Irrefutable, Undeniable ...

[Pudge]

Look ... I truly think it SUCKS that the Big East lost Syracuse, Pittsburgh & West Virginia. And back in 2004, losing BC & VA Tech ... Miami was a throw in.

But, you cannot deny the Oxygen that this league provided to the others: OUR TEAM UConn; Louisville; Cincinnati; Rutgers; and USF ... are far stronger Football programs than before they entered the conference. You might argue that Petrino's UL years straddled that period; but, I think that Jurich has consolidated the wave that those years brought & built better Corporate ties/built a better stadium/increased their Q on TV. So, what does this say when your Traditional Powers (and all the ESPN 'yarders talk Tradition & Brand) in Syracuse & Pitt basically underachieved. And, the unwashed built & expanded & grew & each Fanbase is better.

Someone said it was the Golden Era of West Virginia football & there is truth in that. (Maybe they aren't the type to spout laurels & resting on their 4/5 star recruits)

I see lots of Negative Energy spouted here on this board about our NEW Conference USA makeup. Maybe ... just Maybe ... a National conference on a major Sports Network (not named ESPN) - one that really needs us & will market/promote us - will be good for OUR TEAM UConn. The Boise franchise is no joke. Houston & SMU? UCF is a smidge less than USF & can easily create a buzz rivalry. I think there is nothing we can do about the Conference Realignment schemes; I think beg harder was ridiculous ... because we had no shot (in the current era) to be higher on the pecking order than SU/Pitt. WE can be far better than them in the long run. WE can be juicy ... like an Oregon. BrandProgams. That's all we can do: build & grow.

And, frankly, the SEC is lapping all the rest of College Football. It is an absolute joke where the competitive talent is trending: like a Waterslide into that shallow end of Academia DBA as the Southeastern Conference.

 

[NutmegState]

Plenty to agree with there...

 

[ZooCougar]

You snooze, you lose.

 

[junglehusky]

Yes, all those teams have grown and are stronger than they were. But the future is uncertain. With a TV contract we might come into a period of relative stability, perhaps 5-10 years. But each school's president is going to take action for the long-term. If that means there's a chance at another affiliation that in their judgement is in the best interest of the university (not the football team or the athletic program) then that's a decision for them to make. Hey, I'm excited to play Navy and Boise. Maybe some of the others. But let's play whoever they line up and if realignment happens, so be it.

 

[Rumrunner]

Sadly, the shallow end of academia in the SEC is appreciably deeper than the new big east.

Memphis, UofL, Boise State, UCF,USF, Cincinatti, SDSU and Houston are all ranked lower according to US News than any team in the SEC. That's 8 out of 11 teams in the BE that aren't strong academically. It is a sad day indeed when the departure of WVU hurt the Big East's academics.

 

[metsfan2323]

Look ... I truly think it SUCKS that the Big East lost Syracuse, Pittsburgh & West Virginia. And back in 2004, losing BC & VA Tech ... Miami was a throw in.

But, you cannot deny the Oxygen that this league provided to the others: OUR TEAM UConn; Louisville; Cincinnati; Rutgers; and USF ... are far stronger Football programs than before they entered the conference. You might argue that Petrino's UL years straddled that period; but, I think that Jurich has consolidated the wave that those years brought & built better Corporate ties/built a better stadium/increased their Q on TV. So, what does this say when your Traditional Powers (and all the ESPN 'yarders talk Tradition & Brand) in Syracuse & Pitt basically underachieved. And, the unwashed built & expanded & grew & each Fanbase is better.

Someone said it was the Golden Era of West Virginia football & there is truth in that. (Maybe they aren't the type to spout laurels & resting on their 4/5 star recruits)

I see lots of Negative Energy spouted here on this board about our NEW Conference USA makeup. Maybe ... just Maybe ... a National conference on a major Sports Network (not named ESPN) - one that really needs us & will market/promote us - will be good for OUR TEAM UConn. The Boise franchise is no joke. Houston & SMU? UCF is a smidge less than USF & can easily create a buzz rivalry. I think there is nothing we can do about the Conference Realignment schemes; I think beg harder was ridiculous ... because we had no shot (in the current era) to be higher on the pecking order than SU/Pitt. WE can be far better than them in the long run. WE can be juicy ... like an Oregon. BrandProgams. That's all we can do: build & grow.

