The AAC and ESPN: will there be an eventual slide?

[RegisteredUconn]

This is probably not a good time for this. Then again, I'm not sure when the right time might be. Our current conference affiliation and its potential affects on the program have been discussed on several occasions. Here is one more datum to add to the pile: ESPN no longer considers us worthy of tracking with the "important" programs. "Important" is my word, not theirs. I've applied it to those 65 teams (the so-called P5) for which ESPN daily tracks, ranks, and publishes four team statistics: points per game; rebounds per game; assists per game; and field goal percentage. By ignoring the American and other lesser conferences, ESPN can, for example, unashamedly assert that Baylor is 1st Overall in scoring at 89.5 points per game even though UConn is scoring 89.9 ppg.

I understand the "as long as we have Geno" and "winning is what matters" arguments. I agree with them. Perception plays its role as well though, particularly in the lifeblood of every program, recruiting. Every time we find ourselves marginalized, or diminished in the discussion ("oh UConn? Who cares, they're not #1" or "UConn? They lost, they're not that good anymore" or "Sure UConn clobbered Team X without Player Y. What's your point?") our perception in the eyes of the cumulative others is lessened. Perhaps the diminution is negligible, imperceptible even, but unless addressed, it is cumulative. Rome neither rose nor fell in a fortnight. Just sayin'.

 

[Goodgood]

You can say all you want, if no P5 wants you, which is what it is currently, all you can do is make the best out of the situation. I am sure our president and AD are working very hard behind the scene to get us out of the AAC.

There is nothing anyone can do until the football team starts winning. Could be a long wait.

In the meantime, let's enjoy the WBB team.

 

[lsj001]

Where are you finding the important category. Every Stat page I read has us listed. Just wondering.

 

[Beemer]

Like Goodgood said it all hinges on the football team. If UConn is to have any kind of shot at getting into a decent conference the football team has to start winning.
I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen and I don't think anyone else should either. The program has been abysmal since Randy Edsall left for Maryland.

 

[huskeynut]

Like Goodgood said it all hinges on the football team. If UConn is to have any kind of shot at getting into a decent conference the football team has to start winning.
I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen and I don't think anyone else should either. The program has been abysmal since Randy Edsall left for Maryland.

Terrible football since Edsel left - yes. Its also correctable. While many are down on Diaco, its too early to tell. The Pasqueloni regime did a great amount of damage to the football program and it cannot be corrected over night. Frankly, I believe Diaco is on the right track.

UCONN basketball will remain very relevant on the national scene. And no one knows what realignment will bring in the future. There are too many variables to even begin to figure it out.

 

[meyers7]

Well 9 regular season games on ESPN (2), a couple more on CBSSN, 2 of the 3 Players to Know (or 3 to see or whatever they're called), a 3 part special on Geno, doesn't sound all that irrelevant to me. Or even sliding.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Where are you finding the important category. Every Stat page I read has us listed. Just wondering.

On each team page is a tab called "Clubhouse" (other tabs are "Schedule" "Roster" "Photos" "Tickets" "Shop"). The Clubhouse tab shows information about the last game played and next game scheduled at the top. For P5 schools, immediately below the last game/next game info is a section with the header
2014-15 OVERALL RANKINGS. That section is not presented for non-P5 schools.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Well 9 regular season games on ESPN (2), a couple more on CBSSN, 2 of the 3 Players to Know (or 3 to see or whatever they're called), a 3 part special on Geno, doesn't sound all that irrelevant to me. Or even sliding.

Originally, I titled the thread "The Slide Into Irrelevance?" to show that, like you, I question whether we are sliding at all. Somewhere along the way, the question mark disappeared. My point is that, at some point, everything lapses into decay. Are we at that point? I don't think so but I truly believe it will start so slowly we'll only know it happened significantly after the fact, and it will be the cumulative effect of several things. Most important of those things is recruiting. Recruiting hinges on perception and perception is impacted by a lot of (sometimes insignificant) stuff. A good way of speeding up decay is to lose focus, to deny reality, to pretend small things are unimportant, to think accomplishing the "big picture" is independent of accomplishing the details. "For want of a nail the shoe was lost" etc.

