Hearst Media CT: Hugh Bailey (opinion): UConn's biggest opponent is geography | The Boneyard

Hearst Media CT: Hugh Bailey (opinion): UConn's biggest opponent is geography

AllHusky said:
Luck is opportunity meeting preparation.
BC was lucky
Gene DaFlipper>Jeff Hathaway
Game, set, match
Dave Benedict got here too late, Big Lew(RIP) left too soon.
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UConn got here too late.

We spent too many years looking like URI and UNH.

Also I think UConn doesn’t offer our desired destinations something they don’t have alresdy.

The ACC already has a basketball program in the northeast with a football team with a low ceiling. It’s called Syracuse.

But they also have BC which is good at nothing.
 
That Might have been an. Argument at one time but at this date it’s a non factor
Anyone who buys this BS I’d extremely naive .
I can easily make the case where UConn’s location is a huge plus ,
UConn’s number 1 problem is its lack of investment in the football program enabling to be able to compete even at the most minimal p4 level.
ACC ( we are in their footprint so the geography argument is moot )
They are in a situation where they know they will eventually be raided and will lose programs to the B1G and the SEC thats unavoidable . They can survive that.raid but the real battle will be with the B12 . Securing UConn not only insures against the Big 12 splitting their conference but it puts them in a better position to raid the isolated eastern wing oh increasingly western oriented Big 12
The ACC will need UCF to replace FSU , and WVA officials would prefer to be in an eastern conference .

The B12
A conference with national aspirations requites a Northeast base .
UConn is strategically a good add for them as it takes pressure of their eastern wing and puts them in better position to pick off a Pitt , VT ,and if they go Miami . If that happens it’s over for the ACC

There is an elephant in the room for UConn inclusion but or some reason we’re always looking for an excuse rather than reality.
its not geography
the AAC , BC
As a political consultant use to say “ It thee economy stupid “
if I were consulting UConn ii would say “ It’s football stupid “
and to be more specific it staffing an recruiting reach .
 
AZHuskiePop said:
That Might have been an. Argument at one time but at this date it’s a non factor
Anyone who buys this BS I’d extremely naive .
I can easily make the case where UConn’s location is a huge plus ,
UConn’s number 1 problem is its lack of investment in the football program enabling to be able to compete even at the most minimal p4 level.
ACC ( we are in their footprint so the geography argument is moot )
They are in a situation where they know they will eventually be raided and will lose programs to the B1G and the SEC thats unavoidable . They can survive that.raid but the real battle will be with the B12 . Securing UConn not only insures against the Big 12 splitting their conference but it puts them in a better position to raid the isolated eastern wing oh increasingly western oriented Big 12
The ACC will need UCF to replace FSU , and WVA officials would prefer to be in an eastern conference .

The B12
A conference with national aspirations requites a Northeast base .
UConn is strategically a good add for them as it takes pressure of their eastern wing and puts them in better position to pick off a Pitt , VT ,and if they go Miami . If that happens it’s over for the ACC

There is an elephant in the room for UConn inclusion but or some reason we’re always looking for an excuse rather than reality.
its not geography
the AAC , BC
As a political consultant use to say “ It thee economy stupid “
if I were consulting UConn ii would say “ It’s football stupid “
and to be more specific it staffing an recruiting reach .
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We’d have a better chance if we weren’t in the ACC footprint.

We seriously offer nothing that they don’t already have.

I do agree on the lack of football investment though. That’s always the #1 con to adding us.
 
Said almost exactly this earlier this week, but @JohnFSilver thinks that keeping football independent, when there are no other viable options for our Olympics regardless of football, is the real issue :rolleyes:
 
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Where will the money come from for Football investment? UConn investment in football is taxpayer money. I don't think there is currently an appetite for public funding of football.
 
BigTenFan said:
Where will the money come from for Football investment? UConn investment in football is taxpayer money. I don't think there is currently an appetite for public funding of football.
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Before we talk about spending more. We should ask whether what we are spending is being effective. And how to get more bang for our buck.

We spend more than tons of G5s. But when we are losing to a school like FIU who has to borrow equipment from another school then you have to wonder.
 
ZooCougar said:
UConn got here too late.

We spent too many years looking like URI and UNH.
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This, and you can add UMass to this as well.

For too many years, that's what Connecticut envisioned as our peers. By the time the lightbulb went on and we consider ourselves a national program and university, we had dug a incredibly deep hole that we are still struggling to get out of.
 
