Fox Sports: UConn football heads toward independence.

[blue93]

This is probably UConn's POV, and if so, is that so bad?

Liberty and NMSU are trash...are they more trash than Tulsa/Tulane/ECU/etc? Not to 95% of the folks up here they aren't. And now you can play UMass every Thanksgiving.

Independence is unfeasable 99% of the time, but I think UConn could be the weird other 1% where it makes more sense. 2020 is gonna be a problem though.

I think there are a few ways to look at it and they all start with the program improving, which I really do think is happening. Winning heals a lot.

If we schedule a bunch of cupcake home games, the opponents won’t be a draw for most casual fans, but it’ll be a lot better to enjoy a fall day at the rent knowing we stand a chance.

We can also go the local rivalry route (assuming a deal can be made) which will draw more casual fans but probably won’t be winnable for a while.

There will definitely be more 1-off but games because that’s the only way to really make this work.

It’ll have to be some combination of all of these for this whole thing to work.

If we can rattle off a few more wins each year, I think some of basketball leaning fans could come back because there’s really no reason to hate this program. This part I’m more skeptical of, but I would hope that UConn fans would go back to supporting the team now that there isn’t a conference bias. The players didn’t do anything to hurt the basketball program and deserve support.

 

[Fishy]

This is probably UConn's POV, and if so, is that so bad?

Liberty and NMSU are trash...are they more trash than Tulsa/Tulane/ECU/etc? Not to 95% of the folks up here they aren't. And now you can play UMass every Thanksgiving.

Independence is unfeasable 99% of the time, but I think UConn could be the weird other 1% where it makes more sense. 2020 is gonna be a problem though.

I don’t think so - UConn needs to sell tickets. I’ve paid a lot of money not to go to UConn football games over the past decade, but I will be damned if I will pay a lot of money not to go to games against Liberty.

Army has already sold the tickets. They could schedule Liberty for every home game and II’m sure the attendance at Army games still spanks the American.

 

[whaler11]

I don’t think so - UConn needs to sell tickets. I’ve paid a lot of money not to go to UConn football games over the past decade, but I will be damned if I will pay a lot of money not to go to games against Liberty.

Army has already sold the tickets. They could schedule Liberty for every home game and II’m sure the attendance at Army games still spanks the American.

That’s it though. They can’t sell fewer tickets than they are going to sell in 2019.

If you sell zero tickets for the AAC and sell zero tickets for Indy football - the net impact is zero.

They would sell more tickets playing a best of 13 series with UMass than they would sell losing 57-7 to Temple.

 

[zls44]

That’s it though. They can’t sell fewer tickets than they are going to sell in 2019.

If you sell zero tickets for the AAC and sell zero tickets for Indy football - the net impact is zero.

They would sell more tickets playing a best of 13 series with UMass than they would sell losing 57-7 to Temple.

Its like people saying they're gonna be worse- they had the worst defense in the history of the sport last year, good luck with that claim.

 

[UConnJim]

So, UMass is going to be our FBS local rival? UMass football is in worse financial shape than UConn football and it’s unlikely they are playing FBS football in 10 years.

 

[billybud]

I see that BC and UConn play in 2023 at BC.

It would be good for both teams if that scheduling could be extended over a couple of home and homes ( BC H&H scheduled with UMass 2021 & 2022).

Could a rivalry be rekindled?

I can see why BC might not want a growing recruiting rival in their backyard, but a good rivalry also has great value.

 

[UConnJim]

I see that BC and UConn play in 2023 at BC.

It would be good for both teams if that scheduling could be extended over a couple of home and homes ( BC H&H scheduled with UMass 2021 & 2022).

Could a rivalry be rekindled?

I can see why BC might not want a growing recruiting rival in their backyard, but a good rivalry also has great value.

BC has never shown an interest in playing UConn on a regular basis. I can see a few games every decade.

 

[UConnNick]

I think scheduling BYU, Army and UMass every year should be easy. Not sold on Liberty or NMSU but those can go on every 2-3 years. Worst case is one of those two each season.

Rest of the sched? Still assume 1 FCS school? Now your down to seven opponents.

Would be nice to get one ACC, one BIG and one Big 12. Not sure if that is feasible. Maybe 2 of those 3 each year.

Would like to see an AAC team each season, but that bridge may be burned. Playing Navy or Temple is most desirable but really any team not named Tulane or Tulsa in football is okay for me.

Since there will be no concern about padding the schedule with beatable teams for bowl eligibilty purposes, we should double or triple down on 1-off payday games each season, at least two or three. That's anywhere from 2-5 million $$$ per season for 2 or 3 games.

 

[Jimdish255]

We should still try to schedule in FL both for recruiting and for UConn fans who enjoy the road trips or spend time there anyway.
USF, FAU, Miami if we can go 2-1. We exposure beyond New England to DC corridor.

 

[Life Is Good]

Liberty and New Mexico St. play twice this year. Why?

Indy>MAC/CUSA/SunBelt
...but it is going to get dicey pulling 8 games in essentially 13 months. Hope we don't have to pull a crazy stunt like Liberty/NMS did.

Just out of curiosity, what crazy stunt did Liberty and NMS pull?

 

[Adios]

So, UMass is going to be our FBS local rival? UMass football is in worse financial shape than UConn football and it’s unlikely they are playing FBS football in 10 years.

