OT: UMass going back to the MAC, August 2025 (for all sports this time)
They were football-only for the 2013-2016 seasons. This time, it will be everything.
This will mean we're down to only 2 FBS football independents: UConn and Notre Dame. We used to have more independents, but Army's going to the American, NMSU and Liberty went to C-USA.
Losing independents means it's going to get harder-and-harder for UConn to make a football schedule. They may need to do somethings soon.
https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
February 26th, 2024 at 3:15 PM ^
Don Brown and Marcus Freeman walk into a bar........
I'm here all week folks.
February 26th, 2024 at 3:22 PM ^
Given the circumstances:
February 26th, 2024 at 3:15 PM ^
Don Brown's mustache on MACtion is gonna be must-see TV.
February 26th, 2024 at 3:44 PM ^
Stache calling an all out blitz with a defensive tackle covering the crossing route on a Tuesday night while protecting a 4 point 4th quarter lead. Doesn't get any better.
February 26th, 2024 at 3:55 PM ^
BLITZ IZ ALLOWEZ BIG PLAEZ? NO PROBLUM JUSST NEAD MOAR BLITZ. ALSOW MOAR MANN CUVERIDGE.
February 26th, 2024 at 5:20 PM ^
He can't have Kenneth Grant
February 26th, 2024 at 5:32 PM ^
That's why he gave Josh Wallace the firm handshake...Don Brown don't need no other DB's...he's enough. Heard he's scrapping the 3-3-5 and just going full 2022 Knowles with your basic 11-0-0 Zone Blitz (without wasting personnel on the stupid Zone Coverage part.). Don simply doesn't have the roster spots to waste on All-B1G corners. It's basic roster management really.
Don is the one guy who watched UM v OSU 2022 and thought, "I like where this guy's head's at!"
February 26th, 2024 at 8:50 PM ^
Literally I was watching that game like "So this is how OSU felt all those years they kicked Don Brown's ass"
February 26th, 2024 at 3:22 PM ^
You can, in fact, go home again, it seems....
February 26th, 2024 at 3:24 PM ^
At least on Tuesday nights
February 26th, 2024 at 3:27 PM ^
MACtion--it's wicked awesome!
February 26th, 2024 at 3:59 PM ^
That's "wicked ahsome"
(exactitude is the Michigan Difference).
;-)
February 26th, 2024 at 4:18 PM ^
Sorry to spoil the fun but folks from western Massachusetts don’t have that accent FYI.
February 26th, 2024 at 4:21 PM ^
True. But the 10,000 kids from Boston at UMass do.
February 26th, 2024 at 4:29 PM ^
It would still be worth it, just to hear someone say “Carhart Parka”
February 26th, 2024 at 4:58 PM ^
And what about Na Hamphsha? 😉
February 26th, 2024 at 4:53 PM ^
It’s a wicked pissah for the last 2 independents
February 26th, 2024 at 3:28 PM ^
MACtion has now hit critical MASS
February 26th, 2024 at 3:34 PM ^
Logical move is for UConn to also join the MAC in football
February 26th, 2024 at 3:44 PM ^
They're in such a unique position as a power basketball program who's FB program jumped to FBS but never found a power home. Like in 2012 they seemed not any different than Cuse, but Cuse found a spot in the ACC and UConn stayed in the American and then jumped "back" to the Big East for everything but football...their FB program isn't an add, their BBall is for men and women - and apparently enticing enough for the B12. Nobody who plays FBS football wants just their FB program tho. But taking their bball out of the big east seems like a downgrade if it's not one of the power 4, and even then the B12 is such a more awkward fit than the ACC and both of those avenues may be closed now.
February 26th, 2024 at 4:20 PM ^
The Big XII and Connecticut --- I'm sure they've talked to each other.
The fascinating question to me: "would UConn accept an invite?" I'm not entirely sure. The basketball would be great, of course, but geographically worse (and no more MSG tournament in March).
The ACC has to figure out their football (more precisely, "how do we make FSU/Clemson happy?") shit. Inviting UConn won't help there, of course.
February 26th, 2024 at 3:55 PM ^
Not if they have to bring basketball too.
They're in a challenging spot:
- The Big East is a GREAT basketball fit. But they have no football.
- The ACC and Big XII are very good basketball fits, and have football (B1G for that matter too). But there's apparently no mutual interest.
- The American, MAC and C-USA are anywhere from subpar to absolutely terrible basketball fits. All 3 conferenes have football. All 3 would invite UConn if they knew UConn would say yes. But UConn would say no.
