(09-08-2017 08:10 AM)Eldonabe Wrote:  One thing I saw recently (and I am sorry I cannot remember where) was a stadium which was built up completely on one side and the other side (the away team side I assume) almost looked like glorified bleachers. I think Umass people get hung up on a vision of a full oval stadium. Build up the Sunny side of the field and add a second deck and 7-8k worth of seats and hold off on the other side until the attendance follows. In the mean time you have a better arrangement and better amenities for your home fans at least.

That picture I am thinking of was not a bad looking building.

First of all agree we are not ready for the AAC as with on the field success or Football facilities. With basketball, nearly half the games are OOC. Yes would be OK with the MAC, assuming we could have URI, Providence etc on the OOC schedule. No offense to St. Joes, St. Boneventure, LaSalle etc, just don't identify with those small universities.

Here is a picture of the current stadium for the first game back at McGuirk.


Here are the one sided build up pictures.




Like our AD Ryan Bamford and in his contract extensions there is a 25K bonus for getting us in a FBS conference.

Quote:Bamford’s bonuses tied to teams’ athletic and academic performances remain in place from the initial contract. Those bonuses cannot exceed $37,500 in any given year. Bamford is eligible for a one-time bonus of up to $25,000 at the chancellor’s discretion if UMass enters an FBS football conference.

Other interesting quotes from Matt Vautour article:

Quote:Bamford’s original five-year deal took him from his hiring on April 27, 2015 to April 26, 2020. The extension goes until April 26, 2022.

“Ryan Bamford has provided strong leadership for our Athletics Department, and he is devoted to the success of our student-athletes. We are pleased to extend Ryan’s contract, and we look forward to many additional accomplishments in the years ahead,” Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said in a release announcing the extension.

Bamford expressed appreciation in the same release.

“I am honored to receive this two-year extension from Chancellor Subbaswamy. Since I arrived at UMass in 2015, I have been humbled by the opportunity to lead the intercollegiate athletics program at the Commonwealth’s Flagship campus,” he said. “I am extremely fortunate to work with some outstanding colleagues and some of the best and brightest student-athletes. I believe in this University and look forward to continuing our development of a championship-caliber athletics program that complements our status as a renowned public research institution.”

While UMass has had success in some of the Olympic sports, other than building a nonconference football schedule, his most notable actions in the higher profile programs have come in hirings and firings. Bamford fired hockey coach John Micheletto and women’s basketball coach Sharon Dawley in 2016 and replaced them with Greg Carvel and Tory Verdi, respectively. He dismissed men’s basketball coach Derek Kellogg in March and replaced him with Matt McCall.

http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-athletic...n-12355959