Future of the athletic department.

[Guapo]

We would make more money between the Big East and pay day football games than the AAC and CFP buyouts.

No, yeah it wasn't rhetorical I was honestly wondering trying to do the math in my head

 

[Bonehead]

Yes, they would bend over for us and our brand.
There is a way to do independent football, but it involves only having five home games.
It would go something like this:
Weeks 1-4: home and home series with lower-tier P5 schools
Weeks 5-12: home and home series with BYU, Army, UMass, BC ; FCS home game; and three pay day road games against big boy schools (Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, etc.).

Please tell me you are trolling me.

 

[shizzle787]

Please tell me you are trolling me.

No.

 

[UConnDan97]

So explain to me how UMass got a home and home with BYU...

We've had BYU visit here also. But that's their mission. They schedule random OOC games in order to get their brand around the country. If you think that we are going to have a consistent home-and-home with them, you are crazy. That's just the way it is.

Independence for Notre Dame or BYU and independence for UConn football are two VASTLY different things. The topic has been beaten to death on the Conference Realignment board, and yet we still have folks that believe in unicorns and leprechauns (not the Notre Dame type)...

 

[shizzle787]

We've had BYU visit here also. But that's their mission. They schedule random OOC games in order to get their brand around the country. If you think that we are going to have a consistent home-and-home with them, you are crazy. That's just the way it is.

Independence for Notre Dame or BYU and independence for UConn football are two VASTLY different things. The topic has been beaten to death on the Conference Realignment board, and yet we still have folks that believe in unicorns and leprechauns (not the Notre Dame type)...

Bologna. Independence is not a breeze for BYU. They do it out of pride because they don't want to officially be considered G5. They struggle to schedule in November BIG-time. If they could get more regular opponents that their fans have heard of (like UConn), they would take it. The more teams that go independent, the better for independents.

 

[shizzle787]

And by the way, BYU and UMass play a FOUR year series. So much for a random home and home.

 

[Guapo]

Bologna. Independence is not a breeze for BYU. They do it out of pride because they don't want to officially be considered G5. They struggle to schedule in November BIG-time. If they could get more regular opponents that their fans have heard of (like UConn), they would take it. The more teams that go independent, the better for independents.

It would be cool if we could convince UC to go independent with us, form a scheduling alliance AND convince the big east to take both of us.

(Hey, one can dream)

 

[UConnDan97]

Bologna. Independence is not a breeze for BYU. They do it out of pride because they don't want to officially be considered G5. They struggle to schedule in November BIG-time. If they could get more regular opponents that their fans have heard of (like UConn), they would take it. The more teams that go independent, the better for independents.

Venezia. Independence is not a breeze for anyone, but it is viable for BYU. They would of course prefer the Big12 paycheck, as would we. And it seemed we were both going to get it for a little while there. But UConn football cannot survive as an independent football program. Let it go...

 

[shizzle787]

Venezia. Independence is not a breeze for anyone, but it is viable for BYU. They would of course prefer the Big12 paycheck, as would we. And it seemed we were both going to get it for a little while there. But UConn football cannot survive as an independent football program. Let it go...

UConn basketball can't survive in the AAC...

 

[Guapo]

Venezia. Independence is not a breeze for anyone, but it is viable for BYU. They would of course prefer the Big12 paycheck, as would we. And it seemed we were both going to get it for a little while there. But UConn football cannot survive as an independent football program. Let it go...

I love that UConn football exists but I'm starting to fret about how long the entire athletic program can exist as-is in the AAC if we get a bad tv contract and then are left out of the next round of conference realignment yet again.

 

[UConnDan97]

UConn basketball can't survive in the AAC...

One day, the folks on this board will come to realize that football drives the financial bus.

If you ever have dreams that UConn will be in a major conference again, it will come on the backs of the football team. It won't matter how many national championships we win in basketball. That's not to say that basketball has less importance for me than football, because it doesn't. But that's the scenario. There may come a time in the future where the football team is too much of a financial burden to continue to bear, but that is not affected by independence.

