Ron Seibel: Mercer ready to cash in

Is Mercer biting off too much by taking on two SEC powers in the same season?

Sure, Mercer might -- and let's not rule out any sort of Bobby Lamb coaching magic here -- get blown out by both Auburn and Alabama in 2017. But I'm sure the Mercer athletics department won't be hurting after the payday it receives, as well as the television exposure the program likely will get via the SEC Network or other outlets.

Yes, this is another step in the swift evolution of Mercer football from non-scholarship start-up to Southern Conference contender. Who in Middle Georgia would have thought this would have been possible a decade ago?

There's no denying how successful the relaunch of Mercer football has been.

A wildly strong debut season in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League has been followed by two solid years in the Southern Conference. The crowds at Five Star Stadium have been phenomenal, and wins over Chattanooga and Furman in November show that even bigger things are ahead for the Bears.

Now Mercer is going for the home run. Or at least a home run of a payday.

With Alabama being added to the schedule in 2017 and 2021, there are now three Power 5 conference programs waiting to host Mercer in football. The Bears will visit Georgia Tech on Sept. 10, with games at Auburn and at Alabama set up for the following season.

Georgia Tech is coming off a disappointing season and will be fresh off a trip to Dublin, Ireland, when the Bears head to Bobby Dodd Stadium for their first game against an FBS program. Combine that with the Middle Georgia presence on each roster, and there's going to be some intrigue when they meet.

Auburn and Alabama in 2017? Different story.

Mercer is joining the list of FCS programs that the big-name programs call upon when they want to have a game where they intend to take a break of sorts, a game in which the 85-man scholarship roster can be used to its fullest. The score usually ends up lopsided, but the power program makes it worth the smaller program's while to go play.

At least that's how it usually works when it comes to guarantee games. For the contrarian view, ask Michigan about Appalachian State or Florida about Georgia Southern, teams that were in the Southern Conference when they posted big-time upsets.

Again, not to say that Mercer might stir up something interesting, but this is about the payday and exposure. Not that there's anything wrong with that, as college football isn't an operation run on the cheap.

So, even while the scoreboards at Bryant-Denny and Jordan-Hare stadiums might show painful numbers for Mercer fans, those games will feed the financial needs for what the football program wants to become: a strong FCS operation.

Then again, the Mercer basketball team has enjoyed success against the big boys in recent years. Might the football team provide a similar surprise?

Contact Ron Seibel at 744-4222 or rseibel@macon.com

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Ron Seibel: Mercer ready to cash in ."