We have scheduled a 3 game series with Eastern Michigan

[JHB4UK]

2017 - Commonwealth
2019-E. Mich
2020 - Commonwealth

So the tactic for handing the odd number years going forward is clear, no more 8 homegames. Disappointingly we are taking our program on the road to non-power 5 places, Southern Miss in '17, E. Mich in '19. Crossing my fingers that Stoops gets the program to a point that the schedule can be upgraded with another power 5 team out of conference home & home sometime in the 2020's.

or why couldn't a neutral site game in Cincy have been worked out sometime in the future, as that is in a state so very important to our recruiting plans?

Not a happy positive development for our football program IMO

 

[JasonS.]

Looks like Michigan has a home game against Army that day (Sept 7, 2019)? Ypsilanti right by Ann Arbor ... being able to maybe pull a two-fer and see our game and a game at Big House makes that road trip at little bit enticing. Because otherwise, no.

 

[fuzz77]

2017 - Commonwealth
2019-E. Mich
2020 - Commonwealth

So the tactic for handing the odd number years going forward is clear, no more 8 homegames. Disappointingly we are taking our program on the road to non-power 5 places, Southern Miss in '17, E. Mich in '19. Crossing my fingers that Stoops gets the program to a point that the schedule can be upgraded with another power 5 team out of conference home & home sometime in the 2020's.

or why couldn't a neutral site game in Cincy have been worked out sometime in the future, as that is in a state so very important to our recruiting plans?

Not a happy positive development for our football program IMO

Never was the plan to go with 8 home games. It was stated years ago when this 8 home game schedule was announced that it was a one year thing.
The neutral site games have not been very successful from an attendance or financial POV...and they won't be without a P5 opponent. Unless there are large TV dollars calling, no P5 team is going to sacrifice a home game to go play at a neutral site. UK football is not yet to the point where it is going to be attractive for those made-for-tv neutral site games.
From a program and economic standpoint it is better for the bottom line to trade 2 for 1 and not have to pay someone $1 million + to come play.
In the next 5-10 years all the P5 conferences will only be playing only P5 teams...that and a 9 game conference schedule. But until everyone else in the SEC is doing so, it makes zero sense for UK to lead the way.

 

[vhcat70]

Most P5 teams play, or will be playing by 2016, 10 P5 games. P12 & B12 are on 9 game conference schedules & B10 will be next year. Net, UK playing ten wouldn't be unusual.

 

[fballcats76]

Man, would have been cool to play Michigan in a home and home. What is the travel time to Eastern Michigan?

 

[stenchymouse]

I'm personally not interested in any P5 non conference games beyond UofL...

It's tough enough to get bowl eligible without playing what amounts to another conference game.

We need to schedule 3 wins a year OOC in my opinion...

 

[Robcatt24]

You have got to be kidding me.

Hell, keep the money in state and do a 2 for 1 deal with Union College. Lot of UK fans would flock to Barbourville to see the Cats.

I love everything about the Stoops era so far, except this pu$$y ass scheduling. Eastern Michigan? Southern Mississippi?

At some point, UK is going to have to act like an SEC team.

 

[WildcatofNati]

Southern Miss, I could understand. We were kind of in a bind after what happened to UAB, and with a schedule hole for us. I don't understand how we are playing a mid-major on the road in 2019. I don't know the answer to this for sure, but I seriously doubt that any other SEC teams, possibly excepting Venderbilt, have gone on the road to play a midmajor in a very long time.

 

[stenchymouse]

You have got to be kidding me.

Hell, keep the money in state and do a 2 for 1 deal with Union College. Lot of UK fans would flock to Barbourville to see the Cats.

I love everything about the Stoops era so far, except this pu$$y ass scheduling. Eastern Michigan? Southern Mississippi?

At some point, UK is going to have to act like an SEC team.

Dude!

Look who we play EVERY year in conference!!

Do you REALLY want to play Michigan and Notre Dame non conference?

 

[jte123]

I think cincy would make a lot of sense in many ways, we are just so far behind in the SEC no need to play a monster good team.

 

[Derek Terry]

Obviously you don't want to schedule a guaranteed loss, but if you're going to play a road out of conference series, why not schedule a team like Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland etc. If you really want to change it up then play a west coast team like Washington State or Oregon State. None of those teams are powerhouses and UK should be as good or better than them by 2017.

I just don't see an advantage in going to play Eastern Michigan on the road. It brings no excitement to the fans or players and does nothing for the program besides giving it another win, which could be found against numerous teams by staying at home.

 

[FtWorthCat]

You have got to be kidding me.

Hell, keep the money in state and do a 2 for 1 deal with Union College. Lot of UK fans would flock to Barbourville to see the Cats.

I love everything about the Stoops era so far, except this pu$$y ass scheduling. Eastern Michigan? Southern Mississippi?

At some point, UK is going to have to act like an SEC team.

Looked at any other SEC schedules lately? We play one tough non-conference game a year, UofL, just like almost every other SEC team does.

 

[WildcatofNati]

I think cincy would make a lot of sense in many ways, we are just so far behind in the SEC no need to play a monster good team.

I wouldn't mind playing the Bearcats but I would feel a lot better about it if we start doing it at a point where we can reasonably expect to beat them at a rate of about 4 games to 1. I think we'll get to that point, especially if UC is not able to get into a power conference, which means that they are going to have a difficult time recruiting to be on a level playing field with P5 teams. But if we had UC on the schedule over the past 10 years, we would have been lucky to go .500 against them. Putting UC on the schedule on a yearly basis and failing to beat them more often than not does not help the program in any shape form, or fashion.

 

[WildcatofNati]

Also, any series against UC should not be home and home. It should be 2 home games for UK to 1 for UC, if not a higher ratio.

 

[Robcatt24]

Dude!

Look who we play EVERY year in conference!!

Do you REALLY want to play Michigan and Notre Dame non conference?

I never mentioned Michigan or Notre Dame.

But UK, or any other SEC team, has absolutely zero business playing at a school like Eastern Michigan or Southern Mississippi. Those teams are fine for home games, but it's ridiculous to go to those places.

There are plenty of regional schools that would present a much more interesting matchup.

How about Purdue in Indianapolis? West Virginia in Cincinnati? Memphis in Nashville? With UK now recruiting more in the DMV and New Jersey, how about Virginia or Rutgers?

None of those schools are juggernauts, but they sure ain't Eastern Michigan either.

Too many UK fans have this loser mentality that the mere thought of playing another P5 school besides Louisville is suicide.

I happen to believe that Stoops is going to have this program at a level that a game against a Maryland or a N.C. State isn't cause for the fanbase to piss down their leg.

 

[ulismyman]

Southern Miss just started to tail off....they were respectible for many many years...hello Brett Favre

 

[Robcatt24]

Looked at any other SEC schedules lately? We play one tough non-conference game a year, UofL, just like almost every other SEC team does.

Fine. Keep Louisville and the 3 cupcakes.

DO NOT TRAVEL TO SOUTHERN MISS OR EASTERN MICHIGAN!!!!

Hell, instead of a road game to some Podunk State, do what we did a few years ago. Play Miami (OH) in Cincinnati. Or Marshall. Or WKU.

 

[bigbluegrog]

I think cincy would make a lot of sense in many ways, we are just so far behind in the SEC no need to play a monster good team.

I agree. I wonder if Cincy would've done a 2-1 with us? I remember going up there many years ago to watch UK play at Nippert. Colder than hell and snowing.

 

[DaBossIsBack]

I never mentioned Michigan or Notre Dame.

But UK, or any other SEC team, has absolutely zero business playing at a school like Eastern Michigan or Southern Mississippi. Those teams are fine for home games, but it's ridiculous to go to those places.

There are plenty of regional schools that would present a much more interesting matchup.

How about Purdue in Indianapolis? West Virginia in Cincinnati? Memphis in Nashville? With UK now recruiting more in the DMV and New Jersey, how about Virginia or Rutgers?

None of those schools are juggernauts, but they sure ain't Eastern Michigan either.

Too many UK fans have this loser mentality that the mere thought of playing another P5 school besides Louisville is suicide.

I happen to believe that Stoops is going to have this program at a level that a game against a Maryland or a N.C. State isn't cause for the fanbase to piss down their leg.

