B12 Related - Why is UConn's brand so tainted? | Page 5 | The Boneyard

B12 Related - Why is UConn's brand so tainted?

UConnDan97 said:
I think this post misses the mark on multiple points.

Firstly, to compare 2.0 with Mora is wayyyy off the mark. Not only has Mora drastically improved the product on the field, he did it with 2.0's guys. He also has absolutely changed the marketing of this program in a way that Edsall never did or never could. It's a nonsense comparison.

Secondly, to say that BC, Syracuse, and Louisville were different than us from a national football prospective is nowhere near true, unless you're trying to invoke Flutie and Jim Brown. At the time of the departures, the nation cared about neither one.

Mora is not Urban Meyer or Nick Saban. But he's a country mile in front of Edsall...
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Edsall is a tightass. Tightasses are grinders with evrything that implies. Grinders don't win games by smoke and mirrors.
 
DMTCYNAW said:
No matter what we do, no matter how many bball championships, no matter the progress shown in football, based on what i'm seeing aroudn the internet, it really seems like UConn's athletic brand simply does not make a dent with people. Folks outside our immediate fanbase/community, are not excited about us, and thus us being a part of their favorite team's conference. And utlimately, that's what drives eyeballs and thus $$ - regardless of actual on-the-field success.

i'm a relatively new fan, so i'm so confused by the lukewarm reception. What happened to us, that has made this brand so difficult to position positively on a NATIONAL stage?
I know we're powerful in the Big East (a fairly local bball conference), but again - my question is about NATIONAL.

if someone has a fact/historical based explanation, i'd love some context & enlightenment, because this just doesn't make sense why college sports fans (FB/basketball) across the country find us boring/offensive/beneath them.

What i've seen so far:
  • ACC has never wanted us and still doesn't, even though it's the perfect geographic fit and member profile (i.e. schools and matchups make the most sense for us, within P5)
  • B1G has probably never heard of UConn (who?)
  • SEC has prob never heard of the state of Connecticut, much less UConn
  • Pac12 just doesn't make sense, so didn't look around for threads/chats on that potential relationship
  • Big 12 - only possible connection, but fans across the conference hate us/the idea of this happening.
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I don’t completely share your thoughts. We are a highly respected national brand in basketball. Pretty much in everybody’s Top 10 all time programs and in the conversation as a Blue Blood. As for football, likely never gonna happen but that’s ok. We just want to compete and make a few bowl games, which we will. Go Huskies!!
 
Urcea said:
A whole host of things. He basically didn’t play any Diaco guys with any experience favoring his own recruits over seniors who could play. He alienated guys, both coaches and players. He was inflexible in committing to a late 20th century style of play. His guys were always undersized and basically incapable of playing, leading to the worst defense in the country. He refused to play the transfer portal, effectively putting us behind all other 129 teams. According to some stuff that came out after the firing, during COVID he canceled the season and then hiked it down to Florida, leaving his team in the lurch. They came back to get destroyed the next season after getting destroyed the season before.

It was a national embarrassment. Unfortunately, it happened just in the midst of the current phase of realignment
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RE is clueless and classless
 
hardcorehusky said:
The circumstances behind RE2.0 were unique. The red pants child destroyed this program on every level after PP had let it go off course. Who better to rebuild it than the guy who built it in the first place? Problem was, we didn't give the AD money for football because, this is my opinion only, realignment was a ways off and someone wanted to cut corners in football. Additionally, RE's strengths were Red Pants weaknesses and that always appeals in hiring but causes other problems as we saw.

RE hadn't evolved and his long term turnaround was out-of-date. The game had passed him by. To me, he was a cheap place holder and when it all blew up, UConn realized it had a problem.

Mora says and does all the right things. He observed successful football programs and has picked up from them. But if the funding slips or if we don't get into a conference in the near future, I can see him heading along to whatever is next.
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If UConn wanted to go back to big east, do you think the easiest way to do that was to choke the football team?

