What a Successful G5 Program Looks Like post-NIL

[eldonabe]

We are, indeed, starting over. There are only 11 players remaining from the roster when Joe was hired. That's a good thing aswe all know how bad that roster was. Who knows how many games we'll win, but I do think the roster is much improved.

A variable that is left out here is that coach Joe (maybe AD Bamford before Joe was hired?) sent a lot of guys out the door before last season that were better football players and kept the borderline FCS players and then used the portal to bring in the wrong guys as evidenced by the 11 returners left. A handful moved on to greener pastures. The vast majority of players went to lower divisions. Coach Joe put that team together. The talent better be improved. I will not believe he evaluates talent well until we see it for sure.

I am not making excuses for Joe, but he was definitely late to the game. Not really sure what he had to choose from by the time he was able to recruit and sign guys.

This is really year 1 for Joe as far as I am concerned.

[Rolling Ridge]

I am not making excuses for Joe, but he was definitely late to the game. Not really sure what he had to choose from by the time he was able to recruit and sign guys.

This is really year 1 for Joe as far as I am concerned.

Couldn't have said it better. I'm of this mindset as well.

[minutefanjsf]

We are, indeed, starting over. There are only 11 players remaining from the roster when Joe was hired. That's a good thing aswe all know how bad that roster was. Who knows how many games we'll win, but I do think the roster is much improved.

A variable that is left out here is that coach Joe (maybe AD Bamford before Joe was hired?) sent a lot of guys out the door before last season that were better football players and kept the borderline FCS players and then used the portal to bring in the wrong guys as evidenced by the 11 returners left. A handful moved on to greener pastures. The vast majority of players went to lower divisions. Coach Joe put that team together. The talent better be improved. I will not believe he evaluates talent well until we see it for sure.

I am not making excuses for Joe, but he was definitely late to the game. Not really sure what he had to choose from by the time he was able to recruit and sign guys.

This is really year 1 for Joe as far as I am concerned.

He was hired around the same time as every new coach. KC Keeler was hired 12/1 at Temple and won 5 games in season one. It is not year one. It is year two. All coaches hired in early December have the same hand dealt to them. I am a maroon glasses wearing fool. What I saw last year was the worst UMass football team ever and possibly worst FBS team ever. I’m a STH since 1999, 1995 graduate. Coach Joe does not get a pass for last year. I’ve met him briefly twice. I think he is a good guy based on those meetings. I am hopeful, but no where close to sold on his acumen. I think he is still he has a lot to learn.

[eldonabe]

He was hired around the same time as every new coach. KC Keeler was hired 12/1 at Temple and won 5 games in season one. It is not year one. It is year two. All coaches hired in early December have the same hand dealt to them. I am a maroon glasses wearing fool. What I saw last year was the worst UMass football team ever and possibly worst FBS team ever. I’m a STH since 1999, 1995 graduate. Coach Joe does not get a pass for last year. I’ve met him briefly twice. I think he is a good guy based on those meetings. I am hopeful, but no where close to sold on his acumen. I think he is still he has a lot to learn.

With no due respect to the prior HC.... Joe inherited a mostly dogshit roster with exactly ZERO FBS wins registered in the 2024 season.

I completely agree about the historically bad season that was last year, and while I am not giving him a pass, I am giving him a chance to erase the 2025 season from the memory banks.


The question (i guess) is what accomplishes that? And that is where I think many of us will take different paths. My desire to get there is simple - They need to win an FBS game this year. Failure to do so will make it three years since doing so... 3 YEARS! They have 2 or 3 more-than-winnable conference games this year.... all I am asking is that they win 1 of them. As bad as that team was last year - this would be a huge improvement.

[minutefanjsf]

He was hired around the same time as every new coach. KC Keeler was hired 12/1 at Temple and won 5 games in season one. It is not year one. It is year two. All coaches hired in early December have the same hand dealt to them. I am a maroon glasses wearing fool. What I saw last year was the worst UMass football team ever and possibly worst FBS team ever. I’m a STH since 1999, 1995 graduate. Coach Joe does not get a pass for last year. I’ve met him briefly twice. I think he is a good guy based on those meetings. I am hopeful, but no where close to sold on his acumen. I think he is still he has a lot to learn.

With no due respect to the prior HC.... Joe inherited a mostly dogshit roster with exactly ZERO FBS wins registered in the 2024 season.

