Methodology, I'm not saying that you're wrong, but I remember that time frame differently. Tranguese wanted to add teams to form the Big East football conference. There had been a detailed article in the Washington Post earlier in the year that speculated that the Big East was targeting FSU & Miami to appease the football playing members. The ACC formally invited FSU first, leaving only the 'Canes for the Big East to grab. FWIW, if the SEC actually extend an invitation & FSU declined, that act was foolish on so many levels. At that time ( & still today) the SEC was light years ahead of the ACC in both prestige & performance.
Coach, Tranghese didn't want to add football, from day 1. He agreed to work on adding football, from day 1, as a preventive measure to keep Syracuse, Boston College, and Pittsburgh from leaving the Big East in 1990-1991. Tranghese' entire run of managing the conference - two full decades, was his perception of appeasing the football members desires regardless of basketball - and he hated it, and he ran the thing into the ground because of it.
In 1990, Syracuse, Pitt and Boston College were in the mix to form a 16 team conference of 1-A athletics including football, from the remnants of the Metro conference and several long time division 1-A independants.
The irony, that few can see at UConn, except those that are old enough, and were involved enough in football, is that the conference that is forming now, that includes us, is essentially the equivalent of the same conference that nearly formed in 1990 with several of the same members.
The Big East conference, provided the means for UConn to have a successful move from 1-AA football to 1-A football. It's doubtful that move would have been possible without the Big East, and being the last founding member standing, is repayment enough.
If the media won't hear it, and recognize that UConn has proven itself worthy of the highest level football, I pray the football Gods will, because the football gods always put things right.
