Image courtesy of Matthew O’Haren (USA TODAY Sports)

In case you missed it, Don Brown sat down with John and Adam at The Big New England Football Coaches Clinic in Newport this past Saturday.

Just days after the announcement that the football team had a new (old?) home in the MAC conference, Brown talked about the importance of the move from a consistency standpoint.

“The biggest thing that you’re searching for when you go into a conference is you’re getting some consistency on the opponents that you have. The way I’m seeing this, we’ll probably have eight opponents from the league and then an FCS opponent and two non-leagues. Or, one non-league and one Power 5,” he said. “Whenever you’re into those kinds of things and you’re in a league, now you’re preparing for eight teams a year and there’s some consistency there.

“Your guys, you can get them ready for certain concepts. For example with us, I mean…every year it was a complete new battle in terms of who we were going to compete against. This is a good time for us. We’re excited about the move and excited for our players.”

The importance of having something to play for with a conference title can’t be overstated either.

“The good thing is, you’re playing with a purpose now,” Brown said. “Every time you play against a MAC team, the conference championship is on the line at the end of the day. What a great thing for us.”

Most importantly, when Brown or any other coach on his staff walks into a home or a high school to recruit a kid, you can sell them on national TV exposure (who doesn’t want to be part of MACtion?), the possibility of better NIL opportunities and that chance at a title.

“I think the recruiting piece is really important,” he added. “Now, the teams that you’re playing, you’ll be in their backyards and preparing to play them with a purpose because it means something for them and for us. It’s a big deal.”

Brown also talked about building new rivalries, the roster, the transfer portal and the NIL landscape. You can watch the full interview here (starting right around the 16:30 mark).