Letter to Jeff Jacobs after Twitter

[whaler11]

This isn't rocket science folks. The ideal candidate can put 70,000 people in the seats for an entire game. If your argument against a campus stadium is that fewer people will attend, then that is clearly not a program a P5 conference wants. They want programs with fans who WANT to watch, not just watching out of convenience. What is so difficult to comprehend? As far as being on campus, go ask someone in the SEC office why that is important. By the way, you think a program that puts 100,000 people in the seats is located where most fans have a 1/2 hour drive? Yes, some colleges play in pro stadiums, but what makes people think that UCONN, a program new to 1-A or BCS, can shirk all tradition and be successful over 30 minutes away from campus? I didn't invent the rules.

Ideal candidates: None.

 

[Kolumbo]

Ideal candidates: None.

True....which is why UCONN is even in the conversation, at least here at the BY.

 

[CL82]

I took a shot at it just for the heck of it CHB, but I don't think that on campus stadium is a feasible option for UConn right now.

A campus stadium is one of the dumbest ideas that gets brought up all the time on the Boneyard.

We have an attendance problem with UConn sports.

We have an infrastructure problem in Storrs for basketball games. No we don't. Otherwise every school in America would be located on a off ramp. They aren't.

We have a football stadium centrally located and accessible by most highways in the state. No it doesn't. Otherwise every school in America would be located on a off ramp. They aren't.

We'd be adding an extra 2-3 hours on to people's drives. True as far as it goes. There is a big portion of the population in the western end of the state and for them any move east will cost them time. For a night game there is no way to offset that for them. I guess a counter argument is that the games would be more accessible to the Eastern half of the state. I'd be curious to know the demographics of season ticket holders in basketball and football. I suspect, based upon anecdotal evidence, that football may be skewed to the west, but I'd love to see the numbers.

Again, I'd love someone to dispute any of the above and then say how moving to an on campus stadium helps attendance. FWIW, I've never said that an on campus stadium helps attendance, just that I don't think that the "infrastructure issues" preclude it. The best arguments that I can think of would be 1) that ease of access for the students would improve their attendance and 2) tying games to on campus hospitality events might be more attractive to alumns that aren't current football fans. That kind of family atmosphere might well be conducive to a new group of fans.

I have a group of 12 or so season ticket holders that would decrease to maybe 2 if the stadium was on campus. No worries, we aren't going anywhere. It would be politically and economically disastrous to abandon our relatively new, expandable and accessible facility. UConn has other more pressing sports needs including the hockey arena, the baseball stadium the hockey stadium and the elusive search for someone can fabricate a restoration Pantoni Tile.

The average UConn fan goes for the tailgate party that's easy to get to and stays if it's a name opponent or a good game. Could that be because that who a stadium located in the middle of nothing (but a Cabbella's) appeals to?

You guys are absolutely lost by even suggesting that an on campus stadium would be successful whatsoever. Disagree. There's a reason why our approach is unique. The rest of the country seems to think that an on campus stadium is more desirable.

 

[whaler11]

I took a shot at it just for the heck of it CHB, but I don't think that on campus stadium is a feasible option for UConn right now.

Maybe some data will help.

There are 17 towns in CT with populations over 50k: 0 are closer to campus than Rentschler.

Of the 50 biggest towns in CT being as generous as possible these are closer to campus:
25 - Groton
26- Norwich
31- Vernon
41- New London
44- Mansfield


UConn's non-student ticket base is easy to guess:
West Hartford
Glastonbury
East Hartford
Wethersfield
Farmington
Rocky Hill
Windsor
Southington
Cheshire
Newington
Bloomfield
New Britain
Simsbury
Manchester

 

[Kolumbo]

Maybe some data will help.

There are 17 towns in CT with populations over 50k: 0 are closer to campus than Rentschler.

