Key tweets, and it's all gone to Hell.

[huskymedic]

This some jedi mind trick medic? Did i email you instead of him? Im so confused. Im distraught. I cant think straight. Im gonna go kick my dog.

LOL... thought you might have taken the Courant comment section route. Direct email is more fun!

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Some of you guys are babies. The guy answered a question. If you put a gun to my head, I'd say we probably get skipped over, too. I love UConn. But it's a long, long ways away. If we were 1,000 miles closer, I'd love our chances. But we aren't.

The Big 12 isn't going to make their decision based on what Todd Turner thinks. Heck, I'm not sure if they even know what they're going to base it on. But the amount of belly-aching over this non-news is just hilarious. It's fine. We'll keep pushing on. We'll make our case. And we'll get in or we won't.

But either way, we're gonna keep winning championships and growing and being great because we're UConn. That's what we do.

 

[NYUConn]

Some of you guys are babies. The guy answered a question. If you put a gun to my head, I'd say we probably get skipped over, too. I love UConn. But it's a long, long ways away. If we were 1,000 miles closer, I'd love our chances. But we aren't.

The Big 12 isn't going to make their decision based on what Todd Turner thinks. Heck, I'm not sure if they even know what they're going to base it on. But the amount of belly-aching over this non-news is just hilarious. It's fine. We'll keep pushing on. We'll make our case. And we'll get in or we won't.

But either way, we're gonna keep winning championships and growing and being great because we're UConn. That's what we do.

The gripe, at least my gripe, isn't in Turner or his opinion, it's in John Altavella presenting a guy who served as AD from 1987-1990 as a legitimate source on present day UConn athletics and Big 12 Expansion.

 

[MattMang23]

If we don't get in, it's because the Big XII has already made their minds up on who they're inviting and have known for some time. Because we have the best market numbers. BHV has already told them that. We have the best academics (of any serious candidate). That's been laid out in different rankings and whatnot. We have the best athletic programs overall. The NCAA record books say so.

None of us will be in the room so we won't see how the presentation is delivered, but the content will be there. If the XII decides based on numbers, they can't not choose us.

If they don't choose us, they will have already gone into our presentation knowing they won't be choosing us.

 

[JMick]

If we don't get in, it's because the Big XII has already made their minds up on who they're inviting and have known for some time. Because we have the best market numbers. BHV has already told them that. We have the best academics (of any serious candidate). That's been laid out in different rankings and whatnot. We have the best athletic programs overall. The NCAA record books say so.

None of us will be in the room so we won't see how the presentation is delivered, but the content will be there. If the XII decides based on numbers, they can't not choose us.

If they don't choose us, they will have already gone into our presentation knowing they won't be choosing us.

This is why the whole process has been weird and absurd. They already have all the information they could ever want or need.

 

[Ldandy]

Nothing against you Ldandy but he really sticks up for UConn on the Land Thieves board. I wandered over there today and was happy someone was spreading our gospel. He has some verve. We should be more tolerant at times here. Perhaps I'm being schemed but don't think so.

I guess time will tell. If he posts here without trolling then he should be allowed to post. The fact that he constantly needs to reinvent himself under new names is somewhat telling for me. I'm just skeptical that someone who spent so much time running down Uconn and its fans would suddenly become its champion. He could just as easily be trolling Land Thieves and the fans there that hate the idea of adding schools on the east coast.

 

[MattMang23]

This is why the whole process has been weird and absurd. They already have all the information they could ever want or need.

Yup. I imagine other conferences have had the numbers too and have done all of this behind closed doors. So very, very weird.

 

[SubbaBub]

I have no idea what consensus criteria the XII will arrive at to determine it's new members and I wouldn't believe them if they told me. The process is that messed up.

 

[shizzle787]

I'm near 40 years old. I have a beautiful wife and two gorgeous kids. Why is this so goshdarn important to me?

Because sometimes you just want to get away, and you hope that doesn't include seeing Tulane on your TV screen.

 

[Husky25]

Because sometimes you just want to get away, and you hope that doesn't include seeing Tulane on your TV screen.

I deleted the post, but I have to throw you a like for that.

