aceinthehole
April 22nd, 2011, 09:05 AM
http://www.tnhonline.com/sports/rival-umass-bolts-to-fbs-1.2189237
For UNH Football head coach Sean McDonnell, the move came with little surprise.
"It wasn't a surprise or shock," McDonnell said. "It's something they've been talking about for ten years at the University of Massachusetts. I think that their administration was able to put the pieces together that they needed to, especially by getting Gillette to act as their home stadium to play games in."
Athletic Director Marty Scarano also wasn't particularly fazed by the news.
"I've known this was a possibility for the better part of a year now," Scarano said. "Confidentially, I've been having discussions with not only the commissioner of the CAA but my colleagues in the CAA as well. Simultaneously, I've had discussions with other athletic directors of other FBS schools."
While the move won't take full effect until 2012, it could hold serious implications for the continuation of the historic UNH-UMass rivalry.
"Next year, we don't know what's going on," McDonnell said. "We haven't been in conversation with UMass yet regarding that matter, but if we get the opportunity we would like to play them. We're not sure what's going to happen, however, especially without them in the CAA anymore."
Deputy Athletic Director Steve Metcalf feels as if this FBS move will all but spell the end of UNH-UMass football games.
"They're a traditional rival for us, but now it's unlikely that we're going to be playing them anymore," Metcalf said.
Faced with the possibility of losing two inter-conference rivals, Scarano referred to an interesting metaphor to describe the situation.
"It kind of feels like we're on an iceberg, and we're in the Indian Ocean and the ice is melting around us," Scarano said.
With other teams leaving, that begs the question: would UNH ever consider a move out of the CAA conference?
"I think it's far-fetched," McDonnell said. "I think that we're in the best conference in the country."
Scarano mirrored the thoughts of the head football coach.
"What our intent has always been is to be affiliated with great schools, which we feel we are in the CAA, and to compete at the highest level and for a national championship," Scarano said. "We've done it at the highest odds, given the fact that our facilities are so much poorer than everybody else's. This is exactly where we belong, and we're happy staying here."
Scarano didn't rule out the possibility of a move if necessary, however, though he does feel such a thought is very unlikely.
"In a nutshell, we've been very proactive in not only sustaining what we do in the CAA but also having contingency plans if, in fact, [a move is] necessary," Scarano said. "Our main intent is to stay in the CAA, however; to make the CAA whole again, if you would, which would mean bringing some northern teams into the fold. Basically, we're doing the very best we can to maintain what we do, and there's no sense that we aren't going to go forward in a dynamic, positive way like we've been doing."
For UNH Football head coach Sean McDonnell, the move came with little surprise.
"It wasn't a surprise or shock," McDonnell said. "It's something they've been talking about for ten years at the University of Massachusetts. I think that their administration was able to put the pieces together that they needed to, especially by getting Gillette to act as their home stadium to play games in."
Athletic Director Marty Scarano also wasn't particularly fazed by the news.
"I've known this was a possibility for the better part of a year now," Scarano said. "Confidentially, I've been having discussions with not only the commissioner of the CAA but my colleagues in the CAA as well. Simultaneously, I've had discussions with other athletic directors of other FBS schools."
While the move won't take full effect until 2012, it could hold serious implications for the continuation of the historic UNH-UMass rivalry.
"Next year, we don't know what's going on," McDonnell said. "We haven't been in conversation with UMass yet regarding that matter, but if we get the opportunity we would like to play them. We're not sure what's going to happen, however, especially without them in the CAA anymore."
Deputy Athletic Director Steve Metcalf feels as if this FBS move will all but spell the end of UNH-UMass football games.
"They're a traditional rival for us, but now it's unlikely that we're going to be playing them anymore," Metcalf said.
Faced with the possibility of losing two inter-conference rivals, Scarano referred to an interesting metaphor to describe the situation.
"It kind of feels like we're on an iceberg, and we're in the Indian Ocean and the ice is melting around us," Scarano said.
With other teams leaving, that begs the question: would UNH ever consider a move out of the CAA conference?
"I think it's far-fetched," McDonnell said. "I think that we're in the best conference in the country."
Scarano mirrored the thoughts of the head football coach.
"What our intent has always been is to be affiliated with great schools, which we feel we are in the CAA, and to compete at the highest level and for a national championship," Scarano said. "We've done it at the highest odds, given the fact that our facilities are so much poorer than everybody else's. This is exactly where we belong, and we're happy staying here."
Scarano didn't rule out the possibility of a move if necessary, however, though he does feel such a thought is very unlikely.
"In a nutshell, we've been very proactive in not only sustaining what we do in the CAA but also having contingency plans if, in fact, [a move is] necessary," Scarano said. "Our main intent is to stay in the CAA, however; to make the CAA whole again, if you would, which would mean bringing some northern teams into the fold. Basically, we're doing the very best we can to maintain what we do, and there's no sense that we aren't going to go forward in a dynamic, positive way like we've been doing."