UMass to the MAC???

[NDSUstudent]

Rumors are swirling out east that UMass is leaving the CAA immediately for the MAC. This would be the fourth team to leave the CAA in the past few years...Here is a tweet from JMU's beat writer....


Multiple sources around the Colonial Athletic Association tell me UMass is going to MAC as football member. Announcement later today. #CAA

http://twitter.com/MikeABarber/status/9635509844316161

[Bison bison]

CARAZY

ten f'n characters

[tjbison]

CAA>MAC


Seems like a very dumb move IMO

[mebisonII]

Some people saying its a move to be in the right place for a jump to the Big East.

[Herd]

Clearly a means to an end. Riddle: How does a descent FCS football team go FBS with little or no pain? Answer: Move to the MAC

UMASS would like to be in the Big East in the long run probably.

[tony]

So much for the CAA being a model every conference should follow.

The bigger the conference, the more unstable.

[WYOBISONMAN]

So much for the CAA being a model every conference should follow.

The bigger the conference, the more unstable.

The WAC made that mistake years ago......that mistake led to the major teams splitting off from the conference and forming the Mountain West.

[NDSUstudent]

Umass heading to the MAC in 2012...


CLEVELAND, Ohio - The University of Massachusetts will be joining the Mid-American Conference for football only, according to sources within the league.

This ends months of speculation and MAC and UMass administrators are expected to hold a joint news conference Wednesday to announce the arrival of the Minutemen.

However, while UMass will begin MAC football play in 2012 it will not be eligible for a MAC title or bowl opportunities until 2013.

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2011/04/university_of_massachusetts_fo.html

[tony]

So does this take some of the shine off the "Super Mega Conference" model?

I remember the Big Sky being worried that big conferences tend to be unstable conferences. Of course, UMass is going from one mega conference to another so maybe it's a wash.

[NDSUstudent]

Losing UMass is going to create some issues as the conference moves south, leaving schools like UNH and Maine isolated. URI is also leaving in 2013 for the NEC.

Georgia State(2012?) and Old Dominion(2011) are coming in.

[Bison"FANatic"]

So are they eligible for the FCS playoffs. It would seem unfair for peers in the area to recruit against them with them being able to say "Hey come play for us and have a chance to play at the "Highest" (had to put that in quotes as MAC and Highest level don't seem right in the same sentence) level next year.

[Leonardite]

So does this take some of the shine off the "Super Mega Conference" model?


One look at the WAC in 1996 and then at the WAC in 2011 undermines any notion of mega-expansion creating long-term stability. 16 teams fell to 6 mighty fast.

[HerdBot]

Not sure I really matters. If anything Villanova and Umass gives us 2 less solid teams to compete with for an at large bid in the playoffs and the number is going up again. It probably weakens the CAA a little since they will have an extra 46 scholarships to play around with will steal some good players away from the current CAA teams they recruit against.. Also it bumps the Missouri Valley up a notch by taking the #3 spot for attendance and overall respect so we can hopefully get 3 spots.on.a regular basis.

[NDSUstudent]

The sad thing here is that for UMass students their home games will likely be played 94 miles away from campus at Gillette Stadium. A 188 round trip to watch your football team play at home...hey but UMass will get a chance to play on ESPN on anyday of the week except Saturday and there is always the prestigious Little Caesars Bowl.

[sambini]

The sad thing here is that for UMass students their home games will likely be played 94 miles away from campus at Gillette Stadium. A 188 round trip to watch your football team play at home...hey but UMass will get a chance to play on ESPN on anyday of the week except Saturday and there is always the prestigious Little Caesars Bowl.

Car pool or mass transit at 5 dollar gas...

[IzzyFlexion]

The sad thing here is that for UMass students their home games will likely be played 94 miles away from campus at Gillette Stadium. A 188 round trip to watch your football team play at home...hey but UMass will get a chance to play on ESPN on anyday of the week except Saturday and there is always the prestigious Little Caesars Bowl.

I'm gonna go ahead and be the first to advise non-football fan drivers to avoid the highway that will be used for this commute on game days.

http://dekerivers.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/drunk-driving.jpg

[HerdBot]

The sad thing here is that for UMass students their home games will likely be played 94 miles away from campus at Gillette Stadium. A 188 round trip to watch your football team play at home...hey but UMass will get a chance to play on ESPN on anyday of the week except Saturday and there is always the prestigious Little Caesars Bowl.

At least their students wont leave at halftime.

[sambini]

my oh my ......