Of the 50 biggest towns in CT being as generous as possible these are closer to campus:
25 - Groton
26- Norwich
31- Vernon
41- New London
44- Mansfield


UConn's non-student ticket base is easy to guess:
West Hartford
Glastonbury
East Hartford
Wethersfield
Farmington
Rocky Hill
Windsor
Southington
Cheshire
Newington
Bloomfield
New Britain
Simsbury
Manchester

What is this data supposed to help with? We know UCONN is in Storrs, CT, and started as an agricultural school. I also looked at a map and saw that CT is smaller, by far, than every single state with a major college football program. When it comes to travel time, our fans should have absolutely no complaints no matter where the stadium is. But they can relax, we all know it's staying in East Hartford. Since UTC donated the land, it's just too bad Pratt wasn't founded along the CT River. For those fans who really don't like to be put out by a long day, big crowds, and traffic, they could always go to CCSU games.

 

[whaler11]

What is this data supposed to help with? We know UCONN is in Storrs, CT, and started as an agricultural school. I also looked at a map and saw that CT is smaller, by far, than every single state with a major college football program. When it comes to travel time, our fans should have absolutely no complaints no matter where the stadium is. But they can relax, we all know it's staying in East Hartford. Since UTC donated the land, it's just too bad Pratt wasn't founded along the CT River. For those fans who really don't like to be put out by a long day, big crowds, and traffic, they could always go to CCSU games.

Oh so the majority people who buy the tickets, go to the games and support the program should be ignored and instead you've decreed they shouldn't complain and follow the wishes of a handful of message board posters with erections for an on campus site.

The comparisons to other states are so dumb as to be painful. Why don't you start a cricket league and when no one comes point out that cricket is very popular in other countries. Or go to Tampa or Oakland and tell them to be more like Cardinals and Red Sox fans.

Thankfully it won't happen because it would be murder and guys like you would be holding the murder weapon.

There is hard data from around the country on student attendance. Do you think the kids who won't go as students are going to go as adults?

UConn is lucky to have a stadium convieniently located to the population. That some midwestern schools who had a head start have some margin for error as their attendance declines isn't really a data point for the concept of an on campus stadium.

Really the only argument for it is - 'that's what I prefer'.

 

[Kolumbo]

Oh so the majority people who buy the tickets, go to the games and support the program should be ignored and instead you've decreed they shouldn't complain and follow the wishes of a handful of message board posters with erections for an on campus site.

The comparisons to other states are so dumb as to be painful. Why don't you start a cricket league and when no one comes point out that cricket is very popular in other countries. Or go to Tampa or Oakland and tell them to be more like Cardinals and Red Sox fans.

Thankfully it won't happen because it would be murder and guys like you would be holding the murder weapon.

There is hard data from around the country on student attendance. Do you think the kids who won't go as students are going to go as adults?

UConn is lucky to have a stadium convieniently located to the population. That some midwestern schools who had a head start have some margin for error as their attendance declines isn't really a data point for the concept of an on campus stadium.

Really the only argument for it is - 'that's what I prefer'.

I really have no idea what you are talking about anymore. Big time football is big time football and has a certain fan base. If CT does not have that kind of fan base, so be it. They should thusly be very happy with the AAC, or better yet, FCS. It is what it is. Why you insist that fans who are not 100% committed should be given a Power conference team is beyond me.

Apparently one thing holding UCONN back is lower attendance than P5 conferences. We just don't have that type of fan base and the P5 know that.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I took a shot at it just for the heck of it CHB, but I don't think that on campus stadium is a feasible option for UConn right now.

Here's my issue with your stance and others in here - in this debate you have to look at UConn in a vacuum.

I know you've been to gampel, so I'm surprised to hear you don't acknowledge there's a traffic/ infrastructure issue. Saying, school A can do it, so why can't we doesn't address the problem.

Same goes with attendance and how other schools have fans that drive farther, to more remote and less accessible locations. It doesn't apply to the state of Connecticut or the UConn fan base ( and really to all of the northeast aside from Penn state).

I personally find the wide open lot to be great for tailgating, and I think the non alumni fans in CT wouldn't care about the campus experience given the longer drive.

Ultimately we both know this is hypothetical and for fun and hell I'd love an on campus 60,000 stadium with a renovated 195 to be rocking for B1G games, I just can't see how it's even remotely feasible as a hypothetical given the facts at hand.

 

[Kolumbo]

Here's my issue with your stance and others in here - in this debate you have to look at UConn in a vacuum.

I know you've been to gampel, so I'm surprised to hear you don't acknowledge there's a traffic/ infrastructure issue. Saying, school A can do it, so why can't we doesn't address the problem.

