UMass *did* join the MAC

[GP1]

There is one thing that really makes this move interesting. umass is the flagship school of mass...as such, it has access to a lot of money and interest throughout the state. There is not another mac school that is the flagship school of it's respective state so there is not broad support of many, if any, mac schools. Whether or not this matters will remain to be seen, but I suspect umass won't go through many growing pains. Getting 15,000 per game and funding the scholarships should not be a problem. If this move proves to be a mistake for umass, it will because of the lack of available talent throughout new england and an inability to bring in kids from outside of the region. I'm sure BC and uconn get the best players in the region.

uconn was the last new england school to make such a jump and it has worked out well for them. uconn is also the flagship school of CT like umass is in MA. The Big East should be the final destination for umass. Boston College has made a huge mistake joining the ACC and should have stayed in the BE. I wonder if there is a plan at umass to get them from the mac to the BE as quickly as possible. It's possible to be good instantly in the MAC so that shouldn't be a problem.

Does this move make the mac better?....NO. If a tree falls in the woods and there is nobody there, does it make a sound? If umass comes in the league and becomes one of the best teams in the league sooner rather than later, it will make the mac look like a conference that has been in business since the 1940s and can't get it's act together or something really pathetic like that......What?......It what?......Ooops, sorry, the mac is already a league that has been in business since the 1940s and can't get it's act together.

[GP1]

According to the Plain Dealer article, turns out UMass is going to play their home game in Gillette Stadium (Patriots home) in Foxboro, far east of Amherst.

"UMass will play its home games off campus in the NFL Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. nearly 100 miles away from its campus. UMass AD John McCutcheon said Gillette will be “our primary home for quite some time.”

This is a good move for umass. Google amherst mass and see where that place is. The closest city is Springfield and the next closes one is Hartford. Nobody is going to drive to amherst to watch Tuesday/Wednesday night mac football. Look at how many people live around UofA and don't go to games. Boston has a large population and if they win, they will draw good crowds if they can win. Can they compete against BC for football fans is the question?

[BirdZip]

If UMass is joining, then the MAC must be confident that Temple won't leave.

I don't like the idea of North-South divisions, however.

Really wouldn't change much from what I can tell.

East - Akron, Buffalo, Can't, Miami, Ohio, Temple, UMass

West - Ball State, BGSU, CMU, EMU, NIU, Toledo, WMU

In a North South allignment it would likely be:

North - NIU, WMU, CMU, EMU, Toledo, BGSU, Buffalo

South - Akron, Can't, Miami, Ball State, Ohio, Temple, UMass

So We would have Ball State and they would get Buffalo, Akron would then have its three rivals (Can't, Miami, and Ohio). If you look at the map, there isn't any other way to do a North South division.

My understanding is that FB division reconfiguration would be done such that Temple and UMass are NOT in the same division. Having them in the same division would double the excess travel burden for the other teams in the division.

Look for Temple & UMass to be in opposite divisions when it's all played out.

Go Zips!

Perhaps the most practical reason for UMass and Temple to be in opposite divisions is so that, when they both bail to a better conference, the MAC doesn't have to reshuffle.