(09-02-2016 09:51 PM)Sam Minuteman Wrote: I was checking out the schedule and future schedules on http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-16/2016-...hedule.php and noticed there are several away games without TV listed. I figure the BYU game will be on BYU TV but i was surprised the others didn't have tv listed yet.
I don't know a lot about TV deals but I expected the UMASS home games to be streamed, the fact that I can watch them in Florida on a basic sports package seems pretty good to me. I guess I'm disappointed that UMass isn't getting paid anything but the exposure seems pretty good.
UMass is going to miss the 1M payout from the MAC but I'm glad i don't have to worry about streaming the games anymore.
Less than 24 hours till the season kicks off!
Wow. I read the link you posted. UMASS only has 1 game on tv and that is on the SECN. That's astonishing. No TV money OR exposure? I'm not sure how that's sustainable? I've never heard of anything like this.
Cheers!
The games are on ASN (i have no idea what channel that is) and NESN which I get in Florida for the same price i get the SEC & BIG Ten Network and is just about standard in MA. The games will also be streamed on ESPN3 which was about the only way to watch them while they were in the MAC so for the home games it is more exposure than they had in the MAC.
I'm sure the South Carolina and BYU games will get picked up. Not sure if games at Old Dominion, Troy, or Hawaii will I hope they at least have streaming options.
You are right about the lack of any money. it is a big surprise I'm sure getting that is part of the trade off of having a game against Wagner televised and not getting paid for the Mississippi State game.
Instead of going for money with the TV contract, AD Ryan Bamford choice the deal with maximum exposure. We need to build the brand up with the local consumers and make it available for a national audience and alumni. Hopefully people don't decide to watch the game at home, instead of going to the game. Totally agree with going for exposure over money.
NESN is a big deal, yes it's available to most MA consumers on a basic cable package but you should also realize, it's the home of the Boston Red Sox and Bruins.
All our home games are televised and most are on NESN National.
Quote:All six UMass home games will be distributed by ASN and will be carried locally on New England Sports Network (NESN), in addition to availability on the ESPN3 platform and the WatchESPN app. Eric Frede and Andy Gresh will call the Boston College, Mississippi State, Tulane and Louisiana Tech. Commentators for the FIU and Wagner games will be announced at a later date.
UMass' game vs. Wagner on Oct. 29, honoring Hometown Heroes and Senior Day, has been moved to a 12 p.m. start time at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
Florida (Sept. 3, 7:30 p.m.) | SEC Network
Boston College (Sept. 10, 12 p.m.) | NESN, NESN National
FIU (Sept. 17, 3:30 p.m.) | NESNplus, NESN National
Mississippi State (Sept. 24, 3:30 p.m.) | NESNplus
Tulane (Oct. 1, 3:30 p.m.) | NESN, NESN National
Old Dominion (Oct. 8, 6 p.m.) | CUSA-TV
Louisiana Tech (Oct. 15, 3:30 p.m.) | NESN (until 6 p.m.), NESNplus
Wagner (Oct. 29, 12 p.m.) | NESNplus, NESN National
ASN clearances and local listings for each game will be announced and promoted on a week-by-week basis. ASN carries a strong distribution footprint with approx. 38 million households for the 12 p.m. ET window and approx. 70 million households for the 3:30 p.m. ET window. In addition to NESN, ASN partners include major regional sports networks such as Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Altitude, Cox Sports, as well as broadcast stations in major markets across the U.S.
Massachusetts football opens the 2016 season at Florida on Sat., Sept. 3. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network, UMass' first of at least seven nationally-televised contests.
ASN is the distributor so NESN will not do that. NESN is excellent for our main market. Streaming is available on ESPN3 and the app.
We just spent a million on a production room, so everything now will be HD quality. It's possible a few of the early hockey games may not be fully up to HD quality.
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2016 11:53 AM by Steve1981.)
(09-04-2016 01:42 PM)Native Georgian Wrote: Solid performance by the Minutemen. Looking forward to our game @McGuirk on 01st October.
They are the team I expect for an upset win this year. I gave them a chance to upset Florida. It looked like they were doing it. They have disrupted the point spread last year to other schools like with Vanderbilt.
Boston College - UMass game this weekend, students buses to Gillette sold out in less than a day. Four more buses were chartered today.
Quote:The Battle of the Bay State is fast approaching, and the UMass athletics staff has been making a strong push to ensure that the Minutemen student section is filled for this coming Saturday.
UMass will be running 20 buses from campus in Amherst to Gillette Stadium on Saturday for the game, and based on student demand, that includes an additional four buses that were just chartered today, Wednesday September 7th.
Quote:The initial 16 buses are what the school call the ‘Minuteman Express’, which for a fee of $20 gets a student a seat on the bus and a game ticket, along with a t-shirt and food vouchers for Gillette during the game. Those buses sold out as of yesterday, so the school has added four more. The additional buses and game tickets are free of charge for the students wishing to attend, however there are no extras like the food and t-shirts should students wish to jump on.
The student demand for the rivalry game between UMass and Boston College is encouraging to see. The administration has made a significant effort and investment in this game on all levels, including acquiring these buses for students to attend. Per Fight Massachusetts sources ticket sales have also been moving well, and a good crowd is expected on Saturday for both sides.
This is an important matchup for both the Minutemen and the Eagles, and should be a great game for football in New England.
So if there are 55 seats on the bus (could be smaller or bigger...not sure on which bus size they went with) we'd see ~1100 students at the game? Unless a bunch more decided to drive themselves that is.
