FCS Games Added to Future Schedule

[CTBballfan243]

These games used to be filler. Soon to become the heart of the schedule.

Those are just home games. As an Independent Uconn will play the majority of the P5 level opponents on the road. That's how athletic department will make some money. Could end up making some decent money.

 

[UConnRock]

Seems like a good start:

Those November P5 dates like BC in 2022 and 2023 are like gold. Keeps early season dates open for other P5 money games. Bennedict's goal should be to get into the rotation of SEC OOC games as they break from their conference schedules in late Oct and November for an OOC game. UMass has cashed in by going to Georgia, Miss St. and South Carolina recently.

 

[blue93]

My concern is that Indy move is a precursor to eventually moving to FCS.....scheduling FCS games out to 2025 is either neutral or supportive of the concern.

I hear you but there was a 1000% chance we were scheduling an FCS game in 2025 anyway. I'd be more concerned if it wasn't the first on the schedule.

 

[Guapo]

Those November P5 dates like BC in 2022 and 2023 are like gold. Keeps early season dates open for other P5 money games. Bennedict's goal should be to get into the rotation of SEC OOC games as they break from their conference schedules in late Oct and November for an OOC game. UMass has cashed in by going to Georgia, Miss St. and South Carolina recently.

That Miss State game was, unbelievably, a 2 for 1!

 

[Guapo]

Everything but the FCS was on the schedule before... Only 17 more dates to fill! LOL

I’ll take two home games against ACC schools and a bunch of FCS if that means never playing another AAC school again.

Honestly playing CCSU and Lafayette is more interesting to me than Tulsa and ECU

 

[FroginCT]

Those November P5 dates like BC in 2022 and 2023 are like gold. Keeps early season dates open for other P5 money games. Bennedict's goal should be to get into the rotation of SEC OOC games as they break from their conference schedules in late Oct and November for an OOC game. UMass has cashed in by going to Georgia, Miss St. and South Carolina recently.

This. SEC schools like that FCS / low FBS game before their big rivalry games late in the year. UConn should look to get into the rotation for Nov SEC games. Need to fill the schedule anyway.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

As if we wouldn’t be playing an FBS game every year...

 

[ZooCougar]

Those are just home games. As an Independent Uconn will play the majority of the P5 level opponents on the road. That's how athletic department will make some money. Could end up making some decent money.

That’s not a feature it’s a quirk.

 

[Redding Husky]

"UConn will host Central Connecticut at Rentschler Field in East Hartford on Sept. 3, 2022 and then again three seasons later on Aug. 30, 2025"

"The Lafayette Leopards will travel to East Hartford to take on UConn on Sept. 9, 2023 and Sept. 5, 2026."

WestConn must have been busy.

 

[LBird33]

Seeing Lafayette mentioned, wonder if long-term UConn is planning to try to become first state university in Patriot League. Our leaders could try to sell it we can play two Ivy League FB teams each year. Oh boy! Colonial may be too challenging under the new plan for football. OR WE COULD CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR FOOTBALL RELEVANCY NOW.

Didn’t we reject a NJ Diaco recruit who ended up a Lafayette? Now he can get his vengeance LoL!

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Redding Husky]

Those are just home games. As an Independent Uconn will play the majority of the P5 level opponents on the road. That's how athletic department will make some money. Could end up making some decent money.

Great. Losing at Kentucky, 72-10.

Fun.

 

[BugsyCT]

Now people are just looking for reasons to be more unhappy than they were yesterday. One of these games per year is perfectly normal and indicates nothing. Alabama has UT-Martin on its schedule for next season. Does that mean the Tide have given up on playing big time football?

What can you expect? This board is toxic. We schedule Clemson, they complain. We schedule CCSU & Lafayette, they complain. Par for the course.

I'm good with the CCSU scheduling - at least it'll generate local interest.

 

[UConnNick]

We were going to add schools like this anyway once or twice a year, why jump off a cliff based on this news?
Do we already have 2 or 3 FCS games on our schedule these years?

Beggars can't be choosers in FBS Independent scheduling. We also should have New Hampshire and Maine on speed dial. I know we have games scheduled with them already, but we need more.

The NBE schools with FCS football, Villanova, et al. should also be willing to schedule us.

I wonder what changed with the NBE? Two years ago, I saw Val Ackerman interviewed and she was very reserved about the idea of us joining the NBE. She seemed totally against us unless, as she said, we do "something about football." Something meant we drop to FCS or give it up altogether.

Her point obviously was she didn't want to add a school that was still chasing a P5 dream. Something has happened in the last two years to change her mind.

