ESPN & the UCONN Huskies

[UcMiami]

oldude - cool post ... but ... it is the old chicken and egg issue. While ESPN has done WCBB and especially UConn proud over the years (and for all the issues people have with them they really, really, have carried the ball for women's sports for years), the reality is that little old CPTV proved that WCBB could drive market share on the airwaves. And together with Pat and TN proving that a real rivalry of epic proportions could be created in a women's sport, they were more responsible for getting the ball rolling. Yes ESPN promoted 'THE GAME' each year and expanded to 'THE HOME AND HOME', but CPTV proved that there was a market for 'THE UCONN SEASON' 20+ games a year, warts and all, year after year. It took a long time for ESPN and the other networks to catch on to the fact that there were actually fan bases out there that would watch Duke/UNC, or Stanford/Cal.

And while UConn has certainly benefitted from great ESPN coverage, I believe the common thought that proximity to their headquarters plays any real role in that is demonstrably false. The obvious rejoined is, how have the other UConn teams fared in terms of ESPN coverage - not well. Even though UConn MCBB over the last 20 years is as successful as any program, they get ESPN preference only when they win the NC and only for a day. Football ...! The reason the women get the coverage they do from ESPN is because they are DOMINANT - cover the UConn women or cancel coverage of WCBB.

Not trying to rain on the parade here, because I respect what ESPN and ESPNW have done for women's sports and athletes, just trying to counteract something I see frequently on other WCBB forums - it is UConn WCBB all the time, and it is all because they are 70 miles from ESPN's headquarters. The heavy weighting towards UConn is because UConn has won 10 of the last 17 NCs. And they have been to the FF 14 of the last 17.

 

[oldude]

oldude - cool post .. but .. it is the old chicken and egg issue. While ESPN has done WCBB and especially UConn proud over the years (and for all the issues people have with them they really, really, have carried the ball for women's sports for years), the reality is that little old CPTV proved that WCBB could drive market share on the airwaves. And together with Pat and TN proving that a real rivalry of epic proportions could be created in a women's sport, they were more responsible for getting the ball rolling. Yes ESPN promoted 'THE GAME' each year and expanded to 'THE HOME AND HOME', but CPTV proved that there was a market for 'THE UCONN SEASON' 20+ games a year, warts and all, year after year. It took a long time for ESPN and the other networks to catch on to the fact that there were actually fan bases out there that would watch Duke/UNC, or Stanford/Cal.

And while UConn has certainly benefitted from great ESPN coverage, I believe the common thought that proximity to their headquarters plays any real role in that is demonstrably false. The obvious rejoined is, how have the other UConn teams fared in terms of ESPN coverage - not well. Even though UConn MCBB over the last 20 years is as successful as any program, they get ESPN preference only when they win the NC and only for a day. Football ..! The reason the women get the coverage they do from ESPN is because they are DOMINANT - cover the UConn women or cancel coverage of WCBB.

Not trying to rain on the parade here, because I respect what ESPN and ESPNW have done for women's sports and athletes, just trying to counteract something I see frequently on other WCBB forums - it is UConn WCBB all the time, and it is all because they are 70 miles from ESPN's headquarters. The heavy weighting towards UConn is because UConn has won 10 of the last 17 NCs. And they have been to the FF 14 of the last 17.

Agree with many of your points UcM. I would point out that the men's game was well established long before ESPN came along, while the women's game was just getting started, so there was a greater opportunity for a new 24x7 sports network that was looking for programming and WBB to create a symbiotic relationship.

You are certainly correct about CPTV, but that was a regional broadcast network that could not possibly broadcast Husky games nationwide.

The biggest benefit of ESPN's coverage of UConn WBB has been to make the Huskies a national brand, with a nationwide fan base, allowing Geno Auriemma to walk into any girls HS game in the country and be instantly recognizable to everyone in the gym. That kind of exposure pays tremendous dividends on the recruiting trail.

 

[UConnNick]

Was that the Bugrin family John Bugrin is about 80

Nope. The patriarch of their family has been dead for many years. He used to come into a store I worked at and he gave us all homemade Italian "pepper cookies" as he called them. They weren't cookies at all. They were about the size of fortune cookies but they were extremely hot and spicy, made with fennel seeds. He also made homemade wine. He'd take us out to his car and we'd drink some. He had it in huge gallon jugs on the floor in the back seat. If you were willing to drink Alessio's wine you never had to prove your courage in any other way. He was a wonderful man, always made us laugh. First generation from Italy.

