MAC

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On Inside a Trophy Case

I’ve been in Anderson Arena, on the Bowling Green State University campus, many times. Whether passing through its lobby to avoid cold, wind, and/or rain, attend a basketball game, concert, or hear a US President; it is a place dear to my past.

I was there the day President Ford made a campaign stop. Unfortunately, he had gone through several recent assassination attempts, yet those of us who can remember Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, may also recall the night when a popping of a camera flashbulb created temporary havoc. Yep, that was in Anderson Arena and I was there.

Anderson Arena is the place I attended concerts and saw acts as Yes (with Rick Wakeman), Jefferson Starship, Doobie Brothers (early in their career), and Bachmann-Turner Overdrive.

Who knows how many sporting events I attended at Anderson Arena, but as a sports venue, it’s far from luxurious … actually sparse … but a good place for fans. With fans near the court, The House that Roars was a tough place for opponents.

Earlier this month, Anderson Arena hosted its last Falcon basketball game as next season brings a new venue. Little did I know at the time, one of my lasting memories is seeing a partially deflated basketball in the lobby’s trophy case that is connected my life-after college in Cincinnati.

The date on the basketball was February 16, 1963, with the following score inscribed: Bowling Green 92, Loyola Chicago 75. Those Ramblers had come to town undefeated (21-0) and ranked #2 in the country – actually behind the two-time defending champion Cincinnati Bearcats, (where I earned my Masters and now attend sporting events).  At the end of the year, Loyola would have a late-game rally to defeat the Bearcats in the national championship game – which is also one of the earliest college basketball games from my childhood memory.

On that night in February of 1963 though, the night belonged to the Falcons, who were very good. They eventually won the MAC championship, and were part of the 26-team March Madness. They beat good teams, and lost to other good teams in close games. On that night, the Falcons never trailed, and were comfortable ahead most of the game … and the basketball from that night is in the trophy case.

Two Falcon legends gave this team an inside-outside threat. Howard Komives, the pure shooter, went on to a 10-year NBA career. Nate Thurmond, the inside rebounder and scorer, was not only an All-American, but had a long, outstanding NBA career, and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Coach Harold Anderson is also in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Although Anderson Arena will now be quiet, yet the memories of the roars will live on. I will always remember that basketball in the trophy case, and know that I would have loved to be there on that night.

Outside picture courtesy of sharing through Flicker

Inside color picture courtesy of the Toledo Blade

Inside black and white picture used with permission from PepperGuy, Grant Cummings.

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On CFB Week 1 OOC

College football’s opening week stretches over the next five days. Although a few teams face conference competition to open the college football season, most start with an out-of-conference (OOC) opponent. Despite 21.7% of BCS team’s OOC are against nonD1 teams and only 35.3% of BCS’s team’s OOC pair BCS teams against each other (source), and 69% of BCS teams OOC are at home (source), there are some interesting OOC matchups in Week 1. Here are ten OOC games that pique my interest.

  • Alabama v. Va. Tech (Atlanta)
  • BYU v. Oklahoma (Arlington)
  • Central Michigan @ Arizona
  • Georgia @ Oklahoma State
  • Maryland @ Cal
  • Mississippi @ Memphis
  • Missouri v. Illinois (St. Louis)
  • Navy @ Ohio State
  • Oregon @ Boise St.
  • South Carolina @ NC State

As a MAC grad I wonder how many games MAC teams will win this weekend? Which team will have the biggest win?

  • Akron @ Penn State
  • North Texas @ Ball State
  • Troy @ Bowling Green
  • Buffalo @ UTEP
  • Central Michigan @ Arizona
  • Army @ Eastern Michigan
  • Coastal Carolina @ Kent State
  • Miami v. Kentucky (Cincinnati)
  • Northern Illinois @ Wisconsin
  • UConn @ Ohio U
  • Villanova @ Temple
  • Toledo @ Purdue
  • Western Michigan @ Michigan
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On College Football Trivia: More All-Time

Last week I had a dozen questions about college football’s all-time winning teams. This time let’s take a peak at other all-time team records with a baker’s dozen. Caution – these are tough.  Answers are below the video of Cheer Cincinnati, the UC fight song. Actually, it’s not my favorite of the UC spirit songs. Let us know how you did or what you thought.

Multiple Choice Questions
1 – Excluding South Florida, which member of a BCS conference has won the fewest games? Indiana, Kansas State, Rutgers, Virginia, Wake Forest

2- Michigan, Navy, Nebraska, Penn State, Syracuse, and Virginia have played the most games. Which school has played the most?

3 – Which school with “State” in their name has won the most games? Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Penn State

4 – Which school has lost the most games? Indiana, Iowa State, Northwestern, Tulane, Wake Forest

5 – Which school has the most ties? Georgia, Navy, NC State, Ohio State, TCU

6 – Which school has scored the most points? Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, USC

7 – Which school has allowed the most points? Colorado State, Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers, Tulane

9 – Which school has the greatest points scored-points allowed differential? (Absolute value: thus positive or negative): Northwester, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, USC

10 – Michigan has won the most games, but which of the following have the highest winning percentage? Boise, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma South Florida

11 – If its school were added together, which of the 50 states has won the most games? Here’s the top 5: California, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Texas

12 – Better yet, try arranging the states in #10 in order. OK, here’s a hint. The last one listed was the answer to the previous question.

13 – Here’s one on the same line. Since states have a different number of football-playing schools, these 3 states have the highest number of wins to schools ratio: Alabama, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Which has the best ratio?

