Conference Realignment

Get ready for some MACtion
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dennisdent
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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by dennisdent » Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:11 am

You know where UMass really should go to be brutally honest--back to the CAA. If JMU moves up, take their place and start playing competitive football again instead of this BS we have been enduring for the past ten years. It may take a few years to get the program back to CAA level competitiveness but I think Alex Miller is up to the job. :D

I love all the on-line people who say we should stay FBS but don't put their own money into the program. I have put my own money into supporting the program and have been asked directly to give more, which I refuse to do! Bamford has nearly doubled his salary since he has taken over and what have we got in return--horrible football and mediocre to poor basketball.

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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by wmmmfan » Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:30 am

dennisdent wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:11 am You know where UMass really should go to be brutally honest--back to the CAA. If JMU moves up, take their place and start playing competitive football again instead of this BS we have been enduring for the past ten years. It may take a few years to get the program back to CAA level competitiveness but I think Alex Miller is up to the job. :D

I love all the on-line people who say we should stay FBS but don't put their own money into the program. I have put my own money into supporting the program and have been asked directly to give more, which I refuse to do! Bamford has nearly doubled his salary since he has taken over and what have we got in return--horrible football and mediocre to poor basketball.
I’m glad someone said it. I was thinking the same thing this morning, this no conference BS is not viable. The MAC made the move up make sense, this Independent path is horrible. I have to also say, The A10 is going nowhere either, the Big East and other conferences will raid our best teams leaving us with the little sisters of the poor. I forget where a I saw it the other day but I saw Richmond mentioned for a move up rather than UMass.

Going nowhere fast.

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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by TheInsider » Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:45 am

Yup.. go back to the MAC if possible. I know all the BBall people will freak about giving up a multiple bid bball conference. But does it really matter when your never one of those bids?? As you said the A10 will lose it's best teams. Dayton, SLU, VCU etc will probably get poached.

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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by McKinney » Sun Oct 24, 2021 1:58 pm

I'd love for UMass to play URI, Maine, and UNH. Maybe other CAA teams more often. But I'd far rather they do it as an FBS team than to tuck our tails and head back to a division meant for small colleges and universities.

The A10 always has a chance of being raided. But I think with the right moves the A10 also has a chance to end up on top, just outside the Big East. If I'm being candid I'd rather UMass do whatever it can to build a basketball team that would fit in the Big East than a football team that might aspire to go 6-6 in the MAC.

My ideal image for UMass football is to play northeastern teams in both FBS and FCS first. And secondarily tweak the mix of FCS, G5, and P5 teams (as much as possible) to give us the opportunity for a winning record.

We need contracts with UConn, Buffalo, Temple, Army, Navy, BC, Rutgers, Maryland, Penn State, Syracuse, Pitt, URI, Maine, UNH, Delaware, Harvard (or other Ivies). I would much rather see us play those teams than go .500 against the MAC or remnants of CUSA. We need a better streaming deal with ESPN+ instead of FloSports. But that's about it. I do not see independence as a death sentence.
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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by McKinney » Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:22 pm

Does being in the MAC open up our recruiting ability? Maybe we can get third-tier talent out of Ohio & Michigan not already picked off by B1G, other P5s, and top G5s. I still don't realistically see our recruiting ever going much higher than #100. Even in the MAC we're still "Bottom 25" of recruiting most years. Toledo is #1 in the MAC, #77 in the country. W Michigan is #2 in the MAC, #98 in the country. BGSU #3 in MAC, #102 in the country.

If UMass is to win its because we artificially make our strength of schedule easier by playing more FCS teams. And have a coaching staff known for development and playing style that's advantageous to the kinds of kids we can get. (like how Coastal is a Top 15 team with a #100 roster ranked by 247sports)
Last edited by McKinney on Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by dennisdent » Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:24 pm

^Doing the correct thing is not "tucking our tails" but understanding the current situation and seeing that it is not working and no matter how much we want it to work, it won't.

We have to pay those FCS teams! Where do think the money is coming from--out of the money we make from playing the P5 teams! The more FCS games, the more money UMass losses.

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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by Steve81 » Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:46 pm

Our last year in the MAC was our best recruiting year at #86, So yes, better recruiting and better coaching candidates. If UMass goes back to fcs, will save my 2k plus budget and stop donating and attend UMass. WTF, would you follow a ballless administration or one that does not strive for the best and support us. F_ck the CAA and playing Elon and the like. Many teams have left the CAA. You may not be able to play URI, Maine etc on a regularly bases but you can play Boston College and UConn.
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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by McKinney » Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:48 pm

dennisdent wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:24 pm We have to pay those FCS teams! Where do think the money is coming from--out of the money we make from playing the P5 teams! The more FCS games, the more money UMass losses.
There's a guarantee for every game. We paid Eastern Michigan and Toledo $150k. We got $150k from Coastal to get blown out. We're getting paid $250k to play Army. etc. I guess you're right in that G5 games are mostly a wash. P5 games generate revenue. FCS games are an expense. But that cost is relatively quite cheap.

