CSN's take on the UMass move

[CSN-info]

Here is the latest from the College Sporting News on the expected move this afternoon by UMass to the Mid-American Conference:

So Long, Minutemen

UMass faces an uncertain future as it reportedly makes the move to the Football Bowl Subdivision, a leap that has been in process for some 14 years

By David Coulson
Executive Editor/Managing Partner
College Sporting News

PHILADELPHIA — I'll never forget my first meeting with former Massachusetts athletic director Bob Marcum during the 2001 NCAA Division I Football Championships.

Marcum seemed so painfully out of touch with the rest of the movers and shakers in what was then called Division I-AA football that I knew it was just a matter of time before UMass found itself making the move to I-A for football.

By all accounts, UMass will officially announce that move on Wednesday during an afternoon press conference at Gillette Stadium — the home of the New England Patriots — in Foxboro, MA.

http://www.collegesportingnews.com/content.php?462-So-Long-Minutemen


Going To The MAC Might Not Be A Smooth Move For UMass

The expected move by UMass to the Mid-American Conference appears to be nothing more than a temporary solution and is fraught with potential problems for the one-time FCS powerhouse

By Chuck Burton
Associate Editor
College Sporting News

PHILADELPHIA — The announcement expected on Wednesday will not come as a particularly great surprise to anyone who had followed the situation, but it looks like Massachusetts, the 1998 I-AA national champion will be moving to the Football Championship Subdivision and playing in the Mid-American Conference for football in 2012.

Sources say the Minutemen will give the league two associate members (Temple is the other), and will allow the MAC to expand the league to 14 members.

http://www.collegesportingnews.com/content.php?463-Going-To-The-MAC-Might-Not-Be-A-Smooth-Move-For-UMass

[aceinthehole]

Could be 2 of the worst editorials on the subject.

FCS is a great product, but it is not for everybody. Yet these 2 guys would like to make the case that UConn and USF should remained in I-AA and the world of FBS football is pure evil.

[T-Dog]

Coulson should just stick to writing about App St. Both articles were nothing more than hack jobs directed at UMass.

[slycat]

I get it they love FCS but no need to write such poor articles. Cry me a river. Congrats to UMass. Its a postive step for the school and maeks sense. The stadium situation isn't great but shows that it draws better tehn playing in Amherst. See the UNH game last year.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

That game at Gillette last year drew 32K+ because at least half the fans were UNH fans! It's not like 32K UMass fans showed up. But I do acknowledge that they might for a game vs. UConn or the University of Chestnut Hill.

[umassfan]

That game at Gillette last year drew 32K+ because at least half the fans were UNH fans! It's not like 32K UMass fans showed up. But I do acknowledge that they might for a game vs. UConn or the University of Chestnut Hill.

There wont have to be 32k umass fans vs teams like bc or uconn because they will bring fans also. Im sure a game vs uconn or bc will have 45k+ at the game. I expect umass to use gillette as a building bace for the future. Teams like VT, Texas A&M, Washington, and BYU have all expressed interest in playing games at Gillette. All those teams would bring great crowds as well. Dont be too shocked if a mid week game on espn for the MAC bring over 35k as well. In 2012/13 the MAC will want to show off its new toy(umass) on tv at least one game on espn those seasons. Should be fun to watch.

[The Eagle's Cliff]

UMass is definitely making the right move. The FCS is a great model for good football, but is generally ignored by the major media, alumni, and the NCAA which means the general public know next to nothing of its existence. Unfortunately for all of us in FCS, a midweek game between UMass and Central Michigan is probably more exposure for the two programs than if they met in the FCS National Championship.

[Umass74]

I'll miss the FCS. The playoffs are probably the best thing in college football. But UMass had definite problems remaining where we were.

And all you guys here, if your team was offered a rent-free option to play in a world-class stadium like Gillette, you'd decline right? It was a good choice for UMass.

