B12 - If we accept invite, in 10 years what is the outcome?

[ConnHuskBask]

I've listed reasons I think it could hurt UConn basketball in this thread and in other threads on this topic. We caught lightning in a bottle our first year in the AAC, you want a return to those years? It made me absolutely hate the college basketball season which is always my favorite season.

I obviously don't think the Big 12 is the AAC, they have much better teams but there is some risk for basketball.

Your last paragraph, umm we recruited those guys to play for UConn in the Big East and several or those players alluded to the Big East playing a big role. Who did we recruit from Tennessee and Virginia? To use your Providence dig do you think any of the kids we recruited give an ish about playing BYU? Possibly Travis Knight?

Abraham and Ross are from Virginia and Nowell is playing HS in Tennessee via Philly. Not to mention Castle from GA, Stewart from Seattle, etc. We're national there's no reason to think otherwise of course we'll still get locals too though.

Point is the kids are committed to Hurley, the staff and UConn. As long as the league isn't a detriment like the AAC was, I'm not concerned about recruiting whatsoever.

I think the majority of HS kids want to get to the NBA, make NIL, win, and be able to say they are in the p5/BE. The fans care about the rivalries, I don't think the majority of hs kids are even aware let alone care.

 

[superjohn]

So if we have the same coach, the same recruiting, and at least equal competition. Where does the drop off come from?

I think being in a conference run out of Dallas/Fort Worth/Kansas instead of being in a conference run out of NYC/Providence could hurt us. I think being the geographic and cultural outlier in a new conference in the Plains could hurt us with refs, travel, fan support etc. I think giving up our status as the kings of our conference to join a conference where Kansas is forever kings (no team dominates their conference in basketball or football like Kansas dominates theirs in basketball) could hurt us. I think giving up the best conference tournament/city/arena for some conference tournament in Kansas City/Oklahoma City/Dallas could hurt us.

 

[Husky68]

Looks like Arizona does not want our football team in the conference anyways.

Is Arizona stopping UConn from getting a Big 12 all-sport invite? How resistance to bring Huskies on for all sports could kill the deal

UConn has been in the Big 12 expansion rumors in the last few weeks.

www.sportskeeda.com

Maybe Arizona should concentrate on getting to bowl eligibility before worring about UConn football.

 

[KingAG]

I think being in a conference run out of Dallas/Fort Worth/Kansas instead of being in a conference run out of NYC/Providence could hurt us. I think being the geographic and cultural outlier in a new conference in the Plains could hurt us with refs, travel, fan support etc. I think giving up our status as the kings of our conference to join a conference where Kansas is forever kings (no team dominates their conference in basketball or football like Kansas dominates theirs in basketball) could hurt us. I think giving up the best conference tournament/city/arena for some conference tournament in Kansas City/Oklahoma City/Dallas could hurt us.

I get all of that. I think the disconnect is if it by your own words wouldn’t hurt recruiting then what would it hurt? Fan interest? I think that’s a stretch. The only way I see a drop off is if recruiting was affected and/or Hurley left.

To your Kansas point. Has Kansas ever had a conference mate at the prestige of UConn? I think we’d challenge that throne.

 

[superjohn]

I get all of that. I think the disconnect is if it by your own words wouldn’t hurt recruiting then what would it hurt? Fan interest?

The basketball program. The program could have trouble winning in that environment like they're accustomed to. That would hurt with fan support, recruiting, everything...

 

[KingAG]

The basketball program. The program could have trouble winning in that environment like they're accustomed to. That would hurt with fan support, recruiting, everything...

I can respect that opinion. I think it’s a stretch/reach. But I think I understand it. I’m just still struggling to see tangibly how all of these things are going to cause us to lose games. I’m of the belief if the recruits are the same level and the coach is the same coach we’ll be more than fine.

I’ll admit it could be my youth and/or optimism and I haven’t seen as much as some here. But I guess we’ll see

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Can we win a national championship as an independent? No

Can we win a national championship in the Big 12? Yes

So the Big 12 is the best option.

I've often said this will all be worth it when we're hoisting that CFP championship banner one day

 

[Deleted at users request]

I get all of that. I think the disconnect is if it by your own words wouldn’t hurt recruiting then what would it hurt? Fan interest? I think that’s a stretch. The only way I see a drop off is if recruiting was affected and/or Hurley left.

To your Kansas point. Has Kansas ever had a conference mate at the prestige of UConn? I think we’d challenge that throne.

It’s hard to have the prestige of us, but Texas and OU both recruited very well. Especially Texas. Kansas State even some years. They’ve had it’s fair share of challengers in the Big 12.

I also think the allure of the Big East tournament and playing at MSG is kind of slept on here when it comes to recruiting. Especially for kids in the NE. We’d give up a huge recruiting tool and on the court competitive advantage.

In general, having to go 5 hours for most away games and having a conference tournament completely away from home is not ideal. While we did win a national title this year, it’s not like we’ve shown that we can dominate in conference. I don’t know why we would want to make playing in conference even harder.

