Jeff Jacobs: No Excuses! If UConn Can't Get Into Power 5 Conference I Want To Know Why!

[Geno-ista]

Jacobs is a very good writer. He should keep writing such material. I believe that the top Uconn officials don't really care as long as they keep collecting their large salaries. It also bothers me that the coaches, althletic directors, etc. of the top conferences(who were such "great friends" with the same at Uconn) completely abandoned them when they were reorganizing their leagues. I believe it really goes back to the trouncing that many of these teams took at the hands of the Uconn Men's and Women's basketball teams. Did you happen to notice how many women's basketball teams WANT to play a young Uconn team next year?

Monte- it's not personal - it's business. The relationships meant nothing- it's about Money. Which means football and tv. Dave Gavitt saw the end result way way back when he had Penn State and someone else ready to come in to protect the football schools from eventually leaving. When they got voted down 5-4? By the Catholic basketball only schools- he saw the end 10-15 yr's prior to the end. It was the only vote he couldn't convince everyone was in all their best interests. Tragedy.

 

[j66kicker]

j66. Kinda harsh on our girls' sport. Not easy to gather supporters when you refer to WCBB as a "joke". I know what you mean to say but next time maybe use the phrase "wishful thinking" (as in Jacobs calling WBB a major sport is "wishful thinking") instead of qualifying our passion as "a joke". It might not be more accurate, but it will make us feel better.

I didn't mean to say WBB is a joke. I said Jacobs calling it a major sport is a joke. I interpret "major" to mean enough people are watching it and caring about it to translate into it being economically viable, stand-alone. Sorry to be so harsh. WCBB is "major" to me, or I wouldn't be here.

Anyway, I have since been corrected - Jacobs was only referring to FB and MBB as major sports.

 

[j66kicker]

I know Houston's quarterback was out when it happened but didn't the Huskies beat Houston (for their only loss) and didn't Houston kick the crap out of FSU who had won a national championship two years ago and last year was in the playoffs for a national championship???? To presume that UConn's attendance wouldn't increase appreciably if they were in a major conference with the likes of OSU and Michigan and Michigan State coming in along with Nebraska???? The potential to compete against these major schools alone would bring in better recruits as it did for the men's basketball team and probably the women's as well. Coaches will tell you that without talent, it's virtually impossible to compete seriously with quality opponents. No one would have ever assumed that we would be the "basketball center of the universe" as Jay Bilas noted just a few short years ago and though it's more difficult to transition to the top of the heap in football, who would have thought TCU and Texas Tech and Texas A&M would have had the success they've had over the last ten years or so along with a lot of other schools, in college football. It started somewhere, didn't it??? How many schools are there that have done virtually nothing in forever and yet are entrenched in major conferences. Kansas in football???? Indiana????? Up until a while back, how many people knew that Oregon even had a football program. They were totally unheard of and does Oregon State have a great reputation??? I have no doubt that we would have some success if both on the field and in the stands if we were to get accepted into a major conference that centered on college football because our administration has done itself proud in a various sports, winning national titles in basketball, field hockey, soccer! Not too shabby in my opinion.

Don't disagree at all. Unfortunately UCONN isn't already there, nor do we apparently have a Phil Knight, Red McCombs or T. Boone Pickens type of booster. So the issue is, how do we GET there?

 

[hjoerring]

In my reading of the article we were asked to go beyond the everyday well rehearsed statements- 'we are not very good at FB, we are a BB school ...' which is more or less what some are repeating here. In fact, one could easily come away from his article with the feeling of 'conspiracy' against Uconn, executed by everyone from the NCAA to the media/ESPN, etc. A murder is taking place in broad daylight and no one is (want to) look. Talking about stadium size, how many games won this or last year, or getting the Godfather of FB coaching to come and coach here is irrelevant. Here I am in full agreement with him, but I would be incline to take it further or in places where he might be unwilling to go. Yes, there is an opposition out there, but this out there might also be an 'in here' as well. That is, is there an opposition right inside the hen's house to Uconn becoming a full fledged FB school? Is there a sizable group within the state who think we are- and have been better off in the BE with all the Catholic schools and playing FB with the Maine, etc.? While I do not support this view overall, many (if not all) of big time FB schools make me nervous, because they are more farm systems then universities. It is the networks and their dollars that are ruling sports lie FB.

 

[Waquoit]

I didn't mean to say WBB is a joke. I said Jacobs calling it a major sport is a joke. I interpret "major" to mean enough people are watching it and caring about it to translate into it being economically viable, stand-alone.

You are still off base. UConn-DePaul was the highest rated college basketball game of the week on NBCSN. And I don't think it was because of DePaul. And it's the 3rd highest rated game of the season to date. It's rating was 2.5x higher than the season average of Big East men's games. Throw in the big ratings UConn gets on ESPN and that sounds like enough people watch and care to me.

 

[j66kicker]

You are still off base. UConn-DePaul was the highest rated college basketball game of the week on NBCSN. And I don't think it was because of DePaul. And it's the 3rd highest rated game of the season to date. It's rating was 2.5x higher than the season average of Big East men's games. Throw in the big ratings UConn gets on ESPN and that sounds like enough people watch and care to me.

Not sure what you're saying.... That enough people watch WBB to make it economically viable, stand-alone?

 

[CL82]

I can't speak for Waquoit, but I'd say that UConn WBB moves the needle. It certainly isn't going to be the reason why anyone gets into a conference, but it has value. That's why SNY was willing to pay $1M for the broadcast rights to their games.

 

[Waquoit]

I can't speak for Waquoit, but I'd say that UConn WBB moves the needle. It certainly isn't going to be the reason why anyone gets into a conference, but it has value. That's why SNY was willing to pay $1M for the broadcast rights to their games.