Answers
1 – Excluding South Florida, which member of a BCS conference has won the fewest games? Indiana, Kansas State, Rutgers, Virginia, Wake Forest – Answer:  Wake Forest (406). Actually 32 fewer than Louisville, who has 1 less win than Indiana but played 211 fewer games.

2- Michigan, Navy, Nebraska, Penn State, Syracuse, and Virginia have played the most games. Which school has played the most?  Answer: Michigan (1207) has played 1 more than Navy.

3 – Which school with “State” in their name has won the most games? Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Penn State – Answer: Ohio State (808) has won 1 more game than Penn State

4 – Which school has lost the most games? Indiana, Iowa State, Northwestern, Tulane, Wake Forest – Answer: Northwestern (614) is the leading loser followed by Indiana (603)

5 – Which school has the most ties? Georgia, Navy, Kansas, Ohio State, TCU – Answer: Tough question, but Kansas (58) with one more tie than Navy and TCU

6 – Which school has scored the most points? Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, USC – Answer: It’s not team with the most wins (Michigan) who would be second (+11 over Nebraska), but the answer is Oklahoma (30493), that’s 807 more points over 66 fewer games

7 – Which school has allowed the most points? Kansas State, Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers, New Mexico State – Answer: Northwestern (22714) followed by New Mexico State (21819). Interestingly, the Aggies have played 134 fewer games.

9 – Which school has the greatest points scored-points allowed differential? (Absolute value: thus positive or negative): Northwestern, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, USC – Answer: Michigan has the greatest scoring differential (16451) followed by Oklahoma (16225) – a wider margin than the widest negative differential (Northwestern’s -5229).

10 – Michigan has won the most games, but which of the following have the highest winning percentage? Boise, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma South Florida – Answer: It’s still Michigan (.738) followed by Notre Dame (.736)

11 – If its school were added together, which of the 50 states has won the most games? Here’s the top 5: California, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Texas – Answer: Texas (5113) following by Ohio (4229)

12 – Better yet, try arranging the states in #10 in order. OK, here’s a hint. The last one listed was the answer to the previous question. Answer: Texas, Ohio, California, Michigan, Lousiana

13 – Here’s one on the same line. Since states have a different number of football-playing schools, these 3 states have the highest number of wins to schools ratio: Alabama, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Which has the best ratio? Answer: Alabama (Alabama, Auburn, & Troy) has 2054 wins averaging 684.67 wins per school – which is better than second place Pennsylvania’s (Penn State, Pitt, & Temple) 617.33 wins per school, just bettering Oklahoma’s (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, & Tulsa) 616 wins per school.

Source: College Football Warehouse

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On College Football Trivia: Wins

With college football only a short time away, here are a few trivia questions about all-time records. Of course answers are in terms of the date of this post. Answers are below the short video of my undergraduate college fight song. Go Falcons!

Multiple Choice Questions
1) Which school has won the most games? Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Texas, USC

2) Which current Big 12 school has won the most games? Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas

3) Which current SEC school has won the most games? Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Tennessee

4) Which ACC school has won the most games? Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech

5) Which Big East school has won the most games? Cincinnati, Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia

6) Which PAC-10 school has won the most games? Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington

7) Which MAC school is in the top 25 in terms of wins? Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Miami, Northern Illinois, Toledo

8- Which current WAC school has won the most games? Boise, Fresno, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech

9) Which current Mountain West school has won the most games? Air Force, BYU, TCU, Utah, Wyoming

10) Which current Conference USA school has won the most games? East Carolina, Houston, Marshall, Southern Mississippi, Tulsa

11) Which current Sun Belt team has won the most games? Louisiana Lafayette, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Troy,

12) Which service academy has won the most games? Air Force, Army, Navy

Answers
1) Which school has won the most games? Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Texas, USC: Answer: Michigan (872), 40 more than 2nd place Texas

2) Which current Big 12 school has won the most games? Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas. Answer: Texas (832), 5 more than Nebraska

3) Which current SEC school has won the most games? Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Tennessee. Answer: Alabama (799) 7th all-time and 23 more than Tennessee

4) Which ACC school has won the most games? Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech. Answer: Georgia Tech (665), 16th all-time and 7 more than Va. Tech

5) Which Big East school has won the most games? Cincinnati, Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia. Answer: Syracuse (674), 14th all-time and 1 more than West Virginia

6) Which PAC-10 school has won the most games? Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington. Answer: USC (766), 10th all-time and 113 more than Washington

7) Which MAC school is in the top 25 in terms of wins? Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Miami, Northern Illinois, Toledo. Answer: Miami (650), 22nd all-time and 91 more than Central Michigan

8- Which current WAC school has won the most games? Boise, Fresno, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech. Answer: Louisiana Tech (545), 52nd all-time and 7 more than Fresno

9) Which current Mountain West school has won the most games? Air Force, BYU, TCU, Utah, Wyoming. Answer: Utah (607), 34th all-time and 51 more than TCU

10) Which current Conference USA school has won the most games? East Carolina, Houston, Marshall, Southern Mississippi, Tulsa. Answer: Tulsa (560), 45th all-time and 27 more than Southern Mississippi

11) Which current Sun Belt team has won the most games? Louisiana Lafayette, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Troy. Answer: Middle Tenneesee (509), 64th all-time and 37 more than Troy

12) Which service academy has won the most games? Air Force, Army, Navy. Answer: Army (636), 26th all-time and 3 more than Navy

Data Source: College Football Warehouse