It’s not over until the fat lady sings

[Yup!]

The biggest

The biggest Structural limitations are admissions. No reason we shouldn't allow the same caliber athletes as West Virginia and Cincinnati. None. The second is pay, in particular for assistants. The CBS sports deal is pretty awesome. Need a better product to showcase.

I doubt places like Boise Idaho have built in recruiting advantages. My eyes told me year 1, of Edsall 2.0, Cincinnati and UConn were equally bad. Today One school is ranked in the top 10, the other just lost to an FCS squad.

Randy deserves all the credit for what he accomplished his 1st go round here. I cannot even begin to understand what was his plan his 2nd go around. Talked down the kids who were here from day 1, and told everybody things would be different when he recruited his kids. We are literally worse on the field than when he arrived.

It's not ALL ABOUT a better coach, but i don't think any sport the coach matters as much as college football.

Randy wasn't all that cheap 2nd time around. His biggest plus was no buyout.

Good points! Cincinnati’s success has everything to do with amazing hires.

 

[Yup!]

I have never seen anyone claim that Randy Edsall is the best coach in the history of football. I certainly am not claiming that. Hopefully we find someone who is a better coach and with the same structural limitations will do better. But ignoring the structural limitations because we think a better coach will solve everything is just as silly.

Randy Edsall is the best coach in the history of UConn football. At one point in time UConn football was making some noise in the NCAA, beating teams like ND, Indiana, S. Carolina and many others. Almost beating 15 Michigan at the time ( lost by 3 ) in a packed stadium.

Lets say we hired great coaches after Edsalls first stint here the perception of UConn football would be completely different. A great coach CAN solve this mess we’re in by winning. Being independent isn’t as bad as some of you may believe. We’re scheduling games with some pretty good schools, with a pretty good tv deal, and some think independent helped us with the recruiting class we have coming in as well.

 

[ASweet3781]

Cincinnati football was straight up garbage until they joined the Big East in 2005.

They played in 1 bowl game between 1950-2000. 1.

Yes they are located in a better recruiting spot. But it means nothing unless you make a commitment. The coaches they have had the last 15 years speaks for itself. The coaches we had the last 15 years speaks for itself.

lots of hyperbole on both sides in this thread. We are a lifetime away from them right now. But Cincinnati had almost no “history” up until 2005.

 

[blue93]

The biggest

The biggest Structural limitations are admissions. No reason we shouldn't allow the same caliber athletes as West Virginia and Cincinnati. None. The second is pay, in particular for assistants. The CBS sports deal is pretty awesome. Need a better product to showcase.

I doubt places like Boise Idaho have built in recruiting advantages. My eyes told me year 1, of Edsall 2.0, Cincinnati and UConn were equally bad. Today One school is ranked in the top 10, the other just lost to an FCS squad.

Randy deserves all the credit for what he accomplished his 1st go round here. I cannot even begin to understand what was his plan his 2nd go around. Talked down the kids who were here from day 1, and told everybody things would be different when he recruited his kids. We are literally worse on the field than when he arrived.

It's not ALL ABOUT a better coach, but i don't think any sport the coach matters as much as college football.

Randy wasn't all that cheap 2nd time around. His biggest plus was no buyout.

Bingo. Great post. If we want to be a legitimate FBS school, we need to go for it now. Otherwise this may actually be the last football hire we make.

 

[BlueDogs]

Cincy is a large public research U and is closer to Ohio State than the MAC schools in terms of enrollment.

Correction noted. Not sure what I was thinking...Miami Ohio, Kent State, Akron, etc are public. Point stands.

 

[Jimdish255]

This is not an all or nothing scenario. We beat Notre Dame. Does any sane person believe that we have the ability in anyone's lifetime to become a better program than ND year in and year out? They are two different things.

I have never seen anyone claim that Randy Edsall is the best coach in the history of football. I certainly am not claiming that. Hopefully we find someone who is a better coach and with the same structural limitations will do better. But ignoring the structural limitations because we think a better coach will solve everything is just as silly.

