In an ever-changing world, sometimes all you need to do is tilt your head to find what matters.
Human nature is always looking for or towards harbingers; those little signs which can affirm or deny what we believe to be true.
Throughout the last year, there have been massive changes in the way college sports work. Depending on your perspective, it’s either the end of the collegiate ideal as you know it or the beginning of a new normal.
Expansion was once again the talk of the town this offseason, with the Big Ten exploding to 18 partners and the SEC expanding to 16 partners while the Big XII and ACC picking the PAC-12 for scraps, irrevocably changing the college landscape— for better or worse.
All the movement above them forced the typically-stoic MAC into action, extending an invitation to a new full member for the first time since 1998. (UMass accepted, and will join the league in 2025.)
What is there to make of everything which has happened in the 365 days since we last ruminated on this subject? For one, fighting in a sea of change involves a lot of floating and keeping your head above water.
Over the last 14 years, our blog has been a tried-and-true companion to fans across Mid-America. No matter how many people have passed through and gone on to bigger and better things, no matter how many times we’ve shifted editorial prerogatives, we have always done so with a proponent’s voice, something we will always be fiercely proud of.
It is a credit to you, the reader, that we have been able to write about The Best Little Conference in the Midwest for as long as we have. It is in that vein of honesty and love that I want to drop the veneer.
In previous addresses, I wrote in grandiose— almost naive— terms, acting as a bit of a hype man in order to try and excite all of you, our beloved audience. This time around, I want to keep it frank and simple.
Over the last year, we have learned to maintain perspective.
We aren’t the big time and that’s fine. The sports world has changed, the media world has changed. That’s fine. The conference, the blog, they both have special places and roles to fill in the greater scheme. That’s fine. If you don’t maintain perspective, it will only serve to hurt you in the long run.
At the end of the day, life is change. The more one tries to resist it, the more it insists. The best we can do is to discover what matters to us and hold it close.
I myself am entering my 10th year at the site, a fact my aging body and ever-increasing article count likes to remind me of every so often. I still remember the first article I ever had go live: a type of column which definitely was popular in the early days of our blog. I’ve gone through so many gradual changes as a writer in my time here, the me of 10 years ago would not recognize the me of today.
(In fact, the me of 10 years ago would probably hate the way I write now; I was a lot campier and more uninhibited in younger days.)
We’ve been through a lot here at Hustle Belt, and it’s no easy feat. We’re not all media professionals. Many of us have other jobs, or go to school and give the remainder of our time to being part of the Mid-American Conference community.
The fact we’re still here is a testament to our perseverance and love of storytelling. Because that’s what we do at the end of the day: we tell stories.
We tell the stories of hotly-contested battles in the cold November weeknights. The stories of the stars of Saturdays transitioning to the stars of Sundays. The stories of the leaders of men who shape the lives of hundreds of their wards. We’ve even told the stories of those who found alternate routes in life after their sporting careers.
And sometimes, the satisfaction of being able to do that and hear back from you is all we need to keep going.
Perspective is a funny thing like that; sometimes all you need is right in front of you. Even with all the changes and the swimming to stay afloat, even with the uncertainty and the fear of being lesser… it’s all there if you want to see it.
Happy birthday, Hustle Belt. Here’s to a 2024 full of being thankful for what a healthy perspective brings you.
If you’d like to contribute as a writer, please check out this link here and follow the instructions! Thank you very much for reading.