I am done

[gioff23]

I will be penning a note to the AD this week letting him know that while a relative newbie on some levels (not an alum and have been a fan since move to 1A), I am done. I truly believe the administration has misread the suffering we have endured over the past 6 years and that the only way to reach them is thru the pocketbook. I recognize he (AD) is new to this, but at some point we have to stop making excuses for everyone and realize what we have - a conference beneath us, a dying fanbase, and a program that has not evolved in 6 years. I have never seen a coach play to not lose. We have an inept strategy on O, our D has taken a huge step back from 15 and the STs are a joke - really, we can't return a punt? Worse, I truly believe Bob's experiment (love, hugs for all, RKGs, etc.) is premised on a ceiling he sees for UConn football that is so far below what we have been and could be, it's beyond words. I had such high hopes for BD, but we are in Y3 of an experiment that sees us regressing in terms of wins, and not showing progress on the field. Under him, the St. Pete Bowl is and will be the ceiling.

And so, BY, I wish you all well. I will attend the Temple game, pass on Tulane, and move on. No more tickets, no more donations - nothing. Either this administration will take immediate steps to right the ship, bring in a proven coach and get us to being a top 40 program on the field, perennially, or it really needs to follow the unthinkable plan espoused by lesser minds and abandon P5 dreams, move football to a UMass situation and return other sports to the Big East. I can't continue to spend commas on a program that is anything less than fully committed to getting us out of this godforsaken conference and putting a team that on the field that performs at the caliber of other athletic programs at State U. If we were a true P5 program, there would be a posse forming at Benedict's door and forcing his hand to make a change now. Go after a Art Briles-type and show the fanbase and the NCAA that we're serious about this sport we have taken too lightly for too long. I wasted my last Saturday cheering for a program that is not fully committed to winning.

 

[ktuck911]

Is your real name Robert Burton???

 

[BlueandOG]

I'm glad you're leaving. Life is not easy - if you don't pack the gear to weather the storm, we are stronger without you.

 

[NavinRJohnson]

Thank you for your years of dedication. So long.

 

[BugsyCT]

I wouldn't say this conference is beneath us for football. For basketball - yes. But we get your frustration - we all feel it too.

 

[J187Money]

The first sentence says it all - he isn't an alum. Which makes this purely entertainment for him.

TBH I only really get irritated at the alums that walk away. As Calhoun said when he was in NYC a couple of weeks ago - the school needs us more than ever.

 

[pnow15]

You should not despair. I think about 6 to 7 teams in the ACC were given consideration to join the Big 12. If you have 6 to 7 teams that are qualified to move up to P-5,
should not the whole league move up to p-6. When was the last time, Boston College, Pitt, NCST or Wake Forest won anything. If the teams of the AAC make a commitment to stay together, the league as a whole could pose a legal challenge to the p-5.
Of course there is an legitimate argument to be made that not only is Diaco killing UConn he is killing the entire conference.
Right now the AAC is the best bargain in television history. We need to renegotiate that contract.

 

[CTMike]

Glad fans are leaving? As if we have any to spare?

Gioff's only "crime" is that he typed up what all the other missing fans are thinking as they voted with their wallet and their feet.

We've been terrible for almost 6 years. The problem isn't Gioff deciding that 5 years of this sandwich was all he could stomach.

 

[gtcam]

I'm glad you're leaving. Life is not easy - if you don't pack the gear to weather the storm, we are stronger without you.

Not needed
I'm never glad when a fan of a team/program I love feels this way
I understand both your points of view
I have been a fan since the mid 60s and IMHO this program has been the chain around the schools neck that is stopping it from moving to a P5. The problem is that the administration knows it and AD Warde did the program no favors bringing in a neophyte and AD Benedict dug a deeper hole with the contract extension.
I had hope for HCBD but I am to the point of disgust with how he coaches the game. Yeah the hugs and kisses crap may work but it is results on game day that matter most.
Blue - I understand the "lets ride out the storm" mentality BUT through the HCRE abrupt leaving, the HCPP debacle and now this situation has caused a fan base to dissolve and that takes time to recover. No P5 will consider UConn with attendance being what it is. I am a season ticket holder and have been for decades. I will not stop BUT if the condition of the program does not improve via positive action by administration and the coaching staff, it will be awfully hard to continue. I am strong but there are limits to tolerance.

 

[ktuck911]

Of course there is an legitimate argument to be made that not only is Diaco killing UConn he is killing the entire conference.

Being a life long fan/alumn (blee blue) this elephant in the room comment was a drop the mic moment. a bit disturbing thought too for our program in general.

