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Football Options

Horatio said:
Our football program could play in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MSCAC) with Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, Westfield State, etc. They would struggle for a couple years but they’d be the kings of that conference in three years.
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You're lucky people here didn't take your UConn to D3 post seriously.
 
C'mon people, are we a P5 level school or are we the dregs of the G5???? We will get opponents and I bet even a bowl tie in or two. If we ever get in the playoff conversation, it will mean we have gone undefeated/top 5 for multiple years. We will get a P5 invite before that happens. Maybe we take it or maybe we just decide to roll with it like Notre Dame.
 
Point6 said:
C'mon people, are we a P5 level school or are we the dregs of the G5???? We will get opponents and I bet even a bowl tie in or two. If we ever get in the playoff conversation, it will mean we have gone undefeated/top 5 for multiple years. We will get a P5 invite before that happens. Maybe we take it or maybe we just decide to roll with it like Notre Dame.
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Point6 said:
C'mon people, are we a P5 level school or are we the dregs of the G5???? We will get opponents and I bet even a bowl tie in or two. If we ever get in the playoff conversation, it will mean we have gone undefeated/top 5 for multiple years. We will get a P5 invite before that happens. Maybe we take it or maybe we just decide to roll with it like Notre Dame.
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And then you woke up...
 
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Portico said:
Uconn will not be able to play in Bowl games without a conference unless they can get a Bowl to do an independent tie in for them.
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In recent years they let sub .500 teams play because there were not enough bowl eligible teams. Win and that won’t be a problem.
 
Can Indiana, Illinois, Clemson, etc. walk away from these games if and when we leave the AAC?
 
tzznandrew said:
They're aren't entirely killing football, one way or another. So until we know what is happening with football, we can't entirely assess this move.

1) Complete Kill --> already been said not an option.
2) Back to FCS --> highly unlikely
3) Independent --> we've kicked this around, and if this is the case we're in trouble football-wise
4) MAC --> if they let us in, I guess that can work, though they'd have to take another team (UMass?) to make it even. Not a great crop of opponents, but more winnable games and less travel. Pretty much the same history as with AAC. Maybe they can get wins and turn this around.
5) AAC --> has been nixed. UConn basketball is valuable enough, though, that I wonder if we couldn't negotiate playing some of these teams in basketball a certain number of games a year (4?) in an effort to stay in the league? Probably not an option, but just kicking it around. Obviously a very good football conference and the best of the option on the table. Would also mean they could just target a basketball only.

Where do we land?
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Completely kill is “not an option”, but it is where things will end up. It’s the only logical conclusion, as the program will lose more money than it does currently once we exercise any of the other so-called options.
 
The AAC is delusional, not UConn.

The AAC thinks BYU might join on the same terms as other schools? The new media deal will cut their revenue by a factor of 3 and decrease visibility, and the extra travel will increase expenses. They they will have to pay $10 million and give 27 months notice to leave. No way BYU would consent to that. "They had too many demands and wanted to be treated differently on TV rights than other members” -- yeah, guess what, you've lost both UConn and BYU by not giving that deal.

Army would be a coup for the AAC, we'll see if they can get it. "It’s quite possible neither school wants to join" -- Army previously decided that competing in a major conference is incompatible with its military mission.

Beyond Army, every alternative is inferior to UConn. If the AAC is smart, if they fail to get Army they should come beg for UConn as football only.
 
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pj said:
The AAC is delusional, not UConn.

The AAC thinks BYU might join on the same terms as other schools? The new media deal will cut their revenue by a factor of 3 and decrease visibility, and the extra travel will increase expenses. They they will have to pay $10 million and give 27 months notice to leave. No way BYU would consent to that. "They had too many demands and wanted to be treated differently on TV rights than other members” -- yeah, guess what, you've lost both UConn and BYU by not giving that deal.

Army would be a coup for the AAC, we'll see if they can get it. "It’s quite possible neither school wants to join" -- Army previously decided that competing in a major conference is incompatible with its military mission.

Beyond Army, every alternative is inferior to UConn. If the AAC is smart, if they fail to get Army they should come beg for UConn as football only.
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They'll just stay with 11 when they can't get Army/Boise/BYU
 
Point6 said:
C'mon people, are we a P5 level school or are we the dregs of the G5????
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no, we aren't a P5 level school for football. never were, never could, never will be.

but we can actually claim to be in a P6 basketball conference now. trying to say that with a straight face in the AAC, aka the G5 dregs, was embarrassing.
 
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Lets’s turn this around and start from the premise that we are independent today with:

(1) our own regional TV network in SNY that buys and guarantees coverage of all games not on a national feed (i.e. no $10/month streaming-only games);

(2) the ability to creatively design our full schedule using MBB and WBB tie-ins, 2-for-1s, etc., to obtain payouts from other programs and bring 1 or 2 big names to the Rent annually (while also scheduling lesser teams that help generate Ws as we rebuild);

(3) the opportunity to schedule home games when we want to schedule them (as opposed to when ESPNU tells us to schedule them).

How much would the AAC need to offer us to give all that up and sign on the dotted line to join the league in football? A lot! Certainly more than they are in a position to offer given the AAC’s garbage ESPN contract.