 

[meyers7]

Well 9 regular season games on ESPN (2), a couple more on CBSSN, 2 of the 3 Players to Know (or 3 to see or whatever they're called), a 3 part special on Geno, doesn't sound all that irrelevant to me. Or even sliding.

Originally, I titled the thread "The Slide Into Irrelevance?" to show that, like you, I question whether we are sliding at all. Somewhere along the way, the question mark disappeared. My point is that, at some point, everything lapses into decay. Are we at that point? I don't think so but I truly believe it will start so slowly we'll only know it happened significantly after the fact, and it will be the cumulative effect of several things. Most important of those things is recruiting. Recruiting hinges on perception and perception is impacted by a lot of (sometimes insignificant) stuff. A good way of speeding up decay is to lose focus, to deny reality, to pretend small things are unimportant, to think accomplishing the "big picture" is independent of accomplishing the details. "For want of a nail the shoe was lost" etc.

Ok, granted every team/program goes down eventually. But it will have to be a few recruiting classes. We've had one offs, where our classes weren't ranked or where ranked pretty low for us. 2013 class, we weren't ranked in the top 20. 2009 we were ranked like 49th. Neither class really bothered us much. We are already sitting pretty good for 2015 and 2016. So it will have to be a couple or 3 in a row and then it won't show up for a year or two after that.

 

[meyers7]

On each team page is a tab called "Clubhouse" (other tabs are "Schedule" "Roster" "Photos" "Tickets" "Shop"). The Clubhouse tab shows information about the last game played and next game scheduled at the top. For P5 schools, immediately below the last game/next game info is a section with the header
2014-15 OVERALL RANKINGS. That section is not presented for non-P5 schools.

Ah, that's why. hmmmm I thought it was because I have UCONN selected as a "Favorite". I spent about 1/2 hour one day trying to fix that.

 

[HGN]

There is no question about it , football is where the money is. And football pays the bills at most schools athletic departments. And there is NO question that most AD's in the P5 would rather stay away from UConn's BB programs.

But at UConn , BB is King. And football is the little Prince right now. Until the Prince grows up and inherits the Throne , BB will have to carry the day and septer.
Nothing to be ashamed of but not the ideal situation when large TV contracts are all centered around football.

 

[cabbie191]

There is no question about it , football is where the money is. And football pays the bills at most schools athletic departments. And there is NO question that most AD's in the P5 would rather stay away from UConn's BB programs.

But at UConn , BB is King. And football is the little Prince right now. Until the Prince grows up and inherits the Throne , BB will have to carry the day and septer.
Nothing to be ashamed of but not the ideal situation when large TV contracts are all centered around football.

The P5 conferences, as an entity, is one thing. I think a bigger threat to college athletics is if schools are given by the NCAA, or find through a lawsuit that they already have this, the right to pay their athletes living stipends. If that happens, then even a lot of schools in the P5 conferences will find it difficult to compete against big-money schools like Texas.

 

[iamcbs]

This is probably not a good time for this. Then again, I'm not sure when the right time might be. Our current conference affiliation and its potential affects on the program have been discussed on several occasions. Here is one more datum to add to the pile: ESPN no longer considers us worthy of tracking with the "important" programs. "Important" is my word, not theirs. I've applied it to those 65 teams (the so-called P5) for which ESPN daily tracks, ranks, and publishes four team statistics: points per game; rebounds per game; assists per game; and field goal percentage. By ignoring the American and other lesser conferences, ESPN can, for example, unashamedly assert that Baylor is 1st Overall in scoring at 89.5 points per game even though UConn is scoring 89.9 ppg.

I understand the "as long as we have Geno" and "winning is what matters" arguments. I agree with them. Perception plays its role as well though, particularly in the lifeblood of every program, recruiting. Every time we find ourselves marginalized, or diminished in the discussion ("oh UConn? Who cares, they're not #1" or "UConn? They lost, they're not that good anymore" or "Sure UConn clobbered Team X without Player Y. What's your point?") our perception in the eyes of the cumulative others is lessened. Perhaps the diminution is negligible, imperceptible even, but unless addressed, it is cumulative. Rome neither rose nor fell in a fortnight. Just sayin'.

