are we better off having UCF and Houston in our conference

[Exit 4]

Ditto for the Universities of Houston, Memphis, South Florida, Cincinnati, Louisville and Temple University. We're a member of the All Commuter U. Conference.

With the notable exception of Louisville (apparently due in part to a maniacal hatred of the U. of Kentucky), and to a much lesser extent Houston, which has a proud athletic past, these schools consist primarily of students who show up for classes and then go home. They have no enduring allegiance to the school. Getting their degree is a means to an end. They could care less about athletics or supporting the school once they graduate. Cincinnati has 40,000 students. 4,700 live on campus. The majority of Louisville's 23,000 students live off campus. Heck, more than half of them probably live at home because over 50% of the student body is from Jefferson County, where the school is located. The rest of them are even worse. Memphis, Temple and the Florida schools have small on-campus student populations, despite all being huge enrollment schools.

yikes, didn't realize it was this bad....

 

[Adios]

yikes, didn't realize it was this bad....

Neither did I. And they get taken in over us?? Wow.

 

[BG79]

I lived in Naples Florida as a kid and played some football there. It is all about University of Florida or FSU and to a very minor extent University of Miami. There is very little reference to the Bucs or the Dolphins and the smaller schools amongst the state are virtual unknowns. You're essentially conditioned to become a fan FSU and UF. People can obviously change their affiliations as they grow older but I sort of have the assumption that a good portion of those who attend USF do so because of it being close, cheaper, and they got admitted to it and basically don't adopt any sort of pride in the school. It's likely essentially the same as my feelings towards WCSU.

 

[BG79]

Ditto for the Universities of Houston, Memphis, South Florida, Cincinnati, Louisville and Temple University. We're a member of the All Commuter U. Conference.

With the notable exception of Louisville (apparently due in part to a maniacal hatred of the U. of Kentucky), and to a much lesser extent Houston, which has a proud athletic past, these schools consist primarily of students who show up for classes and then go home. They have no enduring allegiance to the school. Getting their degree is a means to an end. They could care less about athletics or supporting the school once they graduate. Cincinnati has 40,000 students. 4,700 live on campus. The majority of Louisville's 23,000 students live off campus. Heck, more than half of them probably live at home because over 50% of the student body is from Jefferson County, where the school is located. The rest of them are even worse. Memphis, Temple and the Florida schools have small on-campus student populations, despite all being huge enrollment schools.

Yep, as someone who went to a commuter school and lived on campus there is zero school pride and little actual college lifestyle on those kinds of campuses. People who attend and even the ones who live on campus also live nearby and Friday after classes they leave and don't come back till monday after classes.

 

[Tommyboy]

All their students are fans of FSU and UF. It's like asking why Central has tens of thousands of students and 2k at their games.

That's for sure. I was at the game and witnessed two of their fans get in a profanity laced screaming match about the university of Miami vs fsu in the second quarter. Just odd to watch two people decked out in ucf gear going at each other.

 

[Carl Spackler]

it's hard to imagine, that if UCONN was ranked #21 in the country, 6-1 and had an 0-6 team coming in to play us at home, that the stadium would not be sold out and rocking. UCONN fans, always rise up to the occasion for a winner, and a big stage.

For that reason, and basically that reason alone, we need our leadership to be working as diligently and effectively as possible to find the next head coach, that can generate wins. It's all about recruiting. In Texas, and Florida, they have what we don't when it comes to recruiting locally, and it's very important that we hire a great recruiter, because you can't just fall off your front porch and build an entire program here,

but we have in Connecticut, with a fan base, and public support of the university, what they may never be able to generate in Houston and Orlando.

THat's why this job is attractive beyond the dollars. Win in Connecticut, and you become a hero.

 

[willie99]

I'm going to cut a lot more slack to UCF fans. They're new to big time college athletics, and they're in the growing mode

make no mistake about it, if they find continued success their fans will start filling the stands. No doubt about it

for newbies to not get excited about playing us is not surprising either , but we're going to have to change that before our next scheduled visit in 2015

I hope I'm motivated to attend that game. I can think of worse things to do than to go to Orlando for a nice fall weekend (or Tampa or New Orleans or Annapolis (love West Point so that should be fun too) or Memphis (OK, stop by Nashville) or maybe even Houston)

 

[metsfan2323]

It's all about recruiting.

