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Post by princetoncrusader on Feb 26, 2024 14:54:48 GMT -5
Wasn't UMASS in the MAC for football only a few years back? Seems like a slightly better fit geographically.
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 26, 2024 15:33:04 GMT -5
Wasn't UMASS in the MAC for football only a few years back? Seems like a slightly better fit geographically. Yes, and presumably A-10 BB is less dear to preserve now.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Feb 26, 2024 15:42:59 GMT -5
Wasn't UMASS in the MAC for football only a few years back? Seems like a slightly better fit geographically. Yes, and presumably A-10 BB is less dear to preserve now. Definitely a drop in prestige when it comes to MBB. But it's not like UMASS took advantage of being in a multi-bid league. They've been to the dance once in 25 years.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Feb 26, 2024 15:46:53 GMT -5
Wasn't UMASS in the MAC for football only a few years back? Seems like a slightly better fit geographically. Still a pretty crappy fit geographically. Difference is between C-USA and the MAC is that the MAC is a stable conference, C-USA is nothing more than a hodgepodge mashup of schools trying to make it in FBS. Interesting move on the MAC's end of things -- rumor was that a couple years ago when C-USA was totally collapsing, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky approached. The league apparently had no interest in expanding. Both WKU and MTSU would've given the MAC exposure to the south and its football recruiting landscape and would've given a one-bid league two strong basketball programs. UMass hoops is a nice get for the MAC for sure, you wonder if there's plans to add another since this addition will put the conference at an uneven 13 teams. Delaware?
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 26, 2024 15:52:12 GMT -5
Yes, and presumably A-10 BB is less dear to preserve now. Definitely a drop in prestige when it comes to MBB. But it's not like UMASS took advantage of being in a multi-bid league. They've been to the dance once in 25 years. HC has rented five tuxedos in that quarter century. Still the PL is the anti-Christ.😎😉
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Post by timholycross on Feb 26, 2024 19:30:55 GMT -5
Yes, and presumably A-10 BB is less dear to preserve now. Definitely a drop in prestige when it comes to MBB. But it's not like UMASS took advantage of being in a multi-bid league. They've been to the dance once in 25 years. From the 8th rated NET conference, they are going to the 24th. One or two behind the MAAC and America East; and CUSA is 15th. Of course, HC is in the 29th rated conference, so we can't gloat.
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Post by timholycross on Feb 26, 2024 19:32:51 GMT -5
Wasn't UMASS in the MAC for football only a few years back? Seems like a slightly better fit geographically. Still a pretty crappy fit geographically. Difference is between C-USA and the MAC is that the MAC is a stable conference, C-USA is nothing more than a hodgepodge mashup of schools trying to make it in FBS. Interesting move on the MAC's end of things -- rumor was that a couple years ago when C-USA was totally collapsing, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky approached. The league apparently had no interest in expanding. Both WKU and MTSU would've given the MAC exposure to the south and its football recruiting landscape and would've given a one-bid league two strong basketball programs. UMass hoops is a nice get for the MAC for sure, you wonder if there's plans to add another since this addition will put the conference at an uneven 13 teams. Delaware? Sleazy as a lot of these conference switches are, I doubt Delaware would jump from one league w/o giving the other one at least 5 years.
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 26, 2024 22:13:49 GMT -5
Definitely a drop in prestige when it comes to MBB. But it's not like UMASS took advantage of being in a multi-bid league. They've been to the dance once in 25 years. From the 8th rated NET conference, they are going to the 24th.  One or two behind the MAAC and America East; and CUSA is 15th. Of course, HC is in the 29th rated conference, so we can't gloat. Follow the breadcrumbs from Worcester to Amherst. Somebody brought a cloud with him in the Uhaul.🙂
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Post by trimster on Feb 27, 2024 7:46:41 GMT -5
Yes, and presumably A-10 BB is less dear to preserve now. Definitely a drop in prestige when it comes to MBB. But it's not like UMASS took advantage of being in a multi-bid league. They've been to the dance once in 25 years. Some of the UMass fans say the university might as well reopen the Cage for home basketball games.