Yet without a better coach nothing gets solved. And while we did essentially come from trailers Randy actually inherited a winning football team when he came here the first time around. And that's because Skip Holtz was a good coach while he was here. The bottom line is things were different back then but by the time Randy got back for a second stint his philosophy was not going to be successful. It's funny how when you start winning some of those other obstacles seem to melt away.

 

[hank970]

From the various comments here about UC, it's pretty obvious that some folks think the world ends on the east bank of the Hudson River and that Storrs is the center of the universe. If so, that's a small universe.

The University of Cincinnati celebrated its second centennial two years ago. It was established and thriving decades before UConn. With an enrollment of 46,000+, it's the second largest state university in populous Ohio. It manages a large and envious research portfolio and has an endowment of $1.45 billion. It also has excellent on-campus facilities for football and basketball, both having undergone significant, privately-funded upgrades of about $80-million each in the last few years. Forbes ranks its beautiful suburban campus with its signature architecture in the top ten nationally.

As for recruiting, just a few years ago the Cincinnati metro was home to three of the nation's top twenty-five high school football teams. This year, Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School is ranked in the top 25. Yes, Ohio State may lure many kids, but Cincy's ability to attract and keep local talent is improving. The school also recruits deeply into Florida, Georgia, and other southern states. The trajectory is upward.

UConn is a fine school. You can't and won't make it better be denigrating other institutions with which many of you aren't even remotely familiar.

 

[uconnyankee]

This is not an all or nothing scenario. We beat Notre Dame. Does any sane person believe that we have the ability in anyone's lifetime to become a better program than ND year in and year out? They are two different things.

I have never seen anyone claim that Randy Edsall is the best coach in the history of football. I certainly am not claiming that. Hopefully we find someone who is a better coach and with the same structural limitations will do better. But ignoring the structural limitations because we think a better coach will solve everything is just as silly.

We’ve ignored the coaching and focused on our structural weaknesses. That has gotten us 3 wins in the past 6 years.

ill take a hot up and coming coach, breath some life into the program, and give him as many tools to overcome those challenges.

it wasn’t that long ago I remember watching ESPN and they were showing UConn Football and mentioned, ‘Yeah, the same UConn that plays basketball is now playing football’….
It happened once and RE wasn’t even a great coach. He was a good fit though.

 

[businesslawyer]

Let’s not make Cincy into Ohio State! Big 12 is only a recent development.
Cincy has done a great job in hiring coaches and has been pretty solid without the P5 tag.

there is no reason UConn can’t compete with Cincy, which was the premise of the post. And when UConn had that same league affiliation, they did squat.

if you think Cincy’s status is unattainable, what’s the point? Who cares on the next coach, it doesn’t matter?

my god, can we lower the bar any lower? What next, UConn will never be Yale because of their history and IV affiliation?

Cincy has to compete with OSU for local talent? UConn has BC.

We’ve ignored the coaching and focused on our structural weaknesses. That has gotten us 3 wins in the past 6 years.

ill take a hot up and coming coach, breath some life into the program, and give him as many tools to overcome those challenges.

it wasn’t that long ago I remember watching ESPN and they were showing UConn Football and mentioned, ‘Yeah, the same UConn that plays basketball is now playing football’….
It happened once and RE wasn’t even a great coach. He was a good fit though.

We had two things almost twenty years ago when we started that we don't have now. We had fans who thought this would be fun, who didn't have to sit through 12 years without a winning season, and we had a conference tie in that meant if we won our conference, which didn't have any traditional superpowers, we would play in a Top 4 bowl. Neither of those are there now.

NO ONE IS SAYING WE WOULDN'T BENEFIT FROM A BETTER COACH. CERTAINLY I'M NOT SAYING THAT. But the question remains as to what we will accomplish with a better coach, and we're nowhere near where we were in terms of either attracting that guy or keeping him after some initial success. (And yes, I'd take initial success.)

 

[lgt2019]

Cincy is a private school and it’s “history” was one of a tough, mid tier program and it’s peers of the day (Western Michigan, Miami of Ohio, etc..) were similar in many respects. But they were nothing until a string of great coaches came in. The recruiting “hotbed” is somewhat accurate but overblown. There is enormous competition for recruits in that area with a lot of schools. They didn’t recruit any better than any other midtier until they got some momentum thanks to a serious of excellent hires.