 

[gtcam]

The first sentence says it all - he isn't an alum. Which makes this purely entertainment for him.

TBH I only really get irritated at the alums that walk away. As Calhoun said when he was in NYC a couple of weeks ago - the school needs us more than ever.

That's pure crap
I have bled Blue and White since the mid 60s and I am not an alum.
My mother and father were as was my son but I went elsewhere.
UConn sports is not "purely entertainment" for me
I have donated thousands of dollars and am season ticket holder

 

[Sea Goat]

That's pure crap
I have bled Blue and White since the mid 60s and I am not an alum.
My mother and father were as was my son but I went elsewhere.
UConn sports is not "purely entertainment" for me
I have donated thousands of dollars and am season ticket holder

We are all troubled by what's happening. We do what we can, but shouldn't we expect more from the top brass? Not so much SH - she is doing a great job re: our academic reputation. I wish DB didn't give an extension to HCBD, but he gets a pass on that. But how about the BOT? I believe we need more involvement and activism at that level. Do we have the right people on the BOT? Malloy really controls the BOT. Who has he appointed and what can they do for UConn? Other schools have dynamic and nationally influential people on their BOT - who do we have?

(BTW, I like your avatar, but it betrays your vintage - Marilyn Monroe would have turned 90 this year!!!)

 

[sub legacy]

I can't blame fans for feeling dejected. It's becoming glaringly obvious that UConn football is yet again regressing to a state which it's simply not worth the investment of attendance or eyeballs if the product on the field is going to be this consistently inept, clueless, and unwatchable. There are literally better and more constructive things people like myself could be doing for 3+ hours on their Saturdays if UConn can't even at least look like a competitively competent football team.

Personally, I'm generally tired of feeling like I could easily call better plays on Madden or NCAA Football. When it does happen, their next hire better be among the hottest offensive coordinators/coaches in the country or the "shut it down" chants are only gonna get louder because this program simply can't survive another "more of the same" status quo hire -- being questionable defense and uninspired, inept offense.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I think the Athletic Department knows full well that the fan base is suffering. It's quite clear from attendance. You are just one among many frustrated fans who have given up on the program.

I'm gonna keep supporting the program because that's who I am and I still enjoy tailgating and rooting for my team regardless. But I grew up bleeding UConn blue and I went there and it's just part of my DNA at this point.

Don't blame anybody for leaving. Definitely blame people for pretending we don't need the fans.

But I think the department knows full well how tough it's been on the fan base and they are certainly trying, but I am not sure what sort of miracle you expect them to perform. Fire Diaco and pray the next coach is better? Sell tickets for $10? Yell at Shirreffs until he gets better?

It's an ugly problem without any easy solutions. I hope someday we see you back.

 

[businesslawyer]

The first sentence says it all - he isn't an alum. Which makes this purely entertainment for him.

TBH I only really get irritated at the alums that walk away. As Calhoun said when he was in NYC a couple of weeks ago - the school needs us more than ever.

Please. I've stood five yards from you in too many empty stadiums with rain pouring down and nothing to play for to need to hear that. The only reason we were talked about for the XII is because we hopefully, if well placed, can bring a good portion of the non-alum state residents to the tube.

 

[Caronimo]

I will be penning a note to the AD this week letting him know that while a relative newbie on some levels (not an alum and have been a fan since move to 1A), I am done. I truly believe the administration has misread the suffering we have endured over the past 6 years and that the only way to reach them is thru the pocketbook. I recognize he (AD) is new to this, but at some point we have to stop making excuses for everyone and realize what we have - a conference beneath us, a dying fanbase, and a program that has not evolved in 6 years. I have never seen a coach play to not lose. We have an inept strategy on O, our D has taken a huge step back from 15 and the STs are a joke - really, we can't return a punt? Worse, I truly believe Bob's experiment (love, hugs for all, RKGs, etc.) is premised on a ceiling he sees for UConn football that is so far below what we have been and could be, it's beyond words. I had such high hopes for BD, but we are in Y3 of an experiment that sees us regressing in terms of wins, and not showing progress on the field. Under him, the St. Pete Bowl is and will be the ceiling.

