... and people wonder why Susan mentioned UConn Lacrosse out of blue?

[Fishy]

The biggest hurdle our Big Ten theories face is that the Big Ten is wholly apathetic to our continued existence.

 

[whaler11]

Times are changing...

Let me know when you have a real example of that.

 

[Point6]

I'm going to let you guys in on a secret.

If the Big 10 had any interest in UConn they could show up in Storrs tomorrow with a deal where UConn took a half share for a decade and would be required to play Michigan and Ohio State home football games in Foxboro or the Meadowlands.

UConn would take this deal in a heartbeat. If the Big 10 wanted to capitalize on any value UConn has today they would do it immediately, because every day that UConn sits on the outside the programs lose value.

If the Big 10 won't buy UConn for 50 cents on the dollar today why would you delude yourself into thinking they would buy that devalued dollar in the future at any price?

UConn really has two hopes. One is realistic, one is doubtful. Virginia going to the Big 10 is the best chance to get to the ACC. Florida State going to the Big 10 or Big 12 is the second.

Has anyone checked the messages? I don't know about you folks but we never check our duck***g voicemail. Somebody at UConn needs to make sure we are not blowing off a call.

 

[Nostical]

The most fiscally short-sighted athletic department in the country is now adding men's sports on spec? That would only go against every single thing the athletic department has done... ever.

Lax seems to have other ancillary benefits.

"Sports other than football and, to a much lesser degree, men's basketball simply do not matter with regards to revenue. Lacrosse might be the exception because it is growing and it tends to draw rich kids whose parents make large donations to the athletic departments that offer them scholarships."

Like her move to hire the most new faculty of any University this year--when most others are cutting staff---and pushing hard to build a research infrastructure and pursue grants at breakneck speed to help accelerate AAU membership, adding LAX is simply another well calculated move in Ms. Herbst's plan to move UConn in a direction and at a pace that---- "goes against every single thing the athletic department (and the entire University) has done.....ever"

 

[whaler11]

Lax seems to have other ancillary benefits.

"Sports other than football and, to a much lesser degree, men's basketball simply do not matter with regards to revenue. Lacrosse might be the exception because it is growing and it tends to draw rich kids whose parents make large donations to the athletic departments that offer them scholarships."

Like her move to hire the most new faculty of any University this year--when most others are cutting staff---and pushing hard to build a research infrastructure and pursue grants at breakneck speed to help accelerate AAU membership, adding LAX is simply another well calculated move in Ms. Herbst's plan to move UConn in a direction and at a pace that---- "goes against every single thing the athletic department (and the entire University) has done.....ever"

So your example that the athletic department isn't being fiscally short sighted is that the school hired teachers. I did not know that teachers were generally part of the athletic department.

I've seen the first statement. That's a nice piece of conjecture - there is no real evidence that it is true.

I get that some people have a hard on for lacrosse. That's fine but don't try to pretend it has impact on conference realignment.

 

[Vowelguy]

Whether BU specifically would have accepted the invite is tangential to the point. The Big Ten could have made an overture to any one of five or six candidates equally as attractive as BU, given them a hockey-only membership, and formed a hockey league decades ago.

They waited for a sixth to start hockey instead.

But what would have been the advantage to having a hockey conference years ago?
Everything changed with the bigten network - now there is a need for tv content; hence the advantage of forming a conference.

 

[kingdobbs]

You guys do realize if UConn adds lacrosse they are picking between the NEC and America East right?

There are at least three other leagues that are plausible destinations for an associate member UConn holding in the Big East: Colonial, ECAC, and the ex-Big East (like it or not, the Catholics in need of a sixth member to maintain their autobid, and the Catholics have very little choice; in this way I'd also expect a few UConn women's programs to end up aligning that way because those sports also offer very little choice in that department).

 

[kingdobbs]

But what would have been the advantage to having a hockey conference years ago?
Everything changed with the bigten network - now there is a need for tv content; hence the advantage of forming a conference.