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 27, 2024 8:45:49 GMT -5
Definitely a drop in prestige when it comes to MBB. But it's not like UMASS took advantage of being in a multi-bid league. They've been to the dance once in 25 years. Some of the UMass fans say the university might as well reopen the Cage for home basketball games. UMass hosted BC on Feb. 16th in front of 8,412 fans. In hockey. Hockey is bailing out athletics at our two fine neighbor Institutions.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Feb 27, 2024 9:03:59 GMT -5
Still a pretty crappy fit geographically. Difference is between C-USA and the MAC is that the MAC is a stable conference, C-USA is nothing more than a hodgepodge mashup of schools trying to make it in FBS. Interesting move on the MAC's end of things -- rumor was that a couple years ago when C-USA was totally collapsing, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky approached. The league apparently had no interest in expanding. Both WKU and MTSU would've given the MAC exposure to the south and its football recruiting landscape and would've given a one-bid league two strong basketball programs. UMass hoops is a nice get for the MAC for sure, you wonder if there's plans to add another since this addition will put the conference at an uneven 13 teams. Delaware? Sleazy as a lot of these conference switches are, I doubt Delaware would jump from one league w/o giving the other one at least 5 years. If either the Sun Belt, AAC or MAC invited Delaware today, they'd join tomorrow.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Feb 27, 2024 9:07:46 GMT -5
Some of the UMass fans say the university might as well reopen the Cage for home basketball games. UMass hosted BC on Feb. 16th in front of 8,412 fans. In hockey. Hockey is bailing out athletics at our two fine neighbor Institutions. UMass definitely a hockey school now, especially with their recent national title. Maybe that explains why there aren't any Springfield-area fans left over for AIC. As solid as the Yellow Jackets have been, they draw FLIES. And I've enjoyed both experiences I've had at that arena. Downtown Springfield sucks though. Literally it's the MassMutual Center, a bunch of parking garages and lots and a casino. I saw UMass basketball had a pretty good crowd this past weekend against St. Bonaventure. 6,000 or so I think -- I wonder how many were Bona fans traveling from the nearby Albany area?
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Post by trimster on Feb 27, 2024 10:15:58 GMT -5
GW and Duquesne are the only original members of the A10 or Eastern 8 as it was called, left. Speaking of left, Duquesne left the A10 for a year or 2 for the MCC and then returned. Thus, GW is the only continuous original member of the A10.
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Post by Tom on Feb 27, 2024 10:30:34 GMT -5
Wasn't UMASS in the MAC for football only a few years back? Seems like a slightly better fit geographically. Still a pretty crappy fit geographically. Difference is between C-USA and the MAC is that the MAC is a stable conference, C-USA is nothing more than a hodgepodge mashup of schools trying to make it in FBS. Interesting move on the MAC's end of things -- rumor was that a couple years ago when C-USA was totally collapsing, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky approached. The league apparently had no interest in expanding. Both WKU and MTSU would've given the MAC exposure to the south and its football recruiting landscape and would've given a one-bid league two strong basketball programs. UMass hoops is a nice get for the MAC for sure, you wonder if there's plans to add another since this addition will put the conference at an uneven 13 teams. Delaware? Not sure if it's relevant to this, but Bowling Green soccer jumped from the MAC to the MVC this year. Hoops is still in the MAC. If they jumped the MAC ship for soccer, is it possible other sports will follow? - which means MAC could be shopping.
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Post by nhteamer on Feb 27, 2024 10:56:08 GMT -5
Goodness, I always wondered what happened to Bowling Green soccer!
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 27, 2024 11:36:17 GMT -5
UMass hosted BC on Feb. 16th in front of 8,412 fans. In hockey. Hockey is bailing out athletics at our two fine neighbor Institutions. UMass definitely a hockey school now, especially with their recent national title. Maybe that explains why there aren't any Springfield-area fans left over for AIC. As solid as the Yellow Jackets have been, they draw FLIES. And I've enjoyed both experiences I've had at that arena. Downtown Springfield sucks though. Literally it's the MassMutual Center, a bunch of parking garages and lots and a casino. I saw UMass basketball had a pretty good crowd this past weekend against St. Bonaventure. 6,000 or so I think -- I wonder how many were Bona fans traveling from the nearby Albany area? And UMass is the official host in Springfield this year for the NCAA Hockey Regional.
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 27, 2024 11:36:59 GMT -5
Still a pretty crappy fit geographically. Difference is between C-USA and the MAC is that the MAC is a stable conference, C-USA is nothing more than a hodgepodge mashup of schools trying to make it in FBS. Interesting move on the MAC's end of things -- rumor was that a couple years ago when C-USA was totally collapsing, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky approached. The league apparently had no interest in expanding. Both WKU and MTSU would've given the MAC exposure to the south and its football recruiting landscape and would've given a one-bid league two strong basketball programs. UMass hoops is a nice get for the MAC for sure, you wonder if there's plans to add another since this addition will put the conference at an uneven 13 teams. Delaware? Not sure if it's relevant to this, but Bowling Green soccer jumped from the MAC to the MVC this year. Hoops is still in the MAC. If they jumped the MAC ship for soccer, is it possible other sports will follow? - which means MAC could be shopping. Akron jumped from the MAC to the Big East in Men's Soccer. I think the league fell apart in Men's Soccer.
