Ed Daigneault‏ Says No Recent Talks Between UConn and ACC

[Dooley]

Not in the same camp.
1.Want no part of the all carpetbagger conference. Tried to destroy the Big East on multiple occasions. About travelling to Florida: don't bank on it. Maryland leaves & FSU is out the door as fast as you can say SEC or Big-12. I've had enough of the Leprechauns feeling that they're too good to join a conference for football & don't want that albatross around UConn's neck.
2. The B1G is a more cultural fit for UConn.(Mostly a collection of major state public institutions). Their athletics also mirror UConn's. But the real advantages of joining the B1G are twofold. First & foremost is the monetary distribution to B1G members by the Big Ten Network. It's such an advantage that the SEC is seriously considering starting their own in-house network. It's something that the ACC can't (as long as ESPN controls their apron strings) match. Secondly is the CIC academic consortium, which would jive with Pres. Herbst's commitment to UConn drastically increasing it research capabilities.
For all the discussion over the years about increasing the football fanbase & expanding the RENT, I feel the admission to the B1G is a much better fit than admission to the ACC. We'll get more sellouts with help from B1G travelbases & attractiveness of competition thqan we could ever hope from from the ACC. Basketball is no slouch either,with traditional powers Wisconsin, Indiana, MSU, Purdue, Iowa, & even the Wolverines.
I'm thinking the ACC will be a shell of itself once realignment is complete with the move to Big 4 x 16 team conferences. They're living on borrowed time, & Big East fans have been living that nightmare for the last decade.

Completely agree. I would even be willing to sit out this wave of conference realignment if it increased our chances of getting into the B1G over the ACC. I'm not convinced that FSU, VT, Clemson, and others (the conference consists of MANY schools who left conferences!) wouldn't leave if given an invite. If invited and we accept ACC membership, it's a $50M buyout. We are talking about a $1M buyout being too much to make a coaching change...how in the world could we ante up $50M to leave the ACC once others schools with bigger donors than UConn leave for greener pastures?? We should be looking to make our "reasonable" $10M buyout count and the only way it would count is if we could get into the B1G. How does it work for both?

Works for UConn:
1. Money: like you said, the B1G Network provides financial stability without any future ESPiN negotiations weighing over our heads.
2. Football: UConn instantly trumps BC and Cuse in football visibility. And with PSU where they are, the opportunity is there to capture foothold in the northeast as NE's college team (sorry Flipper).
3. CT jobs: leads to stadium expansion as a result of HUGE traveling B1G fan bases which leads to construction of more hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment options, etc which leads to jobs in CT which leads to UConn's ability (along with moving a satellite campus to downtown Hartford) of convincing state politicians/taxpayers of its value within the community.
4. Academics: increases academic profile that Herbst is aggressively seeking simply by replacing partnerships with the likes of USF, UCF, Boise, etc with the B1G schools and their excellent academic reputations. We'd get that in the ACC too, but I think joining the B1G could accelerate efforts for AAU and CIS membership.

Works for B1G:
1. Marketshare: a RU and UConn combo play would all but lock up the NYC market, add exposure to Boston from UConn, and add all of CT. As a bonus, the increasing trend of scheduling games in huge NFL stadiums could lead to games at MetLife Stadium and Gillette Stadium.
2. Basketball: significantly upgrades the conference's basketball profile. Whenever you think of college hoops, you think of the Big East or ACC. While RU brings nothing in terms of basketball, a Maryland and UConn combo play brings one decent program (Maryland) and one national powerhouse program (UConn to its winter lineup). Mich St and Ohio St have been competitive in recent years (MSU with more success) and Indiana might be on a bounce back after years of struggling, but UConn brings recent, and multiple, national championships, a solid history of putting players in the NBA, and the ability to schedule MSG the Mecca for non-conference games.
3. Football: how does UConn bring something to the traditional "old money" football powers of the B1G? It's not as far-fetched as you might think. The SEC is by far and away considered the best conference in the country with the Pac 12 and Big 12 ahead of the B1G. This has to be a serious blow to the egos of the traditional "old money" programs. Investing in UConn in its infancy stage is similar to investing in Penn State decades ago before PSU became PSU. While UConn would not pose an immediate threat to OSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, etc (this is a good thing for "old money"), it has shown the ability to develop national powerhouse winning programs in most other sports, against the odds of many. Similar to buying a cheap growth stock, UConn football comes cheap right now but could grow as both basketball programs grew in the past few decades.
4. Money: this is what is driving all of this conference re-alignment so it should be noted that Connecticut just happens to be home to the highest average income earning households in the country. How is this relevant? The average UConn fan does not get excited by a schedule of Buffalo and other MAC schools, USF, Cincinnati, etc, it WOULD get excited by annual visits from and trips to Michigan (check it out in 2013), OSU, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State, etc. So what does that mean? It means our fanbase has the ability (money) to travel to other B1G states and bring our hotel, restaurant, tickets, souvenirs money with us. Now I know money doesn't grow on trees here in CT but perception is what it is so why not let it work for us?

