EMU games at Kentucky, Missouri nixed by SEC's conference-only 2020 schedule

Almost all of the Power 5 has gone to conference-only schedules for 2020, and MAC teams needed those paychecks.

Aug 1, 2020

SEC moves to conference-only games in 2020

Is anybody really surprised? Honestly?

The Southeastern Conference has followed suit with the rest of the Power 5 leagues that have previously done the same thing; the SEC will have its schools play conference-only games, as voted on by the league’s council of presidents and chancellors. Football in the SEC, which has its own center of gravity, will begin Sept. 26 — a normal year’s Week 4.

For Eastern Michigan, that means no more road trip to Lexington, Ky. to open up the season on a Thursday, which was already moved out of its original Saturday spot to accommodate the postponed Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5. That also means no trip to Missouri on the 26th. There are still two out-of-conference games EMU has on the schedule (vs. Coastal Carolina and at Army), but time will probably tell us a different story.

EMU athletic director Scott Wetherbee released the following statement following the SEC’s decision Thursday:

"We are aware of scheduling decisions announced today by the Southeastern Conference. We are disappointed for our student-athletes, coaches, and fans that were looking forward to making the trip to Kentucky and Missouri for our non-conference football games. We continue to monitor the ever-changing collegiate landscape and will continue to consult with the Mid-American Conference regarding the 2020 schedule."

The Kentucky game was supposed to be the third matchup between the two schools since 2017, all at Kroger Field. The original contract in 2015, under former athletic director Heather Lyke, had EMU playing at Kentucky in 2017 and 2020, and at Rynearson Stadium in 2019. Obviously, plans changed and EMU requested to be the road team every time, which brought the guaranteed pay for the 2019 game to $800,000, and the payout for this year’s matchup to $350,000.

Also in 2015, EMU and Missouri agreed to play each other in Missouri in the 2016 and 2020 seasons. When Lyke was hired in, she didn’t like the previous game contract EMU had to play Michigan State in those seasons. EMU would play at Michigan State in 2016, then MSU at EMU in 2020, but Lyke got both teams to pull out of an unfair contract (no guaranteed money in 2016) and replaced the two openings with road trips to SEC country (does Missouri actually count as SEC country?). The 2016 game brought in $1.3 million for EMU, and this year’s game was worth $1.1 million.

What else have other leagues done?

The Ivy League’s decision to not have any athletics until after the fall was lamented for being so focused on the health of its representing athletes. The Ivy Leauge doesn’t have to worry about being in lockstep with whatever TV executives feel like doing, which sparked a big question leading up to the decision: would the Ivy League’s delay in sports make the Power 5 leagues react in any way?

One day later, the Big Ten announced that its schools will have conference-only schedules in 2020. The move gutted seven MAC schools of 11 total games this year, and a lot of not-so-guaranteed money. The ACC inherited Notre Dame for 2020, and their schools agreed to play just one non-conference game each this year. Yesterday, Pac-12 schools finalized a plan to play only 10 intra-league games this year. Six FCS leagues have also opted out of playing in the fall, and there isn’t a MAC school unimpacted by all of this — probably by a lot more than they expected to maybe a month ago.

The Big XII hasn't made any changes to the 2020 season yet, but it is still actively trying to figure out how it'll best screw Group of 5 leagues so no worries there.

Of the 48 non-conference games originally scheduled for MAC teams in 2020, 24 have been officially canceled and five are up in the air with the ACC's plan.

Status of out-of-conference MAC games

Akron

NO CHANGE: vs. Youngstown State
NO CHANGE: at New Mexico State
TBD: at Clemson
NO CHANGE: vs. UMass

Ball State

CANCELED: vs. Maine
CANCELED, replaced with Iowa State: at Michigan
NO CHANGE: at Iowa State
CANCELED: at Indiana
NO CHANGE: vs. Wyoming

Bowling Green

CANCELED: at Ohio State
CANCELED: vs. Robert Morris
CANCELED: at Illinois
NO CHANGE: vs. Liberty

Buffalo

NO CHANGE: at Kansas State
CANCELED: vs. St. Francis
CANCELED: at Ohio State
NO CHANGE: at Army

Central Michigan

NO CHANGE: vs. San Jose State
CANCELED: at Nebraska
CANCELED: at Northwestern
CANCELED: vs. Bryant

Eastern Michigan

CANCELED: at Kentucky
NO CHANGE: vs. Coastal Carolina
CANCELED: at Missouri
NO CHANGE: at Army

Kent State

CANCELED: at Penn State
NO CHANGE: vs. Kennesaw State
CANCELED: at Kentucky
CANCELED: at Alabama

Miami

TBD: at Pittsburgh
CANCELED: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
NO CHANGE: vs. Cincinnati
NO CHANGE: at Army

Northern Illinois

CANCELED: vs. Rhode Island
CANCELED: at Maryland
CANCELED: at Iowa
NO CHANGE: vs. BYU

Ohio

CANCELED: vs. NC Central
TBD: at Boston College
NO CHANGE: vs. Marshall
NO CHANGE: at Texas State

Toledo

NO CHANGE: at Tulsa
NO CHANGE: vs. San Diego State
CANCELED: at Michigan State
CANCELED: vs. Central Connecticut State

Western Michigan

CANCELED: vs. Stony Brook
NO CHANGE: at Cincinnati
TBD: at Notre Dame
TBD: vs. Syracuse

Optimism? In this economy?

MAC schools are financially reliant on Power 5 teams hosting non-conference games. MAC schools don’t need these road trips to Ohio State or LSU every once in a while, they need these games every year. One year without any Power 5 games on the schedule is one thing, but it’s another when multiple streams of revenue have already been hit, and there’s no telling what we’ll wake up to tomorrow.

Players are speaking out in the SEC and the Pac-12. It’s August, players across the country are starting to speak up, and if there was ever a year for the athletes to make the decisions that TV execs won’t, this might be it.

Seriously, how many decision-makers had to normalize this thought before the unnamed spokesman said this?

“There are going to be outbreaks,” one official told players on the call. (The official didn’t identify himself, and the SEC spokesman declined to identify him to The Post.) “We’re going to have positive cases on every single team in the SEC. That’s a given. And we can’t prevent it.” (Washington Post)

My optimism for there being any [SAFE AND RESPONSIBLY-COORDINATED] college football played this calendar year is nil, but my optimism for what’s going to happen for players’ rights has grown so much over the past few months. If I had to bet on it, this next month will change the course of college athletics for rest of time.

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