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Feel free to rank accordingly and have at it Back to Top shabamon General User Member Since: 11/17/2006 Location: Cincinnati Post Count: 6,383 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/11/2020 12:23:38 PM  Toledo Miami Northern Illinois Bowling Green Western Michigan Toledo football is like Kent State basketball. They are never not rock solid and in-state kids know them as a winner. They get great fan support, lower admissions standards means they can get most kids in school, and they schedule attractively, including getting home games against The U, Arizona, Missouri, etc. Despite the valleys they've been in this decade, Miami still has outstanding tradition, great facilities, and access to talent even after Ohio State and UC pick over Southwest Ohio. These two are in a tier of their own. Back to Top Buckeye to Bobcat General User Member Since: 9/10/2013 Post Count: 1,781 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/11/2020 1:00:08 PM  shabamon wrote: Toledo Miami Northern Illinois Bowling Green Western Michigan Toledo football is like Kent State basketball. They are never not rock solid and in-state kids know them as a winner. They get great fan support, lower admissions standards means they can get most kids in school, and they schedule attractively, including getting home games against The U, Arizona, Missouri, etc. Despite the valleys they've been in this decade, Miami still has outstanding tradition, great facilities, and access to talent even after Ohio State and UC pick over Southwest Ohio. These two are in a tier of their own. +1 on your top two. Those two are in their own zip code for sure, especially considering the boosters and business support they can tap into. As you said about Miami, they are still at a geographic advantage over anyone, as their "diamond" recruiting area (starting at the Limaland, over to Columbus, down to Louisville, and over to Indianapolis) is very fertile for recruiting. That north end in the Limaland area is very discounted in recruiting, but get a couple of the HS MAC kids, and you can have a ballclub in about any sport in a hurry. As I said on the basketball thread, Ohio is maybe the #7 or 8 job in the MAC. What I would be interested in is seeing a future coach be more aggressive in Central Ohio, as I feel like we do not do an effective job putting our foot down in Columbus. Back to Top Pataskala General User Member Since: 7/8/2010 Location: At least six feet away from anybody else Post Count: 9,265 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/11/2020 5:23:52 PM  BG isn't the gem it once was. They've been absolutely lousy during the five years since Dino Babers left. And their future schedules aren't encouraging. In at least two of the next five seasons they'll be playing seven road games. I'd kick BG down to at least 7th and put Buffalo in the top five. Leipold is turning the corner with that team -- they haven't had a losing season since 2016 and won the East in 2018. And they have a new indoor practice facility. A downside is that they don't have a "P" team scheduled for a home game in the near future. I'm surprised they don't use Ralph Wilson Stadium to draw some team like Pitt, Syracuse or Penn State for a home game, but maybe the Bills won't cut a deal. We will get by. We will get by. We will get by. We will survive. Back to Top mf279801 General User Member Since: 8/6/2010 Location: Newark, DE Post Count: 2,461 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/11/2020 7:34:55 PM  Pataskala wrote: BG isn't the gem it once was. They've been absolutely lousy during the five years since Dino Babers left. And their future schedules aren't encouraging. In at least two of the next five seasons they'll be playing seven road games. I'd kick BG down to at least 7th and put Buffalo in the top five. Leipold is turning the corner with that team -- they haven't had a losing season since 2016 and won the East in 2018. And they have a new indoor practice facility. A downside is that they don't have a "P" team scheduled for a home game in the near future. I'm surprised they don't use Ralph Wilson Stadium to draw some team like Pitt, Syracuse or Penn State for a home game, but maybe the Bills won't cut a deal. Not sure what the upside would be for any of those P5 teams that you mentioned. Back to Top Pataskala General User Member Since: 7/8/2010 Location: At least six feet away from anybody else Post Count: 9,265 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/11/2020 11:27:34 PM  mf279801 wrote: Pataskala wrote: BG isn't the gem it once was. They've been absolutely lousy during the five years since Dino Babers left. And their future schedules aren't encouraging. In at least two of the next five seasons they'll be playing seven road games. I'd kick BG down to at least 7th and put Buffalo in the top five. Leipold is turning the corner with that team -- they haven't had a losing season since 2016 and won the East in 2018. And they have a new indoor practice facility. A downside is that they don't have a "P" team scheduled for a home game in the near future. I'm surprised they don't use Ralph Wilson Stadium to draw some team like Pitt, Syracuse or Penn State for a home game, but maybe the Bills won't cut a deal. Not sure what the upside would be for any of those P5 teams that you mentioned. The only upside for any "P" playing at a G5 team is it's usually part of a home-and-home, so they save hundreds of thousands in payout money. The point is that most "P"s worth watching probably won't play at UB Stadium because they can't get enough of their fans in the stands to make it worthwhile. Wilson's a bigger venue. We will get by. We will get by. We will get by. We will survive. Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,987 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/12/2020 8:06:53 AM  Without placing them in particular order here is my Top 5: Toledo Northern Illinois Ohio Central Michigan Western Michigan Ohio has won 5 bowl games in 10 years, recruits the entire state of Ohio effectively, the ability to maintain a quality walk on program because of the attractiveness of its campus. NIU is committed to facilities and can recruit players from all over the Midwest from its location. WMU and Toledo have good sized communities around them and willingness to pay up. CMU is a pure football school and cleans up in-state. Others that missed the cut: Miami lost its lunch in football to UC. Program now has glass house rather than grass roots feel to it. Buffalo is rising up but doesn't have the local recruiting base of the Midwest MAC schools. BG is a non-qualifier dumping ground with limited upside. Last Edited: 9/12/2020 8:07:50 AM by TWT Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Bobcat1996 General User Member Since: 1/2/2017 Post Count: 822 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/12/2020 8:11:25 AM  Buffalo is top five as the facilities are better than many MAC schools. Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,987 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/12/2020 8:25:35 AM  Buckeye to Bobcat wrote: shabamon wrote: Toledo Miami Northern Illinois Bowling Green Western Michigan Toledo football is like Kent State basketball. They are never not rock solid and in-state kids know them as a winner. They get great fan support, lower admissions standards means they can get most kids in school, and they schedule attractively, including getting home games against The U, Arizona, Missouri, etc. Despite the valleys they've been in this decade, Miami still has outstanding tradition, great facilities, and access to talent even after Ohio State and UC pick over Southwest Ohio. These two are in a tier of their own. +1 on your top two. Those two are in their own zip code for sure, especially considering the boosters and business support they can tap into. As you said about Miami, they are still at a geographic advantage over anyone, as their "diamond" recruiting area (starting at the Limaland, over to Columbus, down to Louisville, and over to Indianapolis) is very fertile for recruiting. That north end in the Limaland area is very discounted in recruiting, but get a couple of the HS MAC kids, and you can have a ballclub in about any sport in a hurry. As I said on the basketball thread, Ohio is maybe the #7 or 8 job in the MAC. What I would be interested in is seeing a future coach be more aggressive in Central Ohio, as I feel like we do not do an effective job putting our foot down in Columbus. This is the first I've heard of the term Limaland. Do you have a map of this area so we know what is included in this reference? What would be the North end of the Limaland area? Is Muncie included in this area? The reference I am more familiar with is the Miami Valley which is Cincinnati and Dayton greater metro area. Great area for recruiting but Miami has faded in the hierarchy as UC has risen up. I also believe Ohio is more competitive than before with the bigger high schools in that region. Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,987 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/12/2020 8:27:22 AM  Bobcat1996 wrote: Buffalo is top five as the facilities are better than many MAC schools. Akron has great facilities but can't get the players. Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top BryanHall General User Member Since: 9/11/2010 Post Count: 520 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/12/2020 8:49:39 AM  Club Hyatt wrote: Bobcat1996 wrote: Buffalo is top five as the facilities are better than many MAC schools. Akron has great facilities but can't get the players. AKron is bleeding students and has the feel of a commuter school. There is likely no end in sight for the decline as it is not differentiated to students across the state and the number of graduating students are declining. My amateur ranking: Northern Illinois Buffalo Toledo Ohio Western Michigan I would agree that Miami is in the process of getting beaten by UC at this point. They do have advantages that if possibly leveraged could move them past Ohio. I think Ohio right now has a bit of continued history of succes that moves them past others. Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,987 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/12/2020 9:57:02 AM  BryanHall wrote: Club Hyatt wrote: Bobcat1996 wrote: Buffalo is top five as the facilities are better than many MAC schools. Akron has great facilities but can't get the players. AKron is bleeding students and has the feel of a commuter school. There is likely no end in sight for the decline as it is not differentiated to students across the state and the number of graduating students are declining. My amateur ranking: Northern Illinois Buffalo Toledo Ohio Western Michigan I would agree that Miami is in the process of getting beaten by UC at this point. They do have advantages that if possibly leveraged could move them past Ohio. I think Ohio right now has a bit of continued history of succes that moves them past others. Cincinnati has won 14 straight in the rivalry against Miami. A rivalry that has endured UC's move to a BCS conference but will be dead in the water if UC moves to a P5. Regardless I was close to putting them in my Top 5 as it has the academic rep which is by itself important and the ability to tap into recruiting grounds others in the MAC do not access effectively. But you can't access Miami directly via any 4 lane highways which is small time. Ohio is the one that leveraged its campus advantages to build a robust walk on program. Closest MAC school to Florida and going after players there like its WVU. Big advantage over the frozen tundra MAC. Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,987 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/12/2020 10:12:00 AM  There is a Limaland Motorsports Raceway. A Limaland Teens for Christ. Limaland Spring Fling 5k. A few references to it. Do they mean the Greater Lima area or is this defined more regionally? This link has a regional map that goes south to St. Mary's and north to Ottawa. Ottawa I'd say is in Findlay's orbit as they shop at the west side Findlay Wal-Mart. Benton Ridge is part of Liberty-Benton schools and Findlay Liberty Benton High School. U.S. Route 30 corridor looks to be about the northern edge of Limaland under any definition. http://www.ohiodtr.com/trackhtms/limaland.htm Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Pataskala General User Member Since: 7/8/2010 Location: At least six feet away from anybody else Post Count: 9,265 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/12/2020 12:09:38 PM  Club Hyatt wrote: There is a Limaland Motorsports Raceway. A Limaland Teens for Christ. Limaland Spring Fling 5k. A few references to it. Do they mean the Greater Lima area or is this defined more regionally? This link has a regional map that goes south to St. Mary's and north to Ottawa. Ottawa I'd say is in Findlay's orbit as they shop at the west side Findlay Wal-Mart. Benton Ridge is part of Liberty-Benton schools and Findlay Liberty Benton High School. U.S. Route 30 corridor looks to be about the northern edge of Limaland under any definition. http://www.ohiodtr.com/trackhtms/limaland.htm When I was growing up in Ohio's Great Northwest the Lima News used the term "Limaland" to describe its home delivery area. Basically it was Allen, Putnam, Van Wert, Mercer, Auglaize, Hardin and the southwestern part of Hancock counties. We will get by. We will get by. We will get by. We will survive. Back to Top Buckeye to Bobcat General User Member Since: 9/10/2013 Post Count: 1,781 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/14/2020 11:18:21 AM  Yeah my bad for not clarifying that for non-NW Ohio folks. That area is very fertile for recruiting historically for all-sports. The MAC (Midwest Athletic Conference) I would argue is the toughest circuit in the state, as they place multiple teams in the state tournaments across all channels. Usually their crowning achievement is taking at least 2 state titles in football every year. Back to Top OUcats82 General User Member Since: 1/9/2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Post Count: 1,852 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/14/2020 2:06:16 PM  Buckeye to Bobcat wrote: Yeah my bad for not clarifying that for non-NW Ohio folks. That area is very fertile for recruiting historically for all-sports. The MAC (Midwest Athletic Conference) I would argue is the toughest circuit in the state, as they place multiple teams in the state tournaments across all channels. Usually their crowning achievement is taking at least 2 state titles in football every year. I imagine a lot of DII, DIII, and NAIA schools are fed by talent from this region and they get their fair share of D1 players, too. Lot of dedicated and hardworking kids for sure that could really excel at those levels. Ohio-The State University Back to Top Pataskala General User Member Since: 7/8/2010 Location: At least six feet away from anybody else Post Count: 9,265 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/14/2020 3:43:04 PM  OUcats82 wrote: Buckeye to Bobcat wrote: Yeah my bad for not clarifying that for non-NW Ohio folks. That area is very fertile for recruiting historically for all-sports. The MAC (Midwest Athletic Conference) I would argue is the toughest circuit in the state, as they place multiple teams in the state tournaments across all channels. Usually their crowning achievement is taking at least 2 state titles in football every year. I imagine a lot of DII, DIII, and NAIA schools are fed by talent from this region and they get their fair share of D1 players, too. Lot of dedicated and hardworking kids for sure that could really excel at those levels. Quentin Poling, for one. Our frosh WR Wade Sheets, for