OT: Delusional AAC Fans

[UConnDan97]

If you have to go back to Phi Slamma Jamma to validate your pedigree, you're toast.

To put that into perspective:

1) Before Calhoun arrived at UConn.
2) Reagan still in his first term
3) The shuttle Challenger hadn't exploded yet.
4) Ray Allen was 8 years old.

Straight up comedy...

 

[ucp990411]

Sadly the OP has some valid points. But they're the same points which have been true since the AAC formed. Yes, Cincy, Houston and Memphis have real strong history and tradition and decent support. Biggest difference about major markets is BE teams were the biggest college team in their market. Most of the AAC are second/third/fourth within their own market. And BE teams were all within 4-5 hours of the biggest market- NYC.
And obviously no way are they getting anything near NYC for their tourney.

With UConn gone, Memphis is the most practical place to have the tourney. It's pretty close to the center of the conference, the city cares about college hoops and there is a decent chance for Memphis to be good on a regular basis. Fans of most schools can make a day car trip to Memphis. Plus, Memphis and Beale St are great for 3-4 of partying and hooping it up.

And with that, I've used up my 2020 GAF/GAS time allotment to AAC membership and path forward.

Cincinnati, Memphis and Houston have a strong history? How many championships between them - one. And that was 60 years ago. They have decent histories.

 

[JB75]

Lolololol. There were so many funny things about that post that I can’t even go over them. Did he just somewhat compare Gregg Marshall and kelvin Sampson to Rollie massimino , carneseca, John Thompson, jim Obrien , Boheim, pitino, jp carlessimo, Calhoun, etc..... nothing to say but lololololololoool

 

[JB75]

Sadly the OP has some valid points. But they're the same points which have been true since the AAC formed. Yes, Cincy, Houston and Memphis have real strong history and tradition and decent support. Biggest difference about major markets is BE teams were the biggest college team in their market. Most of the AAC are second/third/fourth within their own market. And BE teams were all within 4-5 hours of the biggest market- NYC.
And obviously no way are they getting anything near NYC for their tourney.

With UConn gone, Memphis is the most practical place to have the tourney. It's pretty close to the center of the conference, the city cares about college hoops and there is a decent chance for Memphis to be good on a regular basis. Fans of most schools can make a day car trip to Memphis. Plus, Memphis and Beale St are great for 3-4 of partying and hooping it up.

And with that, I've used up my 2020 GAF/GAS time allotment to AAC membership and path forward.

“Cincy , Houston and Memphis have a REAL strong history?” Houston was good in early /mid 80s then did nothing for 30 years till rob gray came along, Memphis “st” was good in mid 80s with keith lee and company then nothing till the Derek rose team 25 years later, and cincy hasn’t made it past the second round it seems like ever. I wud say they have a semi decent history but deff not real strong. Sorry to nitpick. I’m just bored during Covid. No offense.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

“Cincy , Houston and Memphis have a REAL strong history?” Houston was good in early /mid 80s then did nothing for 30 years till rob gray came along, Memphis “st” was good in mid 80s with keith lee and company then nothing till the Derek rose team 25 years later, and cincy hasn’t made it past the second round it seems like ever. I wud say they have a semi decent history but deff not real strong. Sorry to nitpick. I’m just bored during Covid. No offense.

BUT OSCAR ROBINSON

 

[Chin Diesel]

“Cincy , Houston and Memphis have a REAL strong history?” Houston was good in early /mid 80s then did nothing for 30 years till rob gray came along, Memphis “st” was good in mid 80s with keith lee and company then nothing till the Derek rose team 25 years later, and cincy hasn’t made it past the second round it seems like ever. I wud say they have a semi decent history but deff not real strong. Sorry to nitpick. I’m just bored during Covid. No offense.

Not for nothing but you do know Houston's "history" goes back in to the 60's with Elvin Hayes and their match ups against Alcinder and UCLA? Houston was much more than a 2-3 year flash in the pan with Phi Slamma Jamma.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Not for nothing but you do know Houston's "history" goes back in to the 60's with Elvin Hayes and their match ups against Alcinder and UCLA? Houston was much more than a 2-3 year flash in the pan with Phi Slamma Jamma.

And they made the first changes to their facilities since the 60s last season.

 

[JB75]

Not for nothing but you do know Houston's "history" goes back in to the 60's with Elvin Hayes and their match ups against Alcinder and UCLA? Houston was much more than a 2-3 year flash in the pan with Phi Slamma Jamma.

Yes I kno that and so does army and navy in college football in the 40s and 50s doesn’t mean we call them a traditional powerhouse I mean Houston had a 30 year period during my lifetime when they didn’t sniff a tourney I believe. That’s pretty bad

 

[Waquoit]

Yale has the most NC's in CFB.

 

[A10 fan]

Why wouldn't a fan hope for the best for their school / conference?



Do I think they have any shot at replicating the True Big East? I don't think there is a chance, but I don't mock the desire. They are the old Conference USA. A loose patch work of big schools that will have some success, but not the excitement of a true conference. It's good to see some passion though.

Realistically, this is what they should aspire to. At it's peak, when Louisville, and Marquette were still there, and Huggins had elite teams at Cincy, CUSA was a borderline power conference, which is why the BE became stronger after taking it's best teams. Never comparable to the top leagues, but in a good year, better than the worst BCS league (like the current PAC12). Their goal should be to be the best non P6 league, and keep ahead of the A10, and WCC. That would make them a 3-4 bid league, with usually a couple of teams in the rankings. That's a realistic goal.

 

[bendm]

They are the old Conference USA.

the AAC pales in comparison to CUSA circa 2005 when it had Memphis, Lville, Marquette, Cincy, Houston, TCU, Depaul, and St Louis.

