AAC as a pretty good basketball league?

[Scrutineer]

The day after the Ollie news hit, when it suddenly seemed like our players would be sticking around before we even had a new coach in place, I started to get very optimistic about our future. That included the AAC even, sure I'd much rather be in the ACC or Big East, but if Wichita/Cinci stay sturdy, and we get back to where we belong, as well as Memphis and SMU being strong, then throw in a team like Houston or Temple and so on being a bubble team, this conference can absolutely be good enough for us to compete for titles.


I think it can be close to what we thought in our most optimistic days right after the NBE broke off when Lville and Rutgers were still around. It can be a good enough league where if we are battling for the title every year, we're a good team that is respected. We need to do our part and the league really wont hold us back.

Maybe a couple of top of the line 5 star kids will scoff at our recruiting because we aren't in the ACC, but most kids will be open to playing in our league and that's all that matters really to me

You're an optimist like me......at least at the start of every year. Just ask my wife.

Having said that, I was hopeful of a good showing by the league this year. With 2, 4 and 6 seeds it seemed the AAC was getting some respect and all we needed was two to make the Sweet Sixteen. That would have validated how strong at least the top of the league was. Even one in the S16 would have been good, but we all know how that worked out.

As to respect with recruits, maybe you didn't see the quote from one of the top HS coaches in New Jersey who commented that his kids don't view the AAC nearly the way we'd like them to, so getting the top guys may be a challenge we can never meet. But, Geno elevated the Big East and maybe UConn will now be able to add the star power to elevate the men's side.

 

[Slasher]

I said this in another thread but I think if UCONN does its share of heavy lifting, the whole outlook on the conference changes. We have the right guys in charge of the football and basketball programs to make that happen.

I agree with other members, though, in saying we could desperately use another team or two somewhere around us. Poach somebody and bring in UMass. I would also like to see what would happen after a few years of Temple and UCONN both being good - they're the only thing close we have to being a "regional" rival, after all

No doubt about your first point. Not so sure on the 2nd point. UConn has a team a hell of a lot closer than Cincinnati does and they're doing just fine. Cincinnati is more centrally located, but they're not taking buses anywhere in conference.

 

[Urcea]

No doubt about your first point. Not so sure on the 2nd point. UConn has a team a hell of a lot closer than Cincinnati does and they're doing just fine. Cincinnati is more centrally located, but they're not taking buses anywhere in conference.

i don't think we need it as much for recruiting as some others do, i just want electric rivalry games that makes me hate other academic institutions for no reason because it's fun. easier to do in-region

 

[whaler11]

The Big XII has ten teams. How many got in the tournament? How many are still playing? Seven and four.

I'm not saying the American will become that good, simply that it could. There is no artificial ceiling on it. Getting 5-6 teams in for a 12 team league doesn't mean the other teams suck. Rather the opposite from an RPI perspective. The teams the Big XII didn't get in this year were almost all pretty good bubble/NIT teams (Baylor, OSU).

UConn can become whatever it wants. The main issue the American faces is whether those teams at the bottom will make the investment to become better. I think Tulane is trying. Tulsa is trying. UCF is trying. ECU and USF? Not so much.

There is a huge giant real ceiling on it.

Money.

UConn can’t just become whatever it wants. It would be nice if it worked like that but it doesn’t.

 

[HuskyHawk]

There is a huge giant real ceiling on it.

Money.

UConn can’t just become whatever it wants. It would be nice if it worked like that but it doesn’t.

I don't think money is a significant limitation on basketball success. I think Gonzaga, Nova and others have already shown that.

 

[jibsey]

Don't forget AAC also had the NCAA College Football National Champs, so we're on the rise!

Alabama is in the AAC?

 

[whaler11]

I don't think money is a significant limitation on basketball success. I think Gonzaga, Nova and others have already shown that.

Well if you just make up an alternate reality sure.

Just grab a half dozen new Fews and Wrights from the factory.

While somehow supporting football on a 2 million dollar TV contract.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

There is a huge giant real ceiling on it.

Money.

UConn can’t just become whatever it wants. It would be nice if it worked like that but it doesn’t.

Agreed. At some point we're not going to be able to fund our AD like we do now.

I do think men's hoops will be the last to feel the pain and it'll be a slow bleeding out process starting with non-revenue sports, Geno's retirement, football, and so on.

But at some point we just can't funding the AD with a $40M+ subsidy.

 

[whaler11]

Agreed. At some point we're not going to be able to fund our AD like we do now.

I do think men's hoops will be the last to feel the pain and it'll be a slow bleeding out process starting with non-revenue sports, Geno's retirement, football, and so on.

But at some point we just can't funding the AD with a $40M+ subsidy.

Something is going to give. Saw EMU dumped 4 programs this week. Pretty much at the FBS minimum.

Will be interesting if the FBS minimum goes lower than 16 because a lot of schools have got to be looking at it.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Something is going to give. Saw EMU dumped 4 programs this week. Pretty much at the FBS minimum.