another. We will get by. We will get by. We will get by. We will survive. Back to Top Buckeye to Bobcat General User Member Since: 9/10/2013 Post Count: 1,781 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/14/2020 10:21:17 PM  OUcats82 wrote: Buckeye to Bobcat wrote: Yeah my bad for not clarifying that for non-NW Ohio folks. That area is very fertile for recruiting historically for all-sports. The MAC (Midwest Athletic Conference) I would argue is the toughest circuit in the state, as they place multiple teams in the state tournaments across all channels. Usually their crowning achievement is taking at least 2 state titles in football every year. I imagine a lot of DII, DIII, and NAIA schools are fed by talent from this region and they get their fair share of D1 players, too. Lot of dedicated and hardworking kids for sure that could really excel at those levels. There's a reason why Findlay has always been a load in basketball. Combine that with their ability to snag kids out of Columbus=load. Also would say why Dayton and Fiami have been historically good. Both programs tend to get a kid out of there once every couple years that tend to perform well (when their coaches understand what it takes to win there......) Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,987 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/19/2020 11:26:06 AM  Pataskala wrote: Club Hyatt wrote: There is a Limaland Motorsports Raceway. A Limaland Teens for Christ. Limaland Spring Fling 5k. A few references to it. Do they mean the Greater Lima area or is this defined more regionally? This link has a regional map that goes south to St. Mary's and north to Ottawa. Ottawa I'd say is in Findlay's orbit as they shop at the west side Findlay Wal-Mart. Benton Ridge is part of Liberty-Benton schools and Findlay Liberty Benton High School. U.S. Route 30 corridor looks to be about the northern edge of Limaland under any definition. http://www.ohiodtr.com/trackhtms/limaland.htm When I was growing up in Ohio's Great Northwest the Lima News used the term "Limaland" to describe its home delivery area. Basically it was Allen, Putnam, Van Wert, Mercer, Auglaize, Hardin and the southwestern part of Hancock counties. Lima has claim to a 6 county region with a central city population of 36,659? I've always given them Allen County with its 102,351 pop. At one time the Lima MSA included Van Wert, Putnam and Auglaize. Van Wert and Putnam left the MSA in 1983 and Auglaize in 2003. Hardin county was never part of Lima's MSA. Working against the regionalism concept is a strong county identification in that part of the state. Those who live there know where are the towns in their county are but are very unfamiliar with the next county over. Each county has a county seat where everything revolves around. As an example there is a Findlay-Tiffin CSA that is a triangle with Fostoria shared between counties. Fostoria's economy is very heavily linked to Findlay. It looks like an exclave of a blue collar neighborhood in Findlay and many workers make the 12 mile ride into Findlay from Fostoria. Fostoria is a weird situation where it has county seat level size but isn't a county seat though it has 20,000 people within a 3 mile radius of town. With Tiffin though its 25 miles from Findlay, has 2 universities, half an hour closer to Cleveland so it the linkage is questionable and its a county seat which gives it more power. Though the regional shopping area is on the east side of Findlay built to also serve Fostoria and Tiffin the community itself doesn't lean east. It leans north towards the communities in between Findlay and Toledo and plays in athletic conference with Toledo schools. Tiffin city limits and points east are the outer regions of Northeast Ohio along with communities like Sandusky and Norwalk. For entertainment there is regional travel between county seats. Each of these towns has a notable restaurant or a theater that depending who's performing people will travel 30 to 40 miles to see. Van Wert I believe has a theater so people from Lima may road trip to Van Wert more than those from Van Wert going to see a show in Lima. A shared regional identity I don't know about that. Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Pataskala General User Member Since: 7/8/2010 Location: At least six feet away from anybody else Post Count: 9,265 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/19/2020 12:51:10 PM  Club Hyatt wrote: Pataskala wrote: Club Hyatt wrote: There is a Limaland Motorsports Raceway. A Limaland Teens for Christ. Limaland Spring Fling 5k. A few references to it. Do they mean the Greater Lima area or is this defined more regionally? This link has a regional map that goes south to St. Mary's and north to Ottawa. Ottawa I'd say is in Findlay's orbit as they shop at the west side Findlay Wal-Mart. Benton Ridge is part of Liberty-Benton schools and Findlay Liberty Benton High School. U.S. Route 30 corridor looks to be about the northern edge of Limaland under any definition. http://www.ohiodtr.com/trackhtms/limaland.htm When I was growing up in Ohio's Great Northwest the Lima News used the term "Limaland" to describe its home delivery area. Basically it was Allen, Putnam, Van Wert, Mercer, Auglaize, Hardin and the southwestern part of Hancock counties. Lima