Toledo and Bowling Green men’s basketball teams tip off Tuesday, January 19, continuing one of the great Mid-American Conference (MAC) rivalries. Competition peaks when these teams – separated by just 30 miles – square off, no matter the sport.
Analogous to football
Football is viewed differently through the rivalry lens, but to analyze the pending hoops match-up, for a moment, let’s consider pigskin.
Living in the shadow of a nationally renowned rivalry, (Ohio State vs. Michigan) can downplay the ‘Battle of I-75’. Most folks don’t attend UT-BG viewing parties, wear midnight blue or burnt orange the day before the game. Will nothing get in the way of you seeing the game? Does your weekend (yearlong?) happiness depend on the game?
This is our rivalry
Surely, we love other local institutions – The Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Zoo, Tony Packo’s, minor league sports like the Mud Hens or Walleye,– but does that “419” pride spill into college sports?
Absolutely, according to area supporters, fan fervor is stronger than ever. “On our campus, I have to give credit to (BGSU) President Mazey and others,” said Van Wright, BGSU assistant to the vice provost for enrollment. “I see more orange and Bowling Green gear today than a decade ago. Kids are proud to be at Bowling Green, saying, ‘I’m a Falcon.’ That’s true rivalry embracement.”
Van Wright shows off his Falcon pride.
Sports to go around
Ohio State-Michigan have a rivalry hyped by a larger alumni base, wider media markets, grander TV contracts and super-sized budgets – factors which UT and BG cannot match.
But one factor that sets the UT-BG rivalry apart is geography.
“Being in the shadow of the Big Ten schools,” said Paul Helgren, Toledo associate athletic director for communications, “that’s always going to be the challenge for MAC schools and mid-majors. Geography is part of our challenge. Other schools’ (rivalries) don’t have that defining geography.”
Helgren believes geography can help lead the rivalry.
The power of TV
TV remains a large influence. While neither UT nor BG enjoy constant national exposure, the gap has narrowed. Both local schools play on national TV more than ever before, and the local coverage has been strong.
“We had three Toledo TV stations here for BG-UT (football) doing pregame shows this past year,” said Jason Knavel, BGSU assistant athletic director for athletic communications. “ I do think our local media covers the BG-UT rivalry pretty well.”
Jason Knavel enjoys the yearly media coverage of the rivalry.
Collaboration is part of the key to success. As Knavel said the two universities work together on many projects, and still manage to keep the rivalry on the field.
Growing fan interest
Influencing fans while they’re young is also important, as is reaching the student base.
“Certainly you can see students who have split allegiances,” Knavel said. “You can still root for both. We do a lot of things to get freshmen to jump on the Bowling Green bandwagon. A lot of it comes down to personal interaction and just talking to them about what’s so great about BG. And we do a lot of that.”
When Helgren came to Toledo in 1998, Rocket apparel was hard to find. Now, readily accessible through various sources, Helgren believes it has enhanced the rivalry.
“Every shirt you see is a walking billboard. On campus, today, it’s very common to see UT apparel.”
So as the rivalry game nears tip-off, that buzz you hear may be more than a scoreboard clock, but that of fans buying tickets, talking about their teams, flying flags, painting faces and wearing colors like their civic pride depends on it.
“Bowling Green-Toledo,” Knavel said, “is one of the great mid-major rivalries in college sports.”
UT vs. BG men's basketball will play for the only time this regular season on Tuesday, January 19. The women's teams play twice: Wednesday, January 30 and Wednesday, February 17. For tickets to these rivalry games, and all home games, visit utrockets.comhttps://utrockets.com or bgsufalcons.com.
