Michael Traini

Schedule News: Boston College and UMass will play at TD Garden in Boston as part of the Hall of Fame Series. The date is set for Friday November 13th. This is likely part of a doubleheader along with a previously reported game between Providence and Syracuse.

“Last year, I did a you-know-what job, and that's not acceptable. This year, we finished in eighth place. There's an adjustment period with the MAC.” “The A-10 and the MAC are two leagues that are played completely differently.” - Frank Martin

Frank Martin’s lengthy answer: “We can spend a lot less on travel, when we go play games, and it's gonna complicate the experience of the student athlete. That's like, that nickel and dime stuff, that's where a huge financial number can take place. 
You know, Akron gets on a bus and travels to play 5 or 6 of their games. It doesn't cost them anything. That's a reality of the moment. 
We have to grow it. We signed up to be part of a league, that I was excited about, that's for the wellbeing of our university. I'm not into the last league. 
The A-10 was awesome. I came here to coach in the A-10. The A-10 was an incredible experience. That's in the rear view mirror, man. Like, we're not getting anywhere worried about the A-10 anymore. We're at a place that's gonna be incredible. 
So we have to generate: me, I got to help him. This is not a Ryan Bamford problem. 
This is a head coach. I've got to do more. This is what I'm saying. 
I've got to be better when I'm in front of the world. So [Bamford] doesn't have any roadblocks when people that maybe don't like the fact that I yell and stomp my foot and drop some words that I’m not proud of sometimes. … Because it's the world that we're in in that league. The expenses it takes for us to be able to succeed. That’s what I'm telling you, we get everything we need. He could have said ‘We're going to the MAC, Frank, and guess what? You're taking 6 a.m. commercial flights on Mondays. And then on Wednesdays, because you can't travel back after you played Northern Illinois, you're gonna have to take a 6 a.m. commercial back to run practice Thursday on campus.’ 
He could have said that. And I would have said I'm too old for this. But he didn't. 
He said ‘No, we're not doing this [not because of] you, Frank. It's not right for the athletes. We have to make sure we do this the right way.’ 
You have to conduct things in a championship manner to get a championship outcome. The winning and losing is on me. That's not on anybody else. 
He's given me what we need to win. This administration gives us unbelievable resources, not just money, as human beings, to make sure that our players do things the right way. At the end, guys that sign up for my job, we understand what we sign up for. 
You have to win, or you're not gonna stay at the school you're at. In men's basketball, you don't get to be .500. This isn’t a shot at anybody. You don't get to be .500 and keep your job. At any school. The people that have my job around the country, we understand the world that we signed up for to be there. We don't complain about it. That's what comes with being a men’s basketball coach in today's day and age. 
… That’s the thing that's unique with the MAC. Think about the standings. You know what else the standings had in common? 
The coaches have been in there with the exception of Travis Steele, who's been there four or five years, the other coaches have been there 9, 15, 17, 19 years. That's the continuity with little things, with the officials. I met every one of those [MAC officials] for the first time. I never knew any of those guys. Those guys have relationships with those coaches the way I had with the A-10 guys. It's all part of moving forward and growing. 
… Revenue sharing is the new world that we’re in. And guys that have my job? 
The window got even smaller. It used to be here, and then salaries got crazy, but I don't get out of bed and determine my salary. You know what I mean? 
It's the great thing about America. The market determines your salary. You don't pick and choose what you want to get paid. 
And then that window for coaches, over the last 20 years, went [smaller]. And the world that we're in right now, that window just went [even smaller] from a patience standpoint. We're okay with that, man. 
We understand that. We signed up for the jobs. We can't complain about what comes with the job.”