Fuck You, Sun Belt Conference. Fuck You, Ohio University.

As a lifelong MAC fan who grew up in Bowling Green, Ohio, I've always felt a certain kinship with the Sun Belt Conference. Especially in the last five years or so, as the college football world has been turned upside down by super conferences who no longer even pretend to respect geography, the MAC and Sun Belt have remained what I'd call "ethical conferences". They might be the last two ethical conferences in the sport. But it was only a matter of time before even the small guys fell victim to the new lawless conference hopping world of college football.

Texas State announced last month they would be leaving the Sun Belt for the PAC-12. Which is a sentence that would have gotten you laughed out of the room 20 years ago. Northern Illinois has officially been poached by the Mountain West. They will be joining them in 2026. Which stinks out loud. Northen Illinois has long been a staple of the MAC. They've represented our conference aplomb. They've even managed to put together some legitimately nationally relevant teams over the years. So for the MAC, losing Northern Illinois is a big blow to the overall strength of the conference. Especially considering the MAC is replacing them with UMass, which not only hurts or strength of conference, but compromises our geographic integrity. Still, all things considered, the MAC is still the MAC. We still have a majority of our core teams. All six Ohio schools. All the directional Michigans. The MAC is still basically the same conference it's always been.

But what the fuck is this shit, Ohio?

Daily News-Record – Initial discussions the day after Texas State’s announcement focused largely on Conference USA members Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky while the possibility of holding it at 13 for the near future was also discussed.

Those talks didn’t generate a consensus among Sun Belt leadership, but other schools, including Ohio, have reached out to the Sun Belt to at least discuss membership.

I guess I shouldn't even say. "Fuck you, Sun Belt." It doesn't sound like the Sun Belt even had Ohio on their radar. What the hell is Ohio doing? The Sun Belt? For what? To play in the same quality of conference but travel further to do so? I mean... I suppose the Sun Belt does have some good things going for them. Even with Texas State leaving, their East Division with App State, Marshall, James Madison, and Coastal Carolina has had some pretty solid showings in recent years. But the MAC has... Toledo. Bowling Green has Eddie George now. Fuck. For the longest time I considered the MAC to be a superior conference to the Sun Belt. Now that Northern Illinois is on their way out... I'm starting to wonder if we've been passed up.

But for Ohio to betray us like this... that hurts. Ohio is as #MACtion as #MACtion gets. Literally. They invented the conference. 

Ohio University is the lone charter member of the Mid-American Conference still in the MAC.

The Bobcats helped create the MAC in 1946 with current members Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan joining the following year.

Northern Illinois leaving I could stomach. The Mountain West is a more obvious upgrade. The Mountain West actually wanted Northern Illinois. But Ohio University reaching out to the Sun Belt unprompted is tough to swallow. Has the MAC not been a good home for you, Ohio? Is playing half your schedule within a 2-hour radius too convenient? Are the lights of Tuesday night not bright enough? Is the #MACtion highlight set to Glorious by Macklemore that gets tweeted out every November not hysterical enough for you?

Apparently, yes. Pretty much all of those things exactly.

Sources said the talks with Ohio were preliminary with both sides simply gauging interest, but Ohio had begun at least entertaining the possibility of leaving its longtime home in the MAC for a few reasons:

— The number of mid-week football games in the MAC has resulted in decreased fan interest and ticket revenue.
— Once considered one of the most stable and geographically compact FBS conferences, the MAC recently lost Northern Illinois to the Mountain West for football and the Horizon League for other sports. The additions of Buffalo and UMass have increased travel costs in a conference that was once made up entirely of teams from the Midwest.
— These initial talks may be more about establishing relationships for the future than a current move considering the potential for a massive realignment across college sports before 2031.

It's tough to stomach that mid-week MACtion, the best thing the MAC has going for it, is a main reason one of its charter members wants to jump ship. And how dare Ohio sit there with a straight face and play the geography card. The MAC lost their western most team in Northern Illinois. They added only one long-ish trip to Amherst, Massachusetts. While in the Sun Belt, there are FIVE teams further from Ohio than UMass is, and after Marshall, the next closest away game is still a 5-hour bus ride. If you like the Sun Belt better than us, Ohio, just say it. But don't lie to our faces about geography when the MAC is the most geographically sound conference in college football, and you have five conference teams within your home state.

Additionally… and I don't want to go around irresponsibly pointing fingers at any Lori Stewart Gonzalez out there… but I found this to be an interesting little tidbit.

Ohio University president Lori Stewart Gonzalez worked in the administration at App State when the Mountaineers accepted a Sun Belt invitation in 2013.

Hmmm. President of Ohio University, Lori Stewart Gonzalez. Who's only been there since 2023. Makes you wonder if she's some sort of Sun Belt mercenary sent to take a hit out on the MAC.

I always knew that someday, for better or worse, the MAC was going to change. But I thought our hands would be more forced than this. Never did I think the Ohio Bobcats of all teams, the team that literally founded the MAC, would be jumping ship to the Sun Belt on their own accord. Sad day for the MAC. Sad day for college football. If this happens, there will forever be blood on Ohio's hands. Even if it doesn't happen, I'm afraid the writing is on the wall for the greatest conference in America.