The other headscratcher is Benedict's efforts to make peace with Aresco and get us back in the AAC for football. If Benedict was honest with Ackerman and told her this some time back, or at least in advance of last week, then why is Ackerman still OK with us attempting to continue seeking a P5 invite? None of this thing makes any sense at all. She must think the $30 million buyout is pretty foolproof insurance, but she's a savvy businsswoman and must know a P5 invite within our first six seasons will send us running, not walking out the NBE door, $30 mil buyout notwithstanding.

 

[UConnRock]

Beggars can't be choosers in FBS Independent scheduling. We also should have New Hampshire and Maine on speed dial. I know we have games scheduled with them already, but we need more.

The NBE schools with FCS football, Villanova, et al. should also be willing to schedule us.

I wonder what changed with the NBE? Two years ago, I saw Val Ackerman interviewed and she was very reserved about the idea of us joining the NBE. She seemed totally against us unless, as she said, we do "something about football." Something meant we drop to FCS or give it up altogether.

Her point obviously was she didn't want to add a school that was still chasing a P5 dream. Something has happened in the last two years to change her mind.

The other headscratcher is Benedict's efforts to make peace with Aresco and get us back in the AAC for football. If Benedict was honest with Ackerman and told her this some time back, or at least in advance of last week, then why is Ackerman still OK with us attempting to continue seeking a P5 invite? None of this thing makes any sense at all. She must think the $30 million buyout is pretty foolproof insurance, but she's a savvy businsswoman and must know a P5 invite within our first six seasons will send us running, not walking out the NBE door, $30 mil buyout notwithstanding.

Hurley is what changed. Ollie wasn’t moving the local recruiting needle and UConn was not on a meaningful path toward success. Hurley came in and UConn’s trajectory changed. The NBE folks and Fox are very basketball savvy and protective of their regional hoops market. Hurley, and the highly ranked recruiting class made it obvious to NBE/FOX that UConn was going to drain viewers and interest from the NBE.

 

[TRest]

Beggars can't be choosers in FBS Independent scheduling. We also should have New Hampshire and Maine on speed dial. I know we have games scheduled with them already, but we need more.

The NBE schools with FCS football, Villanova, et al. should also be willing to schedule us.

I wonder what changed with the NBE? Two years ago, I saw Val Ackerman interviewed and she was very reserved about the idea of us joining the NBE. She seemed totally against us unless, as she said, we do "something about football." Something meant we drop to FCS or give it up altogether.

Her point obviously was she didn't want to add a school that was still chasing a P5 dream. Something has happened in the last two years to change her mind.

The other headscratcher is Benedict's efforts to make peace with Aresco and get us back in the AAC for football. If Benedict was honest with Ackerman and told her this some time back, or at least in advance of last week, then why is Ackerman still OK with us attempting to continue seeking a P5 invite? None of this thing makes any sense at all. She must think the $30 million buyout is pretty foolproof insurance, but she's a savvy businsswoman and must know a P5 invite within our first six seasons will send us running, not walking out the NBE door, $30 mil buyout notwithstanding.

Because she is betting the football program will fold after a few years of playing as an independent.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Great. Losing at Kentucky, 72-10.

Fun.

Would you rather be losing to ECU by 30?

 

[Austin316]

Been waiting for this for a while. Great news for CCSU fans! Looking forward to these games.

Same!! This is great for CCSU!!

 

[CTBballfan243]

Great. Losing at Kentucky, 72-10.

Fun.

Hey, if the Washington Generals have made work for all these years then so can UConn.

 

[CallMeBruce]

The issue with this is that wins against FCS teams don't count for bowl eligibility. Yes, I get that the idea of a bowl game is a far cry from the current state of the program. However, playing 2 FCS teams means UConn must go 6-4 in the other 10 games, just to technically be bowl eligible. And 6-4 as an independent only gets to a bowl if there aren't enough other teams above 0.500. So, more likely UConn needs to go be 8-2 in the remaining 10 games. The bar just got higher to get to a bowl.

Edited to add: I am assuming there is another FCS game coming, as there is no need to schedule FCS this far out.

You're wrong about the first part (one FCS win can count), and likely about the second part. Stop making things up.

 

[FroginCT]

You're wrong about the first part (one FCS win can count), and likely about the second part. Stop making things up.

No more than one win against an FCS team may count toward that win total, and only if the FCS team has awarded at least 90% of the scholarships that FCS rules allowed it to award over the last two years. ...

Key word is "can".

Scheduling FCS teams is not a great way to enhance a resume when you have no conference bowl tie-in.

A 7-5 Uconn with a FCS win is not getting in over 6-6 Minnesota. FCS wins aren't helpful when trying to distinguish yourself.