Officials from the Mid-American Conference visited the University of Massachusetts Tuesday as the conference determines whether to extend UMass an invitation to join the MAC's football league. A site visit would be an unusual step for a conference that didn't expect to make an invite.

Several UMass sources confirmed that the group examined facilities on campus and at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, where the school would likely play some home games if UMass elects to upgrade from its current Championship Subdivision (FCS) status to the Bowl Subdivision (FBS) which includes the MAC.

Athletic director John McCutcheon, who led the MAC officials on the tour, declined comment.

"I don't think it would be appropriate to comment," he said.

The MAC representatives will report back to the league's presidents, who'll decide if they want to invite UMass as a football-only member.

If UMass receives an invitation and chooses to accept, it could begin the process immediately. The Minutemen would spend two years as a transitional FBS team. In the first year, they could maintain their Colonial Athletic Association schedule, but wouldn't be eligible to participate in the FCS Playoffs. The following year, the Minutemen would be required to play a schedule of mostly FBS opponents. UMass would be able to recoup some of the expense of its upgrade by scheduling road games for guarantee money. The program received $550,000 for playing at Michigan last year. FBS schools generally receive larger guarantees than FCS schools do.

An upgrade would increase football scholarships from 63 to 85, forcing UMass to create more scholarship opportunities for women to be compliant with Title IX gender equity guidelines. It could remain in compliance without adding more women's teams or subtracting men's programs if it increased scholarships in programs that aren't currently fully funded. Those programs include women's track & field, swimming, crew and lacrosse.

The MAC currently has 13 members: 12 full members and Temple, a football-only member. It's uncertain whether UMass would have a similar basketball scheduling agreement with the MAC that Temple is currently tied to. The Owls annually play four of their men's nonconference games and six of their women's games against MAC opponents. Temple may be a key to UMass getting an invitation. The Owls are believed to be hoping for a return to the Big East. If Temple opts to leave the MAC, adding the Minutemen becomes less appealing to the league, which has most of its members based in Ohio and Michigan.

The league does not have an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series' elite bowls, but is affiliated with three smaller bowls - the Little Caesers Bowl in Detroit, the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Id. MAC teams are eligible for the New Orleans and Military Bowls if the conferences with affiliations with those two bowls don't have enough eligible teams to send. This year Temple finished 8-4 and did not receive a bid to a bowl.

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