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Message: [QUOTE="Dooley, post: 2989066, member: 2920"] Great stuff John. I think there are some UConn fans who don't understand the subsidy allocation, AD budget, revenue streams and how they impact [U]all[/U] UConn sports, not just football. We can say it here until we're UConn blue in the face but coming from you, it will hopefully have more of an impact. Fingers crossed! You and Zac should tackle a UConn fanbase piece on The Daily in the future: why do people root for specific UConn sports but root [I]against[/I] others? Does anyone at UConn think this is an issue (either publicly or privately)? If so, can UConn do anything to unite the fanbase (ex - offer a season ticket discount bundling program that stretches across all sports)? Is the segmented fanbase currently impacting UConn - in terms of revenue, reputation, etc - and in terms of growth potential (ex - AAC media negotiation, state venue renovation projects like XL Center, conference realignment, future funding, etc)? In other words, do these constant Big East debates actually help or hurt UConn? UConn football has been nothing short of a dumpster fire in recent years. No question. I also know that some sports appeal to folks differently than others. I LOVE baseball, but know it's too boring for others. All good there. But I don't ever recall reading or hearing anyone other than UConn fans wanting to drop the sport altogether. Not Kansas. Not SMU. Heck, the public outcry at UAB was so big they restored the program after 1 year. The irony, of course, is that if that "Big East / drop football" talk stopped and UConn fans rooted for the name 'UConn' instead of specific sports only, that perhaps UConn AD/BoT would take more aggressive steps to win in [U]all[/U] sports. There will be no questioning or worry from the AAC and its media partners in the upcoming media negotiation. There would also be no questioning or worry from potential P5 conferences when the next, and possible final round, of conference realignment cranks up again in 5+ years. With aggressive support comes winning and with winning comes all sorts of nice things, including the opportunity for UConn to gain acceptance into a P5 conference (where it belongs) and make real, self-sustaining money to fund [U]all[/U] UConn sports without subsidies. With P5 money, we can fend off others from stealing our coaches, our recruits, our money. The growth potential is enormous. Seems like there are UConn fans who are all too quick to shoot themselves in both feet... and then complain about it. Would love to read about a deeper dive as to why this is. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach