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there has been a lot of talk about winners and losers in this debacle, but it seems to me there were winners and losers in the UConn community too.
Among the Losers:
Susan Herbst. For the second time she has been shut out of the ACC despite her Dukie connections and this time she was the leader in the clubhouse only to be beaten by a glorified community college that actually has a worse athletic department than UConn does...plus she was embarrassed in front of her Big East collegues by jumping the gun on informing them UConn was leaving. Between this and her earlier snub of the league after the SyraPitt move, I doubt there is much sympathy among the old line Big East. She has had a pretty easy time getting her way on some controversial subjects. But I suspect that ended Monday at 7AM. Watch for more negative press, and more pushback from faculty, staff, Board of Trustees, Legislature going forward.
Warde Manuel. Dead man walking. though my sense is that Herbst lead this parade, it was his department and his counterpart, Jurich, is getting all the credit for Louisville's success. He was monitoring the situation from the Virgin Islands...no chance he survives. He won't be fired, but look for him to move on within the next 12-18 months, maybe sooner. Wouldn't be shocked if they bring in an Associate AD in the near future to actually take over.
Paul Pasqualoni. He has taken lots of criticism for the failure of those way above his pay grade in this. Took his team to Louisville Saturday and made a mockery of the whole "louisville is better"nonsense. But I think he may need to win Saturday to keep his job now. But if not he will be under incredible pressure to win next year. Given the perception of the new Big East, 7-5 won't cut it. Manuel may be dead man walking but he may still try to salvage his reputation and his job by replacing coach P if we fail to make a bowl. He absolutley will next year, if he's still here.
But there were also some Winners to come out of this fiasco.
Jim Calhoun, or more properly his legacy. In the new A-10 version 2.0, AKA the Big East basketball league, Final Fours will be awfully hard to come by, national championships almost impossible. 10 years out, people will attribute UConn's fall to Calhoun's retirement more than the conference shuffle. this isn't a knock on Calhoun, but rather a commentary on the reality of where UConn finds itself.
UConn Hockey. This isn't so much a win, but an opportunity. Beginning in two years they will be the one UConn program that is part of a major national conference. While they won't ever overtake basketball, with a better than anticipated performance they could become a bit of a darling of the media and the casual sports fan.
Kevin Ollie. Warde Manuel needs to do something to rebuild at least a modicum of good will with the UConn fan base. How better than to give Ollie an extension. And since this year really won't matter then, how lucky can you get when instead of playing Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville, some maybe twice, you're looking at Tulane, Houston and SMU in your first year of officially competing for the Big East title.
Among the Losers:
Susan Herbst. For the second time she has been shut out of the ACC despite her Dukie connections and this time she was the leader in the clubhouse only to be beaten by a glorified community college that actually has a worse athletic department than UConn does...plus she was embarrassed in front of her Big East collegues by jumping the gun on informing them UConn was leaving. Between this and her earlier snub of the league after the SyraPitt move, I doubt there is much sympathy among the old line Big East. She has had a pretty easy time getting her way on some controversial subjects. But I suspect that ended Monday at 7AM. Watch for more negative press, and more pushback from faculty, staff, Board of Trustees, Legislature going forward.
Warde Manuel. Dead man walking. though my sense is that Herbst lead this parade, it was his department and his counterpart, Jurich, is getting all the credit for Louisville's success. He was monitoring the situation from the Virgin Islands...no chance he survives. He won't be fired, but look for him to move on within the next 12-18 months, maybe sooner. Wouldn't be shocked if they bring in an Associate AD in the near future to actually take over.
Paul Pasqualoni. He has taken lots of criticism for the failure of those way above his pay grade in this. Took his team to Louisville Saturday and made a mockery of the whole "louisville is better"nonsense. But I think he may need to win Saturday to keep his job now. But if not he will be under incredible pressure to win next year. Given the perception of the new Big East, 7-5 won't cut it. Manuel may be dead man walking but he may still try to salvage his reputation and his job by replacing coach P if we fail to make a bowl. He absolutley will next year, if he's still here.
But there were also some Winners to come out of this fiasco.
Jim Calhoun, or more properly his legacy. In the new A-10 version 2.0, AKA the Big East basketball league, Final Fours will be awfully hard to come by, national championships almost impossible. 10 years out, people will attribute UConn's fall to Calhoun's retirement more than the conference shuffle. this isn't a knock on Calhoun, but rather a commentary on the reality of where UConn finds itself.
UConn Hockey. This isn't so much a win, but an opportunity. Beginning in two years they will be the one UConn program that is part of a major national conference. While they won't ever overtake basketball, with a better than anticipated performance they could become a bit of a darling of the media and the casual sports fan.
Kevin Ollie. Warde Manuel needs to do something to rebuild at least a modicum of good will with the UConn fan base. How better than to give Ollie an extension. And since this year really won't matter then, how lucky can you get when instead of playing Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville, some maybe twice, you're looking at Tulane, Houston and SMU in your first year of officially competing for the Big East title.