We can get $1-2M per P5 game. We're paying Maine $300k and URI $350k.
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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by dennisdent » Sun Oct 24, 2021 3:09 pm

Yeah, playing and getting smoked by Coastal Carolina and Eastern Michigan is better then beating or having competitive games against Elon (who would beat UMass this season). :lol:

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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by McKinney » Sun Oct 24, 2021 3:27 pm

Steve81 wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:46 pm Our last year in the MAC was our best recruiting year at #86
The year we were #86 was 2016, our first year as an independent. A lot of that was because we had 31 commits (but I think we can only enroll 25). Plus that's one recruiting class, not the entire roster. I don't doubt that the MAC would make recruiting players easier, and make the job more attractive to coaches and ADs (in part because it's more predictable/stable). I just don't see it as the answer to all our woes. Just as I don't see going back to the CAA as a panacea.

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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by jpatsfan » Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:23 pm

The only realistic options I see is either MAC in all sports if they are still interested or finding like minded institutions in the Northeast and form a new football conference and poach the top teams from the A10. The A10 not having football and not being proactive in basketball means it will be poached in no short order. If it's going to happen, better it start with us.

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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by Steve81 » Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:01 pm

jpatsfan wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:23 pm The only realistic options I see is either MAC in all sports if they are still interested or finding like minded institutions in the Northeast and form a new football conference and poach the top teams from the A10. The A10 not having football and not being proactive in basketball means it will be poached in no short order. If it's going to happen, better it start with us.
Agree with you. Years ago a Arkansas State fan told me most Football only contracts do not last. Then watch UMass, NSMU, and Idaho football only contracts not renewed. The only football only team that I'm aware of is Navy, but will say that service academics are a unique situation. We have to bit the bullet some day and there are little options left for all sports. Think it's a big positive that we could be paired with Western Kentucky, a university with rich basketball history. You are not going to please everyone, but stop half assing football and commit to a conference, all sports! We will have the OOC schedule to schedule local teams and other east coast teams. MAC sports are good and on equal or better than most in the A10. Men's basketball is a not as good, but they had 3 bids with the NCAA and NIT. Adding Western Kentucky and UMass will make a strong one bid conference better.
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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by jpatsfan » Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:05 pm

Steve81 wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:01 pm
jpatsfan wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:23 pm The only realistic options I see is either MAC in all sports if they are still interested or finding like minded institutions in the Northeast and form a new football conference and poach the top teams from the A10. The A10 not having football and not being proactive in basketball means it will be poached in no short order. If it's going to happen, better it start with us.
Agree with you. Years ago a Arkansas State fan told me most Football only contracts do not last. Then watch UMass, NSMU, and Idaho football only contracts not renewed. The only football only team that I'm aware of is Navy, but will say that service academics are a unique situation. We have to bit the bullet some day and there are little options left for all sports. Think it's a big positive that we could be paired with Western Kentucky, a university with rich basketball history. You are not going to please everyone, but stop half assing football and commit to a conference, all sports! We will have the OOC schedule to schedule local teams and other east coast teams. MAC sports are good and on equal or better than most in the A10. Men's basketball is a not as good, but they had 3 bids with the NCAA and NIT. Adding Western Kentucky and UMass will make a strong one bid conference better.
WKU is key here. It also depends if Marshall and ODU are determined to go to the SBC. If that's the case we have to go to the MAC hat in hand. I think it's a decent product and stabilizes football so we can rebuild.

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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by Sheck » Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:00 pm

^
Looks like Marshall is heading to the Sun Belt along with JMU, ODU, and Southern Miss. I think if the MAC expands WKU would certainly be at the top of their list and it may be between us and Middle Tennessee St. for the 14th spot. When we were in the MAC before, a lot of their fans were receptive to having us join as a full member and weren't concerned about our location relative to the rest of the league. Even their commissioner acknowledged that we didn't stretch their footprint all that much.

On the other hand, the MAC has been the only league that's been silent throughout all of this realignment. They've also been very stable with their membership and may not see any value in adding anyone.
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Re: Realignment: Texas/OK->SEC; UCF, BYU, Ciny,Houston->BigXII-dominos

Post by Merlin Samuels » Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:57 am

I think the MAC would be receptive if UMass showed interest in joining for all-sports. Being aligned with a large eastern flagship university seems like something their presidents would be all for.

Temple was able to get something started in the MAC and turned it into a higher paying conference. It isn’t just about recruiting, but coaches develop a familiarity with conference opponents and that helps with competitiveness, Walt Bell said this.

I’m 100% for joining the MAC in all-sports. The out of conference schedules can be filled-up with all the Fordhams and Rhode Islands of the world if travel is that important.

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