DiMauro Opinion Column: The curious case of recruiting football players to the, gasp, AAC

[UCFBfan]

I would also add this: who does Di Mauro think added sexiness in the Big East? West Virginia was the UCF of that conference, but nationally there was a lot of disrespect. Didn't West Virginia have an almost undefeated year when people were talking about how they were not going to get a BCS berth despite their record? Sure, I'd rather see UConn play WV than UCF, but there's not a really a HUGE difference between them. Neither is Alabama.

I think the "sexiness" of a name is a little overrated when talking about why no UConn fan cares about AAC teams, no matter how good they are.

People turned out and cared when we played WVU not because they were leap years ahead of anything we face now, but because we had been in a conference with them for over 15 years. The same was true for games against Rutgers, Syracuse, and other BE schools. We had history with them and proximity to their fan bases. This bred hatred and interest in opponents. What now? How many Tulane or Tulsa or SMU fans do any of us in the Northeast come across to have conversations with? How often can we go to away games and get into friendly, and sometimes not friendly, arguments with?

This is UConn's biggest issue in this conference. Having Temple, a school we have some history with but not much, be our closest conference mate is not cutting it. The fact that we view Cincy as our biggest interest game in bball and football is sad.

Winning will add some butts in the seats but it's never going to be a return to the old BE days. Hopefully CFB shifts again and goes back to regional conferences. I'm not holding my breath on that one ...

 

[billybud]

Yes...regionalism. Regional long time rivals build fan enthusiasm and game day excitement.

But then again...Notre Dame has made a living with far flung rivalries.

 

[UCFBfan]

Yes...regionalism. Regional long time rivals build fan enthusiasm and game day excitement.

But then again...Notre Dame has made a living with far flung rivalries.

Notre Dame can't be lumped in with anyone. They are clearly a different type of team when you see that they can maintain independence in FB and have a TV deal with NBC. Their national presence on TV for years has allowed them to be who they are.

For a good chunk of FBS teams, regionalism would be a boost.