Could the budget shortfall affect athletics?

[FearThePups]

Wow. You don’t hold the university administrators, athletic director accountable? It’s supporters like me who failed the program? Yes there were a few winning seasons, infrequent at best. Show me the get well plan.

What misinformation John? 1. We have many more losing seasons than winning ones. 2. The football program goes many million dollars per year in the red. 3. No P4 conference wants us. (The Big 12 only wanted our basketball teams). Does that tell you anything? 4. The football program only has themselves to blame. If they had even showed a modicum of success, we’d be a power conference already. Did I state any lies here? Why don’t you answer my repeated question as to where the get well football plan is? Then maybe I may think differently.

 

[tiger paw]

Football is a hard sell in a woke state like CT. The demographics prefer soccer, frisbee + women's tennis. Let's be just like Vermont ? All realignment is about football. NC- NCST-Duke have no trouble leaving the ACC for greener pastures of football. BB is for women + men that are too woke + week to play football. Every one wins in BB. A 3 win football season is equal to a 12 win BB season. Most P-Conf. schools put their revenue into FB 1st. The other sports gets the rest. Let's drop FB at the same time Deware is moving into FBS level ? It was not that long ago Oregon St snaped a 35 year streak of losing seasons. Every body likes a winner. Watch how fast the fan base shrinks after Gino retires and WBB becomes 10-12 a year lose team playing in a non P-Conf.

 

[87Xfer]

Football is a hard sell in a woke state like CT. The demographics prefer soccer, frisbee + women's tennis. Let's be just like Vermont ? All realignment is about football. NC- NCST-Duke have no trouble leaving the ACC for greener pastures of football. BB is for women + men that are too woke + week to play football. Every one wins in BB. A 3 win football season is equal to a 12 win BB season. Most P-Conf. schools put their revenue into FB 1st. The other sports gets the rest. Let's drop FB at the same time Deware is moving into FBS level ? It was not that long ago Oregon St snaped a 35 year streak of losing seasons. Every body likes a winner. Watch how fast the fan base shrinks after Gino retires and WBB becomes 10-12 a year lose team playing in a non P-Conf.

Wow, not sure where to begin, so I just won't

 

[tiger paw]

I have a lot more if you like !

 

[TheShot1990]

It's not just CT. There are no dominant football teams in the entire northeast. Penn State is probably the closest but they are closer to Cleveland than Hartford. High School players just don't want to play college football in the northeast.

 

[JohnnyJr]

I love the Big East but if the time comes where schools are paying players directly in NIL (could happen soon), the schools getting close to 100 million a year vs 5 million for us is going to impact basketball too.

 

[John]

What misinformation John? 1. We have many more losing seasons than winning ones. 2. The football program goes many million dollars per year in the red. 3. No P4 conference wants us. (The Big 12 only wanted our basketball teams). Does that tell you anything? 4. The football program only has themselves to blame. If they had even showed a modicum of success, we’d be a power conference already. Did I state any lies here? Why don’t you answer my repeated question as to where the get well football plan is? Then maybe I may think differently.

I'm not sure where the football get well plan is, that's a question you need to send to the Athletic Director. Also, your point #4 is silly - the football program has been underfunded for years, what do you want them to do, print their own greenbacks?

 

[Iluvsuebird]

I love UConn. Have since 1989. I cannot stand watching that football program. I cannot stand mediocrity, and that's been the norm forever.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Football is a hard sell in a woke state like CT. The demographics prefer soccer, frisbee + women's tennis. Let's be just like Vermont ? All realignment is about football. NC- NCST-Duke have no trouble leaving the ACC for greener pastures of football. BB is for women + men that are too woke + week to play football. Every one wins in BB. A 3 win football season is equal to a 12 win BB season. Most P-Conf. schools put their revenue into FB 1st. The other sports gets the rest. Let's drop FB at the same time Deware is moving into FBS level ? It was not that long ago Oregon St snaped a 35 year streak of losing seasons. Every body likes a winner. Watch how fast the fan base shrinks after Gino retires and WBB becomes 10-12 a year lose team playing in a non P-Conf.

I normally do not call people names, but you tempted me big time.

Wow, not sure where to begin, so I just won't

I was right there with you.

 

[FearThePups]

I guess we can maybe expect your support when UConn Football turns it around. I'll save a seat for you.

We’ll all be dead before that happens.

 

[FearThePups]

I'm not sure where the football get well plan is, that's a question you need to send to the Athletic Director. Also, your point #4 is silly - the football program has been underfunded for years, what do you want them to do, print their own greenbacks?

You missed my points entirely. I did lay the lack of a plan on the administrators and AD if had read my earlier post. And point 4 is not silly. The point is that if the football team was even .500 which I consider respectable, then Bud and the Big 12 would have called. But winning only 3 games against pathetic opponents won’t convince anyone.

 

[How Sway?!]

You missed my points entirely. I did lay the lack of a plan on the administrators and AD if had read my earlier post. And point 4 is not silly. The point is that if the football team was even .500 which I consider respectable, then Bud and the Big 12 would have called. But winning only 3 games against pathetic opponents won’t convince anyone.

We went 6-6 in the last regular season before the B12 expanded, so youre wrong. You also seem to misunderstand the role of athletics at an institution like UConn. It's all just a big marketing expense, it doesn't exist to make money, but to promote the university.

Ask yourself how many UConn ads you see during basketball games and/or football games vs how many you see in the wild.

