2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

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econalum
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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by econalum » Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:15 pm

Refuse2Lose83 wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 9:38 pm No conference. No HC. No defense. This program is a mess. Will never be successful as an independent. I miss FCS football. My interest in this program has lessened each FBS season.
Completely agree.
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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by wmmmfan » Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:20 pm

I agree football is being done on the cheap at the highest level and that needs to change. The administration needs to decide whether football is going to be the flagship sport or not. If it is then the salaries for the HC and staff need to brought to AAC level since that appears to be the targeted destination. Then they need to layout a plan to modernize the stadium, we’re not talking Gillette here we’re talking about enclosing the end zone, making repairs both structural and cosmetic to the original stadium and installing proper bathrooms and concession areas. Layout a plan and timeline, the stadium renovations could be done in phases. Nothing fancy 25,000 seats and some cosmetic changes to improve the image of the place. Salaries are the first priority.

If football isn’t going to be the flagship sport then drop it and pursue Big East membership for all sports, then we’ll be in top conferences in basketball and hockey. I love football and have been going for 35+ years but I can no longer watch this program decline further. The decline started With the previous administration and their hiring of Kevin Morris and has continued to the present, Bamford inherited Whipple and after 4 wins in their last 6 games he awarded him another year so I have no issue with Bamford or the Chancellor but the time has come for action. FCS isn’t an option because schools like JMU and others have better stadiums than McGuirk so better to just end the madness.

By the way if Whip is let go before Dec.1 he gets $500K if he is let go Dec.1 or later he gets $315K as of right now plus $15K for any additional victories the remainder of this year.

Let’s hope the administration makes the right decisions, I’d hate spending fall afternoons elsewhere in the future.

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by jpatsfan » Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:34 pm

wmmmfan wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:20 pm I agree football is being done on the cheap at the highest level and that needs to change. The administration needs to decide whether football is going to be the flagship sport or not. If it is then the salaries for the HC and staff need to brought to AAC level since that appears to be the targeted destination. Then they need to layout a plan to modernize the stadium, we’re not talking Gillette here we’re talking about enclosing the end zone, making repairs both structural and cosmetic to the original stadium and installing proper bathrooms and concession areas. Layout a plan and timeline, the stadium renovations could be done in phases. Nothing fancy 25,000 seats and some cosmetic changes to improve the image of the place. Salaries are the first priority.

If football isn’t going to be the flagship sport then drop it and pursue Big East membership for all sports, then we’ll be in top conferences in basketball and hockey. I love football and have been going for 35+ years but I can no longer watch this program decline further. The decline started With the previous administration and their hiring of Kevin Morris and has continued to the present, Bamford inherited Whipple and after 4 wins in their last 6 games he awarded him another year so I have no issue with Bamford or the Chancellor but the time has come for action. FCS isn’t an option because schools like JMU and others have better stadiums than McGuirk so better to just end the madness.

By the way if Whip is let go before Dec.1 he gets $500K if he is let go Dec.1 or later he gets $315K as of right now plus $15K for any additional victories the remainder of this year.

Let’s hope the administration makes the right decisions, I’d hate spending fall afternoons elsewhere in the future.
This post says it all. It's put up or shut up time for UMass. Get serious about having an FBS program or shut it down!

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by McKinney » Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:55 pm

wmmmfan wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:20 pm By the way if Whip is let go before Dec.1 he gets $500K if he is let go Dec.1 or later he gets $315K as of right now plus $15K for any additional victories the remainder of this year.
I think after that performance tonight Whipple should pay UMass $500k. :wink:
Class of 2019 - @StatsMass

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by econalum » Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:55 pm

I am a generous donor to UMASS academics and work with UMASS undergrads to help their career goals at least 2x per term, plus emails and linkedin.com discussions. Alums can add value daily by contacting their undergrad or grad departments and asking how you can help undergrads succeed. This has been a 25+ year focus of mine, largely within the Economics department, hence my 'nomme de plume', ECONALUM.

In my view, athletics are a secondary sidebar to academic prowess and mostly entertainment. And by all measures, UMASS is accelerating rapidly in prestige and value added of the Amherst based degree. Just check out the US News latest report of last week.

Frankly, a school trying to boost its overall reputation via athletics is just a 'jock school'. UMASS is much better and substantive than that. Always has been, always will be, hopefully.

My son, not a UMASS grad, took a semester abroad at the U of Glasgow in Scotland and played Lacrosse for the college. There is no varsity, just 'club', 50% social. To me, that is ideal, playing for the love of the sport. Obviously, we are in America, where sports rule, and in many states, it is college sports that are king.

But NOT in MA, nor New England. Pro Sports rule.

Unless folks within this board are UMASS academics, or in close contact as librarians, counselors and such, my guess is that your views are directed by your memories and personal experiences. That is valid, of course, but probably does not reflect what students over the past 10-15 years+ feel, which is the irrelevance of football, as well as most varsity sports, to their UMASS experience. And as those folks graduate, why would we expect them to 'suddenly change'? A chasm widens, where UMASS attendees are 50+ adults and 12- year olds. Where are the 25-45-year-olds, in numbers?

There is literally no data that supports UMASS's FBS efforts adding value to the undergrad experience, nor alum caring, nor loyalty gained. It is all ephemeral. The best measure is 'fannies in seats' and 'ratings on tv'. The very fact that UMASS is on 3rd and 4th tier networks, if that, speaks volumes regarding fan interest/ratings.

If there is supportive data, it would have been shared publicly by the administration. If you have such data, please share it.

Sure, a couple of alums have donated to support the Football and Basketball practice facilities. Also an excellent tax deduction, . with plaques and such. Good for them. But, that is a couple, not much from 250k+ plus graduates (estimated).

