We are already on #nutkick # 4 or 5.
No, you stop. Diaco is PP Light.
He was 3-5.
I agree. Let's join with the best of the rest and get out of the C-USA mold.
Carl, if your blue chair back is near section 200 (where my two reside), wear something that says, "I'm Confident Carl!" to the next FB game so I can spot you and buy you a beer. Perfect response - couldn't agree more with every point.I feel you pain brother. Football has sucked for two long. Diaco and Staff have made some questionable calls but having said that, we are seeing improvement. In my opinion UCONN must finish 7-5 and go to a bowl this year. Otherwise all bets are off and Diaco will have to be concerned next year. The program just can't tolerate anymore crappy seasons.
I decided to comment on your points. I appreciate your service to our country and since you gave us your time, I decided to pay close attention to your thoughts and emotions.
-Basketball in this conference is still atrocious, and it's hard to see that changing much.
Big East is a better basketball conference but atrocious for the AAC is a bit too harsh. Seven of the American's 11 teams (UCONN, Cincy, Houston, Memphis, Temple, SMU and Tulsa) have some tradition in basketball. The Big East teams consisting of Butler, Creighton, Depaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. Johns, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier are sexier seasoned teams. USF and UCF are relatively new to big time Basketball. ECU being in North Carolina has never been a power but I can see them improving. The American has some really good coaches too. Although the Big East is better it is somewhat comforting to see that the NCAA tournament numbers are not that far apart. Obviously UCONN impacts the American's numbers considerably but non the less the comparison leaves some room for optimism.
AMERICAN..... BIG....EAST
NCAA CHAMPS ..6 ..4
NCAA RUNNER UP..... 5.. 9
NCAA FINAL 4.. 22..... 22
NCAA ELITE 8... 41..... 49
NCAA SWEET 16..... 69..... 87
NCAA APPEARANCES 175....228
-Football arguably is better than in it ever was in the New Big East (NBE). That alone should be enough to get the TV payout higher but probably not high enough.
I am in agreement here. Hoping Mike Aresco's experience in TV will help land a solid TV contract.
-With Big 12 expansion shut down should the AAC actually seize some initiative and raid the best two schools from the MWC?
I hear you but didn't we try that already with Boise State and San Diego State. They would only come if Aresco negotiates a better TV contract and if so, I doubt if the networks would want to pay out more dough similar to the recent Big 8 decision not to expand.
-If the AAC doesn't get serious about improving basketball and improving the members then UConn should give consideration to leaving.
Again I refer you to the numbers above. The American has some tradition but also some emerging teams. No reason why USF, UCF and ECU can't make strides in basketball. I have heard of adding Wichita State, and VCU for example. Not a bad idea but we had that in the Big East and having bball only teams caused problems. Also you may have to split revenue with more teams. Having said that fans would certainly come out to see Wichita State and VCU. If attendance sours they may have to do something dramatic like that.
-The AAC is not powerful enough to tell us to go pound sand if we removed basketball. We could probably get Cincy to go with us just to hold the conference hostage.
Doesn't make sense to leave the American. The American didn't hurt the girls, they still won three championships and the men won one. Basketball is still a big revenue earner for UCONN. The key is scheduling top notch high profile non conference games. I do agree that UCONN fans are not going
to get excited about, Tulane and ECU but then again, Nova and Georgetown are more exciting than Depau and Seton Hall. You are correct the American has to get better overall in basketball or UCONN's attendance numbers will suffer.
As for UConn it is time to stop fooling around with the football program. Diaco needs to feel some heat, and the admin needs to step up and find him some more money to hire some decent assistants.
If Diaco finishes 7-5 or better yet 8-4, Diaco is not going anywhere. He is building a program and Benedict just gave him a raise. If you want to kill the momentum fire these coaches but they are a tight knit group and it's not all on the coaches. The players make the plays.
I'm in the military, I used to plan R&R during combat deployments to see two home games. When I was in Germany for three years, ditto. Not too many other people have flown across the Atlantic as much as I have to watch home games.
Thanks for your service to our country it is much appreciated!
I regularly choose not to watch games now, because it's no longer fun to watch. The program is pretty close to losing me and I'm hardly alone.
I agree watching these games has been brutal and heartbreaking. However I see the program getting better. Diaco is too enamored with Bryant Sheriffs, however I believe he will get competition from Donovan Williams next spring. Diaco must have had to Redshirt him this year. I am sure he learned a great deal under Sheriffs.
-Hire an OC or someone capable of scouting and recruiting a few good quarterbacks and start playing attractive football. If this program ever developed some sex appeal it would be SO FRICKING EASY to dominate New England and the Region even with Syracuse and BC being P5. They've been around forever and haven't figured it out, that won't change anytime soon.
Perhaps a new OC will help although FV has opened up things lately. I would like to see us dominate the North East. I want to believe that BD and staff are working towards that. I am going to wait out the season. If we improve and go to a bowl, I will be satisfied but 2017 is a year when we are going to have to dominate. I would like to see us win the last 5 games in a row like USF did and then go on a tear next year.
-Restructure ticket pricing, make the best seats affordable to the most loyal fans. I'm sick of seeing the best seats empty. And while it's stupid to bitch about attendance, it's still terrible optics.
I have to admit that I have given some thought to giving up my blue chair backs and heavy seat donation but I do it partly to contribute to the University, plus I hold out hope that one day we will put it all together.
-This is an opportunity. Last time we were rejected football sucked, this time they raider opted to take an appetite suppressant and we dodged a bullet. And by the way FOOTBALL STILL SUCKS and there is very little reassurance that it will get any better.
-Bottom line, fix football and keep it fixed and we will make it back.
I couldn't agree with you more!
Because the B12 really needs help recruiting in Oklahoma. Maybe if anyone actually cared there was a Tulsa football game being played on Saturday, they'd have value, but that isn't the case. Sometimes we look too far into which markets each school plays in, and forget that nobody in any market could care less about that team.
