Expansion winners, losers

[Fishy]

It's actually stunning, but in the entire country, we've actually managed to top the list when it comes to losing the expansion game.

We were a hoop school when football mattered. We were in the wrong place when region matter. We were in the right place when region didn't matter. We were academically-superior when academics didn't matter. We were BC's enemy when BC's opinion mattered and BC's friend when BC's opinion didn't matter. We're close enough to Boston to make us too far from New York City and close enough to New York City to make Boston too far away. We went to a BCS game and somehow suffered more slings and arrows than the other seven conference schools that could not beat us out to get to that game.

And finally, when our last best chance to get to where we had to be came up, we somehow managed to end up against a commuter school that had slapped just enough cheap perfume on itself to pass as a growing football power at a time when the ACC is feeling a mite peculiar about its football abilities.

It was the ultimate trick shot and somehow we pulled it off.

 

[The Viking]

All you need to know about our fortunes, is that it would actually have been better for us to miss that kick in USF to get us into the BCS bowl game in exchange for a couple of 7-5 weak bowl years in 2011 and 2012.
It's truly stunning that the 5-7 and current 5-6 football season came at the absolute worst time, even if it meant our 5th win this year was AT Louisville where we were beating up the best QB in the conference within days of the ACC making their decision.
what the hell happened?

 

[ZooCougar]

We're not very good at this game are we? It might be good to have people we can call upon are good at it. Not sure if a former Buffalo AD is the guy.

 

[ASweet3781]

We're not very good at this game are we?

No, no we are not.

 

[ZooCougar]

No, no we are not.

I think we need help. We needed it last time, we needed it this time. We will need at again, I hope we don't make the same mistake three times.

 

[ASweet3781]

I think we need help. We needed it last time, we needed it this time. We will need at again, I hope we don't make the same mistake three times.

3 strikes and we are out tomorrow morning it looks like.

 

[kingdobbs]

Y'know, as I'm watching through How I Met Your Mother reruns on Netflix, it occurs to me they wrote an episode that they could have entitled "This Exact Situation".

We're on the ACC's hook.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

It really is truly incredible out of school in the whole entire country, we got screwed the worse.

I'm still in shock over it all and can't even go to sleep.

 

[zls44]

We outlasted Washington State, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Louisville, BC, Missouri, Texas A&M and the entire Big 12.

In a sick way, its almost something to be proud of.

 

[Waquoit]

Does any of this snubbing have to do with national perception that our BB team cheats and doesn't care about academics?

 

[upstater]

Does any of this snubbing have to do with national perception that our BB team cheats and doesn't care about academics?

No, it doesn't. If anything, that helped. We were a candidate for the ultimate cheater's conference: UNC, Miami, FSU, BC, etc.

 

[8893]

Expansion winner: Randy Edsall. Hate to admit it, but he looks pretty damned smart right now.

 

[UConnJim]

Expansion winner: Randy Edsall. Hate to admit it, but he looks pretty damned smart right now.

Randy will never coach a game in the Big 1G.

 

[noeynox]

Randy will never coach a game in the Big 1G.

I thought about him today. Same thing, too "he had incredible foresight" then I said, "pfft, he'll never coach a game there".

 

[pinotbear]

Y'know, as I'm watching through How I Met Your Mother reruns on Netflix, it occurs to me they wrote an episode that they could have entitled "This Exact Situation".

We're on the ACC's hook.

or, more concisely, ..

 

[businesslawyer]

It's actually stunning, but in the entire country, we've actually managed to top the list when it comes to losing the expansion game.

We were a hoop school when football mattered. We were in the wrong place when region matter. We were in the right place when region didn't matter. We were academically-superior when academics didn't matter. We were BC's enemy when BC's opinion mattered and BC's friend when BC's opinion didn't matter. We're close enough to Boston to make us too far from New York City and close enough to New York City to make Boston too far away. We went to a BCS game and somehow suffered more slings and arrows than the other seven conference schools that could not beat us out to get to that game.

And finally, when our last best chance to get to where we had to be came up, we somehow managed to end up against a commuter school that had slapped just enough cheap perfume on itself to pass as a growing football power at a time when the ACC is feeling a mite peculiar about its football abilities.

It was the ultimate trick shot and somehow we pulled it off.

The academic year before last one -- a period ending a mere 18 months ago -- in one season we:

1. Shared a Big East championship and went to the Fiesta Bowl.

2. Won our third mens NCAA basketball championship in 13 seasons, and on the way there did something no one else will ever do again -- win 4 games in 4 days all against ranked teams.

3. Became the first Northeast or Rust Bowl baseball team in practically forever to win a baseball regional and come within an unfortunate draw (defending and about to repeat NCAA champ USCE) from a College World Series.


4. Made a Final Four in chicks hoops.

That was in one academic year. The season before last. And here we are where, over a 9 year period, the number of schools playing in power conferences has increased by 2 and we are the one and only school to be downgraded.

Sometimes, I think my whole office is going to walk in at once, see me wanting to cry and yell "April's fools -- you couldn't believe this was happening for real, could you?"

 

[TouchdownHusky]

It's actually stunning, but in the entire country, we've actually managed to top the list when it comes to losing the expansion game.

