I don't know that my answer fits neatly into your poll but I think Massachusetts needs to defecate or abdicate when it comes to playing big time college football.
Playing major college football is a very expensive proposition and it requires a rock solid long term commitment to have any chance to succeed. Now, it can be a rewarding proposition but it is definitely going to require a greater level of commitment than the UMass brass has thus far been willing to demonstrate.
I think playing their how games two hours East in Foxborough is about as bush league as it gets. Of course you are going to have attendance problems. Foxborough is too far for UMass students to travel to and that will always be your core audience.
The line of BS they were selling was that most of their alums live in Boston so they wanted to play closer to those folks. However, Foxborough is still about a half hour outside of Boston so who are you really placating there? Maybe if UMass played its games at Fenway or even at UMass Lowell it would work but I doubt it.
I think they have two realistic choices:
1.) Build a 25-35K seat stadium in Amherst and market the hell out of the football program. Really commit to it like neighboring UConn committed to its football program.
Before
After
If they do Option 1 and really commit to an FBS level football program, I think they will ultimately get an invitation to the AAC, and from there who knows? UConn is still awaiting its call up to the big leagues so maybe that gives you your answer right there?
2.) Give up the ghost and drop football altogether. It doesn't make any sense to play FCS football. It's just a major financial loser on every level. If UMass dropped football or even moved it to FCS, it would almost certainly become an immediate target for the Big East.
Personally, I think UMass has about the same potential to succeed as UConn. The problem is UConn has a decade or so head start on the Minutemen. Also, I'm not sure that New England has enough prospects to support those two plus Boston College - which had a seven or eight decade head start on UConn. Hell, I'm not sure that there are enough players in that part of the country to support BC alone much less BC and two others?
As such, I would drop football if I were UMass and focus on other sports. However, if they believe that a big time football program is essential to their growth as an athletic department and as a university as a whole, then they really need to commit to it rather than half arsing it as they have been doing for the past several years.