I still have the "cookie" recipe, but not the wine. It was dual purpose. You could remove paint with it.

 

[TappanZee]

There has been considerable discussion through the years regarding UConn’s geographic and structural limitations. Tucked away in bucolic Storrs, CT the Huskies are not located in the middle of a hotbed of WBB recruiting talent. While there are certainly solid players in the Northeast, the nexus of recruiting talent in WBB is more often found in the Southeast, Southwest, Midwest & West. At the same time, UConn has been unable to entice any of the P-5 conferences to grant them entrance to the financial pot of gold and conference strength associated with such membership.

However, UConn has a particular geographic strength and association that most schools would give their right arm for. Years before Geno & CD arrived in Storrs, on July 14, 1978, Bill & Scott Rasmussen, Ed Eagan & Bob Beyus paid $91 to incorporate their unconventional idea. Subsequently, for $18,000 they purchased a parcel of land that used to be a dump where they had discovered that satellite signals were clear and unaffected. Finally, they secured major financial backing from Getty Oil and so was born the Educational and Sports Programing Network (ESPN) in Bristol, CT.

Fast forward to the present time. ESPN is a worldwide giant in sports, representing approximately 40% of the value of its parent company, the Walt Disney Corporation. As ESPN grew, a little over an hour away, in Storrs , CT, Geno and CD were building the greatest women’s basketball program in history. Eventually, ESPN added ESPNw to its portfolio to promote the fast-growing segment of women’s sports and there was an immediate and symbiotic relationship established between ESPNw and the Huskies.

While we BY’ers lament the lack of coverage of WBB, ESPN has become a forceful advocate and supporter of WBB in general and the UConn Huskies in particular. ESPNw’s team of reporters have all traveled to Storrs, met with the coaches and players and watched UConn practices. Led by UConn’s own Rebecca Lobo, they never pass up an opportunity to sing the praises of Geno and the Huskies. ESPN covers just about every major UConn game as well as the NCAA tournament, giving the Huskies unprecedented national exposure, so young girls aspiring to be great basketball players, living in CA, TX, OK, AR, TN, VA, MO, IL, GA and every other place they play basketball, can watch and dream of someday becoming a Husky.

On Monday night leading up to and including the SC game, in the quest for 100, ESPN outdid themselves with wall to wall coverage of the Huskies, all day long, on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPNEWS. As the Huskies continue to dominate WBB, hopefully for many years to come, their relationship with ESPN will continue to be a prominent factor in their remarkable success.

 

[huskeynut]

Call me a cynic if you want, but ESPN, like all other businesses, does what's in its best interests.

So coverage of our young ladies is a smart business move. Nothing more, nothing less. In the process it has helped UConn to become a national brand.

 

[oldude]

Call me a cynic if you want, but ESPN, like all other businesses, does what's in its best interests.

So coverage of our young ladies is a smart business move. Nothing more, nothing less. In the process it has helped UConn to become a national brand.

My very point.....and Geno and UConn wouldn't take the time to grant all the access and do all the interviews with ESPN if the relationship wasn't mutually beneficial.

 

[TappanZee]

Whoever scheduled a game immediately before the SC - UConn game at ESPN should be fired. Although they picked up the broadcast on another ESPN station, the beginning of the game was lost to most of the nation. After the heavy promotion they lost many fans who tuned in to see Connecticut. SNY schedules the games with pre and post game shows. This match up deserved to be introduced properly. Bad planning!

 

[Zanzman]

oldude - cool post .. but .. it is the old chicken and egg issue. While ESPN has done WCBB and especially UConn proud over the years (and for all the issues people have with them they really, really, have carried the ball for women's sports for years), the reality is that little old CPTV proved that WCBB could drive market share on the airwaves. And together with Pat and TN proving that a real rivalry of epic proportions could be created in a women's sport, they were more responsible for getting the ball rolling. Yes ESPN promoted 'THE GAME' each year and expanded to 'THE HOME AND HOME', but CPTV proved that there was a market for 'THE UCONN SEASON' 20+ games a year, warts and all, year after year. It took a long time for ESPN and the other networks to catch on to the fact that there were actually fan bases out there that would watch Duke/UNC, or Stanford/Cal.