Every time you write this you embarrass yourself, it really is a foolish thing to say. These are the kind of dumb statements that make people think we should get a used car salesman like Schiano.

I'm sure Vince Lombardi thought of himself as nothing more then a recruiter. (Dumb, Dumb, Dumb)

More then any other sport football is about coaching which encompasses a hell of a lot more then recruiting.

Did Navy beat Pitt yesterday because they have better recruits?

 

[John Greene]

Every time you write this you embarrass yourself, it really is a foolish thing to say. These are the kind of dumb statements that make people think we should get a used car salesman like Schiano.

I'm sure Vince Lombardi thought of himself as nothing more then a recruiter. (Dumb, Dumb, Dumb)

More then any other sport football is about coaching which encompasses a hell of a lot more then recruiting.

Did Navy beat Pitt yesterday because they have better recruits?

Navy beat Pitt because they have decent athletes, who are motivated, intelligent, and playing in a system that allows them to be successful at their skill level. Kind of like us under He Who Must Not BE Named, His departure was terrible, and his personality the same, but I guess most of us now realize he could coach.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

This conference's biggest problem is the half empty stadiums that look like sheet on tv. For crying sake, bus in homeless people and give em like hot dogs and soft drinks. Granted they were playing a horrid team in us, but UCF ranked in the top 25, and coming off their biggest win in school history couldn't pack the place? Sad.

One way to solve the problem would be for the AAC to purchase an inventory of 12k-15k autopilots from Airplane and ship them each week to whichever school is hosting the televised game. Blow them up, scatter them throughout the stadium and nobody would be the wiser.

 

[noeynox]

One way to solve the problem would be for the AAC to purchase an inventory of 12k-15k autopilots from Airplane and ship them each week to whichever school is hosting the televised game. Blow them up, scatter them throughout the stadium and nobody would be the wiser.

Forward that to Aresco.

 

[Northbound]

Ditto for the Universities of Houston, Memphis, South Florida, Cincinnati, Louisville and Temple University. We're a member of the All Commuter U. Conference.

With the notable exception of Louisville (apparently due in part to a maniacal hatred of the U. of Kentucky), and to a much lesser extent Houston, which has a proud athletic past, these schools consist primarily of students who show up for classes and then go home. They have no enduring allegiance to the school. Getting their degree is a means to an end. They could care less about athletics or supporting the school once they graduate. Cincinnati has 40,000 students. 4,700 live on campus. The majority of Louisville's 23,000 students live off campus. Heck, more than half of them probably live at home because over 50% of the student body is from Jefferson County, where the school is located. The rest of them are even worse. Memphis, Temple and the Florida schools have small on-campus student populations, despite all being huge enrollment schools.

That might be more of a product if an urban school/campus. I'm guessing that NYU has most kids off campus. There are probably exceptions Tech in ATL, maybe, but I'm
Guessing school that actually call a major metro home have a lot of off campus students. BC is hardly Boston, northeastern and bu are in the city, BC in the suburbs conoatitively.

 

[Adios]

Something else to be taken into consideration, we have 2 of the 3 fastest growing cities in the US, Houston and Dallas. Only problem is no one cares to go to SMU games. #1 is Austin. Orlando and Tampa are not even on the list of the top 10.

http://realestate.msn.com/10-fastest-growing-us-cities-of-2013#9

Raleigh is #4. ECU is 85 miles away from Raleigh. People might think the AAC is a total dumpster of a conference. From a demographics and tradition standpoint, it's not really all that bad. Houston and SMU were former SWC members, Tulane was a former SEC member, ECU has proven over and over again they can play football. We're here to develop our football program more. Of course it would be better to be in the ACC or the B1G.

Hope the ACC and B1G are happy with Louisville and Rutgers losing to AAC schools. Louisville has yet to play Houston. Sure would be nice to end the season with Houston and UCF ranked and Louisville out of the top 25.

 

[whaler11]

ECU might be 85 miles from Raleigh. It may as well actually be 8,500 miles.

It's like saying the Whalers were sort of close to NYC while ignoring the existence of the Rangers, Devils and Islanders.

ECU's draw in Raleigh is fairly similar to size of the Boston College fanbase in greater Hartford. Whatever sports interested alumni happen to live in there.