 

[JohnFSilver]

New to UConn athletics?

lol.
This guy said it’s a cost center? Um no, it generates revenue.

 

[J187Money]

I think it is funny that @John is debating @superjohn - if @superjohn doesn't win does he have to give up the title?

 

[J187Money]

Understand the budget math - but what isn't factored into all of this - is the marketing benefit to the school.

1) What would it cost to buy the number of media impressions that UCONN gets across all of its major sports? The answer? A LOT more than the deficit.
2) Hard to figure this out, but what would enrollment be if they just jettisoned the entire athletic program? IDK exactly, but the overall financial health of the school (and the endowment) IMO would be much worse.

There are plenty of ways to balance the budget. It is a $70M deficit on a $1.6B budget. Not even 5%. Any accounting / finance people worth their pay can figure that out.

As to the football issue? I've said this repeatedly here. Going from FBS to FCS might save a few million in "actual" dollars and a few million in "scholarship" dollars. The only people that really have a gripe about this are supporters of the Mens XC and other teams that were cut during the pandemic. Outside of that there is a lot of grousing and fearmongering about the budget with no actual visible impacts.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Football is a hard sell in a woke state like CT. The demographics prefer soccer, frisbee + women's tennis. Let's be just like Vermont ? All realignment is about football. NC- NCST-Duke have no trouble leaving the ACC for greener pastures of football. BB is for women + men that are too woke + week to play football. Every one wins in BB. A 3 win football season is equal to a 12 win BB season. Most P-Conf. schools put their revenue into FB 1st. The other sports gets the rest. Let's drop FB at the same time Deware is moving into FBS level ? It was not that long ago Oregon St snaped a 35 year streak of losing seasons. Every body likes a winner. Watch how fast the fan base shrinks after Gino retires and WBB becomes 10-12 a year lose team playing in a non P-Conf.

That is certainly a hot take. I can’t even attempt to unpack the assumptions.

 

[FearThePups]

We went 6-6 in the last regular season before the B12 expanded, so youre wrong. You also seem to misunderstand the role of athletics at an institution like UConn. It's all just a big marketing expense, it doesn't exist to make money, but to promote the university.

Ask yourself how many UConn ads you see during basketball games and/or football games vs how many you see in the wild.

With all due respect, do you think our football program is promoting our university in a positive light? Do you think its promoting increases in student enrollment applications?

I stand corrected. We did go 6-6 two seasons ago. But our football record all time is 518-600-38 (.465 winning percentage). This is the point I have tried, but apparently unsuccessfully made. Our entire body of work is that of a losing program.

 

[JohnnyJr]

With all due respect, do you think our football program is promoting our university in a positive light? Do you think its promoting increases in student enrollment applications?

I stand corrected. We did go 6-6 two seasons ago. But our football record all time is 518-600-38 (.465 winning percentage). This is the point I have tried, but apparently unsuccessfully made. Our entire body of work is that of a losing program.

If we give up football you really think that won’t impact basketball at all? All the other blue bloods will be getting tens of millions more than us. Eventually that will translate to us struggling to get higher end recruits.

 

[John]

With all due respect, do you think our football program is promoting our university in a positive light? Do you think its promoting increases in student enrollment applications?

I stand corrected. We did go 6-6 two seasons ago. But our football record all time is 518-600-38 (.465 winning percentage). This is the point I have tried, but apparently unsuccessfully made. Our entire body of work is that of a losing program.

Dumping football will say a lot about the University in the college athletis world, none of it good.

 

[gsmooth]

Supporters like you who'd be happy to cut the football program loose or downgrade it in favor of a secondary sport (in the grand scheme of college athletic conferences) certainly don't help the athletic department as a whole.

Speaking for the other posters, I think we all are supportive of the football team, but the football team doesn't make it easy. I'm terms of football fandom, I know I feel like a thirsty man in the desert just asking for even a shot glass of water when it comes just wanting to see a medium of success. Just give me something.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

As @JMick said no reason to cut bait until it's officially done.

The issue with dropping football is that we're forever resigned to a lower level athletics program. Hoops right now is making about as much as it can, where as football is nowhere near it's ceiling.

Even a program like Duke makes more from football than hoops, which seems insane, but from my understanding is true.

 

[John]

I think it is funny that @John is debating @superjohn - if @superjohn doesn't win does he have to give up the title?

It's all just friendly fan banter

 

[gsmooth]

Football is a hard sell in a woke state like CT. The demographics prefer soccer, frisbee + women's tennis. Let's be just like Vermont ? All realignment is about football. NC- NCST-Duke have no trouble leaving the ACC for greener pastures of football. BB is for women + men that are too woke + week to play football. Every one wins in BB. A 3 win football season is equal to a 12 win BB season. Most P-Conf. schools put their revenue into FB 1st. The other sports gets the rest. Let's drop FB at the same time Deware is moving into FBS level ? It was not that long ago Oregon St snaped a 35 year streak of losing seasons. Every body likes a winner. Watch how fast the fan base shrinks after Gino retires and WBB becomes 10-12 a year lose team playing in a non P-Conf.

Woke? What the hell does that have to with anything?

 

[husky8273]

Woke? What the hell does that have to with anything?

nothing

 

[PackTheRent]

Whenever the next severe recession hits, funding the football program will be a controversial topic. If they continue to be a joke then most people in CT will get disgusted that their taxes are raised to fund the $40 million red ink at football or that tuition and student fees are raised to cover the red ink. Until then, football is safe.