 

[The Viking]

Someone remind me - are these schools presenting only in front of Bowlsby and a couple of other people or are all of the Big 12 presidents going to be there as well?

 

[housekeys]

Someone remind me - are these schools presenting only in front of Bowlsby and a couple of other people or are all of the Big 12 presidents going to be there as well?

I believe it is just Bowlsby and the 3 member expansion committee, which are 3 presidents ( WVU, Oklahoma, and Kansas State)

 

[BKarchitect]

I believe it is just Bowlsby and the 3 member expansion committee, which are 3 presidents ( WVU, Oklahoma, and Kansas State)

Winning over that room could be the easy part. Bowlsby, left to his own intuition is a very smart man. Can easily see WVU being favorable. Rumors already exist that OU and Boren have been pro-UConn and no reason for KSU to be demonstrably a anti-Huskies.

The hard part is when Bowlsby and co make their recommendation to all the league presidents and then they vote. You need 8 yes votes. The individual presidents have never shown any inclination to listen to their own commissioner and steering committee about what is best for the league. If you can convince Texas it's not going to matter because they'll have their veto block. Likewise the northern schools. That's why I still feel this is 4 or nothing. I don't see any two schools which will satisfy everyone in terms of horse trading. The only way it is 2 with Houston and whoever is if the GOR is extended to match the ACC's.

 

[MattMang23]

I wish Texas were in the room.

 

[gioff23]

I wish Texas were in the room.

They'd need a very big room to fit in Texas

 

[MattMang23]

They'd need a very big room to fit in Texas

The egos alone would take up 95% of the room, let alone what the land mass would take up.

 

[djct1999]

If that's the case, the trial balloon popped. Aside from a few astute Big XII fans, most of whom post here, the resounding response has been rejection of UConn.

The rejection is solely based on recent football performance. Again, the people actually making the decisions should go by a very different set of metrics.

 

[jostar1]

I believe it is just Bowlsby and the 3 member expansion committee, which are 3 presidents ( WVU, Oklahoma, and Kansas State)

After the Kansas State President left, Bowlsby appointed Ken Starr from Baylor to the Composition (Expansion) Committee. After Ken Starr left, Bowlsby made a statement that there wasn't a pressing need to appoint someone else. That was before the Conference issued their statement that they had decided to expand. I haven't been able to find anything after that.

 

[noeynox]

Berry Tramel@BerryTramel 27 mins ago
Some Big 12 expansion candidates have rocky starts

Overly harsh on the part of Trammel, but he has been one of our biggest advocates. Conservative, tough, grind it out football leads to scores like we had. It doesnt matter that there were other close scores FCS vs FBS. There are 4 real candidates like Trammel said. That is who you will be compared against.

I believe results like against Maine wont be held against us vs our overall profile, but if you dont want to see articles like that written, it is better then that you dont put on performances like that.

 

[MattMang23]

The rejection is solely based on recent football performance. Again, the people actually making the decisions should go by a very different set of metrics.

Well, sure. But the poster I was responding to was saying that he had hoped that the process was being done overtly so that Big XII fans would get used to being in a league with UConn. They're not. By and large they don't want us. Obviously that won't (at least I'd hope not) factor into the decision to invite us or not. Whether or not the presidents want us remains to be seen.

 

[06029]

Overly harsh on the part of Trammel, but he has been one of our biggest advocates. Conservative, tough, grind it out football leads to scores like we had. It doesnt matter that there were other close scores FCS vs FBS. There are 4 real candidates like Trammel said. That is who you will be compared against.

I believe results like against Maine wont be held against us vs our overall profile, but if you dont want to see articles like that written, it is better then that you dont put on performances like that.

Attendance will be held against Uconn. I don't care if it was against the CAA, somehow, someway, there needed to be close to a full stadium there. I would have given away tickets and paid for the buses for every pop warner and high school team within a 90 minute drive to pack the stadium last week. If UVA and Cuse are less than 35k, that would be way more important than any score in any game this year. Also need solid regional TV ratings for both those games.

