(02-05-2018 08:50 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 01:02 PM)No Bull Wrote:  UMASS is a state flagship... lots of tv's in Boston. UMASS has a lot going for it.

Just because you say something doesn't make it true...

Boston is a PRO city first and always. UMass is irrelevant in the New England sports landscape. Do you really think that if people cared about UMass sports...especially football...they would be still languishing where they are?

Hell, even the UMass administration cares so little for their sports that they have invested only peanuts on infrastructure.

Hell.
No.

While Boston is home to many of our alumni, and would certainly be considered our primary television market, the school itself is in the Springfield metro area. Springfield does typically follow Boston sports, but I wouldn't consider it a "PRO city".

When UMass is winning we have no problem with attendance. Case and point being basketball in the 90s and the short run in the 2013-14 season. We've never had a winning season in FBS football so that's hard to judge.

UMass administration is putting academics first and foremost. We spent the more than three decades under severe budget cuts and resources being allocated elsewhere in the system. We re-established flagship status ~15 years ago and as a result access to funding has increased, the majority of which has gone/is going to build academic and research facilities.

With that said it's not like we're chump change when it comes to athletic investment. While our athletics budget is heavily institutionally subsidized, we're in the top third of G5 budgets. We've built brand new basketball and football training facilities in the past 3 years, with an multi-sport (including football) indoor practice facility on the horizon. Our basketball arena is smack dab in the middle of AAC arenas at #7 behind UCONN and just about average in capacity. AAC (with Wichita State and without Navy) average is 10,011 and Mullins Center is 9,493. In addition we have access to a 13,000 seat arena in Worcester that was used for big games the '90s, and a 19,580 arena in Boston. (TD Garden has been filled in prior years against BC). We also have access to Gillette stadium if needed, and as you know playing in an NFL stadium is not something new to AAC (USF and Temple).