Former UConn Player Sounds Off

[MattMang23]

Anyone ever notice that the people who have criticized P's firing locally have all included the phrase "high school ____________" in their arguments about why he shouldn't have been let go?

Like, "he was great with the high school coaches", "he always talked football and kept the door open for the high school coaches", "I am a high school athletic director and I don't understand why he was fired."

Hell, even P in his exit interview talked about his love affair with the high school coaches when he said "I loved the high school coaches, I believe in Connecticut football and wanted to create an atmosphere at UConn where the Connecticut high school coaches knew that we were going to take their kids and take care of them."

Coach P and his supporters just sound so damn small-time. They sound like they're more interested in high school football in Connecticut than the good of the UConn program. I'm so sick of Connecticut high school football coaches. Nothing says small-time like kowtowing to people who have absolutely nothing to do with your university.

 

[uconndogs]

There are wonderful high school coaches. Coaches that coach for the right reason and positively impact kid's lives.......and there are high school coaches that have their egos so firmly meshed into what they do to even begin to realize what their responsibilities really should be.

 

[Carl Spackler]

If I'm not mistaken, this Iovino would have a been a teammate of George Deleone.

 

[ZooCougar]

That's why you're a high school AD Vinny.

 

[freescooter]

Just so you know, I'm not Vin...he was quite a bit ahead of me at UConn. Can't say he doesn't have some legitimate points, though. The current logo and the current helmets ARE awful, a point I really think most people agree with now that they've actually seen them, and the University did in fact throw away 20+ years of brand value, not to mention 75 years of tradition in replacing the old one with a piece of crap that looks like it was downloaded from freeclipart.com and colorized by an orangutan with a slight case of the shakes. I generally agree with his rather jaundiced view of Manuel, though for different reasons. On the other hand, Pasqualoni was just the wrong guy for the job. Bad match from day 1. There was nothing to be gained for anyone by keeping him and his firing was handled with about as much class as could be expected. For how not to do it, see USC. For what its worth, I didn't think he should have been kept on this year, so Vin and I are on different pages there too.

 

[ruskin]

Guys - do a little research on Vin Iovino. Old guard of CT High School Coaches Association.

http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Danbury-s-Iovino-retiring-from-New-Canaan-AD-post-44330.php

http://articles.courant.com/2002-09...ol-coaches-coaching-fraternity-football-coach

Still involved in high school sports - he's just a friend supporting a friend.

It is mind-boggling that Vinnie I. and his CT HS coaches cronies who you would think are striving for a commitment to excellence at their level expect UConn to settle for something far less at its level so they can hobnob with one of their pals. Mind-boggling.

 

[DCUconnfan]

When Vin was in high school, he had to walk to school through two feet of snow, even in summer.

And get off his lawn, you lousy kids.

It's been comparatively slow as far as news and info go today, and since this literally made me laugh @ the office, I'm nominating it for post of the day.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I'm actually 80% sure this is weyuo...................

 

[huskymedic]

It is mind-boggling that Vinnie I. and his CT HS coaches cronies who you would think are striving for a commitment to excellence at their level expect UConn to settle for something far less at its level so they can hobnob with one of their pals. Mind-boggling.

Remember, the old school NJ and NY Football coaches also wrote letters of support for PP. This is old school generational loyalty... something that is dying (right, wrong or indifferent). This is my dad's mindset and I'm 53.

VI is FCIAC Board (or used to be). He retired as New Canaan's AD 9 years ago.

 

[WestHartHusk]

If this guy liked watching PP's teams so much that he won't watch a TJW team then i can only mention what kind of contraptions he has in his basement.

 

[HuskyHawk]

weren't most on this board rallying with pitchforks for WM to be fired a week ago? Scroll down the posts - he should be fired, he's part of a conspiracy, etc.

But they called for Warde to be fired for refusing to fire PP. This guy wants him fired for what was his best 48 hours as an AD (including the presser).

