AD Ryan Bamford gave an online chat today. Bob McGovern for 247Sports-Maroon Musket gave a good recap.

Quote:On whether McGuirk Alumni Stadium will be renovated:

Good question -- lots to consider there. I can tell you that it is our hope that we get to a point where we are playing most, if not all, of our games back on campus. The Patriots and Gillette Stadium have been GREAT partners but in the end, that's where college football belongs: on campus. Certainly, we need to upgrade that facility to reach our goals in that regard.

On finding a new conference for UMass:

The best thing we can do to prepapre ourselves for a possible conference realignment is to raise our profile and increase the visibility of UMass Athletics. So much of the D1 conference landscape is uncontrollable. We need to focus on the things we can control -- primarily our own success and how we represent our brand.

On playing UConn more often:

You're welcome. This is fun. Our goal is to play UConn as much as possible. It's a natural fit for all of our sports and would be a great regional rivalry for UMass. I think UConn feels similarly but I will be connecting with their AD soon and should know more about how we can build something that will work for both schools.

On a 13th game for football in 2016:

We could because of our game at Hawaii and the NCAA provision that allows a 13th game. We do not have any intention of doing so however because a 13th game would likely consume the only BYE date we have on the schedule.

On whether UMass will have an FCS Homecoming Game in 2016:

That is our goal. I feel good about that happening.

On whether UMass will schedule future big-name opponents:

In a word, yes. We hope to always build schedules that challenge our programs competitively and attract interest from our fan base and the perhaps other people in the Commonwealth who may not have consumed UMass Athletics events in the past. Bringing nationally recognizable programs like Miss State to Massachusetts is a good start.

On dropping "Amherst" from UMass-Amherst:

Good question. This will evolve over time but we are going to look closely at our brand standards and make sure we have a strong primary mark and as much brand presence as possible. Anyone who has heard me speak about our program in the last 2 months has heard me reference University of Massachusetts Athletics...as the flagship, I don't think we need to add Amherst.

On building an multi-purpose indoor facility:

Would be a game changer for all sports and something that is certainly on my radar. We will be looking at a feasibility study this summer and weighing all options for a facility of this type. Timeline TBD.

http://umass.247sports.com/Article/Bamfo...s-37804074

There were more from the chat and like to add this one as well.

Welcome. Would you say that the new facilities (football performance center, champions center) match up with other top facilities across the country?

Yes! They are game changing facilities -- as good as any we had at GT and as good as most Power 5 conference schools.

http://www.umassathletics.com/genrel/061615aab.html

Adding Daniel Malone article from the Springfield Republican/MassLive
This article adds more body and additional statements as from Mark Whipple

Quote:Whipple mentioned something similar in his SiriusXM Radio spot last week. Constructing the new Football Performance Center and press box are just the first steps in what will have to be a major overhaul of the again McGuirk facility if UMass wants to be up to speed as an FBS program. Any future renovations figure to be tied closely with finding a new conference.

MassLive Article