Coverage from:
The Daily Hampshire Gazette - 4/3 Final game?
The Daily Hampshire Gazette - 4/4 Says he's staying
The Daily Hampshire Gazette - 4/5 Still promising to be back
The Daily Hampshire Gazette - 4/7 More LSU candidates
The Daily Hampshire Gazette - 4/9 Ford rules out LSU
The Daily Hampshire Gazette - 4/10 Providence comes courting
UMass Athletics - 4/10 Ford to remain as coach
UMass Athletics - 4/10 Press conference Video
UMass Athletics - 4/10 Pictures Pictures
The Daily Hampshire Gazette - 4/11 Says he'll be back at team banquet
The Daily Hampshire Gazette - 4/16 Leaves for Oklahoma State


Ford still promising to be back
By Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire Gazette Staff Writer, 4/5/2008

AMHERST - While the Internet continues to buzz with stories about Travis Ford going to Louisiana State, Ford continues to suggest that he will be back in Amherst for a fourth season as the University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach.

The UMass athletic Web site Friday included a letter from Ford to fans thanking them for their season-long support and especially during the national Invitation Tournament.

The Minutemen completed a 25-11 season with a 92-85 loss to Ohio State in the NIT championship game Thursday night.

After the game Ford said he plans to coach UMass in 2008-09.

And in his online letter, Ford makes repeated references to next year while urging fans to be as passionate in their support at the Mullins Center as they were this week at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"I look forward to next season and seeing all of you pack the Mullins Center to support what is sure to be, once again, a high-energy up-tempo team," Ford wrote. "I look forward to seeing that energy and enthusiasm at Mullins next season."

LSU Friday night hired Joe Alleva as its new athletic director. Alleva had the same position at Duke. LSU can now more forward with its search for a new basketball coach.

Ford has been reported by media in Louisiana as well as ESPN as the front runner to succeed John brady at LSU.

John Lombardi, the chancellor at UMass when Ford was hired, now heads the Louisiana State University system.

If he returns to UMass, Ford will have a different roster and possibly changes in his staff. Associate head coach Tim Maloney has been listed as one of four finalists for the vacant Jacksonville State head coaching position and could be in the mix for the opening at Marist as well.

In addition to departing seniors Gary Forbes, Etienne Brower and Dante Milligan, the future of several other players is uncertain.

Freshmen Matt Glass, Gary Correia and Papa Lo all seemed to establish themselves as key contributors for the Minutemen in coming seasons.

But where the rest of the freshman class fit in is unclear.

Max Groebe, who began the season getting the most minutes of any of the rookies, disappeared down the stretch. He left the team and the country to attend to a family matter and did not play or practice during the NIT.

With Wake Forest transfer Anthony Gurley and freshman Dave Gibbs added to the mix next season, Groebe could be pushed further down the bench.

It would be hard to get pushed much further down the bench than Trey Lang, Matt Hill and Sedale Jones. The trio, who barely played at all this season, could be looking for more playing time elsewhere.

Ford or his replacement will have to sort out the team's scholarship picture because 15 players are in the mix for the 12 available grants. That includes Jones, a walk-on hoping to earn a scholarship.

NOTE: Forbes is one of 64 seniors expected to participate in the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational from Wednesday through April 12. It is the oldest amateur basketball tournament in the country and a showcase for future professional players.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.


More LSU candidates emerge
By Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire Gazette Staff Writer, 4/7/2008

The weekend came and went and Travis Ford is still the head coach of the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team.

After the Minutemen lost the National Invitation Tournament championship game Thursday, Ford went to the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio amidst widespread rumors that he would likely be offered the head coaching job at Louisiana State University.

During the weekend other candidates have emerged - Mike Brey at Notre Dame - or reemerged - Scott Drew at Baylor - for the LSU vacancy.

Ford, who led the Minutemen to back-to-back NIT berths told reporters after Thursday's 92-85 loss to Ohio State that he expected to be back at UMass and reinforced that in a letter to fans posted online Friday.

LASME'S BROTHER TO BRYANT - Romeric Lasme, a student at the Winchendon School and the younger brother of former UMass standout Stephane Lasme, has given Bryant University a verbal commitment and plans to enroll as a freshman at the school in Smithfield, R.I., for the 2008-09 season, Bryant's first as a Division I program.

UMass earlier had recruited Romeric Lasme.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.


