http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/05/03/con...e-released
Quote:"But if either UMass or Temple were to announce a decision to leave, the other's membership could change.
The MAC would have the option of retaining the remaining school as a full member, replacing the departing school with another program or converting the remaining team's membership to a term contract of no less than two years."
It appears that the MAC has the prerogative to choose from the following options:**
• Retain UMass as a full member
• Replace Temple with another program
• Convert the UMass membership to a term contract of no less than two years
(**The MAC may only have the option to add UMass as a full member under the contract once UMass is officially in the MAC. So, the MAC needs to not let Temple officially leave until after July 1 when UMass officially enters the league.)
The obvious choice should be option #1, retain UMass as a FULL MEMBER.
UMass probably would not appreciate this, but it is a term of the signed contract and UMass can go ahead and be as mad as it wants to be at Temple, but tough cookies.
Now, what can UMass do?
• UMass can leave the MAC after Temple’s official exit and pay the $500,000 exit fee. (
The MAC can go back to 12 members and be done with it).
This would allow UMass to keep its basketball and Olympic sports in the A-10 and either go back to FCS, petition that the NCAA allow it to become a FBS independent or hope that the “merger” takes them as a football-only (without Temple) or hope that the “merger” doesn’t kill off the WAC and that the WAC takes them as a football-only, or see if the Sun Belt would take them as a football-only. Of course the “merger” could kill the WAC as a way to get UMass as a full member, but at that point, it ends up losing its basketball A-10 membership so why not just stay in the MAC.
OR
• UMass joins the MAC as a full member.
Due to a genius contract move by the MAC, this would allow UMass to exit the MAC immediately at a reduced fee of $250,000. But due to the short notice, most likely UMass would have to play at least one season in the MAC but it could seek a permanent home elsewhere. It can shop itself to other conferences as a football-only and try to get its other sports back into the A-10 (assuming the A-10 would be okay with taking them back considering that the conference would know that it wasn’t UMass’s intention to leave in the first place). If this isn’t an option it could leave after the first year and become a FBS independent (assuming the NCAA would allow it) or move to another conference as an all sports member, but again, at that point why not just stay in the MAC, especially because if UMass stays for at least 2 years it may not have to pay an exit fee to leave.
UPDATE: New developments have Charlotte possibly leaving the A-10, so (maybe) the A-10 becomes less attractive and, by extension, the MAC becomes more attractive/less unattractive. The MAC needs to act ASAP.
The MAC needs to exercise its contractual right and make UMass a full member now before adding a school, which would in essence satisfy the contract with the second option, “replace Temple with another program” and the MAC would lose out on the opportunity to bring UMass in for all sports.
The MAC can play with 13 teams for the 2012 season and add JMU as its 14th member in 2013.
I think a 16-team conference works for basketball and possibly many Olympic sports, but I think it is too cumbersome of a conference structure for football. I would prefer to see the MAC move to a 14/16 membership structure.
Once UMass is secured as the 13th full member (and the contract is restructured so that it safeguards against UMass bolting after the two-year term), I would like to see the MAC send full-membership invitations to JMU, GMU, and either Drexel or VCU.
The two non-football schools bring added value (financial, brand reach, regional rivalries, recruiting), especially to MAC basketball, without diluting the MAC football revenue.
If for what ever reason, UMass is allowed to stay on as a football-only member, the MAC should offer JMU and GMU full membership and move to a 14/14 structure.
DISCLAIMER: This is a
public poll meaning that people will be able to see how you voted.
NOTE: This poll is intended for fans of, or folks associated with, the current 12 full-member MAC institutions, UMass, JMU, GMU, Drexel, and VCU. If this does not describe you, go here:
http://www.csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=556916