UMass is not going back to FCS. Again, state flagship school that the state wants at the top level. Just like UConn.

Their problem has been being able to win in basketball and football in the more recent years, even though they beat us last year. They've had nice runs in lacrosse and hockey recently.

 

[Adios]

We should still try to schedule in FL both for recruiting and for UConn fans who enjoy the road trips or spend time there anyway.
USF, FAU, Miami if we can go 2-1. We exposure beyond New England to DC corridor.

We ain't doing a 2-1 with FAU. C'mon. We'd also do a home and home with USF. They don't have clout for a 2-1.

 

[Clockshop]

We should still try to schedule in FL both for recruiting and for UConn fans who enjoy the road trips or spend time there anyway.
USF, FAU, Miami if we can go 2-1. We exposure beyond New England to DC corridor.

Don't forget UCF. We have to defend the Civil ConFLiCT.

 

[Rewster]

Hope UConn loosens their academic acceptance for about 8 players a year.
We can’t act like Notre Dame when it comes to recruiting.
Let’s make a real run at this and be more like Boise St or Kansas St in recruiting.

Schools will want to play and team like that in the NY market

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Hope UConn loosens their academic acceptance for about 8 players a year.
We can’t act like Notre Dame when it comes to recruiting.
Let’s make a real run at this and be more like Boise St or Kansas St in recruiting.

Schools will want to play and team like that in the NY market

Maybe even loosens academic standards for a dozen to dozen football players a year. Some are coming from community colleges where many students get at least Cs, if not Bs. Who cares about SAT scores anyway.

 

[bceagle]

I see that BC and UConn play in 2023 at BC.

It would be good for both teams if that scheduling could be extended over a couple of home and homes ( BC H&H scheduled with UMass 2021 & 2022).

Could a rivalry be rekindled?

I can see why BC might not want a growing recruiting rival in their backyard, but a good rivalry also has great value.

Big time split in the fan base on this one. Most of the players in the lawsuit are long gone but there still is resentment. A series would represent a life line of sorts to some. I think a game like UConn beats playing random teams like Northern Illinois or something like that. I am pretty sure the 2016 at BC was close to a sell out and that was a lackluster BC team.

 

[Husky25]

I think scheduling BYU, Army and UMass every year should be easy. Not sold on Liberty or NMSU but those can go on every 2-3 years. Worst case is one of those two each season.

Rest of the sched? Still assume 1 FCS school? Now your down to seven opponents.

Would be nice to get one ACC, one BIG and one Big 12. Not sure if that is feasible. Maybe 2 of those 3 each year.

Would like to see an AAC team each season, but that bridge may be burned. Playing Navy or Temple is most desirable but really any team not named Tulane or Tulsa in football is okay for me.

I haven't read all of the posts in this thread yet, but I like this idea. Sadly, I haven't seen much else that gives me hope that the football program will be a going concern. All UConn sports (Of my choosing) have been entertaining me for the better part of 30 years. I am holding out hope that the entirety will continue to do so. Alas, odds are far worse than 6/5 or pick'em.

 

[Husky25]

No. The financials are going to be better. I have no doubt about that.

You're assuming to some extent that ticket sales will stay on par or increase. The way I feel right now, by the New Year, I see myself trying to find ways to use the travel grill and pop-up tent. Maybe before my sons' soccer games? Sadly they don't allow Heady-Topper on the Center School grounds. I guess it'll be bourbon in my coffee like the other soccer dads.

 

[Husky25]

I get more positive about the move with each passing day...

Trying...not there yet.

 

[UConn Dan]

non-key tweet... chief is that you?

 

[whaler11]

You're assuming to some extent that ticket sales will stay on par or increase. The way I feel right now, by the New Year, I see myself trying to find ways to use the travel grill and pop-up tent. Maybe before my sons' soccer games? Sadly they don't allow Heady-Topper on the Center School grounds. I guess it'll be bourbon in my coffee like the other soccer dads.

im talking about the AD in general. they dont sell any football tickets anyway - how much lower can it go.

maybe they can leave the old home days beer garden in place

 

[ConnHuskBask]

non-key tweet... chief is that you?

Confirmed, but not @Chief00 certified.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Look at who Army was able to schedule at home. It will give you an idea on how hard it is to get good games at home. They have exactly two good home games in the next 4 seasons.

... except you missed out on Army managing their scheduling to enable increased likelihood of some wins. Strategically, very successful implementation after years of struggling.

 

[coachcap]

non-key tweet... chief is that you?

I am calling Bull chips on UCONN to the XII for football only. If you enter the XII, its for all sports. The chance to play home & homes with Kansas, Texas, the Sooners, Okie Light in Hoops (both Men & Women) trumps the Big East schedule, regionalism be damned. The television rights for these matchups are a ratings bonanza. The athletic department should be fired if this is the solution. Oh, there's also total P5 status which gives financial security.

 

[The Viking]

Big time split in the fan base on this one. Most of the players in the lawsuit are long gone but there still is resentment. A series would represent a life line of sorts to some. I think a game like UConn beats playing random teams like Northern Illinois or something like that. I am pretty sure the 2016 at BC was close to a sell out and that was a lackluster BC team.

Is that the game where Diaco went for it on 4th and goal from his 18 in the 1st quarter or something like that?
I was there. What a disaster that game was.
Biggest bafoon in CFB history?