Ford rules out LSU job
By Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire Gazette Staff Writer, 4/9/2008

Tired of hearing the rumors linking him to the Louisiana State University head coaching vacancy, University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Travis Ford issued a statement Tuesday saying he would not take that job.

"I would like to make clear that I do not want to be considered for the head job at LSU," said Ford in a statement distributed by UMass. "There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about me and the job at LSU. I feel that it is necessary to state that I do not want to be considered for the job."

Ford was not available for further comment.

Ford was considered a likely candidate for the vacancy when coach John Brady was fired in early February. John Lombardi, who was the chancellor at UMass when Ford was hired, now heads the LSU system.

When LSU had not interviewed any candidates by early last week, speculation about Ford continued as people assumed it was waiting for the Minutemen's season to end. In his third year at UMass, Ford coached the Minutemen to a 25-11 record and their first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament championship game Thursday which they lost 92-85 to Ohio State.

Ford said after the NIT that he expected to be back at UMass next year, but that didn't slow the rumors.

LSU's search remained stalled until Joe Alleva was hired as the school's athletic director Friday.

Ford's statement Tuesday specifically targets the LSU job, leaving open the possibility that he could be interested in another coaching vacancy. But as of now, he is not considered a candidate at Oklahoma State and has not appeared to show interest about the job at Providence College.


Friars court Ford
By Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire Gazette Staff Writer, 4/10/2008

One day after releasing a statement that he was not interested in the coaching vacancy at Louisiana State, University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Travis Ford is showing interest in Providence College.

FoxSports.com reported Wednesday afternoon that Ford was offered the coaching job at Providence after meeting with athletic director Bob Driscoll. The Providence Journal's Web site reported that Ford and his wife Wednesday afternoon toured the Dunkin' Donuts Center where the Friars play.

Calls to Ford's cell phone were not returned Wednesday.

UMass athletic director John McCutcheon stuck to his policy of not commenting on whether a school had asked permission to speak to any of his coaches. He also said it would be inappropriate to comment on whether UMass is in position to make Ford a counteroffer should any other school express interest in hiring him.

Providence sports information director Arthur Parks said the school has not scheduled a press conference.

Ford, 38, emerged as a possible candidate at Providence as soon as coach Tim Welsh was fired in mid-March.

But as the Minutemen advanced to the April 3 championship game in the National Invitation Tournament, the Friars focused their attention on George Mason coach Jim Larranaga, a Providence alumnus.

After Larranaga elected to stay in Virginia, the Friars briefly considered Larry Brown, who won a national championship at Kansas but has spent most of his coaching career in the professional ranks, and Ohio University coach Tim O'Shea.

Now Driscoll appears to have shifted his attention to Ford and could likely offer him a significant raise.

Under the contract extension Ford signed a year ago after his second season at UMass, he is scheduled to receive a base salary of $200,000 that could increase to approximately $400,000 with benefits and incentives.

Because Providence is a private school, its contract figures are not public information. But the Providence Journal reported that Welsh was paid approximately $800,000 per season and that Larranaga was offered about $1 million.

Providence fired Welsh after the Friars finished 15-16 in 2007-08 and lost to West Virginia in the first round of the Big East Tournament. Welsh was 160-143 in 10 years in Providence, and his teams reached the NCAA Tournament twice and the NIT three times.

Ford released a statement Tuesday that he was not interested in the Louisiana State coaching job, but targeted his statement only at that school.

"I would like to make clear that I do not want to be considered for the head job at LSU," Ford stated. "There has been a lot misinformation circulating about me and the job at LSU. I feel that it is necessary to state that I do not want to be considered for the job."

Whether Ford was being considered by LSU when he made that statement is unclear. LSU now intends to hire Stanford coach Trent Johnson.

Ford's statement left open the possibility that he would be interested in other jobs.

Ford is 62/35 In three years at UMass and the Minutemen have advanced to the NIT each of the past two seasons.

The UMass basketball team's end-of-the-season banquet is tonight at the Campus Center.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.


Travis Ford To Remain As Head Coach At UMass
John McCutcheon and Travis Ford made the announcement on Thursday prior to the team's banquet
From UMass Athletics, 4/10/2008

AMHERST, Mass. - Prior to the men's basketball team banquet on Thursday night, UMass Athletic Director John McCutcheon and head men's basketball coach Travis Ford announced that Ford will remain with the Minutemen. Ford was interviewed by Providence College on Wednesday, but has decided to stay in Amherst.