No, they are a public school.

 

[hank970]

Good points! Cincinnati’s success has everything to do with amazing hires.

Conversely, amazing coaches are attracted by the potential for success, and some programs consistently have more potential (funding, recruiting, administrative and fan support, tradition, great facilities, etc.) than others. No widely regarded up-and-comer is going to jeopardize a promising coaching career by taking the reins of a program that's perceived to be hopeless. If you have a diamond-in-the-rough, someone is going want to step up and polish it. If all you can offer is dross, forget it.

 

[HardFacts]

Yet without a better coach nothing gets solved. And while we did essentially come from trailers Randy actually inherited a winning football team when he came here the first time around. And that's because Skip Holtz was a good coach while he was here. The bottom line is things were different back then but by the time Randy got back for a second stint his philosophy was not going to be successful. It's funny how when you start winning some of those other obstacles seem to melt away.

Randy did a good job on a lot of fronts in his first stint and also in his second. Recruiting has improved and off field issues have been pretty much eliminated.The COVID year was a mistake! We should have played an abbreviated schedule as there is no experience like game reps. RE1 and RE2 both show he was never great at making in game adjustments. His game plan was his game plan and if it worked from the outset we had success. If not it was always a long day because he would not waiver from it. The difference with RE2 is the game today is much faster and you need to constantly be making in game adjustments to have any shot of winning. He talked about taking last year having the year to evaluate and make changes. My guess is change was just not in his DNA.

 

[Travelman6]

Cincinnati is ranked 7th overall this year so far, and if they win out with some of the big boys losing one or two games they might end up in the playoff discussion.

It will be a moot point on October 2nd.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Not much difference at all. Well, other than the fact that they have more of a football history than us. And are located in a high school football hotbed, rather than New England. And are favorites to get into the Big XII because their geography allows it. And play in a league where they recruit players knowing they can compete for all league teams, conference championships and bowl bids. And have a schedule that you can count on being hard enough that if you go undefeated you will be in the playoffs, and most one loss years as well, without needing the luck and cooperation we do to schedule.


But other than those facts, you're right. Both universities have football teams.

If and when the Big Ten expands, they are not taking the next one or two schools based on just football, if that were the case then why did they invite Rutgers? They’re taking the next two teams that can ADD to the Big Tens footprint and can ADD the most crazy fans with TV sets. Minor reasons will be how well the schools Athletic Dept is run in general, the academic standing of the schools, and can grab the most viewers in the Northeast, particularly the New York metro area, including Fairfield County in Connecticut. That being said, with Edsall gone, I take that as a huge positive for UConn going forward and a gigantic positive if UConn hires a decent football coach. Both UConn’s basketball programs might be an enticement as well.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

From the various comments here about UC, it's pretty obvious that some folks think the world ends on the east bank of the Hudson River and that Storrs is the center of the universe. If so, that's a small universe.

The University of Cincinnati celebrated its second centennial two years ago. It was established and thriving decades before UConn. With an enrollment of 46,000+, it's the second largest state university in populous Ohio. It manages a large and envious research portfolio and has an endowment of $1.45 billion. It also has excellent on-campus facilities for football and basketball, both having undergone significant, privately-funded upgrades of about $80-million each in the last few years. Forbes ranks its beautiful suburban campus with its signature architecture in the top ten nationally.

As for recruiting, just a few years ago the Cincinnati metro was home to three of the nation's top twenty-five high school football teams. This year, Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School is ranked in the top 25. Yes, Ohio State may lure many kids, but Cincy's ability to attract and keep local talent is improving. The school also recruits deeply into Florida, Georgia, and other southern states. The trajectory is upward.

UConn is a fine school. You can't and won't make it better be denigrating other institutions with which many of you aren't even remotely familiar.

Yep recruiting Ohio and the adjacent states... Really liked their athletic village alot. Always found them to be a tough, gritty program through multiple coaching changes. Same with MBB.

