Good for Michigan State!

Keep in mind that I am fairly biased to small schools (more specifically the MAC) being that I am a Western Michigan Grad.

I have to applaud the football program and Mark Hollis the A.D. at Michigan State. The ten-year deal that they made with Western Mich., Central Mich., and Eastern Mich. to play 12 games may not be the best football decision that they could have made for themselves, but it was a great P.R. move and is fantastic for the MAC schools. In the deal, each of the MAC teams will play 3 games at State and 1 at home somewhere during the 10 year span.

Financially, this deal is good across the board. As a part of the terms, the MAC school will take a reduced "appearance fee" for each time that they play at MSU which will allow State to save money. Additionally, the MAC schools will save money on travel expenses by traveling in state as opposed to Nebraska, Iowa, Florida, or other states for non-conference action. I know that State rarely has trouble selling out, or coming close, for their home games, but with their opponents being in-state, they are sure to sell out. On the flip side, fans of the MAC schools will get the rare opportunity to see their school play a road game, and not have to break the bank to do so. It is also a boon for the MAC schools during the home games on the slate, because they will draw a large MSU contingent not to mention a significantly higher portion of their own student population. I would venture to say that these games would be sold out.

Finally, this deal will be good for the economy of the State of Michigan during these hard times because it will be keeping the money in-state. Local businesses will see a rise in patronage on these weekends and not to mention the increase in traffic for night-life establishments.

I know that MSU fans might complain about this because of the possibilty that, especially in the MAC home games, they will be traveling to a hostile environment with an increased chance (small as it may be) at losing to a smaller, non-BCS, school. I can sympathize with them, but at the same time, I don't care. As a MAC fan, I was always frustrated that the Big-10 schools, especially the in-state ones, never had the courage to come to Kalamazoo, or Mt. Pleasant, or even Ypsilanti. This is why I have to applaud MSU, their athletic department, Mark Dantonio, and the entire football program. Cheers and GO BRONCOS!


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Chad Ochocinco Kicks a field goal and kicks-off while Shayne Graham is injured.