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UMASS and AAC need each other

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Yawkey Way said:
Uconn needs Tulsa... and a few other of these far away AAC football programs, " like a painful, rectal itch " too. Playing Umass in football has far more regional interest than a Uconn- Tulsa, or SMU snoozer. So if BC is not interested, than playing an annual regional interest football game with Umass is at least as interesting as playing some of these other AAC teams that are outside the New England region.
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Oh the sweet sweet irony.
 
Yawkey Way said:
Agreed.
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I agree UConn and possibly Temple might want them.
I don't think either team would expend any capital to get them though.
The AAC as a whole and Aresco in particular really don't care all that much about BB. UMass brings zero value to the league for Football.
Aresco is focusing on the next contract,and he believes football is the ticket.
Seriously Will getting a rivalry game for UConn keep us in the AAC. In fact most of the time the league office acts as though we don't exist,because they know we're gone in a heartbeat.
Basically the article wants the already compromised creditability of the AAC football hurt even more ,because UMass has put themselves in a pickle. Which can easily be remedied by going back to FCS. or remaining Indy. Their already in a pretty decent regional BB conference.
As an old Yankee conference fan I feel some sympathy for them ,but if UConn were in their shoes , and had not invested so heavily in football.
The Big East BB ,and either Indy or FCS would be viable options for us also.
 
Interesting read as a UMass fan. Agree we would strengthen the middle and bring up the bottom most years in BB as we been to NIT Final Four twice and NCAA once since 2007.

You may not follow UMass Football closely but watch the scores this year. If Fro stays healthy, we'll be bowling this year.

Can't believe you guys passed on Whipple several years ago and thank you for it.

Women's lacrosse and rowing are top notch and other programs suffered with our past AD's hires. Hoping for good things with Ryan Bamford. Marty Meehan was Governor Bakers guy and on his transition team. There is an article stating Meehan would be goo for UMass Athletics.

http://www.masslive.com/umassfootba...ss_selects_marty_meehan_new.html#incart_river
 
I watched Umass football a little bit this past year. Their record does not show it, but they played some good OOC teams well, but seemed to lose their poise in the 4th quarter. Part of this may have been lack of depth, and by the 4th quarters the depth ( and talent ) of the other teams came to the fore. But they were in a lot of games until late, and they did show the ability to move the chains and score a lot of points too last season. A Uconn- Umass football game last season might have been an interesting match up too, imo.
 
Steve1981 said:
Interesting read as a UMass fan. Agree we would strengthen the middle and bring up the bottom most years in BB as we been to NIT Final Four twice and NCAA once since 2007.

You may not follow UMass Football closely but watch the scores this year. If Fro stays healthy, we'll be bowling this year.

Can't believe you guys passed on Whipple several years ago and thank you for it.

Women's lacrosse and rowing are top notch and other programs suffered with our past AD's hires. Hoping for good things with Ryan Bamford. Marty Meehan was Governor Bakers guy and on his transition team. There is an article stating Meehan would be goo for UMass Athletics.

http://www.masslive.com/umassfootba...ss_selects_marty_meehan_new.html#incart_river
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Unfortunately women's lacrosse is not an AAC sport. Seriously, for UMass to become a competitive athletic department, they would need to increase annual spending by at least 50%. Considering that they do not currently generate much revenue and the athletic department is almost totally subsidized, I just don't see how they get there. I live in the Boston area and I don't think I have ever met a real UMass athletic fan.
 
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UConnJim said:
. I live in the Boston area and I don't think I have ever met a real UMass athletic fan.
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I live part of the year in Boston too, ( with friends and family in Connecticut ) and I don't think I've ever met anyone in Boston( or from Connecticut) thats even BEEN to Tulsa, let alone met anyone that has graduated from Tulsa. Can't hate on Tulsa, their school, their fans, as we don't know any of them.. Playing a Umass football game should be no less of a bad thing for Uconn then, than playing Tulsa every year.. no ?
 
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Posting budgets etc are a year plus behind. We'll get to about 68% subsidized and stay there. In the past few years we've increased the the budget from 27 Mill to low 30's and expect that to continue. It will be tough as an Independent and we have scheduled as such for 3 years through 2018.

We do not draw well in Foxboro and receive no real money playing there. It's nice to be able to buy a beer but at $11 for a draft it stinks. The concession prices are the same as an NFL Football game and we get zero on concessions etc.. Winning should help Gillette attendance.

Conference affiliation will bring an expanded McGuirk. In the next year you'll see a new indoor practice facility. Something is holding things up as heard about 3 home games for 2016 a little over a month ago. Probably waiting on filling the last two games to announce the full schedule.

Yes, we have many fair weather fans and need to do some winning. Looking forward to your trip to Gillette. It's the marque game for 2016. Screw the Beagles.
 
Steve1981 said:
Posting budgets etc are a year plus behind. We'll get to about 68% subsidized and stay there. In the past few years we've increased the the budget from 27 Mill to low 30's and expect that to continue. It will be tough as an Independent and we have scheduled as such for 3 years through 2018.
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Massively subsidized athletic departments are not a sustainable model in today's economic reality. Under your optimistic scenario, UMass will still be almost 70% subsidized.

