Golden Ticket

[Dann]

understand it. how and why we got it. now stop bitching about memphis, temple and crew and instead help/watch them rise.

 

[Husky Pete]

HFD-

Help us out here. How about a clue?

 

[TRest]

Well, it's gone forever if we are in a conference with temple and Memphis.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dann]

HFD-

Help us out here. How about a clue?

the golden ticket was uconn upgrading football form fcs to a bcs conf. that type of jump does not happen. schools in bcs confs don't allow that type of thing becuase its adding a new program to a big boy league. we got it which is rare and we have never looked back which is great. but this fanbase is a bit spoiled by the fact that we went from nothing to something so quickly conf wise. programs usually fight from smaller confs to one day hope for a invite to a bigger/better one. we skipped that. when ppl bitch about the new teams in the big east they are mad becuase we were playing more big names before than now. but my point is that a school like uconn usually never gets that type of jump to begin with and we really should just be happy to be at the table. don't get me wrong i want the best for uconn but i feel that some here dont really understand how new programs are treated in college football. we got extremely lucky to get to the point were at. instead of complaining about it, love it and know that we can continue to build and get better and one day we will be big time. hating on schools like memphis, uh, ucf and temple is not fair from our resume. they are schools trying to build and become big time just like we are. they are years behind us but have the same dreams. instead of just bitching about being stuck with them, join the fight for the conf(as long as were in it), carry the flag and rise to the occasion when we can on the field vs ooc teams.

 

[UCFBfan]

the golden ticket was uconn upgrading football form fcs to a bcs conf. that type of jump does not happen. schools in bcs confs don't allow that type of thing becuase its adding a new program to a big boy league. we got it which is rare and we have never looked back which is great. but this fanbase is a bit spoiled by the fact that we went from nothing to something so quickly conf wise. programs usually fight from smaller confs to one day hope for a invite to a bigger/better one. we skipped that. when ppl bitch about the new teams in the big east they are mad becuase we were playing more big names before than now. but my point is that a school like uconn usually never gets that type of jump to begin with and we really should just be happy to be at the table. don't get me wrong i want the best for uconn but i feel that some here dont really understand how new programs are treated in college football. we got extremely lucky to get to the point were at. instead of complaining about it, love it and know that we can continue to build and get better and one day we will be big time. hating on schools like memphis, uh, ucf and temple is not fair from our resume. they are schools trying to build and become big time just like we are. they are years behind us but have the same dreams. instead of just bitching about being stuck with them, join the fight for the conf(as long as were in it), carry the flag and rise to the occasion when we can on the field vs ooc teams.

Dan I'm usually with you on most things but you just said that we got the rare ability to jump right into a BCS conference and never looked back. How is it complaining when our future conference slate could quite possibly make us take a step back by leaving us behind the big boys? I just worry that a fan base that's already fragile could come undone. I'm not sitting here thinking we deserve to be in the B1G but I also don't feel that we should just sit here and be excited to play teams that have been constant bottom dwellers like Memphis, Temple, and SMU. I know they all have the ability to make it big or come back to life along with UH, UCF, etc....but why should we be excited to wait and hope for that to happen? What happens to UConn in the 10 years it takes for those programs to possibly get back to being relevant? I'm very aware that we can all come across as spoiled because we've accomplished so much in such a short span but it's that success that's driving us as a fan base to want what's best for this program and unfortunately the NBE is not the best for us. I just can't see how sitting around and letting the "Power 5" continue to expand the gap is beneficial to UConn or any other program.....

 

[Dann]

Dan I'm usually with you on most things but you just said that we got the rare ability to jump right into a BCS conference and never looked back. How is it complaining when our future conference slate could quite possibly make us take a step back by leaving us behind the big boys? I just worry that a fan base that's already fragile could come undone. I'm not sitting here thinking we deserve to be in the B1G but I also don't feel that we should just sit here and be excited to play teams that have been constant bottom dwellers like Memphis, Temple, and SMU. I know they all have the ability to make it big or come back to life along with UH, UCF, etc....but why should we be excited to wait and hope for that to happen? What happens to UConn in the 10 years it takes for those programs to possibly get back to being relevant? I'm very aware that we can all come across as spoiled because we've accomplished so much in such a short span but it's that success that's driving us as a fan base to want what's best for this program and unfortunately the NBE is not the best for us. I just can't see how sitting around and letting the "Power 5" continue to expand the gap is beneficial to UConn or any other program.....