We have to be smart right now. This is a process. Getting bowl eligible is a priority and very important in developing this program to where we want it. There will come a time when we can beef up the schedule. Now is not that time.

 

[jauk11]

You have got to be kidding me.

Hell, keep the money in state and do a 2 for 1 deal with Union College. Lot of UK fans would flock to Barbourville to see the Cats.

I love everything about the Stoops era so far, except this pu$$y ass scheduling. Eastern Michigan? Southern Mississippi?

At some point, UK is going to have to act like an SEC team.

Not sure there is that much traffic on US25E since they opened I-75.

Besides the number one recruit in the nation isn't playing there anymore, Willie is in the Big House now.

Doesn't make much sense to me to add another tough game until we get a lot better, I'm worried about being bowl eligible this year (think we will be but will be a disaster if we don't and it is possible), we need to start sweeping our four OOC games before we add someone tougher. Even TWO wins in the SEC is going to probably involve us upsetting someone this year.

 

[bthaunert]

Just some comparison to other SEC future schedules:

Mizzou plays at Arkansas State this year.
Vandy has future games at MTSU, at Houston, at WKU, at Northern Illinois
Mississippi State has games at Southern Miss, at UMass, at Louisiana Tech
Ole Miss has games at Memphis, at Tulane
Texas A&M has a game at Rice

Those are the other schools who have future games against lower level programs on the road. So, 6 of the 14 SEC schools play games like these.

 

[WeepNoMore]

Guess Popcorn State and Little Sisters of the Poor were already booked up???

 

[DaBossIsBack]

Just some comparison to other SEC future schedules:

Mizzou plays at Arkansas State this year.
Vandy has future games at MTSU, at Houston, at WKU, at Northern Illinois
Mississippi State has games at Southern Miss, at UMass, at Louisiana Tech
Ole Miss has games at Memphis, at Tulane
Texas A&M has a game at Rice

Those are the other schools who have future games against lower level programs on the road. So, 6 of the 14 SEC schools play games like these.

This. I'm going to say that the mentality we are seeing from some in this post is due to either too much xbox or basketball mentality.

 

[fuzz77]

You have got to be kidding me.

Hell, keep the money in state and do a 2 for 1 deal with Union College. Lot of UK fans would flock to Barbourville to see the Cats.

I love everything about the Stoops era so far, except this pu$$y ass scheduling. Eastern Michigan? Southern Mississippi?

At some point, UK is going to have to act like an SEC team.

Huh? Looks to me like UK IS scheduling like an SEC team. Most have one competitive game and 3 cupcakes.
Non conference schedules for...
Florida

• 09/05 - New Mexico State
• 09/12 - East Carolina
• 11/21 - Florida Atlantic
• 11/28 - Florida State

Georgia

• 09/05 - ULM
• 09/26 - Southern
• 11/21 - Georgia Southern
• 11/28 - at Georgia Tech

Mizzou

• 09/05 - Southeast Missouri
• 09/12 - at Arkansas State
• 09/19 - UConn
• 11/14 - BYU (at Kansas City, MO)

S. Carolina

• 09/03 - North Carolina (at Charlotte, NC)
• 09/26 - UCF
• 11/21 - The Citadel
• 11/28 - Clemson

Tennessee

• 09/05 - Bowling Green (at Nashville, TN)
• 09/12 - Oklahoma
• 09/19 - Western Carolina
• 11/14 - North Texas

Vandy

• 09/05 - Western Kentucky
• 09/19 - Austin Peay
• 10/03 - at Middle Tennessee
• 10/31 - at Houston

Alabama

• 09/05 - Wisconsin (at Arlington, TX)
• 09/12 - Middle Tennessee
• 09/26 - ULM
• 11/21 - Charleston Southern

Arkansas

• 09/05 - UTEP
• 09/12 - Toledo (at Little Rock)
• 09/19 - Texas Tech
• 10/31 - UT Martin

Auburn

• 09/05 - Louisville (at Atlanta, GA)
• 09/12 - Jacksonville State
• 10/03 - San Jose State
• 11/21 - Idaho

LSU

• 09/05 - McNeese State
• 09/26 - at Syracuse
• 10/03 - Eastern Michigan
• 10/24 - Western Kentucky

