Midwest football fans rejoice.
Last Friday, the Mid-American Conference reversed their August decision of not playing football this fall, and are now planning a six-game schedule that will kick off on Nov. 4. This is huge news for all players who thought their season was going to be cut back in August. The schedule will consist of all six games being against conference opponents.
For those who love the weeknight MAC-tion, this is good news as well. The conference will have only weeknight games through the end of November before switching over to a Saturday-only slate in December. The conference will then host a championship game with the winners of the East and West divisions squaring off on either Friday, Dec. 18 or Saturday, Dec. 19.
“This was made possible by the ability to obtain rapid ‘point of care’ testing. We will test four times a week to assure player safety. This protocol was unanimously approved by the MAC Medical Advisory Group and we feel confident of a safe return,” said Roger Kruse, who heads the medical advisory group while also having the responsibility of being team physician.
Fans will not be allowed in the stands for games. Cheerleaders, media members of the schools and other personnel will be at the discretion of each MAC school.
Personally, I am glad to see MAC football going again. Obviously, you need to make sure the athletes are being protected and I think the conference did an excellent job by making sure no fans were allowed in the stadium. As great as fans are, they are not a necessity. It minimizes risk on these ameteur college athletes who are not being paid to play.
Having football back also helps the conference’s schools financially, specifically due to the pouring in of money from ESPN in exchange for televising these weeknight games. I am just glad to see football back at Bowling Green. The community needs something to rally around, and this could be it. Anything can happen in a six-game season.
As far as the Falcons go, the new schedule hasn’t been announced yet. But we do know that the Falcons will play the five teams in their division and one crossover. So expect the likes of Ohio, Miami, Buffalo, Akron, Kent State and Toledo to all be on the slate this season.
Another question to arise is when would the conference schedule a potential BGSU-Toledo game? I think it would be very wise to put it at the end of the season, in a traditional rivalry setting.
Either way, I know I am ready for BGSU football and I am sure the Bowling Green community is too.