Same goes with attendance and how other schools have fans that drive farther, to more remote and less accessible locations. It doesn't apply to the state of Connecticut or the UConn fan base ( and really to all of the northeast aside from Penn state).

I personally find the wide open lot to be great for tailgating, and I think the non alumni fans in CT wouldn't care about the campus experience given the longer drive.

Ultimately we both know this is hypothetical and for fun and hell I'd love an on campus 60,000 stadium with a renovated 195 to be rocking for B1G games, I just can't see how it's even remotely feasible as a hypothetical given the facts at hand.

I see your point but I don't think you can look at UCONN in a vacuum when it comes to football. For basketball, sure. Almost every school is different. Having a national championship caliber team playing in front of people who think they are lounging in their living room can work for basketball. Yes, there are those in attendance. UCONN thrived despite those folks. It won't work for football. You can say that Conn is different and the northeast is different and you'd be correct. Probably won't get us into a P5 conference but sure, we can be different.

 

[whaler11]

I really have no idea what you are talking about anymore. Big time football is big time football and has a certain fan base. If CT does not have that kind of fan base, so be it. They should thusly be very happy with the AAC, or better yet, FCS. It is what it is. Why you insist that fans who are not 100% committed should be given a Power conference team is beyond me.

Apparently one thing holding UCONN back is lower attendance than P5 conferences. We just don't have that type of fan base and the P5 know that.

For one I've never insisted UConn be given a P5 invite. Secondly we are discussing what would happen if they moved the games on campus, so you are sort of jumping around.

But since you brought it up every school in the P5 is 'big time'.

BC - huge fanbase
Pitt - the home of people painted yellow
Maryland - they really draw big time
Syracuse - lot of buzz there
Rutgers - decades of huge support they don't literally give tickets away

Ever been to a Duke game? I went to a Duke/Northwestern game that had maybe 15k in attendance on a beautiful September day. Season tickets were $30 when I lived there.

Ever take in a game in Winston Salem? Electric!

Baylor is famous for their tarps.

Northwestern.

Indiana.

Turn on a Purdue game recently? Didn't think so.

So when you get a chance to explain why low attendance hasn't been an issue for most of the recent Big East grads I'd love to understand why it is UConn's biggest issue.

 

[Ha Who]

This is ridiculous. If the rent were a 75,000 seat stadium and was full every game, we would be in swoffies league or the Big. There would be no complaints about it being off campus.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

This is ridiculous. If the rent were a 75,000 seat stadium and was full every game, we would be in swoffies league or the Big. There would be no complaints about it being off campus.

Is anyone arguing this point? lol.

 

[whaler11]

Also big time:
Colorado
Washington State
Kansas
Oregon State

UConn couldn't outdraw those schools playing a P5 schedule? Colorado published 38k. Washington State 31k.

Please.

 

[Kolumbo]

For one I've never insisted UConn be given a P5 invite. Secondly we are discussing what would happen if they moved the games on campus, so you are sort of jumping around.

But since you brought it up every school in the P5 is 'big time'.

BC - huge fanbase
Pitt - the home of people painted yellow
Maryland - they really draw big time
Syracuse - lot of buzz there
Rutgers - decades of huge support they don't literally give tickets away

Ever been to a Duke game? I went to a Duke/Northwestern game that had maybe 15k in attendance on a beautiful September day. Season tickets were $30 when I lived there.

Ever take in a game in Winston Salem? Electric!

Baylor is famous for their tarps.

Northwestern.

Indiana.

Turn on a Purdue game recently? Didn't think so.

So when you get a chance to explain why low attendance hasn't been an issue for most of the recent Big East grads I'd love to understand why it is UConn's biggest issue.

You lost me, with that last sentence. Attendance is not an issue with the likes of Duke. The fact that Duke, UNC, NC State, and Wake are in the same market is not an issue. Reason? They were grandfathered in before CR began. Now, unique markets, stadiums, fan base, etc. are all issues. I absolutely believe UCONN is much better than some schools in P5 right now. But that doesn't matter. We have to play under the new rules. I think UCF is in a better situation because of the location and the attendance.
And I know what would happen if the stadium were built on campus. And I've state that is a problem.