while we have never looked back, the big boy confs still don't see enough in us to add us. so we need to fight a different way, by becoming the big public that carrys the flag for a conf. wvu like. that only comes with more winning and growing. i believe that the 2014 version of the NBE will have enough depth that the sos/rpi numbers will be good enough where teams that win this conf and go 10-2 or better will get invites to the new bcs playoff/bowls thingy. as bsu grows, as uconn grows as ucf and usf grow, lville/cincy and so on i think this conf will blow up on the field. it may not blow up tv contract wise but the result will be a media storm around underdogs in the playoff, our conf teams will be those underdogs that the fans of the sport route for in those games. that will leading to a rise for the league and a media out lash at the acc and the lack of depth in the pac12. as result if uconn can build and grow more and win then we may be one of those popular underdogs. being the great bball power we are with great academics, a good tv market, nyc etc etc then eventually we will be seen as a wvu type where its time a big boy conf takes us.

over the next 10 years i think uconn football and as a school is going to continue to rise quick. more young alum who went to school during this time and more regional fans paying attention will lead to this. i see us selling out 40k even with the dooms day schedule some see here. we have big names visiting like tenn and michigan and uva. we are going to have a big nfl draft year 10 months from now which will be great media/exposure wise. if we can put together a string of good years, thinks will explode.

 

[metsfan2323]

I also don't feel that we should just sit here and be excited to play teams that have been constant bottom dwellers like Memphis, Temple, and SMU. I know they all have the ability to make it big or come back to life along with UH, UCF, etc....but why should we be excited to wait and hope for that to happen? What happens to UConn in the 10 years it takes for those programs to possibly get back to being relevant? .

Wait a second, it will take 10 years for Temple and SMU to get back to being relevant enough for UCONN football fans?

Temple beat up one of our better teams two years ago and SMU would have kicked our ass last year.... and Temple and SMU have now been upgraded to a much better conference where their recruiting prowess will increase substantially. How about we beat these teams once in conference before we start pounding our chest.

I think you meant to say when will Syracuse get back to being relevant? 5 in a row and counting.

 

[pj]

I think being a national conference could have real value in this new TV-driven environment. Also being NBC's flagship conference. It might work out OK. There will be less money at first but in a few years, more national visibility and, perhaps, respect. And respect will eventually lead to money.

Not too long ago the Big East was a northeast regional conference. Now we'll be able to recruit from the whole country, and we'll be watched by the whole country. That may pay dividends down the road.

 

[zls44]

Dan I'm usually with you on most things but you just said that we got the rare ability to jump right into a BCS conference and never looked back. How is it complaining when our future conference slate could quite possibly make us take a step back by leaving us behind the big boys? I just worry that a fan base that's already fragile could come undone. I'm not sitting here thinking we deserve to be in the B1G but I also don't feel that we should just sit here and be excited to play teams that have been constant bottom dwellers like Memphis, Temple, and SMU. I know they all have the ability to make it big or come back to life along with UH, UCF, etc....but why should we be excited to wait and hope for that to happen? What happens to UConn in the 10 years it takes for those programs to possibly get back to being relevant? I'm very aware that we can all come across as spoiled because we've accomplished so much in such a short span but it's that success that's driving us as a fan base to want what's best for this program and unfortunately the NBE is not the best for us. I just can't see how sitting around and letting the "Power 5" continue to expand the gap is beneficial to UConn or any other program.....

I totally agree.

And I'll be watching every second of every game against Memphis and UCF. But it's not the same. It just isn't. And I think folks will realize that pretty quickly. If they're ever going to try marketing or creative ticketing, this would be a hell of a time to start. Because they'll need it.

I hope like hell I'm wrong, that I'm just falling into the typical New England Chicken Little sports fan overreaction, but a lot of the reason anyone was excited for UConn's upgrade to I-A was for days when playing Memphis and UCF were breaks from a conference schedule including Syracuse, WVU, Miami and Virginia Tech- not the actual conference schedule.

 

[SAMCRO]

Being a "national conference" hasn't really panned out too well for CUSA. I'd say they are the closest thing to a nat'l conf right about now. They span from Florida to as north as northern West Virginia and as far west as western Texas and Oklahoma. They have teams in large to medium sized markets (Orlando, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Tulsa, Brimingham, etc...), and their TV contract is still bubkis. I'm w/ zls on this, I really hope I'm wrong, but this conference is not interesting on a national level, and is only marginally interesting on a local level. Every new school being added is at the very best the second or third option in their market (even if there is not another team in that market). What the BE has going for it is an ambitious sports network of one of the big 4 networks looking to add a lot of new content to build themselves up. That is it. The BE has timing, maybe, in its corner.

I'm with zls on this one. Even though the BE is as good/better than the ACC on the actual field, it is getting buried in the court of media/public opinion, and the "squeezing out" process has moved from gradual to warp speed in the last 12 months. I'll continue to pull for any team in the BE (or about to join the BE) as long as UConn is in the conference, but let's not kid ourselves, we'll all be ecstatic if/when an invite to one of the Big 4 or the ACC arrives. Oh, and I am confident that UConn will ultimately end up in either the B1G or ACC (and an even longer shot - the B12). Whether that takes 2 years or 5 years is the question.