About the same as there is now. Did Big Ten hockey not exist (read: no elevation from Penn State), the BTN would have paid for WCHA and CCHA hockey to fill its content.

 

[coachcap]

Lacrosse helps you look the part. It's just another feather in the cap.

If I can go off on a slight tangent. Having a varsity lacrosse team would market the University to another segment of potential student. We know that lacrosse is huge in Connecticut at the youth level & exploding at the high school level (as more high schools are adding it across the state yearly). It's possible that UConn would be attractive to kids that play lacrosse if they have aspirations of playing the sport in college.
Let me give you two examples:
Coach Jon Wholley's younger brother played both football & lacrosse at Southington High. He was given a scholarship to attend Maryland to play lacrosse. With his family's past sponsorship of UConn Athletics (Better Bedding) & his brother being employed by the University, don't you think that he would have given UConn a sniff if varsity lacrosse was part of the athletic department?
In my own family: My nephew played both football & lacrosse at the high school level in state. As you know, many members of my family have attended UConn. Nephew was a tremendous lacrosse player. He played varsity lacrosse at another institution. UConn was never on the radar because of lack of a team at the varsity level.
My point is that with the popularity of the sport in state, UConn is better served offering the sport at the varsity level to attract more students, than disengaging this population by omission.

 

[upstater]

Whether BU specifically would have accepted the invite is tangential to the point. The Big Ten could have made an overture to any one of five or six candidates equally as attractive as BU, given them a hockey-only membership, and formed a hockey league decades ago.

They waited for a sixth to start hockey instead.

I'm still not buying it, because you're assuming those B1G hockey teams also wanted to move. Some of them didn't like the idea of the 6 team league even! Minnesota was in no great hurry to play the likes of PSU and Ohio State.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

If the Big 10 cared about knocking the ACC off balance they'd call Florida State this morning.

That would be the B10 knocking themselves off balance.

 

[bingethinker]

Kevin Anderson, Maryland's AD, announced that Hopkins was a done deal to the Big Ten for lacrosse at an event for MD donors in South Florida before we played at Miami earlier this season. He mentioned how during negotiations our lacrosse heritage and tradition was a big sticking point for himself and President Loh. He said he was happy to be in a conference willing to make concessions for Maryland. There were a couple of threads about this on our premium and free board a few weeks ago.

 

[UCFBfan]

You guys do realize if UConn adds lacrosse they are picking between the NEC and America East right? There isn't a single school in the Big East that sponsors the sport.

That's not true. UConn could join the C7 schools who made up the current BE Lacrosse conference. Yeah Syracuse and ND are ff to the ACC and I dunno if Pitt even had a program. But just like what's being mentioned in the OP about JH jining just for LAX, UConn could do the same. The smaller olympic sports are a mish-mash of conference alignments due to the fact that not everyone plays the sport and travel fees are a big factor. I could easily see UConn staying with Providence and whoever else was in the BE LAX league.

 

[freescooter]

When you are in Shawshank you can convince yourself that salvation lies within lacrosse.

Just think about that for two seconds. On what planet does the Big 10 add a school for a 40-50 million dollar annual payday because they sponsor f*c**ing lacrosse.

Whaler baby I think you nailed it.

 

[Nostical]

don't try to pretend it (lacrosse) has impact on conference realignment.

No one believes LAX will realistically, on its own, impact realignment, but it's part of a larger tapestry being woven by Herbst. All of these things that should have been done years ago are now all converging at breakneck speed. Even the fact that UConn was just named the #1 Univ in the world for its "green campus" is a plus. Its all part of the mix. There will be lots of investment dollars spent and some may raise eyebrows, but that's what years of neglect and survival instincts bring about.

 

[freescooter]

That's not true. UConn could join the C7 schools who made up the current BE Lacrosse conference. Yeah Syracuse and ND are ff to the ACC and I dunno if Pitt even had a program. But just like what's being mentioned in the OP about JH jining just for LAX, UConn could do the same. The smaller olympic sports are a mish-mash of conference alignments due to the fact that not everyone plays the sport and travel fees are a big factor. I could easily see UConn staying with Providence and whoever else was in the BE LAX league.

