Geno nails the Catholics to the wall

[MCNPA]

"They've been in our league 17 years, so how long are we going to date before we just decide this ain't working. And I'm not happy about it," Auriemma said at the conference's annual women's basketball media day Thursday. "That's not the opinion of the University of Connecticut, the Big East Conference. ... That's just Geno Auriemma's opinion."

"If Notre Dame had come in as a football and basketball school when they came in, we wouldn't have a problem. Miami wouldn't have left. Virginia Tech wouldn't have left. Boston College wouldn't have left. We probably wouldn't have any of these issues, would we?" Auriemma said.

Auriemma blames ND for shuffle

"They've been in our league 17 years, so how long are we going to date before we just decide this ain't working. And I'm not happy about it," Auriemma said at the conference's annual women's basketball media day Thursday. "That's not the opinion of the University of Connecticut, the Big East Conference. ... That's just Geno Auriemma's opinion."

"If Notre Dame had come in as a football and basketball school when they came in, we wouldn't have a problem. Miami wouldn't have left. Virginia Tech wouldn't have left. Boston College wouldn't have left. We probably wouldn't have any of these issues, would we?" Auriemma said.

Auriemma blames ND for shuffle

I don't disagree with him about Notre Dame. Maybe we should have let them in just for basketball then? It's also not Notre Dame's fault that they can run their own ship and always have.

Again, what separates the Catholic schools leaving is that they don't have state dollars and thereby don't have huge football teams to support. Big state dollars at your disposal make it a ton easier to assure successful sports programs in the major sports.

I'm not denying that st. John's has sucked for the majority of the last 15 years or so. Nobody knows this better than me. Ive sat through it. Cheap hires and bad decisions as well as neglect by the administration. We're at a point now thought that I think it's changing, but there is nothing for the 7 schools to do but stick together where mutual interests are regarded.

This isn't about some credits. Those schools will probably pay a big chunk of it back to get the Big East name anyway. The credits work the same in every conference. Look at the ACC and how many credits that only Duke and UNC earned all this time.

This is all about future viability. These schools don't have the big budgets of state schools and with a poor tv contract can't afford to be having and all sports conference heading to Fresno, Vegas, San Diego, Boise, and Timbuktu every week. I don't think the catholic schools have a choice at this point anymore and their hand was forced.

 

[ctchamps]

Prototypical argument about value and self worth.
For years UConn voted similarly to the C7 in attempts to offer compromise within the conference. More than likely this was because of UConn's history with bb and football which was unique in the conference. And for years they were one of the conferences primary money winner if not the primary. They were to the BE what FSU is to the ACC-trying to keep things together at their own expense. And yes I know both prospered as well but they offered more than they received.

Unfortunately there were too many obstacles in and outside of the conference resulting in the demise. People will argue the demise was inevitable, but that is mostly hindsight. There were a lot of events in the past, that with one slight change, the present would be entirely different. Accepting PSU, ND offering football, not giving ND voting rights if they didn't, UConn upgrading it's football program earlier, basketball schools creating a stance with the NCAA similar to what football schools have recently done, the B12 not stabilizing, FSU saying sc*w it to the ACC instead of trying to compromise, the three schools (Pitt, ND and Georgetown) not saying no to the ESPN offer last year.

There is truth to Geno's statement. But it is isolated.

 

[CL82]

Lol. I never said Uconn didn't accomplish a ton for the league. You underestimate the impact that things like state dollars have for programs like Uconn. Those Catholic schools have a lot of disadvantages in competing in "big sports.".

I just have s problem with Geno lambasting the Catholic schools for doing nothing more than try to survive.

He's just pointing out the hypocracy of the BEBOs as victims narrative.

 

[pepband99]

Geno is a hypocrite. He speaks about voting issues, yet none of the basketball schools were bolting for a bigger and better conference. How about Pitt voting down a big ESPN contract just to submarine the league and then taking off for the ACC?

so laughably naive. Speaking of voting, who do you think voted Tulane in, and then complained about the RPI hit, and left? Who is a hypocrite, again?

 

[Yonick]

Ok, you are right, he's just an arrogant who is looking to throw his big mouth around and who has generally been lambasted on this board over the years but now he's ok with what comes out of his unfiltered pie hole.

Double standard much?

All of this coming from the guy who wished for UConn & Rutgers to get stuck in a clusterf^ck of a conference, on PC's board. Rutgers is OK, hopefully, UConn lands in a better conference than FriarJ wished upon us.

 

[ctchamps]

All of this coming from the guy who wished for UConn & Rutgers to get stuck in a clusterf^ck of a conference, on PC's board. Rutgers is OK, hopefully, UConn lands in a better conference than FriarJ wished upon us.

How many UConn recruits did we lose out to other programs only to get a last minute recruit that most of us felt disappointed the original guy didn't accept the UConn offer. And how many times did things work out great. I believe in the end UConn lands on its feet.

BC fans loved the move to the ACC. I'm not so sure they feel the same way at the moment. Maybe BC will turn around, but they cycled down as UConn cycled up.

