(06-22-2015 09:56 PM)2Buck Wrote:  

(06-22-2015 06:44 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  

(06-22-2015 12:59 PM)2Buck Wrote:  UMass is at a crossroads. They haven't been dominant in basketball since the 90's and only one (?) NCAA appearance since then? It doesn't seem they've been benefiting from the multiple NCAA invites in the A-10 so if their hope is to improve football so their "whole package" is appealing to the AAC they're going to have to build up football in a lesser G-5 conference. C-USA is probably a better fit than MAC not only regionally (Marshall, ODU, and Charlotte would be better rivals) but I think C-USA has better basketball and more likely to get at-large bids.

Just like UCONN basketball alone is a tough sell to get UCONN into the P5 without football stepping up, I don't think UMass basketball is enough to get it into AAC without football stepping up. Pay your dues UMass, and you'll be better positioned for it. Something JMU's admin desperately needs to learn as well.

You think Marshall, ODU and Charlotte are a better fit for UMass geographically?

- Buffalo is closer than ODU
- Marshall and Ohio are the same distance
- 10 MAC schools are closer than Charlotte

now add in 3 teams from TX, 2 teams from FLA, etc. There is no way you can argue CUSA is better for UMass than the MAC in regards to travel distances.

I wasn't referring to the travel distances of all the members. I referring to building more "regional" rivalries with schools their students, alumni and fans would recognize and respond to. Buffalo is closest but what sort of history does UMass even have with them? Charlotte and UMass already have some history from A-10 and I don't have the time to research but I'd suspect they've played against Marshall and ODU in various sports over the years more than they did against the vast majority of MAC teams. The reason I'm pointing those few schools out is because they need to drive fan interest and the more schools their fans have an emotional engagement with the better.

It's not a knock against the MAC, it just seems that historically East Coast teams tend to play each other frequently up and down the coast compared with going across time zones. I may be wrong, but I'd tend to believe their fan base would be more familiar with more C-USA schools. But more so than that I think C-USA offers them a better opportunity to build basketball vs MAC and Sun Belt.

Top teams yes, Charlotte and Marshall. We do think more about up and down the the east coast more. Yes, C-USA offers us a better opportunity to build basketball vs MAC and Sun Belt.

That said we have more history with teams in the AAC, UConn and Temple.
UMass Opponent Series Page

BB Games by Conference
187 AAC
22 C-USA
19 MAC (includes 12 games that was part of the conference affiliation contract)