1. Ever heard of conference reduction? That's the contract clause the MAC exercised on Massachusetts on Wednesday. After extending a football-only invite in 2012, the MAC offered UMass an all-sports membership, and the Minutemen declined. And now, UMass will leave the conference altogether after the 2015 season.
"I was aware of this possibility when I accepted the position of head coach, and I believe this move is in the university's best interest," head coach Mark Whipple said in the university's statement. The school plans to remain in FBS, but where? The Minutemen are a dreadful 2-22 overall since joining FBS. The MAC certainly won't miss an extreme geographic outlier that contributed all of two wins in its first two seasons. UMass would certainly love a bid to the American, but that would be a one-sided relationship. Perhaps Conference USA will throw UMass a lifeline, otherwise the program may have to attempt life as an FBS Independent with little to no footing.
Most of UMass' programs compete in the Atlantic-10, while the football program played in the CAA before joining the MAC.
2. After sitting by and watching Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and the like rake in the riches of hosting neutral-site college football games, Nashville wants a piece of the action. Music City Sports and Entertainment Group CEO Tammy Genovese told the (Nashville) Tennesseean that they are "60 to 90 days" from a major announcement to pit an SEC team against a non-conference foe at LP Field, possibly in 2016. Three and Out's official stance is that anything that puts major college football programs on the same field is a worthwhile endeavor but, you know, games on actual college campuses are pretty cool, too.
3. Marquette has an opening for a basketball coach, and WISN-TV in Milwaukee spoke to the state's most prominent athletics director, Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez, for comment on the search and coaches moving up the job ladder. "I think if you're coaching for money, you're in it for the wrong reasons," Alvarez said. "It's gotten so out of hand, and the number is up there, and you have to be competitive, but there are other factors -- the quality of life, the league that you're in, how competitive can you be, what's your recruiting base?"
Alvarez made $118,500 serving as a figurehead head coach for one game, the 2013 Rose Bowl.