Have my maroon glasses on this season and expecting 4-6 wins. Was told most programs take 6-8 years to transition and become a good football program. Well we are entering our 6th year and not sure how many wins translates into the classification of a good program.
After years of bad press and negative views from many on this board, we actually had a more positive in tone report from SB Nation Underdog Dynasty, titled "UMass spring game bodes well for upcoming season" - Redshirt freshman Dingle shines at McGurk." by Jack Godar.
Here is most of it.
Quote:It was a day filled with explosive plays and celebrity guest coaches, and also (thankfully) a day without serious injuries. As head coach Mark Whipple looked on, Chris Berman and new UMass basketball coach Matt McCall manned the sidelines. McCall coached the Maroon team and Berman said “You’re with me, white”. Whipple and Berman are old friends, going back to their college days together at Brown.
The game started with a bang, as junior Andy Isabella ran back the opening kick for a touchdown that was called back. Junior quarterback Andrew Ford played a series with each team, and delivered promising returns. He went 4-6 for 80 yards.
Perhaps most promisingly, two of those completions, including a touchdown, went to redshirt freshman Brennon Dingle, for gains of 48 and 22 yards. Dingle has had a great spring so far, and his performance in the Spring game reflected that, as he finished with eight catches for 109 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
Sophomore cornerback Isaiah Rodgers returned an interception for a touchdown later in the game as well, and junior running back Marquis Young ran for 93 yards and a score. In the end, McCall’s Maroon team bested the White team, 17-13.
After the spring game, there’s a few reasons for hope that this UMass squad can be better than last year’s. The most obvious one is that “win more than 2 games” isn’t a super high bar to clear. The Minutemen have that going for them at least. UMass also returns a lot of their production from last season, as Ford, Isabella, Young, and star tight end Adam Breneman all are back. When you throw in Dingle, you’re looking at an offense with a lot of explosive playmakers. If Ford continues to make strides at quarterback, and can get the ball in the hands of his playmakers, the Minutemen offense will give defenses trouble.
The addition of defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham should help shore up the other side of the ball. Pinkham helmed PJ Fleck’s defenses at Western Michigan as WMU became one of the best teams in the country. While it’s foolish to expect massive improvement, between Pinkham, and returning players like linebackers Steve Casali and Da’Sean Downey, as well as Rodgers, it stands to reason that the defense will be at least somewhat improved.
(04-24-2017 08:42 AM)Steve1981 Wrote: [ -> ]Have my maroon glasses on this season and expecting 4-6 wins. Was told most programs take 6-8 years to transition and become a good football program. Well we are entering our 6th year and not sure how many wins translates into the classification of a good program.
After years of bad press and negative views from many on this board, we actually had a more positive in tone report from SB Nation Underdog Dynasty, titled "UMass spring game bodes well for upcoming season" - Redshirt freshman Dingle shines at McGurk." by Jack Godar.
Here is most of it.
Quote:It was a day filled with explosive plays and celebrity guest coaches, and also (thankfully) a day without serious injuries. As head coach Mark Whipple looked on, Chris Berman and new UMass basketball coach Matt McCall manned the sidelines. McCall coached the Maroon team and Berman said “You’re with me, white”. Whipple and Berman are old friends, going back to their college days together at Brown.
The game started with a bang, as junior Andy Isabella ran back the opening kick for a touchdown that was called back. Junior quarterback Andrew Ford played a series with each team, and delivered promising returns. He went 4-6 for 80 yards.
Perhaps most promisingly, two of those completions, including a touchdown, went to redshirt freshman Brennon Dingle, for gains of 48 and 22 yards. Dingle has had a great spring so far, and his performance in the Spring game reflected that, as he finished with eight catches for 109 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
Sophomore cornerback Isaiah Rodgers returned an interception for a touchdown later in the game as well, and junior running back Marquis Young ran for 93 yards and a score. In the end, McCall’s Maroon team bested the White team, 17-13.
After the spring game, there’s a few reasons for hope that this UMass squad can be better than last year’s. The most obvious one is that “win more than 2 games” isn’t a super high bar to clear. The Minutemen have that going for them at least. UMass also returns a lot of their production from last season, as Ford, Isabella, Young, and star tight end Adam Breneman all are back. When you throw in Dingle, you’re looking at an offense with a lot of explosive playmakers. If Ford continues to make strides at quarterback, and can get the ball in the hands of his playmakers, the Minutemen offense will give defenses trouble.