 

[huskypantz]

The majority of this board is well aware of the difference between the 2011 BE and the newEST BE. Would the average CT sports fan prefer to play Cuse, Pitt, WVU in football over every one of the new additions? You bet your ass they would. Would the average CT sports fan prefer to play Cuse, Pitt, WVU over Texas Tech, Minnesota, Wake Forest, Indiana, KState Illinois etc etc? Of course. There are a handful of schools in each conference that would garner more local interest in CT. Unfortunately, the 2013 ACC is going to have more of those schools than the 2013 BE will.

There is no Golden Ticket coming for UConn. We WILL get our ticket to the "haves" IF we can sell out our stadium, support our school, continue to have academic and athletic success and get good ratings. That's not a golden ticket, it's called "earning your keep".

 

[junglehusky]

It's looking like that golden ticket was actually made of copper. I'm all for supporting UConn and its athletics teams but I have a really hard time taking out the pom-poms for Memphis and SDSU. It's just the way it is. We have no history in football with these guys, and they're not exactly household names and don't have even the mediocre, dusty pedigree of a Pitt or Syracuse. Now if one of those teams pulls a Boise and in 4-5 years is playing in a playoff against one of the blueblood programs, you bet I'll be pulling for them. Until that time though, my support is 100% exclusively for the Huskies.

 

[Dann]

The majority of this board is well aware of the difference between the 2011 BE and the newEST BE. Would the average CT sports fan prefer to play Cuse, Pitt, WVU in football over every one of the new additions? You bet your ass they would. Would the average CT sports fan prefer to play Cuse, Pitt, WVU over Texas Tech, Minnesota, Wake Forest, Indiana, KState Illinois etc etc? Of course. There are a handful of schools in each conference that would garner more local interest in CT. Unfortunately, the 2013 ACC is going to have more of those schools than the 2013 BE will.

There is no Golden Ticket coming for UConn. We WILL get our ticket to the "haves" IF we can sell out our stadium, support our school, continue to have academic and athletic success and get good ratings. That's not a golden ticket, it's called "earning your keep".

this is the point. now we have to earn that ticket to a bigger and better league. we have to play some lower teams, sell out turn tvs on etc. when we first started we were put in a big boy league and our fans were spoiled, they have no clue about earning your way up. NOW THEY WILL and lets see if this fanbase can rise to the challenge.

 

[CL82]

Being a "national conference" hasn't really panned out too well for CUSA. I'd say they are the closest thing to a nat'l conf right about now. They span from Florida to as north as northern West Virginia and as far west as western Texas and Oklahoma. They have teams in large to medium sized markets (Orlando, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Tulsa, Brimingham, etc...), and their TV contract is still bubkis. I'm w/ zls on this, I really hope I'm wrong, but this conference is not interesting on a national level, and is only marginally interesting on a local level. Every new school being added is at the very best the second or third option in their market (even if there is not another team in that market). What the BE has going for it is an ambitious sports network of one of the big 4 networks looking to add a lot of new content to build themselves up. That is it. The BE has timing, maybe, in its corner.

I'm with zls on this one. Even though the BE is as good/better than the ACC on the actual field, it is getting buried in the court of media/public opinion, and the "squeezing out" process has moved from gradual to warp speed in the last 12 months. I'll continue to pull for any team in the BE (or about to join the BE) as long as UConn is in the conference, but let's not kid ourselves, we'll all be ecstatic if/when an invite to one of the Big 4 or the ACC arrives. Oh, and I am confident that UConn will ultimately end up in either the B1G or ACC (and an even longer shot - the B12). Whether that takes 2 years or 5 years is the question.

Wait until the NBC deal comes in and we get more money and a national network PR firm, then the perception gap will narrow. Win and it will dissolve entirely...in time.

 

[geordi]

Does anyone think that fans of Boise State, Houston, So. Methodist, and San Diego State are excited about playing 'mighty' Connecticut? They still think we're a basketball school, for god sake. As long as we win 9, 10,11 games a year in the new conference; then begin winning them by 3 and 4 touchdowns, they won't be able to ignore us. Winning and a waiting list for tickets to the stadium solves everything.

 

[Marty Jackson]

I think being a national conference could have real value in this new TV-driven environment. Also being NBC's flagship conference. It might work out OK. There will be less money at first but in a few years, more national visibility and, perhaps, respect. And respect will eventually lead to money.

Not too long ago the Big East was a northeast regional conference. Now we'll be able to recruit from the whole country, and we'll be watched by the whole country. That may pay dividends down the road.