Having SNY, our national brand in MBB and WBB, and close proximity to northeast NFL stadiums (plus Yankee Stadium, etc.) gives us a lot of different levers to pull as an independent that the average school in a non-P5 conference could only dream about. If we can use them wisely, UConn can generate a lot more value (and fan interest) as a football independent than in the AAC or MAC.
 
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pj said:
Probably.
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Only thing that could screw it up would be if the NCAA didn't let them do a CCG without the round robin. 10/12 games being conference games could be a problem, especially considering every school in the AAC has years where they're over 2 OOC already scheduled.
 
VAHuskyFan said:
How much would the AAC need to offer us to give all that up and sign on the dotted line to join the league in football? A lot! Certainly more than they are in a position to offer given the AAC’s garbage ESPN contract.

Having SNY, the UConn national brand in MBB and WBB, and close proximity to northeast NFL stadiums gives us a lot of different levers to pull as an independent that the average school in a non-P5 conference could only dream about. If we can use them wisely, UConn can generate a lot more value (and fan interest) as a football independent than in the AAC or MAC.
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I like this.

Frankly, UConn football is too expensive for the American.

That being said, I do appreciate all of UConns efforts made toward the AAC's crappy media deal to this point. A lot of sweat equity was put in and I'm grateful to those guys who bled on the field.

Now that UConn wants to part ways and strike a better deal, I'm 100% supportive.
 
pj said:
The AAC is delusional, not UConn.

The AAC thinks BYU might join on the same terms as other schools? The new media deal will cut their revenue by a factor of 3 and decrease visibility, and the extra travel will increase expenses. They they will have to pay $10 million and give 27 months notice to leave. No way BYU would consent to that. "They had too many demands and wanted to be treated differently on TV rights than other members” -- yeah, guess what, you've lost both UConn and BYU by not giving that deal.

Army would be a coup for the AAC, we'll see if they can get it. "It’s quite possible neither school wants to join" -- Army previously decided that competing in a major conference is incompatible with its military mission.

Beyond Army, every alternative is inferior to UConn. If the AAC is smart, if they fail to get Army they should come beg for UConn as football only.
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god i hope they add army. that is legitimately brain dead.

army would be so bad in the aac they would miss uconn
 
Drew said:
No but you'll almost definitely see UMass Liberty Army and New Mexico State as default "conference" opponents on an annual basis beginning in 2-3 years given they all need 12 games annually too.

BYU came here on a H/H when we were in the AAC. I could see them doing that again- they signed a 4 game deal with UMass 2 in Provo 2 in MA. If they want to play an east coast game every year they can alternate UConn and UMass.

ND probably will never play us again given the history and their quasi ACC association.

The FCS games will be a rotation of local schools like Villanova, Rhode Island, etc.

Now that were Independent, I'd love us to play Yale a few times. I don't think a win vs them counts towards bowl eligibility for us but given that we don't have any bowl tie-ins anymore that doesn't matter anyways.

I'd love it if they could convince Delaware or URI any of the other teams to upgrade but thats got a 0.0001% chance of happening.
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Brings a whole new meaning to the expression “Give me Liberty or give me death”.

UConn will be known as a trend setting school. Football sacrificed for basketball. UConn going religious as the country goes secular.
 
whaler11 said:
army would be so bad in the aac they would miss uconn
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They're going to miss UConn regardless.

Sooner or later Cincy, Houston, SMU, USF, UCF, Navy will approach UConn, BYU, Air Force, Colorado State, etc about forming a football only conference and getting out from under Aresco's stupid deals.
 
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bendm said:
no, we aren't a P5 level school for football. never were, never could, never will be.

but we can actually claim to be in a P6 basketball conference now. trying to say that with a straight face in the AAC, aka the G5 dregs, was embarrassing.
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Crazy - I remember UConn beating P5 schools. I must be confused.

When AOL started handing out disks that let even the dumbest people on the planet get online, I knew this site was going to suffer for it.
 
Fishy said:
Crazy - I remember UConn beating P5 schools. I must be confused.

When AOL started handing out disks that let even the dumbest people on the planet get online, I knew this site was going to suffer for it.
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To be fair, I think it's a bit more nuanced than "we played and beat West Virginia, once."

UConn, and it's fan base, never behaved or cared (as a collective, obviously I know there are die hard UConn football fans out there and I feel bad for them) as a power conference football school.

It's more than just wins and loses, it's culture.

Honestly, this isn't an insult to UConn fans. There's a lot about college football culture that is bad a toxic.

