- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 4,129
- Reaction Score
- 12,326
1. John Toner's decision to create Div. 1-AA: UConn was considered Div. II. Toner wanted to upgrade to Div. I but not make the monetary commitment that went along with that decision. In his role as NCAA president he creates 1-AA. (Yale was ranked #17 & Dartmouth was ranked #20 in that era, & Yale screamed bloody murder that the Ivy League was forced into that division)
2. Gampel Pavilion: Toner's original blueprints were for a 10-12K dual purpose facility for both Hoops & hockey. State of Ct. forces elimination of hockey rink to cut down on construction costs & downgrade of seating to 8800 to protect its investment of propping up the Hartford (now XL) Civic Center. (Freitas is later built for hockey but its low seating capacity is unacceptable for HE standards-good luck with that)
3. The RENT: Original plans were for at 50K domed stadium to be built at Adrien's Landing. Bob Kraft hoodwinks Gov. Rowland into changing plans to a 65k NFL outdoor facility. Once Kraft pulls the rug out, Rowland puts stadium on hold until U-Tech donates the land in East Hartford. Then the State DOWNGRADES the blueprints to an outdoor facility with total capacity of 40K, expandable to over 50K if needed by demand. (Will I see that in my lifetime?)
4. Football coaching hires since HCRE left: Pasqualoni is hand picked by Jeff Hathaway despite other seemingly better candidates being available-epic fail-only qualifier I will give is that J.H. wanted to have a name coach in place in time for National Signing Day.
Which leaves us with HCBD: When he was hired, he said all the right things & was a breath of fresh air. First clue that he might not be the right hire was when he declared the first 3 games of the 2014 season to be exhibition games. Granted that the Huskies would be totally outclassed by BYU & Boise State, but a good coach NEVER gives his troops an "It's okay to lose to lose" message. Next mortal sin: his bend but don't break defense-well it's broken big time. Offensive line: can't run block or pass block consistently & Coach has no clue how to fix it.
There are other examples I'm sure, But just had to rant. Still Fuming from yesterday's total debacle.
2. Gampel Pavilion: Toner's original blueprints were for a 10-12K dual purpose facility for both Hoops & hockey. State of Ct. forces elimination of hockey rink to cut down on construction costs & downgrade of seating to 8800 to protect its investment of propping up the Hartford (now XL) Civic Center. (Freitas is later built for hockey but its low seating capacity is unacceptable for HE standards-good luck with that)
3. The RENT: Original plans were for at 50K domed stadium to be built at Adrien's Landing. Bob Kraft hoodwinks Gov. Rowland into changing plans to a 65k NFL outdoor facility. Once Kraft pulls the rug out, Rowland puts stadium on hold until U-Tech donates the land in East Hartford. Then the State DOWNGRADES the blueprints to an outdoor facility with total capacity of 40K, expandable to over 50K if needed by demand. (Will I see that in my lifetime?)
4. Football coaching hires since HCRE left: Pasqualoni is hand picked by Jeff Hathaway despite other seemingly better candidates being available-epic fail-only qualifier I will give is that J.H. wanted to have a name coach in place in time for National Signing Day.
Which leaves us with HCBD: When he was hired, he said all the right things & was a breath of fresh air. First clue that he might not be the right hire was when he declared the first 3 games of the 2014 season to be exhibition games. Granted that the Huskies would be totally outclassed by BYU & Boise State, but a good coach NEVER gives his troops an "It's okay to lose to lose" message. Next mortal sin: his bend but don't break defense-well it's broken big time. Offensive line: can't run block or pass block consistently & Coach has no clue how to fix it.
There are other examples I'm sure, But just had to rant. Still Fuming from yesterday's total debacle.
