(11-07-2025 10:58 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  

(11-07-2025 10:55 AM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(11-07-2025 10:16 AM)Dr Dawgma III Wrote:  

(11-06-2025 08:48 PM)ccd494 Wrote:  They keep showing this press conference on the feed of the UMass-Maine hockey game.

Bamford has a nice watch on- did he get that in recognition of his 100th press conference explaining what he's going to do to fix UMass?

Maine is on the sea... maybe that explains all this salt?

What I was thinking was that we didn't see any UMass fans trashing the threads about the new Maine construction in the Stadium Renovation and Construction thread. Just let the UMass guys be happy for a bit.

They aren't! Steve is, because he's getting what he wanted (burning down UMass's entire athletic department to tilt at the quixotic windmill of football, and not even successful football, the type of football that cashes a check because ESPN wants to air Ohio State-Texas playoff games). The basketball and hockey fans are miserable!

Your way off and getting close to being reported as a troll.

What am I way off about? UMass re-orienting its entire athletic department around football? Or UMass basketball and hockey fans being upset about it? You yourself complained about the UMass board burying the Thorr Bjorn news!

You posted this same thread in the UMass forum (no one even looked at it, 22 views), the MAC forum (6 responses, none me by the way) and here. If you don't want those of use who disagree with UMass's direction to make fun of UMass's constant press releases that say "look at how much we are trying now!" stop posting them in the general realignment forum! Especially because the realignment happened already! Now the problem is being good at football! You have places to talk about UMass football! It's not my fault that no one is interested in those places!

(11-07-2025 11:37 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  What am I way off about? UMass re-orienting its entire athletic department around football? Or UMass basketball and hockey fans being upset about it? You yourself complained about the UMass board burying the Thorr Bjorn news!

You posted this same thread in the UMass forum (no one even looked at it, 22 views), the MAC forum (6 responses, none me by the way) and here. If you don't want those of use who disagree with UMass's direction to make fun of UMass's constant press releases that say "look at how much we are trying now!" stop posting them in the general realignment forum! Especially because the realignment happened already! Now the problem is being good at football! You have places to talk about UMass football! It's not my fault that no one is interested in those places!

The A10 is a 1-bid conference. I don't see how this is "burning down UMass's entire athletic department to tilt at the quixotic windmill of football"

They're making more money and moving from one 1-bid league to another.

(11-07-2025 01:56 PM)Dr Dawgma III Wrote:  

(11-07-2025 11:37 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  What am I way off about? UMass re-orienting its entire athletic department around football? Or UMass basketball and hockey fans being upset about it? You yourself complained about the UMass board burying the Thorr Bjorn news!

You posted this same thread in the UMass forum (no one even looked at it, 22 views), the MAC forum (6 responses, none me by the way) and here. If you don't want those of use who disagree with UMass's direction to make fun of UMass's constant press releases that say "look at how much we are trying now!" stop posting them in the general realignment forum! Especially because the realignment happened already! Now the problem is being good at football! You have places to talk about UMass football! It's not my fault that no one is interested in those places!

The A10 is a 1-bid conference. I don't see how this is "burning down UMass's entire athletic department to tilt at the quixotic windmill of football"

They're making more money and moving from one 1-bid league to another.

Sure, the "income" line item is higher. So is the "expenses" line item. I do not believe it is a wash. I also do not think that it is a coincidence that when UMass went FBS in 2012, the basketball team was in the midst of a three year run that included three twenty win seasons and an NCAA at large, and since that run finished they have had one winning season.

UMass created a football money pit, and the basketball team started to stink right around the same time. The baseball team is now non-scholarship. The men's lacrosse team has made one NCAA tournament since the FBS move. The soccer team, which has a history of success, is now in the Summit League.

If UMass could dally around with an FBS football program that no one in New England cares about while maintaining the resources that it used to put into a succesful, broad based athletic program, great. I wouldn't be so angry about it. But that's not how it works. UMass exemplifies everything I hate about modern college sports- the fact that so many schools say "FOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL" and damn everything else. There are places it makes sense- Tuscaloosa, Alabama or Norman, Oklahoma, where you can throw every resource possible at football and generate enough revenue to prop up other sports. Amherst, Massachusetts isn't one of those places. The rosiest outcome for UMass football (one that I think is beyond reach, but sure let's grant it) is becoming a middle of the road MAC program. That's still losing money and burning resources! You could have a tremendous Olympic sports portfolio instead and actually win things!

They fired that hoops coach, which I thought was dumb at the time because he was a lifer. I remember him playing there in the 90's. Derek Kellogg.

Anyway, how is their hockey team doing?

(11-07-2025 10:58 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  Steve is, because he's getting what he wanted (burning down UMass's entire athletic department ....

ccd found the above quote offensive. The remarks about crying wolf are valid, but as an optimistic and UMass fan do take that spin. I wish you actually listened to the Intro to Thorr and took pride in the Maine references. Coach H lead you guys to the FCS playoffs. Thorr's parents own a place in Maine and Coach H invited Thorr to a Maine Golf benefit with himself and included Liam C.

Idk if I'd agree with your assessment after listening to the nearly 30 minute press conference. But you have to agree that the AD and the Chancellor are committed to the football program. With the lousy results this year, they did not go silent, make excuses, but looked at the situation and acknowledged they need help to focus on the football program.

Regarding hockey, only know we have young forwards and guessing they will be better by years end.
--------------------------------
Burning down the entire Athletic Department could not be farther from the truth.

(11-07-2025 02:29 PM)Dr Dawgma III Wrote:  They fired that hoops coach, which I thought was dumb at the time because he was a lifer. I remember him playing there in the 90's. Derek Kellogg.

