About Hustle Belt: for Mid-American Conference fans
The official Hustle Belt flagship podcast. Hosted by Sam Thilman and Zach Follador Come join the Mid-American Bandwagon If you want to leave feedback or suggestions, our twitter is @MAC_Bandwagon.
Happy Friday folks! We’ve made it through another week, and we’re excited to help you ring in another weekend. Another week down, another week closer to football!
Despite football season being right around the corner, the boys open up the show this week with some huge news out of the basketball world. Emoni Bates, the former number three overall recruit in the class of 2022, announced his commitment to Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. Bates spent his freshman season at Memphis, and averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game for the Tigers. It was an up and down season, both for Bates and for the Tigers squad in general. Bates missed significant time due to injury and only played 18 games over the course of the season. A native of Ypsilanti, Bates ultimately chose EMU over blue blood programs such as Louisville and Illinois. Without a doubt, this is a huge signing for Stan Heath as he enters his second year as head coach in Ypsilanti. With Noah Farrakhan and most other contributors returning from last year, the Eagles will be in great position to compete at the top of the conference next year.
Elsewhere in hoops, the MAC celebrated an NBA draft selection for the second straight year. This year, it was courtesy of Toledo product Ryan Rollins, who was drafted by Golden State with the 44th overall pick. It seems to be a great landing spot for Rollins, as Golden State is coming off of their fourth NBA title in seven years. Also in the NBA, for Bowling Green Falcon Daeqwon Plowden signed a Summer League contract with New Orleans and will look to earn a roster spot in the Las Vegas Summer League next month.
To close out the show this week, it’s a bittersweet send off for Zach. Zach has been around since the beginning of the podcast two years ago, and is sad to be stepping away. You’re all in great hands though, as Steve will be back next week to help kick off our pre-season football coverage. Steve and Vannzee will have all of the coverage you need come football season. There’s a lot of exciting stuff to look forward to.
As always, thanks for stopping by this week folks. Have a great weekend and a great week ahead, and we’ll talk to you again next Friday!
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23 Jun 2022
Mid-American Bandwagon Episode 101
Howdy folks! We hope you’ve all had a good week to this point. We have officially reached the dog days of summer, where baseball has wrapped up and football is still about two months away. But that’s ok - we’ve got plenty to talk about to get you through!
Zack and Zach open up the show this week by discussing former Toledo forward Ryan Rollins and his prospects in tonight’s NBA Draft. Rollins, who was MAC Freshman of the Year in 2020 and first team All-MAC last year, is widely considered to be a second round pick. Despite concerns about his defense and outside shooting ability, many NBA teams remain intrigued by his athleticism and potential.
Next up, the boys discuss the recently released MAC championship odds for the upcoming football season. According to the bookmakers, Toledo is the pre-season favorite (tell us if you’ve heard that before) with Kent State, NIU, Miami, and Central Michigan right behind them. The odds certainly reflect the parity of the conference, where a new team seems to sneak into the title conversation every year.
To close out the show this week, the boys are joined by Christian Booher. Christian is the Sports Editor at CM Life, the Central Michigan student newspaper. Christian stopped by to talk Chippewas football and give his thoughts on the upcoming season. CMU returns a ton of talent, but also have to replace key contributors such as Kalil Pimpleton, Luke Goedeke, and Bernhard Raimann. In year four under Jim McElwain, the Chips seem to be positioned to compete for a conference title.
As always, thanks for stopping by this week folks. Stay cool out there, have a great week ahead, and we’ll see you back here next Friday!
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17 Jun 2022
Mid-American Bandwagon Episode 100
Happy Friday folks! We’ve made it through another week, and we hope you’ve been keeping cool and hydrated as summer has descended upon us. It’s a big week for the show this week, as this is episode 100. On a typical week, we try to have a structure to the show, but given the occasion this week, we wanted to keep it a bit looser.
The boys spend the bulk of the time this week reflecting on 100 episodes and reading some Twitter responses from the fans. First up, we asked you all to tell us your favorite memories as a fan of your MAC school or of the conference in general. We got some GREAT responses - from last second touchdowns, to improbable upsets, to field storming occasions, there were some great answers.
We close out the show this week by taking a look at a more specific topic: questions and concerns heading into football season. While there were no coaching changes in the MAC this off-season, there was plenty of roster movement via the transfer portal. Which schools will benefit from that? Will the MAC pick up a Power 5 upset this year? Who will emerge from the loaded MAC West? These are questions we’re all contemplating as the season approaches, and the boys give their thoughts on each topic.
We say this every week, but we want to place some extra emphasis this time around: we can’t thank you all enough for stopping by and lending us your ears. Not just this week, but every week. It’s been a great journey to get to 100 episodes, and we’re excited to continue to build this. We couldn’t do it without all of you! We hope you all have a great weekend and a great week ahead, and we’ll see you back here next Friday.
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