 

[Adios]

ECU might be 85 miles from Raleigh. It may as well actually be 8,500 miles.

It's like saying the Whalers were sort of close to NYC while ignoring the existence of the Rangers, Devils and Islanders.

ECU's draw in Raleigh is fairly similar to size of the Boston College fanbase in greater Hartford. Whatever sports interested alumni happen to live in there.

I am aware of that. Just threw it in there anyway.

 

[zls44]

Everyone who was alive when Tulane was in the SEC is dead. It doesn't matter.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Everyone who was alive when Tulane was in the SEC is dead. It doesn't matter.

That's not fair or nice, and far from true. I bet there are some people around here who were alive in 1965. It matters to some people, probably not a lot, but it does matter to people that think history is cool.

The reality is that the fact that Tulane was once in the SEC, a founding member actually, while interesting to some for discussion purposes, really has no bearing or relevance on the business of the intercollegiate world in 2013 and moving forward.

 

[Pudge]

Central had two legitimate very good basketball teams. Should have won a 2-15 game and got screwed by the pod system as a 14.

The needle never moved. Central Connecticut is no different than Central Florida. When your students come in as fans of other state institutions it can't be overcome.

Just absolute random speculation. You have no idea ... do you?

I don't know. But, we are doing really good, in my view, by having 37000+ for USF when we suck. I cannot understand why SMU has no fans for family day against Rutgers. And UCF has actually packed that place for games against East Carolina. What we have to remember: these (Dallas and Orlando) are big cities and have broad alternatives to do on a Saturday. B1G schools have 50-80 years of tradition. Still ... as a UCLA alum ... I can tell you that our attendance wanes dramatically in some eras. Not with Jim Mora. But you can see 45,000 in that 80,000 seat place against conference opponents. LA has things to do if you aren't giving a good show.

 

[zls44]

That's not fair or nice, and far from true. I bet there are some people around here who were alive in 1965. It matters to some people, probably not a lot, but it does matter to people that think history is cool.

The reality is that the fact that Tulane was once in the SEC, a founding member actually, while interesting to some for discussion purposes, really has no bearing or relevance on the business of the intercollegiate world in 2013 and moving forward.

Fair point. For some reason I thought they'd moved out of the SEC just before WW II.

 

[Pudge]

This is a transition year. We are like a bunch of upwardly mobile yuppies that moved into a neighborhood with 10 different like people from 7 different backgrounds for some new Techie job. No one know anyone ... and the welcoming party was rather staid. Over time, as we feel for Cincy & USF, we (and UCF) will find reasons to have reference points. Today ... there just is no history.

 

[Adios]

Fair point. For some reason I thought they'd moved out of the SEC just before WW II.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulane_Green_Wave_Football

They were in the SEC until 1966.

Their present coach turned them around by his second season. Ironically, he spent his whole coaching career as a WR coach.

All we really need to do is rebuild the offensive line and the secondary to get things back in order. Defensive line can use some work, too.

 

[whaler11]

Just absolute random speculation. You have no idea ... do you?

I don't know. But, we are doing really good, in my view, by having 37000+ for USF when we suck. I cannot understand why SMU has no fans for family day against Rutgers. And UCF has actually packed that place for games against East Carolina. What we have to remember: these (Dallas and Orlando) are big cities and have broad alternatives to do on a Saturday. B1G schools have 50-80 years of tradition. Still ... as a UCLA alum ... I can tell you that our attendance wanes dramatically in some eras. Not with Jim Mora. But you can see 45,000 in that 80,000 seat place against conference opponents. LA has things to do if you aren't giving a good show.

This is so random I don't even know how to respond.

What the heck are you talking about? It's difficult for non-flagship schools to turn their students into lifelong fans. It's difficult for schools that don't play at the highest level of their sport to gain a ton of traction locally.

Both of those concepts seem obvious (you point out a similar reason in big cities) but you are talking about Jim Mora for some reason?