 

[whaler11]

You lost me, with that last sentence. Attendance is not an issue with the likes of Duke. The fact that Duke, UNC, NC State, and Wake are in the same market is not an issue. Reason? They were grandfathered in before CR began. Now, unique markets, stadiums, fan base, etc. are all issues. I absolutely believe UCONN is much better than some schools in P5 right now. But that doesn't matter. We have to play under the new rules. I think UCF is in a better situation because of the location and the attendance.
And I know what would happen if the stadium were built on campus. And I've state that is a problem.

I really have no idea what you are talking about anymore. Big time football is big time football and has a certain fan base. If CT does not have that kind of fan base, so be it. They should thusly be very happy with the AAC, or better yet, FCS. It is what it is. Why you insist that fans who are not 100% committed should be given a Power conference team is beyond me.

Apparently one thing holding UCONN back is lower attendance than P5 conferences. We just don't have that type of fan base and the P5 know that.

So big time football is big time football and has a certain fan base unless you are grandfathered.

Or Syracuse. Or Pitt. Or TCU.

 

[Gampeltiles]

UCONN D1A football has become an albatross. Correct me if I am off-base, but was the fact that our esteemed then Gov. Rowland agreed, in principle, with Bob Kraft, another criminal, to build a zillion dollar state-of-the art stadium for the Patriots in Hartford.

And was that a major factor, if not the factor, in UCONN upgrading the football program?

The new stadium was to be a palace for the Patriots to be used by UCONN for a few hours on 5 or 6 Saturday afternoons in the fall.

Then Kraft screwed Rowland (much to the delight of many, many taxpayers) as Kraft was playing Hartford for leverage turning up the heat on to get a new stadium done in Foxboro.

When the deal of Patriots to Hartford blew up in Rowland's face, UCONN was in the process of upgrading it's football status. "The Rent" was more or less a consolation to UCONN, no?

I ask, again, would we even be having this conversation if not for the Patriots and Kraft?

 

[Kolumbo]

So big time football is big time football and has a certain fan base unless you are grandfathered.

Or Syracuse. Or Pitt. Or TCU.

What exactly are you comparing now? Attendance is one factor of many. All three of those programs were better picks than UCONN, yes. Better history. Larger attendance. Better stadiums.

 

[CL82]

Here's my issue with your stance and others in here - in this debate you have to look at UConn in a vacuum.

I know you've been to gampel, so I'm surprised to hear you don't acknowledge there's a traffic/ infrastructure issue. Saying, school A can do it, so why can't we doesn't address the problem.

Same goes with attendance and how other schools have fans that drive farther, to more remote and less accessible locations. It doesn't apply to the state of Connecticut or the UConn fan base ( and really to all of the northeast aside from Penn state).

I personally find the wide open lot to be great for tailgating, and I think the non alumni fans in CT wouldn't care about the campus experience given the longer drive.

Ultimately we both know this is hypothetical and for fun and hell I'd love an on campus 60,000 stadium with a renovated 195 to be rocking for B1G games, I just can't see how it's even remotely feasible as a hypothetical given the facts at hand.

Yeah, I agree it would be great but it won't happen in the near term. I wrote a more detailed post on this a while ago. At a hypothetical Horsebarn Hill stadium you could break the traffic into three or four separate exit routes. If you break up the traffic over a period of 3 hours and load on the road in any five minute interval isn't all that dense. By the way, Gampel is a good example. A lot of people on the board don't park in the parking garage and because of that they don't get caught in traffic. That's a small scale example of how traffic planning could make crowd control work.

The longer ride that some from the west would have might be made more acceptable by tailgating, that's how it developed. Get there early leave late. I think the fan base would eventually adapt to that. We might lose some, but we'd gain some too. That said, I am not at all confident that it's a net nothing as I do think, just based upon people I know, that FFC supports football.

So I don't think that Connecticut fans are all that different form the rest of the nation. I do think that we've developed some bad habits but they are a part of national trend.

So while I am in favor of improving the road in Storrs, I think people over plan it. You don't need to plan for zero delay for 60K. It's all just a thought exercise though.

 

[Kolumbo]

Just one other point. If UCONN were in the B1G, I think playing a B1G schedule would naturally attract bigger crowds and there is a good possibility more people from the Boston area would be coming down. B1G fans in NYC would go to RU while fans in Boston would take the opportunity to see those teams in CT. UCONN in the B1G could certainly become a New England draw.

