(08-29-2015 09:25 AM)carolinaknights Wrote:  UMASS will need strong alliances with BYU, Army, Idaho when they are kicked out of the SB, Buffalo regionally from the MAC, and scheduling arrangements with the AAC northern teams if it is going to survive as an independent. Typical scheduling as a long run independent:

FCS school

2 P-5 schools - one for the money and one with a return game at Gillette. Rutgers and BC could full fill the return game requirement if they can get them on the schedule regularly.

AAC - Temple and UConn regularly and three more schools with Navy slipping in there every few years. Hopefully with this arrangement UMASS can get in on their bowl arrangement as an opponent in Miami or get one of their lower end bowls with all of their future bowl commitments. They can also play a series of BB games in this arrangement.

An annual regional game with Buffalo.

The rest of the schedule made up with SB, MAC, and CUSA home and home's.

UMASS will also need a TV contract of some sort to survive as an independent. Try to hook on with Army, be a lead in game to ND when thy play later in the day, or hook on with a sports channel like the BE.

UMASS should have stayed in the MAC even if it meant bringing in their other sports. James Madison might have moved up then for a 14 school all sports conference. Good luck on your future though.

AD Ryan Bamford continues to adjust the schedule and we now have 6 home games for 2016 with two on campus. This article says his, Daniel Malone's recorder is acting up and there will be more details later. However this a very nice article from the Springfield Republican/Masslive.com

Quote:AMHERST – The soon-to-be-announced University of Massachusetts football scheduling deal tying together the UMass, Boston College and UConn is one that should please fans who have been clamoring for the Minutemen to get more involved with their New England rivals.

It should come as no surprise that the deal pleases UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford, too.

Tuesday, I spoke on the phone with Bamford – who said the deal will become official as soon as one of the other schools ties up some loose ends in its side – to get the first-year AD's take on the situation.

(Note: My audio recorder is acting up not allowing me to access the interview at the moment. Look for more details when I get that situation sorted out.)

First, here's a quick rundown of what to expect out of the deal:

UMass will drop its 2016 and 2017 games against UConn so that the Huskies and Boston College can start up a new series. In exchange, BC will now play its Sept. 17, 2016 game against the Minutemen on the road at Gillette Stadium instead of at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill. The 2017 hole created by UConn will still have to be filled.

UMass will fill the Sept. 10 hole in its 2016 schedule vacated by UConn with another home game against Florida International at McGuirk Stadium. Additional FIU road games are set for 2018 (previously scheduled) and 2019 (new).

In the end, UMass winds up with four future games against BC (2017, 2018 and a home-and-home in the early 2020s) and four future games against UConn (2018-2021).

The background
Bamford said the framework for the deal started to come together about 3-4 weeks ago after he met with BC athletic director Brad Bates and UConn AD Warde Manuel at an athletics conference last month.

At that point, the two other schools had already been in communication about establishing more future games. What was needed was UMass' help in moving some things around schedule-wise to pull it off.

Bamford, despite telling reporters in August that he was done tinkering with the 2016 schedule after adding South Carolina and Wagner for next season, said he jumped at the opportunity to get involved with the two other New England schools.

On UMass' end, it required filling the newly-created 2016 opening with another FIU game. Bamford said additional negotiations with FIU athletic director Pete Garcia had already been in motion before the BC/UConn talks began and that he felt "really fortunate" about that part of the equation could be working out in everyone's favor.

Overall, Bamford said he was ok with giving up the 2016-17 UConn games if it meant ensuring the eight future matchups with the Eagles and Huskies. Flipping what had been a 5-7 home-road split for the Minutemen in 2016 to an even 6-6 is also something both he and coach Mark Whipple feel good about.


New England rivalry
Bamford views the opportunity to strengthen ties in the region as being important to the future of the football program. Thinking of it as a sort of "rising tide lifts all boats" scenario, Bamford wants to see college football grow in profile in New England and he thinks the intermingling of the three local FBS teams can help do that.

Bamford admitted that UMass is still "looking up" at Boston College and UConn because of the head start those programs have as FBS programs, but he hopes that establishing long-term rivalries through the new scheduling deals will help elevate UMass to that level in the near future.

Bamford also said he'd "love to see" UMass play the Huskies and Eagles more regularly in basketball and other sports.


The 4-2 split
Under Bamford's predecessor, John McCutcheon, it had been assumed that with a 6-game home schedule, the matchups must either be split down the middle with three games played at McGuirk Stadium and three played at Gillette Stadium or split 5-1 in favor of whichever location UMass deemed its home field. Not once did McCutcheon give reason to question that status.

But according to Bamford, UMass first received word via email as early as 2010 or 2011 that it could split games 4-2 like the team plans to do in 2016. That was confirmed in 2013, but never made public. Bamford said his compliance staff has assured him that the 4-2 split is doable.


2017: All home games at McGuirk?
Surprised that this hadn't been made into a bigger deal already, Bamford said the way the team's 2017 contracts are structured means that UMass could elect to play all of its home games for that season on campus at McGuirk Stadium. That would include Old Dominion (Sept. 9), Ohio (Sept. 30), Hawaii (Oct. 7), Georgia Southern (Oct. 21), Appalachian State (Oct. 28) and Maine (Nov. 11).

In general, Bamford said he's in favor of UMass eventually moving to play all its home games at McGuirk with the option of having Gillette available to host larger opponents when those opportunities come up.


Future McGuirk upgrades
To his point about campus games, Bamford said additional stadium upgrades to McGuirk are "near the top" of his to-do list. He believes that if UMass envisions itself alongside BC, UConn and comparable other FBS schools, the team's on-campus stadium "can't have (portable restrooms) and free-standing concession stands." Additionally, there are lingering issues concerning compliance for handicapped patrons he wants to address with the stadium.

While he didn't offer a specific timeline for any of those plans, Bamford said he's been looking hard at how to make additional renovations happen, whether that includes increasing seating capacity, improving fan amenities or both.

The recent additions of the Football Performance Center and press box complex are huge pieces to the puzzle, he said, and he wants to see more.


Other notes
Bamford said he probably wouldn't have done the South Carolina deal, which he held off on for as long as possible, had the BC/UConn opportunity come up sooner. Even so, he's pleased with the contract structure that nets UMass $1.5 million and a future home-and-home basketball deal with the Gamecocks.

Bamford re-iterated his point from March that conference independence "is not a death sentence." He feels much better about the situation now after re-working the schedules than he did when he first took over.

While the UConn series could ultimately help make UMass more attractive as a future conference addition for the AAC, Bamford said that wasn't on his mind in working out the deal. He said he was more concerned with getting additional games and, more importantly, getting additional games with an opponent close by.

Asked about other pending announcements, Bamford said there isn't anything else major coming down the immediate pipeline.

UMass AD Ryan Bamford talks BC/UConn deal, future McGuirk upgrades and playing more games in Amherst