March 25, 2005

Travis Ford Press Conference Quotes

John Lombardi, Chancellor
"There's nothing more thrilling than when you start anew with nothing but promise, hope, enthusiasm, and energy."

John McCutcheon on the selection of Travis Ford
"We did a lot of research and gathered a lot of facts. We had a very defined and deeply researched group of people. We had a group of ten people, and six that we met with individually, and in that process one person emerged: a person of great distinction, a great competitor himself and a great teacher of young people."

Travis Ford
"I am thrilled and honored to be part of such a distinguished university, I've grown up everyday playing basketball coaching basketball, thinking basketball and it's always been a dream to be a program with the tradition that UMass has. I know it, understand it and I can't wait to be a part of it."

"I can't say enough about all the coaches on campus and the people on campus. The first thing I noticed was what a family the UMass people are and I'm excited to be a part of it."

"I've seen the thirst in UMass people's eyes about what they want from their basketball team."

"I'm taking over a situation now that's got legs. I'm not trying to build a program. We just need to put the body and head on it to get it back to where we all want it to be without question. How are we going to do that? It's going to take a lot of long hours and hard work. These basketball players sitting in the front row are going to be the hardest working players in America, bar none."

"We're going to have the most fun of anybody but we're going to be a hard working group. Every time we step on the court, we're going to be the most prepared team. We're going to showcase these guys' talents."

"Off the court, the fans are going to be proud to call them their team."

"I want the fans to be a part of this team. I want them to be more than just fans; I want them to be a part of our basketball family."

"I know everybody here is going to be at every game. But you need to bring four or five more people and they've got to bring four of five more people. But don't wait because this is going to be the hottest ticket in town. It's going to be the most exciting thing you've been a part of."

"We're not only going to compete in the East and Northeast but we're looking to crack that top 25 and I think we've got a team that can do that."

"We've got to pack the Mullins Center every night. It's going to be an event, not just a game. You're going to be looking on the refrigerator at the next game saying 'I can't wait for the next game'....You're going to be proud to call yourself a UMass basketball fan."

"I cannot wait to get started and be a part of your family."