Ryan Bamford

[Steve81]

There real issue is UMass chose to go 1AA in the 70's when the eastern 8 formed. We beat Boston College at home with 20k, temporary bleaches and all. We had Dick McPherson as our head coach. That was the big miss, before the A10 or the Big East invites. The AD before Nascar Bob was much worst. But was not into it at that age and get most of my info from people around before my interest.

We made the move when the right administration was in place. So this is the right time. Know it will take a few years and we need to be 500 in the MAC next year or very close to it. We need to be one of the top 4 basketball programs this year. Field hockey is leading the way at present and already clinched a spot in the Championship game.

[UMass1991]

The problem is Bamford has hired 3 coaches with no HC experience or from years before. If JH doesn’t work out, the AD needs to hire a HC who is the HC at their current school

[McKinney]

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.

Love how this is framed IV and agree those questions are separate. And also agree on the 90s move if it was possible. No real new information here, but just wanted to find some sources for all the rumors.

I think the Big East rumors wouldn't have impacted UMass football that early, as UMass was considered in 1978 (and passed on for BC). Rutgers was also invited at the time, but turned it down to stick with Penn State in the Atlantic 8. Led by Joe Paterno's vision of an “Eastern All-Sports Conference”, Penn State applied to the Big East in 1982 but was rejected by Pitt, BC, and Syracuse. https://cuse.com/sports/2001/8/8/history

Stadium capacity would have been the biggest hurdle for UMass to elevate at the time. In 1978 when Division 1 was subdivided, NCAA D1-A bylaws required a 30,000 seat stadium or an average of 17,000 in attendace in 1 of the previous 4 years. https://vault.si.com/vault/1978/01/23/t ... s-decision

It's certainly something that administrations needed to consider as they weighed elevating to D-1A. Here is a memo from 1997 I believe in regards to UConn's upgrade, noting that the only stadiums below the requirement were those of programs in the MAC that pre-date the subdivision bylaws. https://www.cga.ct.gov/PS97/rpt/olr/htm/97-R-1282.htm

Seems that the stadium bylaw was no longer effective by August 2004. https://www.knightcommission.org/wp-con ... k_2004.pdf However, schools (I believe including UMass) were doing all kinds of crazy shit to meet a 15k attendance requirement until it became unenforced in the late 2010s and was eliminated in October 2023. https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/10/4/med ... ndows.aspx

Big East football wasn't a thing until 1991, when they decided to form a major football conference. Incentivized by a boon in television money following 1984's NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma case, and controversy in shared national titles in 1990 and 1991, the Big East would go on to help form the Bowl Coalition in 1992. The 90s led to the loss of Penn State to the Big Ten, Rutgers, West Virginia, and later Virginia Tech to the Big East (joining former Atlantic 8 members Villanova and Pitt).

There may have been debate at UMass in the 90s as it watched Atlantic 10 members leave for football, but I couldn't find much to substantiate any 90s rumors beyond what was reported several years later. In 2003, Whipple was cited with rumors that

UMass was invited to join the MAC several years ago when the school first toyed with an upgrade. But at best, it would have been considered an inferior product because geographically it sits in the midst of three Big East teams -- UConn, Boston College and Syracuse.

https://www.middletownpress.com/news/ar ... 907033.php

By 2003, the ACC was in the midst of its poach of the Big East. The Big East in the midst of its poach of C-USA 1.0. And UMass was already in the position of left behind & scrambling. This may have been UMass's last opportunity until the MAC invite in 2011.

''The feeling is that if this is going to happen [going to 1-A] this is the last chance to do it,'' a source in the UMass administration told the Boston Globe. ''And if it doesn't fly, the idea will then be to stay at 1-AA, but with no scholarships, or to drop football completely.'' On the other hand, noted the Boston paper, C-USA is being viewed by UMass officials as a potential alternative destination if the Big East plan doesn't pan out.

But at this point, UMass wasn't in the national spotlight for a few years, the Big East needed quality football schools to retain its BCS status, and UMass was in a difficult political situation with Romney & William Bulger and a financial situtation not conducive to upgrading to D1-A.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported that the school faces state-ordered budget cuts of up to $40 million and noted that UMass athletics will take the hardest hit of all, with $2.5 million cut from its $5.7 million state appropriation.

https://bonesville.net/Articles/OtherAr ... rs_I-A.htm

Annually, the UMass athletic department consumes roughly $18 million, McCaw said, and $5.65 million came from state funding. Now, however, the department has lost 45 percent of its state support.

The task force created in the spring is looking at, among other ideas, a plan similar to the one in place at the University of Florida, where UMass chancellor John V. Lombardi formerly served as president.

''Programs that are really successful [with the 501c3] tend to be large, public schools,'' McCaw said. ''There are some good funding models in place.''

The group now studying the model is headed by Robert Meers, a UMass alumnus who once worked as the CEO of Reebok International. Together, members are trying to figure out if the athletic department can make up for that lost 45 percent using non-profit methods.