I have a different question for you, though. Do you really believe that folks will fill the stands with the current product just because we are playing against Marquette, Seton Hall, and DePaul?? I'm curious to hear why you think that the Big East will save our hoops team from the general malaise that our fans are currently experiencing...

 

[shizzle787]

One day, the folks on this board will come to realize that football drives the financial bus.

If you ever have dreams that UConn will be in a major conference again, it will come on the backs of the football team. It won't matter how many national championships we win in basketball. That's not to say that basketball has less importance for me than football, because it doesn't. But that's the scenario. There may come a time in the future where the football team is too much of a financial burden to continue to bear, but that is not affected by independence.

I have a different question for you, though. Do you really believe that folks will fill the stands with the current product just because we are playing against Marquette, Seton Hall, and DePaul?? I'm curious to hear why you think that the Big East will save our hoops team from the general malaise that our fans are currently experiencing...

Football as a sport is screwed.

As for your question.
Here is the list of schools we would play in the BE (Y- if people would want to attend).
DePaul
Butler Y-they are frequently ranked and are kind of like Gonzaga-lite.
Marquette Y-they are ranked occasionally and we used to play them regularly and got good crowds
Creighton Y-usually ranked
Xavier Y-frequently ranked and would basically just replace Cincy
Seton Hall Y-when ranked or at least good
St. John's Y
Providence Y- duh
Georgetown Y-duh
Villanova Y-major duh

 

[UConnDan97]

Football as a sport is screwed.

As for your question.
Here is the list of schools we would play in the BE (Y- if people would want to attend).
DePaul
Butler Y-they are frequently ranked and are kind of like Gonzaga-lite.
Marquette Y-they are ranked occasionally and we used to play them regularly and got good crowds
Creighton Y-usually ranked
Xavier Y-frequently ranked and would basically just replace Cincy
Seton Hall Y-when ranked or at least good
St. John's Y
Providence Y- duh
Georgetown Y-duh
Villanova Y-major duh

I'm not asking if they would want to attend. I'm saying will they suddenly fill the stadium?

Or is our stadium problem based on our current performance or based on our fickle fanbase? Here's what I think I know; we're going to have good attendance numbers for games against top ranked opponents. I'm guessing we'll have a good turnout against Cuse at MSG. I'm guessing we'll also have good turnouts for Cincy and for Wichita State. We've already have a home game with Villanova anyways, which will also likely be well attended. But if you are going to tell me that on any given year, the attendance numbers for games against Creighton, Seton Hall, Marquette, Butler, and DePaul are going to be very different than games against SMU, UCF, Houston, Memphis, and Tulsa, well then I'm going to call bullstuff on that...

 

[shizzle787]

I'm not asking if they would want to attend. I'm saying will they suddenly fill the stadium?

Or is our stadium problem based on our current performance or based on our fickle fanbase? Here's what I think I know; we're going to have good attendance numbers for games against top ranked opponents. I'm guessing we'll have a good turnout against Cuse at MSG. I'm guessing we'll also have good turnouts for Cincy and for Wichita State. We've already have a home game with Villanova anyways, which will also likely be well attended. But if you are going to tell me that on any given year, the attendance numbers for games against Creighton, Seton Hall, Marquette, Butler, and DePaul are going to be very different than games against SMU, UCF, Houston, Memphis, and Tulsa, well then I'm going to call bullstuff on that...

I don't know about SMU but yes I do think we would get higher attendances for the first set because those teams are much more likely to be highly ranked. Your comparison is not perfect though.
If we rank each team in both conferences by what our attendance against them would be, the BE would win at least 7 out of 10.
Villanova>Wichita State
Georgetown>Cincy
Providence>SMU
Butler> Memphis
and down the line...

 

[HuskyHawk]

One day, the folks on this board will come to realize that football drives the financial bus.

