Colin McEnroe: ‘UConn athletic teams are on welfare.’ | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Colin McEnroe: ‘UConn athletic teams are on welfare.’

uconnfan68 said:
Again, poor state... who has $100 for tickets? I heard they had a problem getting students to games (sound familiar?).
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The 710,000 was actual attendance. I think the actual Bama fans know how to prioritize. And nothing has a higher priority than Bama football.
 
uconnfan68 said:
They post as “BlueDogs” and “John Greene”.
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Three points, on your previous posts.

1. Alabama is a poor state with a lot of fairly rich people in it. Not many Greenwich rich,just a few around $1Billion, but a reasonable number of families that would qualify as rich in any state.

2.The gripe with students is that they don't all come to meaningless games and leave early in a blowout. They still have to buy the full slate at the start of the season so from a revenue standpoint it does not matter.

3. I thought "outing" a poster's identity was subject to banning? Now I have to come back with a different persona?
 
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DefCONNOne said:
Not to mention the irony of retiring to Europe, what with all the insanity going on over there.
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True it's hard to escape nationalist insanity anywhere these days, but at least I'll be eating far better food,
 
Colin McEnroe is a very knowledgeable person when it comes to the inner workings of Connecticut politics. One of the most knowledgeable out there. Most people on this board won't want to hear that or accept that, but it's true just the same.

But just like everyone else in the world, he's not perfect. He's wrong on this issue. And he's wrong for some very easy-to-be-wrong-with reasons. The biggest of which is the fact that athletics at ALL universities are welfare of a sort, but that they are done because they undeniably increase the university's stature and enrollment. Undeniably so. It's the best advertising money can buy.

It's no secret why UConn is an exponentially better university now than it was in the 70s or even 80s. And it's solely.... SOLELY... because of sports. It's okay to be wrong sometimes...
 
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UConnDan97 said:
It's no secret why UConn is an exponentially better university now than it was in the 70s or even 80s. And it's solely.... SOLELY... because of sports. It's okay to be wrong sometimes...
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fwiw, this is from a 2015 article on fastest growing state flagships from 2000-2013:

TOP 5
1. University of Alabama, 92%
2. University of Mississippi, 74%
3. University of Arkansas, 68%
4. University of South Carolina-Columbia, 58%
5. University of Nevada-Reno, 55%

BOTTOM 5
46. University of Texas at Austin, 5%
47. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 3%
48. University of Florida, 1%
49. University of Kansas, -2%
50. Louisiana State University, -5%

There are NCs in the top list and on the bottom list. What does it all mean?
 
storrsroars said:
fwiw, this is from a 2015 article on fastest growing state flagships from 2000-2013:

TOP 5
1. University of Alabama, 92%
2. University of Mississippi, 74%
3. University of Arkansas, 68%
4. University of South Carolina-Columbia, 58%
5. University of Nevada-Reno, 55%

BOTTOM 5
46. University of Texas at Austin, 5%
47. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 3%
48. University of Florida, 1%
49. University of Kansas, -2%
50. Louisiana State University, -5%

There are NCs in the top list and on the bottom list. What does it all mean?
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Fastest growing is meaningless if you're already well established, like Texas or Florida.

The fact of the matter is that they are huge. Thank you, sports. By contrast, how big is Idaho, New Hampshire, or Maine? Sports have shaped the major non-ivy universities as we know them today. It's undeniable...
 
Purely speculation @storrsroars

Top: high-growth states, low/reasonable out-of-state import costs, Bama obvious increased popularity of football success (similar to UConn ‘99) versus FL’s recent sub-par performances

Bottom: UT and FL constraining growth at targeted sizes? (pushed to states’ alphabet-soup schools); UW possibly same + slow growth, LSU crap school + nation’s bottom-sukcing economy?
 
Da_Aisijimo_Gou said:
Purely speculation @storrsroars

Top: high-growth states, low/reasonable out-of-state import costs, Bama obvious increased popularity of football success (similar to UConn ‘99) versus FL’s recent sub-par performances

Bottom: UT and FL constraining growth at targeted sizes? (pushed to states’ alphabet-soup schools); UW possibly same + slow growth, LSU crap school + nation’s bottom-sukcing economy?
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LSU can blame Katrina.

I can't wrap my head around a concept of choosing higher education based on a sports program. But I come from a different time.
 
storrsroars said:
LSU can blame Katrina.

I can't wrap my head around a concept of choosing higher education based on a sports program. But I come from a different time.
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I doubt I ever would have heard of Notre Dame without their sports programs. So I guess the sports programs were a significant factor in my decision on where I would go to college.
 
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storrsroars said:
True it's hard to escape nationalist insanity anywhere these days, but at least I'll be eating far better food,
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I was talking about religious insanity specifically. You won't be able to escape it.
 
