Berry Tramel: Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of Big 12 expansion candidates

[CL82]

Doesn't mean it isn't true.

Nor does it mean it is.

 

[06029]

You clearly have no clue! I live in northeast Massachusetts near New Hampshire and run into plenty of fans in this area as well as down by where I work near Boston, but keep telling yourself your BS in order to feel better!

Anecdotal stories aside, there is no evidence that Uconn FB moves the ratings needle in MA, NH, ME, VT or RI. Half of New England does not get SNY as part of basic cable or satellite service. There are no local affiliates broadcasting the AAC game of the week even in CT. That is a reality, not BS. And I don't agree that fans that graduated from an of the other New England State U's will adopt Uconn as their college FB team. Most Uconn grads did not adopt any team as their own 15 years ago before the move up was announced. A lot of Uconn alums that I know didn't care about CFB until the move up was made. So I don't think alums from other schools would rush to adopt Uconn.

 

[Jerry27]

Anecdotal stories aside, there is no evidence that Uconn FB moves the ratings needle in MA, NH, ME, VT or RI. Half of New England does not get SNY as part of basic cable or satellite service. There are no local affiliates broadcasting the AAC game of the week even in CT. That is a reality, not BS. And I don't agree that fans that graduated from an of the other New England State U's will adopt Uconn as their college FB team. Most Uconn grads did not adopt any team as their own 15 years ago before the move up was announced. A lot of Uconn alums that I know didn't care about CFB until the move up was made. So I don't think alums from other schools would rush to adopt Uconn.

But who is talking about any of that? His comment was that, "UConn's support ends at the CT state borders. people in other parts of New England are not Husky fans." And that's BS no matter what qualification you add to the statement after the fact that would change the original comment altogether which would have elicited a different response.

 

[J187Money]

Nor does it mean it is.

I've said this many times. I travel the country for work and have done so for years. Most people that don't follow BB even know what UCONN (Yukon?) is. Pretend otherwise if you want.

 

[Hoophound]

I've said this many times. I travel the country for work and have done so for years. Most people that don't follow BB even know what UCONN (Yukon?) is. Pretend otherwise if you want.

Sort of true. Lots of people know Connecticut though. Sometimes I'll say I'm a UConn fan and then someone will say "ah, Connecticut, great basketball teams". The UConn thing is lost on them but they know who we are. I like the UConn branding but this always makes me rethink my position. Everyone knows Connecticut basketball.

 

[uconnell]

I've said this many times. I travel the country for work and have done so for years. Most people that don't follow BB even know what UCONN (Yukon?) is. Pretend otherwise if you want.

Why would anyone who is not a college basketball fan know who UConn is?

 

[Adios]

Why would anyone who is not a college basketball fan know who UConn is?

Big on college sports, period. We are not the University of California-Berkeley. Yet. UConn-Stamford going FBS??

 

[Kgun7]

Sort of true. Lots of people know Connecticut though. Sometimes I'll say I'm a UConn fan and then someone will say "ah, Connecticut, great basketball teams". The UConn thing is lost on them but they know who we are. I like the UConn branding but this always makes me rethink my position. Everyone knows Connecticut basketball.

Gotta agree with you on this ... Roy Williams said: "I want to be like Connecticut" ...

 

[Stinger92860]

UConn's support ends at the CT state borders. people in other parts of New England are not Husky fans.

Not true Rat Face One.

 

[IMind]

There absolutely is evidence that NYC follows UConn. SNY's contract is evidence enough. Who cares if RI and ME are huge UConn fans. We absolutely have enough juice from CT proper, Western Mass, and NYC (even if it's only a small portion of NYC) to justify our inclusion in a P5 conference. If we're playing a B1G, B12, or even ACC schedule (and are better than .500 team) we would absolutely sell out a 50,000 seat stadium let alone a 40,000 seat stadium. This area is dying to have a big time football program. All you need to is look at how well we did when we were winning, when Michigan came to town... the great crowds we had for Baylor, Pittsburgh, etc.

 

[Stinger92860]

Sorry to disagree. If UConn really had the number of fans and followers outside Ct that many of you claim it does, the Huskies would already be in a Power-5 conference. Rational objective observers understand that UConn's support dramatically drops outside the CT state lines. Given the limits on support and the fact that football drives the bus and Husky football is not strong, we are in the AAC.

