Big East/ACC latest rumors

Anything and everything that is UMass Minutemen Basketball.
obg
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Post by obg » Tue May 13, 2003 4:25 pm

Z: "I have little confidence in our administration - based on it's recent track record"

fbi:"Sitting around on his arse will ensure that we play in some third rate mid major conference with little national exposure."

Z, They have only been on board for a year!

fbi: Do you really believe that that is what he is doing.
Try thinking. Consider what he has on his plate.
1. A basketball program that can't get people to go to the games.
2. A need to increase funds any way he can. It was one of the reasons he was hired.
3. He is facing a budget cut that could devastate the Athletic program.
4. The fate of the A-10 Conference is uncertain. It could effect several of the sports.

What evidence do you have that Mr. McCaw is lazy or stupid? I would imagine that he is up to his ears in work. I feel certain that he knows as much if not more than we do about the possible reconfiguration of leagues. He has, in all probability, considered the possiblities and is planning strategies to match the outcomes. Why don't you give him the time to deal with HIS problems. Maybe you should apply for his job. I know damn well I wouldn't.

DrG
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DrG

Post by DrG » Tue May 13, 2003 4:35 pm

Well said. The mascot nonsense notwithstanding, McCaw impresses me as a bright and savvy young man who inherited an underfunded and undersupported athletic program in the midst of a state budget crisis. I don't envy him. And I don't think he's sitting on his behind letting the fast-changing world of college athletics pass him by. Let's face it, our fan base as it now exists doesn't exactly bring much to the table of a top conference.

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fbiman
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Post by fbiman » Tue May 13, 2003 5:38 pm

obg, read my post! Where did I say that he was "lazy" or "stupid"? I simply stated that if he better be proactive in negotiating the best deal possible for UMass B-Ball.

You're right, he is far more qualified than anyone that posts on this board to steer the ship of UMass athletics in the right direction, but do you really think for a second that if there is a shakeout among the big eastern NCAA conferences, and UMass is left out in the cold, he won't be held responsible? Is that acceptable to you? It certainly won't fly with me!

This could potentially be a golden opportunity for him. If he is as bright and saavy as you say he is, he won't blow it.
That's not an MP, that's a YP. Not My Problem, Your Problem.

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Kosty
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Post by Kosty » Tue May 13, 2003 6:17 pm

http://espn.go.com/ncaa/news/2003/0513/1553257.html

Looks like changes could be coming alot quicker than thought. The ACC has voted Miami in and two other schools. Apparently Syracuse is one of them. The other may be down to a choice between BC and Virginia Tech. The article mentions that Miami may not make a decision until it hears a counteroffer from the Big East.....such as a redsigned football based Big East. At the end of the article it mentions that the basketball schools in the BIg East may raid Conference USA to fill out the league and mentions Xavier and Dayton as possiblities as well.

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Post by Quinn » Tue May 13, 2003 6:39 pm

We blew it in 1995 when we were a top hoops program, and we turned down an offer to upgrade football to 1A and join CUSA. Now, we're going to get left out of (2) leagues: a football/all-sports league amde up of Big East teams and a non-football conference made up of the rest of the schools. It's all about the timing.

On nother note...
As many of you know from my sig, I run the Conference Realignment and Expansion Forum at http://ncaasports.netfirms.com . As you could imagine, there's been quite alot of traffic the past few weeks. I've collaborated with a few of the regulars to put together an editorial piece about the changing landscape of the conference makeups.

If anyone is interested in reading any of the pieces, you can do so at http://ncaasports.netfirms.com .

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MullinsManiac
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Post by MullinsManiac » Tue May 13, 2003 8:53 pm

Looks like it's a done deal now. The ACC voted 7-2 (Duke and UNC voting no) to expand by three teams. However, they're still up in the air as to which three.

FSU obviously wants Miami. UVa wants Va. Tech. Several schools are split on BC or Cuse for the third team.

Jeez, sounds like an episode of Survivor.

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MullinsManiac
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Post by MullinsManiac » Tue May 13, 2003 8:58 pm

McCaw lazy? Hell no.

McCaw stupid? Yes, if he thought he could push through dropping the Minuteman without one hell of a fight from the alumni.

Regardless of whether the mascot change is totally his idea or if he's just following orders from Lombardi, it's pretty clear now he's got much bigger things to deal with now. If he's smart, he'll put the mascot issue "on hold" and focus on where we go from here.