In fact the C-7 will likely need to add some bodies who play lacrosse. They are at 7 now, but will lose Syracuse, Rutgers and Notre Dame. Of the teams remaining, Georgetown is legitimate. St Johns borderline and PC and Villanova are filler.

 

[Dann]

starting lax will be extremely easy to do
-play on the soccer field
-pump the indorr turf pf, that will put us in the top 25 overnight just like baseball, i think ppl here dont realize how big of a deal that is to other sports. it only cost like 2 mil, i would build 2 more if i could down the road for other sports to split form fball for even better practice time etc...
-hire the bryant coach, susan knows what im talking about. gotta play ball. if not, then hire either the hs coach from darien or fairfield prep. doesn't matter which to me. those 2 are both capable of making that hs to college jump. they also have a ton of tri state lax connections which will go very far recruiting wise.
-ct will put out 5-10 big time lax players a year and prob more like 15-20 d1 overall. d3 we put out a ton fwiw. ny puts out huge numbers and mass has good hauls also. factor in ri/pa and u never have to leave the area. i would also recruit md just for the hell of it to let md/uva/unc/duke/jh know we mean business. if we can own ct in time, make roads in nyc/li and do the new england thing were trying to do jus tlike in fball, we will be a monster quick. the umass and fairfields of the world give us plenty of desirable local ooc games. play them every year, with our brands, commitment and facilities we can pass them all quick and then the rise drama builds more...

now that we are all set with this, back to fball and the b10

 

[HuskyHawk]

starting lax will be extremely easy to do
-play on the soccer field
-pump the indorr turf pf, that will put us in the top 25 overnight just like baseball, i think ppl here dont realize how big of a deal that is to other sports. it only cost like 2 mil, i would build 2 more if i could down the road for other sports to split form fball for even better practice time etc...
-hire the bryant coach, susan knows what im talking about. gotta play ball. if not, then hire either the hs coach from darien or fairfield prep. doesn't matter which to me. those 2 are both capable of making that hs to college jump. they also have a ton of tri state lax connections which will go very far recruiting wise.
-ct will put out 5-10 big time lax players a year and prob more like 15-20 d1 overall. d3 we put out a ton fwiw. ny puts out huge numbers and mass has good hauls also. factor in ri/pa and u never have to leave the area. i would also recruit md just for the hell of it to let md/uva/unc/duke/jh know we mean business. if we can own ct in time, make roads in nyc/li and do the new england thing were trying to do jus tlike in fball, we will be a monster quick. the umass and fairfields of the world give us plenty of desirable local ooc games. play them every year, with our brands, commitment and facilities we can pass them all quick and then the rise drama builds more...

now that we are all set with this, back to fball and the b10

I don't often agree with HFD, but given the region we are in and our role in the region, not going D1 in Lacrosse is malpractice. It's a no brainer. It would be as if Alabama had a club football team. I only wonder why it took us so long. It took too damned long to elevate Hockey as well, all things considered. We're not Oklahoma State...we are in a place that pumps out recruits in both sports. This should have been done years ago. Won't get us into the B1G, but it will help our overall profile.

 

[freescooter]

Can I ask one question...When was it announced that we're adding lacrosse? When I heard herself speak she said she liked it and thought it would be a nice add "someday."

 

[CL82]

or maybe u should put 2 and 2 together. puck and lax---why?

Conspiracy Kitty says:
"And that's why there is no replacing Dan. The man's a visionary."