And, frankly, the SEC is lapping all the rest of College Football. It is an absolute joke where the competitive talent is trending: like a Waterslide into that shallow end of Academia DBA as the Southeastern Conference.

Excellent post.

Last week someone on the board mentioned how Syracuse alumni have really perked up since joining the ACC, anyone who cares to do a little research on the interweb will find that each school the Big East is adding is seeing similar results with their alumni and fanbase. There is plenty to look forward to and I am personally glad the Big East is no longer stagnent.

 

[Mr Blueskin]

"because we had no shot in the pecking order over SU/Pitt" I disagree with that part. If it wasn't for DeFelipo and BC, we would probably be in with Cuse. But you are correct in that football won't be horrible in the future big east

 

[HartbeatHusky]

I know it's hard to accept but UConn is still a relative upstart. We don't have the athletic legacy of SU, Pitt, or WVU. Our story really is more similar to our new conference mates. We've built something truly special though over the last 2 or 3 decades and have a bright future ahead of us regardless of our conference affiliation. All we can do is try to keep winning and hope that we can keep moving ourselves into better position. The new Big East will be a better football conference on the whole than what we had before and conference realignment is hardly over. We'll be fine in the long run as long as the fans continue to support the Huskies.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

We don't have the athletic legacy of SU, Pitt, or WVU.

Historical football legacy with SU and Pitt, and ongoing football success for WVU, but are you really sure their overall athletic legacies are all that impressive? How many NCAA national championships have the referenced schools actually won? More than UConn? SU has a bunch of lax championships, Pitt a football championship when Tony Dorsett played, WVU was pretty good when Jerry West was 22 yet what national championships has it won of any note?

 

[Carl Spackler]

Look ... I truly think it SUCKS that the Big East lost Syracuse, Pittsburgh & West Virginia. And back in 2004, losing BC & VA Tech ... Miami was a throw in.

But, you cannot deny the Oxygen that this league provided to the others: OUR TEAM UConn; Louisville; Cincinnati; Rutgers; and USF ... are far stronger Football programs than before they entered the conference. You might argue that Petrino's UL years straddled that period; but, I think that Jurich has consolidated the wave that those years brought & built better Corporate ties/built a better stadium/increased their Q on TV. So, what does this say when your Traditional Powers (and all the ESPN 'yarders talk Tradition & Brand) in Syracuse & Pitt basically underachieved. And, the unwashed built & expanded & grew & each Fanbase is better.

Someone said it was the Golden Era of West Virginia football & there is truth in that. (Maybe they aren't the type to spout laurels & resting on their 4/5 star recruits)

I see lots of Negative Energy spouted here on this board about our NEW Conference USA makeup. Maybe ... just Maybe ... a National conference on a major Sports Network (not named ESPN) - one that really needs us & will market/promote us - will be good for OUR TEAM UConn. The Boise franchise is no joke. Houston & SMU? UCF is a smidge less than USF & can easily create a buzz rivalry. I think there is nothing we can do about the Conference Realignment schemes; I think beg harder was ridiculous ... because we had no shot (in the current era) to be higher on the pecking order than SU/Pitt. WE can be far better than them in the long run. WE can be juicy ... like an Oregon. BrandProgams. That's all we can do: build & grow.

And, frankly, the SEC is lapping all the rest of College Football. It is an absolute joke where the competitive talent is trending: like a Waterslide into that shallow end of Academia DBA as the Southeastern Conference.

