UMass Football Asked to Leave the MAC

Insert joke here...

No seriously. The University of Massachusetts and the Mid-American Conference will part ways in 2015. And aside from the requisite jokes being made due to the ineptitude of the Minutemen football program, there's actually a reason for this.

UMass was a football only member of the MAC, the basketball team plays in the Atlantic 10.

According to ESPN.com, UMass was asked to be a full-time member of the MAC, but decided to pass. The problem: The Atlantic 10 is a basketball only conference. And the MAC, well, they wanted all or nothing from the Minutemen.

Read more from ESPN.com RIGHT HERE

So...this has little to no impact on the MAC. They will become a 12-team conference. No big deal, even scheduling in 2016.

UMass has a bigger problem. Perennially one of the worst teams in the FBS (Division 1), they are a bad team now with no home. The school wants to stay where they are, the problem is, where do they go? Most of the smaller College Football programs in the Northeastern U.S are FCS (1-AA) teams. There are several that play in FBS, but they are all in power conferences. None of which would have any interest.

Not a huge story on the Sports landscape here, but an interesting one never the less and one that further enhances a question we often ask: What happens to the non-power schools in the FBS after the playoff and split happens?

And no, there's not a simple answer....

Miami's Jim Larranaga Wins USBWA Coach Of The Year Award

Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga

When the college basketball season began who thought that Miami would have a shot at the Final Four?  If you did I hope you put money down on the Hurricanes in the Las Vegas sports books.

The Hurricanes won the ACC Championship Sunday and Tuesday Jim Larranaga won the Henry Iba Award as the national coach of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association of America.

"Coach L definitely deserves this award because of his passion for the game of basketball and his dedication to the team and the University of Miami," Miami point guard Shane Larkin said. "He said he would take this program to the top, and in only year two, we are ACC champions."

Larranaga has made Miami Hurricane basketball relevant in the city with boasts the current and more than likely repeat NBA Champions, the Miami Heat.  Heck Lebron James and Dewayne Wade were big Hurricane fans showing up at the Bank United Center to catch a game. 

Hurricane basketball was a hotter ticket that Heat games when Duke and North Carolina came to Coral Gables.

Every year I have the privilege to vote for the Henry Iba Award and as much as I love what Jim Larranaga has accomplished in two short years at Miami I voted for Jim Crews at Saint Louis U.

Believe me my heart was with Larranaga but couldn't pull the trigger.

Saint Louis U Head Coach Jim Crews

Jim Crews wasn't suppose to be the head coach of the Billikens, it was Rick Majerus.  Last August Majerus took a leave of absence because to health issues and Crews became the interim head coach.

Of course you know those health issues took Majerus' life last December.

All Crews did was lead SLU to the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 27-6 record and a four seed in the Midwest Regional.

The Sporting News recognized Crews as it's national coach of the year last week.  Yet with all the accolades and success it's not guaranteed that Crews will be SLU's coach next season.

Saint Louis athletic director Chris May is not committing to Crews long term but would rather wait and evaluate the program at the end of the season.

The SLU job is much more attractive that it was when Majerus took the gig and there will be many interested candidates.

Perhaps the best man for the job is already there.

A Billiken Blast Of Butler. Saint Louis U Ambushes The Bulldogs

10,612 Saint Louis U fans, the largest crowd at ever Chaifetz Arena saw their Billikens ambush ninth ranked Butler 75-58.

"We pretty much got punked," Butler guard Rotnei Clarke said. "End of story. There's not really much to say about it. We got outclassed and we got punked."

Witness for yourself how Butler got punked.  (Thanks SaintLouisBillikens)

 

Butler head coach Brad Stevens had a difference of opinion.  Stevens actually admired what he was seeing from Saint Louis U.

"I absolutely loved the way they moved the ball," Stevens said. "It was an absolute joy to watch one team play. The problem was, it wasn't the team I coached."

The team Stevens coaches was stifled by the Billikens defense shooting only 43 percent from the field, 37 percent in the first half.

Saint Louis shot 50 percent for the game and was led by Jordair Jett with 19 points.

"We were just thinking `Step on it. Make the lead go bigger," Jett said. "That's how we play.”

"Everyone was just focused. `Let's not waste a possession," Saint Louis head coach Jim Crews said. "I think our guys did a nice job of sustaining that mentality."

Clarke might have felt punked himself only shooting 5-12 from the field.  Clark finished the game with 17 points to lead the Bulldogs.

