Is the B1G realistic?

[storrsroars]

I can see Syracuse being picked over UConn, but how Pitt and Louisville were selected ahead of us reflects how poorly UConn handled this. Pitt is in a dying city that is shrinking about 10% every 10 years, and Louisville is a freaking community college. The ACC should be running from Pittsburgh as a market as fast as it can, and Louisville is a joke. We can't blame the ACC for picking those two over UConn. UConn didn't make the sale.

Nelson, a lot of times you annoy people because of opinions. In this case you're annoying me because of your ignorance of facts, which appear to have come from a decade-old issue of "Rust Belt Weekly".

Apparently all those lists where Pittsburgh consistent ranks high on "best places to live", "best cities to realize the American dream", "best cities to raise a family" etc. etc. had this bizarre effect of actually turning around population decline and brain drain so that population in Pittsburgh has increased each of the past three years and graduates are actually staying around because there are, y'know, jobs.

Those are facts. So now let's get to the opinion part.

Look, I desperately want UConn to get to a P5 as much as the next guy and I hope it's the B1G. I loathe our current situation and fear it's not just the athletic programs that will be taking a hit, but the entire image of UConn, which will ultimately affect the entire school.

Pitt was of no use to the B1G because of PSU influence, but they actually make decent sense for the ACC - market, football-centric, recruiting base, history, academics, research, etc. etc. And because Morgantown is basically just a satellite city to Pittsburgh, the ACC effectively squashed SEC's ability to make a more than a tiny dent in the Pittsburgh media market (22nd in nation). You could even argue that Pitt was a wiser choice than Syracuse both from market potential and culturally.

I'm not going to argue that UConn did a bad sell job vs. both Pitt and Ville. But it's not just the "sell job", it's all the behind-the-scenes manuevering, which Nordeberg and to a lesser extent Jurich did vs. Herbst/Manuel. It seems like Susan and Warde almost figured the NCs made ACC admission an entitlement. Like it or not, Nordeberg simply outmanuevered UConn at every turn by being proactive (and devious) instead of reactive like SH/WM.

It is what it is at the moment. UConn's leaders screwed up. But there's no need or justification to denigrate the city of Pittsburgh in making your case.

If any BYer finds themselves in Pittsburgh, let me know. I'll be happy to show you around.

 

[Chief00]

Excuses are for losers. Quite frankly, surprisingly the big conference that makes the most sense is the SEC. Everyone already has enough tough football games, we would improve basketball and a footprint in the NYC metro area would match what the Big 10 and ACC already have.

 

[B1GEast]

There will be expansion, the big 12, ACC and the 10 will be looking to add eye balls to their markets, there's no question about that.

We just have to keep getting better, we will be in another conference, just may have to wait a while.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Is the B1G realistic?

Yes. We are the flagship in an affluent, densely populated state sitting between two exceptionally large media markets where the B1G has a large alumni presence but little physical presence. We also have a very strong fan base, quite a bit of athletic success in many sports and a quality academic profile.


Is an eventual home for us in a P-5 conference a given?

No. There are quite a few things that need to play out but nearly all of it can be placed on A) our football program demonstrating that it can consistently perform at a level where we would be somewhat competitive with the middle and above of a P-5 program and B) our fan base demonstrating that it can and will support the program. If we can accomplish the above, everything else will fall into place.


Will an invitation to a P-5 conference happen quickly enough that the drama queens on this forum will find other things to do beyond complaining about our leadership, our current lot in NCAA athletics and and why after nearly a decade of competing at the highest level in football we weren't automatically placed above a number of schools that had been doing so for a few generations?

No. This won't be a quick process. If Diaco exceeds expectations (and we are able to keep him here after he does exceed expectations) we will have the fastest path to where we want to be but this would require three or four years at a minimum. It will take a bit of time, likley to the end of this decade if not a few years longer. What we need to accept (despite what the drama queens believe) is that we are not in the middle of a death sentence unless we want to be in the middle of a death sentence. TCU Was left behind from a major conference and somehow performed better in their last decade as a mid-major than they had in more than half a century in the SWC. We should be able to (outside of football) remain as competitive in the AAC as we would have been if the BE had never split. Football will be a struggle but it would have been a struggle regardless. If we can demonstrate that our football program would be a positive addition, the B1G and ACC will begin maneuvering to beat the other to get us. Until we do that, we need to continue working towards that goal.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Excuses are for losers. Quite frankly, surprisingly the big conference that makes the most sense is the SEC. Everyone already has enough tough football games, we would improve basketball and a footprint in the NYC metro area would match what the Big 10 and ACC already have.

