Venue change

[rayers]

I hate to be the one pitching this, but I can't help reach the same conclusion every time I think about it-UMass needs to transition back to McGuirk for most home games. I realize we will be playing some big time opponents that will sometimes require playing at Gillette. More importantly I have reached the conclusion that we need to build the student involvement above all else. Today's game would have been near a sellout with Temple as the opponent. We are not going to attract big crowds in Foxboro until we are a winning program and people jump on the bandwagon. We need to hit the RESET button and rebuild our fanbase from the most dedicated local Western Mass fans and bring the students along where they can walk to games, even when they leave early. Yeah I know the seating capacity is low, but it seems to me that the best way to justify and expand McGuirk is to outgrow our capacity.

[Cahoonaville]

I agree with you 100% man. Just think about next season...only one game at McGuirk against FCS Wagner.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Venue isn't changing anytime soon. I am of the mindset that we need to go back to most games in Amherst as well, but it has to happen in conjunction with a lot of things... namely winning and a conference affiliation. Gillette isn't going anywhere and instead of complaining about it, we need people to start showing up and supporting their school and program. Gillette is not that far away. This isn't a 4 hour one way drive for anyone (except NJ.... guy is a maniac!). Just. Go.

[rayers]

^ I hear you innervisions, but that is not going to happen. No way, no how. You are requesting that some more folks show up when they could not care less. Why would that happen? At least in Western Mass people show up and students are present. I believe for the first time that we need to bring the team back to its fan and student base.

[DrG]

Gillette isn't going anywhere and instead of complaining about it, we need people to start showing up and supporting their school and program.

Of course we're committed to Gillette for the foreseeable future, especially after we go independent, but If you can figure out a way to make this happen, I'm all ears. Eastern Mass. is just a pro sports area. Even BC couldn't sell out the FSU game.

[rsox1221]

Won't hide the fact that others are coming around to what I've been preaching for a while now. Gillette is necessary as it stands right now, but it sucks for UMass games. I'm sorry, but it does.

We needed it for 2016, that's season #1 as an indy and no one would play us otherwise. We only have 5 home games, and we only had one before Bamford (and Goodhue as interim) came along. Had to utilize it.

But in 2017, we have the ability to host all 6 home games in Amherst. In fact I think two of them (ODU & Hawaii) were already contractually set for Amherst. If they do not host all those games in the 413 I'm going to be bullshit. There is no reason not to.

You need students at games in order to be any type of successful in college football. We cannot continue to do this to the program and to the people we need to support it most.

If you transplanted that game yesterday to Amherst you're probably looking at a crowd that would've been a couple thousand more at the very least.

And we need to average 15K at games to avoid NCAA probation. We barely skirted that once and it's always going to be hanging over our heads until we start winning more.

[78]

I just don't understand how at this point anyone thinks crowds are going to show up at Gillette. It's not going to happen and the students aren't going to come. Maybe the school can make it mandatory for a rotating group of 5,000 students to attend each game at Gillette.

[MV Digga]

They should give the students credits towards their degree

[jjmc85]

I've been keeping track of the announced attendance at home games since the team upgraded. There's not enough data to draw any conclusions about McGuirk yet with only three games, but now that the team has played 15 at Gillette it's clear to me that in terms of attendance, it's only needed for Boston College and band days. There's been a grand total of three times the attendance has eclipsed the 17,000 McGuirk holds.

It might have other uses, like recruits wanting to play where the Patriots do. It seems to bring "quality" OOC opponents, but honestly, who really cares if a Vanderbilt team will only come to Gillette if the end result is bringing in less than 17,000 and a loss? Long term, it should be max one game a year for a team that will merit it (BC, UConn, New Hampshire, or a national power like Michigan or Notre Dame). Aside from that, what's the point?

[rsox1221]

They should give the students credits towards their degree

Might not go that far, but some other schools in the MAC have been offering up the chance to win tuition by attending the games. They also have stipulations like you have to attend all the games and stay for the whole thing when you do. IIRC Northern Illinois is doing it.

UMass should absolutely look into something like that. It's hard to do when half the games are 100 miles from campus but when they finally get them all back to Amherst, I wouldn't hate it.

[rsox1221]

I've been keeping track of the announced attendance at home games since the team upgraded. There's not enough data to draw any conclusions about McGuirk yet with only three games, but now that the team has played 15 at Gillette it's clear to me that in terms of attendance, it's only needed for Boston College and band days. There's been a grand total of three times the attendance has eclipsed the 17,000 McGuirk holds.

It might have other uses, like recruits wanting to play where the Patriots do. It seems to bring "quality" OOC opponents, but honestly, who really cares if a Vanderbilt team will only come to Gillette if the end result is bringing in less than 17,000 and a loss? Long term, it should be max one game a year for a team that will merit it (BC, UConn, New Hampshire, or a national power like Michigan or Notre Dame). Aside from that, what's the point?

And it's really only needed for Band Day now because they can invite more bands. They did Band Day at McGuirk all the time and it was usually 17K sellout when they did.

Boston College obviously was a big one, and next season we might see something similar with UConn coming in. That I think will be at least 20K. We also have Mississippi State coming in, and that game might reach 30K if the Bulldogs are ranked, mainly because Miss St fans will be up here in droves. Whatever UMass gives them for a ticket allotment (typically 5,000) they'll sell every single one and could sell more if they had them. Miss St never comes this far North and it will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for a lot of their fans and alumni.

But the other games there, Tulane and Louisiana Tech, those are just going to be more of the same. They wouldn't play us without using Gillette and they may also bring quite a few fans, I don't think it will be quite Miss St level.

The reason these teams won't play in Amherst isn't the amount of seats, it's the visiting facilities. We're getting paid a lot of money from ND this year and a couple SEC schools next year, take that cash and upgrade the visiting locker room to an acceptable level and we won't be running into these issues with teams who won't play us in Amherst.

Playing in Gillette is not helping the program, no matter how much the old/new administrations would try to spin it. I respect this new admin a great deal, but they have to play politics with it and praise Gillette since we need them in 2016 and for the BYU games in 2018/19. But Bamford is a smart guy, and his first UMass home game yesterday could not have painted a good picture of the situation using Gillette.

What I hope is that the McGuirk games are nearly packed (HC of course will be) and the students are into it. It will really highlight the differences between the two places and show that one place there is an actual home-field advantage. I will also say that FIU/Kent/Miami(OH) are much more winnable than Temple/Toledo/Akron. Good thing that the former are at McGuirk. We have a chance to go 3-0 on campus and likely 1-2 off.

[rayers]

I do think it is a good thing to let our AD know what you all think. He listens.

[Mass Grad]

Gillette isn't going anywhere and instead of complaining about it, we need people to start showing up and supporting their school and program.

Of course we're committed to Gillette for the foreseeable future, especially after we go independent, but If you can figure out a way to make this happen, I'm all ears. Eastern Mass. is just a pro sports area. Even BC couldn't sell out the FSU game.

Didn't they have 39,000 this week?

[Mass Grad]

We can talk all we want but without 30,000 seats and first class accommodations, bathrooms, locker rooms, concession stands and comfortable seating we have no other choice unless it is the U Conn field in Hartford. We argue about sun field - shade field but cannot deal with our real problem - an entirely inadequate stadium.

[Mark W]

We can talk all we want but without 30,000 seats and first class accommodations, bathrooms, locker rooms, concession stands and comfortable seating we have no other choice unless it is the U Conn field in Hartford. We argue about sun field - shade field but cannot deal with our real problem - an entirely inadequate stadium.

It's a toss up as to what our "real" problem is....an entirely inadequate stadium or an entirely inadequate fan base.