 

[CL82]

The Seven Stages of Conference Realignment

1. SHOCK & DENIAL-
You will probably react to learning of the loss of yet another conference member with numbed disbelief. You may deny the reality of the loss at some level, in order to avoid the pain. Belief in a secret plan that will bring UConn to the Big 10 is typical in this stage. This may last for weeks.
2. PAIN & GUILT-
As the shock wears off, it is replaced with the suffering of unbelievable pain. Although excruciating and almost unbearable, it is important that you experience the pain fully, Life feels chaotic and scary during this phase. Expect very little productivity during this stage as reading the Boneyard replaces normal functions such as work, talking with your spouse and bathing.
3. ANGER & BARGAINING-
Frustration gives way to anger, and you may lash out and lay blame for the lack of a decent conference on someone else. Many choose Warde Manual or Jeff Hathaway. This is a time for the release of bottled up emotion. You may rail against fate, questioning "Why UConn ?" You may also try to bargain in vain with the powers that be for a way out of your despair ("I will not complain about Syracuse’s cupcake basketball schedule anymore, if you just bring back the original Big East members.")
4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS-
Just when your friends may think you should be getting on with your life, a long period of sad reflection will likely overtake you. Encouragement from others is not helpful to you during this stage of grieving. During this time, you finally realize the true magnitude of your loss, and it depresses you. You may isolate yourself on purpose, and talk of “going independent in football” becomes the norm.
5. THE UPWARD TURN-
As you start to adjust to life without a meaningful conference affiliation, your life becomes a little calmer and more organized. Your physical symptoms lessen, and your "depression" begins to lift slightly. You actually start working at work again and your boss decides that he doesn’t need to fire you or upgrade the internet firewall.
6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH-
As you become more functional, your mind starts working again, and you will find yourself seeking realistic solutions to problems posed by life without a decent conference. You will start to work on practical and financial problems and reconstructing your program, such as stadium expansion and focusing on third tier TV rights.
7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE-
During this, the last of the seven stages of conference realignment, you learn to accept and deal with the reality of your situation. Acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. Given the pain and turmoil you have experienced, you can never return to the carefree, untroubled YOU that existed before this tragedy. But you will find a way forward, unfortunately that may involve trips to Amherst, but you will survive.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

How much does it cost to sponsor varsity lacrosse and the womens sports scholarships that would have to accompany this move?

Im all for making UConn more well rounded, all things being equal, but I cant help to think this money wouldn't be better served being used for the footballl coaching staff.

 

[OkaForPrez]

The Seven Stages of Conference Realignment

1. SHOCK & DENIAL-
You will probably react to learning of the loss of yet another conference member with numbed disbelief. You may deny the reality of the loss at some level, in order to avoid the pain. Belief in a secret plan that will bring UConn to the Big 10 is typical in this stage. This may last for weeks.
2. PAIN & GUILT-
As the shock wears off, it is replaced with the suffering of unbelievable pain. Although excruciating and almost unbearable, it is important that you experience the pain fully, Life feels chaotic and scary during this phase. Expect very little productivity during this stage as reading the Boneyard replaces normal functions such as work, talking with your spouse and bathing.
3. ANGER & BARGAINING-
Frustration gives way to anger, and you may lash out and lay blame for the lack of a decent conference on someone else. Many choose Warde Manual or Jeff Hathaway. This is a time for the release of bottled up emotion. You may rail against fate, questioning "Why UConn ?" You may also try to bargain in vain with the powers that be for a way out of your despair ("I will not complain about Syracuse’s cupcake basketball schedule anymore, if you just bring back the original Big East members.")
4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS-
Just when your friends may think you should be getting on with your life, a long period of sad reflection will likely overtake you. Encouragement from others is not helpful to you during this stage of grieving. During this time, you finally realize the true magnitude of your loss, and it depresses you. You may isolate yourself on purpose, and talk of “going independent in football” becomes the norm.
5. THE UPWARD TURN-
As you start to adjust to life without a meaningful conference affiliation, your life becomes a little calmer and more organized. Your physical symptoms lessen, and your "depression" begins to lift slightly. You actually start working at work again and your boss decides that he doesn’t need to fire you or upgrade the internet firewall.
6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH-
As you become more functional, your mind starts working again, and you will find yourself seeking realistic solutions to problems posed by life without a decent conference. You will start to work on practical and financial problems and reconstructing your program, such as stadium expansion and focusing on third tier TV rights.
7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE-
During this, the last of the seven stages of conference realignment, you learn to accept and deal with the reality of your situation. Acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. Given the pain and turmoil you have experienced, you can never return to the carefree, untroubled YOU that existed before this tragedy. But you will find a way forward, unfortunately that may involve trips to Amherst, but you will survive.

