David Benedict Basically Blames Low Attendance on Us

[J187Money]

To me this sounds like buy tickets now or else the program won’t be around much longer

I don't read it that way. I've said it many times - running an FCS program isn't free either, and football isn't going away.

At the end of the day we need players - and if recruits see an empty stadium I'm not sure why they would want to come and play for us.

 

[Exit 4]

This is slightly off topic- but the entire FBS is starting to have a competitive balance problem. The same dominate teams continue to remain at the top at all conferences and I think that hurts attendence as much as all the other issues going on with live sports. Fans are losing interest when there is literally no hope now or ever of changing which quartile you finish in.

It won’t happen, but one idea would be to reset the scholarship number to 80 and let teams that finish in the bottom half of their conference two years in a row get an extra 5 scholarships and also have the option of playing freshman eight games without loss of red shirt status. What I am trying to do here is give the bottom some help which will improve rivalries and expand interest.

 

[gampelcrazies]

I don't read it that way. I've said it many times - running an FCS program isn't free either, and football isn't going away.

At the end of the day we need players - and if recruits see an empty stadium I'm not sure why they would want to come and play for us.

But it would be a lot cheaper to lower this program down. I’m sure the school would like to eliminate charter flights across the country for a 3 win team.

I don’t want to see it but I feel like that’s the plan if things don’t change.

 

[Exit 4]

At the end of the day we need players - and if recruits see an empty stadium I'm not sure why they would want to come and play for us.

I’m sure we lost many recruits last year because of the stadium atmosphere.

 

[J187Money]

But it would be a lot cheaper to lower this program down. I’m sure the school would like to eliminate charter flights across the country for a 3 win team.

I don’t want to see it but I feel like that’s the plan if things don’t change.

Agreed - but in the scheme of things if the program is $3M cheaper - it is basically no impact to the school's budget, but a big hit to the school's profile.

 

[J187Money]

I’m sure we lost many recruits last year because of the stadium atmosphere.

I'm sure we didn't - that's not my point. But we end up offering a lot of kids that don't even consider us. Some of them would consider us if they knew they were going to play in front of a packed house every week. And of course all of our good home grown kids leave - because why would you stay home and play for an empty stadium if a P5 program wants you?

 

[Nostical]

Forget about filling the stadium if tickets were free. We couldn’t fill it if I and other rabid fans got together, bought tickets created a fan fund, and paid people $20 each to attend.

 

[SubbaBub]

Winner winner.

*chief voice* Quite Frankly, we wouldn’t sell out if tickets were free. That’s 100% on years of bad product and a conference nobody cares one bit about. (To the two of you that care about the AAC my apologies)

Don’t talk to me about taking ownership when I pay year in and year out for this. Was that comment really for me? Of course not but why alienate the few folks who give a damn. Chiding fans to come back is a stupid strategy.

Win games. Ideally against a few teams we give a damn about.

I disagree on price being an issue. Movie tickets cost $20. $35 for a major sporting event is not expensive.

Now, have we been getting major sporting events? The objective answer is no. Except for WBB, whose fans don't really care because they beat everyone by a lot.

The schedules stink. The performance agaisnt those schedules has been a multipler in terms of fan disinterest. MBB has been able to bump the OOC a but to offest the lack of major BE rivals but it's clearly not the same.

FB has been even worse. We've had good teams like UCF and Houston come to the Rent but no one cares because they are neither big names or traditional rival. The FB OOC is tough because you need to schedule some wins. Conference play is everything in FB and the AAC doesn't pack them in.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Forget about filling the stadium if tickets were free. We couldn’t fill it if I and other rabid fans got together, bought tickets created a fan fund, and paid people $20 each to attend.

Agreed. People just don't care. It's not about the pricing at all.

The perception, and reality, is that we are no longer competing in a first tier league.

People saying winning will bring people back. I disagree. Nobody is showing up for an 8 win UConn program playing Tulsa, Tulane, and SMU.

I think a few more horrible seasons and an (expected) terrible AAC contract and the push for joining the Big East and dropping football will grow louder.

 

[blue93]

I don't think his words were intended for the diehards (this board), but I understand people here taking it as a ricochet shot.

I think it has everything to do with people who constantly bitch about the conference, but don't do anything to support the school - like buy tickets once in a while. You can't have it both ways and I think that's what he's trying to say. Yes the product has sucked, but giving up on the program is compounding the issue.

I don't like telling other people how they should spend their money, but frankly it shouldn't be a chore to go to 1 game/year if you care at all about UConn Athletics. Even in the worst of times, you can have fun going to a game with family & friends.

 

[Exit 4]

The program really needs to land a top 3 instate kid that isn't an offensive lineman. The fastest way to create a positive conversation and renew local interest is to be able to say "Hey, I see that kid from X school opted for UConn over B1G/ACC offers. Looks like he might play Sundays. It gonna be fun to watch him on Saturdays here." A local star has the ability to re-engage the entire state like no other lever AD David Benedict can pull.

