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Yep, BuffaloLion is our buddy. He's been consistent for at least a couple of years.
If anyone has any doubts, see how he goes to bat for UConn on a Michigan board (back in 2013):
UConn's football potential looking 10 to 20 years out blows Boston College and Syracuse off the map. They just started playing Division One football about 10 years ago and went to a BCS Bowl as recently as January 2012.
They have easy access to their stadium from all over New England. They have roughly 12 million more people living within a 150 mile radius of Storrs than Boston College has living within 150 miles of their campus. Penn State's campus has nothing but woods and mountains for 150 miles until you hit Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, yet we have a 110,000 seat stadium.
UConn is the state flagship University of Connecticut with basically NO competition for University loyalties within their own state (except maybe to a very small degree, Yale).
Boston College is a private University competing for attention within their own CITY from Harvard, Boston University, Tufts, Northeastern, and, within their own state, UMass. In fact, geographically, more of Massachusetts is closer to UConn's campus than BC's campus. UConn's campus is only 19 miles further from Boston than East Lansing is from Ann Arbor. NO ONE in Boston cares about BC football unless they are playing Notre Dame. In fact, truth be known, UConn and BC have about the same following in the Boston Metro.
New York state doesn't have a state "Flagship University". Their state University system is split up into so many loyalities that rooting interests are all over the map.
I live in Western New York, and absolutely NOBODY cares one whit about Syracuse. The Big Ten Network suprisingly has made Big Ten teams the most followed football teams in Western New York. Penn State is the most followed team followed by Notre Dame, Ohio State, West Virginia, Pitt, Michigan, etc. Then people have their own schools they root for like the University of Buffalo.
In basketball season, people in western New York follow St. Bonaventure, Canisius, Niagara, Notre Dame and the Big Ten schools. Syracuse is hardly talked about unless they are playing a Big Ten school like Michigan or Ohio State.
Neither Syracuse or Boston College have any room for expansion of their campuses or facilities. UConn has unlimited room for growth. And they have the full backing of their state government to improve and increase their research assets and facilities. Unlike the other two schools, UConn is dead serious about gaining AAU status, and, as I said, has the complete backing of their state government to achieve that goal.
In short, UConn reminds me a LOT of Penn State in the late 1960s. In the late 60s, we didn't have NEARLY the research assets and athletic facilities we have now, but since our entrance into the Big Ten and CIC, our growth has been beyond phenomenal. That can happen at UConn too. And they have one HUGE advantage over Penn State.
Whereas our state Government has been literally trying to destroy Penn State as a major research University since our current Governor took office soley to reduce our political lobbying ability in Harrisburg, UConn has the full support and financial backing from their state government and Governor.
Since that study Delany did, UConn has opened up a LOOOT of eyes in the Big Ten offices. They still probably won't get into the Big Ten on this round. But if they do, they will be a MAJOR asset to the Big Ten looking 10 years out.
Of course the Big Ten would take Florida State first. That's why this rumor is just that. A rumor.Syracuse is a complete no-go.
The reason the ACC took Syracuse instead of UConn is because Boston College didn't want them. There is a TON of bad blood between the two schools because of the issues involved in the first ACC raid of the Big East, and BC blacked them. UConn utterly and totally destroys every other New York City area school in their New York City Metro men's basketball television ratings. Ann Arbor is closer to Chicago than Syracuse is to New York City.
That's only one of the things that opened up a lot of eyes in the Big Ten offices. Among numerous other things, UConn's research assets and state government backing also has made people in the Big Ten offices take notice. Their research expenditures are over 1.5 times the total research expenditures of Boston College and Syracuse combined.
Heck, UConn even has Division 1 Men's Hockey. Syracuse doesn't. With the new Big Ten Hockey Conference starting next year, UConn can get the Big Ten into some prime New England recruiting grounds.
I don't know what Syracuse was like in Western New York when you were a kid, but I was transferred up here in 1977. The next time I hear Syracuse being talked about on a Buffalo sports talk station in a positive way for more than 1 minute will be the first time. What really cracked me up was whenever people kept calling in WGR sports radio wondering who the heck Doug Marrone was when the Bills hired him. Some had never heard of him.
At the gym and at the office, all we talk about is Big Ten teams, local area teams, and Notre Dame. The only time Syracuse is mentioned is whenever they are playing a Big Team team or a local team like St. Bonaventure.