I have nothing against UMass as I live in Massachusetts, but there is no support for UMass or UMass athletics. In the Boston area, there is more support for UMass Boston than UMass Amherst. If I were in charge of UMass, I would take the money invested in football and invest it in basketball, hockey, and lacrosse as UMass has a better chance of becoming competitive in those sports.
 
Confident Carl said:
Forget about football for a minute..

Is Tulane/UCONN or USF/UCONN or East Carolina/UCONN or... a more attractive basketball game than UMASS/UCONN? I remember the Calipari and Marcus Camby days at UMASS in 1996...Things got heated and made for exciting LOCAL match ups.

"And John was the guy at UMass when Jim was at Connecticut. Jim hates to lose at anything. He's a tough guy. He's tough on himself, and that carries on to his team."

Calipari, who took UMass to the Final Four in 1996, three years before UConn did it, and had the Minutemen No. 1 in the country before the Huskies, was just as driven to rise above the Huskies in the 1990s.

Remember the 2002 game when UCONN came back after being down by like 25 points. Check out the cheeks in the seats!

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Our attendance on the whole was crazy those years.
 
Every single AAC school is losing money on their football programs. Umass should be held to no more, no less, than the standards already in place. Umass should be allowed into the AAC only if such an addition will prove to make money for all the other schools. But I don't see the addition of Umass as making the other schools.. including Uconn.. money. But thats a different question as to whether or not Umass and Uconn can't play one another every other year or couple of years in football. This is all a talk thats probably going nowwhere anyway, as Umass is not going to become a member of the AAC anytime soon. But its got nothing at all to do with Umass. Its got everything instead to do with the other AAC schools. Name me the current AAC schools that will vote to add Umass.. in any sport.. to their league. If you can't name 5 or 6 right now, then for all intents and purposes this discussion is in the realm of fantasyland re. Umass to the AAC any time soon.
 
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UConnJim said:
. In the Boston area, there is more support for UMass Boston than UMass Amherst. .
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.

Of course, Umass - Boston has more support in Boston than Umass- Amherst. The reverse of this could just as easily be said as well. ( more support in Amherst, and Western Mass for Umass- Amherst, than Umass- Boston... and even for that of BC, and Uconn, out in that region we might had ) This is like saying Umass- Lowell hockey has more support in Lowell, than around Umass - Boston, and throughout the rest of the city of Boston. Well.... .....ya.
 
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Yawkey Way said:
I watched Umass football a little bit this past year. Their record does not show it, but they played some good OOC teams well, but seemed to lose their poise in the 4th quarter. Part of this may have been lack of depth, and by the 4th quarters the depth ( and talent ) of the other teams came to the fore. But they were in a lot of games until late, and they did show the ability to move the chains and score a lot of points too last season. A Uconn- Umass football game last season might have been an interesting match up too, imo.
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That's totally irrelevant. We were worse Than horrific last last.
You could make the case Div 3 Yale was better than us.
If the AAC weren't our conference(original members) , UConn would not be admitted based on our football.
 
BoatShow said:
THAT'S THE SAME THING AS BEING IN A CONFERENCE TOGETHER

Idiot
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I see no benefit financially, nor athletically, to Uconn for someone to suggest Bryant as a conference partner, together with Uconn. But you brought Bryant into the discussion as a possible partner in the AAC for Uconn ( or at least a more attractive candidate in your opinion than Umass ), but Bryant College seems like an idiotic suggestion to bring into the thread discussion... even if Bryant College was a close 3 point game this season for Uconn. I can't imagine that other Uconn football fans support any discussion of Bryant College as a AAC Conference partner. And my guess, most of the AAC schools fans have never heard of Bryant College, and few of them could tell you what state the school is even located in, let alone want to see them as a consideration for AAC league membership .
 
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AZHuskiePop said:
That's totally irrelevant. We were worse Than horrific last last.
You could make the case Div 3 Yale was better than us.
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I understand your point ( minor point... Yale football is not in Div. 3 , they are in Division 1 )
 
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Yawkey Way said:
I understand your point ( minor point... Yale football is not in Div. 3 , they are in Division 1 )
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Technically I guess FCS schools are still considered Part of DiV I
Only in the minds of NCAA PC mentality could two vastly different groups be considered one.
I know they are officially sub divisions
Previously the FCS schools were know as Div. IAA
But the Ivies are a special case
Their league does not allow scholarships which actually puts them on the same level as what we use to call DIII. I think even DII schools give limited scholarships.
So a I took some literary license in my description of the Bulldogs.
One can not overuse Hyperpole in description of our football misfortunes,
 
Confident Carl said:
Fishy, take some time to read the article. Blaudschun suggests letting UMASS in for all sports EXCEPT football. Navy is just football. He adds that they could schedule 6 OOC games with AAC teams and let them prove themselves over time. They would be quasi Independent and highly motivated to build their football program.
They had a better football team than we had last year. They lost to Colorado and Vanderbilt by a total of 6 points! Adding them for Basketball and other sports wouldn't hurt anything.
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Practically the entire country had a better football team than we had last year. Comparing anybody else to our 2014 team constitutes damning with faint praise. Almost everybody was better.