Will be interesting if the FBS minimum goes lower than 16 because a lot of schools have got to be looking at it.

It's almost inconceivable that in the face of all this, UConn has upgraded to Hockey East and has plans to rebuild fields and stadiums for non-revenue sports. I know that for the stadium and field upgrades that were funded through donations, but at the same time, I would think there would be a more effective use for the money.

I've said it a ton, but any money that isn't spent on men's basketball or football is near sighted. Even if football gets back to 2007-2010 levels and hoops becomes a tourney team again, the last life boat has probably already left the titanic.

 

[whaler11]

It's almost inconceivable that in the face of all this, UConn has upgraded to Hockey East and has plans to rebuild fields and stadiums for non-revenue sports. I know that for the stadium and field upgrades that were funded through donations, but at the same time, I would think there would be a more effective use for the money.

I've said it a ton, but any money that isn't spent on men's basketball or football is near sighted. Even if football gets back to 2007-2010 levels and hoops becomes a tourney team again, the last life boat has probably already left the titanic.

The noise on dropping football is going to get really loud, really fast.

This coming season ain’t gonna help.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The noise on dropping football is going to get really loud, really fast.

This coming season ain’t gonna help.

I was thinking the same thing. It's likely two more brutal seasons too unless they catch lightning in a bottle with a QB.

People have been clamoring for Big East hoops for years already and at some point it does get difficult to justify the product we see on the gridiron every fall. I've had a bit of a change of heart and do think that the Big East would be included in a breakaway from the NCAA for March Madness purposes, but if it's P5 schools reeling in $40M+, there's no way Big East schools would be able to retain talent anyway.

 

[whaler11]

I was thinking the same thing. It's likely two more brutal seasons too unless they catch lightning in a bottle with a QB.

People have been clamoring for Big East hoops for years already and at some point it does get difficult to justify the product we see on the gridiron every fall. I've had a bit of a change of heart and do think that the Big East would be included in a breakaway from the NCAA for March Madness purposes, but if it's P5 schools reeling in $40M+, there's no way Big East schools would be able to retain talent anyway.

I think the Big East will continue to be pretty good because they don’t have to feed the football master and they can still recruit to schools where the basketball players are BMOC.

They don’t have huge national fanbases but they have great atmospheres at places like Marquette, Butler, Creighton etc.

Even with the penalty of playing on Fox they have a league where everyone was a top 101 team this year - that isn’t easy.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I think the Big East will continue to be pretty good because they don’t have to feed the football master and they can still recruit to schools where the basketball players are BMOC.

They don’t have huge national fanbases but they have great atmospheres at places like Marquette, Butler, Creighton etc.

Even with the penalty of playing on Fox they have a league where everyone was a top 101 team this year - that isn’t easy.

It's a really fun league. The fact that they still own the Garden in March makes me pretty damn envious.

Obviously sucks, but the only way we would ever be a member again is dropping football.

 

[tduconn]

That's become the case in many of these leagues now. Hard to be worse than West Virginia. Creighton is another one. Would help if Temple could become what they were under Chaney again.

True, in the current conference both UConn and Temple have travel challenges. But in recent ACC and BIG conference alignments, both Syracuse and Pittsburgh "rivals" in the ACC are quite distant, and new rivals for Rutgers and Maryland in the BIG, absent Penn State, are also quite distant. Wisconsin and Minnesota aren't actually next door neighbors, and neither are the other Midwestern BIG schools actually neighbors. If UConn was in either ACC or BIG, travel challenges wouldn't exactly disappear.

Look at the PAC schools......from Washington to Arizona and everyone in between, now includes Colorado and Utah.

The old NE Yankee Conference rivalries and proximities are no longer a reality in "big time " college sports

 

[HuskyHawk]

Well if you just make up an alternate reality sure.

Just grab a half dozen new Fews and Wrights from the factory.

While somehow supporting football on a 2 million dollar TV contract.

There is the possible and the probable. The improbable has occurred in the past and will occur again. Where and how is hard to predict. I'm not willing to say it's impossible for these programs to make a significant improvement.

I'm not saying the schools in the American are in a great financial situation. I think the contract is about to improve, and if we can start winning NCAA credits at a better clip, that will help as well. But it is certainly reasonable to see the American putting 5-6 teams in the tournament at some point. The coaching hires have been good. Most teams are trending up, with the exception of UConn.

I think football at UConn will have an upside surprise this year, and that will help our situation.

 

[whaler11]

There is the possible and the probable. The improbable has occurred in the past and will occur again. Where and how is hard to predict. I'm not willing to say it's impossible for these programs to make a significant improvement.

I'm not saying the schools in the American are in a great financial situation. I think the contract is about to improve, and if we can start winning NCAA credits at a better clip, that will help as well. But it is certainly reasonable to see the American putting 5-6 teams in the tournament at some point. The coaching hires have been good. Most teams are trending up, with the exception of UConn.

