UMass football moves up to FBS; will play at Gillette

[Wolfpack]

I meant that Kraft probably has some sort of assurance that UMASS will get a "big time" opponent (not BC) to come and play UMASS.

And I'm saying no such assurance exists. Non-conference games are literally scheduled by 2 schools agreeing to play each other, so the only one who could give such an assurance would be the athletic director of such a program. There's no commissioner who can promise Kraft "OK, I'll make sure you host a big draw like Texas, Alabama or Notre Dame within a few years." And the reason why big name programs don't make road trips to crappy little programs (either 1-AA schools or the small conference 1-A schools) is because there's not enough money in it.

Don't get me wrong... UMass would certainly love to host such a school. But no such school is going to waste a precious week of playing football on such a trip. A school like Texas makes a heckuva lot more money by hosting their own crappy little program than they would by making a road trip to a crappy little program. UMass will not be hosting anybody more prestigious than the likes of BC, UConn, Temple, and the occasional 1-AA school like UNH or UMaine.