Opinion

Editorial

UMass Football: A Risk Worth Taking

We can easily understand why there is considerable skepticism about the decision at UMass Amherst to take its football program up a considerable notch to what’s known as the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
Indeed, this move, which involves taking the school’s home games to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, home to the NFL’s New England Patriots, comes complete with a big set of risks and question marks. Many are questioning the school’s contention that this move makes more economic sense than staying put in the Colonial Athletic Assoc., and they base this skepticism on questions ranging from ‘does anyone want to watch the Minutemen play Ball State?’ to ‘will students at the university board buses and kill a Saturday to take in football in Foxborough?’ to ‘just how many alumni living in the eastern part of the state will come out and support this team?’
These are all good questions, and many would answer them in a fashion that would fuel doubts about whether this move makes any sense at all.
But we think this is a risk — and there’s no other word for it — that is well worth taking at this time.
We won’t say the university has nothing to lose, because that’s simply not true; there’s plenty to lose, including money, time, and face. But there’s also plenty to gain, in terms of potential revenue, momentum, and much-needed respect and legitimacy — both in this state and well outside it.
What we like about this move is that it is consistent with others at the university to become more visible and also to become more of a force in this region and across the state. Of far more importance in these efforts is the work being done in the classrooms, the labs, and downtown Springfield, where the university is assuming a much greater presence. But football can be a part of it.
And in even simpler terms, we like the fact that university officials are reaching higher, and not settling for the status quo or moving backward. We could use a little more of that in this region. Despite all the questions about economics and geography (see story, page 6), we believe that this move sends a strong message that is consistent with other endeavors aimed at taking this school to a higher level.
As we said earlier, moving up a notch in football is nowhere near as important as the work UMass is doing off the gridiron. It’s certainly not as vital to this region’s or this state’s economic vitality as the efforts undertaken in conjunction with Baystate Health and other partners at the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute. Or the work being done to promote entrepreneurship and mentor young business owners and thus providing them with better odds of succeeding, and succeeding in this area code. Or the initiatives being undertaken in conjunction with area precision machinists to develop new products, niches, and ways of doing business. Or the efforts to help stimulate a creative economy in Springfield’s central business district.
All of these are far more important and impactful than a move to the Mid-America Conference, games in a bigger stadium that may be only a quarter-full for many contests, the likelihood of a Thursday-night game on ESPN against Temple or the University of Buffalo, or, dare we dream, a trip to the Little Caesars Bowl some night in late December years down the road.
But football can be a part of taking this university to where everyone wants to see it go — a place of prominence, on par with the private institutions that have given this state its reputation as the place where the world comes to get an education.
We wish the Minutemen well in this endeavor. It could be a winning proposition in so many ways.