 

[ninety-nine]

Attendance will be held against Uconn. I don't care if it was against the CAA, somehow, someway, there needed to be close to a full stadium there. I would have given away tickets and paid for the buses for every pop warner and high school team within a 90 minute drive to pack the stadium last week. If UVA and Cuse are less than 35k, that would be way more important than any score in any game this year. Also need solid regional TV ratings for both those games.

Agree - people need to show up for these next two home games. There won't be any FCS or Thursday night mulligans - these are Saturday games against ACC schools in our general region. Bread-and-butter OOC games. Unfortunately, I don't think enough people get it - they want to show up for a team that's already winning and already in the big leagues.

Quick, someone start a rumor that Beyoncé and Taylor Swift will be giving surprise halftime performances at those games!

 

[06029]

Agree - people need to show up for these next two home games. There won't be any FCS or Thursday night mulligans - these are Saturday games against ACC schools in our general region. Bread-and-butter OOC games. Unfortunately, I don't think enough people get it - they want to show up for a team that's already winning and already in the big leagues.

Quick, someone start a rumor that Beyoncé and Taylor Swift will be giving surprise halftime performances at those games!

Ratings in the NYC DMA also need to show an uptick over what they would have been for UVA/Cuse versus any other opponent, especially teams like Wake, BC and GT. If Uconn is promoting NYC as a reason to be invited, two games in a row at decision time have the opportunity to show it. The added benefit is that good ratings might make the ACC or B1G think about the preemptive move to add Uconn first or risk losing those eyeballs.

 

[06029]

Quick, someone start a rumor that Beyoncé and Taylor Swift will be giving surprise halftime performances at those games!

Swift's summer home is less than 2 hours from the Rent in Westerly.

 

[Marty Jackson]

There is growing consensus among Big 12 fans (particularly Texas fans and OU fans) that the Big 12 made this into a cheesy full-blown Bachelor-like production to completely overshadow the ongoing news of Baylor's despicable scandal.

it's worked... what is Baylor's scandal?

 

[IMind]

The gripe, at least my gripe, isn't in Turner or his opinion, it's in John Altavella presenting a guy who served as AD from 1987-1990 as a legitimate source on present day UConn athletics and Big 12 Expansion.

The Courant's editors are just as bad... the title of the article is pretty misleading... if you actually read the article he says he doesn't think the Big 12 will expand at all this time around. It's not that he doesn't like UConn's chances... he doesn't like anyone's chances.

Turner's pretty good at laying out why UConn would be a good choice... but he goes and brings up the BS travel issue again... specifically the golf team... they golf team is already going to Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, and Nebraska. They already travel all over the place... so does every single team at top division I program.. for every sport... Texas does and so do we... one or two extra trips for TX to CT or CT to TX isn't going to break anyone's bank. It's just stupid.

 

[MattMang23]

Does UConn even host anyone in golf? I knew a kid on the team back in my days and he was always going to Florida with the team. I don't think I ever remember him having a tournament at home.

 

[upstater]

Attendance will be held against Uconn. I don't care if it was against the CAA, somehow, someway, there needed to be close to a full stadium there. I would have given away tickets and paid for the buses for every pop warner and high school team within a 90 minute drive to pack the stadium last week. If UVA and Cuse are less than 35k, that would be way more important than any score in any game this year. Also need solid regional TV ratings for both those games.

Who are you comparing UConn to though? Cincy? Which had less than UConn?

 

[ninety-nine]

Does UConn even host anyone in golf? I knew a kid on the team back in my days and he was always going to Florida with the team. I don't think I ever remember him having a tournament at home.

Well, the entire state of Connecticut is a par-four, so probably not. ;-)

 

[BKarchitect]

The Turner article has made its way to the Big 12 forums and doesn't exactly make folks excited for you all. If you actually read the article, it's not that bad - his summary is he doesn't think the Big 12 will take anybody, not that UConn isn't as or more qualified that anybody else. But all people are going to see is "Even the former UConn AD doesn't believe his old school can make the grade!!!" Believe me, that's all anybody in Big 12 land will see.

While Big 12 presidents aren't going to be swayed by random article...it's kind of odd that your local paper would put out essentially a negatively titled piece against the best interests of the university at this time that, in this environment, would be sure to get picked up and re-tweeted and posted to death right as UConn is about to make their final push.