UConn was 1AA in my day, and that was fine. It was old time "pure" college football. So a few thousand went to games, and nobody travelled anywhere but the Yale bowl (and then never left the parking lot). UConn has grown beyond that. It's not a sleepy little university in the boonies of CT that nobody has ever heard of. Basketball and now academics, put us on the national map. We're in a new ballgame, and it is rougher, uglier and less civil. PP may have been a nice guy and was once a decent college coach, but he's from a prior era and wasn't able to succeed in this one. I didn't see anything classless about the way he was let go. If there is an opening in the Patriot league, he'd be a great choice.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Guys like these, first of all, make me feel young, and second of all, are from an era in intercollegiate athletics when the ECAC was a much larger, broader, and more important organization than the NCAA.

 

[UCDaveD]

Hey Vin,

 

[jackl]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...7YC4CQ&usg=AFQjCNFpP4c7tbA9OIVBS4pWOrt5FmfRAw

I was just goggling GDL to get an idea of how he meshed at UCONN with Mr. Iovino and found this FauxGDL facebook. Who the hell has time to do this? Some funny reading. Iovino graduated in 68 and GDL in 70.

 

[FDNY99]

If I'm not mistaken, this Iovino would have a been a teammate of George Deleone.

Yeah..he must have, the " support of a teamate" line gives that away. Anybody put up a comment? I did, hopefully it gets posted?

 

[junglehusky]

The guy spelled his own name incorrectly. He forgot to use initial caps on his surname.

Iovino? not Lovino? Sans serif font makes "I" look like "l"

 

[hthusky74]

http://blog.ctnews.com/uconnfootball/2013/10/03/former-uconn-player-sounds-off-on-coach-firing/

Is this guy serious? He wants Manuel to be be held accountable for the failure of PP. In addition to this, he is personally blaming Manuel for the re-branding that the university did. This guy clearly wants UConn to be small time Yankee Conference.

I don't know who was responsible for the re-branding, but I hope his/her head(s) rolls sometime soon.

 

[Srqhusky]

Could we have found huskyfan dan or his grand pappy

 

[FDNY99]

as far as rebranding...I would bet that Pasqualoni had as much input as Edsall did when the last rebranding was done. If he wanted a 3rd uniform with the husky helmet he would have got that. If he wanted his regular helmet to say UCONN across the side of the helmet, he would have got that.

 

[SubbaBub]

When I opened this thread, I expected to hear the perspective of someone who knew something about the program under P. Would it be possible to limit the term "former player" to people who were capable of playing at our current level of FB?

Listening to these small time breakfast club CT HS football coaches is getting old. We understand your employment is aided by getting tips and scholarship attention from the staff at Local U, but give it a rest please.

 

[NavinRJohnson]

Nice letter Vin.

 

[jdb50]

Throwing the line about "being better off in the Yankee Conference" into the end of that letter wiped clean everthing else he said. Someone may want to look into taking away this guys keys. There was nothing classless about the firing of PP. He and his sidekick had coached 4 games too long and it was time to end the embarrassment.

 

[mattp]

The article should have been titled "Crotchety Old Man Complains About Change."

I thought we were going to hear from Darius Butler, or Alfred Fincher, not some guy that played when we were the Connecticut School of Agriculture and Connecticut was still a British colony.

 

[Alum86]

weren't most on this board rallying with pitchforks for WM to be fired a week ago? Scroll down the posts - he should be fired, he's part of a conspiracy, etc.

I still think he's a doofus (RSWM). Yeah, I want him gone too. Late to the party to hire Kev and partying in USVI during CR. Firing Dracula was a no brainer and he gets no kudos for this.
He should be on probation at least with the 'Yard.....

 

[weyuo]

I thought it was weyuo,

Hey be nice. I'm not or never have been a high school football coach...oh wait..I did coach a couple pee wee flag football games when I was a senior in high school. It's pretty obvious now that it just wasn't going to work with Coach P. Can't understand why the guy would jump on Manuel for it, he really had to pull the plug or the Rent would be completely empty by Halloween. But the guy did make one point I agree with.... the new helmets are cartoonish.

I told you guys I supported the program and whatever coaching staff came with it. Said it at least a half dozen times here. That included Coach P. Now he's gone and I'll support Weist while he's here. Then I'll support whoever the next guy is that takes the reigns. I've been following UConn sports since the 70's and wish only the best. Now if they can just get a dozen guys in here that can block.....