And so, BY, I wish you all well. I will attend the Temple game, pass on Tulane, and move on. No more tickets, no more donations - nothing. Either this administration will take immediate steps to right the ship, bring in a proven coach and get us to being a top 40 program on the field, perennially, or it really needs to follow the unthinkable plan espoused by lesser minds and abandon P5 dreams, move football to a UMass situation and return other sports to the Big East. I can't continue to spend commas on a program that is anything less than fully committed to getting us out of this godforsaken conference and putting a team that on the field that performs at the caliber of other athletic programs at State U. If we were a true P5 program, there would be a posse forming at Benedict's door and forcing his hand to make a change now. Go after a Art Briles-type and show the fanbase and the NCAA that we're serious about this sport we have taken too lightly for too long. I wasted my last Saturday cheering for a program that is not fully committed to winning.

While it sucks seeing the fan base die, I respect your decision and hope you end up writing to the AD.

 

[Caronimo]

Glad fans are leaving? As if we have any to spare?

Gioff's only "crime" is that he typed up what all the other missing fans are thinking as they voted with their wallet and their feet.

We've been terrible for almost 6 years. The problem isn't Gioff deciding that 5 years of this sandwich was all he could stomach.

Well said. We can't lose anymore fans. They need to do something fast. Doesn't mean firing Diaco, but something needs to be done.

 

[UConnNick]

Fire Diaco is a good place to start. After two losers in a row we're overdue for a winner, and it shouldn't be this difficult in a mid major conference. As SMU has shown, anybody can beat anybody in this league. It's totally wide open for any coaching staff with the right plan and resources in place, and we've got them, but maybe not for much longer if something isn't done about it right now.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Not needed
I'm never glad when a fan of a team/program I love feels this way
I understand both your points of view
I have been a fan since the mid 60s and IMHO this program has been the chain around the schools neck that is stopping it from moving to a P5. The problem is that the administration knows it and AD Warde did the program no favors bringing in a neophyte and AD Benedict dug a deeper hole with the contract extension.
I had hope for HCBD but I am to the point of disgust with how he coaches the game. Yeah the hugs and kisses crap may work but it is results on game day that matter most.
Blue - I understand the "lets ride out the storm" mentality BUT through the HCRE abrupt leaving, the HCPP debacle and now this situation has caused a fan base to dissolve and that takes time to recover. No P5 will consider UConn with attendance being what it is. I am a season ticket holder and have been for decades. I will not stop BUT if the condition of the program does not improve via positive action by administration and the coaching staff, it will be awfully hard to continue. I am strong but there are limits to tolerance.

I agree with you. I really do, but there is one small observation I'd like to see all UConn fans discard . . . the entire business of how Randy Edsall left the program after the Fiesta Bowl. Just for a quick review . . . Randy had to be silent about "his leaving". Maryland, I'm sure, want to hold a "new conference" to introduce their new coach - not some after the fact gathering. It was probably a condition of his hire (that he remain silent as opposed to announcing earlier). Problem was . . . that created the likelihood of Randy having to leave immediately and forfeit the opportunity to coach the program he built in the Fiesta Bowl ( (the pinnacle of success for the Huskies). This happens all the time in college football, where unlike the NFL, there is no penalty for tampering with another team's coaches.

So I don't (never did) blame Randy for the way he left. Fans need to get over it and understand this is an unfortunate part of the modern day business of big time college football. As for the players, they were not some Pop Warner outfit. They should have known all along that the better UConn did, the more likely a bigger, weathier, power conference program was gonna view RE. It happens all the time. Besides, it has nothing to do with the sad state of UConn football today, which began to fall apart when they went for a quick fix and hired an "old retread", who in turn, decided to start (and stick with) a "walk on", You Tube trick shot artist, as the Huskies QB in the 2011 season. That was the moment the program began its skid.

 

[J187Money]

That's pure crap
I have bled Blue and White since the mid 60s and I am not an alum.
My mother and father were as was my son but I went elsewhere.
UConn sports is not "purely entertainment" for me
I have donated thousands of dollars and am season ticket holder

A) wasn't directed at you or "all" non-alums
B) merely pointing out that people without "ties" to the school can get frustrated and walk away

He appears to be a football fan, not a UCONN fan - UCONN just happens to be FBS and local. We need "sports" fans also, but "sports" fans need production more than "UCONN" fans do to stay invested.

 

[businesslawyer]

I agree with you. I really do, but there is one small observation I'd like to see all UConn fans discard . . . the entire business of how Randy Edsall left the program after the Fiesta Bowl. Just for a quick review . . . Randy had to be silent about "his leaving". Maryland, I'm sure, want to hold a "new conference" to introduce their new coach - not some after the fact gathering. It was probably a condition of his hire (that he remain silent as opposed to announcing earlier). Problem was . . . that created the likelihood of Randy having to leave immediately and forfeit the opportunity to coach the program he built in the Fiesta Bowl ( (the pinnacle of success for the Huskies). This happens all the time in college football, where unlike the NFL, there is no penalty for tampering with another team's coaches.