The addition of defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham should help shore up the other side of the ball. Pinkham helmed PJ Fleck’s defenses at Western Michigan as WMU became one of the best teams in the country. While it’s foolish to expect massive improvement, between Pinkham, and returning players like linebackers Steve Casali and Da’Sean Downey, as well as Rodgers, it stands to reason that the defense will be at least somewhat improved.
While you have your maroon glasses on can you see any further expansion for the football stadium especially with the return of most of your homes games to the on campus stadium. Is the school going to close the other end of the stadium to get capacity up to at least 22- 25 thousand seats. Most AAC conference schools in the dream conference UMASS is seeking admission to have at least 30 thousand seat stadiums. Just and inquiry into future stadium expansion plans if there are any.
panite - expansion plans are off in the distance, but that could change with some early wins this season. During this Q & A video with AD Ryan Bamford, meet with Coach Mark Whipple for two hours and they have 8 high level initiatives. There will be small improvements around the fan experience. The main thing is winning games and putting butts in the seats.
It simple supply and demand. Win games increases demand. Not starting the season with 3 or 4 teams in the P5 is the biggest change. That will make a difference. The old AD made some huge mistakes, including scheduling. Not only do you lose those games, but you are beat up/walking wounded after those games and affects the winnable games as well. The change has started this year and some early wins will go a long way to getting the butts in the seats and the expansion going.
We are going to be independent for at least 3 years in the future and AD Ryan is not concerned about scheduling 2021 and 2022 as well. He will make sure we are financially responsible long term and we are absolutely long term as FBS.
Will post the video link and scheduling is discussed first. 2018 is complete, 2019 one or two games and should be complete in a month or two. 2020 should almost be complete by the time football starts in the fall. Mentions scheduling the guarantee games, a fcs game and winnable games and specifically mentions some G5 games this year. Temple is not mentioned but seriously considering going to the game and spending the night in Philly Sept 15th.
The video mentions other things as football, hockey, etc and was done yesterday during an annual UMass Gives two day drive and the Athletic Department finished with $116,607 dollars raised and 886 donors. Obviously this just an event and does not represent most of the donations.
It's and interesting Q & A with a lot of questions answered and we'll be on the Realignment Board for sometime.
A new stadium is not in the immediate plans. From what I have heard they cannot even agree on a final resting spot - personally I think they should raze the current lump of concrete that looks kinda like a stadium and start fresh - they could build around the performance center with the one obvious problem being that the PC becomes unusable for some period of time.
There is one more obvious space that a stadium could go on campus, then you are looking at adjacent land that is not Umass property (yet) - lots of farm land around there so there is plenty of room if it came to that.
Steve is right - they need to start piling up some victories first.
(04-29-2017 08:57 AM)Steve1981 Wrote: [ -> ]panite - expansion plans are off in the distance, but that could change with some early wins this season. During this Q & A video with AD Ryan Bamford, meet with Coach Mark Whipple for two hours and they have 8 high level initiatives. There will be small improvements around the fan experience. The main thing is winning games and putting butts in the seats.
It simple supply and demand. Win games increases demand. Not starting the season with 3 or 4 teams in the P5 is the biggest change. That will make a difference. The old AD made some huge mistakes, including scheduling. Not only do you lose those games, but you are beat up/walking wounded after those games and affects the winnable games as well. The change has started this year and some early wins will go a long way to getting the butts in the seats and the expansion going.
We are going to be independent for at least 3 years in the future and AD Ryan is not concerned about scheduling 2021 and 2022 as well. He will make sure we are financially responsible long term and we are absolutely long term as FBS.
Will post the video link and scheduling is discussed first. 2018 is complete, 2019 one or two games and should be complete in a month or two. 2020 should almost be complete by the time football starts in the fall. Mentions scheduling the guarantee games, a fcs game and winnable games and specifically mentions some G5 games this year. Temple is not mentioned but seriously considering going to the game and spending the night in Philly Sept 15th.
The video mentions other things as football, hockey, etc and was done yesterday during an annual UMass Gives two day drive and the Athletic Department finished with $116,607 dollars raised and 886 donors. Obviously this just an event and does not represent most of the donations.
