UMASS and AAC need each other

[Drumguy]

Fishy, take some time to read the article. Blaudschun suggests letting UMASS in for all sports EXCEPT football. Navy is just football. He adds that they could schedule 6 OOC games with AAC teams and let them prove themselves over time. They would be quasi Independent and highly motivated to build their football program.
They had a better football team than we had last year. They lost to Colorado and Vanderbilt by a total of 6 points! Adding them for Basketball and other sports wouldn't hurt anything.

Except for the fact that non football schools are worth $0.00 in tv dollars, which is the whole point of realignment.

Where's that ignore button?

 

[Ldandy]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier for UCONN to simply schedule UMASS OOC in both football and basketball every year, as opposed to trying to get the rest of The AAC on board with a UMASS Membership? I'm sure schools like Tulsa and SMU would be psyched about sending all of their non revenue sports to another destination in New England.

 

[Durks07]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier for UCONN to simply schedule UMASS OOC in both football and basketball every year, as opposed to trying to get the rest of The AAC on board with a UMASS Membership? I'm sure schools like Tulsa and SMU would be psyched about sending all of their non revenue sports to another destination in New England.

It would be a lot easier. Also, it wouldn't require the other AAC schools to get on board with adding UMASS and having another mouth to feed with a pitiful, meager pot of TV money that they do less than nothing to contribute to.

 

[Waquoit]

I have nothing against UMass and don't like seeing them caught up in limbo.

Well I have plenty against UMass and I am indifferent to their limbo since it's of their own making. When they made their very brief run in the 90's. they would badmouth UConn at every opportunity. I've read disparaging comments about UConn football from their coaches and AD. Who needs 'em? We don't owe them a frigging thing.

 

[Redding Husky]

Until the people of Massachusetts and the legislature see UMass as an investment rather than an expense, nothing will change up there.

 

[Gretchen]

Can't see an 'all in' UMass to AAC will hurt / effect UConn in any way. It's a good add and will not impact your eventual ACC invite.

 

[UConnJim]

Can't see an 'all in' UMass to AAC will hurt / effect UConn in any way. It's a good add and will not impact your eventual ACC invite.

You brought up a big "if" by saying an "all in" UMass. They are not all in today, so why is that going to change? None, and I mean none of their major sports would be competitive in the AAC today. Men's basketball has made 1 NCAA tournament in 15 years! Their athletic spending and coaching salaries would be last in the AAC and the AD is almost entirely funded by subsidies, not revenue generation.

UMass does not have much financial or athletic support within Massachusetts today. How is that going to change?

Finally, if UConn ever left the AAC, why would the rest of the schools want UMass? Geographically, they would be an outlier in the conference if UConn wasn't in the AAC. Yes, UConn is a geographic outlier in the AAC, but they bring athletic success, fan support, media recognition, and the largest athletic budget in the AAC. UMass brings none of that to the conference.

 

[Gretchen]

With respect, the AAC is a conference of 'outliers'.

 

[Fishy]

Imagining the AAC without UConn....why would any of the schools in the AAC want to invite UMass?

Please don't say basketball...those cats have made one NCAA tournament since 1998.

 

[Yawkey Way]

We need UMass like we need painful, rectal itch.

Uconn needs Tulsa... and a few other of these far away AAC football programs, " like a painful, rectal itch " too. Playing Umass in football has far more regional interest than a Uconn- Tulsa, or SMU snoozer. So if BC is not interested, than playing an annual regional interest football game with Umass is at least as interesting as playing some of these other AAC teams that are outside the New England region.

 

[specialisthusky]

Uconn needs Tulsa... and a few other of these far away AAC football programs, " like a painful, rectal itch " too. Playing Umass in football has far more regional interest than a Uconn- Tulsa, or SMU snoozer. So if BC is not interested, than playing an annual regional interest football game with Umass is at least as interesting as playing some of these other AAC teams that are outside the New England region.

Oh the sweet sweet irony.

 

[Yawkey Way]

Oh the sweet sweet irony.

Agreed.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Agreed.

I agree UConn and possibly Temple might want them.
I don't think either team would expend any capital to get them though.
The AAC as a whole and Aresco in particular really don't care all that much about BB. UMass brings zero value to the league for Football.
Aresco is focusing on the next contract,and he believes football is the ticket.
Seriously Will getting a rivalry game for UConn keep us in the AAC. In fact most of the time the league office acts as though we don't exist,because they know we're gone in a heartbeat.
Basically the article wants the already compromised creditability of the AAC football hurt even more ,because UMass has put themselves in a pickle. Which can easily be remedied by going back to FCS. or remaining Indy. Their already in a pretty decent regional BB conference.
As an old Yankee conference fan I feel some sympathy for them ,but if UConn were in their shoes , and had not invested so heavily in football.
The Big East BB ,and either Indy or FCS would be viable options for us also.

 

[Steve1981]

Interesting read as a UMass fan. Agree we would strengthen the middle and bring up the bottom most years in BB as we been to NIT Final Four twice and NCAA once since 2007.

You may not follow UMass Football closely but watch the scores this year. If Fro stays healthy, we'll be bowling this year.

Can't believe you guys passed on Whipple several years ago and thank you for it.

Women's lacrosse and rowing are top notch and other programs suffered with our past AD's hires. Hoping for good things with Ryan Bamford. Marty Meehan was Governor Bakers guy and on his transition team. There is an article stating Meehan would be goo for UMass Athletics.

http://www.masslive.com/umassfootba...ss_selects_marty_meehan_new.html#incart_river

 

[Yawkey Way]

I watched Umass football a little bit this past year. Their record does not show it, but they played some good OOC teams well, but seemed to lose their poise in the 4th quarter. Part of this may have been lack of depth, and by the 4th quarters the depth ( and talent ) of the other teams came to the fore. But they were in a lot of games until late, and they did show the ability to move the chains and score a lot of points too last season. A Uconn- Umass football game last season might have been an interesting match up too, imo.

