Money talks

[ZooMass84]

So happy we left the A-10. Congrats to the BOT, thought it would never happen!!! We finally have a Chancellor and AD who give a damn.
Like I've been saying, the A-10 is such a sad sack place now. My first year at UMass I attended ONE hoops game and I think we went 2-24. It was the Eastern 8 or EAA, some Power 5 schools in there at the time: Rutgers, Villanova, West Virginia. Times change but Major College Football has ALWAYS since 1936 been the Ohio States & Alabamas and Michigans. Those schools actually make money from their athletic programs but how many stadiums hold 90k or 100k plus? not too many.
So that brings us to UMass. The stadium at some point will be renovated and expanded to maybe 25k.

[inthescoop]

So happy we left the A-10. Congrats to the BOT, thought it would never happen!!! We finally have a Chancellor and AD who give a damn.
Like I've been saying, the A-10 is such a sad sack place now. My first year at UMass I attended ONE hoops game and I think we went 2-24. It was the Eastern 8 or EAA, some Power 5 schools in there at the time: Rutgers, Villanova, West Virginia. Times change but Major College Football has ALWAYS since 1936 been the Ohio States & Alabamas and Michigans. Those schools actually make money from their athletic programs but how many stadiums hold 90k or 100k plus? not too many.
So that brings us to UMass. The stadium at some point will be renovated and expanded to maybe 25k.

You're acting like our AD is new?

[Floyd]

I'll take a first round exit from an NCAA tourney game over an NIT championship any day.

Not me. The last NCAA appearance was an embarrassing 1st round loss. That NIT run to the title game with Ricky, Gary Forbes etc was a fun, exciting postseason. That did more for UMass attention than that NCAA loss in my mind

[69MG]

^ It's a tough call. While I would have preferred NCAA bids while Ford was here, I really enjoyed the two trips to MSG.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

I'll take a first round exit from an NCAA tourney game over an NIT championship any day.

Not me. The last NCAA appearance was an embarrassing 1st round loss. That NIT run to the title game with Ricky, Gary Forbes etc was a fun, exciting postseason. That did more for UMass attention than that NCAA loss in my mind

Sure, it got TF a bag of money.

[LS71]

Don’t forget Al McGguire’s decision in 1970…declined the NCAA bid to go to the NIT because he was unhappy that the NCAA had Marquette going to the Midwest regional instead of the Mideast which was closer.

They beat UMass with Julius and wound up winning it all!

[Quann]

^^^^
I get that. The NIT was on close to equal footing with the NCAA tourney back then. It hasn't been this way in my lifetime of watching college basketball (from late 1980s on). Over the last ten years, the NIT has really faded into irrelevance. NCAA bid or bust.

[LS71]

Moving the final four out of MSG further diminishes it. It truly has become the Not Invited Tournament.

[WillHerndonFan]

I'll take a first round exit from an NCAA tourney game over an NIT championship any day.

Not me. The last NCAA appearance was an embarrassing 1st round loss. That NIT run to the title game with Ricky, Gary Forbes etc was a fun, exciting postseason. That did more for UMass attention than that NCAA loss in my mind

Sure, it got TF a bag of money.

Agee with you the NIT run was better especially the 20 point deficit at Syracuse to win for the 2nd time that season at the Carrier Dome. Though I think this team could have made it to the Elite 8 that year as they were truly a team that could beat most teams when it got rolling. I would say the Forbes lead team was the best team since 1996 at UMass.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Not me. The last NCAA appearance was an embarrassing 1st round loss. That NIT run to the title game with Ricky, Gary Forbes etc was a fun, exciting postseason. That did more for UMass attention than that NCAA loss in my mind

Sure, it got TF a bag of money.

Agee with you the NIT run was better especially the 20 point deficit at Syracuse to win for the 2nd time that season at the Carrier Dome. Though I think this team could have made it to the Elite 8 that year as they were truly a team that could beat most teams when it got rolling. I would say the Forbes lead team was the best team since 1996 at UMass.

Sorry if I was misunderstood. I was suggesting that all the NIT run did was get Travis a bag of money. The NCAA season in 2013-14 did much more for UMass attention than the 2008 NIT run.

[Quann]

Sure, it got TF a bag of money.

Agee with you the NIT run was better especially the 20 point deficit at Syracuse to win for the 2nd time that season at the Carrier Dome. Though I think this team could have made it to the Elite 8 that year as they were truly a team that could beat most teams when it got rolling. I would say the Forbes lead team was the best team since 1996 at UMass.

Sorry if I was misunderstood. I was suggesting that all the NIT run did was get Travis a bag of money. The NCAA season in 2013-14 did much more for UMass attention than the 2008 NIT run.

100%. Normal fans don't give 2 craps about the NIT and it's been this way for a long time. I only pay attention if UMass is playing. This year, I haven't watched one second of an NIT game whereas I've probably watched at least a third of the NCAA games.

[Floyd]

Wasn't the question whether we enjoyed the 2008 NIT run or the 2013 1st round exit? My point was there were more people enjoying that NIT run than the 1st round loss, and the hype following that run

Signed,
Just a normal fan

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Wasn't the question whether we enjoyed the 2008 NIT run or the 2013 1st round exit? My point was there were more people enjoying that NIT run than the 1st round loss, and the hype following that run

Signed,
Just a normal fan

Your response was to Quann. My response was to you. I'm not disparaging the NIT run, it was an absolute blast. But I disagree that "it did more for UMass attention than the NCAA loss" did.

Signed,
Neither of us are normal fans

[Quann]

^^^^
Agreed. Everyone that post on here regularly has a bit of a screw loose (myself included ). Here's to the future 2025-26 MAC regular season and tournament basketball champs!

[harbo]

If we lose three games in the MAC season, lose three games OOC, and lose in the MAC final, do we still get an invite to the Big Dance?