UConn “Telling Our Story” CT Insider Article

[jostar1]

To be fair to Dave, all the damage was really done before he got here. I think he's now realizing he should have done more when he was hired but it's also hard to get your name out there when your programs aren't doing well. It's a lot easier to beat the drum coming off another national title and lining up what should be a very competitive football season.

He was hired in 2016. He's been at UConn for 7 years.

To say NOW, "We have to get our story out" is lame.

And for Mike Anthony not to ask the question is lame.

Just tell me what the plan is, Dave.

 

[superjohn]

Shutting down the football activities in 2020 was the right move and the only reason other people didn't is because of pure greed.

I think edsall was a booster call and he was hoping edsall could be competent on the cheap. I don't totally blame him for edsall checking out completely but he should have been fired after year 1

Shutting down football was a ridiculous decision. It signified we're about as serious about football as Brown is.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I think UConn thought they could generate some positive PR by shutting football down at the cost of maybe 3 or 4 games as given an Indy schedule they would have been limited somewhat.

Instead like with everything UConn athletics it made us look smalltime and like we just simply don't get college football.

 

[hardcorehusky]

I like Dave. But, some damage was done during his tenure. Rehiring Edsall and shutting down football in 2020. I hope Dave stays at UConn for a long time as I think he is the right guy to lead the athletic department. But, if Dave leaves before we are in a power conference, then the next AD should be a sports minded ex financial services CEO/hedge fund guru from Fairfield County who has the connections to raise big money for the AD. Have competent athletic administrators manage the various sports on a day to day basis, but we need a rainmaker if we are not making P5 money.

Your describing Paul Pendergrass who while not from Fairfield County, fund raising was his forte. He did not stay for very long.

 

[JMick]

Shutting down football was a ridiculous decision. It signified we're about as serious about football as Brown is.

Nah it was the right thing to do. The players are still student athletes and not professionals. They shouldn't have been put at unnecessary risk.

Football literally shouldn't be that serious. The fact that it is treated so seriously is insane. Football is going to be a dead sport in 30 years.

 

[AntG168]

Nah it was the right thing to do. The players are still student athletes and not professionals. They shouldn't have been put at unnecessary risk.

Football literally shouldn't be that serious. The fact that it is treated so seriously is insane. Football is going to be a dead sport in 30 years.

While I agree, this thought process is shared by the majority of north easterners and it’s why we aren’t wanted. It has to be

 

[Waquoit]

Just tell me what the plan is, Dave.

Don't you have a cloud to yell at?

 

[superjohn]

Nah it was the right thing to do. The players are still student athletes and not professionals. They shouldn't have been put at unnecessary risk.

Football literally shouldn't be that serious. The fact that it is treated so seriously is insane. Football is going to be a dead sport in 30 years.

Nobody is forced to do anything, if a player had comorbidities or didn't feel comfortable playing for other reasons they obviously woudn't have been forced to play. They wanted to play and everyone around the country played except for UConn...You've posted over and over that UConn hasn't taken football seriously enough, Big East is not where UConn should be, and football is what matters in getting UConn a seat at the table. Nothing they've done has made them look as Mickey Mouse as that decision did. It was the wrong decision and added to UConn not looking like a place that's serious about football.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

The Nutmeg State has a rich history in terms of a strong Yankee work ethic and ingenuity. But, telling our story and marketing haven't been a strong suit and UConn is guilty of this as well. The BOT, the President's office, and the Athletic Department need to share the blame. Unfortunately there has been major turnover in the President's Office and moderate turnover in the AD's office. The BOT failed the University. The Board really needs to be looked at to see if they are serving the AD well enough. Money obviously helps, but strategic thinking is a must because if we have the right marketing strategy then our work ethic and ingenuity will lead to the promise land.

 

[Hamms30]

Nobody is forced to do anything, if a player had comorbidities or didn't feel comfortable playing for other reasons they obviously woudn't have been forced to play. They wanted to play and everyone around the country played except for UConn...You've posted over and over that UConn hasn't taken football seriously enough, Big East is not where UConn should be, and football is what matters in getting UConn a seat at the table. Nothing they've done has made them look as Mickey Mouse as that decision did. It was the wrong decision and added to UConn not looking like a place that's serious about football.

I don't remember the timeline of the rules, but I thought the non starter was the fact that if they team traveled out of state or any team traveling into the state had to quarantine for a week or something like that. It wasn't 100% the football team didn't want to do it. With the rules in place, a good portion of the season was just impractical to pursue.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Shutting down football was a ridiculous decision. It signified we're about as serious about football as Brown is.

There was a tremendous amount at play there, including the fact that at the time of the shutdown decision, our state wasn't allowing people to travel out of state without a two week quarantine.

If we did attempt to play the season, we faced a strong possibility of having to cancel home games (as our team may have still been in quarantine) and likely cancel some road games and face financial repercussions if not fulfilling a contractual obligation.

That was a situation where we were screwed if we tried to play and we were screwed if we decided not to but the costs were going to be far greater if we tried.

 

[superjohn]

There was a tremendous amount at play there, including the fact that at the time of the shutdown decision, our state wasn't allowing people to travel out of state without a two week quarantine.

If we did attempt to play the season, we faced a strong possibility of having to cancel home games (as our team may have still been in quarantine) and likely cancel some road games and face financial repercussions if not fulfilling a contractual obligation.

That was a situation where we were screwed if we tried to play and we were screwed if we decided not to but the costs were going to be far greater if we tried.

And they were also fine canceling the season because they knew they weren't going to win any games that season.

