Blauds: UConn/Cincy Leaning Towards C7

[freescooter]

Who was there guy for AD?

Predergast

 

[whaler11]

So you are saying that the conference situation is bad. Interesting.

Well since he didn't seem to understand it seemed like a good time to point it out.

 

[DW4UCONN]

President Herbst reaffirms today that UConn is committed to moving forward with fine like minded universities such as Temple, Memphis and Houston. She says I should be happy about it

 

[Afroabe224]

President Herbst reaffirms today that UConn is committed to moving forward with fine like minded universities such as Temple, Memphis and Houston. She says I should be happy about it

Don't worry, be happy.

....what am I talking about?!

EVERYBODY PANIC!!!!!

 

[DarthGrumpy]

President Herbst reaffirms today that UConn is committed to moving forward with fine like minded universities such as Temple, Memphis and Houston. She says I should be happy about it

Yeah liked minded, as in ‘Get me the hell out of this conference as soon as possible.’

 

[Glastonhusky]

I actually think there might be an internal game going on here. In fact I think this is a lot more likely than some of the other theories like that this is a shot across the bow of the NBA on a grant of rights or that it is some kind of mis-direction. I suspect that there are some within the UConn administration and especially among the alumni/supporter community that just can't fathom the idea that basketball will be stuck in a mid-major conference and are trying to push the issue. Of course they miss the fact that it isn't 1984 any more and St Johns basically stinks, Providence stinks, Depaul is awful, Seton Hall is a joke and Al Maguire retired from Marquette in 1978...Plus I suspect there is still some upset that they didn't get their guy as the AD.

I don't know, I look at the top 25 in bball today and at least the C7 has Marquette(25). Butler and VCU have been mentioned as additions, that would give them two more. No NBE teams to be found. It probably won't happen but my choice would be to play football in the NBE or MWC and keep all other sports with the C7.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

I used to think that independence in football was a stupid idea. That was until I saw the number being tossed around for the C7 TV deal. Now I feel that if we can't make more money in the nbe than in the C7 we just need to go with them and do whatever it takes. If we can play football with the nbe or mwc, fine. mac and cusa aren't options. If we have to be independent, then so be it. Our football schedule really can't get much worse than it will be in the nbe and at least our hoops schedule would consist of many of our traditional rivals and some other good programs.

UConn has to do what's best for UConn overall. We can't kill the basketball program just to keep football in a mediocre conference. Assuming the C7 would even entertain our membership, I think we really need to go for it. They would know that we would leave when we got an invite from a power conference and I'm sure we could work provisions for that into our contract.

I think that UConn and Cincy would also be helpful in procuring the Big East name, tournament credits, exit fees, and facilitating an exit for next season.

 

[UConnDan97]

I used to think that independence in football was a stupid idea. That was until I saw the number being tossed around for the C7 TV deal. Now I feel that if we can't make more money in the nbe than in the C7 we just need to go with them and do whatever it takes. If we can play football with the nbe or mwc, fine. mac and cusa aren't options. If we have to be independent, then so be it. Our football schedule really can't get much worse than it will be in the nbe and at least our hoops schedule would consist of many of our traditional rivals and some other good programs.

UConn has to do what's best for UConn overall. We can't kill the basketball program just to keep football in a mediocre conference. Assuming the C7 would even entertain our membership, I think we really need to go for it. They would know that we would leave when we got an invite from a power conference and I'm sure we could work provisions for that into our contract.

I think that UConn and Cincy would also be helpful in procuring the Big East name, tournament credits, exit fees, and facilitating an exit for next season.

The problem with independence is the fact that you are going to have an extremely difficult time scheduling opponents after mid-October, due to the other teams starting their conference play. For instance, New Mexico State and Idaho have to play each other twice this coming year because they can't find anyone else to play against. That sucks donkey ba!!s!