has claim to a 6 county region with a central city population of 36,659? I've always given them Allen County with its 102,351 pop. At one time the Lima MSA included Van Wert, Putnam and Auglaize. Van Wert and Putnam left the MSA in 1983 and Auglaize in 2003. Hardin county was never part of Lima's MSA. Working against the regionalism concept is a strong county identification in that part of the state. Those who live there know where are the towns in their county are but are very unfamiliar with the next county over. Each county has a county seat where everything revolves around. As an example there is a Findlay-Tiffin CSA that is a triangle with Fostoria shared between counties. Fostoria's economy is very heavily linked to Findlay. It looks like an exclave of a blue collar neighborhood in Findlay and many workers make the 12 mile ride into Findlay from Fostoria. Fostoria is a weird situation where it has county seat level size but isn't a county seat though it has 20,000 people within a 3 mile radius of town. With Tiffin though its 25 miles from Findlay, has 2 universities, half an hour closer to Cleveland so it the linkage is questionable and its a county seat which gives it more power. Though the regional shopping area is on the east side of Findlay built to also serve Fostoria and Tiffin the community itself doesn't lean east. It leans north towards the communities in between Findlay and Toledo and plays in athletic conference with Toledo schools. Tiffin city limits and points east are the outer regions of Northeast Ohio along with communities like Sandusky and Norwalk. For entertainment there is regional travel between county seats. Each of these towns has a notable restaurant or a theater that depending who's performing people will travel 30 to 40 miles to see. Van Wert I believe has a theater so people from Lima may road trip to Van Wert more than those from Van Wert going to see a show in Lima. A shared regional identity I don't know about that. What they had back then were three very large employers -- the Ford engine plant, an oil refinery (now owned by Husky), and the Lima correctional facility. They also had the only TV station primarily serving the six-county area (stations in Fort Wayne provided some coverage but they were focused primarily on Indiana) and still have the only two. The employment picture has changed over the years but I imagine there's still a lot of reliance on Lima TV for information in the six-county area. Local papers are shuttering and the consolidation of local radio by Clear Channel (aka ihatelocalradio) means less local news and information on the small town radio stations and their websites up there. We will get by. We will get by. We will get by. We will survive. Back to Top Victory General User Member Since: 3/10/2012 Post Count: 2,114 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/19/2020 4:02:46 PM  I'd think NIU and Toledo are one and two. I think Ohio and WMU might be three and four though it would be easy to argue for several schools for 3, 4, and 5. Back to Top SBH General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Post Count: 3,882 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/19/2020 7:41:58 PM  NIU is no longer attractive. President is anti sports in a big way. Back to Top TWT General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,987 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/19/2020 8:03:47 PM  Pataskala wrote: Club Hyatt wrote: Pataskala wrote: Club Hyatt wrote: There is a Limaland Motorsports Raceway. A Limaland Teens for Christ. Limaland Spring Fling 5k. A few references to it. Do they mean the Greater Lima area or is this defined more regionally? This link has a regional map that goes south to St. Mary's and north to Ottawa. Ottawa I'd say is in Findlay's orbit as they shop at the west side Findlay Wal-Mart. Benton Ridge is part of Liberty-Benton schools and Findlay Liberty Benton High School. U.S. Route 30 corridor looks to be about the northern edge of Limaland under any definition. http://www.ohiodtr.com/trackhtms/limaland.htm When I was growing up in Ohio's Great Northwest the Lima News used the term "Limaland" to describe its home delivery area. Basically it was Allen, Putnam, Van Wert, Mercer, Auglaize, Hardin and the southwestern part of Hancock counties. Lima has claim to a 6 county region with a central city population of 36,659? I've always given them Allen County with its 102,351 pop. At one time the Lima MSA included Van Wert, Putnam and Auglaize. Van Wert and Putnam left the MSA in 1983 and Auglaize in 2003. Hardin county was never part of Lima's MSA. Working against the regionalism concept is a strong county identification in that part of the state. Those who live there know where are the towns in their county are but are very unfamiliar with the next county over. Each county has a county seat where everything revolves around. As an example there is a Findlay-Tiffin CSA that is a triangle with Fostoria shared between counties. Fostoria's economy is very heavily linked to Findlay. It looks like an exclave of a blue collar neighborhood in Findlay and many workers make the 12 mile ride into Findlay from Fostoria. Fostoria is a weird situation where it has county seat level size but isn't a county seat though it has 