The bus has changed direction and will be driven by eyeballs which pay to view content. More changes coming.

 

[Redding Husky]

I totally agree with that. The region would unite under a UConn in a P5 conference.

Except for two or three zip codes around Chestnut Hill.

 

[06029]

But who is talking about any of that? His comment was that, "UConn's support ends at the CT state borders. people in other parts of New England are not Husky fans." And that's BS no matter what qualification you add to the statement after the fact that would change the original comment altogether which would have elicited a different response.

In terms of what matters, TV ratings, the statement is correct. Support ends at state borders. It may even end before that in Fairfield County.

 

[Fishy]

In terms of what matters, TV ratings, the statement is correct. Support ends at state borders. It may even end before that in Fairfield County.

Could be worse - some schools see their support end at the traffic light leaving campus.

See "Boston College".

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Be careful what you write. Thoughtful reason is apparently not wanted here. Many want to remain in their fantasy land.

Glad to see that Ex-Lax diet is working for you but I wish you wouldn't post the results here.

 

[auggie22]

That is delusional thinking. UConn has absolutely great support in CT. It really doesn't have much more than casual interest elsewhere in New England. I live in MA and no one here really follows UConn. If the hoops team is on tv or making an NCAA run, regional folks will watch and root for them but do not live and die with the Huskies. It is no big deal if UConn loses. New England is too fractured with multiple states and many colleges for any one school to dominate. Even if UConn were to get into a better conference, that would not change.

1.) so... If you stipulate that Uconn has great support among CT residents, then it stands to reason you would agree that this fandom would extend to places where CT residents migrate in large number, such as NY and MA. I am a good example of one ( non-alumni, former resident)

2.) ok, I'll match your dumb argument with one in kind - I live in MA, and I see UCONN fans in greater Boston a lot. So there.

3.). You acknowledge that when Uconn basketball is on tv the region will watch and root for them? Seems like you are agreeing with us here.

 

[CL82]

I've said this many times. I travel the country for work and have done so for years. Most people that don't follow BB even know what UCONN (Yukon?) is. Pretend otherwise if you want.

How are those two points related in your mind?

I've had plenty of non-basketball conversations with with people about UConn. Pretend otherwise if you wish.

(See how the last two sentences are equally pointless whether you wrote them or I did?)

 

[Jerry27]

In terms of what matters, TV ratings, the statement is correct. Support ends at state borders. It may even end before that in Fairfield County.

Yes, that may be true, but he never made those terms, they were placed as a qualification to my statement, in terms of what he actually wrote it's BS.

 

[CAHUSKY]

I've said this many times. I travel the country for work and have done so for years. Most people that don't follow BB even know what UCONN (Yukon?) is. Pretend otherwise if you want.

Stop it. I live in Nevada and California and travel constantly around the country on business. In my travels I nearly always find a way to crowbar UCONN in to the conversation and virtually never have had someone who didn't know what it was. Well, maybe a dingbat stripper somewhere but she probably couldn't tell me who the Vice President is. Among mildly intelligent individuals, UCONN is very well known.
Granted, when I told my 65 year old San Franciscan grandmother that I was going UCONN in 1990 she did ask why I was going to college in Alaska. That said, a lot has changed since then.

 

[Fishy]

Be careful what you write. Thoughtful reason is apparently not wanted here. Many want to remain in their fantasy land.

Translation: "I came here to troll."

Go away.

 

[Fishy]

I've said this many times. I travel the country for work and have done so for years. Most people that don't follow BB even know what UCONN (Yukon?) is. Pretend otherwise if you want.

You travel in ignorant circles.

 

[pj]

You travel in ignorant circles.

Give him a break, he's in the business of selling dental appliances to nursing home residents.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Anecdotal of course, but in my neighborhood in Boston, I see UConn stickers on cars all the time. During the title run, I watched a few of the games at local bars, and they were always packed with UConn fans. Yeah, it's not Hartford, but I see more UConn fans around here than any other school, including Boston College.

 

[djct1999]

Maybe I am a bit delusional, but I think the UConn brand(100% from hoops) could garner national attention in football if things fall in place. If UConn was competitive(top 15) and playing in the B1g, my guess is you would see UConn gear all over the northeast, from rap stars to celebrities sitting courtside at MSG. It is very easy to see that the resources are in place and UConn could catapult into football relevancy quickly with aide from conference affiliation.