Da_Aisijimo_Gou said:
Purely speculation @storrsroars

Top: high-growth states, low/reasonable out-of-state import costs, Bama obvious increased popularity of football success (similar to UConn ‘99) versus FL’s recent sub-par performances

Bottom: UT and FL constraining growth at targeted sizes? (pushed to states’ alphabet-soup schools); UW possibly same + slow growth, LSU crap school + nation’s bottom-sukcing economy?
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You're way overthinking this.

If I have a penny stock, then growing by 2 cents is huge. However, I can't claim to be better than Apple because I grew 200% and they didn't.

University of Texas isn't high growth because they are already big . Percent growth isn't the measurement to use here...
 
storrsroars said:
LSU can blame Katrina.

I can't wrap my head around a concept of choosing higher education based on a sports program. But I come from a different time.
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They provide atmosphere, community and pride. They boost alumni engagement.

Nothing in this world is one size fits all. Connecting to your university through sports doesnt have universal appeal, but it is powerful in that it connects more than most things in this world (ie high common denominator).

Of course most of us get it, seems silly that university sports could be so effective. Maybe the draw is the same reason pop music has such appeal; we like things that have quick emotional response and are relatable. Hey, anyone want to talk all about the tax code and real estate investing with me? Zzzzz Okay, how about sports?
 
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storrsroars said:
And you're defending yourself by bringing up articles on hoops scandals in an attempt to justify why it's OK for football to be scummy. Nice!

Nobody wants to solve anything anymore. They just want to prove the other guy is wrong. Not just sports, it's everything.

End of the day, I'm just tired of people who can spout off the 2nd string OL of the Steelers but can't name their reps or senators. So don't mind me, I'm just pretty crusty these days. Hopefully I'll be comfortably retired in Europe in a few years and won't have to concern myself with this stuff. But I'll still be rooting for UConn to be a model university.
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Nice rant that has nothing to do with anything I said. I don’t know that you’ll be any happier arguing with yourself in Europe instead of wherever you are right now.
 
storrsroars said:
Being outside of CT and not a Courant subscriber, this is first I've heard of Burton's company's bankruptcy and Herbst's board position there. Read some other articles on Burton this morning. Sounds like a mini-Trump vis a vis sleaze & nepotism (he was that way well before being potus, so that's a non-political statement). Which I guess is what FB-first fans want.

I like watching college football. But I hate SEC-quality booster sleaze and influence peddling. Call me naive, but this crap only adds to an already bad look.
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Burton did ok before Cenveo

whattheythink.com

Burton Attempts Hostile Takeover of Cenveo

Burton Attempts Hostile Takeover of Cenveo
whattheythink.com whattheythink.com
 
Redding Husky said:
It’s the “Northeastern” disease.

• Lots of elite private schools.

• Lots of well entrenched pro teams with rabid followings.

• The parochial belief that big-time college football is a culturally inferior Midwest and Southern thing.
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...and those elite private schools created football and were once college football powers.

During that time, pro football was shunned in the northeast. Took till 1960 for New England to finally establish a franchise that lasts. There were at least 4 attempts before.
 
The only reason why UConn sports isn't paying for itself is because over the last 20 years there has been a mass exodus of middle class workers out of the state of Connecticut. Servants and the filthy rich aren't going to pack the Rent or Gample. You have a university that 50 years too late decided to try and join the big boys in college athletics when at the same time the state labor unions gained complete control of the state government, fleecing the tax payers for every penny they thought they could get. And a lot of those tax payers decided the grass was greener elsewhere. So now you have an athletic department desperately trying to stay afloat in a state with dwindling numbers. And how telling is it that no former governor actually lives in Connecticut. And how many retired state employees have moved elsewhere? That's why UConn athletics is on welfare.
 
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Florida is still a huge state with many students coming of university age...

In 2019, FSU received 57,000 first year applications for admission....enrolled 6,200 freshmen

Growth for the UCF's, FIU's etc is now influenced by the overflow from Florida and FSU.

Neither Florida nor FSU are looking to expand...and have been getting more and more selective.
 
LoyalFanCT said:
Here is a column by Chris Powell of the Journal Inquirer. A different perspective than the one from Colin McEnroe.
UConn should shape up and fix its football mess
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I thought that the statement that Edsall was rehired by an administration that lacked self respect was a little harsh. I thought it was a value move and worth a shot. The jury is still out — the next two years will be telling.

The rest of this is spot on though. We weren’t always a basketball power. We were Big East doormats until JC/Gino came along.
 
LoyalFanCT said:
Here is a column by Chris Powell of the Journal Inquirer. A different perspective than the one from Colin McEnroe.
UConn should shape up and fix its football mess
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Losses create apathy and lack of attendance.
It wasn’t too far back when people were clamoring for the rent to be expanded.
We need to start winning and then we start to dream again.
 
History Geek said:
I thought that the statement that Edsall was rehired by an administration that lacked self respect was a little harsh.
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Disagree, the comment is spot on.
 
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