UMass Off Season News Wednesday, February 3, 2010

I know that with the Super Bowl coming up what you really all want to read about is the Massachusetts Minutemen.

First things first. Although neither school has announced anything, there are reports that the next two UMass games against UNH will be played at Gillette Stadium.

I think this is a great opportunity, though it worries me a bit. UMass Basketball played Memphis earlier this year at TD Garden (where the Bruins and Celtics play) and the attendance was pathetic. It was a great game, but I was very disappointed that only the lowest level of the the arena was opened for seating and that was only about 80% full.

If the same thing happened for the football team, I can't imagine the uproar it would cause from people who want to cut football. I'm hoping for 30,000 for each game.

Secondly, it's National Letter of Intent Day. UMass added 11 recruits to go along with 6 Transfers. One is from Central Michigan which is FBS so he'll be able to play right away. The others are from Hofstra and Northeastern. As they both cut their programs, they will also be able to play right away.

Players of note are QB Brandon Hill who comes from the same hometown and went to the same high school as former Blue Hen Joe Flacco and LB Stanley Andre, who comes from the same hometown as yours truly. Here's the UMass release.