Welcome UMass--Updated

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Tomorrow, the thing goes down.  Not that thing....the other thing.  You know.  With our friend....with the funny hat.

The MAC has a 3:30 presser tomorrow with the University of Massachusetts, presumably to announce that UMASS will transition to the FBS and play football in the MAC.  This has been rumored since December, though it always appeared very, very likely.

We can anticipate the UMASS will come in as a football-only school, like Temple is.  Whether the MAC gets scheduling preference for basketball--as they did with Temple--remains to be seen.

MAC fans typically despise the football-only arrangement.  I have heard the quote that Temple is "sleeping on the couch."  Well, OK.  But here in the real world, we have to know this.  I cannot imagine that either school wants to move all their sports to the MAC---both for competitive reasons and for travel.  Both have strong basketball commitments, and the A-10 is a top flight conference.  (UMASS plays in the CAA for football.)

And, by the way, do you think the MAC wants to be sending its baseball teams to Amherst, MA.  Didn't think so.

It is still good for the MAC.  First, if for no other reason, we are getting to an even number of teams, which means 7 in each division, which is logistically much more manageable.  (At times under these circumstances the MAC has decided not to count intra-division games, but that isn't the plan this time, IIRC).  And, UMASS can raise the competitive level of the conference, as Temple has and will.  It gives us bigger geography.

Is UMASS just using us as a stepping stone, ala Marshall and UCF.  Honest to god, who isn't?.  We're all in it for ourselves.  Who's using who?  Got me...

A COUPLE UPDATES:

First, Elton Alexander of the PD is reporting that UMass will have the same deal as Temple and will be required to schedule MAC teams in basketball.

Second, and perhaps the biggest issue to BG fans, would be the issue of divisions.  UMASS is clearly a team for the MAC East, which means that one of the East teams has to go...and they're looking at the MAC's perpetual division-movers, the BG Falcons.  There is some web scuttlebutt that the conference might go North-South, so that remains to be seen.

I don't really care if BG is in the East or West....I like playing Miami every year and we already play Toledo every year.  I thought we were getting a good thing going with Buffalo, and Miami is a natural rival.  Now, we pick up NIU and the Michigan schools along with Ball State.  All in all, I guess I like the East better but it isn't a big deal.

Problem comes with basketball.  You would have both non-basketball teams in the same division, meaning that you either play basketball with unmatched divisions (seemingly a logistical nightmare, at least the way games are scheduled today), or you have a team play in one division in football and one in basketball...for example, BG could play in the West for football and the East for basketball.  That seems illogical, but there's no real reason why it couldn't work....