Going to the MAC in all sports, evidently, per Nicole Auerbach. Interesting. They've been core A10 members forever.
UMass leaving A10
- Thread starter Eight Legger
- Start date
whoa. feels like Temple situation where they are totally irrelevant for the sake of football. They weren't really relevant in A10 much anymore, but still had a tiny bit of name cache when listing the conference's schools, because unlike some other league members, they've actually had hoops success. They also gave URI some company in the region. I don't like it.
hopefully this doesn't trigger a domino effect (unless said domino effect is banishing Lasalle and Fordham to the Patriot League.)
Can't see how crazy Coach Martin is going to like that .. maybe he bolts for SLU ..
We just scraped things together for the A-10 to sponsor men's lax. Gonna have to find another program to backfill to keep that auto bid.
Another basketball school sacrificing everything to support one of the worst football programs in D-1. Make it stop.
So by announcing today is UMass ineligible to play in Brooklyn?
Kick LaSalle and Fordham out to get down to 12, then add Charleston or Belmont to get to 13 and everyone can play 6 teams once and 6 others twice and we're all set.
Yep, I will miss them. Always enjoyed going up to see us play there. Scheduling worked out every other year rotating with URI.
Pretty sure urfan1 was referring to the MAC. So that's true, UMass can just stay in the A-10 for lax as an affiliate member. Unless they decide to affiliate somewhere else now that the broader A-10 relationship will be severed. Have to assume we'd want them to stay, as opposed to kicking them out of spite. Easiest path to retaining the auto.
And the MAC is pretty blah in football anyway too.
They haven't added much to A10 men's hoops in a while but I'm still sorry to see go. UMass was a big state school and I think that created some stability among the other big schools in A10. 1 more gone.
They've had some solid teams over the years. We had the home-and-home series with Toledo. Kent State has been good fairly often. Akron and Ohio have had flashes.
But they're awful this year...24th rated conference by KenPom after being 19th and 20th the past two seasons. They used to be pretty consistently in the 12–13 range and were even as high as 9th in 2018–19, two spots ahead of the A-10.
But they're awful this year...24th rated conference by KenPom after being 19th and 20th the past two seasons. They used to be pretty consistently in the 12–13 range and were even as high as 9th in 2018–19, two spots ahead of the A-10.
The A-10 offers only one or two bids at the most. It offers UMass very little. Maybe UMass can be the big dogs in the MAC.
No conference will kick a member out. Unless 12 members of the league want to form a new conference they’re in the conference, and that’s fine. La Salle was in the Sweet 16 after us, anyway.
I don't mind having some perennial "less-thans." In the bad years it gives me comfort to know there are a few games we can most likely win.
The decline at Buffalo has really hurt the MAC. UB really had it going with Oats, now after two coaching changes they are really struggling.
Feels like Buffalo was a flash in the pan, striking gold with Bobby Hurley and Oats but unable to hang onto either one and just running out of hiring luck.
UB was at least competitive under Reggie Witherspoon. Now they are awful, and Reggie took Canisius to the dumper. Should be his last year there.
8legs1dream
Graduate Assistant
Toledo is historically the premier football program in the MAC, not NIU. NIU's other sports will go to a much-worse league, like the OVC or the Horizon or the Summit. Their football travel costs will escalate, and they won't get that much more in TV rights fees, after the MWC and the MAC each renegotiate expiring contracts.
NIU has always been an outlier. Won't be appreciably missed.
