Belt Bag: April 9, 2026

Once upon a time, people wrote these things called letters.

They used pen (or pencil, or crayon) on paper to express something to the recipient, and then stuffed the thing in an envelope, a-fixed a stamp upon it after a quick lick of the tongue, and pushed the whole into something called a "mailbox."

Sometimes, they would even get a reply back. How exciting!

This column is like that, except we're saving trees by doing this ancient form of communication via the computer. These things use a lot of electricity, you know... That can't be great, all considered.

Anyway!

Welcome to Belt Bag, where we give the old college try to any questions you might have of us.

Let's get right into it, eh?

From Mason Saunders on Twitter:

It's a little early right now to know how all the rosters will shake out, as the spring games have not started up yet across the majority of the conference. We'll have a better understanding of how everyone looks by around July, even with the spring rosters finalizing earlier thanks to the new rules. So this is probably less of a "top three" and more of a "my three".

That said, there are a few notable transfers I am interested in seeing come kickoff.

"Pop" Watson III is the most personally intriguing storyline to me. A former Gatorade Player of the Year in Massachusetts, Watson proved to be a capable spot starter at QB for Virginia Tech, posting 639 total yards and three touchdowns in 11 contests over three seasons. He is a capable dual-threat option even at a listed five-foot-11, 201 lbs., and I think a step down to MAC play will allow Watson's athleticism to shine. Reports from UMass' spring camps have been encouraging as well. I hope for the fanbase's sake, he can realize his full potential.

Central Michigan was in need of halfbacks with game experience after Nahree Biggins (NFL Draft) and Trey Cornist (transfer) departed in the offseason. Vaughn Blue, formerly of Liberty, should help fill that gap. Blue averaged an effective 5.5 yards per carry with the Flames as a change-of-pace back, and was a weapon in the receiving game as well out of the backfield, with 188 yards and two scores on 19 catches. I am intrigued by the possibility of him being a primary option at CMU with their power spread look.

FCS star Andrew Zock is set to follow his old coach Mike Jacobs from Mercer to Toledo after a campaign which saw him finish fourth in the Jerry Rice Award voting for best freshman player as a defensive lineman. Zock's stellar campaign featured 38 tackles– including 14.5 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks and 15 QB hurries– two forced fumbles and two pass break-ups. Simply put, Zock was a machine. I think he'll take to the MAC like a fish to water.

From The Uptown Parlay on Twitter:

The basketball transfer portal opened up earlier this week, so it's a bit early to talk about specific transfers, but the damage it has done to the MAC is nigh apocalyptic.

Of the three all-MAC teams for men's basketball, all but one of the players awarded have announced their entry into the dreaded portal– including at least one player who had previously stated their intent to stay.

(Currently, Luke Skaljak of Miami is the only returner who was listed on any all-MAC team.)

As for incoming transfers, the majority of the intrigue lies with Western Michigan, who hired UT-Rio Grand Valley head coach Kahlil Fennell, and Ball State, who signed on Chris Capko to steer the ship. They'll oversee near-complete overhauls.

Akron will try their best to retain their roster under new head coach Dustin Ford, an assistant on the former staff.

Looking at recent trends across college sports, I would imagine we'll see a lot of prospects from the lower divisions (read: D-II, D-III, NAIA) cropping up in the MAC. That's where the industry is currently headed– and that's not necessarily a bad thing. You're not gonna get an Emoni Bates situation every year.

From Kent State Agenda Pusher on Twitter and Mountain West Wire on Bluesky:

Looking at the landscape this early can be rife with complications, as we said earlier. Most rosters have started their spring ball activities, but you never quite know what will happen; for instance, in the process of writing this piece, CMU lost a projected starting receiver to an ACL injury.

That said, I think we generally have an idea of who might be competitive based on their roster builds. Teams like UMass and Sacramento State are in obvious growing pain situations, so I don't expect a lot from either program in 2026.

On the flipside, I have no reason to believe Western Michigan, Toledo and Miami aren't top of the class in the MAC until further notice.

This leaves the murky middle, filled with eight volatile teams who could either surpass or underperform from expectations.

In alphabetical order, my eyes are on Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kent State and Ohio in terms of other teams who can make a run at the postseason.

I would go deeper into it here, but we gotta save the good stuff for the preseason build-up, ya know?

From AJ on Bluesky:

To answer this question, let's look at the transition from Matt Campbell to Jason Candle.

Candle officially took over in 2016 after coaching the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl game upon Campbell's departure. His first year saw the Rockets finish 9-3 in the regular season, second in the East division to the PJ Fleck-era Western Michigan Broncos.

This was basically equal to their footing from the prior season, when they split the East division three ways and lost an opportunity to go to Detroit despite being 10-2.

Obviously, 2026 is a much different environment from 2016.

Transfer rules have changed drastically, the on-field product has evolved and the conference itself has experienced a ton of change– most notably with the abolishment of divisions.

Toledo has lost a bevy of their talent, especially on defense, with Candle's departure to UConn, but even still, they have one of the most talented rosters in the conference and are amongst the most progressive programs in terms of NIL structure and roster management.

