DC interview with Warde Manuel

[junglehusky]

UConn AD Warde Manuel On College Football Playoff, UConn’s Place, Scheduling And…Notre Dame?

Sounds like UConn will be pursuing neutral site matchups for the future. Hope that doesn't mean we can't also get home and homes against "name" programs, but... maybe it does.

 

[specialisthusky]

"(uh, no, there has been no change with Michigan next year. That game is a go at Rentschler Field. Manuel said he and Michigan AD Dave Brandon have spoken recently about it and both sides understand the game will and should be played at Rentschler Field so end of discussion on that one)."

i would say that is pretty solid news

 

[huskymedic]

UConn AD Warde Manuel On College Football Playoff, UConn’s Place, Scheduling And…Notre Dame?

Sounds like UConn will be pursuing neutral site matchups for the future. Hope that doesn't mean we can't also get home and homes against "name" programs, but... maybe it does.

Can't have it both ways yet.. Gotta do what you have to do to change perception and grow brand. Oh... We also need to be competitive and WIN.

No issues w/ UConn direction. Actually was wondering when we'd hear their assessment (@ least the "company line").

 

[junglehusky]

Right, I was referring to future schedules beyond the Mich / Tenn home-and-homes, but the soundbyte about Michigan is good news, even if it's not really that surprising based on Dez's reporting (and others) the past couple months.

 

[Rumrunner]

Notre Dame's schedule is booked through 2016. So if anything were to happen, it most likely would be for the 2017 season, which conveniently is when ND and Michigan mothball their series.

I guess we'll see what bones ND throws the Big East.

First up, figuring out the new bowl placement scheme, and tying the Big East to ND's leg.

Next up will be forcing NBC to get the BE contract and get a Big East game of the week on Saturday.

Finally, playing two Big East teams.

After that, I guess Notre Dame will have done all that it could have. The Big East lives on, solike Bobby along for Greg's date, at least there should be some entertainment value in all of this.

 

[Santini35]

Neutral site games are okay with me if they are truly one off neutral site games. They aren't okay if it's a home game in their stadium and our "return game" is neutral. Are we in a position to get that arrangement? I'm not sure. But it is what we should strive for if we do have to start taking neutral site games.

 

[joey3$trike$]

I believe Carl stated this in a post months back, going to have to schedule big name teams on neutral sites. Yankee Stadium vs ND anyone?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I believe Carl stated this in a post months back, going to have to schedule big name teams on neutral sites. Yankee Stadium vs ND anyone?

I'm fine with that.

What I would oppose is a series of games scheduled in South Bend, Foxborough, or NYC/NJ only.

 

[huskypantz]

Warde sounds like an intelligent, football-focused AD. I would take a contract with ND that included one road game, neutral at Foxboro and neutral at Yankee Stadium, especially if it generated additional revenue for the school. We know the games will be on national TV and let's be honest, we need to be best buds with ND.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Warde sounds like an intelligent, football-focused AD. I would take a contract with ND that included one road game, neutral at Foxboro and neutral at Yankee Stadium, especially if it generated additional revenue for the school. We know the games will be on national TV and let's be honest, we need to be best buds with ND.

Why do we need to be best buds with ND? When it comes time to make a decision, do you think for one second that ND is going to take into account how UConn chummed up to them? Not a chance. They're going to do what they always do.....look out for Notre Dame.

 

[specialisthusky]

Why do we need to be best buds with ND? When it comes time to make a decision, do you think for one second that ND is going to take into account how UConn chummed up to them? Not a chance. They're going to do what they always do.....look out for Notre Dame.

i agree with you on the best bud thing, but it does not hurt to use the exposure of ND to look out for UConn.

 

[huskypantz]

Why do we need to be best buds with ND? When it comes time to make a decision, do you think for one second that ND is going to take into account how UConn chummed up to them? Not a chance. They're going to do what they always do.....look out for Notre Dame.

Of course they're going to look out for Notre Dame. Here's the deal - the ACC, B12 and B1G(not quite as desperate but they're still the #1 expansion pick) all want ND in their conference. ND will not come alone. The day Blumenthal sued the ACC was one of the worst days for UConn. Despite the fact that Pitt, VT, RU and WVU were in the suit, the suit was always "UConn sued the ACC". There are factions in the ACC that don't like us because of that. BC has a bug up their @ss about us. Certain local schools don't mind seeing our conference status diminished as it could help them on the recruiting trail. Our best chance at being in the highest level conference is 1 - ND goes to ACC, UConn comes along. 2 - (because it's much less likely) ND goes to B1G, UConn comes along with some combo of northeast schools. Anything we can do to get some kind of affirmative from ND would help.

 

[BlueMAB]

Why do we need to be best buds with ND? When it comes time to make a decision, do you think for one second that ND is going to take into account how UConn chummed up to them? Not a chance. They're going to do what they always do.....look out for Notre Dame.

We don't need to be best buds with ND.
However, the power conferences are moving toward 9 game conference schedules, which reduces the pool of available OOC BCS games. The Pac 12 and Big 10 have agreed to a scheduling arrangement. There are fewer and fewer opportunites available with name programs.

Occasional nuetral site games are going to be a fact of life.

 

[businesslawyer]

I'm fine with that.

What I would oppose is a series of games scheduled in South Bend, Foxborough, or NYC/NJ only.