 

[Fishy]

I ask, again, would we even be having this conversation if not for the Patriots and Kraft?

You're too ill-informed to continue on in this thread.

 

[whaler11]

What exactly are you comparing now? Attendance is one factor of many. All three of those programs were better picks than UCONN, yes. Better history. Larger attendance. Better stadiums.

You said big time football is big time football.

Syracuse plays in the biggest dump in the country.

TCU...
http://www.tcu360.com/football/2013/10/18757.images-empty-stadium-cause-concern-embarrassment

Pitt attendance last year in Big East:
40, 48, 36, 42, 42, 38. Annouced fantasy numbers.


Syracuse last year in the Big East:
42, 36, 39, 40, 45, 41, 38. Announced fantasy numbers.

You'll need to go back to the drawing board....

 

[Fishy]

.

You'll need to go back to the drawing board....

He's using an Etch a Sketch...don't encourage him.

 

[jostar1]

UCONN D1A football has become an albatross. Correct me if I am off-base, but was the fact that our esteemed then Gov. Rowland agreed, in principle, with Bob Kraft, another criminal, to build a zillion dollar state-of-the art stadium for the Patriots in Hartford.

And was that a major factor, if not the factor, in UCONN upgrading the football program?

The new stadium was to be a palace for the Patriots to be used by UCONN for a few hours on 5 or 6 Saturday afternoons in the fall.

Then Kraft screwed Rowland (much to the delight of many, many taxpayers) as Kraft was playing Hartford for leverage turning up the heat on to get a new stadium done in Foxboro.

When the deal of Patriots to Hartford blew up in Rowland's face, UCONN was in the process of upgrading it's football status. "The Rent" was more or less a consolation to UCONN, no?

I ask, again, would we even be having this conversation if not for the Patriots and Kraft?

That isn't correct.

 

[Gampeltiles]

That isn't correct.

Got it, thanks for setting me straight.

 

[jostar1]

Got it, thanks for setting me straight.

Your timeline is off. UConn decided to go to Division 1A in October, 1997. That was a year before the Kraft deal was proposed. Here is the info from Wikipedia:

Transition to Division I-A

Connecticut hired Lew Perkins as its athletic director in 1990. One of Perkins' first projects was to gather facts for a possible upgrade of the football program to Division I-A.[6] Perkins feared that if the university didn't upgrade the football program, that it ran the risk of falling behind other institutions that fielded both football and basketball teams at the highest level. However, UConn was in the middle of a budget deficit and many faculty feared that an upgrade of the football program would result in a loosening of academic standards.[6]

In 1997, the Big East Conference gave the University of Connecticut and Villanova University a December 31 deadline to decide if they were going to upgrade their respective football programs and join the Big East football conference.[7] Villanova, a private institution, declined the invitation. However, in October 1997, the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees overwhelmingly endorsed, by a vote of sixteen to one, the football team's plan to upgrade the program to Division I-A status.[8] Part of the plan would be to build a new stadium, as the current stadium, Memorial Stadium, fell well below the minimum occupancy level of 30,000, as set by the NCAA. Originally, the new stadium was to be built on campus.



UConn would be granted an attendance waiver by the NCAA in order to play its home games at Memorial Stadium in Storrs during the 2000-2002 seasons.
However, the enthusiasm toward the new stadium quickly faded as the estimated expenses rose, the idea of an on-campus stadium was tabled, and the upgrade of the program was put on hold by the Connecticut state legislature.[9] A year later, the stadium issue was rehashed during an attempt to bring the New England Patriots to Hartford, Connecticut. A proposed 70,000 seat, open-air stadium in downtown Hartford would also serve as the home of the Huskies football team.[10] The plans for this stadium also fell through and the Patriots announced that they would remain in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Eventually, a new site emerged across the Connecticut River in East Hartford, when Pratt and Whitney donated their land on the old Rentschler Airfield to the state for purposes of building a football stadium. UConn officially began the upgrade process in January, 1999 by applying to join the Big East football conference.[11] They would receive a special waiver from the NCAA in order to play in Memorial Stadium while Rentschler Field was under construction.[12]