UMass Football Out of the MAC

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RhowdyRam02
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by RhowdyRam02 »

This idea that it's a joke and a waste aren't proven yet. They can always drop down or eliminate if they choose. But what if the five power conferences decide that only FCS schools can offer stipends to their basketball players. Then UMass basketball leaps every A10 school, if they're still in the A10 at the time. Also conferences that we don't think too highly of like the MAC all of a sudden look a lot better to recruits. The future of college sports is very uncertain, but FCS football is driving the train. UMass putting themselves in the room to make decisions and be in the conversation was the best move for them.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by Ramulous »

A true national championship tournament which has 16 teams and takes each conference champion with an automatic bid is what UMass needs to make their move the right one.....it will be a huge money-maker....
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TruePoint
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by TruePoint »

First, you have FCS and FBS backwards. URI plays in FCS. What was formerly 1-A is now FBS.

Second of all, Do you want to make a friendly wager for which football program will win more games AND lose less money in the next decade, URI or UMass? And it's stupid that is even a fair question when UMass was so far ahead of Rhody in football, but I'll take Rhody in that bet every day and twice on Saturdays.

UMass will never be competitive in FBS football. Culturally, geographically, infrastructurally and financially they are set up to fail. UMass has no shot, and even trying was complete malfeasance on the part of their leadership. This failure is going to cost an absolutely absurd amount of money.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by SmartyBarrett »

Hmmm...

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RF1
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by RF1 »

While the Sunbelt was less than ideal even just for football, the alternative is worse. UMass will now have to find opponents for all their games (no 8 conference games predetermined) and they will have little bargaining power. Being an independent (save for Notre Dame) is tough.
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TruePoint
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by TruePoint »

They have to crawl back to the CAA, I think. Agree RF1?
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by Ramblinrose »

UMASS to FBS is their 38 Studios.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by RF1 »

TruePoint wrote:They have to crawl back to the CAA, I think. Agree RF1?

They are still in the MAC for two more seasons. My guess is that they will wait things out and hope for something in FBS (1A) to open up before then. If they don't get into a league, things will be very tough. They are gambling a lot of money with little return guaranteed with this move up.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by SmartyBarrett »

Agree, RF1. Two years isn't a ton of time regarding a conference move, but they do have a little bit of time on their side.
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TruePoint
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by TruePoint »

I don't think they have 2 years. I think they have one year. If they get to this time next year and haven't figured out a solution, they may bail early. Why would flush a year's worth of expenditures down the toilet without a realistic chance of getting anything in return except their asses handed to them by slightly less terrible football programs for one more year?
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by RF1 »

TruePoint wrote:I don't think they have 2 years. I think they have one year. If they get to this time next year and haven't figured out a solution, they may bail early. Why would flush a year's worth of expenditures down the toilet without a realistic chance of getting anything in return except their asses handed to them by slightly less terrible football programs for one more year?
The post that started this thread linked an ESPN piece that indicated that it was after the 2015 season.

UMass set to exit MAC following 2015 season
The Mid-American Conference and University of Massachusetts reached an agreement forcing UMass to leave the league as a football-only member after the 2015 season, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by TruePoint »

Right. They can't stay longer than two more years, but they can always leave earlier if they want to. That was what I was trying to say.
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Ramblinrose
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by Ramblinrose »

Biggest boondoggle since the Big Dig.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by rhodylaw »

I wouldn't call it a boondoggle just yet. It was a rough start for sure but things can change quickly.
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Ramblinrose
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by Ramblinrose »

In orer to turn things around, UMASS needs a stadium near campus ... not two hours from campus. They need to be in a popular conference and win win win. Easy, right?
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by ATPTourFan »

Oh My...Would this be the equivalent of us having 1500 fans at the Ryan Center to watch Nebraska???
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RF1
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

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Attendance of 10,227 today at Gillette with a sizable contingent of Colorado fans.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by rhodyrudder »

They have to get in cusa.
No chance for them to make it as independent.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by twisted3829 »

they are looking for a conference where they will take the football team only (I think)
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by ramster »

UMASS played Colorado very respectably Saturday when they were heavy underdogs at home.
Only 3 of their games are played this year at Foxboro, Boston College, Colorado and Eastern Michigan. The other 3 home games are played at their Campus Facility McGuirk including homecoming at the end of this month. No way you will ever get a BCS Team like Colorado play in McGuirk even though it holds 17,000. UMASS plays at Colorado twice in the coming years as part of the agreement.
Time will tell if UMASS is making the right decision or not, nobody really knows how this D1 Football thing works out, but I would bet that UMASS is on the right side in the long run, may not seem like it now, but when we look back 5 or 10 years from now I think the lumps and criticism UMASS takes now could be erroneous.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by TruePoint »

Colorado is horrendous. They might be the worst team in all of the power 5 conferences.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by ramster »

TruePoint wrote:Colorado is horrendous. They might be the worst team in all of the power 5 conferences.
You should have bet the house on UMASS then as Colorado was favored by 17 points at UMASS. Wish I had taken the Minutemen.
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Re: UMass Football Out of the MAC

Unread post by TruePoint »

Me too, although honestly this game was not anywhere near my radar on Saturday. It probably wasn't among the first 50 games I would have thought to bet on.
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