A savior scenario is that Edsall, Dunn and Crocker show a team that returns to tough smart football this fall (yes while losing) and a couple of those local early commits to big time football opt for the challenge to make UConn great again (and four years of playing time). You want to make a splash, get Taisun to drop Clemson for UConn.

Taisun Phommachanh, Avon Old Farms, Dual-Threat Quarterback

 

[uconnphil2016]

I still think our saving grace may be just trying to hang on for now and field a competitive squad until 2024 or whenever the next realignment is expected. I truly think that when P5 becomes P4, almost all of the schools who left us in the dust (Cuse, bc, Pitt) will be left behind. Upper tier acc teams will go to the SEC or B1G and the leftovers will be scrambling. All we need is for Texas to decide to move and all heck will break loose. We could very well end up in a conference that’s more regionally oriented and includes our old rivals

 

[JMick]

Even in the worst of times, you can have fun going to a game with family & friends.

Lol the problem is that no one wants to go. I am the only UConn football fan that I know IRL and I went to UConn... No one I graudated with cares at all. Getting people to go to games is like pulling teeth

 

[LBird33]

Captain Obvious here. It’s been said many times on this board. Win games and people will come. In the northeast we are not a one trick pony. We have access to many professional teams within a few hours drive as well as other entertainment i.e. large cities and beaches, casinos etc. People in the NE have discretionary dollars they can choose to spend many ways. As opposed to some of these large football schools where tipping cows are the only alternative!!

 

[whaler11]

They gotta make some noise between Rhode Islade and USF. If they come home
for UMass at 1-5... they will have been forgotten by everyone in the month gap between Cinci and UMass.

 

[History Geek]

I still think our saving grace may be just trying to hang on for now and field a competitive squad until 2024 or whenever the next realignment is expected. I truly think that when P5 becomes P4, almost all of the schools who left us in the dust (Cuse, bc, Pitt) will be left behind. Upper tier acc teams will go to the SEC or B1G and the leftovers will be scrambling. All we need is for Texas to decide to move and all heck will break loose. We could very well end up in a conference that’s more regionally oriented and includes our old rivals

I think that is a possibility.

 

[whaler11]

I still think our saving grace may be just trying to hang on for now and field a competitive squad until 2024 or whenever the next realignment is expected. I truly think that when P5 becomes P4, almost all of the schools who left us in the dust (Cuse, bc, Pitt) will be left behind. Upper tier acc teams will go to the SEC or B1G and the leftovers will be scrambling. All we need is for Texas to decide to move and all heck will break loose. We could very well end up in a conference that’s more regionally oriented and includes our old rivals

I think the idea there is a big reckoning coming in the early 2020’s is a complete fantasy.

Plus if the P5 becomes the P4 it ain’t going to be the ACC that gets hurt. The length of their contract looked like negative before - it might be their biggest strength.

 

[Husk1881]

As Said already Winning cures all... of the team was winning 6 games a year and no fans cares that’s a culture problem. But losing by 40 at home on a Thursday night to a team no one cares about is a tough sell especially for $40 for below average seats.

 

[Exit 4]

I think the idea there is a big reckoning coming in the early 2020’s is a complete fantasy.

Plus if the P5 becomes the P4 it ain’t going to be the ACC that gets hurt. The length of their contract looked like negative before - it might be their biggest strength.

Yep. Lots of moving parts in that mid 2020s reckoning and one of the biggest tools, the BTN money machine, has recently shown it too is not invincible (hello Comcast!).

The only potential game changer movers:
Oklahoma (leave its big fish - small pool home?)
Texas (leave and somehow learn to play nice with others?)
ND (becomes a full fledged ACC member?)

And the rest of us wait.

 

[uconndogs]

We start winning and competing for championships in the AAC attendance will turn around. That’s the only solution for right now that’s somewhat within our control.

We are coming off 7 seasons of awful football. I’m as die hard a fan as they come and I love the game atmosphere, but there have been games when I asked myself why I bothered. There may not have been worse back to back hires than P and Diaco in all of college football and we’re now paying the price.

Edsall will right the ship, but this team is young and there will be more pain to endure.

 

[uconnphil2016]

I think the idea there is a big reckoning coming in the early 2020’s is a complete fantasy.

Plus if the P5 becomes the P4 it ain’t going to be the ACC that gets hurt. The length of their contract looked like negative before - it might be their biggest strength.

Even if it doesn't happen in the ACC, the Big 12 isn't gonna last. When the dominoes do fall, there will be a lot of teams who are better than Tulsa and Tulane that are on the outside looking in. I do believe we can find a better island of misfit toys in the future, even if it's just as geographically strange as the AAC. I'd take games versus Baylor and Kansas over ECU any day of the week.

 

[John]

Yep. Lots of moving parts in that mid 2020s reckoning and one of the biggest tools, the BTN money machine, has recently shown it too is not invincible (hello Comcast!).

The only potential game changer movers:
Oklahoma (leave its big fish - small pool home?)
Texas (leave and somehow learn to play nice with others?)
ND (becomes a full fledged ACC member?)