And while UConn has certainly benefitted from great ESPN coverage, I believe the common thought that proximity to their headquarters plays any real role in that is demonstrably false. The obvious rejoined is, how have the other UConn teams fared in terms of ESPN coverage - not well. Even though UConn MCBB over the last 20 years is as successful as any program, they get ESPN preference only when they win the NC and only for a day. Football ..! The reason the women get the coverage they do from ESPN is because they are DOMINANT - cover the UConn women or cancel coverage of WCBB.

Not trying to rain on the parade here, because I respect what ESPN and ESPNW have done for women's sports and athletes, just trying to counteract something I see frequently on other WCBB forums - it is UConn WCBB all the time, and it is all because they are 70 miles from ESPN's headquarters. The heavy weighting towards UConn is because UConn has won 10 of the last 17 NCs. And they have been to the FF 14 of the last 17.

Pretty much was what I was saying but not crediting cptv

 

[RockyMTblue2]

We all have fun with ESPN. Why? because those paranoid dolts in the SEC blew a whistle with no pea in it real hard about UConn and Maya Moore and blew it for about a decade. ESPN is not the news maker or the recruiter. They just follow sports around. Nice thing about women's college athletics and ESPN? It is still about the athletics. Most of men's college reporting and almost all men's pro "reporting" is it is all the peripheral crap. Carmello/Oakley/Dolan, what does LeBron need this week to assure himself he is recognized as the stick that stirs the drink, etc, etc, etc. Look, when the media is the message ( a phrase coined when- 30 odd years ago) is true about anything, well, it's time to go find a good book to read.

 

[tomcat]

There has been considerable discussion through the years regarding UConn’s geographic and structural limitations. Tucked away in bucolic Storrs, CT the Huskies are not located in the middle of a hotbed of WBB recruiting talent. While there are certainly solid players in the Northeast, the nexus of recruiting talent in WBB is more often found in the Southeast, Southwest, Midwest & West. At the same time, UConn has been unable to entice any of the P-5 conferences to grant them entrance to the financial pot of gold and conference strength associated with such membership.

However, UConn has a particular geographic strength and association that most schools would give their right arm for. Years before Geno & CD arrived in Storrs, on July 14, 1978, Bill & Scott Rasmussen, Ed Eagan & Bob Beyus paid $91 to incorporate their unconventional idea. Subsequently, for $18,000 they purchased a parcel of land that used to be a dump where they had discovered that satellite signals were clear and unaffected. Finally, they secured major financial backing from Getty Oil and so was born the Educational and Sports Programing Network (ESPN) in Bristol, CT.

Fast forward to the present time. ESPN is a worldwide giant in sports, representing approximately 40% of the value of its parent company, the Walt Disney Corporation. As ESPN grew, a little over an hour away, in Storrs , CT, Geno and CD were building the greatest women’s basketball program in history. Eventually, ESPN added ESPNw to its portfolio to promote the fast-growing segment of women’s sports and there was an immediate and symbiotic relationship established between ESPNw and the Huskies.

While we BY’ers lament the lack of coverage of WBB, ESPN has become a forceful advocate and supporter of WBB in general and the UConn Huskies in particular. ESPNw’s team of reporters have all traveled to Storrs, met with the coaches and players and watched UConn practices. Led by UConn’s own Rebecca Lobo, they never pass up an opportunity to sing the praises of Geno and the Huskies. ESPN covers just about every major UConn game as well as the NCAA tournament, giving the Huskies unprecedented national exposure, so young girls aspiring to be great basketball players, living in CA, TX, OK, AR, TN, VA, MO, IL, GA and every other place they play basketball, can watch and dream of someday becoming a Husky.

On Monday night leading up to and including the SC game, in the quest for 100, ESPN outdid themselves with wall to wall coverage of the Huskies, all day long, on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPNEWS. As the Huskies continue to dominate WBB, hopefully for many years to come, their relationship with ESPN will continue to be a prominent factor in their remarkable success.

Just a random addition to this wonderful post: Does anyone else remember Bill Rasmussen as the backup sportscaster (remember when they were called that) on WWLP, Channel 22 in Springfield? Rollie Jacobs, who became somewhat of a legend as an all-around good guy, was the station's #1 sports guy. Rasmussen was his fill-in. Decent sports guy, though not especially dynamic.

