No rivals.

No more schools.

The MAC should stay put!

the latest UMass blog:

http://www.minutemennation.net/2010/11/u...n-mac.html

The north, or whatever it is, division of the CAA appears to be crumbling and UMass might be 'reading the writing on the wall'...

"he CAA is considered the nation's best FCS league, but it is undergoing change. Villanova has been invited to join the Big East, where it belongs in other sports.
Doing so would cost the CAA a team that won the 2009 national FCS title and made the playoffs this year.
Rhode Island is leaving the CAA to lower the Northeast Conference, a lower-tier FCS league, in 2013. That would leave only Maine, New Hampshire and UMass among CAA schools north of Delaware - if Villanova moves up."

These are schools which don't play CAA basketball...

(12-03-2010 01:38 PM)BarnardHall211 Wrote:  If the presidents are driving this expansion, I hope they create an academic consortium in the conference as well, if there isn't one already. The lastest additions are good schools and UMass is too.

If we do create an academic symposium, it either would have to include just the 12 main schools or all 1-sport schools. So if you want Temple and Umass to be a part, you would also need to bring in Chicago State, the University of Evansville, FAU, Hartwick, Missouri State, and Southern Illinois. What a weird hodge-podge of schools that would make.

I say we become the Middle Earth Conference.

Shire State is fine in soccer, but worthless in basketball and football. Hobbits have no size.

(12-03-2010 02:58 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-03-2010 02:37 PM)BarnardHall211 Wrote:  

How good does adding NDSU look now?

yeah, the talk of adding a school no where's close to IL, which has no people, very cold temperatures, is in a different time zone then even NIU, etc. makes zero sense when there are schools like UMass, etc. available.

BTW, Pittsburgh is the 'missing city' in the MAC footprint now.

Anyone talking to Duquesne?

(12-02-2010 05:54 PM)uakronkid Wrote:  

Its intresting that Kansas City is grouped with the Great Lakes cities. Its more similar to Dallas and Denver than Chicago or Milwaukee. Now St. Louis fits the Great Lakes mold.

Looks to me like Toronto is a sleeping giant beauty, awaiting its Prince Charming. Let's give the Canucks a smooch!

If UMass joins, I don't think they are going anywhere for a while...

http://www.cardiachill.com/2010/12/3/185...dly-denied

(12-02-2010 04:41 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  Have you read the UMass board about the possible membership? While they are happy the MAC would want them, 9 out of 10 posts have to do with how that will help their rivalries with local eastern teams like BC and UNH. And how those rivalries maybe can help them build a bigger stadium which would help with joining a eastern-based league. The fews posts referencing MAC prowess say something like "how will Akron help fill the stands" etc.

Almost everything their fan base is posting is identifiying how this will help their eastern identity. They are Marshall Squared, but with nicer posters, less cheatin', fewer pickem-up trucks and hopefully hotter women.

UMassers that are reading - I am not anti-UMass. I just really think the MAC is overextending into a market that doesn't help our conference, and perpetuates a bush league rep of taking just about anyone with a starry eyed dreams of FBS football.

This sentiment can be explained by looking at UMass in its geographic context. Below is a map I prepared with all of the MAC members plus all of the FBS teams within bus range of UMass (indicated by the purple arc). Note that some of the MAC helmets are placed a little out of position so they won't be obstructed by each other (not because I don't know where you are):



As you can see, there are 10 FBS teams within driving range of UMass, but 8 of them are divided among 4 different conferences and 2 of them aren't in any conference at all. So no matter what conference UMass joins, we're going to be talking a lot about our regional non-conference opponents. If we were in the Big East, we'd be talking about scheduling BC and Temple. If we were in the ACC, UConn and Syracuse. And in the MAC, BC and UConn. There isn't any conference on the planet we can join in which even half our conference games will be within driving range. The MAC with 2 members inside our range and most of the rest clumped up just beyond the arc is as good as anywhere else we could go. Not that the Big East, ACC and Big Ten were options anyway.

