Big 12 Pushing For UConn Part Deux!

[nelsonmuntz]

It doesn't matter.

It does matter. A lot of these non-UConn fans are just here to troll us.

 

[NH Husky]

It does matter. A lot of these non-UConn fans are just here to troll us.

So just ignore them. You won’t miss a thing.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

It does matter. A lot of these non-UConn fans are just here to troll us.

Then why keep engaging? It's here for the angst. Like some sick dentist that doesn't use Novocain because it wants to see the patient's response. You would want to keep going back there?

 

[businesslawyer]

No, no, I get it. The American is great because everyone wants to leave it. It's prosperity is defined by the people who get a ticket out. You should reach out to them with their new slogan.

View attachment 90048
The American:
We are the high school of college football.​

By 82s definition, the nation shouldn’t have junior colleges since the primar;y goal of many students is to end up at a 4 year school.

The goal of a non-profit organization is to further the ambitions of its members, whatever that may be.

 

[CL82]

By 82s definition, the nation shouldn’t have junior colleges since the primar;y goal of many students is to end up at a 4 year school.

The goal of a non-profit organization is to further the ambitions of its members, whatever that may be.

Lol, I have to laugh that in your dotage you have been reduced to just launching one strawman argument after another. it's just so lazy intellectually for someone who can do better, or at least used to be able to do better.

Maybe an example will help?
According to @businesslawyer junior colleges should be a part of the P5. That's a pretty easy statement to disagree with, but since you never actually said it, what's the point?

Anyway, I hope that helps!

 

[BlueandOG]

This was from Dana O'Neil and Brian Hamilton's weekly NCAA hoops mailbag on The Athletic. Unfortunately it is behind a pay wall but the leading questions were surrounding UConn (potentially leaving the Big East) and the Big East (replacing UConn if they left). They are not fans of a move for the Huskies...

Happy summer, friends and fellow college hoops obsessives, and welcome to another edition of the Shot Takers Mailbag.

Been a minute since Dana O’Neil and I took your questions about this glorious and ridiculous sport. And it’s never a dead period for us.

So let’s get to it.

If UConn were to leave the Big East, who should the Big East try to bring in for a new school? – Zach G.

Wouldn’t Coach Hurley and Coach Auriemma want UConn to stay in the Big East? If they want to stay, how much influence would they have on the university’s decision? – Jack D.

Dana: Let me preface this by saying I find the whole idea of UConn leaving the Big East maddeningly, infuriatingly stupid. When the school last tried to go all in on football, riding the huge tidal wave of that one Fiesta Bowl experience, it nearly cost the Huskies their identity. The school was lucky to get back into the Big East. What’s the saying? First time, shame on you?

I would love to think that Dan Hurley, hot off a national title, and Geno Auriemma, who is personally responsible for most of the trophies in the UConn cases, would have a say. But coaches’ opinions are rarely sought when it comes to conference realignment. I would think it would behoove university administrators to listen to their coaches in the trenches, and think real hard about doubling down on a sport in which they have a financially-draining relationship with the state for use of a stadium, and no discernible track record in winning. Alas.

As for Big East expansion, Val Ackerman is on record about being very cautious about movement, and rightly so. While everyone else chases their tails and reinvents their identities on the fly, the Big East’s success is based on selectivity and knowing what it is. The league does not need to expand just to expand; it needs to expand only if it’s going to help the conference. Loyola Chicago’s stutter move to the Atlantic 10, I’d imagine, gives everyone pause. The jump up in competition isn’t easy. Dayton and Saint Louis are viable options, for example, but which can be immediately Big East ready? I’d argue Dayton more, but how does Xavier feel about that? Gonzaga remains a really tricky, if not geographically impossible, pipe dream.

Short answer: Just because UConn might make a rash decision, that doesn’t mean the Big East ought to follow.

Brian, feel free to argue against.

Brian: There is no argument against. UConn belongs in the Big East, full stop. Money has a way of getting presidents and administrators to twist logic beyond all recognition, so I also have zero confidence UConn stays where it belongs. Just hope I’m wrong.

If UConn bolts, I don’t know that there’s a brilliant fit out there. The league would prioritize programs that make the NCAA Tournament regularly, because it doesn’t want to bring in fewer tournament units — and thereby less money — and split the pot with the same number of members or more. Dayton says it operates like a power conference program, but it also hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2017 (Pour another one out for the 2019-2020 Flyers). Harder to manage out of the Atlantic 10, of course … but that’s still a glaring absence.