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Post by Tom on Feb 27, 2024 12:08:23 GMT -5
Not sure if it's relevant to this, but Bowling Green soccer jumped from the MAC to the MVC this year. Hoops is still in the MAC. If they jumped the MAC ship for soccer, is it possible other sports will follow? - which means MAC could be shopping. Akron jumped from the MAC to the Big East in Men's Soccer. I think the league fell apart in Men's Soccer. OK - a little research shows that the MAC no longer offers men's soccer (they still offer women's soccer). So the answer to the question is "no" one school leaving the MAC in soccer does not imply the school is transitioning out and thus creating an opening for UMass
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 12:11:53 GMT -5
I do not think this is a good sign for the men's basketball program. The A-10's diminishing status probably played a part in the decision. I however also think the relatively weak status of the UMass men's basketball program played a part as well. UMass has been in the A-10 for close to 50 years. Its only real success came during the decade when John Calipari was the coach and the program rose to the very top of college basketball. They built the 9,493 seat Mullins Center back then and regularly filled it for games. Calipari was however the only coach in its entire history to ever win an NCAA game. Calipari Assistant Coach and successor Bruiser Flint did get the team back to the NCAA Tournament but was never able to win a game and the program started to fall off. In the last 25 years, the program has a single NCAA bid (via an at large invite) under Derek Kellogg where they got blown out in the first round.
UMass men's basketball attendance has tanked in recent years. They have only had three seasons in the last fifteen years where they averaged over 4k in a 9,493 seat venue. Overall interest in the program has been in a decline for the last 25 years.
It may be that the administration at UMass has come to the realization that the Calipari years were an aberration and the program was unlikely to ever achieve a high level of success again save for a breakout year here or there. It is spending a lot of money on the program with little to show for it. The operating expenses of the MAC are far lower than the A-10. The AD may have thought the path to the NCAA via the occasional MAC Tourney auto-bid while spending less was a better option. The steady decline of the A-10 and recent status and future prospects of its men's basketball program may have been such that it no longer made sense to center most of the department's conference emphasis on that sport.
Men's hockey today seems to be the most popular fan sport in Amherst. Perhaps, more focus and investment will be put on that. It can be further embraced as the feature winter athletics program at the Mullins Center where it will host familiar local opponents in a sport that is popular in this region.
Membership in the MAC will provide a stable conference home for many UMass sports. Membership in it however is not likely to significantly elevate any of its programs and may in fact hurt several of them. None of the teams in the MAC will much excite people in MA and fan interest will be lacking.
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Post by Tom on Feb 27, 2024 15:36:14 GMT -5
I do not think this is a good sign for the men's basketball program. The A-10's diminishing status probably played a part in the decision. I however also think the relatively weak status of the UMass men's basketball program played a part as well. UMass has been in the A-10 for close to 50 years. Its only real success came during the decade when John Calipari was the coach and the program rose to the very top of college basketball. They built the 9,493 seat Mullins Center back then and regularly filled it for games. Calipari was however the only coach in its entire history to ever win an NCAA game. Calipari Assistant Coach and successor Bruiser Flint did get the team back to the NCAA Tournament but was never able to win a game and the program started to fall off. In the last 25 years, the program has a single NCAA bid (via an at large invite) under Derek Kellogg where they got blown out in the first round. UMass men's basketball attendance has tanked in recent years. They have only had three seasons in the last fifteen years where they averaged over 4k in a 9,493 seat venue. Overall interest in the program has been in a decline for the last 25 years. It may be that the administration at UMass has come to the realization that the Calipari years were an aberration and the program was unlikely to ever achieve a high level of success again save for a breakout year here or there. It is spending a lot of money on the program with little to show for it. The operating expenses of the MAC are far lower than the A-10. The AD may have thought the path to the NCAA via the occasional MAC Tourney auto-bid while spending less was a better option. The steady decline of the A-10 and recent status and future prospects of its men's basketball program may have been such that it no longer made sense to center most of the department's conference emphasis on that sport. Men's hockey today seems to be the most popular fan sport in Amherst. Perhaps, more focus and investment will be put on that. It can be further embraced as the feature winter athletics program at the Mullins Center where it will host familiar local opponents in a sport that is popular in this region. Membership in the MAC will provide a stable conference home for many UMass sports. Membership in it however is not likely to significantly elevate any of its programs and may in fact hurt several of them. None of the teams in the MAC will much excite people in MA and fan interest will be lacking. MAC also provides a home for football. Much easier for Notre Dame to live as an independent in football than UMass
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Post by timholycross on Feb 27, 2024 15:53:39 GMT -5
