Yes, I think UMass badly needs the AAC. Blaudschun spells that out well. Where his peice misses the mark is that it fails to spell out what's in it for the AAC. We would get pretty much nothing from where I'm sitting.



http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=12338

Grab NIU instead and get dat TV market yo. Also great football program.

Of the schools that would actually come (no BYU isn't coming) I'd take Marshall over UMass. Marshall is located 'up there' near (nearer) to UConn and Temple, Marshall is a 'national brand,' and Marshall has a good football program.

I'm on record as stating that I consider them the best available option for expansion, outside of MWC teams and assuming UConn is here long term. I think a UMass in a relevant conference with good media coverage would get good local coverage in MA and would help further improve the perception of our hoops conference. UConn UMass games in football and basketball played with regularity would develop into a really solid rivalry and get heavy coverage in New England.

Not against UMass, solid basketball and potential rival for UConn and Temple. Sometimes I believe this conference should expand to the east with UMass and Marshall to provide Cincinnati, UConn, Temple, and ECU closer opponents for all sports. If there is no need division anymore, then the top two teams can for football championship or the league can go to two 7 team divisions if needed.

North: UConn, UMass, Temple, Cincinnati, Marshall, ECU, Navy
South: Memphis, Tulsa, Tulane, Houston, SMU, USF, UCF

I think this version of expansion weakens C-USA and the A-10 while offering up divisions that limit travel and builds geographic rivalries.

(04-29-2015 11:21 AM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Not against UMass, solid basketball and potential rival for UConn and Temple. Sometimes I believe this conference should expand to the east with UMass and Marshall to provide Cincinnati, UConn, Temple, and ECU closer opponents for all sports. If there is no need division anymore, then the top two teams can for football championship or the league can go to two 7 team divisions if needed.

North: UConn, UMass, Temple, Cincinnati, Marshall, ECU, Navy
South: Memphis, Tulsa, Tulane, Houston, SMU, USF, UCF

I think this version of expansion weakens C-USA and the A-10 while offering up divisions that limit travel and builds geographic rivalries.

This actually makes a lot of sense to me.

When an article states that Umass needs to invest in a stadium, a practice facility and increase attendance and and and...

Whats in it for us. They have AMAZINGLY low attendance, no real facilities, no history of building them and their basketball has been on a bit of a decline.

If were to expand, there really is only about 1 path that gets us money and it was laid out from the beginning. If yall remember initially there were talks with Army and Air Force, along with BYU and then it moved on to Boise St and SDSU.

I truly believe the best expansion would be to try to get Army as a football only, and then talk to Air Force as a full member. Air Force had mentioned they would be more inclined to be a part of both Army and Navy were in.

If we secure Air Force, then it wouldnt be hard to get Colorado St., who I believe has shown a commitment to sports and fits us as a large public university with solid academics, endowment, research ranking and is good at football and basketball.

Once we get those three, then we talk again to BYU. If we cant secure them then we look elswhere. Overall, having all three academies makes WAY more sense then adding Umass who honestly isnt doing anything well and ranks a distant second to Boston College in their home town.

Marshall doesn't help the American. It doesn't matter if they would come. Expansion for the sake of expansion is retraction.
From where I stand, the American is doing very well with the current #. You can wait on BYU because you don't need to expand. What the landscape looks like now doesn't matter. I hope the American leadership just lets this thing build. The baseball season is a great demonstration of what can be achieved across the board. Three stellar coaching hires at Tulane-USF-ECU have solidified that sport, without having to bring in dogmeat athletic programs with decent baseball.

(04-29-2015 11:08 AM)Stay Cool Wrote:  Grab NIU instead and get dat TV market yo. Also great football program.

NIU has got my vote.

(04-29-2015 11:07 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Yes, I think UMass badly needs the AAC. Blaudschun spells that out well. Where his peice misses the mark is that it fails to spell out what's in it for the AAC. We would get pretty much nothing from where I'm sitting.



http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=12338

I have to admit this is a decent plan.

Institution-wise, UMASS is a good fit for the American. However, they need to build their athletic department a whole lot more. Their athletic infrastructure doesn't match the great profile of the institution itself. If they can get those two perceptions aligned, then there may be a case to be made for bringing them in. However, in their present state, they bring less then a Villanova fbs promotion would have, and Villanova had no chance because of their poor football infrastructure.