Also, the NBE football teams are probably better than you think they are. Here are the Sagarin ratings for our future conference foes:

Cincy - 36
UCF - 45
*Tulsa - 47
SMU - 57
Navy - 82
ECU - 84
USF - 86
(UConn - 89, for point of reference)
Temple - 100
Houston - 108
Memphis - 123
Tulane - 155

The bottom portion of the league stinks, no doubt about it. But the top is pretty good. And you are able to schedule your OOC as tough as you possibly can anyways, so you can still bring in teams like Michigan, Tennessee, etc. But the last thing you want to do is end up playing two 1-AA teams and twice against UMass! Contrary to your belief, it is the football team that cannot be forgotten about, not the basketball team. The basketball team will always be able to schedule quality OOC, but the football may not. And at the end of the day, it is the football and not the basketball that decides where we end up in terms of conferences....

 

[upstater]

I don't know, I look at the top 25 in bball today and at least the C7 has Marquette(25). Butler and VCU have been mentioned as additions, that would give them two more. No NBE teams to be found. It probably won't happen but my choice would be to play football in the NBE or MWC and keep all other sports with the C7.

Cincy beat Marquette today. There's a school called UConn that is pretty good. USF beat Georgetown.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Will the NBE ever happen?
UConn,Cinn, Houston,and possibly SMU don't seem real interested.
If you were a TV company would you sigh these guys on.
It may be ugly but there are worse things than the NBE that can happen to us.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

The problem with independence is the fact that you are going to have an extremely difficult time scheduling opponents after mid-October, due to the other teams starting their conference play. For instance, New Mexico State and Idaho have to play each other twice this coming year because they can't find anyone else to play against. That sucks donkey ba!!s!

Also, the NBE football teams are probably better than you think they are. Here are the Sagarin ratings for our future conference foes:

Cincy - 36
UCF - 45
*Tulsa - 47
SMU - 57
Navy - 82
ECU - 84
USF - 86
(UConn - 89, for point of reference)
Temple - 100
Houston - 108
Memphis - 123
Tulane - 155

The bottom portion of the league stinks, no doubt about it. But the top is pretty good. And you are able to schedule your OOC as tough as you possibly can anyways, so you can still bring in teams like Michigan, Tennessee, etc. But the last thing you want to do is end up playing two 1-AA teams and twice against UMass! Contrary to your belief, it is the football team that cannot be forgotten about, not the basketball team. The basketball team will always be able to schedule quality OOC, but the football may not. And at the end of the day, it is the football and not the basketball that decides where we end up in terms of conferences....

That's all well and good but if TV isn't going to pay for the product then UConn needs to associate with a product that TV will pay for. If the nbe ends up making less per school than the C7 it will hurt UConn and its brand substantially. Think about it, there is a possibility that we won't be able to make as much TV revenue as DePaul or Providence depending on how this plays out, at least not for the 1st and 2nd tier content. That would be an unacceptable turn of events. UConn has to do whatever it takes to prevent any such scenario coming to pass. The nbe may be a better option if the revenue is going to be the same or better than the C7, otherwise I think it would be foolish not to try to follow our old pals.

 

[metsfan2323]

Cincy beat Marquette today. USF beat Georgetown.

Exactly. Football schools beating the so called basketball schools. This boards obsession with the catholic schools is comical. For years we couldn't stand them, now some have decided we can't survive without them. What a joke.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

Exactly. Football schools beating the so called basketball schools. This boards obsession with the catholic schools is comical. For years we couldn't stand them, now some have decided we can't survive without them. What a joke.

We can survive but I'm not sure we will be able to thrive if we don't play the sort of games that we've been accustomed to playing. The XL center was electric last Monday. It was great. It will be even crazier for Cuse. These games simply will not exist for us in the nbe. Do you think UConn vs any of Cincy, Temple, or Memphis would ever end up on Big Monday? Maybe, but I have a hard time seeing it.

