I'm not (yet) a snowbird and haven't traveled to the FL tournament, so I can't gauge its popularity in the form of attendance, but I assume it's not very good, else it would be paying for itself. With few exceptions, the teams have been ECAC & HEA, so is this a showcase or a working vacation? If I was a recruit, I'd find the FL trip attractive, but have the successful recruits found this to be true?
It might be interesting to ask Red if he supported dropping the FL tournament?
The article, or something else I've read recently, suggested that "in exchange", an extra pair of UNH games will provide the cross-state game that each team wants and the best chance of making money off the series. If you believe the connection, it could be a good deal and what the program needs to adjust to the increased costs both inherent to the times and with the advent of a Notre Dame trip.
I don't know about "a hot mess", but it should help that the new AD will reside in the area, especially if he is as good as everyone hopes. (I'm not complaining about Steve Abbott ... he fired two coaches and then hired very good replacements (Women's B-ball and Men's ice Hockey) to turn around programs, as well as dealing with apparently unforeseen difficulties in the Memorial Gym upgrade.
On the other hand, I'm not sure that UMaine has ever operated a sport with better funding than the most successful schools.
Cheers, Wayne