Jacobs' resume indicates his teams typically take on the culture by Year 2, so 2026 might see a few hiccups as the team adjusts to what he likes to do philosophically. All said, I would expect Toledo to still be amongst the top four teams in the conference and to be in the fight for the MAC title.

From Matthew van Wormer on Bluesky:

I kinda answered this on the previous question, but I think BGSU is fully capable of fighting for a bowl game.

Last season had signs of brilliance, especially early in the campaign, before offensive injuries took the shine off. BGSU had a really interesting sort of hybrid pro-style/power spread look which was never able to realize its full potential due to the black hole at quarterback over most of the season.

BGSU finished 4-8 last year and were fully capable of at least 1-3 more wins on top of that in 2025. Assuming they can stay healthy and refine their strengths, this team can reach the .500 mark or higher.

However, that will be contingent on the coaching staff, especially Eddie George, learning from their mistakes.

Yes, the team fought through a lot of adversity, but they also suffered from questionable decision-making in leverage situations multiple times and it came back to bite them. This was inevitable for someone in their first year at the FBS level, but he will certainly have to re-evaluate his approach to playcalling ahead of the 2026 campaign.

I think there are good days ahead for the Falcons, it might be a bit before they're ready to crack into the upper echelon though.

From John Kohlstrand on Bluesky:

Oh man, I've been meaning to sit down and actually write out what a new television deal might look like in a separate column, but this is as good an opportunity as any.

TV rights for sports is a hot-button issue at the moment. Essentially, sports leagues– namely the NFL– are starting to feel the squeeze of the current economy and are looking to create more favorable terms before the vein runs dry, so getting a deal as soon as possible is tantamount to survival.

MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, along with American Conference commish Tim Pernetti, have been the strongest advocates for the conferences to broker deals as a collective, something which has been socialized recently amongst university presidents.

This is, of course, contingent on Congress addressing flaws with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which they seem reticent to do. Combine this with the end of several important Grant of Rights contracts in 2027, and you can see why it's hard to look into the future.

In terms of where the MAC stands now, I would look at a contract like Conference USA got in 2022 (about $800k per program) as a floor, and a contract like the Sun Belt got in 2024 (about $2m per program) as the ceiling. They're not going to get close to the Mountain West's $4m per program due to their media market share.

I think the new deal will look pretty close to what the Sun Belt has due to their media markets being largely the same size– assuming the MAC has to negotiate on their own. How much money that translates to, however, will hang on whether or not the conference continues to embrace weeknights.

That's a conversation for another day.

From... checks notes... Masters Insider Meghan McCain on Bluesky:

Speaking of exhaustive topics...

We'll hit this harder at some other point that isn't today, but what I feel pretty comfortable with saying is the conference is not as gun-shy as they were a few years ago– for better or worse.

NIU's departure was a gunshot right into the league's window, and stirred a previously content leadership group into action. With reports of Ohio and Toledo also fielding offers for realignment in the past, you had to address the elephant in the room. In adding Sacramento State, the MAC eschewed their previous stance of "full members only", which opens up some possibilities should they so desire.

The industry trend seems to be arching towards hybrid memberships, where football is at the highest level and "Olympic" sports remain at lower levels. This would be very attractive, I would think, to several programs that fear a full embrace of the cost of reclassification in all sports.

The two who immediately spring to mind for me (as affiliates or full members) who the MAC would find the most attractive are Illinois State and Rhode Island. They're FBS-ready with a few minor investments and address pitfalls for the conference. The question there would be if those two schools feel the need to jump.

... and finally, from Banner Year Coffee Co. on Twitter:

Typically, I would ignore such a brash attempt at self-advertisement under our mentions, especially one which reached my phone at 1:08 a.m. local time. However, I'll never turn down a good cup of coffee, and this gives me an excuse to talk about it.

Everyone has their favorite methods; I myself have a moka pot, a chemex and pour-over set-ups for when I am feeling a bit footloose and fancy-free. Most mornings, however, my typical cup of coffee tends to be a regular drip, from a handy Keurig machine with a basket for brewing grounds.

I personally am a fan of dark and espresso roasts; the more cooked the bean, the more eager I am to drink it. You just can't beat the smoothness and the refined bitterness that can be cut in complimentary fashion with a dash or so of milk. Darker roasts also have less caffeine, so it helps me escape the jitters.

However, most of these novelty coffees tend to be medium roasts, which makes me sad because those sorts of roasts feel like they're always missing something– at least to me. I have to add lots of milk and sugar to it to make it any type of drinkable, and at that point, I may as well get an ice coffee from 7-Eleven.

Which is too bad, because mediums tend to have really nice, fruity notes that I otherwise enjoy! Oh, my kingdom for a dark roast that had notes of cherry or some such.

So good on ya, Banner Year, for at least having the choice of a dark roast for every school you support. I think supporting student-athletes is a noble goal, and I wish you the best of luck in the coffee business! (Also, I have killer ideas for names if a MAC collective ever does approach you. I think way too much about this sorta thing.)

We're hoping to make this a recurring fixture at By The Belt, so please keep an eye out for our call-outs on Twitter (@bythebelt) and Bluesky (@bythebelt.bsky.social), or mention us on either social with #BeltBag and we'll do our best to answer.

Until next time!