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Post by ptctitan on Feb 26, 2024 14:53:31 GMT -5
From The Athletic. Our women's lacrosse team plays in the MAC.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 26, 2024 15:03:25 GMT -5
That's a football driven move. It doesn't so anything for the basketball team.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 26, 2024 16:18:24 GMT -5
Jon Rothstein's reaction.
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Post by Commissioner on Feb 27, 2024 10:05:29 GMT -5
Jon Rothstein's reaction. The A10 is hardly unique in this. Remember UMass played MAC football from 2012-2015. Then the MAC said either join for all sports, or get out. UMass did the latter. I think they assumed they'd get some kind of football offer from another conference. But they haven't, so they've decided to bite the bullet. This is a good move for the MAC, adding a good hoops program, although it does spread out a league that has retained its geographic logic as just about everyone else has grown willy-nilly (of course, the MAC has tried, to spread out before--remember UCF was also a football-only member for a time). UMass football sucks. Since joining D1 (or whatever it's called now) in 2012 they've never won more than 4 games in a season, which they did in 2017 and 2018. Over the last 5 years they've won a total of 6 games. But they did average over 10K attendance last year, something MAC members Akron, Kent State, and Nothern Illinois all failed to do.
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Post by fan on Feb 27, 2024 12:27:18 GMT -5
I would think after all the dust clears there will be a market for quality mid-market or mid-major football.
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Post by titansforever on Feb 27, 2024 13:49:32 GMT -5
If you are going to field a football program, you need tangible things to play for. Conference championships. All-league honors. POTW honors. Player of the Year honors. Coach of the Year honors, etc.
None of those were available to UMass playing as an independent. They will have to bite the bullet travel-wise, as Buffalo is the closest other MAC program, but apparently they feel it will be worth it. I think that leaves UConn and Notre Dame as the only independent football programs, as Army is joining the AAC for football, I believe.
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