I agree with almost all of this. I don't think we were lower in the pecking order than Syracuse or Pitt. I think we weren't a realistic target for any other conference up until 2011, because we have been entirely loyal to the Big East all along, and have been very clear about our loyalties as long as Dave Gavitt was alive, and after. I don't think it's any coincidence, that Cuse and Pitt waited until after Gavitt passed to cut the cord. As or the beg harder crap, I completely agree. Nonsense. It's always been either move forward with the big east, or cut out a path on our own.

We have great potential at UConn. We have staying power. We have market presence in the most densely populated region in the country. We have leaderhsp that's committed to growing our financial resources and stability, through means OTHER than media broadcasting, but are also paying close attention to the media world.

The Big East conference is to thank for our presence at the 1-A level of football competition. The Big East has provided a thriving growth potential for numerous football programs over the past 21 years. We have Jim Calhoun, and Big East basketball to thank for the public interest and support of the UConn athletic brand among the 3.5 million residents in the small state of CT, and the 10s o millions in the tri-state area, and we have a greater market share in the Boston/northern new england region, than our former cnference rivals as well.

The physical transformation of the university that has occured over the past 25 years is directly related to our association with the Big East conference and our basketball program since 1979.

Just got to win games. That's all. Commitment to excellence. That's UConn.

 

[Pudge]

Sadly, the shallow end of academia in the SEC is appreciably deeper than the new big east.

Memphis, UofL, Boise State, UCF,USF, Cincinatti, SDSU and Houston are all ranked lower according to US News than any team in the SEC. That's 8 out of 11 teams in the BE that aren't strong academically. It is a sad day indeed when the departure of WVU hurt the Big East's academics.

Sadly ... we keep talking about academics with folks who can't spell.

LOOK: I am not immune to the academic discussion. While I am not nearly as knowledgable as Upstater on relative rankings of individual departments, my Dad was Professor/Dean of Students/President of a very solid college for 55 years. I have been an adjunct at UAlbany for 5 years. You can't snow me over on this stuff. I understand where all these schools sit: I think you are far understating some of them. And, OUR fine UConn has busted through the top 20 Public Schools in lots of surveys.

But ... Academia for an SEC program is just hoohah. My point is that WE are seeing that southern conference use leverage, money and outright slime to go way beyond the other 112 FBS programs. Question: does this lead to the Eyeballs following? I think regional flavor keeps folks watching UConn. Watching Boise. Rooting for non-traditionals.

 

[Pudge]

I agree with almost all of this. I don't think we were lower in the pecking order than Syracuse or Pitt. I think we weren't a realistic target for any other conference up until 2011, because we have been entirely loyal to the Big East all along, and have been very clear about our loyalties as long as Dave Gavitt was alive, and after. I don't think it's any coincidence, that Cuse and Pitt waited until after Gavitt passed to cut the cord. As or the beg harder crap, I completely agree. Nonsense. It's always been either move forward with the big east, or cut out a path on our own.

>

I agree with the sentiment that WE have a lot of potential.

Swofford, as he did (and then made idiotic statements) with BC, picked the Tradition & the Longevity. YES ... he is a guy who must like all 4 & 5 star kids. Past performance does NOT equal future production. I fully think WE (UConn) had no chance in this last go-around. PLUS ... both Pitt & SU (as you implied) were really chomping at the bit for this move. I think it is a cultural misfit. But it is more MONEY

 

[Waquoit]

Yes, I admit I wish we were going elsewhere. And I'm still gonna go to all the games and have a great time. Bit isn't it a fact that the actual strength of the teams coming in will exceed the that of the teams leaving. And the overall level of play we'll see at The Rent will be at an all-time high? More good teams visiting than ever?

 

[John Greene]

I agree with the sentiment that WE have a lot of potential.