 

[superjohn]

I don't remember the timeline of the rules, but I thought the non starter was the fact that if they team traveled out of state or any team traveling into the state had to quarantine for a week or something like that. It wasn't 100% the football team didn't want to do it. With the rules in place, a good portion of the season was just impractical to pursue.

And it hammered it home even more to people around the country that UConn isn't serious about football.

 

[ZooCougar]

And it hammered it home even more to people around the country that UConn isn't serious about football.

And that would be the incorrect conclusion. We were trading space for time.

 

[RedStickHusky]

And they were also fine canceling the season because they knew they weren't going to win any games that season.

But they were going to spend the year getting better....

 

[nelsonmuntz]

These are the last round of massive linear contracts, and the remaining conferences used them to expand with ESPN's and Fox's money. We are out.

There will be another round of changes when this round of linear contracts expire and schools transition to a streaming model. There are several ways that can break and it is too early to tell what that next round of realignment will look like.

 

[UConnJim]

UMass played all their games on the road. All the other teams you mentioned were in a conference that could guarantee them games. We didn't have that luxury.

The independents that played games in 2020: Liberty, UMass, Army, BYU, New Mexico State. UConn and Old Dominion were the only 2 schools that didn't play.

 

[JMick]

Nobody is forced to do anything, if a player had comorbidities or didn't feel comfortable playing for other reasons they obviously woudn't have been forced to play. They wanted to play and everyone around the country played except for UConn...You've posted over and over that UConn hasn't taken football seriously enough, Big East is not where UConn should be, and football is what matters in getting UConn a seat at the table. Nothing they've done has made them look as Mickey Mouse as that decision did. It was the wrong decision and added to UConn not looking like a place that's serious about football.

You're attributing a lot of statements to me that are just flat out untrue or misrepresentwd. I'm on the record saying that it's wild football is still this sacred cow because it's going to be over sooner rather than later. We will reach a point that football is more akin to gladiators than anything else. When all the CTE issues pop up for the TikTok generation this ish is over.

When I say "football is all that matters" it's in relation to how these dumbf regions of the country think. I'm not saying it's our fault, I'm saying it's how their minds work and how information is fed to them.

I agree with Yormark and think MBB is the future. I just don't think we're getting a seat at this point unless something changes sooner than I expect it to.

 

[superjohn]

You're attributing a lot of statements to me that are just flat out untrue or misrepresentwd. I'm on the record saying that it's wild football is still this sacred cow because it's going to be over sooner rather than later. We will reach a point that football is more akin to gladiators than anything else. When all the CTE issues pop up for the TikTok generation this ish is over.

When I say "football is all that matters" it's in relation to how these dumbf regions of the country think. I'm not saying it's our fault, I'm saying it's how their minds work and how information is fed to them.

I agree with Yormark and think MBB is the future. I just don't think we're getting a seat at this point unless something changes sooner than I expect it to.

If football is going to be dead in the future and basketball is the future how is UConn's basketball program dead in the future? Also, why do you care about UConn football being dead in the future if the entire sport will be dead in the future?

I assumed you're a football fan first because the majority of your posts are about football both at the college level and the high school level.

 

[JMick]

If football is going to be dead in the future and basketball is the future how is UConn's basketball program dead in the future? Also, why do you care about UConn football being dead in the future if the entire sport will be dead in the future?

I assumed you're a football fan first because the majority of your posts are about football both at the college level and the high school level.

I'm more of a football fan in general than a basketball fan. I admittedly know more about football than basketball because I played football for a long time and coached for a little bit. When it comes to UConn, though, I'm definitely a big basketball fan and supporter and I care more about the basketball program. I'm not as knowledgeable but I care about the product more.

The issue will be that there is a breakaway from the NCAA and when that happens the brands will matter more than the sport. So a crappy program with the non-NCAA label will be worth more than what's left in the NCAA. If revenue sharing happens it's lights out for non-autonomous leagues.

 

[pj]

Part of our issue is how the State itself is viewed in the West and the South... "In Texas we call that a county" kind of stuff.

You just answer, yes, a county with 3.6 million people, bordered by another county with 18 million people and a third with 7 million people.

 

[superjohn]

I'm more of a football fan in general than a basketball fan. I admittedly know more about football than basketball because I played football for a long time and coached for a little bit. When it comes to UConn, though, I'm definitely a big basketball fan and supporter and I care more about the basketball program. I'm not as knowledgeable but I care about the product more.

The issue will be that there is a breakaway from the NCAA and when that happens the brands will matter more than the sport. So a crappy program with the non-NCAA label will be worth more than what's left in the NCAA. If revenue sharing happens it's lights out for non-autonomous leagues.

The brands will matter more than the sport and you think the best basketball program in the country will be dead? It doesn't add up to me.

If what you predict happens and football will be dead in the future and basketball is the future that's amazing news for UConn and Duke.

 

[ZooCougar]

But they were going to spend the year getting better....

Remember that time, on the Boneyard, when everyone said the team would get better for skipping a season?

I ‘member.

 

[JMick]

The brands will matter more than the sport and you think the best basketball program in the country will be dead? It doesn't add up to me.

If what you predict happens and football will be dead in the future and basketball is the future that's amazing news for UConn and Duke.

I think the delta between the breakaway and when football becomes irrelevant is going to be so great that brands like UConn and Duke won't matter anymore. We already have people who think memphis and Oregon State are good at football. The same type of thing will happen with basketball and the excluded teams will fade into nothingness

 

[superjohn]

Remember that time, on the Boneyard, when everyone said the team would get better for skipping a season?

I ‘member.

Everyone knows you get better by not playing anyone, lolz.