I completely agree about the historically bad season that was last year, and while I am not giving him a pass, I am giving him a chance to erase the 2025 season from the memory banks.


The question (i guess) is what accomplishes that? And that is where I think many of us will take different paths. My desire to get there is simple - They need to win an FBS game this year. Failure to do so will make it three years since doing so... 3 YEARS! They have 2 or 3 more-than-winnable conference games this year.... all I am asking is that they win 1 of them. As bad as that team was last year - this would be a huge improvement.

Coach Joe's decisions when dismantling the roster he inherited is my point. He kept the least talented (borderline FBS) players and got rid of most of the FBS caliber players. (There weren't a lot). Yes, they went winless vs FBS in 2024. They were a lot closer to winning than 2025. I was at all home games and Georgia. They played well at the end of the season. Liberty, UConn, and Georgia; they were respectable. They definitely found ways to steal defeat from victory (Miami, Liberty, etc). They need to win 4 games minimum this year to take a little bit of the bad taste from last year away. The FCS games (including Sac State intros as it is year 1 for them in FBS) and at least 1 other conference game. The schedule has them set up to possibly win more. 2024 and 2025 had lots of bowl eligible opponents. This year they have the bottom of the barrel in MAC.

[ZooMass84]

A variable that is left out here is that coach Joe (maybe AD Bamford before Joe was hired?) sent a lot of guys out the door before last season that were better football players and kept the borderline FCS players and then used the portal to bring in the wrong guys as evidenced by the 11 returners left. A handful moved on to greener pastures. The vast majority of players went to lower divisions. Coach Joe put that team together. The talent better be improved. I will not believe he evaluates talent well until we see it for sure.

I am not making excuses for Joe, but he was definitely late to the game. Not really sure what he had to choose from by the time he was able to recruit and sign guys.

This is really year 1 for Joe as far as I am concerned.

He was hired around the same time as every new coach. KC Keeler was hired 12/1 at Temple and won 5 games in season one. It is not year one. It is year two. All coaches hired in early December have the same hand dealt to them. I am a maroon glasses wearing fool. What I saw last year was the worst UMass football team ever and possibly worst FBS team ever. I’m a STH since 1999, 1995 graduate. Coach Joe does not get a pass for last year. I’ve met him briefly twice. I think he is a good guy based on those meetings. I am hopeful, but no where close to sold on his acumen. I think he is still he has a lot to learn.

Do you know how much $$$ we have to spend on NIL??? kids are getting paid at all levels not just FBS.

[ZooMass84]

Reminds me of Coach O on ESPN or 30 for 30 or something saying back in the day they used to pay the players out the back door, now they pay them right in the front door.

[Mizor]

UMass will have $2 million to spend in NIL in 2025, with an increase to $3 million expected in 2026, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The money is guaranteed, which means this isn’t simply a goal the University is striving for.

[eldonabe]

I thought a successful G5 program meant having $25M worth of landscaping and paint on the exterior of their shitty stadium?

I mean, that is what we are spending all kinds of money on... so I assume that is the recipe?

[ZooMass84]

UMass will have $2 million to spend in NIL in 2025, with an increase to $3 million expected in 2026, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The money is guaranteed, which means this isn’t simply a goal the University is striving for.

So $3M in NIL money to players this fall........

[ZooMass84]

We spend THE MOST in the MAC!!!!!

UMass total exps 71,240,391 11,495,448 admin salaries 8,901,601 13,752,216 1,350,500 609,633 1,382,498 5,352,989

THAT'S WHY this charade of an FBS program will go on infinitely.............would love a win or two this year.........but until Meehan/Bamford are gone I don't know if we ever win a football game or go to the NCAA Big Dance again

[69MG]

Zoo, maybe it's me but I cannot make sense of these numbers. Can you explain them?

[ZooMass84]

Zoo, maybe it's me but I cannot make sense of these numbers. Can you explain them?

i did a copy and paste but it is all taken from NCAA NIL data i dug out............it is the total money spent on the athletic dept last year. What I found out is this: we are the most subsidized program in the US............not a good thing but we are a rich state so it doesn't matter. point is: for the type of $$$$$$$$$ we are spending we should be going to bowls

[Steve81]

So no link or explanation what those 6 other figures are Zoo?

[Jack]

Things seem to be gradually improving and moving in the right direction - looking forward to a fun football season with improvement across the board . Go UMass !!!!