Maybe the recent rejection of UConn by the ACC for Louisville, depressing as it is currently, ends up getting UConn in a better situation.

I can be very serious, very silly and occasionally flakey. But I still think that ten years from now we are ahead of many of the former BE programs we are now envious (and bitter) about. And I don't feel my statement is flakey! Just a gut hunch like the day I told my son, that there was a player at MM I observed who was the final piece to the puzzle and UConn will win an NC with him. That player was KEA.

 

[NRIFriarguy]

This is my first and possibly only post on these forums. I am not one to go on another schools boards to stir things up, but I just had to comment on this thread.

First off, I will say that in some way Geno was correct. There is not a Friar fan alive that will claim the past decade has been a positive for the school or the ideal representative for the Big East. However, claiming the B-E basketball schools were just living off the fat of the lamb waiting to bolt when times were lean, is a very narrow argument meant to avoid the overall reason the 7 schools are really leaving.

Now I will actually give some credit to Uconn for being upfront and honest about their desire to get the hell out of the Big East as soon as an offer is made to them. They did not follow the Louisville route. When Louisville found out, they claimed disdain at Sryacuse and Pitt abandoning the Big East, then did an about face the moment they could leave. That said, the reality is Uconn and Cincinnati WILL bolt the instant the ACC or another BCS league sends an invite, regardless of whether these 7 schools stay or leave. It makes more sense for your school to try and persue the highest level of Football and Basketball. And since the schools that now remain are of lesser quality, the Football brand will not meet its maximum potential. But it is this kind of uncertainty that forced the hands of the schools that do not play BCS level football, and they have to do what they need to in order to survive. In your desire to try and get to the ACC, you forgot about the teams left behind. Now you find yourself left behind.

The truth is that if Louisville, Notre Dame and Rutgers stuck with the rest of the B-E, and if Cincinnati and Uconn pledged they would stay even if offered to join the ACC/Big 10, the rest of schools would probably still be remaining. It is what it is in the NCAA nowadays, and if/when Uconn gets the call to another conference, I am sure us Friar fans will hear about how much better Uconn will be then us.

Also, once that happens you will be seeing fans of the teams that are still stuck in an even more watered down league complain about your school, and the motives behind its move. The cycle will continue.

 

[Pudge]

This is my first and possibly only post on these forums. I am not one to go on another schools boards to stir things up, but I just had to comment on this thread.

First off, I will say that in some way Geno was correct. There is not a Friar fan alive that will claim the past decade has been a positive for the school or the ideal representative for the Big East. However, claiming the B-E basketball schools were just living off the fat of the lamb waiting to bolt when times were lean, is a very narrow argument meant to avoid the overall reason the 7 schools are really leaving.

Now I will actually give some credit to Uconn for being upfront and honest about their desire to get the hell out of the Big East as soon as an offer is made to them. They did not follow the Louisville route. When Louisville found out, they claimed disdain at Sryacuse and Pitt abandoning the Big East, then did an about face the moment they could leave. That said, the reality is Uconn and Cincinnati WILL bolt the instant the ACC or another BCS league sends an invite, regardless of whether these 7 schools stay or leave. It makes more sense for your school to try and persue the highest level of Football and Basketball. And since the schools that now remain are of lesser quality, the Football brand will not meet its maximum potential. But it is this kind of uncertainty that forced the hands of the schools that do not play BCS level football, and they have to do what they need to in order to survive. In your desire to try and get to the ACC, you forgot about the teams left behind. Now you find yourself left behind.

The truth is that if Louisville, Notre Dame and Rutgers stuck with the rest of the B-E, and if Cincinnati and Uconn pledged they would stay even if offered to join the ACC/Big 10, the rest of schools would probably still be remaining. It is what it is in the NCAA nowadays, and if/when Uconn gets the call to another conference, I am sure us Friar fans will hear about how much better Uconn will be then us.

Also, once that happens you will be seeing fans of the teams that are still stuck in an even more watered down league complain about your school, and the motives behind its move. The cycle will continue.

Thank you for your interest in UConn Sports ... where WE win National Championships. Providence and some of the others are in danger of slipping to St. Bonaventure relevancy. It's been a long winding road; but, I wonder if there is the consistent will to keep abreast. Not our problem.

 

[phillionaire]

Thank you for your interest in UConn Sports ... where WE win National Championships. Providence and some of the others are in danger of slipping to St. Bonaventure relevancy. It's been a long winding road; but, I wonder if there is the consistent will to keep abreast. Not our problem.

to be fair, st. bonaventure made the NCAA tournament last year. PC won't make the NCAA tournament for a long time.

 

[mauconnfan]

Ok, you are right, he's just an arrogant who is looking to throw his big mouth around and who has generally been lambasted on this board over the years but now he's ok with what comes out of his unfiltered pie hole.

Double standard much?

the arrogant has more juice than the PC mens coach that's for sure!!

 

[Yonick]

Sooner or later the 64-80 BCS schools will split from the NCAA. PC & crew will be like D-1AA in football. UConn will have a place at the big boys table.