I haven't posted on this topic in a while because it is so depressing to think about. The spring recruiting/transfer bloodbath in basketball pretty much confirms every fear for those that thought joining a southern mid-major conference was a terrible idea. We are 3 years removed from a national freaking championship and we whiffed on every ranked prospect we went after, despite having a bunch of playing time to offer. Our star from last year's class has a bum shoulder, and the next highest ranked recruit has already transferred, leaving us ONE Top 100 player from the LAST TWO YEARS that is healthy. Adams from the 2015 class gives us two in 3. Maybe Gilbert comes back 100% next year, but the fact that UConn has had three classes in a row like this hasn't happened since Perno. Adams is the only clear NBA prospect on the roster.
The basketball board is talking itself into an NCAA run in the hope that Larrier and Gilbert get healthy. The AAC is a 2-3 bid league next year. UConn has to win close to 30 games to get an at-large, which will be tough with a new front court. If Ollie does that, he deserves National Coach of the Year consideration. This conference is absolutely killing the basketball program, which was absolutely predictable 5 years ago when we went down this road. Ollie has his problems, but I am fairly confident that the next coach we get will be a big step down.
The Big East had 4 programs with Top 25 recruiting classes. There are dozens of posters on this board that have claimed at some point that the Big East and AAC were equivalent in hoops. That seems ridiculous now, doesn't it?
Everything I have said about football still stands, with the added benefit that the state finances are a train wreck making that money losing program more vulnerable. The conference hasn't helped the football program at all. All the problems of being one of 2 northeastern teams in a southern conference have only gotten worse over time. If a Florida kid can't or doesn't want to play SEC or ACC, he has to choose UConn over 11 AAC programs that are closer to him. We are getting what is left. I think we should focus our recruiting on the northeast and midwest. To be honest, I don't have any good suggestions left for football. We have made our bed.
UConn can not keep doing the same thing and hoping for a different result. It needs to find a way to better monetize the football program, either without the AAC or through a completely differently structured television contract where we keep our TV rights. The basketball program has to beg its way into the Big East, or I think we should join the A10. The door to the P5 is shut, forever. The absolutely best, fantasyland case is that the next round of realignment creates a stub Big 12 that is looking for new members, in SEVEN YEARS. I can't imagine we would be picked to join that given the condition of our athletic program, but we aren't doing ourselves any favors by staying in the AAC. The next best case is that streaming opens up more opportunities for schools to monetize their own broadcast rights, making independence a more viable option. Staying where we are is not a long-term solution in any scenario.