The four teams you will see added will be Virginia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and, as it's trending right now, probably Missouri. The Big Ten isn't going to waste their time on a dud like Syracuse.
Jim Calhoun "walked through the door" and took them to 3 national titles competing in the toughest basketball Conference in the Country.
And UConn might not be good recruiting territory for football, but, combined with a Rutgers, it's off the charts for basketball, and it ain't too bad in hockey either.
In football, if you're talking recruiting, New York is absolutely HORRIBLE. I played high school football in Pennsylvania. It's like professional football compared to the quality, intensity, and the numbers they get up here. FAR more kids up here seem to go out for soccer in the fall than football and it shows. The BEST high school football team up here would get absolutely, positively slaughtered by an average Pittsburgh or Philadelphia area team. I try to go to some of the local high school games, and it's like watching a Junior High game. LOTS of teams up here are stuck with playing freshmen on their Varsity because of numbers.
see you edited your post I replied to. That's good, because I was wondering what in the heck you were talking about.
What's funny about our conversation is that none of these three teams will have a sniff of the Big Ten in this next round of expansion. But it's still fun to talk about. And let me also say that I always enjoy reading these expansion "rumors", so I'm glad you started this thread. If you hear anything else, please feel free to post it, because it makes for good conversation.
I'm not picking at you because you started the thread or told us what you heard. I enjoyed reading it and thank you for posting it. What I'm correcting you about is that you are sooooo off base in the comparison of the three schools. Your post that you edited showed me that not only were you way off in your geography, but you were even way off in what Conference Boston College is affiliated with.
Boston College absolutely, positively DOES NOT WANT UConn in the ACC unless it is an absolute last resort. If the ACC gets picked apart on this next round of expansion, BC will have no choice but to give the ACC the green light. But on the LAST round, you had two different lobbies at work in the ACC. You had the tobacco road lobby of North Carolina, Duke, NCState, Wake Forest, etc. that wanted UConn in the worst way against the Florida State/BC/Clemson lobby that wanted Louisville. The SMALLER lobby won as a compromise with Louisville because tobacco road knew that Florida State and Clemson almost bolted to the Big 12 last year partially over the admittance of Pitt and Syracuse.
Jim Delany had a study done recently specifically comparing Syracuse, Boston College, and UConn, and I'm telling you, BC and Syracuse got utterly and absolutely destroyed in almost every metric possible.
BC is a stagnant, private school with almost no growth potential in an area that is littered with college loyalties. The CIC wants public state Flagship Universities that have good lobbies in their state capitals and with their federal representatives. BC doesn't have that. People in Boston just don't care, and people throughout the rest of the state have loyalties to either UConn or UMass.
Syracuse is out on an island, 250 miles from New York City, with a stadium that is EXPONENTIALLY harder to get to from the New York City and Boston Metros than Rentschler Field is in East Hartford. In fact, because of UConn's centralized location with easy access, the Big Ten thinks that it could not only deliver the New York City Metro (in combination with Rutgers), and to a MUCH smaller degree the Boston Metro, but all of New England. Portland, Maine is about the same distance to Rentschler Field as Philadelphia is to Beaver Stadium. Heck. Even Albany New York is 140 miles closer to Rentschler Field than it is to the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse is also a private school with limited lobbying ability. The SUNY System is New York's State's Public University system which carries FAAAAR more political lobbying ability than Syracuse does. The University of Buffalo would be a FAAAAR greater asset to the CIC than a private school like Syracuse would be. The University of Buffalo is an AAU research University that absolutely dwarfs Syracuse in research expenditures.
UConn is the public flagship State University of Connecticut and has VERY friendly federal and state politicians in their government structure. The CIC has been BEYOND impressed with the support they have gotten. The CIC would find UConn an outstanding asset when it comes to lobbying in joint research endeavors.
Some posters talk about Calhoun leaving. What about when Boeheim leaves. UConn is in a FAR richer recruiting area for high school basketball talent than Syracuse is. And some posters have said that UConn is a stepping stone job for football coaches. Well what do you think Syracuse is? Doug Marrone only stayed 4 years.
