I am what would probably be thought of as a casual football fan. I don’t really pay much attention to either the pro or college game until it gets close to the playoff season. In fact I can’t remember the last time I watched a game start to finish.
But, I do open the Gazette to the sports page and have noted headlines pointing to the futility of the UMass team in the last many years. I watched as the team tried (and failed) to create a program that could compete with teams in the Big Ten and the Southeast Conference. The hope of drawing enough fans to play in Foxboro was abandoned.
Last Saturday UMass had a scheduled game with Bryant University. Bryant is a 1AA school (a level below Division 1, where UMass competes). Bryant has about 3,200 undergraduates compared to UMass’s 24,000. It should have been an uphill climb for Bryant. In the end Bryant won.
It all makes me curious about the UMass program. How much money are we spending to support this rather pathetic effort? A quick Google search shows that the new coach, Joe Harasymiak, is making about $1.4 million this year. This makes him the third-highest salaried employee of the whole commonwealth. Hmmm … That’s a lot of emphasis on football. Are the taxpayers getting their money’s worth?
I have a proposal. I know next to nothing about football strategy and the X’s and O’s of the game. But, I would be willing to coach the team for only $400,000, thereby saving the taxpayers a cool $1,000,000. I’m pretty confident that I could get an equal result.
Silas Kopf
Northampton