It's and interesting Q & A with a lot of questions answered and we'll be on the Realignment Board for sometime.
Thanks for the info. Understand stadium expansion is a supply and demand thing. So your not projecting a full stadium for a few years yet even being back on campus this year except for an occasional P5 game back in Boston. Just seeing if their were any plans for the open end of the stadium yet. Good luck and keep scheduling regionally if you can with UConn, BC, Temple, Army, and maybe start a state rivalry with Buffalo on a yearly basis. All will boost attendance with their fans in driving distance too.
(05-03-2017 07:27 AM)panite Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the info. Understand stadium expansion is a supply and demand thing. So your not projecting a full stadium for a few years yet even being back on campus this year except for an occasional P5 game back in Boston. Just seeing if their were any plans for the open end of the stadium yet. Good luck and keep scheduling regionally if you can with UConn, BC, Temple, Army, and maybe start a state rivalry with Buffalo on a yearly basis. All will boost attendance with their fans in driving distance too.
I would love annual games with that group - and Temple too. Attendance for those games at home would be really solid almost regardless of our record. That was the problem with those damn MAC games. Who really gave a **** about "Directional Michigan" coming to town - answer: about 2,000 people.
(05-03-2017 07:27 AM)panite Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the info. Understand stadium expansion is a supply and demand thing. So your not projecting a full stadium for a few years yet even being back on campus this year except for an occasional P5 game back in Boston. Just seeing if their were any plans for the open end of the stadium yet. Good luck and keep scheduling regionally if you can with UConn, BC, Temple, Army, and maybe start a state rivalry with Buffalo on a yearly basis. All will boost attendance with their fans in driving distance too.
Thanks panite.
P.S. Screw Buffalo - They did not like the competition from us and did not want us in the MAC going forward.
Mike Traini did a nice job summarizing the Q & A with AD Ryan Bamford.
Quote:This was the second Facebook Live broadcast of Bamford’s tenure (to our recollection), and like the first, UMass fans got a chance to ask the AD anything they’d like while getting some inside information and insight on the state of UMass Athletics.
The nearly 50 minute broadcast touched on a lot of different aspects of the Minutemen athletic department, but the major highlights included:
The Mullins Center is being prepped for a new center-hung scoreboard and new LED board system, which will be ready for this fall
The 2018 football schedule is complete and the 2019 and 2020 schedules should be wrapped prior to the start of the upcoming football season
McGuirk Stadium will not be seeing a major upgrade to the facility itself anytime soon, however some amenities will be different this coming season, primarily premium bathroom trailers and updated concession locations
The department is looking at permanent scoreboard options for McGuirk within the next year or two as they are still renting a video board for home games held there
The department has signed a one-year extension with adidas as the official uniform and clothing supplier of UMass Athletics
Bamford hopes to have the new baseball and tennis coaches hired by the summer
....
That brings us to McGuirk Alumni Stadium. In this particular Q&A, the most popular topic of discussion was the Minutemen’s on-campus football home and its current condition. Bamford was asked on several occasions what the long-term plan was for McGuirk, along with what we might see this season as far as upgrades go. Minutemen fans can expect some premium bathroom trailers replacing the portable toilets they are used to under the stands, while also some new, more permanent concession options. That, however, is it.
Bamford made mention that he personally would like to look at paving the area immediately around the stadium, to get rid of the gravel so that folks who have mobility issues don’t have to contend with that when coming to see UMass play. He also discussed how the school is looking at some potential handrail additions to the facility, which would help bring them closer to compliance in regards to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).
...
Nobody believes that McGuirk Alumni Stadium, as currently constituted, is a long-term solution for the University of Massachusetts football program. No one in the fan base, no one involved with the program, and certainly no one in the athletic administration at the school believes the current McGuirk is ideal. However unlike the fan base, the members of the athletic administration have to be practical and pragmatic. They can’t fix the stadium properly overnight, so they have to bide their time and plan strategically. Just as with the patience required of the program itself to show its competitiveness on the field since the move up, the same virtue is necessary as it relates to their home field; hounding the administration regarding a new McGuirk isn’t going to get you anywhere.
