How Many UConn Football Fans Feel Betrayed Today?

[RedSoloCup]

Betrayed? A stretch. Let down... yeah. I had never really had expectations of leadership after watching the debacle the last few years.

And I recognize, as noted by several posters on this board, that they have drastically under-invested in the program. I can't sway the steady habits and waste that is CT government, I am not a big donor, just a fan. I have just watched with some hope that not all the flowery speeches were hot air.

Well, that hope is gone, and with it my donations to the university. I will still head down to the tailgates, and still enjoy the day and the time. Raise one for the guys on the field who came to play. I just know that there is a much higher probability that we will see the end of that opportunity in the next few years.

The steady habits of CT, hotbed of mediocrity.

 

[huskeynut]

I have stayed out of this one so far. I understand to fan reaction to a degree. But some reality is missing in the rage.

If you want to lay blame at the feet of people, here's were you start:
1. Jeff Hathaway as AD. For those of you who don't remember, Hathaway did not have a good relationship with may of the coaches including Edsel, Calhoun and Geno. Hathaway was one of the reasons Edsel bolted to Maryland. Hathaway had no vision for UConn and was stuck in the old Yankee Conference mold.
2. Edsel. Yes Randy has blame in this mess. He was the one who bolted to Maryland without even saying good bye to the team. Sorry - that's no class.
3. Hathaway hired Pasqualoni. He who was love and adored by the CT high school coaches. Remember, many of the high school coaches had a very strong dislike for Edsel.
4. Our beloved rock star - Warde Manual. Fired Pasqualoni (good) and hired Bobby Boy Diaco (disaster). Then left for the Ad's post at Michigan.
5. And let's not forget our "friends" from the OBE - Miami, BC, Pitt, Syracuse and yes ND. They had no problem saving themselves.
6. ESPN - I need not say any more.

Now, I'm not totally happy with the status of the football program. Would I like to see the program in a conference - yes. Whether it happens or not remains to be seen. But the football program has to take a very hard look at why they are in the position they are today.

And finally, I still donate to UConn despite moving to Florida 3 years ago. Many of you may not agree with me and I'm fine with that.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Journalist Jeff Jacobs, has this little gem about Tom Ritter, UConn's bumbling interim board chair. "Before he adjourned the meeting, Ritter said, “Somewhere, Dave Gavitt (the late architect of the Big East) and John Toner (the late AD who got UConn into the conference) are misty-eyed and exchanging high-fives right now.” I am glad Ritter has such intimate knowledge of the hereafter. I suspect Toner would be horrified with the outlook for football, as a former UConn football coach and NCAA president.

 

[Redding Husky]

The program was on borrowed time the moment Louisville was announced to the ACC. Everyone here with half a clue knew it might ultimately be the death of UConn sports when relegated to the G5. (Non-BCS back then).

We were so naive. We thought having great academics and a very successful athletic program would get us into the P5. But the world is Machiavellian. Louisville took the dirty road to the P5 and it worked.

 

[BlueDogs]

So basically you agree with my posted and you just wanted to quote me. Cool.

Umm.. you is not such a good reader

 

[polycom]

Umm.. you is not such a good reader

Sure.

 

[TRest]

We were so naive. We thought having great academics and a very successful athletic program would get us into the P5. But the world is Machiavellian. Louisville took the dirty road to the P5 and it worked.

That was the model for the ACC until it wasn't.

And I disagree that UConn hasn't invested in football, our facilities have to be as good or better than anyone's in the AAC. We only got cheap when we had to poopcan Bobby and throw on a mediocre bandaid.

 

[BlueDogs]

Sure.

That went over your head. Lighten up and enjoy your Catholic after-school basketball league. It should be a real blast from the past, minus Syracuse, Pitt, BC, Rutgers, West Virginia, Miami, Louisville, Va Tech, ... you know...the big boy schools that managed to look forward.