At this point, I am more concerned about basketball. Football will struggle to sustain fan interest in the nbe. There is no sugar coating it. CT people already don't care about college football and substituting reasonably well known and local schools for the ones we are getting is going to hurt. A lot. I'm just not sure its worth it if there are better options for our other sports.

 

[metsfan2323]

The XL center was electric last Monday. It was great. It will be even crazier for Cuse. These games simply will not exist for us in the nbe. Do you think UConn vs any of Cincy, Temple, or Memphis would ever end up on Big Monday? Maybe, but I have a hard time seeing it.

Maybe you didn't notice but Louisville and Syracuse aren't in the C7. Yes I absolutely believe the XL center could get jacked vs Memphis or Temple or Cincy (really jacked for UMASS but that's another story). If it's an important game the fans will be into it. Memphis currently has the third ranked recruiting class in the country. Houston is another program that will be commanding attention very soon, they had the 22 ranked recruiting class last year. Maybe you never heard of Phi Slamma Jamma. South Florida made the sweet 16 last year, when is the last time Providence, Seton Hall, St Johns, DePaul made the sweet 16? Did we not lose to UCF last year? Doesn't SMU have a hall of famer on their sideline?

 

[HartbeatHusky]

Maybe you didn't notice but Louisville and Syracuse aren't in the C7. Yes I absolutely believe the XL center could get jacked vs Memphis or Temple or Cincy. If it's an important game the fans will be into it. Memphis currently has the third ranked recruiting class in the country. Houston is another program that will be commanding attention very soon, they had the 22 ranked recruiting class last year. Maybe you never heard of Phi Slamma Jamma. South Florida made the sweet 16 last year, when is the last time Providence, Seton Hall, St Johns, DePaul made the sweet 16? Did we not lose to UCF last year? Doesn't SMU have a hall of famer on their sideline?

I get what you are saying and I've been back and forth on this. I've told myself that UConn, Cincy, Temple, and Memphis can be a solid upper tier for the new league. Our fans are fickle though, and I'm sure that has contributed to the situation we find ourselves in. I just don't want to be judged going forward on our deserted home games against UCF, Houston, SMU, ECU, etc. I just have this nagging feeling that the UConn brand may be better served by staying with many of the institutions that have been with us during our rise.

 

[UConnDan97]

That's all well and good but if TV isn't going to pay for the product then UConn needs to associate with a product that TV will pay for. If the nbe ends up making less per school than the C7 it will hurt UConn and its brand substantially. Think about it, there is a possibility that we won't be able to make as much TV revenue as DePaul or Providence depending on how this plays out, at least not for the 1st and 2nd tier content. That would be an unacceptable turn of events. UConn has to do whatever it takes to prevent any such scenario coming to pass. The nbe may be a better option if the revenue is going to be the same or better than the C7, otherwise I think it would be foolish not to try to follow our old pals.

If it's true that we could make more money in the C-7 than in the NBE (and there's no way yet of knowing that because we don't know what the contracts will look like), then I'm sure the administration is taking that into account.

But let me put it this way; EVEN if that were the case, it doesn't necessarily mean that you go independent in football. You could always see if a smaller conference will take you as a football only (i.e., C-USA, MAC). And before anyone starts the "why would someone take us as a football-only?" response, it's because it would likely be with Cincy as well. UConn and Cincy in football for most of these non-AQ conferences would be a fantastic grab.

Again, all of that is if....IF....it's true that we make more money in the C-7, which I don't buy anyways...

 

[UConnDan97]

Another great point that has already been touched upon is the fact that we are not missing the "marquis" matchups of the C-7 (with the exception of GTown). The matchups that we are missing are already going to other conferences (Cuse, Ville, etc.). Nobody can tell me that a UConn-Seton Hall matchup is more "big time" than a UConn-Temple matchup. Nobody can convince me that a UConn-Providence matchup is bigger than UConn-Memphis.