Its not WCBB that drives conference affiliation or even Men's BB, its FOOTBALL plain and simple!! None of the P5 Conferences wanted UConn because the FB Program sucks, the Stadium doesn't seat 50K and there's no major TV Market that is attractive. The Lady Huskies could win 10 more championships and it still wouldn't matter, because CFB is the straw that stirs the drink in the NCAA. Why do you think the ND FB Team steadfastly refuses to align with a conference? It doesn't want to share the massive revenue stream it enjoys. Do you think Rutgers and Maryland are part of the B1G because of outstanding athletics? The East Coast and NY TV Markets were appealing to the B1G Network which is already a huge revenue stream for the league.

So until UConn significantly upgrades its FB Program, it will be relegated to the AAC or some reasonable facsimile thereof.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Who are the Lady Huskies?

 

[HGN]

Who are the Lady Huskies?

A new singing group perhaps ?

 

[Ellie]

Like Goodgood said it all hinges on the football team. If UConn is to have any kind of shot at getting into a decent conference the football team has to start winning.
I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen and I don't think anyone else should either. The program has been abysmal since Randy Edsall left for Maryland.

Edsall was able to recruit better players because he was able to sell prospects using the old Big East football powers of Syracuse, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and so on. Diaco doesn't have that advantage. The other problem football has is the number of recruits needed to sustain a program year in and year out. Not an easy task when your not in one of the top conferences. Basketball is an entirely different animal. Get yourself a few couple of solid recruits each year and convince them to hang around to develope skills and gain in experience/confidence and you've got a pretty fair shot of national recognition. Without getting into a major conference recruiting in football is going to be tough for Uconn no matter who is coaching.

 

[EricLA]

Like Goodgood said it all hinges on the football team. If UConn is to have any kind of shot at getting into a decent conference the football team has to start winning.
I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen and I don't think anyone else should either. The program has been abysmal since Randy Edsall left for Maryland.

Pasqualoni drove the program into the ground. Diaco is a young and energetic coach and hopefully as he starts getting more of his own recruits he will be able to help the program rise from the ashes.

 

[sawxfan23]

Unfortunately, UConn is already getting hurt by its conference affiliation. The Men's Basketball team for example was ONLY able to recruit 2 kids(both of them local) in a year in which they won a National Championship, opened a state of the art practice facility, and signed Ollie to a long extension.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Unfortunately, UConn is already getting hurt by its conference affiliation. The Men's Basketball team for example was ONLY able to recruit 2 kids(both of them local) in a year in which they won a National Championship, opened a state of the art practice facility, and signed Ollie to a long extension.

Luckily WCBB is a lot less competitive than MCBB. Plus we have at least five more years of Geno before the women's team turns into "Tennessee: The Decline of a Legendary Program" part 2.

 

[Tonyc]

BB is king in CT. We cant let go of that. UConn was instrumental in building the Big East into the best BB conference in the nation. We need to do that in the AAC. We have the coaching that will attract players. We need to continue to have a great OOC schedule to gain national TV time. What will happen when the conference schedule begins is that fans all over America will yearn to see UConn on TV so a couple of OOC big games can satisfy that. They need to focus on that while building a big Football program. Will UConn be able to draw thousands of Football fans? Yes the did it in BB and they can do it in Football. It will take time. As of right now UConn needs to take the lead in building the AAC with their BB program. Continue to play in FFs and be patient building it. If UConn can get into a big conference great in the mean time they need to build with what they have and right now their strength is BB. BB will keep UConn on the map. Football is a work in process.

 

[zls44]

This is probably not a good time for this. Then again, I'm not sure when the right time might be. Our current conference affiliation and its potential affects on the program have been discussed on several occasions. Here is one more datum to add to the pile: ESPN no longer considers us worthy of tracking with the "important" programs. "Important" is my word, not theirs. I've applied it to those 65 teams (the so-called P5) for which ESPN daily tracks, ranks, and publishes four team statistics: points per game; rebounds per game; assists per game; and field goal percentage. By ignoring the American and other lesser conferences, ESPN can, for example, unashamedly assert that Baylor is 1st Overall in scoring at 89.5 points per game even though UConn is scoring 89.9 ppg. I understand the "as long as we have Geno" and "winning is what matters" arguments. I agree with them. Perception plays its role as well though, particularly in the lifeblood of every program, recruiting. Every time we find ourselves marginalized, or diminished in the discussion ("oh UConn? Who cares, they're not #1" or "UConn? They lost, they're not that good anymore" or "Sure UConn clobbered Team X without Player Y. What's your point?") our perception in the eyes of the cumulative others is lessened. Perhaps the diminution is negligible, imperceptible even, but unless addressed, it is cumulative. Rome neither rose nor fell in a fortnight. Just sayin'.

