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Ohio Football Topic
Topic: UMass Back in the MAC - This time for ALL sports
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cbarber357
2/26/2024 2:44 PM
Per The Athletic - https://x.com/nicoleauerbach/status/1762197354407510473?s=46
Last Edited: 2/26/2024 2:45:01 PM by cbarber357
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Andrew Ruck
2/26/2024 2:45 PM
Uhh what?

I have said it before but I will say it again. My opinion is the small condensed footprint is truly what is best for mid-major conferences and the current MAC has a pretty good thing going on continuity and regional rivalries. I have to assume the MAC is believing the lie that this will draw in and expand interest in the conference. No, it won't. But it will put a random annoying out of place opponent on everyone's schedule.
Last Edited: 2/26/2024 2:48:05 PM by Andrew Ruck
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cbarber357
2/26/2024 2:55 PM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
Uhh what?

I have said it before but I will say it again. My opinion is the small condensed footprint is truly what is best for mid-major conferences and the current MAC has a pretty good thing going on continuity and regional rivalries. I have to assume the MAC is believing the lie that this will draw in and expand interest in the conference. No, it won't. But it will put a random annoying out of place opponent on everyone's schedule.
In my opinion, Buffalo was already that opponent and at least with the new “pod” structure in Football there are now two teams in the Northeast. UMass definitely boosts basketball too.
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GoCats105
2/26/2024 2:56 PM
The only thing I can think of that would make them want to do this is if there is another East Coast school to come along with UMass. Delaware was recently rumored to want to transition up.
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cbarber357
2/26/2024 2:58 PM
GoCats105 wrote:expand_more
The only thing I can think of that would make them want to do this is if there is another East Coast school to come along with UMass. Delaware was recently rumored to want to transition up.
I think they’re already set up with the C-USA for 2025-26.

UConn for everything but basketball?
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GoCats105
2/26/2024 2:58 PM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
Uhh what?

I have said it before but I will say it again. My opinion is the small condensed footprint is truly what is best for mid-major conferences and the current MAC has a pretty good thing going on continuity and regional rivalries. I have to assume the MAC is believing the lie that this will draw in and expand interest in the conference. No, it won't. But it will put a random annoying out of place opponent on everyone's schedule.
What you want is exactly what the Sun Belt is doing and the MAC should follow suit. The problem is there aren't many viable programs in the current footprint outside of WKU, who they already tried to get.
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Kinggeorge4
2/26/2024 2:58 PM
Just adding one team? Seems strange it isn't a 2 team deal. Maybe more to come later?
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GoCats105
2/26/2024 2:58 PM
cbarber357 wrote:expand_more
The only thing I can think of that would make them want to do this is if there is another East Coast school to come along with UMass. Delaware was recently rumored to want to transition up.
I think they’re already set up with the C-USA for 2025-26.

UConn for everything but basketball?
Ahh shoot you're right I forgot that.
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GoCats105
2/26/2024 3:02 PM
Buffalo is still 6 hours from UMass. Should be an interesting week for the MAC. Hopefully news of another school drops soon.
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The Optimist
2/26/2024 3:06 PM
cbarber357 wrote:expand_more
The only thing I can think of that would make them want to do this is if there is another East Coast school to come along with UMass. Delaware was recently rumored to want to transition up.
I think they’re already set up with the C-USA for 2025-26.

UConn for everything but basketball?
Uconn for everything especially basketball
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cbarber357
2/26/2024 3:14 PM
The Optimist wrote:expand_more
The only thing I can think of that would make them want to do this is if there is another East Coast school to come along with UMass. Delaware was recently rumored to want to transition up.
I think they’re already set up with the C-USA for 2025-26.

UConn for everything but basketball?
Uconn for everything especially basketball
Obviously I’d love that but I put the chances at about .01%
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FisherCat
2/26/2024 3:17 PM
Kinggeorge4 wrote:expand_more
Just adding one team? Seems strange it isn't a 2 team deal. Maybe more to come later?
That was my first thought. 13 is just too much of an odd number. If its not UConn then maybe an fcs team is in talks with the MAC? I don't know who it could possibly be though.
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Kinggeorge4
2/26/2024 3:24 PM
FisherCat wrote:expand_more
Just adding one team? Seems strange it isn't a 2 team deal. Maybe more to come later?
That was my first thought. 13 is just too much of an odd number. If its not UConn then maybe an fcs team is in talks with the MAC? I don't know who it could possibly be though.
On X a few people say there will be 1-3 more teams. Anyone hearing who?
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cbarber357
2/26/2024 3:30 PM
The speculation on Twitter is that WKU and MTSU are options.
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Good cat Good cat
2/26/2024 3:33 PM
Rhode Island and UConn (less basketball)?
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BillyTheCat
2/26/2024 3:57 PM
Buffalo is a short drive for Kent, Akron, and a good drive for BuGS and Toledo and Ohio.
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GoCats105
2/26/2024 3:57 PM
cbarber357 wrote:expand_more
The speculation on Twitter is that WKU and MTSU are options.
I'd take WKU in a heartbeat, but I'm afraid they hitched their wagons to MTSU and MTSU already murdered the idea last summer. Who knows, maybe WKU changed their minds.
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Clown Ohio Fan
2/26/2024 3:59 PM
This move was made because the league wanted to expand a few years ago and has had interest in both WKU and UMass in recent years. They held firm on not adding UMass back for football unless they joined as a full time member. This was made as much for basketball as anything else.