(05-03-2017 07:27 AM)panite Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the info. Understand stadium expansion is a supply and demand thing. So your not projecting a full stadium for a few years yet even being back on campus this year except for an occasional P5 game back in Boston. Just seeing if their were any plans for the open end of the stadium yet. Good luck and keep scheduling regionally if you can with UConn, BC, Temple, Army, and maybe start a state rivalry with Buffalo on a yearly basis. All will boost attendance with their fans in driving distance too.
Thanks panite.
P.S. Screw Buffalo - They did not like the competition from us and did not want us in the MAC going forward.
Mike Traini did a nice job summarizing the Q & A with AD Ryan Bamford.
Quote:This was the second Facebook Live broadcast of Bamford’s tenure (to our recollection), and like the first, UMass fans got a chance to ask the AD anything they’d like while getting some inside information and insight on the state of UMass Athletics.
The nearly 50 minute broadcast touched on a lot of different aspects of the Minutemen athletic department, but the major highlights included:
The Mullins Center is being prepped for a new center-hung scoreboard and new LED board system, which will be ready for this fall
The 2018 football schedule is complete and the 2019 and 2020 schedules should be wrapped prior to the start of the upcoming football season
McGuirk Stadium will not be seeing a major upgrade to the facility itself anytime soon, however some amenities will be different this coming season, primarily premium bathroom trailers and updated concession locations
The department is looking at permanent scoreboard options for McGuirk within the next year or two as they are still renting a video board for home games held there
The department has signed a one-year extension with adidas as the official uniform and clothing supplier of UMass Athletics
Bamford hopes to have the new baseball and tennis coaches hired by the summer
....
That brings us to McGuirk Alumni Stadium. In this particular Q&A, the most popular topic of discussion was the Minutemen’s on-campus football home and its current condition. Bamford was asked on several occasions what the long-term plan was for McGuirk, along with what we might see this season as far as upgrades go. Minutemen fans can expect some premium bathroom trailers replacing the portable toilets they are used to under the stands, while also some new, more permanent concession options. That, however, is it.
Bamford made mention that he personally would like to look at paving the area immediately around the stadium, to get rid of the gravel so that folks who have mobility issues don’t have to contend with that when coming to see UMass play. He also discussed how the school is looking at some potential handrail additions to the facility, which would help bring them closer to compliance in regards to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).
...
Nobody believes that McGuirk Alumni Stadium, as currently constituted, is a long-term solution for the University of Massachusetts football program. No one in the fan base, no one involved with the program, and certainly no one in the athletic administration at the school believes the current McGuirk is ideal. However unlike the fan base, the members of the athletic administration have to be practical and pragmatic. They can’t fix the stadium properly overnight, so they have to bide their time and plan strategically. Just as with the patience required of the program itself to show its competitiveness on the field since the move up, the same virtue is necessary as it relates to their home field; hounding the administration regarding a new McGuirk isn’t going to get you anywhere.
You guys need to end the contract with Gillette stadium and build a 30,000 seat stadium. first tho get a few solid season under your belt and the donors will give money for new stadium.
(05-03-2017 07:27 AM)panite Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the info. Understand stadium expansion is a supply and demand thing. So your not projecting a full stadium for a few years yet even being back on campus this year except for an occasional P5 game back in Boston. Just seeing if their were any plans for the open end of the stadium yet. Good luck and keep scheduling regionally if you can with UConn, BC, Temple, Army, and maybe start a state rivalry with Buffalo on a yearly basis. All will boost attendance with their fans in driving distance too.
Thanks panite.
P.S. Screw Buffalo - They did not like the competition from us and did not want us in the MAC going forward.
Mike Traini did a nice job summarizing the Q & A with AD Ryan Bamford.
Quote:This was the second Facebook Live broadcast of Bamford’s tenure (to our recollection), and like the first, UMass fans got a chance to ask the AD anything they’d like while getting some inside information and insight on the state of UMass Athletics.
The nearly 50 minute broadcast touched on a lot of different aspects of the Minutemen athletic department, but the major highlights included:
The Mullins Center is being prepped for a new center-hung scoreboard and new LED board system, which will be ready for this fall
The 2018 football schedule is complete and the 2019 and 2020 schedules should be wrapped prior to the start of the upcoming football season
McGuirk Stadium will not be seeing a major upgrade to the facility itself anytime soon, however some amenities will be different this coming season, primarily premium bathroom trailers and updated concession locations
The department is looking at permanent scoreboard options for McGuirk within the next year or two as they are still renting a video board for home games held there
The department has signed a one-year extension with adidas as the official uniform and clothing supplier of UMass Athletics
Bamford hopes to have the new baseball and tennis coaches hired by the summer
....