We’d go from the Garden being Storrs South to having every Big 12 tournament game be a long distance road game that’s hard to get too.

 

[Bazz4A]

Would you rather jump to the AAC, and then say, oops, my bad?

This argument has become completely useless. It’s two sides (mostly the big 12 side) adamantly claiming one ways the right way and the opposite opinion is dumb. When I’m reality nobody knows how this could go. Pros and cons to both.

 

[Travelman6]

If they got into the B12 I think within 10 years they'd have at least one more bball championship, an extra FF appearance, a few elite 8, and maybe 3-5 s16s. At least 1 or 2 one seeds, a few 2 and 3 seeds. A handful of regular season conf championships and b12 tourney championships after a few years of adjusting to the b12. UConn is 14-16 all-time vs Cincy, in 10 years that would go to 25-25 assuming an average of 2 matchups per year, b12 tourney included and they become each other's biggest conference rival.

Baseball would improve, they might threaten multiple college world series appearances.

Fball would eventually get back to something similar to that season they played Oklahoma, give or take a win, minus the major bowl, but they'd probably be about that good. A few up-and-down seasons.

 

[CL82]

I think being in a conference run out of Dallas/Fort Worth/Kansas instead of being in a conference run out of NYC/Providence could hurt us. I think being the geographic and cultural outlier in a new conference in the Plains could hurt us with refs, travel, fan support etc. I think giving up our status as the kings of our conference to join a conference where Kansas is forever kings (no team dominates their conference in basketball or football like Kansas dominates theirs in basketball) could hurt us. I think giving up the best conference tournament/city/arena for some conference tournament in Kansas City/Oklahoma City/Dallas could hurt us.

I think every one of those things is a concern. I think that concern is mitigated by the fact that Brett Yormark is a New York guy who is specifically bringing the program in because of its location and basketball pedigree. That's a very different situation than when we were in the American and we had a guy whose was trying to run away from basketball and the East Coast.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I think every one of those things is a concern. I think that concern is mitigated by the fact that Brett Yormark is a New York guy who is specifically bringing the program in because of its location and basketball pedigree. That's a very different situation than when we were in the American and we had a guy whose was trying to run away from basketball and the East Coast.

Yormark (and all conference directors) work for the presidents, who provide direction and yes/no on direction, actions, etc that the conference director them steers towards. Yormark being basketball centric and from NY certainly helps but he isn't singly driving the Big12 bus. The fact that Yormark is publicly in our corner is a good thing given this.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

z

Its all right in front of you.

Conference dollars = 0 success

Coaches make all the difference.

 

[CL82]

Yormark (and all conference directors) work for the presidents, who provide direction and yes/no on direction, actions, etc that the conference director them steers towards. Yormark being basketball centric and from NY certainly helps but he isn't singly driving the Big12 bus. The fact that Yormark is publicly in our corner is a good thing given this.

He hast to convince the presidents, no doubt, but the advice he's given them on renegotiating their contract in the post OU/Texas era has given him a tremendous amount of credibility with the school presidents.

 

[gtcam]

Who was the highest rated recruit that Ollie brought in and where was he from?

Here's a hypothetical: if after the 2014-2015 season KO left for the NBA, which was rumored and had this board freaking out, and at that point we had brought in Hurley to replace him. Would our view of the AAC be the same?

One thing that I find stunning is how so many who had blasted KO mercilessly now are claiming he was only part of the downfall. If our coach kept up his end of the bargain our only complaint about the AAC would be how the conference had screwed us on the second media deal (which is entirely why we left).

People conveniently forget that KO did the yeoman work of recruiting for JC when he was the head assistant.
Hurley would not have stepped on the UConn campus if he had not known beforehand that UConn was going to rejoin the NBE so the AAC arguments are invalid.
I think the courts decided who didn't hold up the end of agreement (the old adage bargain doesn't fit here). KO didn't produce his last few years and the record certainly deserved second guessing and possible changes but Dan Hurley didn't burn the AAC up and doesn''t have to recruit to the AAC either.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It’s hard to have the prestige of us, but Texas and OU both recruited very well. Especially Texas. Kansas State even some years. They’ve had it’s fair share of challengers in the Big 12.

I also think the allure of the Big East tournament and playing at MSG is kind of slept on here when it comes to recruiting. Especially for kids in the NE. We’d give up a huge recruiting tool and on the court competitive advantage.

In general, having to go 5 hours for most away games and having a conference tournament completely away from home is not ideal. While we did win a national title this year, it’s not like we’ve shown that we can dominate in conference. I don’t know why we would want to make playing in conference even harder.

We’d go from the Garden being Storrs South to having every Big 12 tournament game be a long distance road game that’s hard to get too.

I'm not worried about a conference tournament in KC. UConn's road to championships has mostly come far from home. Maybe playing in a more hostile environment would help us. No doubt about it Sprint Center will be Lawrence in the way MSG is Storrs south, but there will be plenty of fans from all the teams, just like BET.