That version of CUSA wasnt even considered a power conference and only 3 of those teams remain, so the arguments that the AAC is a power conference are beyond absurd. they should be mocked and ridiculed every time

 

[Hoophound]

Again from the MA story yesterday; "Financial specifics weren’t available, but the CBS Sports deal, which is over seven figures for the four years, will benefit UConn in ways similar to the average of deals in place for teams in conferences such as Conference USA, the MAAC and Mountain West.

Looks like the "over" seven figures was a mistake by MA...but then again a dollar figure on par with the MTW would be more like $2.5 per year....unless the MTW schools need to cover production which would chop that figure down.

As for the variable compensation based on team status...well thats just a logical approach.

the AAC pales in comparison to CUSA circa 2005 when it had Memphis, Lville, Marquette, Cincy, Houston, TCU, Depaul, and St Louis.

That version of CUSA wasnt even considered a power conference and only 3 of those teams remain, so the arguments that the AAC is a power conference are beyond absurd. they should be mocked and ridiculed every time

Wow. That’s a sobering piece of info. I remember thinking CUSA was good back in the Kenyon Martin days. I’m not sure, top to bottom, how good they really were though.

 

[alexd]

the AAC pales in comparison to CUSA circa 2005 when it had Memphis, Lville, Marquette, Cincy, Houston, TCU, Depaul, and St Louis.

That version of CUSA wasnt even considered a power conference and only 3 of those teams remain, so the arguments that the AAC is a power conference are beyond absurd. they should be mocked and ridiculed every time

Don't forget Charlotte, which was a top 25 team in the 2005 time frame.

 

[A10 fan]

Wow. That’s a sobering piece of info. I remember thinking CUSA was good back in the Kenyon Martin days. I’m not sure, top to bottom, how good they really were though.

They were top heavy, which has always been the issue with what you might call "the super mid majors". Those are the leagues that are clearly better than the one bid leagues, sometimes even putting elite teams on the floor, but are burdened by too many weaklings like East Carolina, and Tulane. They can't maintain a strong enough core to be considered with the top leagues. Houston rises, SMU falls back. Duquesne stops being a doormat, and St. Joe's takes their place at the bottom.

 

[bfs3]

The original Big East grew organically through several different occurrences over a period of time. Local rivalries, great coaches who all came into the same league and stayed at the same schools. They were all at least solid schools with regional recruiting territory when their weren’t private planes and recruiting websites and kids tended to stay local. Then a wave of stars came through to elevate it even further (and they kept coming). When it broke up the closest thing to that was and is the ACC. My guess is they’ll stay on top since the they have a strong football conference to back it up. We’ll see how they do as their coaches retire.

I’m excited to go back to some of what we used to have but it will likely never be where it once was again. That’s ok though, sure beats the AAC.

 

[olehead]

If you have to go back to Phi Slamma Jamma to validate your pedigree, you're toast.

To put that into perspective:

1) Before Calhoun arrived at UConn.
2) Reagan still in his first term
3) The shuttle Challenger hadn't exploded yet.
4) Ray Allen was 8 years old.

Straight up comedy...

Break out the Kangaroos, official Phi Slamma Jamma sneaks.

 

[UconnU]

 

[Rocktheworld]

And some of us took seriously the residents of Memphis, the University of Memphis, and the presumable alumni of the university of Memphis

 

[olehead]

They were top heavy, which has always been the issue with what you might call "the super mid majors". Those are the leagues that are clearly better than the one bid leagues, sometimes even putting elite teams on the floor, but are burdened by too many weaklings like East Carolina, and Tulane. They can't maintain a strong enough core to be considered with the top leagues. Houston rises, SMU falls back. Duquesne stops being a doormat, and St. Joe's takes their place at the bottom.

I played in the old Metro against / Cinci (Louis Banks, Levertis Robinson), Fla. State (Doug Edwards), Southern Miss. (Clarence Weatherspoon (probably best player in league)), Memphis (Elliott Perry & Ernest Smith), so decent talent but lacking publicity. During that time, if you weren't in the Big East or the ACC, the coverage lacked major appeal and most players recognized that playing in the Big East meant playing on a big stage.

I bring up the Metro because in many ways it's a forerunner to Conference USA and variations thereof leading us to the current AAC. You can't deny that good ball is played in the league and there is some talent, not great talent, but the league lacks coverage. It lacks appeal. Only a real hoop junkie can identify the best player in the AAC or the top players for that matter. That is simply not the case in the P5 plus Big East. I'm curious to see whether the AAC will shake that small-time, misfit basketball legacy. Tough task.

 

[BlueDogs]

We don’t need to dump on our old home. It’s a very good football conference and an ok basketball conference in which we ironically struggled mightily. The NBE is better than the AAC, but the NBE is nowhere close to the old Big East either. Let’s take care of our business and let that do the talking.

 

[UKemba15]

9 Inches

Comedians Tom Segura and Ryan Sickler bring you the True Story of what happened when two friends argued about an exact measurement.

youtu.be

 

[RichZ]

If you have to go back to Phi Slamma Jamma to validate your pedigree, you're toast.

To put that into perspective:

1) Before Calhoun arrived at UConn.
2) Reagan still in his first term
3) The shuttle Challenger hadn't exploded yet.
4) Ray Allen was 8 years old.

Straight up comedy...

Kinda like a Knick fan bragging on Reed and Clyde.

 

[Kolumbo]

No ill will towards the AAC. Look at Cinci though. 8-6, 10-10. Net 129. Those credentials in the Big East or any other major conference put you well under 100. It's not where you want to be as a hoops fan.

 

[UConnDad]

Kinda like a Knick fan bragging on Reed and Clyde.

And Phil Jackson!

 

[StllH8L8ner]

If you look at where each school is on a map, the league screams 'Island of Misfit Toys'.