AAC Expansion

[businesslawyer]

a. college sports cash = football. period.
b. temple, memphis, and wichita state will now play football in a conference of
Charlotte
ECU
FAU
Memphis
North Texas
Rice
SMU
Temple
Tulane
Tulsa
UAB
USF
UTSA
and Wichita State, ergo,
c. temple, memphis, and wichita state are thinking 'cool, bigtime football, we getting paid.'
and as to the 'Texas thing,' well, the State of Texas will be adding population equal to the current State of New York in the next couple of decades, with Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee putting us here in Connecticut in the population rearview mirror long ago, as they grow quite nicely. will this conference still be around in the future? will any of these? idk, but in the meantime, this one is where people are factually moving to.
period.
when will there be an announcement from the Great States of New England to ban all football, cuz it hurts their feelings, or sumthin?

the arrogance around these parts is palpable. see 'a' above.

this is where FAU plays. i like the palm trees.

'The steel stadium would allow for future expansion up to 65,000 seats as well as a roof if needed.'

Do you even have a point here, beyond the entirely irrelevant "the sunbelt is better than the northeast?"

Temple, where alumni care more about hoops than football, is in a much worse basketball conference with literally no geographic rivals in hoops (and only Navy in football). Wichita State, which is a hoops only member, is now in a worse basketball conference. Even if you are focused on AAC football, mostly sunbelt schools are leaving and will be replaced by much lesser and less prestigious sunbelt schools.

So what in the world are you talking about?

 

[John]

So I owe Benedict an apology. When we moved to the New Big East, I understood it but I didn't like it. I thought the damage to football of leaving the AAC was not in the long term interest of the Athletic Department, even though in the short and intermediate term it was certainly better for basketball to be in the Big East.

I was wrong and he was right. If we had stayed in the AAC, and it played out the way it has, we'd be leaving now anyway.

I am in the same boat, but the Big East cannot be our permanent home long-term. Nice landing spot for now though thanks to AD David Benedict.

 

[olehead]

So I owe Benedict an apology. When we moved to the New Big East, I understood it but I didn't like it. I thought the damage to football of leaving the AAC was not in the long term interest of the Athletic Department, even though in the short and intermediate term it was certainly better for basketball to be in the Big East.

I was wrong and he was right. If we had stayed in the AAC, and it played out the way it has, we'd be leaving now anyway.

Many here owe me an apology for jumping down my throat for insisting how the AAC (is it still AAC??) was destroying our true calling card - UCONN Basketball. Some of those confused and distantly casual hoop fans have meandered back to the football side, other football or bust'ers have simply dropped from the BY and crawled back into their small, dark holes.

 

[businesslawyer]

Many here owe me an apology for jumping down my throat for insisting how the AAC (is it still AAC??) was destroying our true calling card - UCONN Basketball. Some of those confused and distantly casual hoop fans have meandered back to the football side, other football or bust'ers have simply dropped from the BY and crawled back into their small, dark holes.

LOL that you think this made you right. You still couldn't be more wrong. The Big East is a long term disaster, because eventually the big football conferences will leave the NCAA without us (unless we play football well enough to end up in one of them). This move was in the short, and probably intermediate, interests of basketball, not its long term interests. That the AAC blew up, however, makes it an unpalatable home now for football as well.

 

[uconnfan68]

Just happy I was alive during great success in mbb, wbb, fb, and other UConn sports.

 

[Rocktheworld]

NYC almost 9 million folks (tho now reversing), zero FBS programs.
'Something to think about.'
but the rest of the nation is just one big dummy, right? and country music on the radio isn't, by far, the most popular programming, right?

Tell us about YouTube views too, Einstein

 

[uconngb]

O
M
G

 

[Zissou]

LOL that you think this made you right. You still couldn't be more wrong. The Big East is a long term disaster, because eventually the big football conferences will leave the NCAA without us (unless we play football well enough to end up in one of them). This move was in the short, and probably intermediate, interests of basketball, not its long term interests. That the AAC blew up, however, makes it an unpalatable home now for football as well.

Right after you acknowledge how wrong you were, you speak as if your next conjecture is certainty.