The Minutemen are coming off a 25-11 season and were finalist in the NIT Championship. In three years at UMass, Ford is 62-35 (.639) leading UMass to two NIT appearances (2007, 2008) and an Atlantic 10 Regular-Season Co-Championship (2007).

"As all of you know, we've gone through the last couple of days with a great deal of anticipation," said McCutcheon. "We would like everyone to know that Travis Ford, our head men's basketball coach, will be with us for many years to come. Obviously this has been a tremendous year for the basketball program advancing to the NIT Championship. We have made great strides here over the last couple of years and we look forward to making many more. We could not be more excited about the future in front of us."

"Probably the number one thing that kept me here was the showing in New York from our fans. No question it made a difference," said Ford. "I took my time in making the decision and I have no doubt this is the right one. This is the right place for me. I'm very excited; I'm going to give the team a week off and then we are right back to it."

Below are Coach Ford's quotes from when he took questions from the media on Thursday night.

Coach Ford on why he chose to stay at UMass
From all the emails I've gotten in the last 24 hours, it's unbelievable. It was a tough decision. Anytime you have options to look at great places, but it was easy once I came down to making the decision because of all the reasons I wanted to be here.

On what advice Rick Pitino and Billy Donovan gave
They gave great advice. One thing they didn't do was push me one way or the other. These are two guys that obviously know the area very, very well. Obviously Coach Pitino knows this situation very well. So they gave me great insight but also great advice outside of Providence or UMass. These are two guys that have been sought after on a lot of jobs and understand how hard it is because when it comes to making a decision like this, I'm making it for a lot of people. A lot of people are affected. That's why I took my time and wanted to make the right decision and I don't think there's any question. I want to say that Providence was an impressive situation. The more I saw it, it was an impressive situation, but this is the right place for me.

On who gave him advice
A lot of people, obviously Coach Pitino, Billy (Donovan). I called a lot of people and John McCutcheon and Tim Kenney had a big influence on this. Huge. It was amazing how they handled it. They are one of the big reasons I'm definitely and 100 percent committed to UMass.

On his team
I like this basketball team coming back. I like the future. I like what's happening in recruiting. I like this team. I think there are a lot of `if's' about this team, but I think it's going to be exciting. I think the potential is incredible, but that's a big word for this basketball team. I've been with Chris Lowe and Luke Bonner and all these guys for a long time. That played a role in it. I wanted to be able to coach those guys. I'm very excited. We'll give these guys about a week off and we're going to get started again.

On the other offers
A lot of stuff was going on about LSU. They contacted me and I talked to them and quickly realized it wasn't the right situation. There were some things I just wasn't comfortable with. The Providence thing, they contacted me and I talked to them. It was a great conversation. I learned some things that I didn't know about the program that I didn't know about the program from the outside that were impressive. I wasn't really interested in at first. I wasn't in a team that was near the bottom of the Big East, but once you got into it and realized some of the things going on there, it was impressive, very impressive. But, it didn't fit the things that I find here.

On if he spoke to his team during the process
I didn't talk to them. I didn't know what to say to them. I didn't want to lead them in the wrong direction. I didn't want to feed them a bunch of stuff they didn't want to hear. I wanted to able to, when I talked to them, be able to give them the final `This is what I'm doing, this is it.' We addressed it earlier in the year when there were comments about other jobs. I told them that I'll never talk to anyone during the season. I don't do that. What comes with success are things like this. The reason I had opportunities at other school is because of these players and this administration and the support they have given me. That's why these things come up.

On how the process affected him
For me, it was exciting to me. I think we have good things going on here. I think we have awoken a lot of people and there is some business left to do here, definitely.

What's important first to me is my family. That's the number one thing for me, to make sure they are happy where they are at. If it's another opportunity, are they going to be happy there, you never know. I do know that my family loves it here. That was a for sure. That was an absolute positive. Next thing I like at is who I'm going to work for. I always said I can work as hard as I work for 24 hours a day, but if you don't have the support of the administration, an administration that gets it, that understands it, then none of that matters. I can't say I wouldn't have gotten that there. I was very impressed, but I know I've got that here. I know I've got that. I'm not taking a chance on that. Then, I love winning. I love to win. What's the best opportunity for me to win and be successful? I think we've proven that we can win here and I'm hoping that the support we got in New York carries over to next year. I'm hoping for that tremendously. I'm taking great faith in that. I'm taking great faith that that is going to happen because our style of play is not going to change. We're going to have great players back next year. It's going to be fun and exciting. We have a great schedule at home, so I am putting great faith in our fans that they are going to support this basketball team, continue to love UMass basketball, and to the hundreds of people that emailed me, I'm going to hold them to everything they said.