I think football at UConn will have an upside surprise this year, and that will help our situation.

Again how about the league not crash and burn one time before potential greatness is ascribed to it.

 

[Exit 4]

The potential is there for next year, but we all need to chillax and see some squads make the sweet 16, elite 8 and final 4 first.

 

[ASweet3781]

As long as Mick Cronin and SMU are the faces of the league, it will never be respected nor should it.

 

[BlueDogs]

There is the possible and the probable. The improbable has occurred in the past and will occur again. Where and how is hard to predict. I'm not willing to say it's impossible for these programs to make a significant improvement.

I'm not saying the schools in the American are in a great financial situation. I think the contract is about to improve, and if we can start winning NCAA credits at a better clip, that will help as well. But it is certainly reasonable to see the American putting 5-6 teams in the tournament at some point. The coaching hires have been good. Most teams are trending up, with the exception of UConn.

I think football at UConn will have an upside surprise this year, and that will help our situation.

The AAC Conf Football
Championship and the follow-on whooping put on Auburn did wonders for elevating the national perception of the conference. We just need to sustain the high level of competitive play and have more OCC success and the American will start competing for media dollars.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Again how about the league not crash and burn one time before potential greatness is ascribed to it.

Don't misunderstand me, I'd love for UConn to go to a P5 (other than the Pac). I simply think that the reality of this league and its potential exceeds the reputation generally given to it. That was true of Big East football as well. It was derided by many, while performing above that reputation in reality. I think the reputation of the NBE in basketball exceeds its real performance, with the exception of Villanova.

 

[willie99]

The league has only been around since 2014, how many national championships should they have? Or did you mean teams in the conference that have national titles? In that 2nd case, Cincinnati has two. But also Houston has two title game appearances, Memphis also has two, and Cincinnati has three.

I certainly didn't mean anything negative about the league, thought that was clear when I suggested the money should flow soon

I also referenced national titles as a mitigating factor to us being a disappointment for the league thus far, in MBB & Football

And my time frame would be since the inception of the league, since I'm not one to care about accomplishments from the 60's. Hence I don't believe Army is a national football power anymore either

 

[whaler11]

Don't misunderstand me, I'd love for UConn to go to a P5 (other than the Pac). I simply think that the reality of this league and its potential exceeds the reputation generally given to it. That was true of Big East football as well. It was derided by many, while performing above that reputation in reality. I think the reputation of the NBE in basketball exceeds its real performance, with the exception of Villanova.

You believe that because it’s what you want to believe. The data shows the opposite.

 

[JellyBean]

I have said it over and over again, the AAC is going to a conference force in 5-8 Years. I am glad that UConn stayed with this conference when others were saying that we needed to beg other conferences to take us in. The rise of Houston, the Shockers, and Cincy has only made the AAC that much better. We will see what Memphis does with their new coach. We will see what we can do with our new coach here at UConn. The AAC is the place to be and I am glad that we stayed! #BleedBlue

 

[MASSconn]

The AAC will never be a thing.

People who defend it do so out of insecurity.


Nobody on earth respects it. Counting the days till we're out,

 

[John]

You believe that because it’s what you want to believe. The data shows the opposite.

The "Big East" is a small-time conference made up of small-time schools, no upside there.

Pass.

 

[junglehusky]

The "Big East" is a small-time conference made up of small-time schools, no upside there.

Pass.

They might be "small" compared to the big state schools, but they have a coherent geographic relationship. We have road games in Tulsa and Wichita. And compared to the latter two schools, the BE's academics look like the Ivy League.

 

[John]

They might be "small" compared to the big state schools, but they have a coherent geographic relationship. We have road games in Tulsa and Wichita. And compared to the latter two schools, the BE's academics look like the Ivy League.

I'm more interested in athletic conferences not one trick pony basketball leagues. And who gives a rip about academics, we're talking banners here not eggheads. Sorry I just have a higher standard for Uconn athletics than you do I guess, I don't want to return to the Yankee Conference II. The real Big East is dead and buried.

 

[junglehusky]

I'm more interested in athletic conferences not one trick pony basketball leagues. And who gives a rip about academics, we're talking banners here not eggheads. Sorry I just have a higher standard for Uconn athletics than you do I guess, I don't want to return to the Yankee Conference II. The real Big East is dead and buried.

Who gives a rip about academics? Only the UConn admissions department, and the professors who bring in grant money to the university, and the students who are deciding what college to apply to. And they associate the conference with the school brand.

The academics in the bottom half of the AAC is straight garbage. And their sports are too. I want nothing to do with East Carolina or Tulsa and every time we have to play them in any sport I die a little inside.

 

[whaler11]

The "Big East" is a small-time conference made up of small-time schools, no upside there.

Pass.

Yes there is no basketball upside for schools in a league that had two 1 seeds.

Better to hang with Tulsa and Tulane.