 

[slepers]

the university of north texas in Denton, Texas, metro Dallas/Fort Worth, population now around 140,000 (was 80,000 in 2000!) plays here,

temple doesn't even have it's 'own' stadium. spare me the legal-beagling.

And when the temperature rise to 110 in Texas and Alabama and water runs out...............

 

[Vowelguy]

the university of north texas in Denton, Texas, metro Dallas/Fort Worth, population now around 140,000 (was 80,000 in 2000!) plays here,

temple doesn't even have it's 'own' stadium. spare me the legal-beagling.

I've followed UNT for 30 years -- have family in Denton who both work at & attend. They have pretty much always been bad. Even as they grew tremendously, still bad. Even as they moved to better conferences, still bad. I have my doubts that this is going to be the time they finally get any good.

 

[donyell34]

NYC almost 9 million folks (tho now reversing), zero FBS programs.
'Something to think about.'
but the rest of the nation is just one big dummy, right? and country music on the radio isn't, by far, the most popular programming, right?

Should have quit while you were ahead.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I've followed UNT for 30 years -- have family in Denton who both work at & attend. They have pretty much always been bad. Even as they grew tremendously, still bad. Even as they moved to better conferences, still bad. I have my doubts that this is going to be the time they finally get any good.

Well we are all waiting for that eventual time that ol mush-for-brains lumps together a coherent paragraph

 

[mike012]

Never got the point of the Texas population talk. Yeah great its also the size of the NorthEast and Mid Atlantic combined. Whats the population of that area mass?

 

[LBird33]

I've followed UNT for 30 years -- have family in Denton who both work at & attend. They have pretty much always been bad. Even as they grew tremendously, still bad. Even as they moved to better conferences, still bad. I have my doubts that this is going to be the time they finally get any good.

Sounds a little like UConn football unfortunately

 

[John]

Sounds a little like UConn football unfortunately

New to UConn athletics?

 

[Vowelguy]

Sounds a little like UConn football unfortunately

UNT has never gotten close to a BCS bowl

 

[gtcam]

Thank you Dave Benedict

Like DB had another choice when the NBE extended the first hints to Storrs. If it had gotten out that there was a chance and he bypassed the hoops fans would have revolted and the baseball and football fans would be celebrating. This was a no brainer for him - how appropriate
That new AAC if those teams join, is one ugly league

 

[Brochacho]

UNT has never gotten close to a BCS bowl

Nor would UConn if they played in UNT's conference.

 

[olehead]

LOL that you think this made you right. You still couldn't be more wrong. The Big East is a long term disaster, because eventually the big football conferences will leave the NCAA without us (unless we play football well enough to end up in one of them). This move was in the short, and probably intermediate, interests of basketball, not its long term interests. That the AAC blew up, however, makes it an unpalatable home now for football as well.

You are a difficult curmudgeon and often wildly just plain off.

- More wrong???????The Big East is a 40 yr. long term conference that will continue to exist for schools focused on hoops.

- Who's arguing against another P5 possibility in our best interest? Not me.

- My point Biz Lawyer is it? AAC hurt our prime product - Basketball. It was a drag on the program.

- Your long term "if was a fifth" sky is falling scenario of all big football conferences abandoning the NCAA is so far from UCONN's football reality that I scratch my head at why I even felt the need to respond to you. What are you talking about? If we were to make a marginal jump to begin consistently competing with 2 star players we still would be light years from NCAA football exodus scenario.

What a joke. Yeah I was right. Sounds like you are one of those who owes me an apology.

 

[Rumrunner]

You are a difficult curmudgeon and often wildly just plain off.

- More wrong???????The Big East is a 40 yr. long term conference that will continue to exist for schools focused on hoops.

- Who's arguing against another P5 possibility in our best interest? Not me.

- My point Biz Lawyer is it? AAC hurt our prime product - Basketball. It was a drag on the program.

- Your long term "if was a fifth" sky is falling scenario of all big football conferences abandoning the NCAA is so far from UCONN's football reality that I scratch my head at why I even felt the need to respond to you. What are you talking about? If we were to make a marginal jump to begin consistently competing with 2 star players we still would be light years from NCAA football exodus scenario.