 

[Exit 4]

UConn has an improving perception in lower FF County. Much improved in fact. However, it still has a long ways to go if measured by bumper stickers and t-shirts. BC, Yale and Duke stickers (to name a few) are as common as UConn - if not more common. That said, I think the area is fairly hungry for a school they can rally around for big time college sports as BC is too Boston and Syracuse too NY to get the full buy in. Another regional handicap is the fact there are few UConn alumni of stature (the sorry endowment is telling). In my field in finance/real estate, many are Syracuse and BC grads followed by UNC & Penn. I can't think of one UConn person in 100 professionals. Again, I think this is bound to improve in the coming decades as the school bears the fruit of its academic ramp up.

 

[djct1999]

UConn has an improving perception in lower FF County. Much improved in fact. However, it still has a long ways to go if measured by bumper stickers and t-shirts. BC, Yale and Duke stickers (to name a few) are as common as UConn - if not more common. That said, I think the area is fairly hungry for a school they can rally around for big time college sports as BC is too Boston and Syracuse too NY to get the full buy in. Another regional handicap is the fact there are few UConn alumni of stature (the sorry endowment is telling). In my field in finance/real estate, many are Syracuse and BC grads followed by UNC & Penn. I can't think of one UConn person in 100 professionals. Again, I think this is bound to improve in the coming decades as the school bears the fruit of its academic ramp up.

What makes UConn unique is that its a state without a pro team. Those stickers you see on cars are where parents send their kids. Those same parents would/could still cheer for UConn. I am proud to be one such fan. I grew up in CT, followed the mens hoops team as a kid, went to school out of state and now am raising my family in Fairfield County. I love UConn sports without ever going there. Growing up in this state does that to a kid. The huskies have always been my Knicks or my Celtics. If they become competitive in P5 football, they can very easily become my Jets, Pats or my Giants.

 

[CL82]

Well here in Jersey for years I saw far more UConn flags, gear etc. than Rutgers stuff, although I have to say, I'm seeing more RU stuff since the move to the B1G. I rarely bump into 'Cuse grads, which is a shame because the potential to have fun a little with them is better than ever. Although I am clearly not a BCU fan, they are a popular college choice for kids locally. FWIW

Off the top of my head, I've had people strike up UConn conversations with me in Hawaii, California, Canada and the Caribbean. I think pretty much all of them are outside of Connecticut.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

1.) so... If you stipulate that Uconn has great support among CT residents, then it stands to reason you would agree that this fandom would extend to places where CT residents migrate in large number, such as NY and MA. I am a good example of one ( non-alumni, former resident)

2.) ok, I'll match your dumb argument with one in kind - I live in MA, and I see UCONN fans in greater Boston a lot. So there.

3.). You acknowledge that when Uconn basketball is on tv the region will watch and root for them? Seems like you are agreeing with us here.

Not to mention the experience that many UConn fans had in NYC during the 2014 championship run. It was magical. The regional final at MSG, which I did not have tickets too, was insane as I could hear the fans inside MSG from sports bar across the street and we packed 600 or so people into the 'official' UConn Alumni bar in NYC for the game against Kentucky. The scene at many 'unofficial' bars was fun, too.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

1.) so... If you stipulate that Uconn has great support among CT residents, then it stands to reason you would agree that this fandom would extend to places where CT residents migrate in large number, such as NY and MA. I am a good example of one ( non-alumni, former resident)

2.) ok, I'll match your dumb argument with one in kind - I live in MA, and I see UCONN fans in greater Boston a lot. So there.

3.). You acknowledge that when Uconn basketball is on tv the region will watch and root for them? Seems like you are agreeing with us here.

Exactly if UConn is a successful FBS school the casual fan in New Endland will adopt them. The next generation will be even more deeply invested having grown up watching UConn. Remember all New England residents get in state tuition if their State University doesn't offer the program. So the New England states have some regional consideration now.

 

[mike012]

I beg to differ. Most people in the other New England states will never adopt UConn as THEIR team. Residents of one state seldom in large numbers become fans of another state's flagship university. It is just the way it is. Do you think if UMass was to become a successful FBS program, people in Ct would adopt them? Of course they wouldn't. Why then do some think it would be different in other states?

Uconn actually wins at stuff...unlike.. Mass....Bcu...The Tangerine... Spitt....yada yada