A lot of that has to do with history, choices, and geography. Private universities dominated the Northeast (outside of Penn St) in the past both from a football and support perspective – Yale, Harvard, Princeton, etc. State schools such as UConn, Rutgers and the SUNY’s have only risen in people’s perception and support in the last 30 or so year. In addition, It’s just a 4-hour drive from Storrs to Syracuse or 90-minute drive from Storrs to Chestnut Hill. In many states in the Midwest, West and South, its 4 to 5 hours just to get to the next metro area and there are many fewer choices (Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, etc.). Not to mention, many of those college do not have a nearby pro team or teams to compete with for fans’ dollars. Given time, support, and a few winning seasons, I have no doubt UConn football would be competitive with many of these so-called Tier 2/3/4 schools.