Conference Realignment

[dennisdent]

All these sports "journalist" forget to add the bennies that come along with the 660k salary:

Family membership at the Longmeadow Country has to be about 15k a year(if anyone has better guess).
Monthly car stipend $1000, or 12k a year
10k in clothing allowance
Wife's away game travel costs covered-$400 roughly x6 $2400

$39,400 in bennies plus 660=$699.400 Bell made 700k in his pay package.

I believe the benefits were included in the "additional compensation" (225k) over his base salary of $400k. What's unclear to me is if the value of these benefits are included in the buyout. And if they are, why?

That's where the contract gets very blurry. For tax purposes the University has to break down the CC membership and the other bennies. Bell's payroll as a state employee is also fishy:

https://cthrupayroll.mass.gov/#!/year/2 ... t_division

[Steve81]

Regarding MAC basketball tonight
Akron lost with no time left against #17 Ohio State
Miami(OH) beat Georgia Tech.
Ohio beat an experienced Belmont team.
Toledo beat Valparaiso
Northern Illinois leads Washington by 5 with 7:28 minutes left.

Just saying there is good basketball in the MAC and the talent level is the same as the A10 except for the one top 25 team as the Bonnies.

We go all sports to the MAC, will donate at least $1,500 to the Gridiron club during this April's Flag Forward fund raising.

[PreecherJenkins]

Regarding MAC basketball tonight
Akron lost with no time left against #17 Ohio State
Miami(OH) beat Georgia Tech.
Ohio beat an experienced Belmont team.
Toledo beat Valparaiso
Northern Illinois leads Washington by 5 with 7:28 minutes left.

Just saying there is good basketball in the MAC and the talent level is the same as the A10 except for the one top 25 team as the Bonnies.

We go all sports to the MAC, will donate at least $1,500 to the Gridiron club during this April's Flag Forward fund raising.

Steve. Glad you can donate the money. They aren’t going to the Mac for all sports. Just stop.

Over the last 30 years how many times has the Mac basketball had a team in the top 25? How many times did they get multiple bids into the tourney? When was the last time they had a final four team? Mac basketball is a losing proposition.

[Uminuteman]

Regarding MAC basketball tonight
Akron lost with no time left against #17 Ohio State
Miami(OH) beat Georgia Tech.
Ohio beat an experienced Belmont team.
Toledo beat Valparaiso
Northern Illinois leads Washington by 5 with 7:28 minutes left.

Just saying there is good basketball in the MAC and the talent level is the same as the A10 except for the one top 25 team as the Bonnies.

We go all sports to the MAC, will donate at least $1,500 to the Gridiron club during this April's Flag Forward fund raising.

Steve. Glad you can donate the money. They aren’t going to the Mac for all sports. Just stop.

Over the last 30 years how many times has the Mac basketball had a team in the top 25? How many times did they get multiple bids into the tourney? When was the last time they had a final four team? Mac basketball is a losing proposition.

BUT, over the last 20 years: how many times has UMass been in the Top 25, how many times did UMass get a bid to the tourney, when was the last time UMass had a final four team?

If we were a dominate A-10 team and derived any tangible benefit from being in the A-10 your point would be stronger.

[e_parade]

Regarding MAC basketball tonight
Akron lost with no time left against #17 Ohio State
Miami(OH) beat Georgia Tech.
Ohio beat an experienced Belmont team.
Toledo beat Valparaiso
Northern Illinois leads Washington by 5 with 7:28 minutes left.

Just saying there is good basketball in the MAC and the talent level is the same as the A10 except for the one top 25 team as the Bonnies.

We go all sports to the MAC, will donate at least $1,500 to the Gridiron club during this April's Flag Forward fund raising.

Steve. Glad you can donate the money. They aren’t going to the Mac for all sports. Just stop.

Over the last 30 years how many times has the Mac basketball had a team in the top 25? How many times did they get multiple bids into the tourney? When was the last time they had a final four team? Mac basketball is a losing proposition.

