MAC football for the first time in '17 "will not play a single Saturday game in November," according to David Briggs of the Toledo BLADE. The conference is in the middle of a 13-year deal with ESPN that was signed in '14 and gives the MAC "about $10 million per year" in rights fees. The lack of Saturday games planned for November raises a question -- "if the MAC doesn't care about the fans in its backyard, why should those fans care about the MAC?" But there is a lot to be said for the "exposure and brand identity" that ESPN brings to the table. Briggs: "You say midweek November football, I say MACtion. It is a unique niche and no doubt aids recruiting." The MAC long ago "sold out to TV -- prioritizing dollars over sense in putting the whims of network executives in endless need of cheap programming above the interests of its fans and student-athletes." But the latest "weeknight overload" feels like a "new level of betrayal." Briggs: "All we're asking for is a happy medium as the MAC hurtles toward the point of no return" (Toledo BLADE, 3/6).