That's the UMass perspective. From the MAC's perspective, you need to look at yourselves compared to other conferences. Even with UMass, you're still just about the smallest footprint out there among the FBS conferences. Maybe tied with the previous second-smallest, once you have us with you. And with UMass as a football-only in a conference divided into 2 divisions, NIU isn't going to travel to UMass more than once every 4 years or twice per decade. Akron, Ohio U. and Kent State would have a larger amount of UMass-related travel costs than NIU. If anyone should object, it's them.

While you're looking at the map, also notice that all the MAC needs to do is pick up one of Army, Fordham or Stony Brook, and the MAC will have the largest Northeast market presence of any conference. Nobody has the Boston-New York-Philadelphia trifecta. Obviously it wouldn't be the highest profile trio of Northeast football programs out there, but it's still something to put on the table when you talk to ESPN about your deal. That's a big leap from your reputation that you play in a small box in Ohio and Michigan. You're only 2 steps away from that, though I don't know that you can get Army or that Fordham/SBU is ready for the MAC.

Excellent post, M'Man.

MAC used to have the reputation for playing in small cities and towns.

That has started to change with Buffalo, Philadelphia, etc.

UMass if it could be a top 40 program would add a lot of interest in the Northeast and probably would have instant rivalries with BC, UConn, Temple (from their hoops playing) and later maybe Army, maybe Syracuse, maybe even Rutgers, etc.

[New England has a reputation for not being a college FB region. Why? Until UConn came on the scene how much good I-A football was there in New England? Not much. Devoid of schools to have rivalries.

New England is still ripe for the developing.]

Strong Temple and UMass would really help television.

As always with the MAC, it takes a team to be say in the top 40 for several years to make a difference and that doesn't seem to happen.

M'Man:

You concentrated on Army (which geographically is a great fit) and some N.Y. I-AA schools but how about Delaware?

They fit the corridor very well too, being close to Temple.

(12-04-2010 05:07 AM)emu steve Wrote:  M'Man:

You concentrated on Army (which geographically is a great fit) and some N.Y. I-AA schools but how about Delaware?

They fit the corridor very well too, being close to Temple.

Delaware would have to leave the CAA as a full member. They also are not facing the pressure of being left in FCS non-man's land in the Mid-Atlantic, and seem to relish being a big-fish in FCS, much like Montana and GA Southern. If there were further conference movement that changed the CAA landscape, and ODU and JMU decided to move up, then Delaware might as well.

The only Eastern FCS schools that would not have to leave their primary conference if they moved up are Albany, Duquesne, Fordham, Maine, UMass, UNH, SBU, and YSU. Fordham seems in research mode, but is not likely. UMass has studied FBS and seems likely to move, while SBU's leaders have stated FBS is their program's ultimate goal. The remaining schools have not shown interest in FBS, or would not be accepted into the MAC based on markets or institutional profile.

(12-04-2010 06:32 AM)RecoveringHillbilly Wrote:  

(12-04-2010 05:07 AM)emu steve Wrote:  M'Man:

You concentrated on Army (which geographically is a great fit) and some N.Y. I-AA schools but how about Delaware?

They fit the corridor very well too, being close to Temple.

Delaware would have to leave the CAA as a full member. They also are not facing the pressure of being left in FCS non-man's land in the Mid-Atlantic, and seem to relish being a big-fish in FCS, much like Montana and GA Southern. If there were further conference movement that changed the CAA landscape, and ODU and JMU decided to move up, then Delaware might as well.

The only Eastern FCS schools that would not have to leave their primary conference if they moved up are Albany, Duquesne, Fordham, Maine, UMass, UNH, SBU, and YSU. Fordham seems in research mode, but is not likely. UMass has studied FBS and seems likely to move, while SBU's leaders have stated FBS is their program's ultimate goal. The remaining schools have not shown interest in FBS, or would not be accepted into the MAC based on markets or institutional profile.