Last at large bid was in 2001 I believe.

Buffalo finished ranked #17 in 2018-2019 (had they not won the MAC tournament they would have been an at large this year for sure)
Ohio finished ranked #25 in 2011-2012

Those were the only 2 stretching back to 2002-2003


Final 4? Don't think there are any. Kent State was Elite 8 in 2002, Ohio was Sweet 16 in 2012. Miami sweet 16 in 1999. Those are the decent runs in the past ~20 years (little bit longer obviously).

[McKinney]

That's where the contract gets very blurry. For tax purposes the University has to break down the CC membership and the other bennies. Bell's payroll as a state employee is also fishy:

https://cthrupayroll.mass.gov/#!/year/2 ... t_division

Wow, very cool website. Also looks like UMass made out like a bandit with Whip's buyout. Maybe only ~$100k.

https://cthrupayroll.mass.gov/#!/year/2 ... t_division

[TheInsider]

I agree with Steve's main point.. I don't care if the A10 is an 8 bid league if we finish 9th every year. When you look at the other sports, the MAC on average is just as good or better than the A10.. We wouldn't be sacrificing the competition level across the board for football.

[ZooMass84]

The MAC is almost a lifeline at this point (if they will take us back). The Indy thing is almost a death sentence now unless you are Army or Notre Dame. We have to join for all sports.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/stat ... 81866?s=20

Middle Tennessee will remain in Conference USA, but Western Kentucky would still accept bid to join MAC, if offered, sources told
@ActionNetworkHQ

[e_parade]

If ever we wanted...this might be the opportunity.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Really this opens things up for both CUSA and the MAC.

[Steve81]

Really this opens things up for both CUSA and the MAC.

The MAC has really good basketball and Football along with other sports. The travel is not that much a leap from the A10. We get paid nothing for football and they receive 2.5Million per team. The A10 is 550k. The AAC is not an option. CUSA has AAC like travel without the large pay out offset. CUSA commissioner Judy MacLeod is terrible with conference offices in Texas and adding more teams out west to replace the east coast teams. Nobody sees CUSA games unless actively searching for them as they have a streaming service for the conference like ours for football. We are outside their footprint and if they did add us as a football only, we'd be kicked aside as soon as we are not needed.

The MAC is the only G5 conference that makes sense. Being an independent does not work. We invested 65 Million so it's obvious to me someday we will have to leave the A10. The MAC looks very good to me with Buffalo, Ohio, Miami, Akron, Toledo, Western Kentucky and others. Could be happy there and they will accept us for all sports. Perhaps we could get a football only that is geared in the future to all sports. Allowing us to kick the can (leaving the A10) down the road. The Big East is top dog in basketball without football. It is no longer the A10. Our best teams will move to the Big East if invited. The MAC is all public universities as we are. Get some peoples apprehension.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

I really just can't with these weird responses. You're arguing in circles with yourself, Steve.

[69MG]

I don't think I have commented on this subject, maybe once? I am not a big fan of the MAC as we don't have natural or regional ties with any of the schools. However, times have changed. When we declined to go all in, the A10 was a very strong BB conference and it would have been a major downgrade for BB to go there. There isn't nearly as much difference now in the 2 leagues for BB and the other sports are also relatively equal.

So as painful as it is for me to say this, if going to the MAC in all sports saves football I guess we should do it. I am a BB person far more than football and I will miss the A10. What I see, though, is the A10 losing some of the top teams to other conferences and that will hurt BB as well. That's my rationale for grudgingly saying yes to the MAC.

[Steve81]

Bottom line the MAC does not need anyone as the football, basketball and other sports are good.
Needs to be all sports and here our soccer program would have helped with just 4 full sports members and 6 needed for the auto-bid. UMass chancellor and president shot down all chances by having Bamford public state we will be in the A10 and look for a football only option to join a conference.