We do behave and care like a power college basketball school.
 
bendm said:
no, we aren't a P5 level school for football. never were, never could, never will be.

but we can actually claim to be in a P6 basketball conference now. trying to say that with a straight face in the AAC, aka the G5 dregs, was embarrassing.
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VAHuskyFan said:
As a Temple fan, I wanted to say a few things because frankly I know what bad football looks like prior to Al Golden. I honestly think UConn will not have a football program in 5 years. Independence does not work unless you have something to sell. ND (tradition/history), Liberty/BYU (religious affiliation), Service Acad. (Army). UConn football doesn't have any off that to go on to get thru the rough part of starting out as an independent. The only reason Temple has a football program is because the university committed to football and got a life line in MAC membership. Remove the conference affiliation from the equation and Al Golden would have failed too and also probably would have never taken the Temple job back in 2006. UConn is in the same boat right now, no commitment to football (besides lip service at this point "we will figure it out", no bowls, no TV contract. That is hard to sell for a school in desperate need of an influx in talent.
Lets’s turn this around and start from the premise that we are independent today with:

(1) our own regional TV network in SNY that buys and guarantees coverage off all games not on a national feed (i.e. no $10/month streaming-only games); Ok, so this applies to 5-6 home games a year vs most likely and FCS opponent, Umass/NMst alternating years, maybe Liberty, MAC/C-USA school. The assumption that UConn will be able to schedule a P5 opponents at home as an independent (and a not good independent) will certainly not cause SNY to throw money at UConn. They run a business and will buy cheap

(2) the ability to creatively design our full schedule using MBB and WBB tie-ins, 2-for-1s, etc., to obtain payouts from other programs and bring 1 or 2 big names to the Rent annually (while also scheduling lesser teams that help generate Ws as we rebuild); No way UConn can get 1 to 2 big names a year to CT. 1st, the big payouts only come on the 1 and done deals where you play at the big name school. 2nd, UConn has the big disadvantage of being in a cold weather area for Oct. Nov. No big name school is traveling to UConn outside of Sept for a road game. NM St and Umass have a combined 3 home games vs P5 opponents scheduled. One is BC playing in Foxboro, which will be a BC home game basically. Liberty has actually been successful at scheduling P5 home games, but they only have 2 in the next 6 years and then 1 a year from 2025-2028 (still lots of scheduling to do of course.) Using basketball as an incentive works until you realize that most conference are adding more league games and there are less opportunities for OOC games each year. Also, the trend of P5s scheduling more neutral/home site games is a big issue as well. So in theory, UConn would probably have to travel on the road more in basketball to make this a reality, and that means less homes games/marquee home opponents for Uconn too.

(3) the opportunity to schedule home games when we want to schedule them (as opposed to when ESPNU tells us to schedule them). Sounds like a "win".

How much would the AAC need to offer us to give all that up and sign on the dotted line to join the league in football? A lot! Certainly more than they are in a position to offer given the AAC’s garbage ESPN contract. I am not sure you are grasping how this all works. Without UConn basketball, UConn football is basically Umass football at this point (probably worse). UConn stood to make $7M in media, and $2-3M in CFP and bowl money annually, and some money from NCAA credits staying in the AAC. The math is fuzzy regarding how UConn will be better off in the BE and still playing football as an independent or even FCS(still expensive).

Having SNY, our national brand in MBB and WBB, and close proximity to northeast NFL stadiums (plus Yankee Stadium, etc.) gives us a lot of different levers to pull as an independent that the average school in a non-P5 conference could only dream about. If we can use them wisely, UConn can generate a lot more value (and fan interest) as a football independent than in the AAC or MAC.

Just some thoughts from a Temple fan that has been there before. I always enjoyed my trips to the Rent the last 10+ years. I don't see Temple playing UConn for a very long time in either bball or FB after the split happens unfortunately.
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Guapo said:
To be fair, I think it's a bit more nuanced than "we played and beat West Virginia, once."

UConn, and it's fan base, never behaved or cared (as a collective, obviously I know there are die hard UConn football fans out there and I feel bad for them) as a power conference football school.

It's more than just wins and loses, it's culture.

Honestly, this isn't an insult to UConn fans. There's a lot about college football culture that is bad a toxic.

We do behave and care like a power college basketball school.
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Based on what? We filled a 40k seat stadium, made a heck of a lot of noise and intimidated opponents. Given the overall quality and location of the five bowls we played in, we did fine bringing people. Yes, the Fiesta Bowl didn't work well but that was for a whole host of reasons. We brought more people than organizers hoped for to crappy places like Detroit and Charlotte and Toronto (I know -- Toronto is not a crappy place, or anything near it, but for college football in January ....). We were nowhere near being Michigan or Alabama. But we were absolutely at a comfortable level within the power conferences as a whole. But not shockingly, we couldn't sustain it when we got thrown out. I'd like to see UVA or Illinois or Oregon State try it.
 
Guapo said:
To be fair, I think it's a bit more nuanced than "we played and beat West Virginia, once."

UConn, and it's fan base, never behaved or cared (as a collective, obviously I know there are die hard UConn football fans out there and I feel bad for them) as a power conference football school.

It's more than just wins and loses, it's culture.

Honestly, this isn't an insult to UConn fans. There's a lot about college football culture that is bad a toxic.

We do behave and care like a power college basketball school.
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The momentum was just beginning to develop for football when the bottom dropped out. A few more years of success after the BCS bid and the conversation would be different now.

We’ve had three bad men’s bb seasons and look what has happened to attendance.

The one thing that hurts the region for football is the lack of football programs at the youth level in NY and New England. But people in those regions love watching the sport every bit as much as elsewhere in the country. They just needed the product to be better than what has happened these past six years.
 
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