Let's get this started with signing day coming up. UMass gets a huge re-commit in Shane Huber.
http://maroonmusket.com/2013/01/umass-re-commit-shane-huber/
http://maroonmusket.com/2013/01/umass-re-commit-shane-huber/
UMass Football 2013
- Thread starter Franklin Fanatic
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Great signing day event at The Amherst Brewing Company. Really excited about the class that Molnar and staff brought in. A lot of large young men to help on both lines.
Spring Practice has been underway for a week. MassLive's Harry Plumer posted a short preview following Coach Molnar's press conference.
The team also sent out a press release this past Tuesday highlighting upcoming events:
Sat, April 13 - Open Practice Day
Dana-Farber Field House at Gillette Stadium - Foxboro MA
10:15 AM - Free Youth Football Clinic (grades 1 thru 8)
11:30 AM - Open Practice
Sat, April 20 - Annual Spring Game
McGuirk Alumni Stadium - Amherst MA
12:30 pm - Autograph session
01:00 pm - Free Youth Football Clinic (grades 1 thru 8)
02:30 pm - Youth Clinic ends
04:00 pm - Spring Game kickoff
The team also sent out a press release this past Tuesday highlighting upcoming events:
Sat, April 13 - Open Practice Day
Dana-Farber Field House at Gillette Stadium - Foxboro MA
10:15 AM - Free Youth Football Clinic (grades 1 thru 8)
11:30 AM - Open Practice
Sat, April 20 - Annual Spring Game
McGuirk Alumni Stadium - Amherst MA
12:30 pm - Autograph session
01:00 pm - Free Youth Football Clinic (grades 1 thru 8)
02:30 pm - Youth Clinic ends
04:00 pm - Spring Game kickoff
Looked like a nice turn out at the youth football clinic at Gillette yesterday. Such a great way to help build up the fan base by giving back to the community. Spring game set for 4/20.
I re-newed by season tickets yesterday. I'm really looking forward to making the trip to Madison and Camp Randall Stadium on 8/31!
I re-newed by season tickets yesterday. I'm really looking forward to making the trip to Madison and Camp Randall Stadium on 8/31!
Franklin Fanatic said:
You won't be disappointed.
Well, in one way, you'll be extremely disappointed. But I think you'll enjoy Madison and the Camp Randall experience.
Well, 5+ days until the opener at Wisconsin. UMass is clearly much improved (especially on the O and D lines). However, Branchflower and Broadnax will both likely miss this game. 44.5 point dog. I'm not delusional, but I think UMass covers. A 3-9 or 4-8 season would help keep the momentum going on a good recruiting class of 2013 and what looks to be a even better 2014 class. Go UMass!
This seems like the best place to ask. Has anyone been to a UMass game at Gillette? I ask because I'm looking into getting tickets for their game against the old alma mater, and it seems that only a few sections are available for sale (107-112). Just wondering if that's just standard policy for UMass games to essentially concentrate the crowd or do they open up other sections at some later date?
Seems ridiculous to use Gillette for the seating capacity then only make about 1/3 of the lower bowl available for seating. Close off the upper decks, fine, but why not sell tickets for the opposing sideline, at least?
Seems ridiculous to use Gillette for the seating capacity then only make about 1/3 of the lower bowl available for seating. Close off the upper decks, fine, but why not sell tickets for the opposing sideline, at least?
Red(s)HawksFan said:
No idea, but there are things like concessions, and security/ushers and other support staff that come into play when you spread the crowd out across the whole facility.
If you are dealing with a crowd that can only fill less than 1/3 of the lower bowl, then maybe it does make sense to keep them all together in one place
BigMike said:
I get the logistics of containing what is sure to be a limited crowd anyway. Just seems surprising that they move the games to Gillette because they need its capacity to be an FBS program, then they don't even make enough sections available to meet the minimum capacity required.
Red(s)HawksFan said:
They do open up tickets for those sections after the other sections have been sold. I went to the game against Ohio last year and there were a few people sitting on the other side. You can walk up the day of the game and get tickets. You're not going to get turned away.