Miss St

• 09/05 - at Southern Miss
• 09/19 - Northwestern State
• 10/10 - Troy
• 10/17 - Louisiana Tech

Ole Miss

• 09/05 - UT Martin
• 09/12 - Fresno State
• 10/10 - New Mexico State
• 10/17 - at Memphis

Texas A&M

• 09/05 - Arizona State (at Houston, TX)
• 09/12 - Ball State
• 09/19 - Nevada
• 11/14 - Western Carolina

UK

• 09/05 - UL Lafayette
• 10/03 - Eastern Kentucky
• 11/21 - Charlotte
• 11/28 - Louisville

 

[GGCAT]

Just some comparison to other SEC future schedules:

Mizzou plays at Arkansas State this year.
Vandy has future games at MTSU, at Houston, at WKU, at Northern Illinois
Mississippi State has games at Southern Miss, at UMass, at Louisiana Tech
Ole Miss has games at Memphis, at Tulane
Texas A&M has a game at Rice

Those are the other schools who have future games against lower level programs on the road. So, 6 of the 14 SEC schools play games like these.

Exactly, this is nature of the beast in todays college football with contracts like these to be able to fill out schedules.

Yet if you listen to some of our fans, its beneath Kentucky to go on the road and play a Non P5 conf school. SMDH.

 

[WeepNoMore]

This. I'm going to say that the mentality we are seeing from some in this post is due to either too much xbox or basketball mentality.

Not sure I understand the "basketball mentality" reference. The BB OOC schedule in filled with Popcorn State level teams. In fact, outside of a couple of teams that vary each year, the SEC schedule is loaded with such teams. If it weren't for a few neutral site games, the BB team would have very little game prep for the NCAA tournament.

 

[ktbug]

Thank god some of you aren't the AD. I am convinced some can't even spell AD. The non power conference teams now have a lot of leverage in scheduling. There are only so many of them, and a lot of teams want them to come to their place. Not only are the fees increasing, they are demanding games in return. If you want to play so and so, so and so has to have an opening on that one Saturday that you do. Since the SEC has a big hand in 3/4ths of the scheduling, you grab the best seal you can. I am fairly certain our admin did that.

 

[DACats86]

Huh? Looks to me like UK IS scheduling like an SEC team. Most have one competitive game and 3 cupcakes.
Non conference schedules for...
Florida

• 09/05 - New Mexico State
• 09/12 - East Carolina
• 11/21 - Florida Atlantic
• 11/28 - Florida State

Georgia

• 09/05 - ULM
• 09/26 - Southern
• 11/21 - Georgia Southern
• 11/28 - at Georgia Tech

Mizzou

• 09/05 - Southeast Missouri
• 09/12 - at Arkansas State
• 09/19 - UConn
• 11/14 - BYU (at Kansas City, MO)

S. Carolina

• 09/03 - North Carolina (at Charlotte, NC)
• 09/26 - UCF
• 11/21 - The Citadel
• 11/28 - Clemson

Tennessee

• 09/05 - Bowling Green (at Nashville, TN)
• 09/12 - Oklahoma
• 09/19 - Western Carolina
• 11/14 - North Texas

Vandy

• 09/05 - Western Kentucky
• 09/19 - Austin Peay
• 10/03 - at Middle Tennessee
• 10/31 - at Houston

Alabama

• 09/05 - Wisconsin (at Arlington, TX)
• 09/12 - Middle Tennessee
• 09/26 - ULM
• 11/21 - Charleston Southern

Arkansas

• 09/05 - UTEP
• 09/12 - Toledo (at Little Rock)
• 09/19 - Texas Tech
• 10/31 - UT Martin

Auburn

• 09/05 - Louisville (at Atlanta, GA)
• 09/12 - Jacksonville State
• 10/03 - San Jose State
• 11/21 - Idaho

LSU

• 09/05 - McNeese State
• 09/26 - at Syracuse
• 10/03 - Eastern Michigan
• 10/24 - Western Kentucky

Miss St

• 09/05 - at Southern Miss
• 09/19 - Northwestern State
• 10/10 - Troy
• 10/17 - Louisiana Tech

Ole Miss

• 09/05 - UT Martin
• 09/12 - Fresno State
• 10/10 - New Mexico State
• 10/17 - at Memphis

Texas A&M

• 09/05 - Arizona State (at Houston, TX)
• 09/12 - Ball State
• 09/19 - Nevada
• 11/14 - Western Carolina

UK

• 09/05 - UL Lafayette
• 10/03 - Eastern Kentucky
• 11/21 - Charlotte
• 11/28 - Louisville

^ This.