If UConn was competing in the AAC, but didn’t get a p5 invite, would the school have left?
 
JohnFSilver said:
If UConn wanted to go back to big east, do you think the easiest way to do that was to choke the football team?

If UConn was competing in the AAC, but didn’t get a p5 invite, would the school have left?
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Yes. U r suggesting that was deliberate??? No no no.

The premise of the second question isn't clear. The conditions u cite are exactly what happened. But cause and effect are not established.
 
JohnFSilver said:
If UConn wanted to go back to Big East, do you think the easiest way to do that was to choke the football team?

If UConn was competing in the AAC, but didn’t get a p5 invite, would the school have left?
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My point was when the school knew there was time before the next round of invites (UConn is plugged into this junk), they cut Financial corners in football. RE was supposed to build the infrastructure and a miding team would have sufficed. When he catered, then they realized more money had to go to the next coach. Look at the number of non coaching staff vs RE and it is jaw dropping.
The dynamics of CR have changed every round. Records didn't matter(see BC, Rutgers, Pitt and Cuse). Then they did matter, (Houston, Cincinnati, UCF). I am sure some conference told those that matter bide your time and when the time is right, you will be #16.
UConn tried to be cute during that time but got burned.
 
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What’s your name? Dave? I believe all parties wanted success. What worked the first didn’t the second. JM having toured successful programs during his broadcasting days has the intel on what it takes. He still has control over the defense and would be surprised if he ever hired a famous DC who’s philosophy was anyway different than his own.
 
We needed the ACC invitation 10 years ago and didn't get it for a variety of reasons. That's the P5 conference where we objectively would've fit the best, even though it's not the strongest place to be nowadays. When that didn't happen we were in big trouble and everyone knew it.

We'd be a square peg jammed into a round hole in the Big 12, which is why I didn't think it'd happen the last time an invite was the hot topic and I don't think it'll happen this time either.
 
I don’t see the Big 12 as being that stable of a conference. They have no tv network and no blue blood programs like the ACC. ESPN is heavily invested in the ACC. If the B1G, SEC and the ACC expand it will be at the expense of the Big 12 and the PAC 12. ND does not want the ACC to fail either and will likely join full time with a special financial deal until the next tv contract in 2036. That contract with ND could bring the ACC respectfully close to the SEC and the B1G.
 
NE Football said:
I don’t see the Big 12 as being that stable of a conference. They have no tv network and no blue blood programs like the ACC. ESPN is heavily invested in the ACC. If the B1G, SEC and the ACC expand it will be at the expense of the Big 12 and the PAC 12. ND does not want the ACC to fail either and will likely join full time with a special financial deal until the next tv contract in 2036. That contract with ND could bring the ACC respectfully close to the SEC and the B1G.
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So, which big 12 programs do you think are likely to leave and which conferences do you think they will head to. If your answer is, "well, I can't think of a single one!" that is pretty much the definition of stability.

Now, take a look at the ACC. Which programs do you think would be desirable to the big 10 or the SEC? See any land grant national brands that are AAU? It's pretty likely that they are potential big 10 targets. The SEC has already stated that it has interest in two of the ACC programs. I fully agree that the ACC is ESPN's house band, but, I don't think they will be willing to pay them 70+ million dollars a year to keep pace with the Big Ten or the SEC.

If Notre Dame ever decides to become a full member of a conference, do you seriously think they will except $.50 on the dollar to do that in the ACC. I don't.
 
NE Football said:
I don’t see the Big 12 as being that stable of a conference. They have no tv network and no blue blood programs like the ACC. ESPN is heavily invested in the ACC. If the B1G, SEC and the ACC expand it will be at the expense of the Big 12 and the PAC 12. ND does not want the ACC to fail either and will likely join full time with a special financial deal until the next tv contract in 2036. That contract with ND could bring the ACC respectfully close to the SEC and the B1G.
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Notre Dame is never going to join the ACC full time in football.
It makes no difference to them if the conference breaks apart.
They will always find someplace to park their Olympic sports.
 
