Wow, a 1000 plus post thread optimistically perverting the chances Uconn gets into what will likely be the best overall conference in this realignment mess when all is said and done(revenue, academic and athletic). Unlikely - all that speaks to that is highly Uconn-sided perception and very little national. Read reasonable 3rd party opinions from those not affiliated with Uconn and much of that this info isn't even a spec of what is being considered. Baseline - Uconn is currently a mariginally committed(PP a testament to that) very young football program. They are 122nd ranked research school in the country. Schools like South Florida and Cinci smoke that, so not sure what all the AAU membership confidence is all about. Any chance Uconn gets that is years down the road if it does come. Very unlikely a Big Ten takes a Uconn on top of a risk like Rutgers in believing it helps them with the NYC market. They'll see what comes of Rutgers in seeing that through before adding a Uconn. Rutgers was a risk as an investment to the future/market grasp, but they do satisfy the integrity points as to what Delany has spoken to. Uconn does not.
Uconn ONLY gets into the Big Ten way down the road with an AAU membership, a few whiffs by the Big Ten on first line of targets and seeing some momentum built with football. As much as Uconn is a flagship school to CT, it plays it's hoops in a mall , it's football in an old airport off campus and in a pro sports culture. That's small beans, that's not real collegiate culture. That is not the Big Ten way.
Bottom line, there are much more attractive options out there once the ACC gets further busted up - schools with both better football tradition/programs in college football hotbeds and with more market appeal with appropriate facilities/infrastructure. And there is no reason for the Big Ten to start taking second pickings at this point when they are absolutely in the drivers seat, along with the SEC. They can wait all they want for a Uconn type school because they can have them whenever the hell they want. If we want to use Rutgers as the counter to that, they were a free of charge partner(with a better overall resume) to Maryland in taking the one school they knew would be game to challenge the ACC exit fee.
If Uconn wants to end up in greener pastures, it needs to start picking up it's game. PR/Marketing, a FB coach with a buzz, getting creative/progressive on venues. Start playing games in Foxborough/NYC if asked. It's not like the Rent brings ambience/drawing card. If Uconn wants a trump card to play, it needs to find a way to play itself into becoming THE D1 college football program of the Northeast. Time for the administration to step up - now is your chance to man up at a juncture when real impact can be made.
Uconn has one move and one move only anytime in the near future - that's sliding in as a filler in the ACC, a conference where the hoops value has heavier stock and a conference sitting in insecurity. For Uconn, that is a huge upgrade over it's current situation - it's something to work with. If it gets stuck for any extended time in this new BE hot mess, it will be an uphill battle. 5-7 years down the road in that conference, we may be asking to ditch FB to see if we can salvage our hoops back in the Catholic School league. Let's put the Big Ten stuff to bed - fun to talk about, fun to scour the dredges of optimistic menusche to keep hope alive/drive the pro Uconn rumor mill, but the evidence pointing in opposite direction is ridiculously heavy.