If you ever have dreams that UConn will be in a major conference again, it will come on the backs of the football team. It won't matter how many national championships we win in basketball. That's not to say that basketball has less importance for me than football, because it doesn't. But that's the scenario. There may come a time in the future where the football team is too much of a financial burden to continue to bear, but that is not affected by independence.

I have a different question for you, though. Do you really believe that folks will fill the stands with the current product just because we are playing against Marquette, Seton Hall, and DePaul?? I'm curious to hear why you think that the Big East will save our hoops team from the general malaise that our fans are currently experiencing...

I don't think it's accurate to say that it doesn't matter how many championships we win in basketball. It matters. It just isn't enough, absent a capable, winning football team, to move us anywhere.

Right now, the NBE is not notably better than the AAC. Nova has become a stud program. So has WSU. Xavier is very good, but less impressive than Cinci. Seton Hall is good at the moment, but normally stinks. SMU has been more consistently good. PC? About like Temple. What else? Is St. Johns better than UCF? Doubt it. Now many are closer and are names we know, I'll grant that. But the notion that the Big East of today is some quantum leap beyond the American is simply wrong.

 

[UConnDan97]

I don't know about SMU but yes I do think we would get higher attendances for the first set because those teams are much more likely to be highly ranked. Your comparison is not perfect though.
If we rank each team in both conferences by what our attendance against them would be, the BE would win at least 7 out of 10.
Villanova>Wichita State
Georgetown>Cincy
Providence>SMU
Butler> Memphis
and down the line...

Will you get a small boost on a team-for-team basis, due to the old rivalries with some of them (or with the lack of rivalries with the current squads)? Yes. But if you think that Butler is going to take a 6k BU attendance and turn it into 16k, or if you think that a Marquette is going to turn a 3k attendance into a 10k, then you're on some good stuff...

 

[UConnDan97]

I don't think it's accurate to say that it doesn't matter how many championships we win in basketball. It matters. It just isn't enough, absent a capable, winning football team, to move us anywhere.

Right now, the NBE is not notably better than the AAC. Nova has become a stud program. So has WSU. Xavier is very good, but less impressive than Cinci. Seton Hall is good at the moment, but normally stinks. SMU has been more consistently good. PC? About like Temple. What else? Is St. Johns better than UCF? Doubt it. Now many are closer and are names we know, I'll grant that. But the notion that the Big East of today is some quantum leap beyond the American is simply wrong.

Agreed. Now explain that to everyone else here...

 

[shizzle787]

I don't think it's accurate to say that it doesn't matter how many championships we win in basketball. It matters. It just isn't enough, absent a capable, winning football team, to move us anywhere.

Right now, the NBE is not notably better than the AAC. Nova has become a stud program. So has WSU. Xavier is very good, but less impressive than Cinci. Seton Hall is good at the moment, but normally stinks. SMU has been more consistently good. PC? About like Temple. What else? Is St. Johns better than UCF? Doubt it. Now many are closer and are names we know, I'll grant that. But the notion that the Big East of today is some quantum leap beyond the American is simply wrong.

Actually, it is. It is better RPI-wise than some of the P5 conferences; it has markedly better attendance than the American; and it is considered a power confenerence by the media, the pollsters, recruits, and NCAA selection committee. The American is a mid-major in basketball; it is basically the new C-USA.

 

[shizzle787]

Will you get a small boost on a team-for-team basis, due to the old rivalries with some of them (or with the lack of rivalries with the current squads)? Yes. But if you think that Butler is going to take a 6k BU attendance and turn it into 16k, or if you think that a Marquette is going to turn a 3k attendance into a 10k, then you're on some good stuff...

Butler would get 10-12k at XL (12-14k if ranked).

 

[shizzle787]

Butler would get 10-12k at XL (12-14k if ranked).

Marquette probably would get 10k.

 

[Adios]

One day, the folks on this board will come to realize that football drives the financial bus.

If you ever have dreams that UConn will be in a major conference again, it will come on the backs of the football team. It won't matter how many national championships we win in basketball. That's not to say that basketball has less importance for me than football, because it doesn't. But that's the scenario. There may come a time in the future where the football team is too much of a financial burden to continue to bear, but that is not affected by independence.

