Connecticut governor declares UConn is 'all in' on big-time college football despite its current spot at bottom (Yahoo Thamel)

[Slasher]

I think the biggest struggle with the scheduling will be quality home games. P5 road games shouldn't be that hard to find, all with decent payouts. Can UConn get 2-3 quality home games a year? That will be the question going forward.

 

[JMick]

This is an example of AD Dave being competent. He saw a need to get this story out there. That’s an indication that he gets it.

He has always "got it" the problem has always been convincing others

 

[Blades]

I think the biggest struggle with the scheduling will be quality home games. P5 road games shouldn't be that hard to find, all with decent payouts. Can UConn get 2-3 quality home games a year? That will be the question going forward.

From the article, so no, it's not as hard as most think on a national level ( and we can also add NC St. , BC, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois as H & H's that DB has also scheduled )

"Former ESPN executive and noted scheduling consultant Dave Brown summed up UConn’s scheduling success by saying that the Huskies essentially scheduled everyone they’d want to in the Northeast and Eastern seaboard. “It came out better than I ever would have imagined,” Brown said. “People want to play up there.”....home-and-homes in upcoming seasons include Maryland, Pittsburgh, Duke, Wake Forest, Buffalo, Temple, Ole Miss, Syracuse (again), Army (again) and North Carolina. "

PS. I heard Edsall mention Pitt as a possible team in the future, but hadn't seen it announced, so does Thamel know something we don't ?

 

[pepband99]

Even worse - when that national writer is PETE THAMEL. It's bizarro world.

 

[HuskyAlum012]

This was a good move by DB and Governor Lamont to show all potential head coaches that UCONN is committed to big-time football for the foreseen future. There is absolutely no reason why UCONN can't be as successful as programs like BYU and Boise State. UCONN can schedule big time, and be competitive with the right coach.

DB can't screw up the next hire. DB has to hire a proven coach that can get UCONN competitive again.

UConn*
UConn*
UConn*
UConn*

 

[Bongo Fury]

It was good to get this to national media. If it went local only we would see it.

 

[Blades]

Even worse - when that national writer is PETE THAMEL. It's bizarro world.

True, when's the last time a Cuse grad ever wrote anything positive about Uconn.

 

[Waquoit]

Lamont has been great. Get sports betting done with all of the stakeholders on board was just a tremendous job. Now this just when we need it.

 

[ThabeetDown]

From a PR perspective, this is an outstanding job by AD Dave with that assist by Lamont. No tip toeing around what ifs, this is a huge signal to the next coach that stability will be there.

Also unreal that BCIdiot attacks the schedule with an unnamed source while an actual source goes against everything he says. Then, he double downs and says the actual source is either lying/fake news. I knew he wasn't bright, but I'll add coward to the list of his qualities now.

 

[John]

During the campaign, Lamont floated the idea of UConn getting into the ACC. Let's get that as a goal.

this should always be the Number One goal of the entire athletic department. Get out of the Big East and into our rightful place in the P5.

 

[UConnJim]

… and then you have The Day:

Can UConn football be saved? Experts: ‘a solid maybe’​

-> Schedule, schedule, schedule. This was, by far, the biggest criticism lobbed at UConn's current hierarchy. The schedule, as one person said, "is like manure in the garden. It's all over the place." <-

The full article is worth a click.

SO, what does he think UConn should have done? Stay in the AAC that has been decimated by conference realignment that would have destroyed almost all sports at UConn? UConn got out of the AAC before they had to go. The Big 12 was going to add schools and it was pretty obvious from the last round of the Big 12 expansion process that UConn was not a top choice. Of course, all of us would like to be in the ACC of Big 10, but we are not. In my opinion, the independent schedule >>>> AAC schedule.

 

[Storrs South]

I think the biggest struggle with the scheduling will be quality home games. P5 road games shouldn't be that hard to find, all with decent payouts. Can UConn get 2-3 quality home games a year? That will be the question going forward.

While there is a risk of the Alliance cutting down OOC games in the Power 5 (and I am skeptical this happens due to logistical issues and potential for one conference to poach the other), a lot of these schools have fans in the northeast they want to cater to, while it sucks that stadium isn't on campus being close to Bradley makes it easy to fly into, and the biggest reason of all: most P5 schools don't want to or aren't capable of shelling out $1-2 million for multiple buy games a season and would rather just return the game.

These schools make a lot of TV money but spend a lot of it or as much to keep up with the Joneses and it's just easier to play a game then spend a lot of money. Only the big boys OSU, USC, Michigan, Penn State, Clemson, and Alabama will not return a game. Everyone else has shown a willingness to do so including Missouri, Purdue, North Carolina, and Ole Miss. If those three schools will or have come to the Rent, 80-90% of P5 will.

 

[CL82]

he Big 12 was going to add schools and it was pretty obvious from the last round of the Big 12 expansion process that UConn was not a top choice.

Actually, we were one of the top choices in the last round. That doesn't necessarily mean we would have been this round though. UConn is a bad fit in the Big 12 geographically. After the Texas OU exit, given the uncertainty about it's future, I think it could be a mistake to move, even if we got an invite. Now while we were in the AAC, it definitely made sense.

 

[giddyup]

-> There’s already a solid financial commitment, which is in line with the lower end of the AAC. UConn is paying on-field assistant coaches $2 million and off-field staff $1.2 million. That’s not exactly Clemson commitment, but it's a total staff commitment of $4.4 million accounting for the head coach salary. There’s an openness to that number increasing.