As someone who, like, actually helps control these things...post the link and I'll try and get that fixed. P5 is a FB-only thing, so any ranking system that doesn't include the AAC has been unintentionally set up incorrectly.

For MBB it's P5/BE/AAC...WBB should be the same as well.

 

[zls44]

Also, the WBB weekly stat update runs through us. So if you see that's off, let Nan know and she can poke me with a stick about it.

 

[cabbie191]

BB is king in CT. We cant let go of that. UConn was instrumental in building the Big East into the best BB conference in the nation. We need to do that in the AAC. We have the coaching that will attract players. We need to continue to have a great OOC schedule to gain national TV time. What will happen when the conference schedule begins is that fans all over America will yearn to see UConn on TV so a couple of OOC big games can satisfy that. They need to focus on that while building a big Football program. Will UConn be able to draw thousands of Football fans? Yes the did it in BB and they can do it in Football. It will take time. As of right now UConn needs to take the lead in building the AAC with their BB program. Continue to play in FFs and be patient building it. If UConn can get into a big conference great in the mean time they need to build with what they have and right now their strength is BB. BB will keep UConn on the map. Football is a work in process.

Perhaps my memory is foggy, or my facts are wrong, but it seems to me that even when UConn went to the Orange Bowl, and when they were ranked nationally, attendance was suspect. Few, if any, sold out games, and fans leaving many games early.

I remember as a kid failed attempts to keep a semi-pro football team in Hartford at Dillon Stadium. Connecticut has never been a strong football state, and while I hope Diaco has the same success as Edsall, I don't foresee Connecticut ever being a major football presence.

 

[uconnfan68]

BB is king in CT. We cant let go of that. UConn was instrumental in building the Big East into the best BB conference in the nation. We need to do that in the AAC. We have the coaching that will attract players. We need to continue to have a great OOC schedule to gain national TV time. What will happen when the conference schedule begins is that fans all over America will yearn to see UConn on TV so a couple of OOC big games can satisfy that. They need to focus on that while building a big Football program. Will UConn be able to draw thousands of Football fans? Yes the did it in BB and they can do it in Football. It will take time. As of right now UConn needs to take the lead in building the AAC with their BB program. Continue to play in FFs and be patient building it. If UConn can get into a big conference great in the mean time they need to build with what they have and right now their strength is BB. BB will keep UConn on the map. Football is a work in process.

No, UConn was instrumental in keeping the BE in the spotlight, but they didn't do much to actually build it. In WCBB it was slightly different, but even then there were better programs when the league started. We need to annex the rest of New England, NYC, and Long Island to get someone to look at us as viable for a P5 invite.

 

[sawxfan23]

BB is king in CT. We cant let go of that. UConn was instrumental in building the Big East into the best BB conference in the nation. We need to do that in the AAC. We have the coaching that will attract players. We need to continue to have a great OOC schedule to gain national TV time. What will happen when the conference schedule begins is that fans all over America will yearn to see UConn on TV so a couple of OOC big games can satisfy that. They need to focus on that while building a big Football program. Will UConn be able to draw thousands of Football fans? Yes the did it in BB and they can do it in Football. It will take time. As of right now UConn needs to take the lead in building the AAC with their BB program. Continue to play in FFs and be patient building it. If UConn can get into a big conference great in the mean time they need to build with what they have and right now their strength is BB. BB will keep UConn on the map. Football is a work in process.

That sounds all well and good Tony but honestly women's basketball means virtually nothing to conference realignment and the men's basketball team is unable to compete and recruit at the same level it is accustomed to because of the AAC. The only hope is that the football team can have a few successful seasons and UConn is able to get out of this pathetic conference. UConn is basically a glorified mid major right now!