CL82 said:
So, which big 12 programs do you think are likely to leave and which conferences do you think they will head to. If your answer is, "well, I can't think of a single one!" that is pretty much the definition of stability.

Now, take a look at the ACC. Which programs do you think would be desirable to the big 10 or the SEC? See any land grant national brands that are AAU? It's pretty likely that they are potential big 10 targets. The SEC has already stated that it has interest in two of the ACC programs. I fully agree that the ACC is ESPN's house band, but, I don't think they will be willing to pay them 70+ million dollars a year to keep pace with the Big Ten or the SEC.

If Notre Dame ever decides to become a full member of a conference, do you seriously think they will except $.50 on the dollar to do that in the ACC. I don't.
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If Notre Dame decides to become a full member of a conference it would be the B1G. Notre Dame is almost immune, almost, to the conference realignment musical chairs in that they know they will be coveted by any conference.
 
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CL82 said:
So, which big 12 programs do you think are likely to leave and which conferences do you think they will head to. If your answer is, "well, I can't think of a single one!" that is pretty much the definition of stability.

Now, take a look at the ACC. Which programs do you think would be desirable to the big 10 or the SEC? See any land grant national brands that are AAU? It's pretty likely that they are potential big 10 targets. The SEC has already stated that it has interest in two of the ACC programs. I fully agree that the ACC is ESPN's house band, but, I don't think they will be willing to pay them 70+ million dollars a year to keep pace with the Big Ten or the SEC.

If Notre Dame ever decides to become a full member of a conference, do you seriously think they will except $.50 on the dollar to do that in the ACC. I don't.
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Agree, Big 12 seems pretty stable now, for better or worse. And that's kind of the thing, stability has only been achieved because their best programs just left. It's a B-tier conference with no obvious poaching targets left. Meanwhile in the ACC, Florida State and Clemson would die for an SEC invitation and Notre Dame has no loyalty to anyone but themselves.

The ACC seems like the 2nd weakest P5 as things stand today, after the PAC. If they start to get poached, what will they look like when the dust settles? Could be ugly.

And for the record I'm unfortunately not a believer in UConn getting a Big 12 invite. I think it's more likely that we eventually get pulled into the ACC if/when they start to get picked apart, or as a preemptive strike to try to bolster themselves.
 
amory said:
Agree, Big 12 seems pretty stable now, for better or worse. And that's kind of the thing, stability has only been achieved because their best programs just left. It's a B-tier conference with no obvious poaching targets left. Meanwhile in the ACC, Florida State and Clemson would die for an SEC invitation and Notre Dame has no loyalty to anyone but themselves.

The ACC seems like the 2nd weakest P5 as things stand today, after the PAC. If they start to get poached, what will they look like when the dust settles? Could be ugly.

And for the record I'm unfortunately not a believer in UConn getting a Big 12 invite. I think it's more likely that we eventually get pulled into the ACC if/when they start to get picked apart, or as a preemptive strike to try to bolster themselves.
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Unfortunately, I think UConn is getting jerked along with Big 12 speculation and not getting an invite. I hope I am wrong on this. My thinking on this is analytical, but a lot of it is emotional and being jaded from the last time the Big 12 was Lucy to UConn being Charlie Brown trying to kick the football.
 
gsmooth said:
Unfortunately, I think UConn is getting jerked along with Big 12 speculation and not getting an invite. I hope I am wrong on this. My thinking on this is analytical, but a lot of it is emotional and being jaded from the last time the Big 12 was Lucy to UConn being Charlie Brown trying to kick the football.
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I just don't see why the Big 12 would add us when they can raid the Pac 12 for schools like Colorado and Arizona. It's frustrating but it is what it is. I'd be glad to be wrong.