And here's the best part; does anyone here honestly think that we won't be able to schedule the Providences and Seton Halls of the world after they are gone??? How do you think they are going to make good on their own tv contract? The Catholic-7 is ABSOLUTELY going to be looking to get games against UConn as part of their schedule! We are not going to lose anything from a SOS standpoint. The only question that remains is the size of the respective contracts for each new league, which I'm sure is the major topic of discussion right now in every president's office...

 

[HartbeatHusky]

If it's true that we could make more money in the C-7 than in the NBE (and there's no way yet of knowing that because we don't know what the contracts will look like), then I'm sure the administration is taking that into account.

But let me put it this way; EVEN if that were the case, it doesn't necessarily mean that you go independent in football. You could always see if a smaller conference will take you as a football only (i.e., C-USA, MAC). And before anyone starts the "why would someone take us as a football-only?" response, it's because it would likely be with Cincy as well. UConn and Cincy in football for most of these non-AQ conferences would be a fantastic grab.

Again, all of that is if....IF....it's true that we make more money in the C-7, which I don't buy anyways...

We'll see soon enough I suppose. I never would have thought that we would make less money than the C7 but there may a substantial premium being put on stability and also the relatively higher profile of many of the C7 vs the nbe. I think we all agree that UConn just has to do whatever makes sense for UConn at the end of the day.

Hell, I prefer the breakaway with Cincy, USF, Houston, SMU and Temple and invite the best of the mwc for a national all-sports conference a hell of a lot better than what it looks like we'll have in the nbe.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

If it's true that we could make more money in the C-7 than in the NBE (and there's no way yet of knowing that because we don't know what the contracts will look like), then I'm sure the administration is taking that into account.

But let me put it this way; EVEN if that were the case, it doesn't necessarily mean that you go independent in football. You could always see if a smaller conference will take you as a football only (i.e., C-USA, MAC). And before anyone starts the "why would someone take us as a football-only?" response, it's because it would likely be with Cincy as well. UConn and Cincy in football for most of these non-AQ conferences would be a fantastic grab.

Again, all of that is if....IF....it's true that we make more money in the C-7, which I don't buy anyways...

At the top, the match ups in the nbe are pretty comparable for hoops. It's the bottom where things really get bad. Playing G'Town, Marquette, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall, DePaul, Butler and Xavier beats the hell out of playing ECU, Tulane, UCF, and the rest. We will be playing programs that really don't belong on the same floor as us at all.

 

[UConnDan97]

I never would have thought that we would make less money than the C7 but there may a substantial premium being put on stability and also the relatively higher profile of many of the C7 vs the nbe.

This is the sentiment that I'm failing to understand, though. Why do you feel that there is a relatively higher profile in the C-7? I don't see that at all. Don't get me wrong; the NBE is going to be like the sixth or seventh best basketball league out there now instead of #1, but there is no way that the C-7 is "higher profile" than us. No way at all.

If you were to line up the names in terms of profile, it would go like this:

1) UConn and GTown
2) Cincy and Marquette
3) Memphis and St. John's
4) Temple and Nova
5) South Florida and Seton Hall
6) UCF and Providence
7) SMU (or Houston) and DePaul

Their national profile literally starts breaking down around St. John's, since nobody has cared about them in a decade. It's the main reason why the C-7 absolutely needs to get Xavier and Butler; because they just don't have any national punch to them...

 

[HartbeatHusky]

This is the sentiment that I'm failing to understand, though. Why do you feel that there is a relatively higher profile in the C-7? I don't see that at all. Don't get me wrong; the NBE is going to be like the sixth or seventh best basketball league out there now instead of #1, but there is no way that the C-7 is "higher profile" than us. No way at all.

If you were to line up the names in terms of profile, it would go like this:

1) UConn and GTown
2) Cincy and Marquette
3) Memphis and St. John's
4) Temple and Nova
5) South Florida and Seton Hall
6) UCF and Providence
7) SMU (or Houston) and DePaul

Their national profile literally starts breaking down around St. John's, since nobody has cared about them in a decade. It's the main reason why the C-7 absolutely needs to get Xavier and Butler; because they just don't have any national punch to them...