Nobody in the SEC would want to travel to New England for a football game after mid October.

 

[UConn990411]

But I agree about Herbst and Manuel. They even were quoted back in 2011/2012 that they were not going to push anything and were going to let things play out then make their move. Something along those lines, but I'm a strong supporter of the idea that the administration dropped the ball.

You also like to talk out of you a**, so there's that.

Not saying they did a great job, but it's pretty common knowledge by now that the Louisville invite happened mostly because of factors outside UConn's control.

 

[CTBasketball]

You also like to talk out of you a* , so there's that.

Not saying they did a great job, but it's pretty common knowledge by now that the Louisville invite happened mostly because of factors outside UConn's control.

Louisville's AD was lobbying for an ACC invite the day they took Pitt and Syracuse. If UConn had done that we might have been given the invitation.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Excuses are for losers. Quite frankly, surprisingly the big conference that makes the most sense is the SEC. Everyone already has enough tough football games, we would improve basketball and a footprint in the NYC metro area would match what the Big 10 and ACC already have.

That's almost as bad an idea as northeast Catholic school in the ACC.

 

[UConn990411]

Louisville's AD was lobbying for an ACC invite the day they took Pitt and Syracuse. If UConn had done that we might have been given the invitation.

No. That's an incredibly simplified - and incorrect - assumption to what was a very complicated situation.

UConn never was getting the necessary votes for an ACC invite for a few reasons:

1. Florida State (and Clemson) was threatening to leave the conference if the ACC took another northern basketball school. It was a power move by FSU and co., and Louisville (ranked in football at the time) was the victor of it.
2. BC and Syracuse were lobbying against UConn because we compete in the same regions for recruits. BC's old AD even said as much ("We want to be the only New England team in the ACC") shortly after Syracuse and Pitt were invited.
3. Miami's piece of president is still bitter over the lawsuit (Shala wouldn't even answer Herbst's phone calls). This, obviously, was something done long before any of the current administration was in power.

Not saying Herbst and Manuel did everything right, but most of what happened was beyond their control.

 

[JellyBean]

yup... basketball means nothing. it's all about football.

As a UConn grad living in Minnesota, trust me it's not all about football.

 

[Dooley]

We are a flagship public university in a market that the B1G desperately wants to tap into more. I personally think we are on a 3-5 year plan to get into the B1G. Here are the things that currently hurt us and what UCONN is doing to address them:

1. No AAU. This is probably the biggest deterrent but UCONN already measures favorably to other AAU institutions based on a few metrics. President Herbst recently secured $1.5B in state aid to, in large part, expand research. We are one of a very few U.S. universities in the Universistas 21 (global research version of the AAU) and now that Ohio State just accepted membership, I hope we can use that as a network opportunity.

2. Low endowment figure (currently around $340M) in comparison with other B1G schools (Rutgers is around $900M I think). President Herbst hired Emory's fundraiser who helped raise over $1B to Emory's endowment and UCONN has added a few houses in the greater Hartford area to "wine and dine" potential donors. Herbst has said that her goal is to get UCONN's endowment closer to $1B.

3. Football program and venue. Aside from TV market growth potential, football is the primary (but not sole) driver in CR. Jeff Hathaway's uninspired, awful hire of Paul Pasqualoni derailed one of the once fastest growing football programs in the country. UCONN also plays in a small off-campus stadium that is not thought of too favorably by fans outside of Connecticut. Warde Manuel's hiring of Bob Diaco is a big, first step in turning football competitive once again. He increased the Assistant coach salary pool and, as a result, Diaco assembled a fantastic staff full of former recruiting coordinators. I think Diaco will be able to recruit fairly well despite the AAC disadvantage that must be overcome. I also think that the program will win again. We already have more former players in the NFL today than Syracuse, Pitt, and Louisville. The goal though is bowl games. We don't need a National Championship contender…we just need a solid 7-win program to bring fans back to the Rent. Which leads me to the stadium issue: UCONN needs to either look into plans to expand the Rent at some point OR look into building a new on-campus stadium (although there are significant hurdles with this). We all know that Rentschler Field was built with the footings to accommodate an expansion of 10-15,000 seats, so the sooner the program wins and the fans come back, the sooner UCONN can talk expansion.