That brings us to McGuirk Alumni Stadium. In this particular Q&A, the most popular topic of discussion was the Minutemen’s on-campus football home and its current condition. Bamford was asked on several occasions what the long-term plan was for McGuirk, along with what we might see this season as far as upgrades go. Minutemen fans can expect some premium bathroom trailers replacing the portable toilets they are used to under the stands, while also some new, more permanent concession options. That, however, is it.
Bamford made mention that he personally would like to look at paving the area immediately around the stadium, to get rid of the gravel so that folks who have mobility issues don’t have to contend with that when coming to see UMass play. He also discussed how the school is looking at some potential handrail additions to the facility, which would help bring them closer to compliance in regards to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).
...
Nobody believes that McGuirk Alumni Stadium, as currently constituted, is a long-term solution for the University of Massachusetts football program. No one in the fan base, no one involved with the program, and certainly no one in the athletic administration at the school believes the current McGuirk is ideal. However unlike the fan base, the members of the athletic administration have to be practical and pragmatic. They can’t fix the stadium properly overnight, so they have to bide their time and plan strategically. Just as with the patience required of the program itself to show its competitiveness on the field since the move up, the same virtue is necessary as it relates to their home field; hounding the administration regarding a new McGuirk isn’t going to get you anywhere.
(05-03-2017 07:27 AM)panite Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the info. Understand stadium expansion is a supply and demand thing. So your not projecting a full stadium for a few years yet even being back on campus this year except for an occasional P5 game back in Boston. Just seeing if their were any plans for the open end of the stadium yet. Good luck and keep scheduling regionally if you can with UConn, BC, Temple, Army, and maybe start a state rivalry with Buffalo on a yearly basis. All will boost attendance with their fans in driving distance too.
Thanks panite.
P.S. Screw Buffalo - They did not like the competition from us and did not want us in the MAC going forward.
Mike Traini did a nice job summarizing the Q & A with AD Ryan Bamford.
Quote:This was the second Facebook Live broadcast of Bamford’s tenure (to our recollection), and like the first, UMass fans got a chance to ask the AD anything they’d like while getting some inside information and insight on the state of UMass Athletics.
The nearly 50 minute broadcast touched on a lot of different aspects of the Minutemen athletic department, but the major highlights included:
The Mullins Center is being prepped for a new center-hung scoreboard and new LED board system, which will be ready for this fall
The 2018 football schedule is complete and the 2019 and 2020 schedules should be wrapped prior to the start of the upcoming football season
McGuirk Stadium will not be seeing a major upgrade to the facility itself anytime soon, however some amenities will be different this coming season, primarily premium bathroom trailers and updated concession locations
The department is looking at permanent scoreboard options for McGuirk within the next year or two as they are still renting a video board for home games held there
The department has signed a one-year extension with adidas as the official uniform and clothing supplier of UMass Athletics
Bamford hopes to have the new baseball and tennis coaches hired by the summer
....
That brings us to McGuirk Alumni Stadium. In this particular Q&A, the most popular topic of discussion was the Minutemen’s on-campus football home and its current condition. Bamford was asked on several occasions what the long-term plan was for McGuirk, along with what we might see this season as far as upgrades go. Minutemen fans can expect some premium bathroom trailers replacing the portable toilets they are used to under the stands, while also some new, more permanent concession options. That, however, is it.
Bamford made mention that he personally would like to look at paving the area immediately around the stadium, to get rid of the gravel so that folks who have mobility issues don’t have to contend with that when coming to see UMass play. He also discussed how the school is looking at some potential handrail additions to the facility, which would help bring them closer to compliance in regards to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).
...
Nobody believes that McGuirk Alumni Stadium, as currently constituted, is a long-term solution for the University of Massachusetts football program. No one in the fan base, no one involved with the program, and certainly no one in the athletic administration at the school believes the current McGuirk is ideal. However unlike the fan base, the members of the athletic administration have to be practical and pragmatic. They can’t fix the stadium properly overnight, so they have to bide their time and plan strategically. Just as with the patience required of the program itself to show its competitiveness on the field since the move up, the same virtue is necessary as it relates to their home field; hounding the administration regarding a new McGuirk isn’t going to get you anywhere.