I took my anger out on the Wisconsin Message Board for scoffing at UConn. I think I'm somewhere lost in #4.

 

[Vowelguy]

How much does it cost to sponsor varsity lacrosse and the womens sports scholarships that would have to accompany this move?

Im all for making UConn more well rounded, all things being equal, but I cant help to think this money wouldn't be better served being used for the footballl coaching staff.

And it what sports would you add women's scholarships? Women already have ice hockey and lax.

 

[Dann]

And it what sports would you add women's scholarships? Women already have ice hockey and lax.

cheerleading

 

[Vowelguy]

How much does it cost to sponsor varsity lacrosse and the womens sports scholarships that would have to accompany this move?

Im all for making UConn more well rounded, all things being equal, but I cant help to think this money wouldn't be better served being used for the footballl coaching staff.

There you go again. Havent we already established that logic has no place here?

 

[coachcap]

starting lax will be extremely easy to do
-play on the soccer field
-pump the indorr turf pf, that will put us in the top 25 overnight just like baseball, i think ppl here dont realize how big of a deal that is to other sports. it only cost like 2 mil, i would build 2 more if i could down the road for other sports to split form fball for even better practice time etc...
-hire the bryant coach, susan knows what im talking about. gotta play ball. if not, then hire either the hs coach from darien or fairfield prep. doesn't matter which to me. those 2 are both capable of making that hs to college jump. they also have a ton of tri state lax connections which will go very far recruiting wise.
-ct will put out 5-10 big time lax players a year and prob more like 15-20 d1 overall. d3 we put out a ton fwiw. ny puts out huge numbers and mass has good hauls also. factor in ri/pa and u never have to leave the area. i would also recruit md just for the hell of it to let md/uva/unc/duke/jh know we mean business. if we can own ct in time, make roads in nyc/li and do the new england thing were trying to do jus tlike in fball, we will be a monster quick. the umass and fairfields of the world give us plenty of desirable local ooc games. play them every year, with our brands, commitment and facilities we can pass them all quick and then the rise drama builds more...

now that we are all set with this, back to fball and the b10

Dan, just one correction: Today's lax is best played on an artificial surface. (See UMass, Providence, etc.)
UConn will be best served playing lax on the field hockey stadium (the freshman football field for you old timers like me) until such time that the soccer field is deemed necessary to be resurfaced with artificial turf. Playing lacrosse on a grassfield = Clydedales plodding along. Playing it on an artificial surface= a quarter horse sprint race by comparison.

 

[Dann]

Dan, just one correction: Today's lax is best played on an artificial surface. (See UMass, Providence, etc.)
UConn will be best served playing lax on the field hockey stadium (the freshman football field for you old timers like me) until such time that the soccer field is deemed necessary to be resurfaced with artificial turf. Playing lacrosse on a grassfield = Clydedales plodding along. Playing it on an artificial surface= a quarter horse sprint race by comparison.

i agree, but im just looking to get things going asap. we can do a turf stadium for 2mil down the road with all the bells. the first 2 or 3 years will be a climb so lets make it easy and show progress going form losing to winning and from a grass feild to a turf lax stadium. build and market!

 

[Jarhead_1775]

So your example that the athletic department isn't being fiscally short sighted is that the school hired teachers. I did not know that teachers were generally part of the athletic department.

I've seen the first statement. That's a nice piece of conjecture - there is no real evidence that it is true.

I get that some people have a hard on for lacrosse. That's fine but don't try to pretend it has impact on conference realignment.

It may not have a causal relationship, but it may be a result of a deal already done. Were we really skipped by for the Ville? Or did we decline. The stars are aligning. Count me all in.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

cheerleading

Doesn't count. Federal court ruled on that last year or so. Sorry no link.