Swofford, as he did (and then made idiotic statements) with BC, picked the Tradition & the Longevity. YES ... he is a guy who must like all 4 & 5 star kids. Past performance does NOT equal future production. I fully think WE (UConn) had no chance in this last go-around. PLUS ... both Pitt & SU (as you implied) were really chomping at the bit for this move. I think it is a cultural misfit. But it is more MONEY

This "cultural misfit" stuff drives me crazy. When BC went one could delude themselves with it but now where are we? We are in a conference that stretches from coast to coast and to the Gulf of Mexico. It is made up of 2 flagship state U's, lots of religious schools ( Catholic and Methodist), a couple of city commuter schools, a few glorified commumity colleges, etc. Can we give the term a little rest?

 

[Carl Spackler]

This "cultural misfit" stuff drives me crazy. When BC went one could delude themselves with it but now where are we? We are in a conference that stretches from coast to coast and to the Gulf of Mexico. It is made up of 2 flagship state U's, lots of religious schools ( Catholic and Methodist), a couple of city commuter schools, a few glorified commumity colleges, etc. Can we give the term a little rest?

I think that the cultural differences between the regions of this vast country are undeniable. I think that it's important to have a firm understanding and grasp of how you either are going to assimilate into a different culture, and be absorbed if you're going to go across boundaries, or if you're going to recognize the differences, and generate a mutual respect when boundaries are crossed.

I think that the way that the big east has handled our spread across the country, is very much respectful of the interests and workings of different cultures and their business across the country from east to west and north to south, and that our member institutions, which now include the freaking Naval Academy, are going to continue to maintain that kind of interaction across cultural boundaries from sea to sea.

I think that the way the ACC has operated in the past, and is operation right now, as well as the way the big 12 has operated since it's creation in the 1996, clearly represents a cultural assimilation process of absorbing the cultures coming in subservient to the dominant local culture.

So - I do agree, that "cultural misfit" is probably a term that should go away, but the term...."cultural assimilation", most definitely applies.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I agree with almost all of this. I don't think we were lower in the pecking order than Syracuse or Pitt. I think we weren't a realistic target for any other conference up until 2011, because we have been entirely loyal to the Big East all along, and have been very clear about our loyalties as long as Dave Gavitt was alive, and after. I don't think it's any coincidence, that Cuse and Pitt waited until after Gavitt passed to cut the cord. As or the beg harder crap, I completely agree. Nonsense. It's always been either move forward with the big east, or cut out a path on our own.

We have great potential at UConn. We have staying power. We have market presence in the most densely populated region in the country. We have leaderhsp that's committed to growing our financial resources and stability, through means OTHER than media broadcasting, but are also paying close attention to the media world.

The Big East conference is to thank for our presence at the 1-A level of football competition. The Big East has provided a thriving growth potential for numerous football programs over the past 21 years. We have Jim Calhoun, and Big East basketball to thank for the public interest and support of the UConn athletic brand among the 3.5 million residents in the small state of CT, and the 10s o millions in the tri-state area, and we have a greater market share in the Boston/northern new england region, than our former cnference rivals as well.

The physical transformation of the university that has occured over the past 25 years is directly related to our association with the Big East conference and our basketball program since 1979.

Just got to win games. That's all. Commitment to excellence. That's UConn.

Sure we owe a lot to the Big East. If only the Big East were still around. It's more than a stretch to suggest that the conference we find ourselves in after next year is the Big East. While it is true that if something looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck, it is equally true that if something looks like a walrus, walks like a tiger and sounds like a horse, it isn't a duck...no matter what the name.

The Big East is over. I don't feel any further loyalty or connection to this loose hodge podge of random schools in the NNBE. I never had any positive feelings for USF as it was. I feel far more connection to those that have left, than those that have come in. So I'll continue to support the university, minus my usual enthusiasm towards the conference as whole.

 

[John Greene]

I think that the cultural differences between the regions of this vast country are undeniable. I think that it's important to have a firm understanding and grasp of how you either are going to assimilate into a different culture, and be absorbed if you're going to go across boundaries, or if you're going to recognize the differences, and generate a mutual respect when boundaries are crossed.

