AMHERST — For generations, the University of Massachusetts Marching Band has rallied students before the football team’s home games by parading through campus, horns wailing, flags spinning, drumline popping.
No longer. The tradition will end Saturday morning when the band’s 350 musicians board a convoy of motor coaches for a two-hour trek to the school’s home opener — at Gillette Stadium.
Comments
We used to tailgate at the Umass stadium before the game, during the first half, during the last half and after the game. At half time we'd go in to watch the band, they were amazing. The football, not so much.
This comment "Any notion of UMass joining Boston College and the University of Connecticut in the rarefied ranks of big-time college football will have to wait." is funny. BC is nowhere near any rarefied ranks of big-time college football right now. They stink. Also, might have been worth a mention that the new Big East commish mentioned a desire for a 14th Big East football member. Joining the BE in football would change the whole equation.
Utterly silly. Thank goodness Holub is gone. Unfortunatly, the kool-aid he mixed is still being drunk by some at UMass.
This is an ugly example of how disconnected college football has become from the educational institution itself. When I was a college student at FSU, we were admitted to football games free by flashing our ID cards. Is UMass going to bus the students to Gillette? Are they even going to be able to see a televised version in the lounges of their dorms? I'm sure the answer is "No."