And if not? McCaw doesn't want to think about that right now.

''That's something,'' he said, ''that we'd still need to determine.''

https://web.archive.org/web/20030713155 ... s%2B.shtml

Of course, none of this played out, and hindsight is 20/20. But I also don't read any seriousness in those rumors by the folks cited at the time, certainly no willingness from the administration or state to meet the standards of C-USA 1.0/2.0 or the Big East. It's as credible as UMass' aspirations in joining the American following the decision not to join the MAC in 2014.

As many problems as I have with the lack of success we've seen in his tenure, I have to give credit to Bamford for pushing with conviction to outspend our competition in rejoining the MAC. Just reading these past rumors, that's a drastic change from previous administrations, who seemed to really have no opinion on where UMass should be, no political skill or strategy as to how they could finance such a move, and just going with the wind as conferences were shaken up. Hoping they could do it on the cheap. Flailing around while hoping gold falls in your lap.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^

Appreciate that roundup, Stats!!! Lots of good info there for people to review and ponder.


I absolutely give Bamford a lot of credit for finally getting a conference move done. It was very long overdue.

[harbo]

Unexpectly awesome discussion to my original question about the primarily short-term future of the major athletics programs. Thanks for the well-thought-out responses for what was/is good/bad with the progams.
My main complaints center around why forward-thinking actions are not being accomplished. And are the crux of my reasoning that we would be in better shape if Mr Bamford would be sent on his way.
Specifically, I return to page 44 of the McGuirk Upgrade topic (2015) where we see artist renderings of potential future upgrades. Follow that up to page 53 where some additional upgrades in the 2016 time-frame are presented ( possibly the same drawings). Again, nothing actually being done to get the plans off the architect's table. Forward to 2025, with apparently a few minor upgrades. Apparently, little money available, I guess.
Again, thanks for the good dialogue. Keep it coming.

[Steve81]

Unexpectly awesome discussion to my original question about the primarily short-term future of the major athletics programs. Thanks for the well-thought-out responses for what was/is good/bad with the progams.
My main complaints center around why forward-thinking actions are not being accomplished. And are the crux of my reasoning that we would be in better shape if Mr Bamford would be sent on his way.
Specifically, I return to page 44 of the McGuirk Upgrade topic (2015) where we see artist renderings of potential future upgrades. Follow that up to page 53 where some additional upgrades in the 2016 time-frame are presented ( possibly the same drawings). Again, nothing actually being done to get the plans off the architect's table. Forward to 2025, with apparently a few minor upgrades. Apparently, little money available, I guess.
Again, thanks for the good dialogue. Keep it coming.

The issue is higher. Without leadership from the President Marty Meehan and BOT, the funds are not available. The best he can do is some shifting around and increase the short term stadium project to 25-30M. It seems the leadership of the UMass system is still not giving us the full commitment to replace/dramatically improve the stadium and the program.

[harbo]

Thanks Steve, for your response. I am 600 miles and three decades removed from the sleepy little town of Amherst, so I am basically out of the loop.

I guess my question is why anyone would keep on hanging on to an AD position with the push back he receives on any monetary matters. He is the head of a stadium issue where the occupancy is at least 5000 less than the league's nearest occupancy, as well as even 7000 lower occupancies than four other programs. And now he has to deal with a hoops program where the school's chances of making the Big Dance is to win the postseason tournament, and, if not, then cross your fingers, toes and eyes that they they accept your twenty-win season into the play-in round. But the NIT still exists, right? At least our other niche sports (including multiple women's programs) are doing reasonable jobs.
I imagine he's getting a decent paycheck for not a lot of stressful situations.

[eldonabe]

He has to go

[InnervisionsUMASS]

I imagine he's getting a decent paycheck for not a lot of stressful situations.

It's public info... FY ending 2025, his total pay was $803,222.

[inthescoop]

He has to go

I been saying, let’s all chip in to get a ‘Fire Ryan’ billboard right by campus.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

He has to go

I been saying, let’s all chip in to get a ‘Fire Ryan’ billboard right by campus.

Still one of my favorite things:

[Merlin Samuels]

Bob Marcum takes a lot of heat here for some reason, but he urged UMass to move to C-USA in the 90's and I still believe that was the correct avenue to pursue. It was a sort of national conference and had both strong football and basketball.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

No idea what this means, but here is a small clip of Rene on the Minuteman Command podcast talking about the fan reaction post-Buffalo, and possible administration reaction to that:

https://x.com/UMassCommand/status/1983514535525818602


EDIT: Post edited to make more sense related to the subject matter.

[TheInsider]

Outside of building a stadium or firing the AD... what other "changes" could actually be made?? Saying they are going to fund the program wouldn't be a change.. we were already told that.

[Floyd]

He has to go

I been saying, let’s all chip in to get a ‘Fire Ryan’ billboard right by campus.

Still one of my favorite things:

IV, didn't they win the league title the following year or two after that?
Just saying. But its not an endorsement for RB