4. Post-APR/Calhoun establishment. While football is the primary driver, the B1G also needs other content to air when football season is not in progress. There is no questioning the prestige and history of both basketball programs but there is some question around the country of whether UCONN MBB can get back to a championship caliber program after Calhoun's retirement and APR mess (once again, thanks to Hathaway). I think Ollie was the best hire to restore UCONN basketball. It's a shame that UCONN has to prove itself all over again but it does. Ollie is a UCONN guy and loves the school and he will bust his tail to win. He also has pull with former Huskies who can help him in restoring/continuing the proud tradition.

Personally, I think UCONN will be in the B1G in the next 3-5 years. I think Rutgers was added first simply because of market and football recruiting location. The B1G's goal is to gain NYC eyeballs. Adding UCONN would give them more NYC access, as well as exposure in Boston and locking in our own #31 market where there is no competition of other college or professional sports. Adding UCONN BB could also bode well for scheduling future basketball events (perhaps a conference tournament?) in NYC. But UCONN has some work to do first: get closer to AAU, increase endowment, win football games and draw fans, and consistently show MBB can win post-Calhoun.

 

[SubbaBub]

Did the CR odometer roll over and I missed it? Or did the Delorean hit 88?

 

[tzznandrew]

All that matters is Football and market. We have neither

Think you're wrong about the market. The market numbers that look vaguely small are the Hartford-New Haven DMA. But everyone knows that UConn gets big play in Fairfield County...which is in the NYC DMA. That means, by definition, UConn gets basic pull in the NYC DMA...couple that with the ratings and money SNY is able to pull, and I think you'd see our market is quite good, with its tentacles firmly into most of Southern New England.

Football needs to turn around, and they need to keep improving their academics. To me, it's all a big "IF." If the the B1G were to expand, could they get Texas? If so, we're ducked. Same if they can get UVA and UNC. But I think those are out the question. So I think, if UConn's football turns around, if they keep up improving their academics, the B1G would at least give a serious look if they expand. But will they expand?

 

[NEforceUConn]

.............
I think it's within the realm of possibility. I may not see it in my lifetime ,but it will happen.
........

No offense meant but i hope you just celebrated your 97th birthday.

 

[donyell34]

You are wrong roars. The overall outlook of Pittsburgh is a slow decline, nothing drastic but not as positive as you stated. As an actuary I've done some work concerning certain aspects of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati recently. Not trying to ruffle your feathers or fur just stating what I learned and decision was made by 2 major companies to build and invest elsewhere.

 

[Strummer]

If UConn had done that we might have been given the invitation.

Yeah no. "Lobbying" is not what made the difference here, and any thought that begging louder would have made a difference is ill-contrived. See Dooley's post, above, for a nice review. We didn't get in because we didn't have the cred. Simple as that. Get the cred, then we get the invite.

 

[Stinger92860]

All that matters is Football and market. We have neither

Our dma is top 20-22 when you include fairfield county, we have market.

 

[Stinger92860]

Nobody in the SEC would want to travel to New England for a football game after mid October.

They would travel to the northeast if the game was played at MetLife or Yankee stadium.

 

[Fishy]

Louisville's AD was lobbying for an ACC invite the day they took Pitt and Syracuse. If UConn had done that we might have been given the invitation.

Nonsense.

We were never cracking the FSU/Miami/GT/BC blockade - likely never will given that they now have Pitt and Syracuse with 'em.

 

[Waquoit]

We were never cracking the FSU/Miami/GT/BC blockade - likely never will given that they now have Pitt and Syracuse with 'em.

Why? Is it just because we made them our ? Is it as simple as that?

 

[uconnbill]

There's nowhere to go. Our present is our future.

Don't you have a dog to kick or something

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Nonsense.

We were never cracking the FSU/Miami/GT/BC blockade - likely never will given that they now have Pitt and Syracuse with 'em.

It will be a difficult task but not impossible.
The ACC will make a bid for us if it looks like we are next in line for the B1g.
Even a non-strategic thinker like Swafford will see what a nightmare scenario that would be. The love will be amazing . Our close and personal friends will appeal to the great shared traditions of our fellow big East Schools. ESPN will beat the drum for the glorious reunion. The may even replay the six overtime game.
If I'm still here I will throw-up. If I'm not at least mention it turned out exactly like the old desert rat predicted.

 

[Fishy]

Why? Is it just because we made them our ? Is it as simple as that?

Half of them are worried that we'll suck at football forever and the other half is scared to death that we won't.

 

[Peacefrog]

Half of them are worried that we'll suck at football forever and the other half is scared to death that we won't.

Hah. Indeed.

 

[huskypantz]

I think our best shot with the ACC will come if the ACC comes to the realization that if they really want NYC, they need UConn. And if the B1G gets UConn, they will be greatly diminished in NYC.