Certainly a rough start today, but UMass is much better than last year, especially on the OL. Need to beat Maine and get into MAC play with no serious injuries. Stacey Bedell looked good today with 70 yards rushing. Damn, Wisconsin has some large young men up front!
Uhhhhh so yea, I don't think they are any better than last year, and they will be lucky to win one game
How long till they end this experiment? It has been handled all wrong, way too quick. I really was hoping they could do this, but I really have my doubts now. Is it the coach?, Is it the business plan?, Something else? Very discouraging. You can't lose to FCS schools and hope to have or keep any momentum.
berniecarbo1 said:
I guess they have to give it a chance, but there are some things working against them.
There just is no talent in the region. The best usually aims to leave town, and then you have to fight BC and UConn for the next tier, and they both have huge advantages
They can't offer immediate PT to transfers which they could at the FCS level.
The biggest problem is they seem stuck in the MAC, and that isn't a great place to be stuck with the evolving nature of conferences. I am sure 5 or so years ago when someone made this decision, they figured they could go to FBS and would quickly be a target for the Big East, and probably figured they would be in the Big East by 2015 or so. Now of course that conference doesn't exist and the teams remaining are already being squeezed and certainly won't be looking to bring a MAC team into the league to split what little pie there is.
Not to mention the cost. Most FBS programs lose money; bumping up from FCS has to cost a fortune and unless Kraft is giving them use of Gillette for nothing, one has to imagine that the cost of running that program has increased dramatically. And with attendance of 15k, they're going to need to play a lot of away beatdown games against top-25 teams to make any decent money. How long can UMass afford to lose hundreds of thousands or even millions on a football program that will almost certainly be a consistent loser? Five years? 10? Does anyone in Massachusetts value having an FBS team enough to withstand that much red ink?
Kremlin Watcher said:
UMass is not paying anything to use Gillette. Kraft keeps all of the money from concessions and he gets a % of the ticket sales, but he is also covering game day costs. I believe this move was made because UMass was hemorrhaging money at the FCS level. At least with playing in the MAC they get a portion of the TV revenue the conference gets as well as a portion of the bowl revenue. If a MAC team makes it to a BCS bowl (or whatever they are going to be calling it), UMass gets a portion of that payout. They missed out last year because it was their first year in the MAC. However, UMass got $900,000 to play at Wisconsin and is receiving $750,000 to play at Kansas State on Saturday. UMass played @KSU a few years ago when they were in FCS and received only $350,000. I hope that this is enough to withstand these lean years. I can't see dropping the program back down to FCS as a viable option, so it's either going to be stay the course or drop the program entirely. I gotta think that UMass can at least recruit and/or coach up players well enough to compete in the MAC in the near future.
RedSoxFan said:
It is not going to be as easy as you think. Most of the MAC schools are in far better football states, where they may not get the top 50 kids in the state, but they can actually build a good program and get high 2 and 3 star kids who are outside the top 50 in the state. I think UMass will get better, but will they end up being Buffalo? Can they reach a Kent State level. Forget trying to reach the Toledo level.
As I said I do believe they thought the Big East was out there and would quickly want them when they made the move
Another tough thing for recruiting is telling kids that the schedule will be tantamount to 12 road games. Until they get most of the games on campus, travel is going to be a headache for the players. The current deal with Kraft has 4 games minimum per year at Gillette through 2016. Molnar said that next year homecoming and any MAC weekday games will be at McGuirk. But they aren't going to have more than 6 home games in the foreseeable future, so they'll have at most two games in Amherst. And even after 2016, they'll still probably play one or two games at Gillette to both a) help with the avg. attendance, and b) keep a presence nearer to the population center.
I don't know if it could fit football, but if I were them, I'd try to make a deal with the Sox to play November home games at Fenway post-2016. It's actually in the population center, and a lot of students go home to the Boston metro area for weekends anyway. Plus it's a cozier, unique setting for football. They should easily get 20,000.