On goals for the future
We're always looking to improve. I thought we had a great year. Winning 25 games was great, but obviously we want to make it to the NCAA Tournament. That's our goal, and go on from there. I think there is improvement. I think things are going great. I think we've had two great years and this one was exceptional. I really do. I think it was an exceptional year.


Ford stays at UMass
By Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire Gazette Staff Writer, 4/11/2008

AMHERST - Moments after University of Massachusetts athletic director John McCutcheon announced Thursday night that Travis Ford had turned down an offer to be the head men's basketball coach at Providence College, Ford challenged the fans to join him in supporting the Minutemen.

Ford, 38, who led UMass to the National Invitation Tournament final April 3, renegotiated his contract for the second straight year. In 2007 he received an extension through the 2014-15 season with a base salary of $200,000 that could increase to approximately $400,000 with benefits and incentives.

McCutcheon said he was not ready to release the terms of the new deal at Thursday's annual end-of-the-season banquet.

'We will announce the specifics of that at a later date, but not tonight,' McCutcheon said. 'We committed to him and he committed to us. We're extremely excited that he decided to stay with us.'

Ford said the considerable number of Minuteman fans who attended the two NIT games in New York City last week influenced his decision to stay. He said increased support at the Mullins Center would affect his desire to remain in Amherst if other schools court him in future years.

'The showing of our fans in New York made a difference. I wish there were more fans in the Mullins Center every night,' Ford said. 'They showed me in New York if they can drive 31/2 hours, surely they can drive over to the Mullins Center.

'I'm hoping the support we got in New York carries over to next year,' Ford added. 'I have great faith in our fans that they're going to continue to support UMass basketball. All of the hundreds of people who emailed me, I'm going to hold them to everything they said.'

The players admitted they had kept track of the news linking Ford to the coaching vacancies at Providence and Louisiana State University and were relieved when he decided to stay.

'Guys were sweating it out for the past week,' said junior forward Tony Gaffney. 'When we found out he was staying, everyone was thrilled.'

Chris Lowe agreed.

'He's like a second father to me. We didn't know how we'd react to another guy,' Lowe said. 'We were ready to go to the athletic director's office and tell them they had to do something to get him to stay here. We didn't want him to leave. We were all worried. I was probably the most nervous. When we found out he was staying it was a great relief.'

Ford said he didn't talk to his players while he considered the Providence offer.

'I didn't talk to them. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to lead them in the wrong direction or feed them a bunch of stuff they didn't want to hear,' he said. 'When I talked to them I wanted to give them a final answer.'

Many fans arrived at the banquet unaware of Ford's decision. McCutcheon eased their concern right away when he took the microphone.

'We want everyone to taking a nice cleansing breath with the knowledge that Travis Ford is going to be with us for many years,' McCutcheon said, leading to considerable applause.

McCutcheon said keeping Ford as coach demonstrates UMass' commitment to success.

'We want to be a competitive program. We want to compete for the A-10 title and the NCAA Tournament and be in the mix. We want to be nationally competitive and we agreed on some things we need to do,' McCutcheon said. 'It's very important to us.

'We're trying to get things done,' he added. 'Are we really contenders or are we only getting halfway there? Showing consistency like this and a commitment like this is a statement that we're going for it.'

Ford is 62-35 in three years at UMass, and led the Minutemen to appearances in the NIT the last two seasons.

Ford met with Providence athletic director Bob Driscoll at the NCAA Final Four and again in Providence Wednesday. He received an offer from Providence Wednesday and decided Thursday afternoon to remain at UMass.

He said the decision was difficult, adding that two of his mentors, Louisville coach Rick Pitino and Florida coach Billy Donovan, were key factors in his interest in the Big East school.

'It's been a long two days. When you have success like we've had, these things happen,' Ford said. 'There's a lot of connections with me to that program which run deep. I learned a lot about their program,'

'But this is a place I've developed a lot of relationships in the past three years,' Ford added. 'My family loves it here. That was an absolute positive. The next thing is who am I going to work for? I love the people I'm working for.

'I was impressed with Providence, but I know what I've got here. The next thing is I love winning. I think we've proven we can win here.'

Ford said he's now ready to move forward.