You guys need to end the contract with Gillette stadium and build a 30,000 seat stadium. first tho get a few solid season under your belt and the donors will give money for new stadium.
Or just expand McGuirk to 30K seats. Make sure that 1A is viable first though. IMO that's still up in the air. If there's a long term hope of a conference home, perhaps that should be locked down before a major expansion of McGuirk is planned.
(05-08-2017 08:27 AM)megadrone Wrote: [ -> ]Or just expand McGuirk to 30K seats. Make sure that 1A is viable first though. IMO that's still up in the air. If there's a long term hope of a conference home, perhaps that should be locked down before a major expansion of McGuirk is planned.
That is the chicken and egg conundrum Umass faces. They spent a good chunk of change on their performance center (and not really that long ago) so that has to be in any footprint they do. To me that limits them a bit. Umass is also leveraged to the hilt, which makes any significant capital spending all but impossible right now as well....
They are still paying the price for Molnar unfortunately (Morris - they guy that did the last couple years of FCS - burned them too) - we should be a few steps farther along in this process by now.
I hate to use the word, but Umass is desperate for a 6 win season to build some hope for the future at this point..... If Umass is not on solid ground and in some kind of commitment for major infrastructure improvement by the end of 2019, then they may as well drop football all together as this will only be a money pit that keeps taking and taking......
(05-03-2017 07:27 AM)panite Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the info. Understand stadium expansion is a supply and demand thing. So your not projecting a full stadium for a few years yet even being back on campus this year except for an occasional P5 game back in Boston. Just seeing if their were any plans for the open end of the stadium yet. Good luck and keep scheduling regionally if you can with UConn, BC, Temple, Army, and maybe start a state rivalry with Buffalo on a yearly basis. All will boost attendance with their fans in driving distance too.
Thanks panite.
P.S. Screw Buffalo - They did not like the competition from us and did not want us in the MAC going forward.
Mike Traini did a nice job summarizing the Q & A with AD Ryan Bamford.
Quote:This was the second Facebook Live broadcast of Bamford’s tenure (to our recollection), and like the first, UMass fans got a chance to ask the AD anything they’d like while getting some inside information and insight on the state of UMass Athletics.
The nearly 50 minute broadcast touched on a lot of different aspects of the Minutemen athletic department, but the major highlights included:
The Mullins Center is being prepped for a new center-hung scoreboard and new LED board system, which will be ready for this fall
The 2018 football schedule is complete and the 2019 and 2020 schedules should be wrapped prior to the start of the upcoming football season
McGuirk Stadium will not be seeing a major upgrade to the facility itself anytime soon, however some amenities will be different this coming season, primarily premium bathroom trailers and updated concession locations
The department is looking at permanent scoreboard options for McGuirk within the next year or two as they are still renting a video board for home games held there
The department has signed a one-year extension with adidas as the official uniform and clothing supplier of UMass Athletics
Bamford hopes to have the new baseball and tennis coaches hired by the summer
....
That brings us to McGuirk Alumni Stadium. In this particular Q&A, the most popular topic of discussion was the Minutemen’s on-campus football home and its current condition. Bamford was asked on several occasions what the long-term plan was for McGuirk, along with what we might see this season as far as upgrades go. Minutemen fans can expect some premium bathroom trailers replacing the portable toilets they are used to under the stands, while also some new, more permanent concession options. That, however, is it.
Bamford made mention that he personally would like to look at paving the area immediately around the stadium, to get rid of the gravel so that folks who have mobility issues don’t have to contend with that when coming to see UMass play. He also discussed how the school is looking at some potential handrail additions to the facility, which would help bring them closer to compliance in regards to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).
...
Nobody believes that McGuirk Alumni Stadium, as currently constituted, is a long-term solution for the University of Massachusetts football program. No one in the fan base, no one involved with the program, and certainly no one in the athletic administration at the school believes the current McGuirk is ideal. However unlike the fan base, the members of the athletic administration have to be practical and pragmatic. They can’t fix the stadium properly overnight, so they have to bide their time and plan strategically. Just as with the patience required of the program itself to show its competitiveness on the field since the move up, the same virtue is necessary as it relates to their home field; hounding the administration regarding a new McGuirk isn’t going to get you anywhere.