The MAC has been down in recent years. UMass adds credibility, leaving the A10 as a Top 100 team to join the MAC. If we can add WKU, we'll have a basketball conference with:

UMass, WKU, Akron, Toledo, Ohio, Kent State and UB. That's a pretty good mid-major league. I could care less about the football side of things. This is a basketball addition for the MAC and a football move for UMass to get out of D1 independent hell. Also easier to make the move with the A10 struggling to generate as many at-large berths in recent years.
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Clown Ohio Fan
2/26/2024 4:00 PM
GoCats105 wrote:expand_more
The speculation on Twitter is that WKU and MTSU are options.
I'd take WKU in a heartbeat, but I'm afraid they hitched their wagons to MTSU and MTSU already murdered the idea last summer. Who knows, maybe WKU changed their minds.
There's already been a tweet from a Toledo reporter saying there's still mutual interest between Western Kentucky and the MAC. WKU was all-in a few years ago but the MAC turned them down after MTSU backed out. Now that UMass is in the fold, I think this will get done.
Last Edited: 2/26/2024 4:04:21 PM by Clown Ohio Fan
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M.D.W.S.T
2/26/2024 4:15 PM
Texas could announce they were joining the MAC and half this board would be like WHO IS PAYING FOR TEAM FLIGHTS TO AUSTIN? I HOPE THEY'RE NOT COUNTING ON MY DONATIONS!
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Andrew Ruck
2/26/2024 4:22 PM
cbarber357 wrote:expand_more
Uhh what?

I have said it before but I will say it again. My opinion is the small condensed footprint is truly what is best for mid-major conferences and the current MAC has a pretty good thing going on continuity and regional rivalries. I have to assume the MAC is believing the lie that this will draw in and expand interest in the conference. No, it won't. But it will put a random annoying out of place opponent on everyone's schedule.
In my opinion, Buffalo was already that opponent and at least with the new “pod” structure in Football there are now two teams in the Northeast. UMass definitely boosts basketball too.
Buffalo is a step out, but not that bad. Same with NIU.

If it is just Umass, I hate it. If it is part of a bigger expansion as others have said, I could get on board. I just don't like having 1 random team that doesn't fit geographically and has zero history with anyone. Similar (but bigger) discussion to the 4 pacific teams joining the big 10. Together it isn't as dumb and crazy as if say they just added USC and no one else.
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D.A.
2/26/2024 4:30 PM
Although I would have loved to have seen Delaware...that ship has sailed.

I did a post a couple months ago on UMASSHoops that I thought adding University of Rhode Island and University of New Hampshire, if they would both be interested in moving football up, would be a good pod for UMass.

All three of those have excellent academic reputations as publics, and would meet or exceed OHIO and Fiami on that front, actually.

Just my $.02.
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Pataskala
2/26/2024 4:34 PM
If true, so much for the three-year conference schedule that was release a few weeks ago.

I'm not sure what this adds to the MAC other than one more team to share TV money with. Their football program is a perennial train wreck and men's b-ball has had one winning season in the previous eight (the 2020 covid season). They are doing better this season (17-10, 8-7) but is it a real turn-around or just a blip? The women's b-ball team had done well the past three seasons but is really struggling this year under a new coach (3-26, 1-16).

We;ve been down this road before with UMass and other schools on a football-only basis and it didn't work well, so I'm a bit skeptical. They still have their small football stadium (17,000 seats expandable to 21,000) but play some home games 92 miles away in Foxboro before no bigger crowds. It doesn't help the MAC's image as "small time." Overall, I'm not very excited about this.
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ctb
2/26/2024 4:45 PM
FormerMember wrote:expand_more
UMass, WKU, Akron, Toledo, Ohio, Kent State and UB. That's a pretty good mid-major league. I could care less about the football side of things. This is a basketball addition for the MAC and a football move for UMass to get out of D1 independent hell. Also easier to make the move with the A10 struggling to generate as many at-large berths in recent years.
And while the MAC is definitely a step down in prestige for UMASS in terms of their basketball program, I would imagine that MAC basketball is definitely a much more attractive option than the C-USA, which I bet was their only other option if they wanted to get their football program in a conference.
Last Edited: 2/26/2024 4:52:12 PM by ctb
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Ohio69
2/26/2024 4:49 PM
Man. This felt out of nowhere.

The CAA and NEC must have told them no on football only, eh? (Having grown up in New England, nobody cares about college football. Umass and Uconn hanging on to football dreams with the CAA and NEC all right there will just never make sense to me.... But I digress...)

If this provides stability and doesn't add much cost to current MAC schools, then nice pickup. Welcome back UMass.
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