I don't think the BET at MSG is the selling point with kids today that it was 30 years ago. There's no nostalgia left. MSG isn't the big deal it was back when Howard Cosell was around.

I think our March success comes in part from being battle tested and I think the Big XII would be just as good as the Big East for that.

 

[CL82]

I don't think the BET at MSG is the selling point with kids today that it was 30 years ago. There's no nostalgia left. MSG isn't the big deal it was back when Howard Cosell was around.

 

[CTBasketball]

I'm not worried about a conference tournament in KC. UConn's road to championships has mostly come far from home. Maybe playing in a more hostile environment would help us. No doubt about it Sprint Center will be Lawrence in the way MSG is Storrs south, but there will be plenty of fans from all the teams, just like BET.

I don't think the BET at MSG is the selling point with kids today that it was 30 years ago. There's no nostalgia left. MSG isn't the big deal it was back when Howard Cosell was around.

I think our March success comes in part from being battle tested and I think the Big XII would be just as good as the Big East for that.

I can tell you weren’t at MSG last year. There was a definite buzz in the city, building was sold out for every game, and the fans were rabid.

I’d rather participate in that than be Option E for the Big 12.

 

[HitDog]

Some threads have talked about UConn rivalries. I have to think its between UConn basketball fans vs UConn fans. I just love the hatred between the 2 groups.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I can tell you weren’t at MSG last year. There was a definite buzz in the city, building was sold out for every game, and the fans were rabid.

I’d rather participate in that than be Option E for the Big 12.

I wasn't but that's not what I'm saying anyway. The tournament is a big event, of course it was. Outside of the tri-state area MSG doesn't really mean anything to anyone anymore. Big XII tournament had record crowds and buzz too.

 

[Waquoit]

I just love the hatred between the 2 groups.

What do you love about it?

 

[CL82]

I wasn't but that's not what I'm saying anyway. The tournament is a big event, of course it was. Outside of the tri-state area MSG doesn't really mean anything to anyone anymore. Big XII tournament had record crowds and buzz too.

Yeah, I'm not at all sure that that's true. I feel like a number of Connecticut players talked about playing at MSG. It continues to be a big deal. And seeing a UConn game there, is an absolute blast.

That's probably the thing that bothers me the most about joining the big 12, assuming we get an invitation. I still think it's the right call, but leaving the big east tournament behind is tough.

 

[UCSouth]

What do you love about it?

He loves the fact that being a troll, he doesn't fit in either category. Troll be trolling!

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Hurley would not have stepped on the UConn campus if he had not known beforehand that UConn was going to rejoin the NBE so the AAC arguments are invalid.

I call BS on this. Quite a few head coaches at different programs within the athletic department were surprised when told this was happening. There is no way those in charge would have told someone who wasn't an employee information as critical as that if they weren't willing to tell employees.

I know this goes against everything that a number of boneyarders want to believe but if the second media deal did not hurt us in the manner (and at the level) it did we wouldn't have looked to leave the AAC for anything other than a P-5 conference.

 

[HitDog]

He loves the fact that being a troll, he doesn't fit in either category. Troll be trolling!

Not a troll. I was being sarcastic. I really think it sucks that there too many fans of one program and not the whole school. I think the basketball fans would have been happy if they did shutter the football program when we came back to the Big East.

 

[superjohn]

Yeah, I'm not at all sure that that's true. I feel like a number of Connecticut players talked about playing at MSG. It continues to be a big deal. And seeing a UConn game there, is an absolute blast.

That's probably the thing that bothers me the most about joining the big 12, assuming we get an invitation. I still think it's the right call, but leaving the big east tournament behind is tough.

MSG is nothing these days. They can't compete with the T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City. They have the Professional Bull Riders Kansas City Outlaws and Nickelback coming to town.

 

[Sole]

Some threads have talked about UConn rivalries. I have to think its between UConn basketball fans vs UConn fans. I just love the hatred between the 2 groups.

I don’t think that’s true at all… I think most uconn basketball fans love all the uconn teams… i went to 3 football games last year

 

[Scoe]

Question for basketball,

Can we win a national championship in the Big East? Yes

Can we win a national championship in the Big 12? Yes

Question for football,

Can we win a national championship as an independent? No

Can we win a national championship in the Big 12? Yes

So the Big 12 is the best option.

We got some non believers, in here. That’s a losers mentality.

 

[CL82]

MSG is nothing these days. They can't compete with the T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City. They have the Professional Bull Riders Kansas City Outlaws and Nickelback coming to town.

Sarcasm?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The Big East tournament is still a big deal to a lot of people who grew up with UConn Syracuse Pitt, etc. but it's living on memory.

This year's Marquette Xavier Big "East" final with a team from Milwaukee and Cincinnati had a get in the door price of $25. I'm sorry, as I generally agree with you @CTBasketball but New York City was absolutely not set ablaze with this.