 

[BPT2Storrs]

UConn does not have the buy-in for the football program that other public universities have. We all know that the New England is a bit different when it comes to higher education…many of our best and brightest (as well as our wealthiest) do not want to attend or support the state’s largest public university. I believe this truly has impacted our athletic programs. It boggles my mind as a I believe you can get just as good an education at UConn as compared to just about anywhere else (save the Ivy’s/Public Ivy’s), but there seems to be a perception that UConn is not “good enough” for some. I think the same can be said for our best athletes - they don’t want to commit to UConn because they want to get out and experience what other universities have to offer.

I think part of the problem lies with the shortsightedness of the State of Connecticut. I understand that local municipal control reigns supreme in this State but there is no reason why UConn should not be more built up as a “college town”. That is a draw that many want when it comes to deciding on a college - I think athletes want similar things and not just athletic facilities. Becoming a destination will likely help with recruiting, especially for those recruits in state.

Our state also loves to throw political capital around as well. We try too hard to prop up some of our cities through UConn when the focus should be on the main campus - Storrs. To me if you do that the rest of the state will eventually reap those benefits.

Sorry this was a bit off topic but feel it needs to be addressed if we are talking about the future of the university and the football program.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

From the various comments here about UC, it's pretty obvious that some folks think the world ends on the east bank of the Hudson River and that Storrs is the center of the universe. If so, that's a small universe.

The University of Cincinnati celebrated its second centennial two years ago. It was established and thriving decades before UConn. With an enrollment of 46,000+, it's the second largest state university in populous Ohio. It manages a large and envious research portfolio and has an endowment of $1.45 billion. It also has excellent on-campus facilities for football and basketball, both having undergone significant, privately-funded upgrades of about $80-million each in the last few years. Forbes ranks its beautiful suburban campus with its signature architecture in the top ten nationally.

As for recruiting, just a few years ago the Cincinnati metro was home to three of the nation's top twenty-five high school football teams. This year, Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School is ranked in the top 25. Yes, Ohio State may lure many kids, but Cincy's ability to attract and keep local talent is improving. The school also recruits deeply into Florida, Georgia, and other southern states. The trajectory is upward.

UConn is a fine school. You can't and won't make it better be denigrating other institutions with which many of you aren't even remotely familiar.

Good points, but no matter how you slice it and present it, Cincinnati is a large commuter school, though a nice one at that. It is definitely not a flagship university like the University of Connecticut is. I also doubt if Cincinnati even has all the athletic programs required for Big Ten admission. I know several schools in the Big Ten would vote against a Cincinnati invite. Cincinnati getting an invite from the Big Ten is like Memphis getting an invite from the SEC.

 

[BigTenFan]

Good points, but no matter how you slice it and present it, Cincinnati is a large commuter school, though a nice one at that. It is definitely not a flagship university like the University of Connecticut is. I also doubt if Cincinnati even has all the athletic programs required for Big Ten admission. I know several schools in the Big Ten would vote against a Cincinnati invite. Cincinnati getting an invite from the Big Ten is like Memphis getting an invite from the SEC.

Big Ten conference requires AAU membership- UC is not a member

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Big Ten conference requires AAU membership- UC is not a member

Neither was Nebraska when they got the invite.

 

[BigTenFan]

Nebraska got the boot after they were invited.
They should not be in the BIG 10

 

[McLovin]

Had B12 took UL and WVU, UCONN would be in the ACC today. We can all thank Texas for this. UL is much better fit for the B12 while UCONN is a much better fit for the ACC. Instead, we are in the mess we are in today thanks to Texas and its stranglehold over the B12 at that time.

Being in the ACC does not guarantee any wins, but at least we will be playing our old BE rivals every week. I am pretty confident even if UCONN was in the ACC, we would still suck in football with PP, Diaco, and Edsall 2.0.

It was supposed to be UConn and Cuse to the ACC but BC vetoed that. That is the only reason we are not in the ACC. We were their top choice before Pitt.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Nebraska got the boot after they were invited.
They should not be in the BIG 10

They are, and just goes to show you that Jim Delany or Kevin Warren really don’t care. I can see any school not an AAU member getting an invite on the condition that they apply for a membership eventually.

 

[Bobol]

I have learned to accept things I cannot change.

I look forward to watching the rejuvenated UConn mens basketball competing in the Big East Conference.