Carl? Carl Spackler? Is that you?

 

[Husky Pete]

Dan,

You are right...we did win a golden ticket in 1999. And we still have it. We now need to have the NNBE succeed to the point that it is better than the OBE and the NBE. This will take time but it is doable. The next TV contract is critical in this process. It has to include a lot of money and a lot of exposure.

 

[Adios]

Does anyone think that fans of Boise State, Houston, So. Methodist, and San Diego State are excited about playing 'mighty' Connecticut? They still think we're a basketball school, for god sake. As long as we win 9, 10,11 games a year in the new conference; then begin winning them by 3 and 4 touchdowns, they won't be able to ignore us. Winning and a waiting list for tickets to the stadium solves everything.

About time someone pointed that out.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Being a "national conference" hasn't really panned out too well for CUSA. I'd say they are the closest thing to a nat'l conf right about now. They span from Florida to as north as northern West Virginia and as far west as western Texas and Oklahoma. They have teams in large to medium sized markets (Orlando, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Tulsa, Brimingham, etc...), and their TV contract is still bubkis. I'm w/ zls on this, I really hope I'm wrong, but this conference is not interesting on a national level, and is only marginally interesting on a local level. Every new school being added is at the very best the second or third option in their market (even if there is not another team in that market). What the BE has going for it is an ambitious sports network of one of the big 4 networks looking to add a lot of new content to build themselves up. That is it. The BE has timing, maybe, in its corner.

I'm with zls on this one. Even though the BE is as good/better than the ACC on the actual field, it is getting buried in the court of media/public opinion, and the "squeezing out" process has moved from gradual to warp speed in the last 12 months. I'll continue to pull for any team in the BE (or about to join the BE) as long as UConn is in the conference, but let's not kid ourselves, we'll all be ecstatic if/when an invite to one of the Big 4 or the ACC arrives. Oh, and I am confident that UConn will ultimately end up in either the B1G or ACC (and an even longer shot - the B12). Whether that takes 2 years or 5 years is the question.

Add me as another one. The reality is this, history matters. Regionality matters. Rivalries matter. Yes, A&M and Missouri just thrashed some old ones. I think they both made a mistiake. Nobody will ever care about a game against Memphis. Even in basketball I don't want to see them. I certainly do not want UConn to be associated with them. These national conferences do not work. Michigan is "Big Ten Country". Alabama and Tennessee are "SEC Country". North Carolina and Virginia is "ACC Country", Texas and Oklahoma are "Big 12 country". The conference and the region need to be linked. That is what drives strong support. Nowehere is Big East country. The northeast was, but not anymore. We're lumped in with a bunch of vagabond gypsy programs.

I will no longer have a rooting interest in the Big East teams, not even for basketball. Don't kid yourself that this mess is any different than CUSA.

 

[HuskyHawk]

About time someone pointed that out.

Who cares? We're a flagship state university, with national championships in multiple sports. We're a high profile universiy, if not a football program. Houston is a commuter school. USF is a commuter school. Memphis is a commuter school. Boise someday hopes to upgrade its status to be a comuter school. If Central CT had a D1 football program, it would belong in a conference with these schools. SMU is at least a legitimate university, and even has both glory and despair in its football history. I just want us to be in a conference with similar universities. Football is secondary.

 

[junglehusky]

I fully agree Hawk, but some yarders just don't care about these issues.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Who cares? We're a flagship state university, with national championships in multiple sports. We're a high profile universiy, if not a football program. Houston is a commuter school. USF is a commuter school. Memphis is a commuter school. Boise someday hopes to upgrade its status to be a comuter school. If Central CT had a D1 football program, it would belong in a conference with these schools. SMU is at least a legitimate university, and even has both glory and despair in its football history. I just want us to be in a conference with similar universities. Football is secondary.

I want to have nightly threesomes with Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. Unfortunately, even Brad Pitt couldn't pull that off.

 

[Srqhusky]

Who cares? We're a flagship state university, with national championships in multiple sports. We're a high profile universiy, if not a football program. Houston is a commuter school. USF is a commuter school. Memphis is a commuter school. Boise someday hopes to upgrade its status to be a comuter school. If Central CT had a D1 football program, it would belong in a conference with these schools. SMU is at least a legitimate university, and even has both glory and despair in its football history. I just want us to be in a conference with similar universities. Football is secondary.

usf is about 40 minutes from my house and has a campus as large or bigger than ours I would not classify it with central Connecticut

 

[junglehusky]

I want to have nightly threesomes with Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. Unfortunately, even Brad Pitt couldn't pull that off.

Hmmm. If I were Brad Pitt I would at least give it a good faith effort.