(04-29-2015 11:40 AM)No Bull Wrote:  

(04-29-2015 11:08 AM)Stay Cool Wrote:  Grab NIU instead and get dat TV market yo. Also great football program.

NIU has got my vote.

NIU is the opposite of UMASS. Their football profile is better but institutionally they are lacking for the American (that can be said for Marshall as well).

I could see that working.

You play all other sports in the AAC.
AAC will help with scheduling in football
Only thing I disagree with is just saying in 5-10 years allowing them to play football in the AAC. It may take longer and they should have to wait until a spot opens up or their program mirrors the remaining AAC teams.

It would add depth to the AAC in basketball and some quality match-ups.
Hopefully it would not break up the round robin(almost) setup for basketball.

(04-29-2015 11:40 AM)No Bull Wrote:  

(04-29-2015 11:08 AM)Stay Cool Wrote:  Grab NIU instead and get dat TV market yo. Also great football program.

NIU has got my vote.

*fistbump*

I mean with the stadium expansion and renovation the the campus and atheltics facilities coming to 160+ mil and the new programs being implemented for student tailgating, alumni pre/postgame events, opening of new vendors and local sponsors getting onboard, i can see attendance making a big bump. Plus people will get up for watching Cinci, UCF, Houston, and other AAC teams on a weekend or Thursday. Nobody in a college town wants to watch a tuesday night game against EMU... but attendance or our winning football program isn't even going to be the draw, its our Chicago TV market and the recruiting you can draw from the Chicago basketball schools as well. Lots and lots of pluses for a school looking to "buy cheap" on NIU and reap the reward when their continued success and growth gets even bigger

The title of the article is awful. UMass does want/need the AAC, and that is what the article is about. The AAC doesn't want/need UMass. I'd love UMass in the AAC, but I agree UMass has to invest in the stadium and practice facility before the AAC should consider us.

(04-29-2015 11:21 AM)HartfordHusky Wrote:  I'm on record as stating that I consider them the best available option for expansion, outside of MWC teams and assuming UConn is here long term. I think a UMass in a relevant conference with good media coverage would get good local coverage in MA and would help further improve the perception of our hoops conference. UConn UMass games in football and basketball played with regularity would develop into a really solid rivalry and get heavy coverage in New England.

I agree.

If we were to manage to get Army, then we would have Uconn, Army, Navy and Temple in the northeast.... not exactly certain what Umass brings to the table other than another mouth to feed... its a moot point anyhow. They were looked at during conference expansion and Tulsa and Tulane were taken ahead of them.

Thats about all you need to know.

I'd be in favor of Umassn, but get why others wouldn't. One thing to keep in mind is that there isn't a candidate outside of BYU that this conference will all agree on.

I don't want anything to do with a school like Marshall, but, again, I understand why others would.

I kind of doubt any additions are made unless the conference loses membership anyway.

(04-29-2015 11:46 AM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(04-29-2015 11:40 AM)No Bull Wrote:  

(04-29-2015 11:08 AM)Stay Cool Wrote:  Grab NIU instead and get dat TV market yo. Also great football program.

NIU has got my vote.

*fistbump*

I mean with the stadium expansion and renovation the the campus and atheltics facilities coming to 160+ mil and the new programs being implemented for student tailgating, alumni pre/postgame events, opening of new vendors and local sponsors getting onboard, i can see attendance making a big bump. Plus people will get up for watching Cinci, UCF, Houston, and other AAC teams on a weekend or Thursday. Nobody in a college town wants to watch a tuesday night game against EMU... but attendance or our winning football program isn't even going to be the draw, its our Chicago TV market and the recruiting you can draw from the Chicago basketball schools as well. Lots and lots of pluses for a school looking to "buy cheap" on NIU and reap the reward when their continued success and growth gets even bigger

Chicago TV market? Is NIU using their Naperville campus or Hoffman Estates campus?

If NIU can claim Chicago, ECU gets the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill market that is 70 miles away.

(04-29-2015 11:42 AM)No Bull Wrote:  

(04-29-2015 11:07 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Yes, I think UMass badly needs the AAC. Blaudschun spells that out well. Where his peice misses the mark is that it fails to spell out what's in it for the AAC. We would get pretty much nothing from where I'm sitting.



http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=12338

I have to admit this is a decent plan.

this is a ridiculous plan. What's the recruiting pitch for their football staff- come play for us and you'll never play in a bowl or a conference championship game but you will get to play UConn and Temple every year? sounds like a real winner.