Little more info from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Temple will join MAC in football
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/111614953019330.xml&coll=2

Does anyone honestly think this is a good idea?
I know what the MAC was thinking, they're getting in on the Philly market, but is it sound for either party?
Now the MAC is at 13 again. I just don't get it. They just split their ante by one more share and for what good reason? Will they stay at 13? Are they planning on adding a 14th soon? Will it be Western Kentucky? Southern Illinois? or someone closer to Buffalo and Temple?
This seems like a completely bizarre fit to me.
If I was the folks at Temple, I would have played as an Independent for a couple of years, held out for big bucks as the traveling ACC and SEC whippin team, saved my money and waited for a slot to open up in C-USA (which shouldn't take too long). At least in C-USA they would be playing other urban universitys in large city markets. What the heck do these MAC schools have in common with Philly and Temple? If the attendance was poor when VT and Miami came to town, just wait until Western Michigan and Ball State show up.

I think SIU would be another nice addition to go with Temple.

They played NIU very well last season in football and they're obviously in the MAC footprint.

They are?

Frankly I don't get it.

Temple does appear to be a lousy fit. And after being at a nice number (12), now the MAC is 13.

Temple football stinks, and not just by BCS standards, but some MAC schools pounded them last year too.

It just seems as though Temple was cast adrift by the BE, and the MAC decided to take them in out of pity. Temple reportedly was / is resistent to moving their other sports to the MAC.... so why is the MAC bending over backward to accommodate a lousy program ?

Temple should have pursued A-10 (soon to be CAA) Football. That seems to be more in keeping with their current level of competition.

Longterm, the MAC should be looking at Western Ky and Southern Illinois for a more logical expansion, but I am not sure why they choose to expand beyond 12, unless they foresee defections down the road, or member schools being forced out of I-A by attendance requirements.

If Temple begins winning, the attendance will increase. The Temple fans are starved for winning football.

Some observations...

- Freinds and family in Jersey talk as if this move is temporary, though not just in the "waiting for a BE-split" sense. Instead they and many Temple fans see this as a final test to determine the final place for Temple football. If the team cannot compete within the MAC, and let's be honest it's not as if the MAC schools are way beyond Temple in the arms race here, then Temple will either fall back to 1-AA and park football within the Colonial league, or it will simply drop the sport all together. The recent statements confirming that basketball drives the Temple train supports this idea. A BE split and alignment with the 1-A schools there remains ideal, but this is clearly the last proving ground they'll have.

- I'll be watching to see if the next MAC addition is for football only. SIU and WKU have been offered as candidates, with each having merit but also seeming better if added together (for travel purposes). Is EMU close to dropping football because of their $ and attendance concerns? (They should)

At least now Buffalo has a travel partner with Temple.

Football teams don't generally have travel partners. Besides, Buffalo is over 400 miles from Philly - not exactly a quick bus trip.