We were already heading down from an Elite FCS program to a mediocre program under Morris in 2010. However rivalry games matter in New England. Our old attendance record was 32,848 for the first Colonial Clash at Gillette.
Pretty sure will beat that record with the Battle in the Bay State against Boston College Saturday. College football games matter in New England and pretty much guarantee our attendance will be consistently in the 30's k range against BC and UConn.
For reference in 2010, the Colonial Clash had over 1 million viewers on Comcast.
Quote:Oct. 27, 2010
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - In addition to setting the CAA conference attendance record of 32,848 at Gillette Stadium, the Colonial Clash set a league record for TV audience. The CAA reports that the Colonial Clash drew a record 0.88 TV rating on Comcast SportsNet. That means that more than 1,000,000 households were tuned into the UMass-UNH football game from Gillette Stadium.
A full rating point represents 1,159,000 households, so with a mark of 0.88, approximately 1,019,000 homes were tuned at to the Colonial Clash.
Yes we need to expand McGuirk, but heard for the first time I'm aware of, when McGuirk sells out, the Athletic Department is prepared to sell additional seats,SRO.
(This post was last modified: 09-08-2016 10:40 AM by Steve1981.)
(09-08-2016 09:23 AM)e-parade Wrote: So if there are 55 seats on the bus (could be smaller or bigger...not sure on which bus size they went with) we'd see ~1100 students at the game? Unless a bunch more decided to drive themselves that is.
(09-08-2016 09:23 AM)e-parade Wrote: So if there are 55 seats on the bus (could be smaller or bigger...not sure on which bus size they went with) we'd see ~1100 students at the game? Unless a bunch more decided to drive themselves that is.
Yeah, upperclassmen who can drive to the game and tailgate will do that. UMass student section was very big for the last game against BC at Gillette and they had less buses than they do this time.
Should be a great crowd. I'm hearing the Group Ticket sections are almost completely sold out and the other tickets are going quick. Plus with the nice weather forecast we will get a ton of walk-ups.
The lower bowl should be close to a sellout and the club levels should be pretty packed too.
(09-08-2016 09:23 AM)e-parade Wrote: So if there are 55 seats on the bus (could be smaller or bigger...not sure on which bus size they went with) we'd see ~1100 students at the game? Unless a bunch more decided to drive themselves that is.
Hell of a drive just for a "home" game...
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It is a hell of a drive...but this is also a game against BC, and people around here want to see that game. I wouldn't expect a lot of students to make that drive, but there will definitely be at least a few who will want to tailgate.
Hype and dreams, bolded IMHO the key sentence, which is so important, getting the fans to emotional attach to the program. We can not hype enough, what the games means to us. Saturday, lay an egg and we are a wounded duck, play respectable, we're on the right path, win and that would be a truly watershed event.
Quote:BC and UMass aren’t on equal footing. The Eagles are a Power 5 school, a struggling one, but a Power 5 all the same. UMass is independent and scrambling to get its feet under it.
Give BC credit for even playing this game and its Nov. 19 game with Connecticut. BC could have frozen out its New England rivals in an attempt to send the message that UMass and UConn don’t mean anything to the Eagles or their fans.
A win for BC is expected. A win for the Minutemen is a program changer.
But they’re playing the game and it’s good for football in the region.
It offers UMass a huge opportunity. Now in its fifth Bowl Subdivision season, the Minutemen are desperately searching for a signature victory.
They need something that would ignite a fan base that’s been reluctant to commit money or become emotionally attached to the program during its growing pains. A big win might even convince a conference that UMass could have something to offer it.
There is no better opportunity than BC. Every Minuteman fan either went to high school with or currently works with a BC fan who has dismissed the very relevance of UMass football for decades. Earning bragging rights Saturday might send those Minuteman supporters to the ticket booth for future games.
Beating BC for the first time since 1978 won’t be easy as UMass is a decided underdog (The Eagles are favored by 17 points). But BC is rebuilding after last year’s 3-9 (0-8 ACC) season and is potentially vulnerable.
UMass being at least competitive Saturday would help interest a lot.
System president Marty Meehan speaking at prep rally in Boston.
UMass Amherst @UMassAmherst 6m6 minutes ago
Thanks to Rick Kelleher '73, CEO of Pyramid Hotel Group, hosting @UMassFootball pep rally at Boston @HarborHotel
Cheer leaders on the way to the prep rally.
Students queuing up for the last of the bus tickets to Gillette, $20 includes ride and tickets.
(This post was last modified: 09-09-2016 04:07 PM by Steve1981.)
(09-08-2016 01:39 PM)DawgNBama Wrote: It's too bad that UNH and UMaine won't move up to FBS with UMass. That would be really cool and would give the Minutemen at least one more rivalry.
They could join with connecticut, rhode island, delaware and arkansas tech and form the homecoming football conference.
(09-08-2016 01:39 PM)DawgNBama Wrote: It's too bad that UNH and UMaine won't move up to FBS with UMass. That would be really cool and would give the Minutemen at least one more rivalry.
They could join with connecticut, rhode island, delaware and arkansas tech and form the homecoming football conference.
2017: 5 FBS home games, schedule is full already
2018: 4 FBS home games, 6 away games, 1 FCS, 1 open date
2019: 2 FBS home games, 4 away games, 1 FCS, 5 open dates
2020: 1 FBS home game , 3 away games
2021-23: 3 FBS home games, 5 away games
By rule they must have 5 FBS home games a year. That's 42% of games that must be at home. But after 2017, they have 10 home games out of the 30 games they have scheduled (33%). That's really pushing the limit.