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Some MAC links to cap off this work week:
If you read the news yesterday that Eastern Michigan received a notice of inquiry by the NCAA regarding women's basketball, fret not. This could be just a procedural move by the NCAA.
Last year the school self-reported violations that resulted in the suspension of coach AnnMarie Gilbert for a month as well as salary freezes for most of the coaches. Basically the nature of the violations were they practiced too long and were too involved in other practices and workouts when they shouldn't have been. It appeared to be a misunderstanding of the rules, not some diabolical scheme to keep their players working harder.
EMU is one of those women's basketball programs on the rise as noted by their run in the MAC tournament and WNIT, so If there's more to the allegations, that could curtail the evolvement. But our EMU blogger doesn't see much to that theory. [Eagle Totem]
• Our Boston College brethren have a direct interest in UMass football moving to the FBS. Because that's their territory, man. And it could curb their recruiting slightly. But not as much as perhaps Syracuse or Buffalo, given the proximity to where they get their recruits. There's a pretty map on this one as well. [BC Interruption]
• The first episode"of "Relentless" was unveiled yesterday, chronicling the Ohio Bobcats football season. Great production value here, and I love to see this kind of stuff at the MAC level. The SEC isn't the only one with intense coaches and high expectations, but sometimes the holders of the video cameras dictate otherwise. [Vimeo]
• The NCAA has decided to axe postseason opportunities for teams who don't meet a four-year APR average of 930. It's a large step up from the old benchmark of 900, which "could" have caused teams elimination from championship consideration. Twelve basketball teams would have been ineligible this year, but none from the MAC, although Ohio State woulda been put in its place: on the sofa, with four games at the same time. Not a bad place to be, actually. [UB Bull Run]
• Meanwhile, another QB controversy is stemming between ... Bruce Gradkowski and Dan LeFevour. This is Cincinnati Bengals training camp, and it's for the backup spot. So far they're both struggling. This is not the MAC quarterback battle I had envisioned. [Stripe Hype]
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