Conference realignment

[InnervisionsUMASS]

... Mullins Center is going to be a ghost town. Imagine trying to get the students fired up to play Ball State or Miami (Ohio), ....

To be fair, the current student base is terrible and they aren't getting fired up to play A10 teams either.

[69MG]

Tough pill to swallow for the sake of advancing football. The only consolation is that the CUSA route wasn't better/might have been worse. Mullins Center is going to be a ghost town. Imagine trying to get the students fired up to play Ball State or Miami (Ohio), never mind a team we have years of history with. I'm guessing Buffalo was the last ranked team from the MAC. Who before that?

KenPom rankings: A-10 8th; MAC 24th

The students haven't been fired up for anyone we play in about 10 years. New crop of students every year and if they see a winning program when they get to UMass maybe that will get them fired up. La Salle or SJU or Loyola means nothing to them.

[GOODY]

Bring back the Yankee conference! Lol

[stevemaz]

guys, dont worry. D1 is going to shrink dramatically and the A10 is not going to be a part of it.

[CrazyLegs]

... Mullins Center is going to be a ghost town. Imagine trying to get the students fired up to play Ball State or Miami (Ohio), ....

To be fair, the current student base is terrible and they aren't getting fired up to play A10 teams either.

There was actually a decent sized crowd on Saturday, esp. considering this is an NIT-level team.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

... Mullins Center is going to be a ghost town. Imagine trying to get the students fired up to play Ball State or Miami (Ohio), ....

To be fair, the current student base is terrible and they aren't getting fired up to play A10 teams either.

There was actually a decent sized crowd on Saturday, esp. considering this is an NIT-level team.

I know, I was one of them. But his comment was about student. The students still didn't show up in force on Saturday (and the ones who did mostly sat in section K... yes, sat, not stand...) and the place was a morgue until the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half.

[69MG]

In case it hasn't been mentioned, the MAC currently has an 8-team conference tournament. It's played in just 3 days (Thurs-Sat). The path to the conference championship is easier. Maybe they will expand it, we'll see.

[Jackson96]

My well thought out opinion: everything sucks.

[Steve81]

Football needed a home and this (i would guess) was the best option.

When we decided to leave MAC in 2015 it was because they wanted us for all sports and A10 was a 3-5 bid league in Basketball. There were even multiple bid in Women's basketball some years. Now strictly a 1 bid league (except this year if Dayton loses A10 tournament.

I also think that the A10 is destined to lose Dayton and possibly VCU if and when Big East decides to expand. Based on our attendance the bast 8 or so years, I'm not sure we would be filling up the Cage. Also, with regards to academics, this is a much better fit than CUSA.

MAC is a stable league. They have TV games nationally in Football - albeit mid week. A good chance to get bowl bids! While I can understand some disappointment for basketball fans (i am more basketball fan than football) , I think in the long run this will enable us to position ourselves with a better conference.

This is how I feel except during the last 8 years been to disappointed with basketball losses. With football, it was not so much about JUST the game. It was the whole social time of tailgating, talking to people, watching the game, the band, the students and fans. It's a long but enjoyable experience. The last sentence of vanmeter's post is great and the bigger picture.

That said have enjoyed this team and remember folks, we have 2,227 people for our A10 opener. We win consistently, fans will come.

[WillHerndonFan]

guys, dont worry. D1 is going to shrink dramatically and the A10 is not going to be a part of it.

I agree with you on that but who is to say the MAC can survive what is to come.

[WillHerndonFan]

This sucks for all sports other than football, IMHO.

So next season is last in A10?

Let's hope we can start winning in the MAC. Northern Ill, Buffalo, Ohio, OMG.

How are we going to sell seats in the Mullins Center for games against that crowd???

might as well move back to the cage or completely close off upper tier at the mullins. gonna be hard to muster any excitment

Might need to move to the Amherst High School Gym!

[WillHerndonFan]

Football needed a home and this (i would guess) was the best option.

When we decided to leave MAC in 2015 it was because they wanted us for all sports and A10 was a 3-5 bid league in Basketball. There were even multiple bid in Women's basketball some years. Now strictly a 1 bid league (except this year if Dayton loses A10 tournament.

I also think that the A10 is destined to lose Dayton and possibly VCU if and when Big East decides to expand. Based on our attendance the bast 8 or so years, I'm not sure we would be filling up the Cage. Also, with regards to academics, this is a much better fit than CUSA.

MAC is a stable league. They have TV games nationally in Football - albeit mid week. A good chance to get bowl bids! While I can understand some disappointment for basketball fans (i am more basketball fan than football) , I think in the long run this will enable us to position ourselves with a better conference.

I agree this a better option for football right now but I think we trying to play checkers when we should be playing chess. We should be talking with lawyers and legal scholars on what will likely happen since all these changes from NIL, player unions and contracts and the future of the NCAA so that we can prepare for a future of college sports that is unimaginable right now. In the end, all of these issues have, are, and will be litigated. That being said, This move by us feels more like us panicking than planning.

[wmmmfan]

For football this was a huge story today but I want to hear more from RB and Chancellor Reyes. I hope we will hear some news on improvements to McGuirk, a permanent practice structure and plans for men’s basketball OOC scheduling.
I don’t believe the MAC will be the forever home of UMass athletics, this should be temporary home while UMass builds its infrastructure to catch up with programs like James Madison who did it right.
UMass needs to makes the necessary investments so when the ACC implodes, and it will, they are part of a rebuild.

[stevemaz]

guys, dont worry. D1 is going to shrink dramatically and the A10 is not going to be a part of it.

I agree with you on that but who is to say the MAC can survive what is to come.

I agree.. lets hold our breathe on this and hope..

[inthescoop]

Well.. I hope that we win one A10 conference tournament before it’s all over