20,000 people within a 3 mile radius of town. With Tiffin though its 25 miles from Findlay, has 2 universities, half an hour closer to Cleveland so it the linkage is questionable and its a county seat which gives it more power. Though the regional shopping area is on the east side of Findlay built to also serve Fostoria and Tiffin the community itself doesn't lean east. It leans north towards the communities in between Findlay and Toledo and plays in athletic conference with Toledo schools. Tiffin city limits and points east are the outer regions of Northeast Ohio along with communities like Sandusky and Norwalk. For entertainment there is regional travel between county seats. Each of these towns has a notable restaurant or a theater that depending who's performing people will travel 30 to 40 miles to see. Van Wert I believe has a theater so people from Lima may road trip to Van Wert more than those from Van Wert going to see a show in Lima. A shared regional identity I don't know about that. What they had back then were three very large employers -- the Ford engine plant, an oil refinery (now owned by Husky), and the Lima correctional facility. They also had the only TV station primarily serving the six-county area (stations in Fort Wayne provided some coverage but they were focused primarily on Indiana) and still have the only two. The employment picture has changed over the years but I imagine there's still a lot of reliance on Lima TV for information in the six-county area. Local papers are shuttering and the consolidation of local radio by Clear Channel (aka ihatelocalradio) means less local news and information on the small town radio stations and their websites up there. Lima has one NBC station which all the communities do pick up, including Findlay to the north. Lima Senior like Findlay High is now playing sports now in a Toledo based conference. Findlay (6 Toledo) Ottawa (6 Toledo, 5 Ft. Wayne) Columbus Grove (6 Toledo, 5 Ft. Wayne) Bluffton (6 Toledo) Beverdam (3 Toledo) Delphos (5 Ft. Wayne) Lima (5 Ft. Wayne) Ada (2 Toledo, 1 Columbus) Kenton (3 Columbus) Wapakoneta (4 Dayton, 1 Ft. Wayne) St. Mary's (4 Dayton, 5 Ft. Wayne) Celina (4 Dayton, 5 Ft. Wayne) Van Wert (5 Ft. Wayne) Hardin County where Ada and Kenton are located is the dividing line between the Toledo and Columbus TV markets. Putnam county is covered by Toledo and Ft. Wayne. Auglaize is into the Dayton TV market. Only most of Allen county with Lima proper and Van Wert county aren't picked up by an Ohio media market. Hancock County with Findlay has passed Allen County in total payroll with 2.1 billion to 1.95 billion for Lima. Hancock has 26.7% with bachelor's or better while in Allen its only 17.6%. Definitely peer cities at this point though Findlay is content with second city status in the Toledo market. Findlay's draw is its county and a 5 mile radius around it, which happens to include some decent sized towns. Local mall used to be attack of the high school jacket with 30 different towns represented anytime you walked in there, including places in Hardin and Putnam counties. Findlay has become more regional since the 80's cutting into Lima's turf. You can see it in the population shift too. Findlay like Lima also has sprawled out into the township so its roughly tripled in size since WWII while Lima even counting the sprawl is up only 25% over the same time. 1950 Lima 50,246 Findlay 23,835 2019 Lima 36,659 Findlay 41,225 Zip Code Pop Lima 61,828 Findlay 57,553 Regional Population Lima (Cridersville & Elida) 86,138 Findlay (North Baltimore & Fostoria) 86,520 Surprisingly close in regional size. Athens by zip is a lot bigger with 34,000 residents in 45701 as of 2010. Last Edited: 9/19/2020 9:00:47 PM by TWT Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Tymaster General User Member Since: 3/24/2017 Location: Chillicothe, OH Post Count: 231 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/22/2020 8:26:58 AM  I think the OU job is about as attractive as it can get in the MAC. Solich has made the program a perennial bowl team and all the next coach has to do is win the MAC outright to take it to the proverbial next level. I'm curious what OU will do in the post Solich era. Back to Top BryanHall General User Member Since: 9/11/2010 Post Count: 520 Status: Offline     RE: Top Five Jobs in the MAC    Posted: 9/22/2020 9:20:01 AM  Tymaster wrote: I think the OU job is about as attractive as it can get in the MAC. Solich has made the program a perennial bowl team and all the next coach has to do is win the MAC outright to take it to the proverbial next level. I'm curious what OU will do in the post Solich era. I think the geography is an advantage for recruiting the Eastern Seabord and OU has great curb appeal. However, the lack of metro area/media market provides a low ceiling. I think Buffalo is clearly the highest upside. Toledo, Western and North Illinois get a benefit as well. Back to Top Showing Replies:   1 - 25  of 36 Posts Jump to Page:   1 | 2    Next > View Other 'Ohio Football' Topics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               WHO'S ONLINE There are 195 Active Visitors on BobcatAttack.com 195 Guests 0 Registered Users There are no other users looking at this page.

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