Imagine how many Men's sports we could support if football was de-emphasized.

We'll disagree, but the FBS experiment has been a failure and been given a lot of time to show progress.

It is well beyond Whipple, it is a strategic misjudgment of fan interest and any leverage for the campus nationally.

Enough is enough.
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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by DEM » Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:02 pm

^
Maybe UMass should just drop its entire athletic department? :?

In all seriousness, the tone around here would likely be a lot different around here if we hired Brown instead. Sometimes the coach can make that much of a difference.

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by dennisdent » Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:10 pm

Akron beat Northwestern today. They won because they have a competent coach who has built his program from one that CM beat. The school is a financial mess and should NEVER be able to compete with NU, who is throwing millions of dollars at their football program.

UMass needs a coach--Whipple is way past his prime--it is so obvious! URI has turned their football around with a good coach and they were ready to drop down to the NEC conference. There is talent on the team and if they start winning they will fill seats again. The program needs a COACH!

This drop football is a complete joke! URI/UNH/Maine/UConn will have football Saturdays but not UMass--be serious! Do you think the Jacobson brothers will let this happen after donating millions to the football program!!! They have a lot more power than you realize over both the school and AD department.

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by DEM » Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:26 pm

^
Exactly. Coaching seems to be the biggest issue here. Fortunately, we now have an AD who seems pretty capable of finding good coaches.

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by econalum » Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:53 pm

dennisdent wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:10 pm Akron beat Northwestern today. They won because they have a competent coach who has built his program from one that CM beat. The school is a financial mess and should NEVER be able to compete with NU, who is throwing millions of dollars at their football program.

UMass needs a coach--Whipple is way past his prime--it is so obvious! URI has turned their football around with a good coach and they were ready to drop down to the NEC conference. There is talent on the team and if they start winning they will fill seats again. The program needs a COACH!

This drop football is a complete joke! URI/UNH/Maine/UConn will have football Saturdays but not UMass--be serious! Do you think the Jacobson brothers will let this happen after donating millions to the football program!!! They have a lot more power than you realize over both the school and AD department.
I could give a S**t whoever the Jacobson brothers are. Truly. And if they are some sort of underground force, that is exactly what needs to be exposed and expunged from UMASS. UMASS needs to bigger than a few. Please say more.

Not advocating dropping football, per se, but just 1. We are never going to be a profitable FBS school. 2. Football drains resources from other Men's athletics programs, in fact, due to Title 9 removes them. 3. Football, due to CTE/Parkinsons etc. diseases yields disabilities/death much earlier in life than other sports.

Finally, Football as a participant sport is in decline. Why are we chasing a sport headed downwards?
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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by Old Cage » Sun Sep 16, 2018 5:12 am

Mercifully, I fell asleep at the half. Thank you, fubo, for the free look, but you just got cancelled.
"Jack didn’t have any envy in him," Calipari said. "He was the greatest coach to ever coach here."

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by stevemaz » Sun Sep 16, 2018 5:34 am

Any talk of going back to FCS is totally moronic..

Step One: Fire Whipple on Monday. who cares if its $150K more to do so now.. that is a drop in the bucket
Step Two: Hire the right guy.. IMO it should be a young dude who will work 80+ hours a week, connects with the players, and is very strong defensively
Step Three: Fix the stadium

People will come to games again when they are relevant.

There is no reason to think that UMass can not become one of the top G5 programs.

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by Old Cage » Sun Sep 16, 2018 5:49 am

^ steve - The flip side to your "top program" ambition is that the regional high school where I live has cancelled their first two games because of lack of players. Football in the Northeast may well be headed for life support. Boston College stands alone on their island. Good for them. Hopefully, there is a middle ground for UMass and UConn.
"Jack didn’t have any envy in him," Calipari said. "He was the greatest coach to ever coach here."

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by stevemaz » Sun Sep 16, 2018 6:00 am

Perfect time for this.. LOL.. took advice from above and checked out 2018 US News college rankings. UMass now #35 among schools that play FBS football. B1G rankings

3. NW
11. Mich
19. Illinois
21. wiscy
24 Ohio st
25 Purdue
26. Rutgers
27. Penn St
30. UCONN
31. Maryland
35. UMASS (tied with Fla st and Pitt to be fair)
38. Minn
43. Mich st
44. Indiana
46. Iowa
65. Nebraska


Do you like what i did there...

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by stevemaz » Sun Sep 16, 2018 6:12 am

Old Cage wrote: Sun Sep 16, 2018 5:49 am ^ steve - The flip side to your "top program" ambition is that the regional high school where I live has cancelled their first two games because of lack of players. Football in the Northeast may well be headed for life support. Boston College stands alone on their island. Good for them. Hopefully, there is a middle ground for UMass and UConn.
You are right about the decline in football.. it is also happening in all parts of the country.. head injuries the reason obviously.

I do think there will be a major shakeup in college athletics in the mid 20's.. I expect the P5's are going to break away from the NCAA and hopefully will take some G5 conference's and others with them. Even conferences like the SEC and B1G may not exist as they currently do. Texas will be the key cog in the next shakeup.. I think we are going to see the P5 become the P8.. Im on second cup of coffee and fired up so here is an example of where UMass could end up

UMass, UConn, Temple, Rutgers, WV, Cincy, Maryland, Va. Tech, Navy and Army (FB only). then add URI, VCU for other sports.. So, Ohio St, Mich, Mich St, Penn St, Illinois, and Wiscy all leave the B1G for something better..

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Re: 2018 - Game 4: @ FIU 9/15

Post by 78 » Sun Sep 16, 2018 7:50 am

My favorite UMasshoops.com thing is the crazy rants of stevemaz after another embarrassing UMass football loss.
Bamford has erased McCutcheon

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