'We're always looking to improve. We had a great year this year, but we want to make it to the NCAA Tournament. We're heading in the right direction,' he said. 'I'm very excited. We're giving these guys a week off, then we're getting started again.'

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports


Ford leaves UMass for Oklahoma State
By Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire Gazette Staff Writer, 4/16/2008

AMHERST - A week ago at the end-of-the-season banquet for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team, athletic director John McCutcheon told cheering fans that a new deal had been struck and that Travis Ford would be with the Minutemen "for years to come."

As it turned out, days to come was more accurate. After turning down jobs at Providence College and Louisiana State University, Ford Wednesday left UMass to become the head coach at Oklahoma State.

"Late this afternoon Travis Ford informed us that he was leaving UMass to take another position," McCutcheon said at a press conference Wednesday night at the Mullins Center.

The terms of Ford's contract at Oklahoma State have not been announced. He had been under contract at UMass through 2014-15.

While Ford reached an agreement with UMass last week to improve his contract for the second time in two seasons, the new agreement had not been signed. Thus, Ford's buyout clause in his old contract will be applied, meaning he will owe UMass $200,000. That will likely be paid by Oklahoma State.

Ford, 38, met with his team at 6 p.m. at a player's apartment. He was not at the press conference and calls to his cell phone were not returned. He left behind this statement which was distributed at the press conference:

"I have greatly enjoyed my three years here at UMass. It was a very difficult decision to leave UMass, one which my family and I struggled with mightily. I wish nothing but the best for the staff and players at UMass. They have been and will always be family to me. I feel the team at UMass has a great nucleus in place and I wish them the best in the future."

Ford was 62-35 in his three seasons coaching the Minutemen, who were in the National Invitation Tournament each of the last two years. UMass was 25-11 in 2007-08 and lost 92-85 in the NIT final April 3.

McCutcheon said Ford left the program in better condition than when he arrived.

"I think our program is in much better shape than we were three years ago. That lends itself to flexibility in a number of different areas that we might not have had before," McCutcheon said.

"UMass basketball is bigger than any one individual and it will continue to be," he added. "It's our job to put the resources in place that will enable whoever is in that position to have as great or greater success down the road."

McCutcheon said UMass is ready to begin a national search for Ford's replacement immediately.

"We'll begin as early as (Thursday) a national search to find his replacement," said McCutcheon, who will head that process with associate athletic director Tim Kenney. "We will move as quickly as we possibly can. The most important thing is to get the right person but we are later in the calendar year than we were last time around. I have already spoken to the chancellor and the system president. We will get in motion here very quickly."

McCutcheon said he'd prefer a replacement with head coaching experience but did not rule out an assistant coach.

"We're going to look for the best possible candidate we can possibly find," McCutcheon said. "Our preference is to have someone with head coaching experience but that does not preclude us from looking at someone who doesn't, if they have things in their makeup that make them a very strong candidate."

Juniors Tony Gaffney and Luke Bonner were the only players who attended the press conference.

"I had no idea this was going to happen (Tuesday) night," Bonner said. "Guys are upset, but we understand this is big business for coaches and he had to do what he had to do."

Gaffney shared his teammate's surprise.

"We thought this was put to rest last week," Gaffney said. "I woke up this morning and had no idea. Ricky Harris woke me up and told me the news. We all had great relationships with him. He's a player's coach.

"But we realize this is a business and he was offered something nearly impossible to turn down," Gaffney added. "We understand that. Anytime something like this happens, it's tough. But we're going to stick together as a team, get through it as a team. We're going to win this year."

Ford made $200,000 as a base salary at UMass with incentives and benefits that brought his contract's value to nearly $500,000 this season.

When Ford was offered the head coaching job at Providence College last week, UMass gave him a considerable raise. McCutcheon said UMass was not in a position to further improve its offer to counter Oklahoma State.

"Where we got to in our last round of discussions was a very aggressive position for us," McCutcheon said. "For us to go beyond that was not a reasonable situation for us."

After forcing Sean Sutton to resign after a 17-16 finish in 2007-08, Oklahoma State initially offered its coaching job to Kansas coach Bill Self, an alumnus. But after leading the Jayhawks to the national championship, Self chose to stay at Kansas.

Oklahoma State then was turned down by Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery before turning to Ford, who began his coaching career in 1997 at Campbellsville. He then coached Eastern Kentucky for five years before taking the Umass job in 2005.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.


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