- They could drop football to FCS. The CAA would take them for football in an instant: they used to be in that conference and fellow Big East member Villanova is there today. But the state of Connecticut owns their football stadium and it was fully paid for with Connecticut tax dollars: there would be a TON of political backlash if they dropped to a lower level.
February 26th, 2024 at 8:52 PM ^
The simple solution is to wait for FSU (and probably Miami, and Clemson) to exit the ACC. Then there will be mutual interest.
February 26th, 2024 at 11:10 PM ^
Yea wait for the ACC to become the old Big East schools sans Miami and then dang we are back where we started
February 26th, 2024 at 11:40 PM ^
I blame Boston College for everything silly and stupid that has happened with conferences in the past two decades. Their leaving the Big East for the ACC was the first domino.
February 26th, 2024 at 11:53 PM ^
I mostly didn't feel too bad about it because like 5 of the original Big East FB schools are now ACC (and LVille), Temple got kicked out beforehand(ish) and Rutgers somehow got into the big ten. So only WVU got screwed by it.
That and, you know, all the fans. But temple didn't care and that's why they were getting relegated so that one was fine by me.
February 26th, 2024 at 3:39 PM ^
This will make it a little easier to scout one of Michigan's AAA teams.
February 26th, 2024 at 3:50 PM ^
I'm a NY native, now living in Connecticut. I always thought UConn was a better fit for the BIG than either Rutgers or Maryland. 2007-12 football was actually pretty good. Not in the AAU but neither is Nebraska.
February 26th, 2024 at 3:51 PM ^
Wasn't UConn a member of the AAC at one point? Is the AAC even a thing anymore? I'm starting to lose track of all this shit.
February 26th, 2024 at 4:10 PM ^
Yes they were.
In the American's first year (2013-14), they were a 10-team league, a pretty legitimate group. But those members have scattered to the wind:
- Louisville left after 1 year to the ACC.
- Rutgers left after 1 year to the B1G.
- UConn left after 7 years for the Big East (and football independence).
- Houston, Cincinnati and UCF left after 10 years for the Big XII.
- SMU is still there .... but only for a few more months. Going to the ACC.
- Memphis, South Florida and Temple remain. For the moment. Those schools are listed in both alphabetical order and the likelihood they'd be valuable to someone else.
February 26th, 2024 at 3:58 PM ^
Probably a smart move by all involved. I still wish ND was forced to join a conference because they've gotten away far too long with having a really wonky schedule that lets them stagger opponents almost perfectly and get a lot of ancillary considerations for the postseason (which does seem to be diminishing with the new 12-team system).
February 26th, 2024 at 4:08 PM ^
Back to the MAC
And nothing suits me better than that.
February 26th, 2024 at 4:18 PM ^
That is terrible for their basketball program but everything is football driven.
February 26th, 2024 at 4:23 PM ^
Arguably doesn't matter much for their hoops.
UMass has made one (!!!) NCAA basketball tournament this century.
And their most recent NCAA win was over Allen Iverson's Georgetown team (the game before their spectacular Final Four semifinal game against Kentucky).
It's been quite a few minutes for Minuteman hoops .......
February 26th, 2024 at 4:44 PM ^
UCONN should go to the Big 12. It’s a basketball conference anyway, and they’ll finally give West Virginia a geographical neighbor
February 26th, 2024 at 5:34 PM ^
Cincy is already much closer to WVU than UConn.
February 26th, 2024 at 6:12 PM ^
I don’t know if I’d consider an 8 hour drive to be a “geographical neighbor”
February 26th, 2024 at 5:23 PM ^
MACtion--welcome to ZOO-Mass!
February 26th, 2024 at 6:11 PM ^
This puts the MAC at 15 football members, UConn would probably be best served joining someone as a football-only member instead of being independent.
February 26th, 2024 at 11:54 PM ^
13 members.
I'm thinking that somehow some way Western Kentucky joins and makes it 14. WKU and MTSU were ready to make the move out of C-USA a few years ago. WKU very much wanted to and MTSU was lukewarm. MTSU backed out due to the buyout owed to C-USA, and the MAC refused to accept just WKU. I'm thinking UMass just cleared the way for the MAC to take WKU now. Assuming they still want out which seems rather likely. MAC is a stable conference, where C-USA is the landing spot for jumps from FCS.
February 27th, 2024 at 11:41 AM ^
Can we volunteer to play UConn 3 times a year in non-con?