SEC football is a bit of a different animal than SEC basketball...

 

[CatDaddy4daWin]

Huh? Looks to me like UK IS scheduling like an SEC team. Most have one competitive game and 3 cupcakes.
Non conference schedules for...
Florida

• 09/05 - New Mexico State
• 09/12 - East Carolina
• 11/21 - Florida Atlantic
• 11/28 - Florida State

Georgia

• 09/05 - ULM
• 09/26 - Southern
• 11/21 - Georgia Southern
• 11/28 - at Georgia Tech

Mizzou

• 09/05 - Southeast Missouri
• 09/12 - at Arkansas State
• 09/19 - UConn
• 11/14 - BYU (at Kansas City, MO)

S. Carolina

• 09/03 - North Carolina (at Charlotte, NC)
• 09/26 - UCF
• 11/21 - The Citadel
• 11/28 - Clemson

Tennessee

• 09/05 - Bowling Green (at Nashville, TN)
• 09/12 - Oklahoma
• 09/19 - Western Carolina
• 11/14 - North Texas

Vandy

• 09/05 - Western Kentucky
• 09/19 - Austin Peay
• 10/03 - at Middle Tennessee
• 10/31 - at Houston

Alabama

• 09/05 - Wisconsin (at Arlington, TX)
• 09/12 - Middle Tennessee
• 09/26 - ULM
• 11/21 - Charleston Southern

Arkansas

• 09/05 - UTEP
• 09/12 - Toledo (at Little Rock)
• 09/19 - Texas Tech
• 10/31 - UT Martin

Auburn

• 09/05 - Louisville (at Atlanta, GA)
• 09/12 - Jacksonville State
• 10/03 - San Jose State
• 11/21 - Idaho

LSU

• 09/05 - McNeese State
• 09/26 - at Syracuse
• 10/03 - Eastern Michigan
• 10/24 - Western Kentucky

Miss St

• 09/05 - at Southern Miss
• 09/19 - Northwestern State
• 10/10 - Troy
• 10/17 - Louisiana Tech

Ole Miss

• 09/05 - UT Martin
• 09/12 - Fresno State
• 10/10 - New Mexico State
• 10/17 - at Memphis

Texas A&M

• 09/05 - Arizona State (at Houston, TX)
• 09/12 - Ball State
• 09/19 - Nevada
• 11/14 - Western Carolina

UK

• 09/05 - UL Lafayette
• 10/03 - Eastern Kentucky
• 11/21 - Charlotte
• 11/28 - Louisville

Thanks for proving the point. I CANNOT BELIEVE OLE MISS IS PLAYING AT MEMPHIS....FAR REBEL

Let's also not forget the fact that we are recruiting more and more in that area too, so it definitely hits on a recruiting area we'd like to get more in on.

 

[FtWorthCat]

Bring back the Indiana series, then. It was usually pretty testy and competitive. We could play them alternating home and away opposite the UofL game, with one at home and one away each year.

Seriously though, I'm just throwing that out there. Because I really don't want to start that up again. UofL is all the non-conference competition we need. Maybe home-and-homes like we did with Western, where you play the return game in an NFL stadium wouldn't be bad for another fairly tough out of conference game. We should have the E. Michigan away game at Ford Field (or wherever the Lions play).

 

[STUCKNBIG10]

Here is the reality:

It's getting harder and harder to get teams to come play one-time road games. MAC teams are now demanding over a million dollars for a one-time home date. Scheduling is very challenging in modern football. I don't like playing these road games, but it's a reality in today's football.

Now, for the positives:

-Likely win
-Playing games in SE Michigan and Northern Ohio (don't we play Toledo too?) is prime Stoops recruiting territory.
-Still relatively close for UK fans to travel to see the team (Ypsilanti is 3.5-4 hours from northern KY and 4.5-5 hours from LEX).

