired away and was subsequently canned (for football reasons) since young Ron Cooper, previously with EMU, was fired by Louisville after three seasons. Since then there've been several great hires out of the MAC.
That's a heck of a run. Obviously people who have coached at MAC schools, since then, have been fired: Indiana let go of Bill Lynch in 2010, but he was also fired at Ball State in 2002. And then Pittsburgh hired Mike Haywood last year then fired weeks later once he was arrested in a domestic violence spat. I guess you could really say Haywood broke the chain, but it had nothing to do with being an ineffective coach and that's what I'm really trying to stress here.
I'm pretty sure Gill is going to coach again in the FBS, and soon. While he cannot change his horrendous defense, namely stopping the run, which was last in the FBS with 5.8 yards per rush allowed. This year he had just two wins: McNeese State and NIU, and then they lost 10 straight games.
Well, he can win against the MAC. And there's an opening in Akron right now. Hmm. </speculation>