So I don't (never did) blame Randy for the way he left. Fans need to get over it and understand this is an unfortunate part of the modern day business of big time college football. As for the players, they were not some Pop Warner outfit. They should have known all along that the better UConn did, the more likely a bigger, weathier, power conference program was gonna view RE. It happens all the time. Besides, it has nothing to do with the sad state of UConn football today, which began to fall apart when they went for a quick fix and hired an "old retread", who in turn, decided to start (and stick with) a "walk on", You Tube trick shot artist, as the Huskies QB in the 2011 season. That was the moment the program began its skid.

All very well said.

 

[gtcam]

We are all troubled by what's happening. We do what we can, but shouldn't we expect more from the top brass? Not so much SH - she is doing a great job re: our academic reputation. I wish DB didn't give an extension to HCBD, but he gets a pass on that. But how about the BOT? I believe we need more involvement and activism at that level. Do we have the right people on the BOT? Malloy really controls the BOT. Who has he appointed and what can they do for UConn? Other schools have dynamic and nationally influential people on their BOT - who do we have?

(BTW, I like your avatar, but it betrays your vintage - Marilyn Monroe would have turned 90 this year!!!)

Yikes!!! 90???
Well I am about 30 yrs younger than that
I got the avatar off a t-shirt - believe it or not!
Thanks

 

[ZooCougar]

I agree with you. I really do, but there is one small observation I'd like to see all UConn fans discard . . . the entire business of how Randy Edsall left the program after the Fiesta Bowl. Just for a quick review . . . Randy had to be silent about "his leaving". Maryland, I'm sure, want to hold a "new conference" to introduce their new coach - not some after the fact gathering. It was probably a condition of his hire (that he remain silent as opposed to announcing earlier). Problem was . . . that created the likelihood of Randy having to leave immediately and forfeit the opportunity to coach the program he built in the Fiesta Bowl ( (the pinnacle of success for the Huskies). This happens all the time in college football, where unlike the NFL, there is no penalty for tampering with another team's coaches.

So I don't (never did) blame Randy for the way he left. Fans need to get over it and understand this is an unfortunate part of the modern day business of big time college football. As for the players, they were not some Pop Warner outfit. They should have known all along that the better UConn did, the more likely a bigger, weathier, power conference program was gonna view RE. It happens all the time. Besides, it has nothing to do with the sad state of UConn football today, which began to fall apart when they went for a quick fix and hired an "old retread", who in turn, decided to start (and stick with) a "walk on", You Tube trick shot artist, as the Huskies QB in the 2011 season. That was the moment the program began its skid.

I always figured Randy was ducking Hathaway. While not an Edsall fan, LOL. The loyalty his former players have for him ought to speak volumes.

 

[J187Money]

Please. I've stood five yards from you in too many empty stadiums with rain pouring down and nothing to play for to need to hear that. The only reason we were talked about for the XII is because we hopefully, if well placed, can bring a good portion of the non-alum state residents to the tube.

As I said - we need non-alum fans, but they are only going to stay if the product is good. Don't for a minute think that I'm bashing non-alums - they just have a different perspective.

 

[gtcam]

I agree with you. I really do, but there is one small observation I'd like to see all UConn fans discard . . . the entire business of how Randy Edsall left the program after the Fiesta Bowl. Just for a quick review . . . Randy had to be silent about "his leaving". Maryland, I'm sure, want to hold a "new conference" to introduce their new coach - not some after the fact gathering. It was probably a condition of his hire (that he remain silent as opposed to announcing earlier). Problem was . . . that created the likelihood of Randy having to leave immediately and forfeit the opportunity to coach the program he built in the Fiesta Bowl ( (the pinnacle of success for the Huskies). This happens all the time in college football, where unlike the NFL, there is no penalty for tampering with another team's coaches.

So I don't (never did) blame Randy for the way he left. Fans need to get over it and understand this is an unfortunate part of the modern day business of big time college football. As for the players, they were not some Pop Warner outfit. They should have known all along that the better UConn did, the more likely a bigger, weathier, power conference program was gonna view RE. It happens all the time. Besides, it has nothing to do with the sad state of UConn football today, which began to fall apart when they went for a quick fix and hired an "old retread", who in turn, decided to start (and stick with) a "walk on", You Tube trick shot artist, as the Huskies QB in the 2011 season. That was the moment the program began its skid.

Thanks for the reply
Gotcha
It just looked bad and left a bad taste in many mouths
but business is business