Live is not all that bad.

 

[ScottVib]

It was supposed to be UConn and Cuse to the ACC but BC vetoed that. That is the only reason we are not in the ACC. We were their top choice before Pitt.

I also wonder if, in an alternate past, the initial ACC expansion comes in 2007 or 2008 if UConn (and not BC) is the choice for the northeastern markets. By that point UConn has multiple national titles in basketball, 2-3 bowl trips and a recent share of the Big East football title.

Could UConn have been the school condemning BC to purgatory in that timeline? We'll never know.

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

I have learned to accept things I cannot change.

I look forward to watching the rejuvenated UConn mens basketball competing in the Big East Conference.

Live is not all that bad.

Yup. Life and let life.

 

[ATLDYKA]

We can say UConn fans don’t care about major college football and it’s seemingly accurate. I guess my question is the real issue that Uconn fans don’t care because we have sucked for a decade? If we were winning consistently there would be no issue….at least in my opinion. FANS IN THIS REGION CARE ABOUT WINNING. You see it in every sport in the northeast.

I agree and have been saying this about UConn Alum is that they are bandwagon alum. I won't call them fans because fans cheer on their school through good and bad. We have a frontrunner fanbase. Only care if our teams are good.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

I have learned to accept things I cannot change.

I look forward to watching the rejuvenated UConn mens basketball competing in the Big East Conference.

Live is not all that bad.

What most Uconn fans seem to forget or ignore is that state of the football program can and will have serious consequences for UConn basketball programs.

If the P4 or whatever decides to break away, does anyone honestly think they will take the Big East with them? Also, schools in those P4 conferences have more money to spend on coaches, facilities, etc. Uconn basketball will lose much of its luster if it's not in a major conference. We need football to be part of that conversation. This is why those that keep calling for football to drop to FCS or whatever are seriously shortsighted.

Make no mistake, Uconn should be in the P4 confrence over many current P4 schools. We have to improve the football program to be considered, and be ready when conference realignment comes again.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

It was supposed to be UConn and Cuse to the ACC but BC vetoed that. That is the only reason we are not in the ACC. We were their top choice before Pitt.

It was supposed to be UConn and Cuse to the ACC but BC vetoed that. That is the only reason we are not in the ACC. We were their top choice before Pitt.

Yes I remember the ACC/ESPiN raid on the Big East very well.

BCU plotted with Miami to get into the ACC behind the Big East's back. ACC referred to BC as BCU when they introduced BC. They could not even get the school's name right.

It was very shortsighted of BCU not to invite Uconn at that time since both could increase interest in college football in New England together much more vs just BCU on its own. To this date, no one cares about BCU in New England.

Second time around, the Carolina schools and Virginia wanted Uconn. Eventually, the football schools (Clemson and FSU) won out and ACC took UL. Again, it was another bad decision since UConn fits the ACC profile much more than UL. UL hasn't done squat since joined the ACC. UL should be in the B12 while Uconn should be in the ACC vs the crappy set up we all are in now.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Yes I remember the ACC/ESPiN raid on the Big East very well.

BCU plotted with Miami to get into the ACC behind the Big East's back. ACC referred to BC as BCU when they introduced BC. They could not even get the school's name right.

It was very shortsighted of BCU not to invite Uconn at that time since both could increase interest in college football in New England together much more vs just BCU on its own. To this date, no one cares about BCU in New England.

Second time around, the Carolina schools and Virginia wanted Uconn. Eventually, the football schools (Clemson and FSU) won out and ACC took UL. Again, it was another bad decision since UConn fits the ACC profile much more than UL. UL hasn't done squat since joined the ACC. UL should be in the B12 while Uconn should be in the ACC vs the crappy set up we all are in now.

Bottom line, UConn’s athletic dept at the time just wasn’t hungry enough. Both Hathaway and Ward sat on their fat behinds. Louisville was very hungry and proactive at the time.

 

[mikedog10]

It was very shortsighted of BCU not to invite Uconn at that time

I'm a huge UConn homer, but c'mon man... UConn was barely moved out of the trailers, while Miami was a perennial championship contender located in a recruiting hotbed. Miami was really good back then.