Jeff Jacobs' Plea For UConn To ESPN

[JavaMan]

Jeff Jacobs: Hey ESPN, What Can You Do For UConn?

Memphis pushed its chips into the middle of the table. And why not? The future of big-time athletics is on the line for a number of colleges in the coming weeks.

If the Big 12 ultimately decides not to expand after months of speculation, sure, cries of "false alarm!" will cascade across the land. Or if the Big 12 does decide to expand and the move starts some unforeseen dominoes falling in other Power Five conferences, the can of hopes and dreams will again be kicked down the road for excluded schools.

Yet there is a real possibility the Big 12 will add two schools and that will be it, at least for the foreseeable future. If this proves to be the case, why wouldn't the six to eight schools that desperately want to get into a Power Five play every card they can?

So what about it ESPN of Bristol? What card can you play for Connecticut and the state's flagship university?

MORE...

 

[meyers7]

He's got a point.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

He needs more than one.

 

[Boreifs]

Memphis can find all the private funds it wants, but it can't hide the fact that the school is not even in the Top 200 academically among National Universities. Even the Big 12 cares about that image.

 

[UConnNick]

I don't know, Jeff. ESPN is part of the reason UCONN is still wasting away in a mid major conference. If they were inclined to have provided us with a golden parachute during earlier rounds of conference realignment, it seems to me they would already have done so. I'd say we're on our own as far as ESPN is concerned. They can lobby for tax breaks from any other state they might choose to go to. Connecticut needs them way more than they need Connecticut.

 

[bags27]

Memphis can find all the private funds it wants, but it can't hide the fact that the school is not even in the Top 200 academically among National Universities. Even the Big 12 cares about that image.

I'll have what you're drinking....

 

[stamfordhusky]

Memphis can find all the private funds it wants, but it can't hide the fact that the school is not even in the Top 200 academically among National Universities. Even the Big 12 cares about that image.

When it comes to what the Big 12 cares about when it comes to expansion, at least 99% of the weight will be what a school can bring to the table on the athletics side. Maybe 1% on the academic side, if that. Their football/basketball audience doesn't care at all about academic image.

 

[pacific 44]

ESPN only cares about their bottom line which is football.They would rather have a low academic/super football team playing on saturday than the other way around.If Uconn was in a p-5 league i am sure their football team would improve significantly but ESPN only looks at the current situation.They prefer a Louisville or Memphis type over Uconn.

 

[JavaMan]

Would ESPN lean on the Big 12 to accept UConn as a potential expansion member?
By Tim Griffin | Updated 4:16 pm, Wednesday, May 18, 2016

As the Big 12 considers its future with expansion candidates, the conference appears to have several candidates who are about equal with different strengths and weaknesses.

One of the most intriguing candidates could be Connecticut, which is already judged to be the nation's foremost power in women's college basketball and a solid program in men's basketball where the Huskies have won four national championships since 1999.

Their football program, however, isn't as accomplished as those other programs at the school, leading some to believe the Huskies would lag behind some of the other challengers as a potential expansion inclusion.

Well-respected Hartford Courant columnist Jeff Jacobs says that a certain Connecticut-based entertainment company might have the clout to help boost the school's Big 12 hopes. And he has a point.

complete article [HERE]

 

[bags27]

Well-respected Hartford Courant columnist Jeff Jacobs says that a certain Connecticut-based entertainment company might have the clout to help boost the school's Big 12 hopes. And he has a point.

Undoubtedly UConn fans want to join a Power 5 conference. But if UConn gets shoe-horned in because of the influence of ESPN (highly unlikely, but for the sake of argument), that would encourage critics of UConn to suggest that--oh, I don't know, take a wild hypothetical--for example tours of ESPN by potential UConn recruits from Georgia high schools were part of a conspiracy. If UConn manages to get in, better to do it cleanly.

I don't know much (if anything) about NCAA athletics, but I think UConn should be most proud of its recent academic success rather than on any emphasis on football. If it doesn't make it into Power 5 conference for lack of commitment to big time football, maybe that's not such a bad thing in the overall scheme of things.

 

[Wally East]

Well-respected Hartford Courant columnist Jeff Jacobs

D'Oh? Is that so?

 

[CL82]

D'Oh? Is that so?

Meh, love him or hate him, Jeff's won some awards and he definitely can write. For a while, in mid-Calhoun feud, he took some heat form the media, but I think it is fair to say that he's respected among his peers.

 

[Icebear]

I can just hear the cries from Knoxville now. I told you they were connected to ESPN and cheated to get Maya!