 

[Pudge]

I watched UCF games on TV with full stadiums. They were playing an ECU or a Southern Miss and NOT UConn. I cannot begin to guess why an Orlando based University fills for one School and not UConn. I can speculate like you; but, if you actually look at Attendance (of course, this is REPORTED Attendance), they have a nice history. Better than some of our other new peers. (BTW ... do any of you remember looking at Rutgers Attendance in 2003? These things are fluid; they can build quite dramatically with a Program.) I do not think 35k PLUS for UCF is poor. (See Below)

I do think the Attendance of our conference peers is pretty crucial going forward. And, this is a totally upside down year that many games have Schools with no past history per se. If we are in this conference for awhile (and I think we are), I want to see all of these schools develop well.

Memphis - (44k,37k,30k,17k)
UCF - (35k,48k,38k)
USF - (35k,34k,48k,31k,36k)
Houston - (26k,35k,20k,33k) Playing at rotating stadiums awaiting NEW on-campus completion
SMU - (35k (third largest in SMU Ford history),10k,19k,16k)
Cincinnati - (36k,30k,32k,29k)
UConn - (31k,39k,43k,38k)

UConn, in a horrible year, is very good. At this level. UCF, playing a conference rival or a SEC program, is a good upwardly mobile team. Also USF. Cincy is middling ... and sometimes better; but, not near our level (and I suspect that their ticket prices are significantly less). Even in a bad year, we are keeping it good. We can't afford too many like this; but, I believe this sets up very well for a HC to come in and get better quick & keep our momentum going to a bigger program.

My Jim Mora point? In the P5 conferences - where they are in Urban settings - you can have a steep decline in attendance when the Program is perceived to be struggling. I suspect that UCLA is a prime example. And Miami (FL). But, you might also see this at Northwestern or BC or TCU or Washington or Arizona State. CFB is a 5-7 hour commitment often. It seems that some Tradition bound programs have people make this their priority in Land Grant U's that people travel and tailgate. Our conference has a lot of the Urban factor ... none of the Tradition ... and the added factor of few established patterned rivals. A bad three factors.

 

[whaler11]

Looking at reported attendances is pretty pointless really - they may as well be pulled from the sky at a lot of schools. Where we've seen actual counts they are always substantially lower.

I don't have any beef with UCF. It's just always going to be an uphill climb when you share a state with FSU and Florida. Especially as the financial gap explodes.

 

[BoatShow]

I watched UCF games on TV with full stadiums. They were playing an ECU or a Southern Miss and NOT UConn. I cannot begin to guess why an Orlando based University fills for one School and not UConn. I can speculate like you; but, if you actually look at Attendance (of course, this is REPORTED Attendance), they have a nice history. Better than some of our other new peers. (BTW ... do any of you remember looking at Rutgers Attendance in 2003? These things are fluid; they can build quite dramatically with a Program.) I do not think 35k PLUS for UCF is poor. (See Below)

I do think the Attendance of our conference peers is pretty crucial going forward. And, this is a totally upside down year that many games have Schools with no past history per se. If we are in this conference for awhile (and I think we are), I want to see all of these schools develop well.

Memphis - (44k,37k,30k,17k)
UCF - (35k,48k,38k)
USF - (35k,34k,48k,31k,36k)
Houston - (26k,35k,20k,33k) Playing at rotating stadiums awaiting NEW on-campus completion
SMU - (35k (third largest in SMU Ford history),10k,19k,16k)
Cincinnati - (36k,30k,32k,29k)
UConn - (31k,39k,43k,38k)

UConn, in a horrible year, is very good. At this level. UCF, playing a conference rival or a SEC program, is a good upwardly mobile team. Also USF. Cincy is middling ... and sometimes better; but, not near our level (and I suspect that their ticket prices are significantly less). Even in a bad year, we are keeping it good. We can't afford too many like this; but, I believe this sets up very well for a HC to come in and get better quick & keep our momentum going to a bigger program.

My Jim Mora point? In the P5 conferences - where they are in Urban settings - you can have a steep decline in attendance when the Program is perceived to be struggling. I suspect that UCLA is a prime example. And Miami (FL). But, you might also see this at Northwestern or BC or TCU or Washington or Arizona State. CFB is a 5-7 hour commitment often. It seems that some Tradition bound programs have people make this their priority in Land Grant U's that people travel and tailgate. Our conference has a lot of the Urban factor ... none of the Tradition ... and the added factor of few established patterned rivals. A bad three factors.

Is 29k for Cinci the game vs us? I'd be surprised if there were more than 20k actually at the game.