The gangster move is Syracuse. Whether UConn leaves or not. Probably not likely to convince a place with a former television executive as athletic director to deprioritize football, and the grant-of-rights legal entanglements likely make this a non-starter. But this is conference realignment. Never think something can’t be done. A revitalized Syracuse men’s hoops program, playing where it belongs, could lift a lot of boats — much like it has for UConn.

This is an example of an ignorant person trying to look informed by saying a lot of words that add up to nothing

 

[jostar1]

You call the AAC a "conference desert" but fail to acknowledge that three of UConn's former AAC cohorts stayed and prospered in that environment. None at the time enjoyed what many here perceive to be UConn's seeming advantages -- state flagship status, a Land Grant institution, a higher USN&WR rating, elite basketball, little in-state competition, etc. Now that their perseverance has paid off and they've moved on to bigger and better things, you aspire to rejoin them.

Who knows what might have happened If UConn had stayed in the AAC and made the most of its circumstances? What if UConn had resolved back then to bloom where it was planted?

I am going to make the assumption that you are a Houston, Cincy or UCF fan. The reason I asked is because I have seen this narrative on other message boards---that Houston, UCF and Cincy stayed in the AAC, worked hard to improve their programs and were rewarded, and that is what UConn should have done. Instead, as you so nicely put it, UConn left with their tail between their legs. Well, UConn doesn’t view it that way at all, as you have found out by the responses to your posts.

First, UConn had a way out. We had a choice. You are patting yourself on the back for staying in the AAC, when the reality is, you had no choice. UConn had the opportunity to join the Big East. The Big East was never going to give that choice to any other school. Val Ackerman herself said that UConn was the only football playing school that they would have made an exception for.

Second, even if we had stayed, Bob Bowlsby was never going to invite UConn to join the Big 12. It played out exactly the way we feared it was going to play out. The better AAC schools would leave and UConn would be left with the dregs. Can you imagine if UConn were stuck in the AAC now and having to play those schools for the next 10 years? Our football and basketball programs would really be doomed.

As I said, Bob Bowlsby was never going to invite UConn to join the Big 12. The only reason we have a chance now is because Yormark has a different vision for the Big 12. He wants a national conference, and NYC and basketball. And if it doesn't happen, we are still better off in the Big East and independent for football rather than being in the AAC.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Then why keep engaging? It's here for the angst. Like some sick dentist that doesn't use Novocain because it wants to see the patient's response. You would want to keep going back there?

Ignoring posters makes threads hard to follow, so that is always a last resort. Why do I have to dig through threads on a UConn board to read about UConn? Why can't they just stop trolling?

 

[Waquoit]

Anonymity is a virtue.

In this case, it's cowardice.

 

[jostar1]

It does matter. A lot of these non-UConn fans are just here to troll us.

What annoys me are the ones who pretend to be UConn fans by saying "we", "us", "our", etc.

 

[noeynox]

What annoys me are the ones who pretend to be UConn fans by saying "we", "us", "our", etc.

They annoy the heck out of me. I think i was rude to hank once before but if they're just here to annoy get a life.

 

[greenday61892]

I am going to make the assumption that you are a Houston, Cincy or UCF fan. The reason I asked is because I have seen this narrative on other message boards---that Houston, UCF and Cincy stayed in the AAC, worked hard to improve their programs and were rewarded, and that is what UConn should have done. Instead, as you so nicely put it, UConn left with their tail between their legs. Well, UConn doesn’t view it that way at all, as you have found out by the responses to your posts.

First, UConn had a way out. We had a choice. You are patting yourself on the back for staying in the AAC, when the reality is, you had no choice. UConn had the opportunity to join the Big East. The Big East was never going to give that choice to any other school. Val Ackerman herself said that UConn was the only football playing school that they would have made an exception for.

Second, even if we had stayed, Bob Bowlsby was never going to invite UConn to join the Big 12. It played out exactly the way we feared it was going to play out. The better AAC schools would leave and UConn would be left with the dregs. Can you imagine if UConn were stuck in the AAC now and having to play those schools for the next 10 years? Our football and basketball programs would really be doomed.

As I said, Bob Bowlsby was never going to invite UConn to join the Big 12. The only reason we have a chance now is because Yormark has a different vision for the Big 12. He wants a national conference, and NYC and basketball. And if it doesn't happen, we are still better off in the Big East and independent for football rather than being in the AAC.

I haven't checked but I'm pretty sure murder of this degree has gotta be against TBY ToS

 

[Duncan Idaho]

They annoy the heck out of me. I think i was rude to hank once before but if they're just here to annoy get a life.

We thought it was the BC hank, nox. But this one is here to just to twist your tatas too.

 

[noeynox]

We thought it was the BC hank, nox. But this one is here to just to twist your tatas too.

This is more appropriate for him.

