Ryan Bamford

[JoleonLescottsHair]

Well, we aren’t going back to FCS. But I am for keeping Bamford, so there goes your thesis!

No, it just means you’re special, professor.

[Steve81]

I'm also for keeping our AD and don't blame him for the hole, realizing it takes a bit of time to dig out of a deep hole.
From a post on the MAC board:

Hindsight is 20/20 but knowing that Temple left the MAC right after UMass football was added it would’ve probably been better for all parties involved if we held off on the invite and the Minutemen spent another decade in FCS. Would’ve had a chance to rebuild a winning culture and invest in the program so apathy wouldn’t take root. I’m hoping they make it work and the new coach is saying the right stuff, but without a huge cash infusion it’s hard to build up even with incremental improvements.

UMass would not have been in this position if we committed to being a full membership, when first offered by contract in the Temple termination clause. Created a thread on csnbbs realignment board and reposting my last post here, since it is a summary post and fyi.

First, since revenue share - NIL was brought up and part of the funding, will address it. This is my 10,000 foot view and do not know if any of this has recently changed. But next year, with a full MAC share, UMass will increase the NIL from 2M to 3M. Roughly from 1 AD comment will say 1/3 will go towards men and women basketball, 5/8 to football, and the rest to hockey and tiny bits to a few other sports.

I started this thread with one silent purpose of explaining why UMass has been the worst team to transition and at the bottom 10 year after year. No other team spent a decade as an independent. We never had more than 4 wins, but with Whipple, we did beat BYU there and App State at home. We need 4 wins, than push past to the 5-7 wins. Build the program that was starting to grow, but had an obscene Indy schedule, playing multiple SEC and other P4 teams with Whipple and continued. Independence took hold and we got worst and always had depth issues.

So, my question is with being in the MAC, a conference we should be able to compete in and finally with financial support. Will UMass dig itself out of this independence hole. This hole is deep with cutting institution support by 1M instead of increasing it to compete at a FBS level. When we transition to FCS there was vocal objections by facility, some fans and negative Boston media reporting. The AD that moved us to FBS was forced to exit. We had bad initial hires, never got to the scholarship limit until recently, limited investments, and being independent. Being independent limit coaches’ willingness to coach here and kill their careers and recruiting players with no conference home and championship, and almost no bowl opportunities.

I think we can, but emotional involved and bias. Think parents, who have sacrificed a lot for the kids to play football, can either drive to UMass or other MAC away games. As we recruit national, but the focus is from the DC/tri state area across into MAC country. There is a lot of discussion, which I appreciate and seems the jury is still out. Again, do believe we can and thanks for rounding out my knowledge with your comments.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Being in FBS and moving out of the A10 remains the right move. Leaving the A10 is a positive checkmark for our AD. He doesn't have too many of those.

[JoleonLescottsHair]

Being in FBS and moving out of the A10 remains the right move. Leaving the A10 is a positive checkmark for our AD. He doesn't have too many of those.

Ok. I’ll play. Being in FBS and moving out of the A10 remains the absolutely wrong move. Leaving the A10 is a negative checkmark for our AD. He has no shortage of these, particularly preserving FBS in the face of 14 years of complete failure.

[minutefanjsf]

Being in FBS and moving out of the A10 remains the right move. Leaving the A10 is a positive checkmark for our AD. He doesn't have too many of those.

Ok. I’ll play. Being in FBS and moving out of the A10 remains the absolutely wrong move. Leaving the A10 is a negative checkmark for our AD. He has no shortage of these, particularly preserving FBS in the face of 14 years of complete failure.

What did the A10 do for UMass over the last decade? What do you predict will come of the non power conferences that don’t sponsor FBS football?

[wmmmfan]

Being in FBS and moving out of the A10 remains the right move. Leaving the A10 is a positive checkmark for our AD. He doesn't have too many of those.

Ok. I’ll play. Being in FBS and moving out of the A10 remains the absolutely wrong move. Leaving the A10 is a negative checkmark for our AD. He has no shortage of these, particularly preserving FBS in the face of 14 years of complete failure.

What did the A10 do for UMass over the last decade? What do you predict will come of the non power conferences that don’t sponsor FBS football?

UMass needed to leave the A10, it’s irrelevant in today’s NCAA. The MAC altleast affords UMass additional revenue opportunities. I’m a fan of the move because it puts us with similar athletic departments in term of spend, UMass is in the top 2 if I remember correctly in the MAC. We were no longer competitive in spending for MBB with the top 4 in the A10 and the revenue from the A10 is garbage.
No one knows exactly where athletics will all shake out in the future but overall we are in a better position today than we were a year ago.
One thing I am sure about the A10 will not ever be what it was again. Standing pat for the last 20 years got UMass nowhere so I’m solidly behind shaking things up,

[InnervisionsUMASS]

UMass needed to leave the A10,.....

This is the correct take, and it has been this way for nearly 20 years, starting with the A10 abandoning FCS football, and then X and Temple leaving. Lump in Charlotte and Butler in there if you'd like as well, nevermind all the other schools that left before that.

[minutefanjsf]

UMass needed to leave the A10,.....

This is the correct take, and it has been this way for nearly 20 years, starting with the A10 abandoning FCS football, and then X and Temple leaving. Lump in Charlotte and Butler in there if you'd like as well, nevermind all the other schools that left before that.