Excellent points.

UMass and Delaware are very different situations.

Delaware's (situation) isn't a problem, actually quite the opposite as you indicate.

UMass needs a football home. CAA football in New England is declining quickly.

(12-02-2010 05:33 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  If UMass builds a new stadium, they should build a good one with 30,000+ capacity. I can't help but think that the smaller, more high-school-like stadiums are a big turn off for big-time recruits. It screams "small-time". Just my opinion. I've thought that of Huskie Stadium.

NIU2007 that was a tough lose, but back to your quote. You have a very nice stadium. Not sure if we will build new and play at Gillette for two years, but I'm partial to JMU stadium with club seating.


Rooting for Miami in not only in football but against Dayton. Dayton - Miami tonight on WHIO 8 PM

(12-04-2010 05:07 AM)emu steve Wrote:  M'Man:

You concentrated on Army (which geographically is a great fit) and some N.Y. I-AA schools but how about Delaware?

They fit the corridor very well too, being close to Temple.

Delaware is great: Great school, great football tradition and great attendance. But if you're going with an east coast market strategy, Delaware's closest tie is with Philadelphia, which is the one east coast market you already have. They are right on the northernmost tip of Delaware, FYI.

If the MAC was to decide it wanted to march down the eastern front, the thing to do would be to solidify Temple, add UMass, try to find something that works in New York, and then look to Baltimore/DC. The problem is that the only options there are Navy, which would be even harder to lure than Army, or Towson, which is a large school with potential but also the worst team in the CAA and a long way from being ready for the MAC. After that, then maybe Delaware next best fits the model since it is between Philadelphia and Baltimore, but again they're more closely linked with Philly.

That all sounds like a big stretch for the MAC, but it might be worth it because nobody else has managed to package these markets together. It'd be something new for the MAC to put on the table, and not just for TV. You guys want more bowl games, and they're starting to pop up in the north. The Yankees just started one, and the owner of the Patriots wants one too. You could get your foot in the door that way. Food for thought.

(12-04-2010 06:32 AM)RecoveringHillbilly Wrote:  

(12-04-2010 05:07 AM)emu steve Wrote:  M'Man:

You concentrated on Army (which geographically is a great fit) and some N.Y. I-AA schools but how about Delaware?

They fit the corridor very well too, being close to Temple.

Delaware would have to leave the CAA as a full member. They also are not facing the pressure of being left in FCS non-man's land in the Mid-Atlantic, and seem to relish being a big-fish in FCS, much like Montana and GA Southern. If there were further conference movement that changed the CAA landscape, and ODU and JMU decided to move up, then Delaware might as well.

Delaware is not planning a move any time soon.

Not sure if this was already posted or mentioned in another thread, but it looks the UMass invite/decision is largely centered around Temple. I like the idea of a seven figure buyout if a team jumps ship.

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/...hance.html

Well not the best news for UMass, however it makes a lot of sense for the conference to push for a long term deal and a large buy-out clause.

Regarding our situation, the Kraft’s and Gillette are very open to hosting UMass Football games and heard Jonathan Kraft spoke of it during a broadcast on Boston’s Sports Hub radio 98.5 FM. It should also be noted that Myra Kraft was a former member of the UMass board of trustees.

The media has reported that Commissioner Dr. Steinbrecher will be at UMass mid December, next week.

(12-05-2010 02:10 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Well not the best news for UMass, however it makes a lot of sense for the conference to push for a long term deal and a large buy-out clause.

Regarding our situation, the Kraft’s and Gillette are very open to hosting UMass Football games and heard Jonathan Kraft spoke of it during a broadcast on Boston’s Sports Hub radio 98.5 FM. It should also be noted that Myra Kraft was a former member of the UMass board of trustees.

The media has reported that Commissioner Dr. Steinbrecher will be at UMass mid December, next week.

I hope a deal and invite get worked out. I am a fan of UMass and would love to see them in the MAC. I also like Temple and would hate to see them leave.