(04-12-2014 09:53 AM)MJG Wrote: You have to wonder if they had a winning year would they have gotten more time before an ultimatum.
Possibly, but probably not. The MAC signed UMass in an effort to create an eastern partner for Temple, and when the desperate old Big East made the offer to Temple to come back, with Temple actually leaving on the same date that UMass joined, the balance shifted dramatically away from UMass being able to retain its preferred position of a FB-only spot in the MAC until a better offer came along, while its BBall team continued to compete in the multi-bid A10.
Basically, UMass was a FB-only #14 which saw the FB-only #13 go away just as it arrived.
What could have tilted the balance back would have been a second eastern school that wanted to join the MAC FB-only, which was appealing enough for the MAC to take Temple's place in the deal. But the only obvious school that would hold that position for the MAC, Army, doesn't want to go into a conference, and if it did, probably wouldn't want to join a conference as compact as the MAC.
As far as an all-sports add at #13 and an Olympic sports add to balance UMass FB-only ~ the "balanced hybrid" model that the Sunbelt has adopted, in contrast to the "unbalanced hybrid" model that the old Big East collapsed with ~ the core problem was the "I don't want to join any club that would have someone like me as a member" ~ any Olympic sports add that would make that add compelling for the MAC could find a better BBall oriented non-FBS conference to play in.
(Also remembering that the Sunbelt adopted that model in an effort to get to 12 schools for a CCG without adding more than two FCS schools at a time, when the MAC is already at 12 all-sports with a very stable core group, unlikely to be raided.)
So it is likely that the clock was ticking on the option being exercised as soon as Temple got the invite from the old Big East.
What could have gone differently with UMass experiencing more FB success is UMass's decision to not exercise its option to join the MAC all-sports. Obviously if there was any uncertainty going in, the woeful performance of the FB team compared to the strong performance of the BBall team for much of its season would have settled it.
And, of course, apologies for addressing the original post rather than engaging in an extended rehash of a long running argument about the future direction of the American conference.