And as far as football pedigree goes, Syracuse hasn't done crap with it over the last 10 years. They are 51-82 over that period of time with a MINUS (-705) point differential. UConn, a team that didn't become a full-fledged member of Division 1-A until 2002, has a 75-60 record over the last 10 years playing in the EXACT SAME CONFERENCE as Syracuse with a PLUS 601 point differential and a BCS Bowl appearance just 2 years ago.
There is just SOOO much more when comparing the three schools, but the bottom line is that if the Big Ten DOES decide to go with one of the three schools (BC, CUSE, or UConn - all highly unlikely), Uconn wins the battle hands down.
see you edited your post I replied to. That's good, because I was wondering what in the heck you were talking about.
What's funny about our conversation is that none of these three teams will have a sniff of the Big Ten in this next round of expansion. But it's still fun to talk about. And let me also say that I always enjoy reading these expansion "rumors", so I'm glad you started this thread. If you hear anything else, please feel free to post it, because it makes for good conversation.
I'm not picking at you because you started the thread or told us what you heard. I enjoyed reading it and thank you for posting it. What I'm correcting you about is that you are sooooo off base in the comparison of the three schools. Your post that you edited showed me that not only were you way off in your geography, but you were even way off in what Conference Boston College is affiliated with.
Boston College absolutely, positively DOES NOT WANT UConn in the ACC unless it is an absolute last resort. If the ACC gets picked apart on this next round of expansion, BC will have no choice but to give the ACC the green light. But on the LAST round, you had two different lobbies at work in the ACC. You had the tobacco road lobby of North Carolina, Duke, NCState, Wake Forest, etc. that wanted UConn in the worst way against the Florida State/BC/Clemson lobby that wanted Louisville. The SMALLER lobby won as a compromise with Louisville because tobacco road knew that Florida State and Clemson almost bolted to the Big 12 last year partially over the admittance of Pitt and Syracuse.
Jim Delany had a study done recently specifically comparing Syracuse, Boston College, and UConn, and I'm telling you, BC and Syracuse got utterly and absolutely destroyed in almost every metric possible.
BC is a stagnant, private school with almost no growth potential in an area that is littered with college loyalties. The CIC wants public state Flagship Universities that have good lobbies in their state capitals and with their federal representatives. BC doesn't have that. People in Boston just don't care, and people throughout the rest of the state have loyalties to either UConn or UMass.
Syracuse is out on an island, 250 miles from New York City, with a stadium that is EXPONENTIALLY harder to get to from the New York City and Boston Metros than Rentschler Field is in East Hartford. In fact, because of UConn's centralized location with easy access, the Big Ten thinks that it could not only deliver the New York City Metro (in combination with Rutgers), and to a MUCH smaller degree the Boston Metro, but all of New England. Portland, Maine is about the same distance to Rentschler Field as Philadelphia is to Beaver Stadium. Heck. Even Albany New York is 140 miles closer to Rentschler Field than it is to the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse is also a private school with limited lobbying ability. The SUNY System is New York's State's Public University system which carries FAAAAR more political lobbying ability than Syracuse does. The University of Buffalo would be a FAAAAR greater asset to the CIC than a private school like Syracuse would be. The University of Buffalo is an AAU research University that absolutely dwarfs Syracuse in research expenditures.
UConn is the public flagship State University of Connecticut and has VERY friendly federal and state politicians in their government structure. The CIC has been BEYOND impressed with the support they have gotten. The CIC would find UConn an outstanding asset when it comes to lobbying in joint research endeavors.
Some posters talk about Calhoun leaving. What about when Boeheim leaves. UConn is in a FAR richer recruiting area for high school basketball talent than Syracuse is. And some posters have said that UConn is a stepping stone job for football coaches. Well what do you think Syracuse is? Doug Marrone only stayed 4 years.
And as far as football pedigree goes, Syracuse hasn't done crap with it over the last 10 years. They are 51-82 over that period of time with a MINUS (-705) point differential. UConn, a team that didn't become a full-fledged member of Division 1-A until 2002, has a 75-60 record over the last 10 years playing in the EXACT SAME CONFERENCE as Syracuse with a PLUS 601 point differential and a BCS Bowl appearance just 2 years ago.
There is just SOOO much more when comparing the three schools, but the bottom line is that if the Big Ten DOES decide to go with one of the three schools (BC, CUSE, or UConn - all highly unlikely), Uconn wins the battle hands down.
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