I also have nothing against UMASS, but adding them to the dumpster fire that is the AAC only fans the flames even higher.
 
UConnNick said:
Practically the entire country had a better football team than we had last year. Comparing anybody else to our 2014 team constitutes damning with faint praise. Almost everybody was better.

I also have nothing against UMASS, but adding them to the dumpster fire that is the AAC only fans the flames even higher.
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Blaudschun probably caught a bad ice cube in his alcohol beverage of choice once again, typing this drivel about Umass and the AAC. There is a reason this guy was kicked to the curb by the Boston Globe. His erratic writings are getting crazier by the month. Umass will get to the AAC, long after anyone here sees a Unicorn..
 
Nothing against UMASS, but they in no way make sense for any conference trying to A)raise its football profile and B)trying to increase its per team pay out. Play them OOC or don't, but The AAC should be shedding dead weight not adding it.
 
UConnNick said:
Practically the entire country had a better football team than we had last year. Comparing anybody else to our 2014 team constitutes damning with faint praise. Almost everybody was better.

I also have nothing against UMASS, but adding them to the dumpster fire that is the AAC only fans the flames even higher.
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I like most will take an invite to the ACC or B1G in a heartbeat. Until that happens UCONN needs to make the most of the American. I consider the American an emerging conference and the 6th best in the country. Continuing to call it a dumpster fire is an inaccurate depiction and is counter productive. I for one am excited about seeing how well UCONN can do in this "dumpster fire" of a league next year as you and others so edifyingly depict it. The pundits like you who continually fan these flames do a good job of keeping the fire roaring.
 
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CL82 said:
Wait UMass went to final four? I don't think so. Check the NCAA records.
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That is true - since the 1996 NCAA Tourney wins were vacated for Umass, their last official win in an NCAA Tournament game was in 1995! They just celebrated the 20th anniversary of their last win! Congrats!! Think about that next time someone tries to sell you on the "value" Umass basketball brings to conference realignment.
 
IMO we are headed towad an expanded playoff with automatic qualifiers coming from each of the P5 Conferences's Champions. If UCONN does not get an invitation to The B1G, ACC, or Big 12 by the time Delany inks his next TV deal, it's time to examine alternatives. Adding UMASS to the conference ain't one of them.

JMO, but I believe that a football only league based around TV Brands as opposed to markets could carry enough weight to secure a 6th slot at the Big boy table. The problem with the AAC is that there is too much dead weight, and too much distance to effectively run an all sports conference.

The idea of Tulsa shleping it's Olympic Sports to Storrs and vice versa is ridiculous in a world of skyrocketing athletic budgets, over reliance on subsidies, and the reality of full cost of attendance looming. How is this even possible on the pittance ESPN gives the conference for its TV rights?

Time to sit down with any of The AAC members that have name/TV value and work up something new
 
LOL I edited my post above into a giant manifesto, but the alloted editing time apparently ran out. Here's the gist... AAC TV Deal bad. Consider other alternatives good.
 
As much as it pains me to say it, UMass has not yet earned admission to the AAC. The AAC is desperately trying for recognition as a good conference and attempting to separate themselves from the other non P5 conferences. UMass will not help them in that regard. I honestly things will change for the better at UMass with Marty Meehan as President. The guy has absolutely no shame asking for money and is already working that angle hard. Alums better get used to a barrage of requests for donations (especially the wealthy ones) He's already had John Legere ( CEO T Mobile) on campus. He's had Richard Gere and Natalie Cole on campus. He's going after the cash!
That being said, I do believe it benefits all involved if UConn and Temple were to schedule UMass OOC in all sports. They already play each other in most of the non-revenue sports.
 
Steve1981 said:
Interesting read as a UMass fan. Agree we would strengthen the middle and bring up the bottom most years in BB as we been to NIT Final Four twice and NCAA once since 2007.

You may not follow UMass Football closely but watch the scores this year. If Fro stays healthy, we'll be bowling this year.

Can't believe you guys passed on Whipple several years ago and thank you for it.

Women's lacrosse and rowing are top notch and other programs suffered with our past AD's hires. Hoping for good things with Ryan Bamford. Marty Meehan was Governor Bakers guy and on his transition team. There is an article stating Meehan would be goo for UMass Athletics.

http://www.masslive.com/umassfootba...ss_selects_marty_meehan_new.html#incart_river
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Steve...Welcome...nice to have another UMass guy on here. I was starting to feel like Marilyn from the Munsters (just kidding:)) You'll like this board if your intention is to talk college sports. Some very nice and knowledgeable guys on here. Sometimes you'll need some thick skin, but it's all good.
Whipple was a steal. Glad he's back and we've already seen the difference in the team. But going along with the theme of this thread and UMass not investing in their athletics, I would love to know why Whipple is the lowest paid coach in the MAC. That screams small time to me. It's not like we didn't know what we were getting. UMass rode his coaching ability to a 1AA championship in his first year. If a school wants to stand up and say "Hey AAC, look at us" they better put their money where their mouths are.
 
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