Carl, you are like some crazy but well meaning Uncle.
Linking to a 15 page PDF decision from 1984 for some reference reading on a fan board is, well... nuts. Not as nuts as the fact that I skimmed it, but I digress.
I humbly suggest lifting your head up out of ancient history and dealing with the here and now. I know that those that don't learn history are doomed to repeat it. But my dad also told me that "Experience is a dear school, but a fool learns in no other."
That all said, I'm firmly with CHB and HuskyFanDan. Let's schedule the biggest fish we can and let's stick it to em. To be the best you've got to beat the best. It's that simple. We don't need to delve in to ancient history to conclude on that.
Trust me, if you don't know your history, you're doomed to make stupid mistakes that can be, and should be preventable. There is no reason whatsover to schedule an away game with anyone, without a return home game.
Understanding the intercollegiate sports landscape, is of absolute paramount importance to the future of the University of Connecticut.
The deregulation of college football broadcasting that was controlled by the NCAA up until 1984, is a monumental point in history of intercollegiate athletics in these united states. The contracts at that time ran on 4 year cycles, it's no surprise that by 1990, with every single university in the country looking for the best deal they could get in broadcasting, that the intercollegiate landscape has been in turmoil ever since.
There has been no stability in the intercollegiate conference functioning ever since - most definitely - predictably so indeed, as the lack of a true post season format based on competition on the field and conference championships does not exist. The BCS aint it, and it never will be, even if they try to use the word 'playoff'.
Understanding why this is so, and how it has happened, what kind of moves have happened over the years across the country,in the past 25 years, and how the big east conference fits into it, is of paramount importance. Maybe the new athletic director is reading, and I hope somebody's aware of it all up there high in the offices in Storrs.
The only position of strength that any single university, or coalition/league/conference of universities can have in this landscape, is two fold.
#1, a thriving fan base, and economic stable endowments and resources - people that actually buy the tickets, contribute money to the school, and buy the merchandies. That means you need coaches that can recruit, and build winning teams, and play lots of home games, and beat whomever you line up against to compete for championships. The big east tournament in MSG with the NY media behind it. A championship football game in NYC with the NY media behind it.
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#2. - and this is what history since 1984 shows - is...CONTROL OVER YOUR OWN BROADCASTING RIGHTS.....
The worst thing that can be done, is that any university, or conference, submit to complete control of broadcasting rights to any single media enterprise. Hathaway did something close to this, with UConn media rights, and he's gone.
The contracts will be up shortly. The big east conference, is in a position of strength and stability for one single reason only. The entire conference has finally committed to the importance of stability in football. With the strength and diversity of the basketball conference, combined with teh football conference, the worst possible thing that the Big East can do in the future, is sign over all media rights to single broadcasting company.
I look forward to the future, the future at UConn is bright.