Burton did not do his homework on his article. He thinks UMass should have gone to the Big East. No sh$t. Check out this story "UMass lobbied hard for the Big East (http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-20/sports/29451750_1_university-of-massachusetts-minutemen-umass-mac-teams)". Temple went to the MAC was successful and know is angling for a bid to CUSA. If UMass can do well in the MAC, and there seems to be no reason why we can't do what Temple did. Then when the Big East ejects the Catholic basketball schools---and they will-- we would be a serious contender to join. But right now, UMass couldn't do it.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

I really wish Umass would play their games on campus. As a Temple fan i would be much more interested in going to Amherst for a game than i would Foxboro. If i want flashiness with little substance i'll go to an NFL game. Despite the fact that Temple plays at the Linc almost every TU fan would rather an on campus stadium.

[DFW HOYA]

If UMass can do well in the MAC, and there seems to be no reason why we can't do what Temple did. Then when the Big East ejects the Catholic basketball schools---and they will-- we would be a serious contender to join. But right now, UMass couldn't do it.

Sorry to disappoint you, but Georgetown is not getting kicked out of the Big East. Besides, there are not a lot of Eastern conferences with schools supporting a $30 million athletic program where only 5% of it goes to football.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Here's my question, asked in complete seriousness. If UConn won't schedule a game with UMass now, how on earth will their being in the MAC change anything? Undoubtedly they'll get the occasional big fish in Gillette, perhaps in a 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 deal with, say, Army, Navy, maybe even Michigan. But do they really think UConn is going to see that, and then see the error of their ways in not playing UMass? Not a snowball's chance in hell.

Furthermore, if UConn is going to block any UMass move to the Big East now, what, exactly, is going to change for UMass in the future so that they're in the Big East? This looks to me like a long-term move for UMass to be in the MAC - and also, by the way, they're now on the hook for games against Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan in basketball, too. This isn't just about the football team playing in Ypsilanti, as humorous as that is. It's also about the basketball team having to play in Ypsilanti. That's a huge consideration that will affect RPI in basketball, cause more travel for precious little reward. This isn't Temple which has had a solid basketball program over the last ten years. This WILL affect their basketball program, and not in a good way.

It seems like the "wow, great for UMass!" people here are simply happy they're in FBS, as if FBS membership is in and of itself great for their program. It isn't necessarily. Ask Western Kentucky. Marshall. Idaho. Etc., etc., etc. There are UConn situations where it's a no-brainer, and then, well, there's everybody else. And truth be told, there are very few true success stories in terms of moves to FBS. There are a lot more Western Kentucky's than Boise State's.

[UMass922]

If UConn won't schedule a game with UMass now, how on earth will their being in the MAC change anything?

UConn and UMass are playing in 2012 (season opener at Rentschler).

[DFW HOYA]

Another take: I sense that there is a feeling of diminishing returns at the top level of this subdivision. You can spend $5 million and be a dominant I-AA team (the jury is still out on Fordham) or spend $7-8 million and be a MAC team that gets its phone calls answered from BCS teams. Watching an old neighbor from the Yankee Conference playing in the Orange Bowl is a tempting, if unlikely, thought. But outside of the most fervent loyalists on this board, a berth in the Little Caesars Bowl still sells recruits a lot better than a second round playoff game in Carbondale.

Over the last two decades, a number of teams have set their sails out of I-AA and into the I-A waters. Few have thrived, but no one has returned. Marshall isn't coming back. North Texas sees the Southland in its rear view mirror. The Louisiana schools are gone for good, as are WKU, FIU, and the rest. If Delaware and Montana still carry the subdivision's banner with pride, great, but a lot of their peers (read=state schools) see the grass as greener down the road. JMU is not building that second deck to play Richmond or VMI.

Very few schools turn an opportunity at a I-A conference down. (One could suggest Georgetown has, albeit by inertia.) Massachusetts will probably be a better fit for the MAC than Temple, and if a low-major Eastern I-A league should form at some point, they'll be better positioned as a result. Villanova probably won't get a second chance after this one, which is why the lack of due diligence on the stadium pushback has to be absolutely maddening to its fans.

Three of the PL schools were once Division II. Do any of them regret the move up?

[FargoBison]

And all you guys here, if your team was offered a rent-free option to play in a world-class stadium like Gillette, you'd decline right? It was a good choice for UMass.



No offense but if NDSU had to play 94 miles away from campus just to go FBS, I'd be irate at our AD for even considering it. I don't care if the stadium is better than Jerry World in Dallas...Football belongs on campus or at the absolute very least a short drive from campus.