 

[Waquoit]

We thought it was the BC hank,

That's Hartford Hank, the BC Crank

 

[Slasher]

If Sheer is right hopefully it's Colorado + mystery team and Arizona + UConn.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

If Sheer is right hopefully it's Colorado + mystery team and Arizona + UConn.

Yeah. Cal and Stanford and Oregon and Washington are just going to chill and let their athletic programs die rather than try to get into the Big 12. That seems likely.

 

[amory]

I recognize the absolute necessity for our athletic program to get the financial support of a power conference, but I still see this as a 'be careful what you wish for' union. It was a lot easier to buy into whoever would have us when we were in the American.

We've seen what a return to the Big East does for us in basketball, both in viewership, recruiting and general excitement around the program. Quite simply, this is the basketball league we belong in culturally and regionally. I love our football program but there's no guarantee we don't end up a perennial bottom-half program in the Big 12, meanwhile we're playing the Texas and midwestern schools in bball instead of long term rivals.

Basically conference realignment sucks unless you're a school hitting the lottery and going to the B1G or SEC. The money trumps all and the actual product is secondary.

 

[noeynox]

I recognize the absolute necessity for our athletic program to get the financial support of a power conference, but I still see this as a 'be careful what you wish for' union. It was a lot easier to buy into whoever would have us when we were in the American.

We've seen what a return to the Big East does for us in basketball, both in viewership, recruiting and general excitement around the program. Quite simply, this is the basketball league we belong in culturally and regionally. I love our football program but there's no guarantee we don't end up a perennial bottom-half program in the Big 12, meanwhile we're playing the Texas and midwestern schools in bball instead of long term rivals.

Basically conference realignment sucks unless you're a school hitting the lottery and going to the B1G or SEC. The money trumps all and the actual product is secondary.

There was an article yesterday saying there is a push to pay players NIL money from TV CONTRACT money. That is close to game, set, match to those schools not getting P5 money.

 

[amory]

There was an article yesterday saying there is a push to pay players NIL money from TV CONTRACT money. That is close to game, set, match to those schools not getting P5 money.

Yeah no argument from me, if we get an invitation there's not even a decision to be made. We have to go. Personally I'm just not going to be as excited to watch us play Texas Tech or Iowa State on a Thursday night as I would be for, say, Providence.

If Mora sticks around and continues the upward trajectory with football, I think it's a net positive from a fan's perspective. If we're still getting trounced week after week a few years down the road, it's a net negative.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Yeah no argument from me, if we get an invitation there's not even a decision to be made. We have to go. Personally I'm just not going to be as excited to watch us play Texas Tech or Iowa State on a Thursday night as I would be for, say, Providence.

If Mora sticks around and continues the upward trajectory with football, I think it's a net positive from a fan's perspective. If we're still getting trounced week after week a few years down the road, it's a net negative.

You get excited for... Providence?

 

[noeynox]

Yeah no argument from me, if we get an invitation there's not even a decision to be made. We have to go. Personally I'm just not going to be as excited to watch us play Texas Tech or Iowa State on a Thursday night as I would be for, say, Providence.

If Mora sticks around and continues the upward trajectory with football, I think it's a net positive from a fan's perspective. If we're still getting trounced week after week a few years down the road, it's a net negative.

I get the Providence, Nova, Georgetown, St. John's and even Seton Hall love. I have some too. I'd trade those games for games against Syracuse and Pitt if I could personally and would love to have another 26 game winning streak against BC.

The rest of the current Big East doesn't excite me nearly as much as games against Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State would. Games against Kansas with both teams highly rank will probably end up on Fox main channel with all sorts of hype.

 

[kemba]

Yeah no argument from me, if we get an invitation there's not even a decision to be made. We have to go. Personally I'm just not going to be as excited to watch us play Texas Tech or Iowa State on a Thursday night as I would be for, say, Providence.

I just want to play good teams. We had no history with creighton and Xavier, minimal with Marquette before joining the nbe, but in recent years those have been our biggest games. We can schedule the few big east schools we have a history with ooc.

 

[NH Husky]

I get the Providence, Nova, Georgetown, St. John's and even Seton Hall love. I have some too. I'd trade those games for games against Syracuse and Pitt if I could personally and would love to have another 26 game winning streak against BC.

The rest of the current Big East doesn't excite me nearly as much as games against Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State would. Games against Kansas with both teams highly rank will probably end up on Fox main channel with all sorts of hype.

I think the UCONN / Kansas rivalry has the potential to be as big as UNC/Duke.

 

[noeynox]

I think the UCONN / Kansas rivalry has the potential to be as big as UNC/Duke.

Will take some time, but networks will love it from day 1.