Like I said, the ACC put us on a desert island and they'll forever be my most hated conference even if we end up landing there someday.
 
amory said:
just don't see why the Big 12 would add us when they can raid the Pac 12 for schools like Colorado and Arizona
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9231AF32-7A93-492B-ADFB-FA027A400815.jpeg


Plus adding Colorado and Arizona or UConn isn't necessarily mutually exclusive.
 
CL82 said:
View attachment 89153

Plus adding Colorado and Arizona or UConn isn't necessarily mutually exclusive.
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If the trophies were our ticket to the P5 we would've gotten there a long time ago. Probably would be in the Big 10 or something too, instead of being a borderline Big 12 invite.

Anyway maybe I'm being overly pessimistic but we've all been a part of this song and dance a few times before.
 
amory said:
If the trophies were our ticket to the P5 we would've gotten there a long time ago. Probably would be in the Big 10 or something too, instead of being a borderline Big 12 invite.

Anyway maybe I'm being overly pessimistic but we've all been a part of this song and dance a few times before.
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Agree somewhat. The thing is what constitutes "the ticket" is a moving target. In bc this round, location plus brand value may be the right combo.
 
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The big 12 does not support Women's Lacrosse nor Field Hockey...and does have Wrestling and Gymnastics.
 
amory said:
If the trophies were our ticket to the P5 we would've gotten there a long time ago. Probably would be in the Big 10 or something too, instead of being a borderline Big 12 invite.

Anyway maybe I'm being overly pessimistic but we've all been a part of this song and dance a few times before.
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Our location sucks. Our football was bad when we needed them to be at the top of their game at critical junctures.

Out football program was historically bad. We quit the AAC which gave everyone a signal that we gave up on football. We had clauses in game contracts that we could cancel in the event we downgrade to FCS.

We basically put off all kinds of negative vibes. I am as pessimistic as you.
 
CL82 said:
View attachment 89153

Plus adding Colorado and Arizona or UConn isn't necessarily mutually exclusive.
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Agree somewhat. The thing is what constitutes "the ticket" is a moving target. In bc this round, location plus brand value may be the right combo.
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It is a moving target putting a little, not a lot more emphasis on basketball, but football is the 80 in the 80/20 rule and basketball is the 20 when it comes to conference realignment and basically revenue generating in college sports and even then I might be understating football and overstating basketball.

The UConn women's basketball is bigger than women's basketball itself and popular globally. People who don't pay attention to women's basketball will tune into UConn on some level just because their brand and popularity is so high.

The UConn men's basketball program is part of the basketball royalty with 5 titles-there is no doubt about it, they are in the royalty club.

Even the naysayer fans of the current Big 12 teams who are firmly opposed to adding UConn to the Big 12 acknowledge the greatness of UConn Basketball.

Having said all of the above, I am sure you know it ain't UConn Basketball that needs to be sold. UConn Basketball sells itself. It's UConn Football that needs to be sold. Mora and his staff exceeded expectations last year, but it's not enough to wipe away the God awful football that preceded it before for a decade sans 2015-there was real reputational damage done that will take time to erase.
 
GoKU said:
When people talk about Colorado/UConn as the 2 adds, most Big 12 fans like it. Only Cincinnati seems against it.
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BS. Most Big 12 fans are against it but that is always the case with non-P5 schools, it was like that with the new Big 12 schools. You clearly only read a few message boards. But message board fans don't make the decisions.
 
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$20M+ and a full share within three years or hang up the phone.
 
Patman said:
From what I've seen on other boards, particularly reddit, Cincinnati fans have not been fond of it.
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Of course not. We have our resident Cincy troll on the Yard and all he has is "We're P5 and you're not." Take that away and they have nothing. They did have a FF BB coach but they ran him out of town.
 
I agree with those saying that the Cincinnati fans are against UConn being added. I've noticed the same thing on various message boards.
 
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