 

[ukalum1988]

Fine. Keep Louisville and the 3 cupcakes.

DO NOT TRAVEL TO SOUTHERN MISS OR EASTERN MICHIGAN!!!!

Hell, instead of a road game to some Podunk State, do what we did a few years ago. Play Miami (OH) in Cincinnati. Or Marshall. Or WKU.

Lighten up, Francis. The ship to Hattiesburg has already sailed and ain't coming back.

I can't say I'm thrilled at the prospect of playing at EMU, but that's the reality of today's college football.

I'm not against playing teams in Cincinnati or Nashville but you know the owner/operator of those stadiums will want a piece of the action.

 

[TeoJ]

Just can't understand the thinking of some,maybe we could schedule ND,USC, Michigan and Ohio State plus the SEC,That should give us a great chance at building a winning team.

 

[jnewc2]

I have nothing against scheduling a non-P5 opponent, but you're supposed to bring them to Commonwealth, not schedule a neutral-site game or go to their stadium

The reason the bigger schools don't do that is because what we saw with Western Kentucky in Nashville a couple years ago..you schedule a game with one of these little schools on what is basically their home turf, and they have the majority of the fans and they're treating it like the Super Bowl and the chances of you losing the game are going to be about 10 times higher than if you were playing them at home

Huh? Looks to me like UK IS scheduling like an SEC team. Most have one competitive game and 3 cupcakes.
Non conference schedules for...
Florida

• 09/05 - New Mexico State
• 09/12 - East Carolina
• 11/21 - Florida Atlantic
• 11/28 - Florida State

Georgia

• 09/05 - ULM
• 09/26 - Southern
• 11/21 - Georgia Southern
• 11/28 - at Georgia Tech

Mizzou

• 09/05 - Southeast Missouri
• 09/12 - at Arkansas State
• 09/19 - UConn
• 11/14 - BYU (at Kansas City, MO)

S. Carolina

• 09/03 - North Carolina (at Charlotte, NC)
• 09/26 - UCF
• 11/21 - The Citadel
• 11/28 - Clemson

Tennessee

• 09/05 - Bowling Green (at Nashville, TN)
• 09/12 - Oklahoma
• 09/19 - Western Carolina
• 11/14 - North Texas

Vandy

• 09/05 - Western Kentucky
• 09/19 - Austin Peay
• 10/03 - at Middle Tennessee
• 10/31 - at Houston

Alabama

• 09/05 - Wisconsin (at Arlington, TX)
• 09/12 - Middle Tennessee
• 09/26 - ULM
• 11/21 - Charleston Southern

Arkansas

• 09/05 - UTEP
• 09/12 - Toledo (at Little Rock)
• 09/19 - Texas Tech
• 10/31 - UT Martin

Auburn

• 09/05 - Louisville (at Atlanta, GA)
• 09/12 - Jacksonville State
• 10/03 - San Jose State
• 11/21 - Idaho

LSU

• 09/05 - McNeese State
• 09/26 - at Syracuse
• 10/03 - Eastern Michigan
• 10/24 - Western Kentucky

Miss St

• 09/05 - at Southern Miss
• 09/19 - Northwestern State
• 10/10 - Troy
• 10/17 - Louisiana Tech

Ole Miss

• 09/05 - UT Martin
• 09/12 - Fresno State
• 10/10 - New Mexico State
• 10/17 - at Memphis

Texas A&M

• 09/05 - Arizona State (at Houston, TX)
• 09/12 - Ball State
• 09/19 - Nevada
• 11/14 - Western Carolina

UK

• 09/05 - UL Lafayette
• 10/03 - Eastern Kentucky
• 11/21 - Charlotte
• 11/28 - Louisville

Let's break that down for a second..Mizzou has one away game against a lower-level team (Mizzou's administration doesn't exactly have the greatest history of football success so I'm not sure if their scheduling strategy is the one you want to follow, but if so, more power to you)

The next team that has a bunch of these away games against lower-level team's is Vandy (I think this one goes without explaining..probably not the football administration whose example you want to follow)

Ole Miss goes on the road to Memphis, but I don't Memphis isn't on the same level as an Eastern Michigan or Arkansas State..it doesn't hurt the perception of Ole Miss football to go on the road and play a Memphis team that's capable of beating them