I would say you spoke very well. UConn WBB is valuable content to any conference, especially one trying to establish a network. It's not nothing like the poster is trying to insinuate. If nobody cared about it, it wouldn't get the ratings it does.

 

[Bonpland]

I didn't mean to say WBB is a joke. I said Jacobs calling it a major sport is a joke. I interpret "major" to mean enough people are watching it and caring about it to translate into it being economically viable, stand-alone. Sorry to be so harsh. WCBB is "major" to me, or I wouldn't be here.

Anyway, I have since been corrected - Jacobs was only referring to FB and MBB as major sports.

j66, I didn't mean to start an attack on your comments. Your posts year-round demonstrtae your interest in our sport. I jumped because I have to listen to non-believers use that word (joke) when describing women's sports, and after more than twenty years of following UCONN's wcbb, and ten years of watching my own tribe play three different sports at three different colleges I can (when given the chance) make a strong case for the validity of the women's sports that we choose to follow. ( Four years ago Penn St. came back from being down 2-0 to Texas in the NCAA women's volleyball championships after they were being blown out, and I adjudged that to be the most exciting sporting event I saw that year. I found it hard to make that case to the misogynists I know)

This thread began with posters stating that the powers to be at the P-5 conference care more about football than they do about any of the other 35 sports that the NCAA recognizes, and that is certainly the truth. But more's the pity for those who mistake spectacle for sport, or size and strength for athleticism.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

This thread began with posters stating that the powers to be at the P-5 conference care more about football than they do about any of the other 35 sports that the NCAA recognizes, and that is certainly the truth. But more's the pity for those who mistake spectacle for sport, or size and strength for athleticism.

Great post - the whole thing, I actually don't care for Penn State Volleyball and don't tend to watch finals they are involved in. In fact, this year we were unable to watch the F4 at all, I would have enjoyed it. But volleyball can be incredibly exciting. Love softball as well, and were sitting at a recent Arizona WBB game with 2 friends (shockingly, transplanted UConn fans) that are huge fans of Arizona Women's Soccer and find it very exciting.

But, as you say correctly, football drives the bus. There is also something to be said for folks who talk about football vs. basketball schools. Make no mistake, Arizona is a basketball school. 4 years of RichRod, 4 bowls including one Fiesta Bowl, an exciting style of play -- and it is always obvious that fans out here are into Men's Basketball so much more than football. But football will always generate the higher revenue, I believe.

As pointed out in this thread, conferences have a variety of reasons for wanting certain teams. UConn's strong WBB program is not going to get them invited anywhere, by itself. That said, it certainly might sweeten the pot for some conferences.

 

[j66kicker]

j66, I didn't mean to start an attack on your comments. Your posts year-round demonstrtae your interest in our sport. I jumped because I have to listen to non-believers use that word (joke) when describing women's sports, and after more than twenty years of following UCONN's wcbb, and ten years of watching my own tribe play three different sports at three different colleges I can (when given the chance) make a strong case for the validity of the women's sports that we choose to follow. ( Four years ago Penn St. came back from being down 2-0 to Texas in the NCAA women's volleyball championships after they were being blown out, and I adjudged that to be the most exciting sporting event I saw that year. I found it hard to make that case to the misogynists I know)

This thread began with posters stating that the powers to be at the P-5 conference care more about football than they do about any of the other 35 sports that the NCAA recognizes, and that is certainly the truth. But more's the pity for those who mistake spectacle for sport, or size and strength for athleticism.

All good. For sure WBB is a major sport at UCONN. I just don't think WBB is one of the boxes the power conferences are checking when considering expansion candidates. I'm looking forward to the day when it is, and kudos to ESPN who continues to devote resources to promoting our game.

BTW I did check out the Conference Realignment forum per CL82's suggestion, and clearly there are many UCONN fans who have a very sophisticated understanding of this subject. Sometimes I just get frustrated with the assumptions of some on this forum that the P5 conferences actually value WBB as a membership criterion, other than maybe an "all other things being equal" thing. I wish it were true but, you know - reality....

 

[ocoandasoc]

I moved from CT to TN nearly three years ago. When I got here I was stunned at how little interest there was State-wide in WCBB. But football? That's a whole different story. There's more interest here in High School football than there is in CT for UConn football. And SEC football? It's life or death. And there are as many Alabama and Auburn fans as there are Tenn fans. You want to be in a better conference? Have a better football program... on the field and in the stands... home and away.

If you want a two-word answer on why UConn won't be invited to a Power 5 conference anytime soon, here it is: Paul Pasqualoni. Just when UConn football was starting to achieve some respectability, the UConn powers that be made a coaching decision that rivals the worst ever made in the last 25 years. Then they refused to correct it for three years. Diaco is a good man.... but he can't walk on water. He'll need a few more years.

In the past the UConn administration undercut the conference they were in, believing that they were certain to secure a bid to the ACC. They were naive. They were arrogant. They made more enemies than friends. And it cost them.

What the UConn brass should do now is give Diaco everything he needs and pray that 1) he succeeds and 2) if he does that he won't be lured away by another school and 3) if he is they won't repeat the kind of mistake they made with Pasqualoni. They should also work to build the prestige of the conference they are in -- because they may be in it for quite a while. Navy, Memphis, Houston and Temple all have better football programs right now than UConn does. Rants like Mr. Jacobs' are self-serving but have nothing to do with reality. If covering a Power Five conference football team is so important to him, I suggest he freshen up his resume and look for a job in another metro area. Maybe he could get a job here in Nashville covering Vanderbilt.

 

[huskymedic]

In the past the UConn administration undercut the conference they were in, believing that they were certain to secure a bid to the ACC. They were naive. They were arrogant. They made more enemies than friends. And it cost them.

Care to share examples?

 

[Huskies Rule]