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Let me preface this by saying that I wish UConn was in the ACC. I also understand that the overall success of a college and its athletic program is not defined by men's basketball alone. Don't misconstrue any of this as me saying otherwise. I also know the dangers of drawing conclusions from small sample sizes. That being said...
I've often thought that since the old Big East disbanded in 2013, none of the teams that ended up in the ACC or AAC - UConn, Syracuse, Pitt - have thrived in men's basketball, while some of those who were left in the Big East seemed to be doing fine. Combined with Boston College becoming irrelevant, I began to wonder if everyone would have been better off basketball-wise by simply staying put in the Big East. I took the eight teams who were members of the Big East from 1982-2013 and looked up their Ken Pomeroy ratings in their last six years together in the Big East (2008-2013) and in the six years since the new Big East formed (2014-2019). As you can see, the three schools who are no longer in the Big East have fared significantly worse. UConn's average Ken Pomeroy rating as dropped by 51 (yes, I know Jim Calhoun's retirement had a lot to do with that), Syracuse has dropped by an average of 23 spots, and Pitt has dropped by 68 spots, on average. Oof.
Meanwhile, Villanova has obviously thrived, with their average Ken Pomeroy rating improving by 32. They've also won two national championships, of course. Providence (+35), Seton Hall (+23), and St. John's (+9) have all fared better, although I'd classify St. John's as just about holding steady. Georgetown, meanwhile, has fared much, much worse in the past six years.
I looked at Boston College separately, since they left in 2005. In their last six seasons in the Big East, their average Ken Pomeroy rating was 53, finishing as high as 12, with only one season outside the top-100. From 2006-2019, their average Ken Pomeroy rating was 115 (lol). They have only finished in the top-40 nationally once - in 2006 - and they have been outside the top-100 eight times (lol again).
What does it all mean? Again, I would take an ACC invite in a heartbeat for basketball reasons and more. But maybe there's something to be said for playing against geographic rivals? The Big East was obviously a powerhouse, and maybe the conference itself contributed to individual teams' success as much as or more than we all thought. Returning to the Big East won't magically solve all of UConn's problems. However, taking a look at the schools in and out of the Big East certainly provides some evidence that this move will almost certainly improve our basketball fortunes. If you believe in Danny Hurley even a little, it's not hard to envision UConn first returning to its place as a perennial NCAA Tournament team, and thenback to the top 25, even if our return to being a truly elite program is not quite guaranteed.
I've often thought that since the old Big East disbanded in 2013, none of the teams that ended up in the ACC or AAC - UConn, Syracuse, Pitt - have thrived in men's basketball, while some of those who were left in the Big East seemed to be doing fine. Combined with Boston College becoming irrelevant, I began to wonder if everyone would have been better off basketball-wise by simply staying put in the Big East. I took the eight teams who were members of the Big East from 1982-2013 and looked up their Ken Pomeroy ratings in their last six years together in the Big East (2008-2013) and in the six years since the new Big East formed (2014-2019). As you can see, the three schools who are no longer in the Big East have fared significantly worse. UConn's average Ken Pomeroy rating as dropped by 51 (yes, I know Jim Calhoun's retirement had a lot to do with that), Syracuse has dropped by an average of 23 spots, and Pitt has dropped by 68 spots, on average. Oof.
Meanwhile, Villanova has obviously thrived, with their average Ken Pomeroy rating improving by 32. They've also won two national championships, of course. Providence (+35), Seton Hall (+23), and St. John's (+9) have all fared better, although I'd classify St. John's as just about holding steady. Georgetown, meanwhile, has fared much, much worse in the past six years.
I looked at Boston College separately, since they left in 2005. In their last six seasons in the Big East, their average Ken Pomeroy rating was 53, finishing as high as 12, with only one season outside the top-100. From 2006-2019, their average Ken Pomeroy rating was 115 (lol). They have only finished in the top-40 nationally once - in 2006 - and they have been outside the top-100 eight times (lol again).
What does it all mean? Again, I would take an ACC invite in a heartbeat for basketball reasons and more. But maybe there's something to be said for playing against geographic rivals? The Big East was obviously a powerhouse, and maybe the conference itself contributed to individual teams' success as much as or more than we all thought. Returning to the Big East won't magically solve all of UConn's problems. However, taking a look at the schools in and out of the Big East certainly provides some evidence that this move will almost certainly improve our basketball fortunes. If you believe in Danny Hurley even a little, it's not hard to envision UConn first returning to its place as a perennial NCAA Tournament team, and thenback to the top 25, even if our return to being a truly elite program is not quite guaranteed.