BigTenFan said:
Where will the money come from for Football investment? UConn investment in football is taxpayer money. I don't think there is currently an appetite for public funding of football.
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How is the additional revenue working out for everyone in the northeast, barring maybe Penn state?
 
pepband99 said:
How is the additional revenue working out for everyone in the northeast, barring maybe Penn state?
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Rutgers fields 27 Div I sports in the B1G. More quantity than quality.
 
ZooCougar said:
We’d have a better chance if we weren’t in the ACC footprint.

We seriously offer nothing that they don’t already have.

I do agree on the lack of football investment though. That’s always the #1 con to adding us.
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Maybe at this moment, but if the ACC isn’t thinking about the post B1G , SEC raids they will be the next PAC .
SMU made sense
The West coast adds not so much .
 
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I've always thought the biggest issue is having 100 professional sports teams. A common feature of UConn tailgates is hearing or watching Yankees or Red Sox games. Or NFL. There is only so much time and money a person can spend on sports entertainment and we are chock full of professional sports around here. And that is also geography related.
 
ZooCougar said:
Before we talk about spending more. We should ask whether what we are spending is being effective. And how to get more bang for our buck.

We spend more than tons of G5s. But when we are losing to a school like FIU who has to borrow equipment from another school then you have to wonder.
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A while back someone talked about considering the Athletic deficit not a losing proposition, rather a cost of doing business if you want to be a world class State U.

If you build a world class Chemistry Department and Facility, you don't scrimp on the exhaust hoods in the labs. Same as you don't scrimp on the Defensive Coordinators position because the HC was a pretty fair defensive guy. We spend too much time evaluating whether it looks like we can make it(to the P4 level) rather than spend the money and just make it. You probably have to overspend to get to the next level, and understand it is not a 3 or 4 year proposition. Kind of like a marriage, all in until death do you part.
 
CL82 said:
This, and you can add UMass to this as well.

For too many years, that's what Connecticut envisioned as our peers. By the time the lightbulb went on and we consider ourselves a national program and university, we had dug a incredibly deep hole that we are still struggling to get out of.
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Doesn't help that the foot came off the pedal after the 2008/9 recession. I bought into UConn (for grad school) because I thought they were on the rise and I think that perception to a degree was correct. I agree that in the meta-arc they would have been better off moving in say 1995 instead around 2000.
 
AllHusky said:
A while back someone talked about considering the Athletic deficit not a losing proposition, rather a cost of doing business if you want to be a world class State U.

If you build a world class Chemistry Department and Facility, you don't scrimp on the exhaust hoods in the labs. Same as you don't scrimp on the Defensive Coordinators position because the HC was a pretty fair defensive guy. We spend too much time evaluating whether it looks like we can make it(to the P4 level) rather than spend the money and just make it. You probably have to overspend to get to the next level, and understand it is not a 3 or 4 year proposition. Kind of like a marriage, all in until death do you part.
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I agree with that.

But… we still spend more money than a couple schools that kicked our asses this year.

What I am saying is that maybe we aren’t spending effectively.

But make no mistake, Money is what fuels all of this, no way am I saying putting the brakes on spending.
 
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ZooCougar said:
I agree with that.

But… we still spend more money than a couple schools that kicked our asses this year.

What I am saying is that maybe we aren’t spending effectively.

But make no mistake, Money is what fuels all of this, no way am I saying putting the brakes on spending.
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We get a lot of nice stuff for our money. Our athletics department is truly first class. The problem really seems to be limited to finding a coaching staff that can win within the framework provided. JMU, Boise, Fresno, Idaho, the Dakota schools and many others have found coaching staffs that in many cases, make far less than ours, that win. Meanwhile, we have every single advantage over those schools in terms of what we can offer an athlete. It really isn't that complicated, we've just failed to have the right staff. I think Mora, with good coordinators, can do it. This team is competitive and has a lot of good pieces. We just need some solid transfers, an innovative OC and a solid DC that can execute Mora's vision. Part of Jim's issue with the lack of NIL isn't that he thinks we can't be an average team with our current resources, its that he wants to have a really good team that beats ACC schools more often than not. He's looking to be a national player. We can't do that with our current resources.
 
