Football Series Vs. UMass

According to Jim Fuller of the New Haven Register, UConn and UMass have agreed to a two-game football series. One game would be played at Gillette Stadium on September 10th, 2016, with the second game played at Rentschler Field at a date yet to be determined.

Recently I examined the patterns of recent UConn football non-conference schedules and concluded that the general approach is scheduling one FBS team, one mid-major team, and two power conference/good mid-major teams. At first glance, UMass would seem to fit as the mid-major team. But upon further review, it’s not as clear. The Minutemen have only recently made the jump from the FCS to the FBS, and in their first two years as a Division I-A team, they’ve gone 1-11 each year. While struggles are to be expected during the transition, further complicating matters is UMass’s decision to leave the MAC after the 2015 season, which they have been a part of for two years as a football-only member. Where exactly is UMass planning to go? The only other conferences that make sense geographically are the ACC which would definitely not accept UMass, and the AAC which probably wouldn’t want to further damage its reputation. Is UMass planning on being an independent? Are they hoping there will be more conference realignment? Is there something they know that we don’t?

Of course, other than conference realignment or an unforseen development, none of this greatly affects UConn. It would simply affect whether UConn sees UMass as its 2016 mid-major opponent for the year or whether UConn would replace its 2016 FCS opponent with UMass. One factor in that decision could be that the game will be in Foxborough, MA, whereas UConn usually plays its FCS opponent in East Hartford. The only other game currently on the 2016 schedule for the Huskies is a home clash against Virginia. 

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