UMassHoops
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Critical weeks ahead

Post by UMassHoops » Tue May 13, 2003 9:17 pm

It's very simple -- this is where McCaw proves his mettle or not. Getting UMass into a realigned and stronger conference will give our team a chance to emerge back into national prominence, and of course help recruiting immensely. It will also help revenues tremendously and solve some of those budget issues because we'd be getting into a league that likely would have a sweeter TV package. If we end up in some decimated version of the A-10 or something like the CAA then McCaw has failed at his job, no question about it. The mascot issue is a diversion, and a silly proposed change, but this is the future of our teams competitiveness. This is why we pay these guys, I hope he can get it done.

FreeThinking
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Post by FreeThinking » Tue May 13, 2003 9:44 pm

We should all be thankful that Bob Marcum isn't still in charge. At least now there's the CHANCE things will work out well for UMass.

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zultr
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Post by zultr » Tue May 13, 2003 10:07 pm

obg wrote:Z, They have only been on board for a year!
Granted, I don't have much to go on, but I do have this: McCaw is coming from a school with a lower profile (at least we'd like to think so). This is a step up for him, so being here for a year is precisely the problem - it's a bad time to have a guy not used to dealing with power conferences handling our situation when it could literally impact the program for decades. After the worst season in years, McCaw's first high profile action was to lock up Lappas with a contract extension. Recruiting my ass, all he had to do was make a couple of statements for the press - exactly what he should have done after the report in that Providence paper virtually cost the program a recruit. He should have been screaming at the top of his lungs that Lappas was not being bought out, but instead, we get quotes about the white man with a gun as a mascot and the only press we get is CNN and every Boston media outlet laughing at us. The program can't win in a depleted A-10, they're as bad as they were when I was in school, players are coming and going so fast I'm not sure who's who, if Lappas shits the bed this year, he can't be bought out because of the extension, and I'm supposed to have faith that this guy can finesse the guys in the Big East and land UMass a spot in a choice conference? Oh, okay.

obg
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Post by obg » Tue May 13, 2003 10:44 pm

fbiman wrote:obg, I respectfully disagree with you.

Sitting around on his arse .
Sounded like lazy or stupid to me! :?:

captantony
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This is about Television Money and Boston is important

Post by captantony » Wed May 14, 2003 8:20 am

Let's remember, the one thing UMass has going for it in the new Big East basketball conference is the Boston market. Let's remember this is about $$$$, the new Big East basketball conference will NEED a presense in the top 10 television market of Boston with BC gone. This should play into our favor......let's just home Ian uses this to our advantage.

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fbiman
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Post by fbiman » Wed May 14, 2003 8:42 am

How do you equate "sitting around on his arse" with being lazy and stupid? I sit around on my arse all the time, but I'm neither lazy or stupid.
That's not an MP, that's a YP. Not My Problem, Your Problem.

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Kosty
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Re: This is about Television Money and Boston is important

Post by Kosty » Wed May 14, 2003 9:36 am

captantony wrote:Let's remember, the one thing UMass has going for it in the new Big East basketball conference is the Boston market. Let's remember this is about $$$$, the new Big East basketball conference will NEED a presense in the top 10 television market of Boston with BC gone. This should play into our favor......let's just home Ian uses this to our advantage.
How exactly are we win the Boston market??? They don't even show highlights of our games on the Boston news programs!!! UConn is more in the Boston market than we are for God's sake!!!!

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whiterhino42
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Bad Vibes

Post by whiterhino42 » Wed May 14, 2003 10:06 am

CNN has a good article on the changes coming.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/footba ... expansion/

I agree with Kosty, we do NOT represent the Boston market. Boston never mentions UMASS, they rarely mentioned UMASS when we were a top 25 team, they NEVER mention us now. We represent the Springfield market, unfortunately that is not something many leagues covet. You have to remember that Boston is overloaded with their own schools and even though we are the state university we might as well be in a different state because thats what they consider Western Mass. McCaw had better do something good for us here because if he doesn't we could be in hoops oblivion forever. No players are going to come to a watered down ACC that gets one bid each year to the NCAA tournament. No coach will ever come here again. And teams from 1 bid conferences get very low seeds even when they make the tournament.

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