The good thing for Butler is that it’s just one game in a marathon college basketball season. 

"We've got to bounce back from this," Stevens said.

The Butler coach knows this loss must be forgotten.

Going back to Hinkle Fieldhouse will help.  The Bulldogs next two games are in their old barn hosting Rhode Island Saturday then St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night.

BUZZER BEATER: Gonzaga a victim of "Hinkle Magic". Jones Hits The Shot For Butler

I know it’s an overused phrase but I”ve got to say it.  The Butler did it again. 

This time it’s sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones who ended this Butler/Gonzaga dogfight with a buzzer beater at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

"I heard their coach saying to lob it to [Kelly] Olynyk, so I just played behind him, made the basketball play and got the steal," Jones said. "I looked at the clock and saw four seconds, so I knew I could get down court. I saw Olynyk come up to me and I floated it over him."

"This was a little bit of Hinkle magic, I guess," Butler head coach Brad Stevens said.

Jones led Butler in scoring with 20 points shooting 7 of 10 from the field.  16 points came in the second half.

This is what you get when you have the “gold standards” of the mid-majors face off.  Some think Gonzaga and Butler are now brand names that resonate in college basketball.  I totally agree.

Butler to the Atlantic 10: Effective this year

If you are a fan of the Butler Bulldogs, you are going to have to learn your new conference a little faster than you thought.

Butler announced this afternoon (Tuesday) they've reached an agreement with their now former conference...the Horizon...to speed up the move to the Atlantic 10 by a year.

In other words, they start A-10 play...this season (2012).

Read the school's press release RIGHT HERE

Good for the Bulldogs.

And the Atlantic 10, which along with the addition of Virginia Commonwealth, becomes what will be considered the premier "Mid-Major" conference in college hoops.

Quite honestly, we don't know why a conference (Big East) would make someone who has agreed to leave, play a lame-duck season or 3 before they are allowed to go. It doesn't do anything to foster relationships among the member schools and basically just makes group meetings really, really awkward.

VCU moves to Atlantic 10 and is moving fast

((ht: times-dispatch.com))

It's not "Galactic" in terms of realignment, but its very interesting if you are a basketball fan.

Virginia Commonwealth University announced today (Tue) they are leaving the Colonial Athletic Association and heading to the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Oh...they are leaving in July.

Of this year.

It will cost $250,000 to bail out and $750,000 to join their new band of friends. Small change for most.

VCU as many of you know is a small, but highly recognized basketball program that was in the NCAA Final Four as recently as 2011. Coincidentally, the team they played back then, Butler, is moving to the A-10 with them.

Read more about the move from Times-Dispatch.com RIGHT HERE

Check out FOSG Greg Burton of ESPN 950's interview with Colonial Prez Tom Yeager and VCU's Mark Ellis, you can find the interview RIGHT HERE

While not doing much for football, the Atlantic 10 is primarily a basketball conference. And its loaded with the so-called "Mid-Majors". Between VCU, Butler, current member Xavier and others, there is some seriously good basketball teams in the conference.

Conversly, the Colonial is dying a slow death. VCU's departure, combined with Georgia State leaving for the Sun Belt, leaves them with a slew of very small basketball schools. They are primarily a FCS Football conference, which is not as significant.

Sure, we know it isn't exciting...unless you are a basketball fan, but it is sort of interesting as conferences both big and small continue adding and subtracting with nobody knowing for sure just what the landscape is going to look like in the next couple of years.


Friend of the OSG Lane Casadante of WTVR in Richmond provides us video of the presser with VCU President Michael Rao:

DEVELOPING: VCU To A-10 In 2013

((HT: CSNWashington))

Ben Standig is reporting that the Rams are heading to the Atlantic-10 conference for the 2013 season as part of the replacements for Charlotte's move to Conference USA and Temple's move to the Big East.

The Rams join Butler as new neighbors and could be there as Old Dominion looks to possibly leave the conference in the near future since they need to look out for the football interests in other places than the Colonial Athletic Association.

Galactic Realignment guru, CBS Sports Brett McMurphy, says that fellow soon-to-be-ex CAA'er George Mason wasn't even invited to the transfer dance.

On Friday, George Mason, which along with VCU and Butler had discussions with the Atlantic 10, announced it was staying in the CAA. However, sources told CBSSports.com at the present time the Atlantic 10 was looking to add only one more school and VCU got the nod over Mason.

And this gets VCU out of a one-bid CAA as well...

Here's the early news from NBC12 in Richmond...

More when we know more...