 

[dwalks93]

oldude -

And while UConn has certainly benefitted from great ESPN coverage, I believe the common thought that proximity to their headquarters plays any real role in that is demonstrably false. The obvious rejoined is, how have the other UConn teams fared in terms of ESPN coverage - not well. Even though UConn MCBB over the last 20 years is as successful as any program, they get ESPN preference only when they win the NC and only for a day. Football ..! The reason the women get the coverage they do from ESPN is because they are DOMINANT - cover the UConn women or cancel coverage of WCBB.

Not trying to rain on the parade here, because I respect what ESPN and ESPNW have done for women's sports and athletes, just trying to counteract something I see frequently on other WCBB forums - it is UConn WCBB all the time, and it is all because they are 70 miles from ESPN's headquarters. The heavy weighting towards UConn is because UConn has won 10 of the last 17 NCs. And they have been to the FF 14 of the last 17.

Anyone who would argue ESPN has been an ally to UConn clearly does not understand the history.

There is probably no entity in the entire world who has harmed UConn athletics more than ESPN. ESPN fully masterminded and funded the ACCs repeated raids into the old Big East (the conference UConn was once a member of). By way of history the ACC was (and still is) an ESPN property and after the old Big East turned down an ESPN offer, ESPN set out to destroy the Big East by funding the ACC to raid its teams. The Big East proved more resilient than ESPN anticipated in its the first raid which grabbed Miami, Va Tech, and BC so a few years later a second raid was conducted which took Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Interestingly, the only football/basketball schools who ended up without a P5 home from the old Big East were UConn and South Florida. How does Rutgers, West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburg, Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College all end up in P5 conferences but UConn doesn't with ESPN funding the raids?

Throughout the entire conference realignment process ESPN has never helped UConn and has actively harmed UConn. The AAC is an ESPN property and is currently the most unpaid conference in America. While ACC teams make over $30 million per year, AAC teams make $3 million. Moreover, UConn is the anchor program for the AAC in terms of revenue. ESPN is literally making millions off UConn. For example, this year ESPN granted the ACC a network channel and could have included a UConn addition as part of the package. Why didn't they? Because at 3 million a year UConn in the AAC is the best profit maker in sports for ESPN.

If ESPN is highlighting UConn is it because they can make money off them. UConn has great fans and draws national attention. ESPN didn't make the UConn women a national brand....Geno and his amazing players did.

People who think ESPN is helping UConn have no idea how wrong they are.

 

[oldude]

Anyone who would argue ESPN has been an ally to UConn clearly does not understand the history.

There is probably no entity in the entire world who has harmed UConn athletics more than ESPN. ESPN fully masterminded and funded the ACCs repeated raids into the old Big East (the conference UConn was once a member of). By way of history the ACC was (and still is) an ESPN property and after the old Big East turned down an ESPN offer, ESPN set out to destroy the Big East by funding the ACC to raid its teams. The Big East proved more resilient than ESPN anticipated in its the first raid which grabbed Miami, Va Tech, and BC so a few years later a second raid was conducted which took Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Interestingly, the only football/basketball schools who ended up without a P5 home from the old Big East were UConn and South Florida. How does Rutgers, West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburg, Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College all end up in P5 conferences but UConn doesn't with ESPN funding the raids?

Throughout the entire conference realignment process ESPN has never helped UConn and has actively harmed UConn. The AAC is an ESPN property and is currently the most unpaid conference in America. While ACC teams make over $30 million per year, AAC teams make $3 million. Moreover, UConn is the anchor program for the AAC in terms of revenue. ESPN is literally making millions off UConn. For example, this year ESPN granted the ACC a network channel and could have included a UConn addition as part of the package. Why didn't they? Because at 3 million a year UConn in the AAC is the best profit maker in sports for ESPN.

If ESPN is highlighting UConn is it because they can make money off them. UConn has great fans and draws national attention. ESPN didn't make the UConn women a national brand...Geno and his amazing players did.

People who think ESPN is helping UConn have no idea how wrong they are.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but it strikes me that you are selectively choosing and editing facts to support your narrative.

I have made it clear in my posts that ESPN has a financial interest in UConn's success, but your suggestion that ESPN has manipulated conference realignments to the detriment of UConn is a reach at best.

There have been several threads on this board detailing UConn's inability to gain membership in a P-5 conference. While there are numerous conspiracy theories to explain the unfortunate situation, the simple truth is that UConn has not been able to field a sufficiently competitive football program to be attractive to a P-5 conference.