What a joke. Yeah I was right. Sounds like you are one of those who owes me an apology.

I think what he is saying is that the Big East, temporarily at least, is a better conference for UConn, but make no mistake that eventually when the P5/P4 schools decide they are going to eat the whole enchilada, then they will eat the whole enchilada. Schools like Butler, Creighton, PC, Xavier, DePaul will have no pull whatsoever with the new sports world order, and are not any different than Memphis, Temple, USF, UAB, etc. That's why this holier than thou attitude towards the AAC reconstitution is a bit unsettling. UConn is firmly on the outside looking in in the college new world order. The money, be it NIL, football revenues, and eventually non-NCAA basketball revenue will be the ultimate decider of the have and have nots. There is a slim chance that UConn's football fortunes rise up, but man oh man, being the worst team in FBS kind of makes one a bit jaded when expressing hope for a sanguine future.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

a. college sports cash = football. period.
b. temple, memphis, and wichita state will now play football in a conference of
Charlotte
ECU
FAU
Memphis
North Texas
Rice
SMU
Temple
Tulane
Tulsa
UAB
USF
UTSA
and Wichita State, ergo,
c. temple, memphis, and wichita state are thinking 'cool, bigtime football, we getting paid.'
and as to the 'Texas thing,' well, the State of Texas will be adding population equal to the current State of New York in the next couple of decades, with Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee putting us here in Connecticut in the population rearview mirror long ago, as they grow quite nicely. will this conference still be around in the future? will any of these? idk, but in the meantime, this one is where people are factually moving to.
period.
when will there be an announcement from the Great States of New England to ban all football, cuz it hurts their feelings, or sumthin?

the arrogance around these parts is palpable. see 'a' above.

this is where FAU plays. i like the palm trees.

'The steel stadium would allow for future expansion up to 65,000 seats as well as a roof if needed.'

Maybe Georgia State or Coastal instead of one of the Texas adds.

 

[John]

- My point Biz Lawyer is it? AAC hurt our prime product - Basketball. It was a drag on the program.

UConn hurt UConn basketball. We should have bestrode that conference like the Collosus of Rhodes every single year but we couldn't get out of our own way.

 

[Guapo]

UConn hurt UConn basketball. We should have bestrode that conference like the Collosus of Rhodes every single year but we couldn't get out of our own way.

That’s true to a certain extent but why do we keep ignoring all the recruits and HS coaches etc saying that UConn in the Big East makes a huge difference for the program? It’s clear that the AAC was not only a net negative but an anchor around the neck

 

[WestHartHusk]

That’s true to a certain extent but why do we keep ignoring all the recruits and HS coaches etc saying that UConn in the Big East makes a huge difference for the program? It’s clear that the AAC was not only a net negative but an anchor around the neck

Because it doesn’t fit the narrative.

 

[How Sway?!]

NYC almost 9 million folks (tho now reversing), zero FBS programs.
'Something to think about.'
but the rest of the nation is just one big dummy, right? and country music on the radio isn't, by far, the most popular programming, right?

You do know that NYC gained 700k people over the last decade, more than any other city in the US?

 

[LBird33]

New to UConn athletics?

Not even close. Very familiar.

 

[LBird33]

UNT has never gotten close to a BCS bowl

Maybe not but there are still some similarities unfortunately

 

[Waquoit]

UConn hurt UConn basketball. We should have bestrode that conference like the Collosus of Rhodes every single year but we couldn't get out of our own way.

Local players didn't want to play in that crap league. That we left and returned to the Top 25 in warp speed with local kids is proof.

 

[John]

That’s true to a certain extent but why do we keep ignoring all the recruits and HS coaches etc saying that UConn in the Big East makes a huge difference for the program? It’s clear that the AAC was not only a net negative but an anchor around the neck

if a program like Gonzaga can overcome their conference situation, then we should have been able to.

 

[Tenspro2002]

But seriously...here's a kenpom snapshot of the last 5 years for the new AAC:

View attachment 70390

More than half the conference hasn't been above 99 KenPom in the last 5 years. Yikes.