Hoophound said:
We get a lot of nice stuff for our money. Our athletics department is truly first class. The problem really seems to be limited to finding a coaching staff that can win within the framework provided. JMU, Boise, Fresno, Idaho, the Dakota schools and many others have found coaching staffs that in many cases, make far less than ours, that win. Meanwhile, we have every single advantage over those schools in terms of what we can offer an athlete. It really isn't that complicated, we've just failed to have the right staff. I think Mora, with good coordinators, can do it. This team is competitive and has a lot of good pieces. We just need some solid transfers, an innovative OC and a solid DC that can execute Mora's vision. Part of Jim's issue with the lack of NIL isn't that he thinks we can't be an average team with our current resources, its that he wants to have a really good team that beats ACC schools more often than not. He's looking to be a national player. We can't do that with our current resources.
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Disadvantages:

No Conference-That’s a huge negative. It hurts recruiting players and coaches

Terrible reputation/Literally “UConn” People openly calling to downgrade axe the program. Chose to go Indy, Chose to not play football in 2020.

The overall perception of the program is awful. It’s amazing that we got Mora.

Whatever these advantages are, they obviously don’t count for much.
 
ZooCougar said:
Disadvantages:

No Conference-That’s a huge negative. It hurts recruiting players and coaches

Terrible reputation/Literally “UConn” People openly calling to downgrade axe the program. Chose to go Indy, Chose to not play football in 2020.

The overall perception of the program is awful. It’s amazing that we got Mora.

Whatever these advantages are, they obviously don’t count for much.
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You do realize that the only reason we get so much flack for sucking at football is because we have a big brand? Nobody cares when UMass or Akron suck. It just doesn't matter. People like to laugh at us and want to kill our program because they hate us for our basketball success. They also hated when we had football success.
 
Hoophound said:
You do realize that the only reason we get so much flack for sucking at football is because we have a big brand? Nobody cares when UMass or Akron suck. It just doesn't matter. People like to laugh at us and want to kill our program because they hate us for our basketball success. They also hated when we had football success.
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We don’t get that much flack. People hardly even notice us. We’re just so attuned to it because we are the fans.

We also deserve every bit of the flack we do get. We tried to half ass a football program after getting grandfathered directly into a BCS conference.

With the advantages we were given we had it all and let it slip through our fingers.
 
ZooCougar said:
We don’t get that much flack. People hardly even notice us. We’re just so attuned to it because we are the fans.

We also deserve every bit of the flack we do get. We tried to half ass a football program after getting grandfathered directly into a BCS conference.

With the advantages we were given we had it all and let it slip through our fingers.
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Huskies would be in the Big 12 now, I think...with Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF....if football had not slipped.
 
billybud said:
Huskies would be in the Big 12 now, I think...with Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF....if football had not slipped.
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Cincy, Houston and UCF are also trash in FB.whats their record in b12? I know their fans like to point out that our FB sucks but they also suck in FB.
 
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Hoophound said:
We get a lot of nice stuff for our money. Our athletics department is truly first class. The problem really seems to be limited to finding a coaching staff that can win within the framework provided. JMU, Boise, Fresno, Idaho, the Dakota schools and many others have found coaching staffs that in many cases, make far less than ours, that win. Meanwhile, we have every single advantage over those schools in terms of what we can offer an athlete. It really isn't that complicated, we've just failed to have the right staff. I think Mora, with good coordinators, can do it. This team is competitive and has a lot of good pieces. We just need some solid transfers, an innovative OC and a solid DC that can execute Mora's vision. Part of Jim's issue with the lack of NIL isn't that he thinks we can't be an average team with our current resources, its that he wants to have a really good team that beats ACC schools more often than not. He's looking to be a national player. We can't do that with our current resources.
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The payroll for the basketball coaching staff is larger than the football coaching staff
The women’s basketbzll coach makes more money than the the football coach. Check those ratio’s on any p program .
Not being in the greatest area for HS football we need to focus on a recruiting effort that covers the best areas. That takes staff , plus a marketing effort in the NIL era to get kids excited about coming . If you want to to be a big time player you have to act like one .
As far as the deficit goes with Title 9. unless your football team is P4 or until those programs show an ability to generate enough revenue to sustain themselves along with non revenue men’s sports you’re going to start from a deficit position . it’s simply built in.. The last I looked it was Minus ($30,000,000 )
Men’s basketball is the only sport on paper in the black , however i personally.think men and women’s basketball.are both profitable. Our athletic budget is overstated . Any cost to the state that wouldn’t go away if all sports ceased to exist are fixed cost and should be accounted as such . Likewise tax revenue that would go away if sports ceased should be accounted as such . A budget in profit center accounting structures can be easily gamed .
billybud said:
Huskies would be in the Big 12 now, I think...with Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF....if football had not slipped.
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i totally agree except if the ACC decided it wasn’t in their best interest to have the conference they will have to ultimately deal with in their footprint .
 
Ya know….SMU playing for free and Cal-Samford taking 30 percent plus the carriage fee….it was $$$
 
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