8)ECU and Butler
9)Tulane and Xavier
10)Houston and VCU/St. Louis

They don't have an overwhelming edge but they clearly do have the edge, top to bottom. I'd rather play Providence and DePaul over UCF and SMU a thousand times. We also have to be concerned with the fanbase and what plummeting attendance could do to the perception of our program. The entire bottom half of the C7 would draw much better around these parts than any of the bottom half nbe schools.

 

[UConnDan97]

8)ECU and Butler
9)Tulane and Xavier
10)Houston and VCU/St. Louis

They don't have an overwhelming edge but they clearly do have the edge, top to bottom. I'd rather play Providence and DePaul over UCF and SMU a thousand times. We also have to be concerned with the fanbase and what plummeting attendance could do to the perception of our program. The entire bottom half of the C7 would draw much better around these parts than any of the bottom half nbe schools.

First of all, if they acquire those three teams, then Butler takes the top spot and Xavier takes the fourth spot. The fifth spot then looks like USF versus St. John's. Then, the bottom is more like Tulane versus DePaul, Houston versus St. Louis, etc. There isn't very much daylight in those matchups.

Second of all, what I'm trying to say to you is that you will STILL play against Providence! It's not an "and/or" thing. Expect that we end up playing against at least 3 or 4 of the C-7 anyways in the OOC.

Finally, if the fanbase plummets, it's NOT going to be because they can't see DePaul and Seton Hall at the XL center anymore...

 

[HartbeatHusky]

First of all, if they acquire those three teams, then Butler takes the top spot and Xavier takes the fourth spot. The fifth spot then looks like USF versus St. John's. Then, the bottom is more like Tulane versus DePaul, Houston versus St. Louis, etc. There isn't very much daylight in those matchups.

Second of all, what I'm trying to say to you is that you will STILL play against Providence! It's not an "and/or" thing. Expect that we end up playing against at least 3 or 4 of the C-7 anyways in the OOC.

Finally, if the fanbase plummets, it's NOT going to be because they can't see DePaul and Seton Hall at the XL center anymore...

I guess my main feeling is that with the exception of DePaul, at least our fans care about playing those schools. Mainly due to the fact that we've being doing so for 3 decades. College sports is largely about tradition and I'm just kind of afraid that we are going to lose our connection to everything that helped UConn become so great. Hopefully, I'm overreacting. This basketball season is just really taking a toll on me knowing that everything we've known is about to go away and be significantly downgraded.

 

[UConnDan97]

I should also add that I think that people's views of some of these incoming teams are skewed by their football teams. In other words, I'm not sure people realize that Tulane has a record of 12-5, with wins over Tulsa and Alabama, or that Houston is 12-5 with a win over TCU and a recruiting class that would make most schools jealous. These are going to be some pretty decent basketball schools and they are going to be no different at all from the bottom end of the C-7, with perhaps a great deal more upside...


Note: Every single one of the incoming teams already has double-digit wins, and nobody has a losing record (lowest = SMU at 11-9).

 

[UConnDan97]

I guess my main feeling is that with the exception of DePaul, at least our fans care about playing those schools. Mainly due to the fact that we've being doing so for 3 decades. College sports is largely about tradition and I'm just kind of afraid that we are going to lose our connection to everything that helped UConn become so great. Hopefully, I'm overreacting. This basketball season is just really taking a toll on me knowing that everything we've known is about to go away and be significantly downgraded.

Yeah, it doesn't help that they won't let us play in the final Big East Tourney, either. But if it's any consolation, I really do feel strongly that we are going to end up playing against many of our traditional rivals in the C-7, regardless of conference outcome. You will see St. John's, Providence, and Nova in the Gampel again, my friend! Mark my words...