 

[outlaw]

the true betrayal belongs to The Civil ConFLiCT. RIP </3

 

[uconnric]

Huge overreaction to this move. You'd think we just turned down an ACC invite, which, thanks to our friends at BC, may never come. Our membership in the AAC wasn't working for football and was not working for basketball, notwithstanding the increased travel costs for non-revenue sports. The AAC is basically a southern league and we were outliers in it.

I'm not going to moan about the loss of Tulsa, Tulane, East Carolina, SMU. Yes I'll miss directional Florida(s), Houston, Cinci, but it won't be that difficult to make a football schedule at least as attractive to the casual college football fan as we had in the AAC, if not a lot better. The casual fan was not being drawn to the AAC schedule for either football or basketball. The bowl tie-ins were not that great either. The Big East (yes it's not the Big East of old) will at least improve our brand overall.

This was a move that had to be made. The athletic department was hamstrung in the AAC. It was originally a move made by necessity, not by choice. And it wasn't working.

No, I don't feel betrayed at all. I'll still support UConn athletics. If some of you want to quit, that's your decision.

 

[zmart]

Question.
If UConn were to drop to the FCS level, could the new soccer stadium be expanded to 15,000 seats.

 

[kemba]

The guy won the Broyles award as the games top assistant at ND, but yet you knew he was going to # 2 the bed. You can’t make this level of Monday morning quarterbacking up.

You should start your retained search firm for coaches.

Everyone who gets hired to be a head coach has something on paper that makes them a good candidate. AD's job is to find out the rest, such as, is this guy a crazy person. They failed and dug us into this hole.

 

[uconnell]

Why now! Couldn’t UConn wait till they got a permanent Chair to the BOT and the new President had been sworn in? Why? Who takes responsibility if this fails when all who approved are no longer here? Such a shock to the fans. Almost as secretive as the “Manhattan Project”. After all this I hope UConn comes out of this better than they went into it,

 

[BlueDogs]

Question.
If UConn were to drop to the FCS level, could the new soccer stadium be expanded to 15,000 seats.

Irony .. the new soccer stadium...

 

[BlueDogs]

Why now! Couldn’t UConn wait till they got a permanent Chair to the BOT and the new President had been sworn in? Why? Who takes responsibility if this fails when all who approved are no longer here? Such a shock to the fans. Almost as secretive as the “Manhattan Project”. After all this I hope UConn comes out of this better than they went into it,

Because if it went through a normal process, the public would come to realize going backwards is not going forward. We shrink from doing big things constantly.

 

[Excalibur]

The RE2 hire isn't that bad considering how much we were willing to spend. If we were willing to invest real money and we still hired RE, that would be different. Unless people want to argue that we should have used the same amount of money to hire a no name coach.

That's kind of the point, though. If the goal was to try to parlay football success and our market into a potential p5 invite, you needed to be all in on that, and pour money into it. If we weren't willing to do that, we should have just followed the Catholic 7 in 2013.

 

[huskysupporter]

That was the model for the ACC until it wasn't.

And I disagree that UConn hasn't invested in football, our facilities have to be as good or better than anyone's in the AAC. We only got cheap when we had to poopcan Bobby and throw on a mediocre bandaid.

Our coaching salaries have been putrid - non competitive. It’s an embarrassment how much out O Coordinator was paid.

 

[polycom]

That's kind of the point, though. If the goal was to try to parlay football success and our market into a potential p5 invite, you needed to be all in on that, and pour money into it. If we weren't willing to do that, we should have just followed the Catholic 7 in 2013.

Sure one could say that. But if we had a big booster or group of boosters who said let's take football seriously like basically every other school who takes football and really sports in general seriously, we wouldn't be where we are today. We live in a rich state that is disconnected from collegiate sports. Sure the women's team has a strong following but what do the dollars say because at the end of the day that is what matters.

 

[CL82]

2) this was evaluated by all of UConn’s decision makers and they all disagree with you.

Lol, you know Mike, that's not comforting in the least.

 

[GridironGR8]

Question.
If UConn were to drop to the FCS level, could the new soccer stadium be expanded to 15,000 seats.