 

[UConnJim]

Interesting read as a UMass fan. Agree we would strengthen the middle and bring up the bottom most years in BB as we been to NIT Final Four twice and NCAA once since 2007.

You may not follow UMass Football closely but watch the scores this year. If Fro stays healthy, we'll be bowling this year.

Can't believe you guys passed on Whipple several years ago and thank you for it.

Women's lacrosse and rowing are top notch and other programs suffered with our past AD's hires. Hoping for good things with Ryan Bamford. Marty Meehan was Governor Bakers guy and on his transition team. There is an article stating Meehan would be goo for UMass Athletics.

http://www.masslive.com/umassfootba...ss_selects_marty_meehan_new.html#incart_river

Unfortunately women's lacrosse is not an AAC sport. Seriously, for UMass to become a competitive athletic department, they would need to increase annual spending by at least 50%. Considering that they do not currently generate much revenue and the athletic department is almost totally subsidized, I just don't see how they get there. I live in the Boston area and I don't think I have ever met a real UMass athletic fan.

 

[Yawkey Way]

. I live in the Boston area and I don't think I have ever met a real UMass athletic fan.

I live part of the year in Boston too, ( with friends and family in Connecticut ) and I don't think I've ever met anyone in Boston( or from Connecticut) thats even BEEN to Tulsa, let alone met anyone that has graduated from Tulsa. Can't hate on Tulsa, their school, their fans, as we don't know any of them.. Playing a Umass football game should be no less of a bad thing for Uconn then, than playing Tulsa every year.. no ?

 

[Steve1981]

Posting budgets etc are a year plus behind. We'll get to about 68% subsidized and stay there. In the past few years we've increased the the budget from 27 Mill to low 30's and expect that to continue. It will be tough as an Independent and we have scheduled as such for 3 years through 2018.

We do not draw well in Foxboro and receive no real money playing there. It's nice to be able to buy a beer but at $11 for a draft it stinks. The concession prices are the same as an NFL Football game and we get zero on concessions etc.. Winning should help Gillette attendance.

Conference affiliation will bring an expanded McGuirk. In the next year you'll see a new indoor practice facility. Something is holding things up as heard about 3 home games for 2016 a little over a month ago. Probably waiting on filling the last two games to announce the full schedule.

Yes, we have many fair weather fans and need to do some winning. Looking forward to your trip to Gillette. It's the marque game for 2016. Screw the Beagles.

 

[UConnJim]

Posting budgets etc are a year plus behind. We'll get to about 68% subsidized and stay there. In the past few years we've increased the the budget from 27 Mill to low 30's and expect that to continue. It will be tough as an Independent and we have scheduled as such for 3 years through 2018.

Massively subsidized athletic departments are not a sustainable model in today's economic reality. Under your optimistic scenario, UMass will still be almost 70% subsidized.

I have nothing against UMass as I live in Massachusetts, but there is no support for UMass or UMass athletics. In the Boston area, there is more support for UMass Boston than UMass Amherst. If I were in charge of UMass, I would take the money invested in football and invest it in basketball, hockey, and lacrosse as UMass has a better chance of becoming competitive in those sports.

 

[BoatShow]

I'd rather have URI at this point. Or Bryant.

 

[BoatShow]

Forget about football for a minute..

Is Tulane/UCONN or USF/UCONN or East Carolina/UCONN or... a more attractive basketball game than UMASS/UCONN? I remember the Calipari and Marcus Camby days at UMASS in 1996...Things got heated and made for exciting LOCAL match ups.

"And John was the guy at UMass when Jim was at Connecticut. Jim hates to lose at anything. He's a tough guy. He's tough on himself, and that carries on to his team."

Calipari, who took UMass to the Final Four in 1996, three years before UConn did it, and had the Minutemen No. 1 in the country before the Huskies, was just as driven to rise above the Huskies in the 1990s.

Remember the 2002 game when UCONN came back after being down by like 25 points. Check out the cheeks in the seats!

Our attendance on the whole was crazy those years.

 

[Yawkey Way]

Every single AAC school is losing money on their football programs. Umass should be held to no more, no less, than the standards already in place. Umass should be allowed into the AAC only if such an addition will prove to make money for all the other schools. But I don't see the addition of Umass as making the other schools.. including Uconn.. money. But thats a different question as to whether or not Umass and Uconn can't play one another every other year or couple of years in football. This is all a talk thats probably going nowwhere anyway, as Umass is not going to become a member of the AAC anytime soon. But its got nothing at all to do with Umass. Its got everything instead to do with the other AAC schools. Name me the current AAC schools that will vote to add Umass.. in any sport.. to their league. If you can't name 5 or 6 right now, then for all intents and purposes this discussion is in the realm of fantasyland re. Umass to the AAC any time soon.

 

[Yawkey Way]

. In the Boston area, there is more support for UMass Boston than UMass Amherst. .

.

Of course, Umass - Boston has more support in Boston than Umass- Amherst. The reverse of this could just as easily be said as well. ( more support in Amherst, and Western Mass for Umass- Amherst, than Umass- Boston... and even for that of BC, and Uconn, out in that region we might had ) This is like saying Umass- Lowell hockey has more support in Lowell, than around Umass - Boston, and throughout the rest of the city of Boston. Well.... .....ya.

 

[Yawkey Way]

I'd rather have URI at this point. Or Bryant.

Uconn does have Bryant on its schedule... or did.

 

[BoatShow]

Uconn does have Bryant on its schedule... or did.

THAT'S THE SAME THING AS BEING IN A CONFERENCE TOGETHER

Idiot