If the market is telling us the basketball program is worth more by itself than the football and basketball programs are worth combined, who am I to argue? I did say in that thread that it was worth keeping the football program independent for a few years to see how this round of realignment played out, but there was absolutely no reason to join the A12 and flush all 3 programs down the toilet, which is exactly what UConn did.
Uconn has a window of about 24-36 months after which the entire athletic program is not worth enough to the Big 10 to warrant adding us. I think that window would have been at least 5 years in the C7 with football independence, because the basketball program could have remained a top program.
But you are using faulty logic to support and express conflicting POVs.
1. You are assuming the status quo continues when most people in-the-know believe that Conference Realignment is not done and that UConn is not long for this new conference. Given the moves on the academic side, the upgrades on the athletic side, as well as mere geography and demographics, I tend to agree. So the prudent move for UConn is to bide their time and win to increase on-field appeal. Program marketing must improve, but the status quo should change, and when it does, UConn has most assuredly put their best foot forward.
2. Independent football = program death knell. UConn went 9-3 in 2003, including a complete dressing down of Wake Forest in their own stadium, and were not invited to a bowl game. Contrary to what another poster thinks, it is not easy for a team of UConn's football stature to play a worthy FBS schedule and get invited to a bowl because all the bowls now have conference tie-ins. It’s an asinine idea.
3. Regarding flushing 3 programs down the tubes you need to discount Women’s Basketball. I think it's a good fundamental game and UConn is among the dominant programs, but there are so many more Have-nots than Haves, that it is not nearly as entertaining (save for a few pockets) to the rest of the country and not a revenue generator by any means as compared to the men’s game or football. It plays exactly zero roll in realignment. Related, UConn women's basketball success is tied directly to its Coach who is approaching 60. UConn’s program is in the same situation as the Old Big East. They will still play Stanford, Notre Dame (now OOC), and Baylor (Who will suck once Brittney Griner graduates), while destroying the rest of their conference.
4. Men’s Basketball is not as bad as you’d think either. Cinci, Memphis and Temple are not ‘Cuse (about to go on Probation), Pitt, and UL, but they are better than, if not equal to (year in and year out), Nova, Marquette, and Gtown. Butler, VCU, and Creighton feast on sub-par conference opponents and now they have to play each other plus Gtown.
5. A .500 conference record in either the Big East or C2bNL will not a Dance ticket earn, but the dregs of the C2bNL are in a better position than that of the Big East. The reason why is money, not TV money, but institutional money. The C2bNL
is comprised of either public or well-funded private schools, which can devote resources to athletics in an effort to expand and improve the face of their institution. The schools in the New Big East cannot. So yes, in the short term, the Big East sends a few teams to the Tourney, but I believe it is far more sketching thereafter.
How's that for expressing my beliefs?
. Made my day