University of Massachusets Athletics
Ask Ian Answers
 |  Athletic Director Ian McCaw |
Feb. 17, 2003
Mr. McCaw:
Where can I find a Jeff Viggiano jersey? I go to high school at his rival high school WLHS and several other players on our team and I wanted to know where to get his jersey.
Joel Weisel
Windsor Locks, Conn.
Dear Joel:
Jeff Viggiano has made a wonderful impact in his freshman year at UMass. You are not the first to express interest in a #22 replica jersey. We have generic UMass jerseys on sale at all home games. We are currently looking into having numbered Nike replica jerseys for next season.
Thanks for the question.
Ian
Dear Ian:
As a frequent attendee of events at Mullins, I find the post game interviews on the radio with Coach Cahoon and Coach Lappas worth listening to on the car ride home. The interview with Coach Dacko unfortunately takes place within seconds after the end of the game and is long over with before any of us who attend women's basketball can get to our cars. How about using your influence and suggesting that Coach Dacko be interviewed towards the end of the post-game show, the way Cahoon and Lappas are?
Leslie Fraidstern
Northampton, Mass.
Dear Leslie:
Thanks for the question about the women's basketball post-game show. We have requested that WMUA have Coach Dacko's post-game comments later in their programming.
We appreciate your interest and support of women's basketball!
Ian
Hi Ian:
Could you describe your duties as Chairman of the NCAA Hockey Tournament Selection Committee. How much time is spent on this responsibility before it comes time to actually make the selections? Also, could you describe the selection process the committee goes through?
Hope to see the hockey team as get its named called by the committee this year.
Thanks,
Mark Coogan
Northampton, Mass.
Mark,
This will be my fourth year on the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee, and my first year as chair of the committee. We are fortunate to have outstanding committee members who work with the NCAA staff to conduct the championship.
Our committee along with the staff are responsible for organizing and administering the championship, including the regional tournaments and Frozen Four. We deal with national college hockey issues and legislation, and make the tournament selections and bracketing for each championship.
The selection process involved using the agreed upon criteria including RPI, won-loss record, record versus teams under consideration, strength of schedule, etc. to determine the 10 best at-large teams to go along with the six teams who earn automatic qualification based upon winning a league championship. We then seed the teams and create brackets that ensure competitive equity, avoid first round intra-conference match-ups and maximize attendance.
I share your hope that the Minutemen will be in the NCAA field.
Ian
Dear Ian:
Please give this to the proper people. My wife, 12 year old son and I went to 4-5 UMass Hockey games last year as well as four UMass basketball games. We really enjoyed it all, but especially the hockey.
The hockey team has been a real pleasant surprise this season. We became season ticket holders for the first time ever in any sport.
We have made every game and for the most part the crowds have been great. However, this morning I was reading a letter to the sports editor of the Springfield Union News about the profanity at the game against UNH.
There was a real good crowd with a lot of children there. The fans sitting behind us were very loud and vocal which we don't mind. But they started using inappropriate language regularly and my wife kept looking at me because we were there with our 12 year old and it was making the situation uncomfortable.
We love the games, and this is our first time ever as season ticket holders to anything, and we have seen an increase in children at the games, but this type of behavior really needs to be addresses by the Mullins Center staff.
Thanks again
Robert Vogel Jr.
West Springfield, Mass.
Robert,
Fan behavior and sporting conduct have become widely discussed national issues this year particularly after some of the incidents this past football season around the country.
In general, UMass fans do a wonderful job supporting our teams. However, we have had several isolated issues this year where fan behavior has been unacceptable. Although there are no easy answers in this area, we are currently working on a plan to address improve the atmosphere at our contests and encourage all of our fans to cheer for the Minutemen and also show respect to our opponents.
I hope you and your family continue to enjoy our games, and thanks for purchasing season tickets this year.
Ian
Mr. McCaw:
I was wondering what the criteria is for retiring basketball jerseys. I see that Trigger Burke and Dr. J are the only jerseys retired. Jim McCoy carried UMass as a freshman and for that matter all his years here-I believe he also graduated-he personified what a student-athlete is. I would love to see his jersey up in the rafters.
Thank you
Debbie Cheetham
West Springfield, Mass.
Debbie,
The UMass Athletic Hall of Fame committee has responsibility for annually selecting the inductees as well as retiring jersey numbers. This committee will meet in the spring to select next year's honorees as well as consider any jersey retirement candidates.
I had an opportunity to meet Jim McCoy at the Hall of Fame dinner this year and he is a credit to the men's basketball program and the University.
Thanks for your question.
Ian
Dear Ian:
In my office we have several people that attended one of the old Yankee Conference and current A-10 schools and we have a great time talking about the happenings in the various sports, especially, football. We are strong I-AA fans and love the playoffs that the division holds each year. At this time I would like to see the program continue in 1-AA. Before a move to 1-A should be considered, I feel that the school needs to build a team that consistently goes deep into the playoffs on a regular basis. I feel that Coach Whipple is doing a great job in moving the team in this direction and the University should work very hard to keep him around, much like Delaware had the same coach for so many years, in Tubby Raymond.
My question is related to the schedule for the football team for 2003. It seems that most of the other schools have released their 2003 schedules back in December, yet when I check the UMass athletics web site, I can still only get the 2002 schedule. Has the '03 schedule been finalized and if so, when will it be released and published on the website?
Jim Leavitt, '77
Tewksbury, Mass.
Jim,
Thanks for your questions about football. As you may have noticed, we just completed the 2003 football schedule in recent weeks and announced it earlier this week. UMass has seven home games in its 12-game schedule this year and a Division I-A game at Kansas State. We are looking forward to another exciting and successful season.
Best wishes.
Ian
Dear Ian:
The traffic leaving the Mullins Center is terrible. The traffic flow relies on the traffic signals to keep everything moving. The lights seem to be set for a normal traffic flow. However after the game the flow is not normal--it's going in one direction, outward from the Mullins Center. There sems to be enough police presence around, but few directing traffic. After the Temple game there was a cruiser parked by Mullins Way, but no traffic on Mullins Way. At the corner by Boyden the traffic turning east, toward the Amherst center was backed up, waiting for the light to change, with no traffic going through on the opposite side. Perhaps the officer at Mullins Way could have signaled cars through this light. Earlier this year I experienced the same thing going out by the Grad Research Center on North Pleasant St. When I've gone to UConn games, a similar situation that exists at UMass, the police move the traffic out quickly. Is there anything you can do to improve this?
Michael Quinlan
Northampton, Mass.
Michael,
We are constantly reviewing our security and trafficing measures at home games and interacting with campus police. Our staff has the sense that traffic flow has been better this year than in previous seasons and we have had a minimal number of complaints. We will continue to work on this.
Thanks for your thoughts and support!
Ian
Dear Ian:
UMass lost one of the best PR tools during & right after the Calipari era in terms of exposure, recognition and notability. This failure to capitalize on this situation was a key downfall of the past administration. What are some of your ideas to restore some of this luster and then NOT let it slip away?
Thomas Massetti
Ormond Beach, Fla.
Thomas,
We are spending a disproportionate amount of time and energy on enhancing our marketing efforts at this point. My feeling is that UMass athletics has room for improvement in the areas of outreach and customer service. We have initiated a number of new programs in the ticket office including town days and birthday parties that have been well received. We are planning a spring tour for our coaches to connect with alumni and friends around the Commonwealth. We are preparing to introduce a new logo and branding campaign this summer. All of these strategies will compliment our programs as they enjoy competitive success in the years to come.
All the best!
Ian