 

[Rondogg]

I'm thinking the ACC will be a shell of itself once realignment is complete with the move to Big 4 x 16 team conferences. They're living on borrowed time, & Big East fans have been living that nightmare for the last decade.

Coach - Hadn't thought of that. I don't think I could handle the elation of joining the ACC followed by a decade of watching teams get picked off and the ACC adding NBE teams until we are in the same conference we are in right now!

 

[businesslawyer]

ESPN has the ACC locked up at a very favorable cost for the next 15 years. The ACC is not going anywhere.

 

[RMoore1999]

Great year so far; keep it up and you're in line for your first BE Championship in football. And haven't we heard your BB recruiting is on the upswing?? Maybe you'll even make day 3 at MSG for once.

 

[RMoore1999]

The thing that has me slightly less excited about the ACC now is that Rutgers and Maryland won't be there. For football, those would be two schools in driving distance where it would be fun to go with one of Phalen's bus tailgates. Without them there's still Cuse and BC, but Pitt is too far to drive... so we'd potentially go from two drivable road games a year to one. Not a deciding factor of course... just an observation.

True, but B1G would only give us drives to mary/rutty....I'd prefer road trips to Cuse and bcu.

 

[coachcap]

One other comment with regard to other sports: We've already spoken on football & hoops. UConn is making the upgrade to big time hockey with it's invitation to Hockey East. It would be an easy transition to the B1G Hockey League. The ACC has great lacrosse. UConn has shown no interest in bringing back men's lax, & I wonder where Maryland & Rutgers will place their lax teams Does the B1G support men's Lax.

 

[upstater]

I can't stand the B10. Not for football, not for basketball. The money is great there, but the conference plays favorites. I know the ACC does as well but at least the basketball is good. I can see UConn football winning a division the way BC did a couple times. There is no chance in hell that the powers would ever allow that in the B10.

So, I'd rather see UConn in the ACC for sports purposes, but the money is better in the B10, and that matters quite a bit.

 

[husky91]

Beggars can't be choosers in a sense. If UConn can't someone get included in the current B1G discussions I don't think it can bypass an ACC invite if it gets one for a future B1G one.

But gosh, do whatever possible. Offer to take a minimal, sliding share for first 5 years.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Uconnblog reporting on twitter that uconn expects to be member of acc by Thanksgiving.

 

[uchusky32]

True, but B1G would only give us drives to mary/rutty....I'd prefer road trips to Cuse and bcu.

Don't forget Penn (penitentiary) St

 

[nomar]

Everyone's free to prefer the B1G, and I agree that in a perfect world, they'd invite us, but it ain't happening, and any suggestion that we don't go after the ACC as intensely as we can is, IMO, absurd.

 

[gars44]

I know beggars can't be choosers, but I really wish UConn was heading to the B1G. I have ill feelings towards the ACC from the past few years.

Art of the deal, baby. Put the ink on the paper. Hate and envy are useless emotions . . .

 

[gars44]

Meh. Syracuse, Pitt, VT, Miami, BC -- it's the conference we thought we were getting in the beginning.

Then what's not to like?

 

[gars44]

I like the way Notre Dame has only been in the ACC for 2 months, yet they all ready seem to be have appointed theirselves spokeman for the conference. "Well you, know, we kind of expected Maryland to leave, but we're just disappointed in the timing. Actually, we were going to suggest they leave." It didn't take long for there to be negative repercussions to making a deal with the devil. There are all ready teams leaving.

That's funny. ND AD says, we're sad they're leaving the conference, it's too bad that teams that have been together for so long can't find a way to work things out, but you can't count on loyalty and allegiance anymore. But we'll be fine as a conference"

 

[gars44]

Not in the same camp.
1.Want no part of the all carpetbagger conference. Tried to destroy the Big East on multiple occasions. About travelling to Florida: don't bank on it. Maryland leaves & FSU is out the door as fast as you can say SEC or Big-12. I've had enough of the Leprechauns feeling that they're too good to join a conference for football & don't want that albatross around UConn's neck.
2. The B1G is a more cultural fit for UConn.(Mostly a collection of major state public institutions). Their athletics also mirror UConn's. But the real advantages of joining the B1G are twofold. First & foremost is the monetary distribution to B1G members by the Big Ten Network. It's such an advantage that the SEC is seriously considering starting their own in-house network. It's something that the ACC can't (as long as ESPN controls their apron strings) match. Secondly is the CIC academic consortium, which would jive with Pres. Herbst's commitment to UConn drastically increasing it research capabilities.
For all the discussion over the years about increasing the football fanbase & expanding the RENT, I feel the admission to the B1G is a much better fit than admission to the ACC. We'll get more sellouts with help from B1G travelbases & attractiveness of competition thqan we could ever hope from from the ACC. Basketball is no slouch either,with traditional powers Wisconsin, Indiana, MSU, Purdue, Iowa, & even the Wolverines.
I'm thinking the ACC will be a shell of itself once realignment is complete with the move to Big 4 x 16 team conferences. They're living on borrowed time, & Big East fans have been living that nightmare for the last decade.

"
Did the B1G invite us? Did anyone invite us? Let's not be spinster Aunt Gertrude here . . . no man is good enough for her . . .