Monday, March 18, 2024

UMass Football News--March 18th, 2024


 Joining the MAC brings tangible benefits to the Minutemen right away as UMass will receive $1.7 million in college football playoff revenue.

More on ESPN's contract with the CFP here.

I think the CFP will be tremendous ratings success and revenue will increase in future years. The money will be in addition to the MAC's media contract. The funds can be invested in the program, or maybe one of the buy games can be done away with.

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The Hampshire Gazette has a post interviewing UMass football and basketball recruits about the move to the MAC.

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The Athol Daily News has a story about Scott Woodward returning to New England as coach at Middlesex.

Woodard was a four-year letter-man for the Minutemen from 2006 to 2009. In addition, he was an assistant coach for UMass 2016-2018.

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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

UMass Football Blog News--March 13th, 2024

UPDATE: Saturday, 03/16 . Surgery went well. The really big sling/shoulder-harness is a pain in the ass. I hope to restart the blog Monday. See you then.

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Hi Everyone. I'm having shoulder surgery---in about five hours, to repair my rotator cuff. I expect the blog to be offline for a while.

I'll probably be really bored because of the constraints of the sling I'll have to wear for four to six weeks. So, I'll probably be back blogging (typing one-handed) fairly quickly.

Ever read any of e.e. cummings poetry? Who needs capital letters anyway :)

Hopefully, see you soon.

Regards,

Frank

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Cade Wilhelmi

Brandon Folsom image

 Cade Wilhelmi, a 6-5 275 pound OL from Franklin, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has junior highlights. 

This article covers his visit to Purdue. 

This article reports on his visit to West Virginia.

Wilhelmi has nine offers including Power Five schools West Virginia and BC. Just about all the MAC plus UMass have also offered. He could get an east coast education and also find a lot of playing time Amherst.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--John Baker

Baker #9, YouTube image

 John Baker, a 6-6 215 pound TE from Cass Technical in Detroit, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

The Red Zone notes his offer from UMass. 

This article covers his visit to Michigan State. 

Baker has thirteen offers including Power Five teams Kentucky, Louisville and West Virginia. A number of MAC schools have offered including UMass. There is a lot of playing time available in Amherst and he could be a good fit with the Minutemen.

Monday, March 11, 2024

UMass Football News--March 11th, 2024

 The Daily Collegian has what the move to the MAC means for UMass football.

The Collegian also has the benefits and challenges of UMass basketball moving to the MAC. 

The Collegian also has "The MAC Conference, special edition".

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The Eastern Echo notes the Eagles will travel to UMass one week before meeting national runner-up Washington in Seattle

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If you missed it, the MAC will scrap divisions in favor of three-team pods for 2024.

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Yahoo Sports looks at the future college football playoffs and the scramble for the massive amount of money it will generate.

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Paul Finebaum says Group-of-Five teams don't belong in the CFP. We don't want to share any of that cash with the peasants.

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Saturday, March 09, 2024

UMass Football News--March 9th, 2024

 


The UMass "Midnight Ride" collective has their latest "Outside Amherst" pod cast up.

It must have been recorded prior to Wednesday's MAC intro press conference as they talk about how Basketball coach Frank Martin will feel about the change in conferences. I thought Frank was the star of the press conference. He got me fired up. I think UMass basketball is in good hands and has a bright future. 

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In more OT: I watched the Dayton-VCU  game on TV last evening. Remember when Coach Cal got a technical in the NCAA's for being out of the coaches box? In last night's game, both team's coaches were out on the court while the game was in play. In one sequence, on VCU's end of the court, the VCU coach walked about five feet onto the court and pushed his player in the direction he wanted him to go. Another time, one of the refs put his arm around Dayton's coach and towed him off. No technicals were called..

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The Hampshire Gazette has the timeline that led to UMass joining the MAC.

The Gazette reports MAC coaches are familiar with UMass. 

The Gazette also has a post on what made the Minutemen attractive to the MAC.

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Hustle Belt has a post on the UMass introductory MAC press conference. 

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College Football News  predicts UMass will go 0-10 in its 2024 FBS games

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Friday, March 08, 2024

UMass Football News--March 8th, 2024

 

If you didn't get a chance to watch the MAC conference introductory press conference yesterday, I'd recommend it.

A.D. Bamford hinted at a capital campaign to upgrade the football facilities and area surrounding the stadium. Chancellor Reyes also seemed as if he was on board for more investments in athletics.

The star of the show was basketball coach Frank Martin who said he was at UMass to win and he was excited about the future of UMass hoops. 

After a decade of wandering in the desert, maybe yesterday was the inflection point for UMass football and basketball. 

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The Hampshire Gazette looks at the timeline behind the move to the MAC.

Western Mass News has a post on UMass coaches reaction to the change in conferences.

The Recorder covers the press conference and the statements by the MAC commissioner and the UMass brain trust. 

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Fox will add a slate of Friday night college football games this year. 

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College Football's early signing period may be moved to the first week of December.

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Thursday, March 07, 2024

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Justin Bell

Hudl.com image

 Justin Bell, a 6-8 288 pound OT from Macomb, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article covers his offer from Indiana.

Bell has nine offers including Power Five Indiana and Louisville. Most of the MAC has offered. There is a lot of playing time available in Amherst as well as the best food in college football.