The UMass football program accounts for $9 million of the athletic department’s $40 million budget. “When I got here five years ago that was a topic of discussion.” “I think there were people that were challenging that but not in the recent past,” said Bamford. Those rumblings are what greeted Bamford when he was hired in March 2015. There was talk about UMass returning to the FCS or eliminating football and redirecting the savings toward its basketball, hockey and lacrosse programs. There were grumblings that UMass football had gotten in over its head playing the tough non-league opponents while being the laughingstock of the MAC.
The Minutemen went 2-22 overall and 2-14 in the MAC before he was fired on Dec. McCutcheon introduced Notre Dame offensive coordinator Charley Molnar as the Minutemen’s new head coach during a splashy press conference at Gillette Stadium. He negotiated a deal with the Patriots that would allow UMass to play its home games at Gillette Stadium, which caused an immediate surge in season tickets and enhanced the Minutemen’s credibility.īut McCutcheon made the most unforgivable mistake an A.D. “We obviously want to make the right decisions that are in the best interest of our student athletes and our staff, but also our institution.”įormer AD John McCutcheon spearheaded the push to UMass into the FBS, lured by the guaranteed revenues for playing at Power-5 destinations and greater television exposure. “It is my decision in concert with the chancellor, our public health officials here on campus, and our medical staff,” said Bamford. UMass is scheduled to play UConn and New Mexico State and has done some home and home scheduling with Brigham Young in the past. UMass and its six siblings are in the unique position to call their own shots on football because they are not subjected to edicts issued by some league’s board of governors. The others are Notre Dame, Brigham Young, UConn, New Mexico State, Liberty and Army. UMass is one of seven Independent programs in the FBS. But we also missed spring football because of the pandemic in late March and April.” “At the end of the day for us, the fall football season is extremely important if we can get it in. “We want to be smart and strategic about the way we continue to advance our guys every day in a healthy environment and we’ve been able to do that so far. “I told Walt and we talk regularly, two or three times a day, to continue and progress as if we are going to play a football game against UConn on Sept. “We can start voluntary workouts and they will go into camp on August 3. “Right now, we have our student athletes back and the football student athletes are the only group back here and they have been quarantining for the last couple of weeks,” said Bamford. The players are working out at McGuirk Stadium under the assumption they will conduct training camp in August and open the season at UConn on Sept. Minuteman coach Walt Bell, along with his coordinators, assistants and staff, are on campus and planning ahead despite the coronavirus disruptions that rocked the terrain of college athletics. “I think everybody, us included in the A-10, are looking to understand what this is going to do to the entire industry and environment for Division 1 athletics come the fall.” “There are a lot of conferences and schools out there looking to see what the landscape is and obviously this could be the tipping point in some respects,” said Bamford. The A-10 has already postponed its fall sports to the spring. UMass is a member of the Atlantic 10 in all sports except football and ice hockey. That appears to be a fool’s errand with COVID-19 cases spiking throughout the south and west.