We were a hoop school when football mattered. We were in the wrong place when region matter. We were in the right place when region didn't matter. We were academically-superior when academics didn't matter. We were BC's enemy when BC's opinion mattered and BC's friend when BC's opinion didn't matter. We're close enough to Boston to make us too far from New York City and close enough to New York City to make Boston too far away. We went to a BCS game and somehow suffered more slings and arrows than the other seven conference schools that could not beat us out to get to that game.

And finally, when our last best chance to get to where we had to be came up, we somehow managed to end up against a commuter school that had slapped just enough cheap perfume on itself to pass as a growing football power at a time when the ACC is feeling a mite peculiar about its football abilities.

It was the ultimate trick shot and somehow we pulled it off.

Great post. Well put. And, sadly, so very true.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

The academic year before last one -- a period ending a mere 18 months ago -- in one season we:

1. Shared a Big East championship and went to the Fiesta Bowl.

2. Won our third mens NCAA basketball championship in 13 seasons, and on the way there did something no one else will ever do again -- win 4 games in 4 days all against ranked teams.

3. Became the first Northeast or Rust Bowl baseball team in practically forever to win a baseball regional and come within an unfortunate draw (defending and about to repeat NCAA champ USCE) from a College World Series.


4. Made a Final Four in chicks hoops.

That was in one academic year. The season before last. And here we are where, over a 9 year period, the number of schools playing in power conferences has increased by 2 and we are the one and only school to be downgraded

Nice post, Biz. Correct and all to stunning.

 

[jdb50]

When it comes to UConn facts don't matter. There is something else going on.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The academic year before last one -- a period ending a mere 18 months ago -- in one season we:

1. Shared a Big East championship and went to the Fiesta Bowl.

2. Won our third mens NCAA basketball championship in 13 seasons, and on the way there did something no one else will ever do again -- win 4 games in 4 days all against ranked teams.

3. Became the first Northeast or Rust Bowl baseball team in practically forever to win a baseball regional and come within an unfortunate draw (defending and about to repeat NCAA champ USCE) from a College World Series.


4. Made a Final Four in chicks hoops.

That was in one academic year. The season before last. And here we are where, over a 9 year period, the number of schools playing in power conferences has increased by 2 and we are the one and only school to be downgraded.

Sometimes, I think my whole office is going to walk in at once, see me wanting to cry and yell "April's fools -- you couldn't believe this was happening for real, could you?"

I feel the same. The question is why? Did JC's abrasive recruiting approach and combative personality tarnish us (I meet many people who view him much like Bobby Knight)? Geno blowing out everyone by 40 rub them the wrong way? Do the southerns just hate that we are New England Yankees (the do in my view)? Are most watchers of the college athletics scene just blissfully unaware of points 1-4 (they certainly discount that Fiesta bowl)? Do they think we're cheaters and somehow unsavory (laptopgate, APR, Nate Miles, Rudy Gay recruiting, academic suspensions)? It is clear that they view you articulated is not shared outside the UConn community.

 

[Lefty2one]

I still can't believe that Rutgers is in the Big 10 and we aren't.

 

[BugsyCT]

The perfect storm of misfortune and incompetence when it mattered most.

 

[businesslawyer]

I feel the same. The question is why? Did JC's abrasive recruiting approach and combative personality tarnish us (I meet many people who view him much like Bobby Knight)? Geno blowing out everyone by 40 rub them the wrong way? Do the southerns just hate that we are New England Yankees (the do in my view)? Are most watchers of the college athletics scene just blissfully unaware of points 1-4 (they certainly discount that Fiesta bowl)? Do they think we're cheaters and somehow unsavory (laptopgate, APR, Nate Miles, Rudy Gay recruiting, academic suspensions)? It is clear that they view you articulated is not shared outside the UConn community.

But please be cleaer -- I didn't put forth a "view." I just stated a set of facts. The "view", which I firmly believe, is that you can argue that very few schools have ever had a year like we had in '10-'11.

I don't pretend to know the reason for this. But, with hindsight being 20/20, there seems to be little doubt that we allowed our accomplishments to speak for themselves in a world (thank you Fox News) where facts are treated as no more than a starting point for an argument over the internet.

 

[Gurleyman]

That year is when our poor leadership really hurt. Our football coach hopped the first train out, we made a poor choice to replace him, we pissed off our top donor, we tried to deal with the APR problems too late, we were forced to make the AD change, and on and on. These were all fires we were putting out instead of building on that massive success with Rentschler expansion, a basketball practice facility, new baseball stadium, etc.

In 1995, the university built on its unparalleled success with UConn 2000. This time, we went rapidly backwards.

 

[UConn990411]

The academic year before last one -- a period ending a mere 18 months ago -- in one season we:

1. Shared a Big East championship and went to the Fiesta Bowl.

2. Won our third mens NCAA basketball championship in 13 seasons, and on the way there did something no one else will ever do again -- win 4 games in 4 days all against ranked teams.

3. Became the first Northeast or Rust Bowl baseball team in practically forever to win a baseball regional and come within an unfortunate draw (defending and about to repeat NCAA champ USCE) from a College World Series.

4. Made a Final Four in chicks hoops.

To add to that: field hockey went to a Final Four last year, soccer has received #1 seeds the past two seasons (and is on the brink of going to the College Cup), and the hockey team just upgraded and will join Hockey East.

One of the factors that supposedly helped Louisville is the overall success of their athletic department, yet UConn can go toe-to-toe with them in that regard.

When you factor in UConn's significantly larger market and even academics, this should have been an easy sell. UConn's leaders duck*ed up in a way I never thought possible.