The only other team that travels to a lower level team is Mississippi State who goes to Southern Miss (Miss. State has a tradition of football that's worse than ours, so if you want to trust their administration's football scheduling then more power to you, but I'm not sure Mississippi State's administration is the one you want to follow when it comes to football success..we have more football success than they do over the years)

What's happening is that when these AD's get in the negotiating room, they're putting the pressure on Mitch and Mitch is folding..now we're traveling hundreds of miles to play in 20,000-seat stadiums, where if we have an off night (which is an entirely possible considering that your players aren't exactly going to be jacked up) you aren't going to have your home crowd there to support you..you're going to have that small school with a Super Bowl-like mentality playing the game of the century, and you're chances of losing that game go up about ten-fold over playing them at Commonwealth

The bottom line is that you have little to gain by playing this game, but you have TONS to lose..and we're a school that already has to battle every single day with a perception issue..scheduling home-and-homes with vastly inferior teams does nothing to help that

I think some of you are getting confused..there's a difference between paying a small school to come play you, and scheduling a home-and-home with those small schools with 20,000-seat stadiums..I could list a dozen reasons why you DON'T schedule those games with perception of your program being at the top

And I know some of you keep mentioning that scheduling these games are going to help our recruiting, but tell me, how is scheduling Eastern Michigan helping our recruiting in the Big-10 country? I mean, maybe you could say that back in the 60's and 70's or something where every game wasn't on TV and the internet and social media, but really, how I seriously doubt scheduling Eastern Michigan and Southern Miss on the road is going to effect our recruiting in either of those areas in the slightest...I mean is a high school recruit in Mississippi going to read the paper and see that we played them? It's an honest question, I just don't understand that whole pitch..we'd get just as much (or more) attention playing Southern Miss and Eastern Mich. at home (where the game would be a lot more likely to be televised than it will be in a 20,000 or 30,000-seat stadium

I just hate it because we're already battling with a perception issue every single day, and this does zero to help that..all it does is hurt...you can point out how some of these schools (with football traditions worse than us) schedule one of these games here or there, but Mississippi State and Vandy and Mizzou scheduling those type of games doesn't exactly give me confidence..I don't think they're the school you need to follow when it comes to your football decisions..I'd rather follow the example of Alabama and Georgia and Florida and Auburn and LSU and Tennessee when it comes to making football decisions..those schools have shown that they know what they're doing over decades and decades..MSU, Vandy and Mizzou haven't

 

[Robcatt24]

I wasn't crazy about the Southern Miss deal. But at least they have had good teams in the past, and have a history of playing SEC teams. Although I don't recall many going to Hattiesburg. I did know about Mississippi State going there this season. I suspect that has a lot to do with instate politics down there.

But going to Eastern Michigan? Come on.

Damn, go play at Georgia State or Georgia Southern.

Or how about helping out Neal Brown and give a deal like this to Troy?

Jeez.

 

[ktbug]

So you were in the room when Mitch folded? I am betting you have never negotiated a game's contract...Hell, maybe we should hire you. You could get MAC teams to pay us to play here I bet.

 

[bluescat92]

Here is the reality:

It's getting harder and harder to get teams to come play one-time road games. MAC teams are now demanding over a million dollars for a one-time home date. Scheduling is very challenging in modern football. I don't like playing these road games, but it's a reality in today's football.

Now, for the positives:

-Likely win
-Playing games in SE Michigan and Northern Ohio (don't we play Toledo too?) is prime Stoops recruiting territory.
-Still relatively close for UK fans to travel to see the team (Ypsilanti is 3.5-4 hours from northern KY and 4.5-5 hours from LEX).

PLUS, it's a great way for a young, maturing team to gain success on the road.

Regardless, once the championship expands to eight teams and the selection committee needs more criteria we will not have cupcake games. Power 5 teams will only be able to schedule other P5 teams. You will not be able to go 11-1 with a win over EKU. And a lot of the OOC games will be made for TV as we're beginning to see.

 

[Robcatt24]

So you were in the room when Mitch folded? I am betting you have never negotiated a game's contract...Hell, maybe we should hire you. You could get MAC teams to pay us to play here I bet.