You guys need to end the contract with Gillette stadium and build a 30,000 seat stadium. first tho get a few solid season under your belt and the donors will give money for new stadium.
Yup. They don't even need to do that. Just play all games at McGuirk and fill it up for every game. Once that occurs and you have a waitng list for season tickets, then you can talk about expansion without any conference move because it can be reasonably supported economics of the local situation. That's how you get the stadium improved to the point that UMass can start to be a viable potential expansion target for FBS conferences.
Well 6 wins would be great, had a long talk with Saint Nick. He said he would see what he could do regarding my hopes and also suggested nightly prayers. My hope/dream would be for UMass open the season with 3 wins, which would mean a week zero win against Hawaii, week 1 on the road win at Coastal and then for the finally. Week 2 win against ODU in front of a sold-out crowd, which sold SRO tickets for the first time.
Just read an interesting article on the 10 smallest college football stadiums. UMass has the second smallest stadium in FBS football. When Idaho and the Kibbie Dome drop to FCS UMass will have the smallest stadium at 17k followed by FIU at 20k. The MAC members have larger stadiums than UMass where UMass once resided. No wonder they required stadium improvements when UMass joined the MAC. UMass better start selling out that current stadium and get capacity up to at least 25k if not 30k at the minimum or there isn't a conference out there that is going to give the university a look down the road. Have read UMass posters info on this issues but without stadium expansion UMass might be heading back to FCS after a few more years of its independent schedule experiment. Your thoughts UMass supporters and alumni.
Have little fear about ever going back to FCS sub-division. Support for FBS is solid from Marty Meehan, president of the UMass System, to the chancellors office Kumble R. Subbaswamy through the athletic directory Ryan Bamford. Fan support, while low is higher this year with most games back on campus and a few months ago, season ticket sales past last years final total.
First we crawled, now we are learning to walk. The stadium expansion will come, but first we need selling-out and selling standing room only, SRO tickets. All of this is predicated on realistic scheduling for winning. This year is the first schedule built that way. Hawaii is before students start the semester, but if we win, the ODU game could be the first sell-out of the season.
Most years we will play one game in a professional venue as Gillette or a few Fenway Park games.
All the stuff said about realistic schedules, the irony is that we still have the #1 toughest schedule via Phil Steele.
Quote:On March 1st, the Sun Belt released its 2017 football schedule. Now that all the conference slates are out, the yearly debate can begin anew: Which team plays the toughest schedule?
There are many ways to assess schedule strength. The most commonly used method is to combine opponents’ records from the previous season. By this metric, the toughest 2017 schedule belongs to the UMass Minutemen, whose opponents won 65.2% of their games in 2016. They are followed by LSU (62.8%) and East Carolina (62.4%). According to this measure, the easiest schedule belongs to Miami, Ohio (34.0%).
like to see AAC make UMASS FB an asociate member
help them with sch & bowl game, include them in your TV package
UMASS would help with wkday games, they do well with OOC home games
would really help if schools could cut down on FCS sch
extra inventory helps selling packages
and throw in some BB
Under the current conditions that would be optimal for Umass. I don't know if they want Bowl help necessarily, we would not want to get in the way of an AAC team going somewhere. Just get to 6 wins and get a December game in whatever we can get, and go from there. We need some momentum to start gaining traction for the future.
There are 2 or 3 (at least) AAC teams we should have a rivalry-type games with including UConn and Temple.
(07-31-2017 01:04 AM)templefootballfan Wrote: [ -> ]like to see AAC make UMASS FB an asociate member
help them with sch & bowl game, include them in your TV package
UMASS would help with wkday games, they do well with OOC home games
would really help if schools could cut down on FCS sch
extra inventory helps selling packages
and throw in some BB
(07-31-2017 01:04 AM)templefootballfan Wrote: [ -> ]like to see AAC make UMASS FB an asociate member
help them with sch & bowl game, include them in your TV package
UMASS would help with wkday games, they do well with OOC home games
would really help if schools could cut down on FCS sch
extra inventory helps selling packages
and throw in some BB
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