I have a different question for you, though. Do you really believe that folks will fill the stands with the current product just because we are playing against Marquette, Seton Hall, and DePaul?? I'm curious to hear why you think that the Big East will save our hoops team from the general malaise that our fans are currently experiencing...

It's not so much that football drives the bus. It's that a complete athletic department that wants to be big time as of now MUST have a football team.

Our basketball titles have worked wonders for us. All we need is a competent football program. I said it before, if we beat Indiana and Illinois, we'll be vindicated of our past several years. We also have a series with Rutgers coming up, too.

 

[Guapo]

Agreed. Now explain that to everyone else here...

I'm perfectly fine with sticking it out through the next round realignment in the AAC.

Having said that I think this is whats attractive to people about the NBE:

1) "The Brand." People know it and harbor warm and positive feelings towards it.

2) (this one is the much bigger thing for me) People have friends and family and coworkers etc that went to PC, GT, Nova, and St John's. These are natural and familiar rivals to people. I don't think I've ever met an alum of most of the AAC schools.

So, I suppose it comes down to the feeling of familiarity on multiple levels.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Actually, it is. It is better RPI-wise than some of the P5 conferences; it has markedly better attendance than the American; and it is considered a power confenerence by the media, the pollsters, recruits, and NCAA selection committee. The American is a mid-major in basketball; it is basically the new C-USA.

What nonsense. It was. The American, with Louisville, was viewed differently. Wichita State changes that back again. But the real problem has been your UConn Huskies stinking up the joint, along with Memphis and to a lesser extent Temple. Those teams used to be consistently ranked and have underperformed. SMU meanwhile, has overperformed dramatically, and Cinci has to a slight degree.

Look at the teams objectively and not with an old Big East lens. The Big East is slightly better, but that's about it. The American is a 4-5 bid league this year easily. The Big East is also a 4-5 bid league. The American is going to have two highly seeded teams. The Big East might just have one.

 

[shizzle787]

What nonsense. It was. The American, with Louisville, was viewed differently. Wichita State changes that back again. But the real problem has been your UConn Huskies stinking up the joint, along with Memphis and to a lesser extent Temple. Those teams used to be consistently ranked and have underperformed. SMU meanwhile, has overperformed dramatically, and Cinci has to a slight degree.

Look at the teams objectively and not with an old Big East lens. The Big East is slightly better, but that's about it. The American is a 4-5 bid league this year easily. The Big East is also a 4-5 bid league. The American is going to have two highly seeded teams. The Big East might just have one.

It doesn't because WSU still came from a mid-major conference and Tulane, Tulsa, and ECU weren't RPI anchor weights back in 2014.

 

[UConnDan97]

Butler would get 10-12k at XL (12-14k if ranked).

And Memphis would too, even though you typed Butler > Memphis. That's my point...

 

[shizzle787]

And Memphis would too, even though you typed Butler > Memphis. That's my point...

Congrats. That doesn't change the fact Xavier would get more than UCF and Creighton would get more than USF. I would wager we would average 2-3k more per conference game in the Big East.

 

[UConnDan97]

Congrats. That doesn't change the fact Xavier would get more than UCF and Creighton would get more than USF. I would wager we would average 2-3k more per conference game in the Big East.

And again, I've said that the Big East would get you a few more butts in the seats on average. But only a few more. And it wouldn't change our financial situation or our basketball cred.

I'll leave this conversation where it is at this point, since it's been hashed out ad nauseam in a bunch of threads including this one...

 

[Drew]

I can't decide if Shizzle is a massive troll, the dumbest person on this board, or both.

 

[BUConn10]

The worst part of conference realignment is that the last 5 years have played out exactly like many of the panic mode posters feared.

A slow and steady death by strangling.

 

[zls44]

I can't decide if Shizzle is a massive troll, the dumbest person on this board, or both.

A: Yes.