I think that the way that the big east has handled our spread across the country, is very much respectful of the interests and workings of different cultures and their business across the country from east to west and north to south, and that our member institutions, which now include the freaking Naval Academy, are going to continue to maintain that kind of interaction across cultural boundaries from sea to sea.

I think that the way the ACC has operated in the past, and is operation right now, as well as the way the big 12 has operated since it's creation in the 1996, clearly represents a cultural assimilation process of absorbing the cultures coming in subservient to the dominant local culture.

So - I do agree, that "cultural misfit" is probably a term that should go away, but the term...."cultural assimilation", most definitely applies.

Once Navy gets in we can say that the new conference is not only national but international? Which of the various school groupings will "assimilate" UConn?

 

[Carl Spackler]

BTW: until the past 2-3 years, I would not have said the same thing about the Big East. The big east most definitely, up until Marinatto's term, was operating in a way in which everyhting was subservient to basketball.

There has to be a mutual respect, for things to work well.

 

[Waquoit]

This "cultural misfit" stuff drives me crazy. When BC went one could delude themselves with it but now where are we? We are in a conference that stretches from coast to coast and to the Gulf of Mexico. It is made up of 2 flagship state U's, lots of religious schools ( Catholic and Methodist), a couple of city commuter schools, a few glorified commumity colleges, etc. Can we give the term a little rest?

It's Melting Pot v Lost Causers. I know which I prefer.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Once Navy gets in we can say that the new conference is not only national but international? Which of the various school groupings will "assimilate" UConn?

None of them will 'assimilate', or absorb UConn. That's the point.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Sure we owe a lot to the Big East. If only the Big East were still around. It's more than a stretch to suggest that the conference we find ourselves in after next year is the Big East. While it is true that if something looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck, it is equally true that if something looks like a walrus, walks like a tiger and sounds like a horse, it isn't a duck...no matter what the name.

The Big East is over. I don't feel any further loyalty or connection to this loose hodge podge of random schools in the NNBE. I never had any positive feelings for USF as it was. I feel far more connection to those that have left, than those that have come in. So I'll continue to support the university, minus my usual enthusiasm towards the conference as whole.

The basketball side of the conference has lost in all of this. No doubt. That's clearly where you're coming from. It's the damage to the basketball side of the conference, that has finally made it clear to all those institutions that the current conference commissioner represents, that the current commissioner has been right, and they have been wrong about the intercollegiate landscape for so many years.

Memphis basketball for Syracuse is not an even trade. Nor is Pitt/WVU for any other of the programs coming in. No way.

But in football, as another poster noted, we are clearly coming out far ahead in football, with what we've gained, vs. what we've lost. This is hugely significant for UConn, as we happen to be the only founding member of this conference left since 1979, that actually plays division 1-A football.

It's a strange thought, but I wonder how big St. John's university could be right now, if they had embraced the possibility of 1-A football, instead of going the 1-AA route, and folding up shop in 2002. The 1-AA experiment in football is dying, quickly.

The same time that Mike Tranghese was talking about St. John's basketball in the New York Times, when Miami was winning the 1-A national championship in football, and the PAC-10 was paying for billboards in times square, was the same year that St. John's university closed up the football program because it was a money loser in 1-AA.

 

[John Greene]

None of them will 'assimilate', or absorb UConn. That's the point.

We and RU will remain flagship state U's located in the northeast, with rising academic aspirations despite the fact that there are no other schools in the conference are like us. Hope you are correct. Not saying it can't be done, Vandy is in the SEC, but not sure this is what Madam Pres. would like. Please no lemon and lemon aide comments, I know that we have few options at present and that begging harder has not worked yet. I just hope it does soon.

 

[Carl Spackler]

How many of you knew that St. John's had a football program that dated back to the late 1800s? They did. They shut it down in 2002. the past two decades have seen numerous long term football programs in the northeast shut down operation. Villanova has done well at the 1-AA level, but they will eventually reach a cross roads. Providence College has played football too. Georgetown still has a d-III football program. St. Johns won the ECAC football championship in 1993.