I am not really familiar with the soccer facilities but looking at Google Maps it appears that if UConn were to relocate the practice soccer field it could build a slightly larger version of the grandstand side of Bob Ford Stadium at SUNY Albany. The Albany stands hold about 8500 and the stadium project (Phase One of at least two phases) cost $24 million six or seven years ago. Yeah it could be expanded but who is going to pay for it?

 

[Bonehead]

Yeah it could be expanded but who is going to pay for it?

Creighton.

 

[CTMike]

Lol, you know Mike, that's not comforting in the least.

Fair...

 

[EJHarrington]

You seem to be having a very hard time coming to grips with the facts that:

1) of all the factors that *may* lead to footballs eventual demise, this is like number 382.
2) this was evaluated by all of UConn’s decision makers and they all disagree with you.
3) the AAC was no panacea. Expecting UConn to subsidize payouts to absolute dregs and thank the conference for the privilege is no friend of ours.
4) it’s only conventional wisdom and people rooting for UConn’s failure that are calling this a death sentence. It makes a tough path harder, no doubt- I hope AD David Benedict has the fortitude here to make it work. But there’s also an opportunity to be a strong regional presence in the Northeast. That’s ok. No AAC team was ever being considered for the championship anyway, we were never playing for that, we didn’t lose anything there. Keep as much rights as you can, try to get games on SNY or another platform... build, win, try to make an occasional bowl when there aren’t enough teams to fill slots. It’s not perfect but it’s not death... at least, not yet.

I disagree that no AAC team was ever being considered for the championship. A few years ago if Houston ran the table they almost certainly would have made final four. Even if they didn't, playing a New Years' Six Bowl Game is a pretty massive consolation prize.

 

[huskymedic]

Question.
If UConn were to drop to the FCS level, could the new soccer stadium be expanded to 15,000 seats.

I am not really familiar with the soccer facilities but looking at Google Maps it appears that if UConn were to relocate the practice soccer field it could build a slightly larger version of the grandstand side of Bob Ford Stadium at SUNY Albany. The Albany stands hold about 8500 and the stadium project (Phase One of at least two phases) cost $24 million six or seven years ago. Yeah it could be expanded but who is going to pay for it?

Would be extremely tight as construction is already underway... 98 Million Dollars Athletic Upgrades On BOT Agenda

 

[uconnbill]

Still blame ESPN and Syracuse alumni for this crap show UConn is stuck in.

The Garden will be fun in March, but football playing 2-1s and teams like MTSU and others isn't thrilling.

 

[TJT]

The DEATH WARRANT for UConn FBS football was officially signed today.

 

[TRest]

Our coaching salaries have been putrid - non competitive. It’s an embarrassment how much out O Coordinator was paid.

Edsall got what the market would pay. I thought Lashlee was paid well, since he left we really got cheap. The horse was already out of the barn at that point.

 

[WrenchFan69]

The DEATH WARRANT for UConn FBS football was officially signed today.

Do you mean yesterday?

 

[CL82]

Betrayed? No.
A little depressed? You betcha.

 

[VAHuskyFan]

It's not Geno's fault. It's not Edsall's either. He was an employee. He had every right to leave and take what he perceived to be a better job, right or not. And whatever you think about how he left, that is inarguably irrelevant to where we are today.

CEO's leave corporations all the time. Those in charge have to find competent replacements. Our Trustees, our Presidents and our ADs failed beyond miserably in that. If we were still a Top 60 football program, we'd be able to work something out with the AAC just for football.

You’re forgetting the part where he came back and went 2-20 against FBS teams, including presiding over the worst defense in the history of major college football.

I don’t think anyone would argue he inherited a bowl-caliber team, but we just put up our worst record since 1932 and got out-recruited by the likes of: Utah State, Appalachian State, Kent State, Georgia State, Northern Illinois, Portland State, UMass, Georgia Southern, and Coastal Carolina.

I don’t know how much better someone else could have done. But it’s not really possible to have done any worse. A winless season against FBS teams followed by a recruiting class ranked the same as Harvard’s probably forced a few hands here on the football side of things. And Randy shares in the responsibility for that.