“We’ve got to go out and hire the right football coach,” Benedict said. “I believe that we’ll have the support. If it requires a little bit more to do that, we’ll have the support to do that. Money doesn’t necessarily automatically translate to wins. It’s more of identifying the right person.” <-

Hey, it’s a start. The lesson is you can’t cut corners. Paying up means not only the head coach but getting the staff behind him that can execute and deliver. You can see how a weak understaff can kill you like last week… and last year and the year before that

 

[DoctorWho85]

CT has had some pretty high profile recruits lately. I think that plays well to our scheduling advantages because some of the bigger programs will want to come here and show off.

 

[raf46]

Keep the partisan politics out (forewarned).




-> It’s an easy time to pick on University of Connecticut football. The Huskies are 0-7, jettisoned coach Randy Edsall in early September and got thumped, 27-13, by their struggling neighbor, the University of Massachusetts, on Saturday.

But any notion of UConn punting on football, de-emphasizing football or angling for football to drop down a division is strongly disputed. That includes a chorus of leadership ranging from athletic director David Benedict to the head of the school’s board to Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. They all view top-flight football as an integral part of UConn being a first-class public school.

“I’m all in,” Lamont told Yahoo Sports in a phone interview. “Look, we have a national university. People identify universities with the academics, the beauty of the campus and the high quality of sports you put on a national platform. People pay attention. They know our basketball far and wide. Football is the national sport, in many ways. We’ve got to compete.”

But any notion of UConn punting on football, de-emphasizing football or angling for football to drop down a division is strongly disputed. That includes a chorus of leadership ranging from athletic director David Benedict to the head of the school’s board to Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. They all view top-flight football as an integral part of UConn being a first-class public school.

“I’m all in,” Lamont told Yahoo Sports in a phone interview. “Look, we have a national university. People identify universities with the academics, the beauty of the campus and the high quality of sports you put on a national platform. People pay attention. They know our basketball far and wide. Football is the national sport, in many ways. We’ve got to compete.” <-

Good money after bad. Our last three games we will set a record as a 50 point dog, in three consecutive games.

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

Good money after bad. Our last three games we will set a record as a 50 point dog, in three consecutive games.

...and that differs from the rest of this season how? It's about looking forward at this point.
It's good money to stop bad. Good money for good.

You should stay in your happy place (BBall Forum.) Your posts here are pretty dismal (although accurate.)
"Beat HC or we go winless. UMASS and YALE can not wait to play us."
"Imagine how bid a dog we will b e against Yale. Better beat UMASS. If not we go winless!" (Though the previous post already had us going winless.)

Let me guess....better beat Yale or we go winless?

 

[HuskyAlum012]

Good money after bad. Our last three games we will set a record as a 50 point dog, in three consecutive games.

UCF aint that good this year, tbh

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

UCF aint that good this year, tbh

So....if we don't beat UCF, do we go winless?

 

[John]

Good money after bad. Our last three games we will set a record as a 50 point dog, in three consecutive games.

Thank you for your interest in big time UConn college athletics.

 

[Bongo Fury]

CT has had some pretty high profile recruits lately. I think that plays well to our scheduling advantages because some of the bigger programs will want to come here and show off.

Not just athletes, these schools want to attract good students.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Not just athletes, these schools want to attract good students.

Not just good students, likely average or potentially above average for their universities. In addition, CT parents/students paying full freight out-of-state costs to subsidize/contain such universities' in-state student costs. No different than UConn welcoming out-of-state and international students to diversify the student population AND subsidize, read contain, costs for in-state CT students.

 

[huskysupporter]

this should always be the Number One goal of the entire athletic department. Get out of the Big East and into our rightful place in the P5.

Dave Benedict has been very clear that UCONN didn’t join the Big East to leave. It’s the last stop.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Dave Benedict has been very clear that UCONN didn’t join the Big East to leave. It’s the last stop.

Sure, but IMHO there's NFW current or future BoTs, UConn Presidents, ADs, and CT Governors would reject an unlikely nACC invitation nor an even less likely B1G invitation. AD DB won't be around forever, and much bigger dinero could reasonably influence such hypothetical fiduciary decisions. Anyway, Hockey East, gridiron independence, and the nnBE. Go UConn!

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Good money after bad. Our last three games we will set a record as a 50 point dog, in three consecutive games.

F O

 

[Bongo Fury]

Not just good students, likely average or potentially above average for their universities. In addition, CT parents/students paying full freight out-of-state costs to subsidize/contain such universities' in-state student costs. No different than UConn welcoming out-of-state and international students to diversify the student population AND subsidize, read contain, costs for in-state CT students.

Someone in admissions here said UMASS has a billboard in Atlanta to compete for academic talent in the Georgia Institute of Technology region.

 

[McLovin]

Great that the state understands that an investment in the football team = an investment in the university. The best marketing dollars UConn can spend to raise the profile of UConn nationally, is investing whatever it takes to make the football team good again.

Now I hope the state can back it up with action (actually giving DB the money he needs to do this right).

 

[CL82]

Dave Benedict has been very clear that UCONN didn’t join the Big East to leave. It’s the last stop.

Absolutely! Well unless someone offers us a P4 bid, then our departure will look something like this:

 

[kingdobbs]

Dave Benedict has been very clear that UCONN didn’t join the Big East to leave. It’s the last stop.

The only reason he is saying that is because to say the actual truth of “we will absolutely leave for the ACC or B1G if offered” is, as the kids say, a bad look.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

this should always be the Number One goal of the entire athletic department. Get out of the Big East and into our rightful place in the P5.

John is 100 percent right. We need to keep our eyes on the prize, not stumble around in a retread of some once great athletic conference.