A good point was made about scheduling, it does cut both ways.
 
In some circumstances, you have schools that won't play anyone like a MAAC
team because they don't want to hurt their ratings.
 
Then you have other schools that will take a chance, like Maine has done
with Nebraska-Omaha.  UNO played two games up in Orono during their first
year of DI last year, and lost 11-0 one night proving nothing because UNO
won the next night 4-3, in Orono, something many established programs
haven't done in years.  Providence hasn't won in Orono in about 10 years or
more (though they play every year) and UNH won two games in Orono last
year, the only games they've won at Alfond since 1985 (and they too play in
Orono each year).
 
This year Maine went down to UNO for a pair of games to start the season.
 
Also, remember Niagara going to Michigan and beating the Wolverines this year.
 
New teams and programs can and do have success against established
programs.  Maine may have had a down year last year, Michigan may not be
playing as well as they would like, but they still are Maine and Michigan.
 
It is the NCAA Selection Committee that can give the MAAC a chance, not
necessarily by giving them an automatic bid, but perhaps making it less
harmful  statistically to play a MAAC school in the next couple of years.
 
But I believe that some schools will give MAAC teams a shot.  I don't
believe it is entirely the MAAC's fault as not all the teams signed on
quickly and many schools do non-conference games years in advance and as
Greenie pointed out, there are only so many slots available.
 
We'll see what happens this season when all the non-conference schedule's
come out.  No, probably not a lot of top-ten teams will schedule MAAC
teams, but the bottom flight teams will start and that will give us a taste.
---
Deron Treadwell - [log in to unmask]
 
"Any idiot can face a crisis -- it's this day-to-day living
that wears you out."    - Anton Chekhov
 
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