ESPN's Dave Brown Stepping Into Role Of Matchmaker For UMass Football Schedule

While UMass searches for a new AD, the school is "set to utilize the services" of ESPN VP/College Sports Programming Dave Brown to "help fill" the '16 football schedule, according to Matt Vautour of the DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE. UMass "needs to add at least three home games for that season." Sources from the athletic department said that the school has approached Brown to "help serve as a scheduling matchmaker of sorts." Brown has "provided similar help to other schools needing scheduling assistance." Former AD John McCutcheon and former Assistant AD Garrett Waller "did most of the work scheduling football games." But Waller "left for Rhode Island" in '13 and McCutcheon left to become the Univ. of California-Santa Barbara AD "earlier this month." Before McCutcheon left, he was "in discussions with ESPN to broadcast UMass home games online at ESPN3 during the school’s seasons as an independent." UMass is "scheduling under the expectation of being an independent" for the '16-18 seasons (DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE, 2/27).