 

[dwalks93]

There have been several threads on this board detailing UConn's inability to gain membership in a P-5 conference. While there are numerous conspiracy theories to explain the unfortunate situation, the simple truth is that UConn has not been able to field a sufficiently competitive football program to be attractive to a P-5 conference.

The difference between my opinion and your opinion is mine is support by fact. Perhaps after reading the below links how it "strikes" you will change. I am not selectively editing.

See below link which lays it out pretty clearly. ESPN has not been a friend to UConn.

SCANDAL: ESPN Told The ACC Which Teams To Take From Big East Conference

Oh here is another one...

Did ESPN Force ACC/Big East Realignment? (UPDATED)

BTW the last round of conference realignment when Louisville was selected by the ACC occurred one year after UConn football won the Big East and appeared in the BCS Fiesta Bowl. Ummm, that was a pretty sufficiently competitive UConn football team...

 

[oldude]

The difference between my opinion and your opinion is mine is support by fact. Perhaps after reading the below links how it "strikes" you will change. I am not selectively editing.

See below link which lays it out pretty clearly. ESPN has not been a friend to UConn.

SCANDAL: ESPN Told The ACC Which Teams To Take From Big East Conference

Oh here is another one..

Did ESPN Force ACC/Big East Realignment? (UPDATED)

The two articles you post are short on facts and long on innuendo, and neither comes from a particularly reliable source.

As I stated previously, you are entitled to your opinion.

 

[dwalks93]

The two articles you post are short on facts and long on innuendo, and neither comes from a particularly reliable source.

As I stated previously, you are entitled to your opinion.

Ok here is one from a Boston Globe reporter. Is that a reliable source?

Power move by ACC

My point is not to pick a fight with you. We all have a right to believe what we want to believe and I try and show respect for fellow posters. That said, at a minimum conference realignment was funded by ESPN (and likely directed by ESPN) and the end result of conference realignment has really hurt UConn.

If ESPN is "helping" the UConn women it is because they are making money off them..being located in Connecticut has nothing to do with it.

 

[j66kicker]

Anyone who would argue ESPN has been an ally to UConn clearly does not understand the history. There is probably no entity in the entire world who has harmed UConn athletics more than ESPN...........Interestingly, the only football/basketball schools who ended up without a P5 home from the old Big East were UConn and South Florida. How does Rutgers, West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburg, Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College all end up in P5 conferences but UConn doesn't with ESPN funding the raids?

Throughout the entire conference realignment process ESPN has never helped UConn and has actively harmed UConn. The AAC is an ESPN property and is currently the most unpaid conference in America. While ACC teams make over $30 million per year, AAC teams make $3 million. Moreover, UConn is the anchor program for the AAC in terms of revenue. ESPN is literally making millions off UConn. For example, this year ESPN granted the ACC a network channel and could have included a UConn addition as part of the package. Why didn't they? Because at 3 million a year UConn in the AAC is the best profit maker in sports for ESPN.

If ESPN is highlighting UConn is it because they can make money off them. UConn has great fans and draws national attention. ESPN didn't make the UConn women a national brand...Geno and his amazing players did.

People who think ESPN is helping UConn have no idea how wrong they are.

Those schools had real football programs. Nothing could be more obvious.

 

[dwalks93]

Those schools had real football programs. Nothing could be more obvious.

At the time Louisville was selected by the ACC in 2012 UConn football was coming off a series of multiple bowl years to include winning the Big East twice in the prior 5 years and a 2011 appearance in BCS Fiesta Bowl. At that point in time UConn was a "real football" program. "Nothing could be more obvious."

Oh, and Rutgers was selected by the BIg10...real football???? Checkmate

 

[j66kicker]

At the time Louisville was selected by the ACC in 2012 UConn football was coming off a series of multiple bowl years to include winning the Big East twice in the prior 5 years and a 2011 appearance in BCS Fiesta Bowl. At that point in time UConn was a "real football" program. "Nothing could be more obvious."

Oh, and Rutgers was selected by the BIg10..real football???? Checkmate

I am an Oklahoma grad and live in Phoenix, so I attended that Fiesta Bowl. It was a joke, as is UConn's football program. The sad part is, this is borderline "intentional" on UConn's part. At best there is no commitment to football, and the results are commensurate and predictable.