Exactly. Why shouldd a contract with Notre Dame imply that it has more market power than UConn.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Exactly. Why shouldd a contract with Notre Dame imply that it has more market power than UConn.

You're entitled to your opinion. Bow at the alter all you want.

If ND can play at Wake and BCU, they can play at the Rent.

 

[ruskin]

With all due respect, no one is bowing at anyone's 'alter'. It's recognizing reality. Only one school had a full vote unto itself in the BCS meetings. No one disagrees that Notre Dame's power is way out of proportion to its recent performance on the field. But I'll go to Gillette, Meadowlands, Fire Island to watch UConn play Irish. The false bravado of "They can play at the Rent" is going to make this program irrelevant quicker than John Swofford or Gene DiFilippo could dream.
It still pisses me off that a vocal minority of people on this board somehow managed to sway idiot state legislators and kill the ND deal. Look who swooped in to play ND in Meadowlands in 14 and 16. Our friends in Syracuse.
There's only a few schools I would make this exception for. ND is one of them. I hope Mr. Manuel picks off every team on that list for a neutral.

 

[ZooCougar]

I like what I am reading about Mr. Manuel.

If we act like we are bigger and more important than we really are, then we will end up empty handed and playing Buffalo and three other MAC schools every year.

One other positive aspect of neutral site games. They almost always get at least a slight bump in visibility. If you think that we will have a competitive program going forward, then games against higher profile teams in NJ and Foxboro can only help us win credibility and notoriety.

 

[metsfan2323]

Yale Bowl should also be explored if it helps induce a big name program. I remember reading that Michigan stadium is basically a copy of the Yale Bowl. Hmmm. UCONN needs to do a better job of marketing to the western part of the state anyway.

 

[Waquoit]

So the consensus here is that we need more games at neutral sites and the Yale Bowl. Well, one positive I see is that the turf at The Rent will stay pristine.

 

[ZooCougar]

So the consensus here is that we need more games at neutral sites and the Yale Bowl. Well, one positive I see is that the turf at The Rent will stay pristine.

Why do you have to go full Nelson Muntz on us like that? One person said the the Yale Bowl was a good idea. After all, it is an idea. Saying it's a consensus is a bit of a stretch.

A neutral site game every other year or so isn't going to kill the Rent. Surely you are reasonable enough to see this? What is your plan? Play bad teams on a home and home basis and keeping holding our breath for some big names to come calling?

 

[Palatine]

Expand the Rent.

Build it and they will come.

 

[huskyjawz]

Yale Bowl should also be explored if it helps induce a big name program. I remember reading that Michigan stadium is basically a copy of the Yale Bowl. Hmmm. UCONN needs to do a better job of marketing to the western part of the state anyway.

Is the Yale Bowl viable for large crowds? I realize that it was built for large capacity, but hasn't it fallen into disrepair, and they only maintain it for the smaller crowds that it now gets?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I'm perfectly fine with a neutral site game here and there. I just don't want to see us do what Cuse did this year. They have 5 games in the Dome. You don't sign a home and home 6 game series and say we'll play our "home" games in NJ and MA.

I want 6 (perferably 7) home games at the Rent every year.

If ND wants to play us one time in Yankee Stadium I'm on board. If they tell me 3 games in South Bend and 2 in NJ and 1 in MA......no thank you.

 

[businesslawyer]

I'm perfectly fine with a neutral site game here and there. I just don't want to see us do what Cuse did this year. They have 5 games in the Dome. You don't sign a home and home 6 game series and say we'll play our "home" games in NJ and MA.

I want 6 (perferably 7) home games at the Rent every year.

If ND wants to play us one time in Yankee Stadium I'm on board. If they tell me 3 games in South Bend and 2 in NJ and 1 in MA......no thank you.

I want to sleep with Jennifer Anniston tonight. Given the reality of the situation, however, I'd be better off focusing on what I have to do in order for my wife not to be mad at me this evening.

What UConn wants is, sadly, irrelevant at the moment. The market is changing. We can recognize the trend and do what we need to do to stay relevant, or we can pretend that nothing is changing (if you really think ND would sign the same deal with Wake, or Michigan would sign the same deal with us, today you're not reading what people are saying), demand that we not be disadvantaged by a more market driven environment and end up like Yale.

But, at least some on the board will be "proud" that we didn't let others push us around if we don't hold our current level because of inflexibility.

 

[ruskin]

Would love to see the Rent expand but only when there's a season ticket waiting list. Our half-empty stadium at kickoff is already a bad visual, big empty blocks of seats would be worse. Lots of NASCAR tracks overbuilt (especially Dover) and those empty blocks of seats look bad, even when covered by tarps (like Jacksonville in NFL, Oakland in baseball, etc)

I could see Yale as a one-time throwback type of thing, like the 100th anniversary of a current big-time team's game at Yale, like this

October 17, 1914, Notre Dame (2-0) at Yale (3-0)​

. ​

But for recurring neutrals, would stick to NY or Gillette. Don't forget, neighbors of Yale Bowl will fight such a game every step of the way in the true CT tradition.

The turf at the Rent will have tumbleweeds blowing across it in the next decade if we think we're entitled to straight up home & homes.

I know we're beating the crap out of a dead horse here, but gotta ask Jimmy Serrano why he thinks the hypothetical ND deal he rejects would be bad/wrong for this program given everything that's happened in past year (Big East defections, playoff). I don't see us negotiating from a position from strength on this one.