I do not think this is a good sign for the men's basketball program. The A-10's diminishing status probably played a part in the decision. I however also think the relatively weak status of the UMass men's basketball program played a part as well. UMass has been in the A-10 for close to 50 years. Its only real success came during the decade when John Calipari was the coach and the program rose to the very top of college basketball. They built the 9,493 seat Mullins Center back then and regularly filled it for games. Calipari was however the only coach in its entire history to ever win an NCAA game. Calipari Assistant Coach and successor Bruiser Flint did get the team back to the NCAA Tournament but was never able to win a game and the program started to fall off. In the last 25 years, the program has a single NCAA bid (via an at large invite) under Derek Kellogg where they got blown out in the first round. UMass men's basketball attendance has tanked in recent years. They have only had three seasons in the last fifteen years where they averaged over 4k in a 9,493 seat venue. Overall interest in the program has been in a decline for the last 25 years. It may be that the administration at UMass has come to the realization that the Calipari years were an aberration and the program was unlikely to ever achieve a high level of success again save for a breakout year here or there. It is spending a lot of money on the program with little to show for it. The operating expenses of the MAC are far lower than the A-10. The AD may have thought the path to the NCAA via the occasional MAC Tourney auto-bid while spending less was a better option. The steady decline of the A-10 and recent status and future prospects of its men's basketball program may have been such that it no longer made sense to center most of the department's conference emphasis on that sport. Men's hockey today seems to be the most popular fan sport in Amherst. Perhaps, more focus and investment will be put on that. It can be further embraced as the feature winter athletics program at the Mullins Center where it will host familiar local opponents in a sport that is popular in this region. Membership in the MAC will provide a stable conference home for many UMass sports. Membership in it however is not likely to significantly elevate any of its programs and may in fact hurt several of them. None of the teams in the MAC will much excite people in MA and fan interest will be lacking. Why would the MAC be cheaper in basketball than the A10? No appreciable distance saved in terms of road trips.
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 16:07:04 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 16:07:32 GMT -5
I do not think this is a good sign for the men's basketball program. The A-10's diminishing status probably played a part in the decision. I however also think the relatively weak status of the UMass men's basketball program played a part as well. UMass has been in the A-10 for close to 50 years. Its only real success came during the decade when John Calipari was the coach and the program rose to the very top of college basketball. They built the 9,493 seat Mullins Center back then and regularly filled it for games. Calipari was however the only coach in its entire history to ever win an NCAA game. Calipari Assistant Coach and successor Bruiser Flint did get the team back to the NCAA Tournament but was never able to win a game and the program started to fall off. In the last 25 years, the program has a single NCAA bid (via an at large invite) under Derek Kellogg where they got blown out in the first round. UMass men's basketball attendance has tanked in recent years. They have only had three seasons in the last fifteen years where they averaged over 4k in a 9,493 seat venue. Overall interest in the program has been in a decline for the last 25 years. It may be that the administration at UMass has come to the realization that the Calipari years were an aberration and the program was unlikely to ever achieve a high level of success again save for a breakout year here or there. It is spending a lot of money on the program with little to show for it. The operating expenses of the MAC are far lower than the A-10. The AD may have thought the path to the NCAA via the occasional MAC Tourney auto-bid while spending less was a better option. The steady decline of the A-10 and recent status and future prospects of its men's basketball program may have been such that it no longer made sense to center most of the department's conference emphasis on that sport. Men's hockey today seems to be the most popular fan sport in Amherst. Perhaps, more focus and investment will be put on that. It can be further embraced as the feature winter athletics program at the Mullins Center where it will host familiar local opponents in a sport that is popular in this region. Membership in the MAC will provide a stable conference home for many UMass sports. Membership in it however is not likely to significantly elevate any of its programs and may in fact hurt several of them. None of the teams in the MAC will much excite people in MA and fan interest will be lacking. Why would the MAC be cheaper in basketball than the A10?  No appreciable distance saved in terms of road trips. Â
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 16:11:25 GMT -5
Why would the MAC be cheaper in basketball than the A10?  No appreciable distance saved in terms of road trips.  men's basketball program expenses are far lower in the MAC. A big part of this is head coach salaries but it also includes staff salaries, travel expenses (more charter flights in A-10), recruiting budgets, and many other operations.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Feb 27, 2024 17:18:22 GMT -5
men's basketball program expenses are far lower in the MAC. A big part of this is head coach salaries but it also includes staff salaries, travel expenses (more charter flights in A-10), recruiting budgets, and many other operations. Correct. People forget that the Atlantic 10 isn't a geographically tight conference. Miles traveled in the MAC is probably a wash.
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