Totally agree.

[JoleonLescottsHair]

Poor VCU and URI. Bad AD’s and decision makers, no doubt.

[umassbaseball]

How can Bamford justify staying around as the AD if he has admitted under his leadership they have had "deferred maintenance" for a decade now? Oh yes, we've completely wasted my entire tenure as AD, but I'm very serious about it now!

[Steve81]

How can Bamford justify staying around as the AD if he has admitted under his leadership they have had "deferred maintenance" for a decade now? Oh yes, we've completely wasted my entire tenure as AD, but I'm very serious about it now!

Of course support Ryan and it's an easy reason that I've said before. Unless your superiors are ready to hear and support the move, it was out of Ryan's hands.

[harbo]

Several people here mentioning that leaving the A10 is a good move. Can't say I disagree with that thought, since it is slip-sliding away from national relevance. So, when should this move have been made, and how many years back should the outcry have been initiated? The original move to the MAC did not want to be relegating our money-maker (hoops) to an essentially one-bid league. I don't recall much support to leaving the A-10 until after Covid and a series of average hoops seasons. The MAC remains essentially a one-bid hoops league. At least football is bringing in some dollars from a stable conference. I believe the MAC had multiple football bowl games last year, so there is potential for some cash flow, especially if we run the table and become bowl eligible.

[Steve81]

I was vocal in 2021 when MTSU backed out and would have been with Western Kentucky, historically good in basketball and football. But we had a different Chancellor at the time.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Several people here mentioning that leaving the A10 is a good move. Can't say I disagree with that thought, since it is slip-sliding away from national relevance. So, when should this move have been made, and how many years back should the outcry have been initiated? The original move to the MAC did not want to be relegating our money-maker (hoops) to an essentially one-bid league. I don't recall much support to leaving the A-10 until after Covid and a series of average hoops seasons. The MAC remains essentially a one-bid hoops league. At least football is bringing in some dollars from a stable conference. I believe the MAC had multiple football bowl games last year, so there is potential for some cash flow, especially if we run the table and become bowl eligible.

It is really two different questions:

1: when should Football have moved up to 1A/FBS?
2: when should UMass have moved out of the A10?

Question 2 doesn't really exist if UMass moved the football program up in the 80s (Big East rumors), mid-late 90's with the Athletics high of the bball run and the football National Championship, or the 2006 timeframe with the NC runner-up finish. If any of those happen, UMass is already gone from the A10 like other schools before them.

Since those did not happen, the discussion is more difficult. While other schools were still fleeing the A10 conference, it was still a multi-bid Tournament league in the 2013-14 ballpark, so moving to the MAC fully at that time didn't seem like a smart idea. I felt that way at the time, and regret it. We should have moved then.

As far as when outcry should have really happened, I don't know... but really, to me, the move should have occurred in the 90s.

[eldonabe]

Several people here mentioning that leaving the A10 is a good move. Can't say I disagree with that thought, since it is slip-sliding away from national relevance. So, when should this move have been made, and how many years back should the outcry have been initiated? The original move to the MAC did not want to be relegating our money-maker (hoops) to an essentially one-bid league. I don't recall much support to leaving the A-10 until after Covid and a series of average hoops seasons. The MAC remains essentially a one-bid hoops league. At least football is bringing in some dollars from a stable conference. I believe the MAC had multiple football bowl games last year, so there is potential for some cash flow, especially if we run the table and become bowl eligible.

It is really two different questions:

1: when should Football have moved up to 1A/FBS?
2: when should UMass have moved out of the A10?

Question 2 doesn't really exist if UMass moved the football program up in the 80s (Big East rumors), mid-late 90's with the Athletics high of the bball run and the football National Championship, or the 2006 timeframe with the NC runner-up finish. If any of those happen, UMass is already gone from the A10 like other schools before them.

Since those did not happen, the discussion is more difficult. While other schools were still fleeing the A10 conference, it was still a multi-bid Tournament league in the 2013-14 ballpark, so moving to the MAC fully at that time didn't seem like a smart idea. I felt that way at the time, and regret it. We should have moved then.

As far as when outcry should have really happened, I don't know... but really, to me, the move should have occurred in the 90s.

I agree with IV here. Umass was not ready back in the 80's for the BE move, but they absolutely should have taken advantage of anything and everything in the 90's run. That was a colossal miss.... woulda.. coulda.. shoulda.

I have mixed feelings about leaving the A10.... nothing to do with history though. Football clouded everything. They should have gone all in on MAC originally. The minute they decided not to do that was the same minute I knew Umass was not serious about FBS and they have been a clusterfuck ever since in the big ticket sports. That is not a revisionist history opinion either. I said that from day 1.




Bamford has failed, but I am honestly not sure Bamford or anyone else could have succeeded under the circumstances. Regardless, UMass needs a new person in that chair. He has no credibility, a horrible track record, and that department is embedded with cronies and yes-men.


That unscheduled presser a couple weeks back was a mistake. He wrote checks on a zero balance account. The big question (to me) is was that on purpose? We all know the school and state have not given him the $upport... was this his way of calling them out and making them put up or shut up for good? If that was his actual intent - I may have a modicum of respect for that move. However, I don't think he is that clever.

I can't wait to see/hear the grand plan in a couple months - I need a good laugh.