Marshall and the University of Central Florida announced that they are leaving the Mid-American Conference to join Conference USA. The Post's Chris Littmann asked Ohio coach Brian Knorr about the move and how it could affect the Bobcats.
The Post: What was your initial reaction to the departure of Marshall and Central Florida to Conference USA?
Knorr: I think with all the publicity and by the time it finally happened I kind of thought that it might. I think Marshall and Central Florida, they're a little bit different than we are. They maybe had aspirations of moving on; I think it's unfortunate because I think we're developing a couple of good rivalries there.
The Post: What's your take on scheduling some of these teams in the future?
Knorr: With Marshall it's going to be tough because we're such rivals and we're so close, I think it'd be great for both schools to continue the rivalry. I think a lot of those decisions will have to be made by the commissioner. Both those schools I think, I'm happy for what they did for our conference in football, they raised the bar. I believe even though we're not having a good year, everyone has enhanced and improved their level of play. The league is better, we have three teams in the Top 25 and neither one of them are one of them. I like what they've done for us; they've made us a better league.
The Post: There is no distaste or hard feelings for either team?
Knorr: I don't have distaste. I think it's a little different in the Big East, ACC, those guys have been playing each other for years, and they won't play again because of it. I think in our case our rivals are Miami, Bowling Green and Marshall, so you know the long entrenched rivalries being broken up is why there is a bitter pill.
The Post: Are some people saying woe is me
overreacting to the impact of the move?
Knorr: I think so. Just what's happened this year couldn't have been better timing for us. Right now if Marshall and Central Florida were two of the ranked teams in our league then people probably would be woe is me and What's going to happen to this league? But I think the league is in good shape, whether we expand, I've heard talk of expansion, or whether we stay at 12 and just have two six-team divisions I think the league is in good shape.
The Post: What would be your preference, re-alignment or going after more teams, and what do you believe will happen?
Knorr: I hope that if we expand the expansion is for schools that are like us from the standpoint of academics and look a little more like Ohio, Miami, Bowling Green, schools like that. Those decisions are made by competent people. Rick Chryst has done so much for the league. I have complete faith that him and the council presidents will do a great job in determining if we need to expand. I don't necessarily think expansion is necessary unless you can get an Army, Navy or someone like that who can bring us continued exposure. There are some very good I-AA teams; I would like to expand east personally because of who we play, where we recruit.
The Post: Has some of the previous expansion (Buffalo and Central Florida) been aimed at the hopes to take markets which have not worked?
Knorr: I have to believe a lot of it is market generated. You look at the ACC they get South Florida and the New England area. I'm sure that TV markets had a lot to do with it. Those markets are bigger than Morgantown and some of those places.
The Post: How did this move affect your program directly?
Knorr: That's hard to say. I think you'll see three or four years down the road. Everything is based on recruiting. What's that 18-year-old kid going to think? Is he going to think the Mid-American Conference is still a great conference with two bowls and a possible third bowl, or how's he going to relate that with Conference USA?
The Post: Are you surprised Central Florida and Marshall were so quick to jump despite the fact Conference USA was stripped of six schools (Saint Louis, Charlotte, Louisville, DePaul, Marquette, Cincinnati) in the conference re-shuffling process?
Knorr: I look at everything from a football standpoint, so I don't know how basketball plays into effect with a lot of these decisions. I know a lot of schools left football wise. Is it the same league it used to be? I don't think so. I think a big thing is what TCU is going to do. If TCU stays it's a pretty good league, if TCU doesn't, I like the Mid-American Conference. I think the biggest thing is that Conference USA has become almost a Southern Conference.
The Post: How does the loss of Marshall, a team that has generated NFL players and become a name program, affect the MAC?
Knorr: The year is not over; Marshall may end up on top again. They're the perennial champs in this league. We've all sort of ridden on their coattails, but we've taken advantage and I think football has gotten a lot better because of Marshall. I think with (Byron) Leftwich, (Chad) Pennington, (Randy) Moss, when we're recruiting kids to tell them we play Marshall is a big thing.
The Post: Is there any positive to these two teams leaving?
Knorr: I don't see it, maybe some people do, just from a standpoint of our schools looking the same but to me, while I don't think it's a huge loss, I don't think there's anything to gain by losing them.
The Post: What was the reaction of other coaches around the MAC?
Knorr: They really don't comment on the decision. It's really awkward because the season is still going on. You play those teams and football coaches don't want to make anyone angrier than they already are, especially Bob Pruett. I think coach Pruett has done a lot of great things for this league, and we'll miss him, we'll miss his voice, and I think that's the biggest loss. Bob Pruett was an ambassador for this league.
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