(05-01-2016 10:43 AM)NIU007 Wrote: (05-01-2016 06:27 AM)DavidSt Wrote: UMass football have done well the past 2 seasons. Better than some of the full time MAC members. I think they will get better and better as they move along at the FBS level. They have something that neither New Mexico State or Idaho have. A Very large state with a very large population. They might get an all sports invite to the AAC or C-USA. If their basketball improves and football? They would be very attractive. Last season, the whole NCAA men's basketball as a whole was a down year.
There's no way UMass would want CUSA for all sports if they didn't want the MAC all sports. CUSA has been worse in basketball than the MAC. And it's more travel besides. And that's assuming CUSA would even be interested.
They're also going to struggle playing all these teams on the schedule. They won 2 games in the MAC last year. What happens when they have 4 SEC teams on the schedule?
Some people seem to have lost track and fail to realize Louisville, Cincy, Houston, Memphis, ECU, etc., are no longer in CUSA.
I don't fault the UMass decision one bit. They went FBS to enhance their long-term opportunities but they also understand that fan interest in basketball drives their ticket revenue and more importantly their donations. There simply isn't enough revenue in the MAC, CUSA or Sun Belt (a league they approached after the MAC decision) to offset the possible erosion of the base.
Now if I had been calling the shots at UMass I probably would have been despised by the fans because I would have rolled the dice. If we are who we say we are in hoops, we join the MAC all-sports and own MAC hoops and the fans mad at me get mostly over it as we go to the NCAA most every year. Of course if you don't own MAC hoops you are doubly screwed.
To me if you aren't willing to roll the bones and try that, you create an impression that football isn't that important that you won't protect it.
If you won't take the best available league for football and aren't Notre Dame or at least BYU, you aren't all-in for football and maybe not "in" enough to play FBS.
I'm not faulting UMass administration, they played the safest card but the safest card can really hurt you if something palatable doesn't turn up in 5-10 years. Of course most AD's and presidents don't stay 10 years.