 

[dwalks93]

UConn football is an epic disaster today but at the time of the last realignment it was a legitimate program.

In 2007 UConn football went 9-4, won the Big East, went to bowl
In 2008 UConn football went 8-5 , won its bowl game
In 2009 UConn went 8-5, won it's bowl game against an SEC team
In 2010 UConn went 8-5, won the Big East, played in a BCS bowl

For those scoring at home that is 4 straight 8-5 or better seasons with 2 Big East titles and a BCS bowl appearance. But obviously UConn football was a "joke." Now and then are totally different animals.

In 2011 UConn was passed over for Pitt/Syracuse in the ACC. In 2012 UConn was passed over for Louisville in the ACC. At the time of these decisions UConn was a competitive program. In fact, during the prime realignment years, UConn football outperformed Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Rutgers but hey, don't let the facts get in the way of your insults.

Not sure why you think there is no commitment to football. Perhaps you haven't seen the UConn facilities, stadium and new coaching hires. UConn has done itself no favors in football since 2012 but it is certainly not intentional. Granted we don't let our star running back use our co-eds as punching bags like Oklahoma but we are trying to improve.

Btw you never explained Rutgers to the Big10? Didn't you state conference realignment was "obviously about real football programs"....the reason you can't explain it is because expansion was never about football and was always about money (there was/is just more money in football). And the money kingpin is ESPN.

Bottom line is if ESPN was favoring UConn we would not be in the AAC today.

 

[j66kicker]

......Not sure why you think there is no commitment to football. Perhaps you haven't seen the UConn facilities, stadium and new coaching hires. UConn has done itself no favors in football since 2012 but it is certainly not intentional. Granted we don't let our star running back use our co-eds as punching bags like Oklahoma but we are trying to improve.

Btw you never explained Rutgers to the Big10? Didn't you state conference realignment was "obviously about real football programs"...the reason you can't explain it is because expansion was never about football and was always about money (there was/is just more money in football). And the money kingpin is ESPN.

Not defending Mixon, but the "program" did suspend him for a year at roughly the same time Roger Goodell was suspending Ray Rice for 2 games.

If there was a bigger, sustained, commitment to football there would be a better, sustained quality football program. It is a cause-and-effect phenomenon, not the least bit dependent upon luck. I'm no expert on the specific details of UConn's pathetic football situation, but suspect there is a lack of alums/boosters willing to fund a first class program.

 

[dwalks93]

Not defending Mixon, but the "program" did suspend him for a year at roughly the same time Roger Goodell was suspending Ray Rice for 2 games.

If there was a bigger, sustained, commitment to football there would be a better, sustained quality football program. It is a cause-and-effect phenomenon, not the least bit dependent upon luck. I'm no expert on the specific details of UConn's pathetic football situation, but suspect there is a lack of alums/boosters willing to fund a first class program.

Oklahoma didn't suspend Mixon. They red shirted him for a year. He continued to practice with the team, work out with team, he kept his full scholarship while getting free tuition/room and board and did not lose a year of eligibility. On a positive note, he definitely looked like that extra year of strength and conditioning paid off and he had a great year for OU. Btw OU's handling of Mixon was significant less punitive than the NFL's treatment of Ray Rice. At least Rice was suspended and it cost him money even if it wasn't enough.

Had there not been a video, Mixon and OU would have completely slipped under the radar. I particularly liked Coach Stoops' comments that if it happened today the punishment would be different. Of course the punishmeant would be different... Mixon can punch way harder now and the OU boosters who "fund a first class program" know to the buy the video back before it gets posted.

And yes, you are no expert on UConn football. That much has been established....UConn's facilities are very good, coaching hires have been terrible and fan attendance is poor. Basically the AAC and lack of regional rivalries has really hurt UConn and particularly football. Our women's basketball continues to dominate but the in-conference games are the least competitive part of our season. To say UConn is pathetic in football the last few years is true but to attribute it to lack of financial commitment is inaccurate.

BTW UConn makes $3 million per year in the AAC, OU makes over $35 million in the Big12....tough to run a first class program at less than 10% of the revenue. But ESPN loves UConn and keeps favoring us, right?

 

[j66kicker]

And yes, you are no expert on UConn football. That much has been established...UConn's facilities are very good, coaching hires have been terrible and fan attendance is poor. Basically the AAC and lack of regional rivalries has really hurt UConn and particularly football. Our women's basketball continues to dominate but the in-conference games are the least competitive part of our season. To say UConn is pathetic in football the last few years is true but to attribute it to lack of financial commitment is inaccurate.