The changes around football scholarships that started with the Ivy's discontinuing scholarships in the 50s and continued with the regulations implemented in the 1970s around divisional status and athletic department size and funding, and stadium seating requirements, completely changed the athletic landscape of the northeast, and facilitated the rise of basketball.

Football still reigns supreme though, in the national landscape.

We owe our seat at the table in the national landscape, to our historical path through the northeast intercollegiate landscape, and our association with the big east conference, and our basketball successes, but football, will be the sport that carries our institution forward, if we're going to remain relevant nationally as a large, well endowed, state university.

Keep the comments clean.

 

[Carl Spackler]

We and RU will remain flagship state U's located in the northeast, with rising academic aspirations despite the fact that there are no other schools in the conference are like us. Hope you are correct. Not saying it can't be done, Vandy is in the SEC, but not sure this is what Madam Pres. would like. Please no lemon and lemon aide comments, I know that we have few options at present and that begging harder has not worked yet. I just hope it does soon.

I cannot predict with any sort of meaning, how long the BCS system will last. But I cannot fathom, that at some point in the future, it will be gone. No way to predict what the future college football post season format would look like, but the problem all along, is that there is no true metho to determine a national champion on the field of play, unless there is a playoff among conference champions for a national title, and those conferences include all members of division 1-A.

BYU, Notre Dame, and Army are the only ones left outside.

I promise you this though, the moment, that a true playoff system is implemented, will be the same time, that you will see complete and utter chaos for a year, while all universities at the 1-A level across the country completely reorganize into a system of conferences that make geographic sense. The only question, is whether or not a playoff can be implemented before, or after Notre Dame joins a conference.

There's a model here to follow folks. It's called the NFL. Professional football was a complete mess until the creation of the Super Bowl and the national playoff system which matched up the winners of the two biggest leagues and their members from coast to coast.

In the past 40 years, it's become the most watched, and dominant sports event on the planet. The super bowl. I think that college football, in the United States, could surpass the NFL in popularity if the conferences could unite and form a true playoff system - maybe not globally, but I think a true college national playoff and national championship game would surpass the Super Bowl in popularity in the united states.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The basketball side of the conference has lost in all of this. No doubt. That's clearly where you're coming from. It's the damage to the basketball side of the conference, that has finally made it clear to all those institutions that the current conference commissioner represents, that the current commissioner has been right, and they have been wrong about the intercollegiate landscape for so many years.

Memphis basketball for Syracuse is not an even trade. Nor is Pitt/WVU for any other of the programs coming in. No way.

But in football, as another poster noted, we are clearly coming out far ahead in football, with what we've gained, vs. what we've lost. This is hugely significant for UConn, as we happen to be the only founding member of this conference left since 1979, that actually plays division 1-A football.

It's a strange thought, but I wonder how big St. John's university could be right now, if they had embraced the possibility of 1-A football, instead of going the 1-AA route, and folding up shop in 2002. The 1-AA experiment in football is dying, quickly.

The same time that Mike Tranghese was talking about St. John's basketball in the New York Times, when Miami was winning the 1-A national championship in football, and the PAC-10 was paying for billboards in times square, was the same year that St. John's university closed up the football program because it was a money loser in 1-AA.

There is no separation for me. I consider all sports when evaluating the conference. I find it a major negative that there are teams that are on the sidelines for aspects of the league. I don't like FB only or BB only schools. I think it fosters division and makes what should be a conference must more like a marriage of convenience. In the SEC UK is almost always among the worst at football, but best at basketball. Kansas is the same in the Big XII and Indiana at least used to be in the Big 10. UCLA in Pac 10. There's a balance. We have no balance. Losing to Boise on the football field will be less enjoyable knowing we can't stomp them at soccer and basketball. Plus I hate the idea of games in the western and mountain time zones, they better be day games, or nobody will see them.

I certainly don't agree that the football is better than it was before the defections of Miami, VT and BC. It may be a wash with what we recently had, at least until Louisville departs.