Or if the Revs ever got a stadium in/near Boston, UMass could play November games there
I don't know if it could fit football, but if I were them, I'd try to make a deal with the Sox to play November home games at Fenway post-2016. It's actually in the population center, and a lot of students go home to the Boston metro area for weekends anyway. Plus it's a cozier, unique setting for football. They should easily get 20,000.
Or if the Revs ever got a stadium in/near Boston, UMass could play November games there
Better effort against Vandy today. Defense played a lot better; looks like switching to a 4-3 made a significant difference. Doyle played pretty well also until he got hurt. Injuries killed us, good time for the bye week I guess. Still hopeful that UMass can win a couple of games on the MAC schedule.
RSF, a much better effort against Vandy. It would've been interesting to see what Bedell, Woodley and Doyle could've done if they all didn't sprain their ankles. I hope UMass stays in the 4-3 today against Bowling Green (very good team). While I don't feel they'll win today, at this point we need continued progress as the next couple of games are certainly winnable. I want to see more of the freshman as well; especially on defense.
UMass is a 3-point favorite against an equally putrid Miami (OH) this week. Probably the first time the Minutemen have been favored against an FBS team.
WayBackVazquez said:
Having not seen any of UMass's game but enough of Miami this year, the Minutemen are rightfully favored (though 3 points at home is essentially a pick-em). Miami fired their head coach on Sunday, and it was two and half years coming. His only saving grace was having inherited the best QB short of Roethlisberger in school history, and that kid is now backing up Peyton Manning in Denver. Now they're running the triple option with a QB recruited for and best suited for a spread offense. It's ugly to watch.
It's a little strange to me that the new coach is the same guy I watched play QB for all four years I was at Miami. I don't know if that makes me old or the university is taking a big risk going with such a young unproven coach. Either way, I'm looking forward to attending the game even if it's going to be a 6-3 slobberknocker.
Should be a decent crowd this week (by UMass standards), as it is band day. 60+ high school bands will be in attendance. Weather looks decent as well. We really need our first home win in the FBS era this week.
BigMike said:
Thanks. I will take the win, but this team still has a long way to go. Fortunately they get to play Western Michigan and Akron at home, so in reality this team should finish at 3-5 in the MAC which would likely put them no worse than 4th in the MAC East.
WTF happened at Gillette today? They went for two and the win at home? I didn't see the game, only the last play. Can someone tell me why this was a defensible choice?
Al, I've been to every game. Good times tailgating with friends and competitive games (except NIU). They have a chance against Akron.
They did have a chance. Needed to get that yard on first down. Perhaps constantly running up the middle while in shotgun might not be the most efficient way to gain yardage?
This team looked way better than last year and as always had a good time at the Tailgate. Two one point losses this year, brutal stuff.
This team looked way better than last year and as always had a good time at the Tailgate. Two one point losses this year, brutal stuff.
It can only go up. But as currently constructed, it is a terrible job that I cannot imagine will attract a large pool if good candidates.RedOctober3829 said:
He is basically out of football. I bet he would take it if offered. But he is a retread and it is tvat kind of guy (on his last job) that will probably land there. If he can stabilize it and get them to .500 or slightly better then maybe the hire after this can elevate the program.
The whole upgrade was handled poorly and was decided IMHO on a premise that the entire program would end up in the old Big East. That model died and here we are. They need to right the ship then hire a young guy who will come in for 4 years and build a MAC contender. Bottom line is that we are looking at a 6-7 year process at this point. These past 2 years were a waste and set the program back 3-5 years.
The whole upgrade was handled poorly and was decided IMHO on a premise that the entire program would end up in the old Big East. That model died and here we are. They need to right the ship then hire a young guy who will come in for 4 years and build a MAC contender. Bottom line is that we are looking at a 6-7 year process at this point. These past 2 years were a waste and set the program back 3-5 years.
They need to get the program on campus full time. Students do not make the 2 hour drive to Foxboro for games. Getting a new stadium would go a long way to helping sustain the viability of the program.
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