Anyway, how is their hockey team doing?

Hockey is always competitive here... it is the only positive going right now.

Kellogg was a terrible hoops coach... Tried the DDM thing that Calapari won with and failed miserably because he was unable to recruit kids that could execute it. Then he had a once in a generation player who was able to cover for his lack of coaching ability for a couple years and got absolutely pounded in the tourney (in 13-14).

They started something like 12-1 that season then teams adjusted and I think they were .500 the rest of the season and backed in. One of the more overrated tourney 7 seeds ever....

DK has lots of parallels with Bamford - both were/are in waaaaaay over their head.

(11-07-2025 02:05 PM)ccd494 Wrote:  

(11-07-2025 01:56 PM)Dr Dawgma III Wrote:  

(11-07-2025 11:37 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  What am I way off about? UMass re-orienting its entire athletic department around football? Or UMass basketball and hockey fans being upset about it? You yourself complained about the UMass board burying the Thorr Bjorn news!

You posted this same thread in the UMass forum (no one even looked at it, 22 views), the MAC forum (6 responses, none me by the way) and here. If you don't want those of use who disagree with UMass's direction to make fun of UMass's constant press releases that say "look at how much we are trying now!" stop posting them in the general realignment forum! Especially because the realignment happened already! Now the problem is being good at football! You have places to talk about UMass football! It's not my fault that no one is interested in those places!

The A10 is a 1-bid conference. I don't see how this is "burning down UMass's entire athletic department to tilt at the quixotic windmill of football"

They're making more money and moving from one 1-bid league to another.

Sure, the "income" line item is higher. So is the "expenses" line item. I do not believe it is a wash. I also do not think that it is a coincidence that when UMass went FBS in 2012, the basketball team was in the midst of a three year run that included three twenty win seasons and an NCAA at large, and since that run finished they have had one winning season.

UMass created a football money pit, and the basketball team started to stink right around the same time. The baseball team is now non-scholarship. The men's lacrosse team has made one NCAA tournament since the FBS move. The soccer team, which has a history of success, is now in the Summit League.

If UMass could dally around with an FBS football program that no one in New England cares about while maintaining the resources that it used to put into a succesful, broad based athletic program, great. I wouldn't be so angry about it. But that's not how it works. UMass exemplifies everything I hate about modern college sports- the fact that so many schools say "FOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL" and damn everything else. There are places it makes sense- Tuscaloosa, Alabama or Norman, Oklahoma, where you can throw every resource possible at football and generate enough revenue to prop up other sports. Amherst, Massachusetts isn't one of those places. The rosiest outcome for UMass football (one that I think is beyond reach, but sure let's grant it) is becoming a middle of the road MAC program. That's still losing money and burning resources! You could have a tremendous Olympic sports portfolio instead and actually win things!

The basketball team regressed back to normal. We had a once in a generation talent that lifted us back into what looked like it would be sustained success, but was really just Chaz Williams willing the wins in spite of the coaching and the rest of the program. The 3 years you mention just happen to align with the 3 years he was on the team...the remaining 6 years Kellogg had with the team (3 on either side of Chaz) ranged from 12-20 to 17-15. There's no need to romanticize those years. We haven't been good outside of the 90s, minus when we had Chaz...with the slight exception of a single year with Travis Ford that he used to bail on us for a larger conference.

We've needed to drop baseball for a while, there was never any proper support for it and we're not in the right climate to be able to compete.


As to your first post about fans of different sports and how they view this:

Hockey fans don't care. As long as Carvel gets to do his thing, hockey fans are good.

Basketball fans are happy. Not because there's more money going to football, but because they're hoping this is the first step to replace our current AD. The basketball fans have hated Bamford for years, and any sign that there might be a negotiation in the works to replace him is a welcome sight.

(11-10-2025 08:55 PM)e-parade Wrote:  As to your first post about fans of different sports and how they view this:

Hockey fans don't care. As long as Carvel gets to do his thing, hockey fans are good.

Basketball fans are happy. Not because there's more money going to football, but because they're hoping this is the first step to replace our current AD. The basketball fans have hated Bamford for years, and any sign that there might be a negotiation in the works to replace him is a welcome sight.

I am not sure I would all the hoops fans Happy, I think they have guarded optimism at the moment. We have a pretty soft OOC for the most part, so Frank needs to produce at least 8 wins. This could spiral quickly if they don't.

Frank is already chucking out the same old excuses to lay cover.

We also need to be respectabe in our new conference. My own opinion is anything in the top 8 is fine in year 1, but many are expecting a top 3 or bust...

(11-11-2025 08:20 AM)Eldonabe Wrote:  

(11-10-2025 08:55 PM)e-parade Wrote:  As to your first post about fans of different sports and how they view this:

Hockey fans don't care. As long as Carvel gets to do his thing, hockey fans are good.

Basketball fans are happy. Not because there's more money going to football, but because they're hoping this is the first step to replace our current AD. The basketball fans have hated Bamford for years, and any sign that there might be a negotiation in the works to replace him is a welcome sight.

I am not sure I would all the hoops fans Happy, I think they have guarded optimism at the moment. We have a pretty soft OOC for the most part, so Frank needs to produce at least 8 wins. This could spiral quickly if they don't.

Frank is already chucking out the same old excuses to lay cover.

We also need to be respectabe in our new conference. My own opinion is anything in the top 8 is fine in year 1, but many are expecting a top 3 or bust...

Oh I wasn't talking about the state of happiness based on the team there, sorry for the confusion. I was talking about the response to this specific move. The basketball fans haven't been happy with just about everything Bamford has done and this is finally a sign that UMass might be ready to move on (or at the very least make him stop focusing on football, which is a thing he's clearly not good at).