Ah yeah, the tired old "how many games have you coached, were you there in the office,blah, blah, blah." bull sh!t.

How often have we heard UK basketball fans piss and moan, and rightfully so, about other SEC teams' embarrassing OOC schedules?

And yet, some UK football fans will defend this Eastern Michigan deal to the death.

Look, if UK wants to schedule a road game against non-P5 school, great. But damnation, there are at least a 100 other schools out there that are more attractive options than Eastern damn Michigan.

How about a game at MTSU? UK is trying to recruit Tennessee harder. Why not them?

Florida Atlantic? South Florida?

Offer to play Tulane in the Superdome. LSU has done that.

 

[screwduke]

Huh? Looks to me like UK IS scheduling like an SEC team. Most have one competitive game and 3 cupcakes.
Non conference schedules for...
Florida

• 09/05 - New Mexico State
• 09/12 - East Carolina
• 11/21 - Florida Atlantic
• 11/28 - Florida State

Georgia

• 09/05 - ULM
• 09/26 - Southern
• 11/21 - Georgia Southern
• 11/28 - at Georgia Tech

Mizzou

• 09/05 - Southeast Missouri
• 09/12 - at Arkansas State
• 09/19 - UConn
• 11/14 - BYU (at Kansas City, MO)

S. Carolina

• 09/03 - North Carolina (at Charlotte, NC)
• 09/26 - UCF
• 11/21 - The Citadel
• 11/28 - Clemson

Tennessee

• 09/05 - Bowling Green (at Nashville, TN)
• 09/12 - Oklahoma
• 09/19 - Western Carolina
• 11/14 - North Texas

Vandy

• 09/05 - Western Kentucky
• 09/19 - Austin Peay
• 10/03 - at Middle Tennessee
• 10/31 - at Houston

Alabama

• 09/05 - Wisconsin (at Arlington, TX)
• 09/12 - Middle Tennessee
• 09/26 - ULM
• 11/21 - Charleston Southern

Arkansas

• 09/05 - UTEP
• 09/12 - Toledo (at Little Rock)
• 09/19 - Texas Tech
• 10/31 - UT Martin

Auburn

• 09/05 - Louisville (at Atlanta, GA)
• 09/12 - Jacksonville State
• 10/03 - San Jose State
• 11/21 - Idaho

LSU

• 09/05 - McNeese State
• 09/26 - at Syracuse
• 10/03 - Eastern Michigan
• 10/24 - Western Kentucky

Miss St

• 09/05 - at Southern Miss
• 09/19 - Northwestern State
• 10/10 - Troy
• 10/17 - Louisiana Tech

Ole Miss

• 09/05 - UT Martin
• 09/12 - Fresno State
• 10/10 - New Mexico State
• 10/17 - at Memphis

Texas A&M

• 09/05 - Arizona State (at Houston, TX)
• 09/12 - Ball State
• 09/19 - Nevada
• 11/14 - Western Carolina

UK

• 09/05 - UL Lafayette
• 10/03 - Eastern Kentucky
• 11/21 - Charlotte
• 11/28 - Louisville

They should have just locked the thread after this post. No need to go on anymore. Great post! People always act like UK is the only team that schedules cup cakes.

 

[fuzz77]

Ah yeah, the tired old "how many games have you coached, were you there in the office,blah, blah, blah." bull sh!t.

How often have we heard UK basketball fans piss and moan, and rightfully so, about other SEC teams' embarrassing OOC schedules?

And yet, some UK football fans will defend this Eastern Michigan deal to the death.

Look, if UK wants to schedule a road game against non-P5 school, great. But damnation, there are at least a 100 other schools out there that are more attractive options than Eastern damn Michigan.

How about a game at MTSU? UK is trying to recruit Tennessee harder. Why not them?

Florida Atlantic? South Florida?

Offer to play Tulane in the Superdome. LSU has done that.

They are good enough for LSU to play this year, for Michigan State to play last year, for Mizzou to play next year...Penn State played them in 2013...but poor ole Robcatt24 doesn't think UK should schedule them...what a whiny little biach.

You sir are proof positive that some people will bitch about anything, and if you don't have something to bitch about, you'll make it up.