BTW UConn makes $3 million per year in the AAC, OU makes over $35 million in the Big12...tough to run a first class program at less than 10% of the revenue. But ESPN loves UConn and keeps favoring us, right?

Well we do agree on something then.

Yes, there were a few years (the 4 years you pointed out) where UConn fielded a respectable football team, but really there is no real tradition of winning. Regarding the funding, Oklahoma, USC, Alabama, Texas, etc., have decades-long winning traditions dating back long before the big conference TV payouts. They all have boosters who pay for stadium expansions, world class facilities, top-tier coaches, etc., so they don't have to rely on state legislature and student fee funding.

I admire UConn for stepping up and building a stadium to qualify back when the BE became a BCS conference. And I'm disappointed they got aced out of the ACC. But, had there been a legitimate football tradition (built on commitment), they wouldn't have to worry about the threat of ending up in a financial no-man's land and unable to sustain the tradition of basketball excellence.

 

[SCGamecock]

Whoever scheduled a game immediately before the SC - UConn game at ESPN should be fired. Although they picked up the broadcast on another ESPN station, the beginning of the game was lost to most of the nation. After the heavy promotion they lost many fans who tuned in to see Connecticut. SNY schedules the games with pre and post game shows. This match up deserved to be introduced properly. Bad planning!

The SC-UConn game did have a pre-show scheduled.. but the FSU/Texas game went into double OT.

ESPN doesn't dump out of live games in OT so there's that...

Rebecca Lobo explained what happened on LaChina Robinson's "Around the Rim" latest podcast.

 

[triaddukefan]

The SC-UConn game did have a pre-show scheduled.. but the FSU/Texas game went into double OT.

ESPN doesn't dump out of live games in OT so there's that...

Rebecca Lobo explained what happened on LaChina Robinson's "Around the Rim" latest podcast.

They didnt need a pre-show for a regular season game..... it wasnt the final four or anything like that. Glad that ESPN doesnt cut out of live games..... a double OT game involving two top 10 teams no less. That would have been a bush league move if they would have done that.

 

[oldude]

Ok here is one from a Boston Globe reporter. Is that a reliable source?

Power move by ACC

My point is not to pick a fight with you. We all have a right to believe what we want to believe and I try and show respect for fellow posters. That said, at a minimum conference realignment was funded by ESPN (and likely directed by ESPN) and the end result of conference realignment has really hurt UConn.

If ESPN is "helping" the UConn women it is because they are making money off them..being located in Connecticut has nothing to do with it.

Growing up in CT, I remember when UConn was part of the old Yankee Conference. For most of their history, they weren't even the best football program in the state of CT. That distinction went to the Yale Bulldogs. I remember attending games at the Yale Bowl with 80,000 fans watching Carm Cozza's Eli pummel some hapless opponent.

The Yankee conference eventually broke up with most of the schools now located in the CAC, maybe the best football conference in the FCS top to bottom. Vermont dropped football altogether. UConn became part of Dave Gavitt's wonderful experiment with the Big East, creating a basketball conference that rivaled the powerful ACC for supremacy in college basketball. No less than 4 of the original Big East teams won national championships, with UConn winning championships in both men's & women's basketball.

Somewhere along the line, for a number of reasons, the Big East morphed into something other than a basketball conference. As it added schools it also became a football conference. IMO, in so doing the Big East sowed the seeds of its own demise. The Big East never made sense as a football conference. You had traditional football powers like Syracuse & Pitt that had both won national championships that featured Heisman trophy winners. You had other schools that played football, like Georgetown & Villanova, but at the 1AA level, and you had some schools that didn't play football at all like St. Johns & DePaul.

UConn made a calculated business decision to upgrade their football program to the FBS level. They built a stadium and invested millions of dollars of the state taxpayers money in the program. They achieved a modicum of success, but when the conference realignment began in earnest, UConn was late to the dance and ended up without a partner.

I acknowledge that there are lots of reasons why UConn was not offered membership in any of the P-5 conferences, but the biggest reason, IMO, was the fact that they never established the football team as a viable, big-time program with significant revenue potential. Had they done so, The UConn WBB team would now be atop the ACC or BIG, instead of the AAC, and they would still be the darlings of ESPN.