Wow... isn't this a lacrosse forum?... and what the hell does Scranton, PA have to do with any of this?... First off tough guy, it is apparent that Syracuse had an off year, and that JHU has a better lacrosse team (they need to have one sport better than UMass); HOWEVER,...
I wouldn't go so far as to say that Amherst, MA is an arm pit town, it has been ranked as one of the 20 best college towns in the nation, and Amherst College is consistently ranked as one of the best private colleges every year. I wouldn't say UMass-Amherst is a crappy school either. It was ranked as a top tier school (top 5% of schools in the nation) by the U.S. News & World Report this year; furthermore, the UMass system is ranked 4th in the nation for med-schools (higher than both JHU and Harvard). It ranked as one of the best schools in the country in terms of culture and diversity awareness by the Princeton Review and was recently ranked 45th in the world on the list of best overall colleges and universities.
Not to mention the 5 college area including UMass-Amherst, Amherst College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, and Hampshire College all within a few miles of each other that represent one of the most highly regarded, diverse and strongest academic areas in the world.
I think you need to do more research before you make such a strong claim.
By the way... where did you graduate from?