And the rest of us wait.

the ones standing on the wall right now are all AAC schools, right? (just curious)
Us
Cinn
Houston
Memphis
USF and/or UCF

I can't think of any others that are in a different conference that could realistically be considered.

 

[Exit 4]

the ones standing on the wall right now are all AAC schools, right? (just curious)
Us
Cinn
Houston
Memphis
USF and/or UCF

I can't think of any others that are in a different conference that could realistically be considered.

I think BYU, Colorado St and Boise St are other schools that could be considered in any B12 expansion discussions.....but the B12 will never get around to expanding because they can't agree on the choices. Plus, any new additions would probably need to accept AAC level of money (ie join in name and status only, but no bump up in revenues) because that next media contract is just not going to deliver.

 

[whaler11]

Even if it doesn't happen in the ACC, the Big 12 isn't gonna last. When the dominoes do fall, there will be a lot of teams who are better than Tulsa and Tulane that are on the outside looking in. I do believe we can find a better island of misfit toys in the future, even if it's just as geographically strange as the AAC. I'd take games versus Baylor and Kansas over ECU any day of the week.

I’m not convinced that the Big 12 is dead.

Unless you think conferences are going to start kicking schools out nobody is going to be able to afford to buy.

The Big 12 not being a bloated mess of geographic incoherence is a strength for them now. Since 2003 what schools have really been worth expanding for from an athletic perspective within the P5?

Who is better off athletically from having moved? Va Tech? A&M?

Every other move has been a cash grab - and there might not be any cash to grab.

If revenues start falling on a per school basis you’ll see how fast they circle the wagons. If BTN disappears from Comcast that is brutal for their model and doesn’t exactly bode well for the SEC and ACC - the Pac 12 network essentially has zero value already.

 

[blue93]

Lol the problem is that no one wants to go. I am the only UConn football fan that I know IRL and I went to UConn... No one I graudated with cares at all. Getting people to go to games is like pulling teeth

Believe me, I go through the same thing. That's the problem and sort of what I was getting at. I don't understand the opposition to spending one day of the fall tailgating and watching a football game to support the school. And more often than not, these are the first people to complain about how bad we are, how bad the conference is, etc... Those are the people AD Dave is targeting with the comments. Not us.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Believe me, I go through the same thing. That's the problem and sort of what I was getting at. I don't understand the opposition to spending one day of the fall tailgating and watching a football game to support the school. And more often than not, these are the first people to complain about how bad we are, how bad the conference is, etc... Those are the people AD Dave is targeting with the comments. Not us.

You couldn't pay students to go in. I always ask my friends with younger siblings who go to UConn if they ever go to the football games. Almost all of them say that they go to the field and tailgate and then leave, usually without ever stepping foot in the stadium. It's amazing really. I've never heard a single person respond that they go and watch the games. Staying for even half of the game is basically unheard of.

 

[John]

We start winning and competing for championships in the AAC attendance will turn around. That’s the only solution for right now that’s somewhat within our control.

We are coming off 7 seasons of awful football. I’m as die hard a fan as they come and I love the game atmosphere, but there have been games when I asked myself why I bothered. There may not have been worse back to back hires than P and Diaco in all of college football and we’re now paying the price.

Edsall will right the ship, but this team is young and there will be more pain to endure.

"I asked myself why I bothered" - that thought crosses my mind a lot too. When I buy season tickets. When I'm at a game. I just miss the buzz in the stadium and around the program. Dead horse beating, but I also miss seeing opponents that I care about.

 

[History Geek]

Welp, it worked on me. In the past, I've taken big groups to single games, bought individual tickets on my own, accepted last minute invitations to take a friend's unused season ticket, and gone to homecoming games with my fraternity. I never pulled the trigger on season tickets because I can't make every game. I woke up today a changed man. I called this morning and now have four season tickets. Splitting with my brother-in-law. We will go to two games together with +1s and then each "own" two out of the remaining four games. I feel all warm and toasty inside.

 

[Adios]

I don't read it that way. I've said it many times - running an FCS program isn't free either, and football isn't going away.

At the end of the day we need players - and if recruits see an empty stadium I'm not sure why they would want to come and play for us.

It is possible to return some of the Big East buzz, but the team has to start winning. If UConn was getting weeks ranked, attendance would probably average above 30k.

 

[UConnNick]

I agree with Benedict regarding fan loyalty, however I'm afraid he's suffering from a lack of understanding about how things have been and are regarding CFB in New England.

When the Ivy League schools elected to de-emphasize football in the mid-1950's, big time CFB vanished from New England altogether, except for BS College, which nobody outside a 50 mile radius of Boston has ever cared about.

Benedict is up against a total culture and entire region of the country where basketball is No. 1 and football is a very distant second. Worse yet, pro sports always trump college sports. This isn't Auburn, AL where football and Auburn are the only game in town. You're stuck between two major cities within easy driving distance, and fall weekends in NE offer the last nice weather for outdoor activities before five months of snow and ice.

Add to that seven straight losing seasons and we are where we are. He's finding out the hard way that CFB in New England is an extremely tough sell.