Low Point for UConn athletics

[UConnDan97]

Dan you can't separate the two. If football is on life support and basketball is at a 30+ low point the rest is pointless.

I understand that those are the money makers, no doubt. those two are the two that absolutely need to be fixed, especially when we are trying to get into the so called "P5".

It's just unfortunate that it's happening during a period of time when the women's basketball team has won for national titles in a row, the hockey team is successfully making a transition to Hockey East, the field hockey team is coming off of a final four appearance and a title last year, the baseball team is high quality, the women's soccer team was ranked top 15, etc.

No doubt that you're right, but we have to also tip our hats to the multitude of great teams we have that most schools don't...

 

[whaler11]

I understand that those are the money makers, no doubt. those two are the two that absolutely need to be fixed, especially when we are trying to get into the so called "P5".

It's just unfortunate that it's happening during a period of time when the women's basketball team has won for national titles in a row, the hockey team is successfully making a transition to Hockey East, the field hockey team is coming off of a final four appearance and a title last year, the baseball team is high quality, the women's soccer team was ranked top 15, etc.

No doubt that you're right, but we have to also tip our hats to the multitude of great teams we have that most schools don't...

Yes for people like you it's something to hang your hat on. Just no one outside of a small percentage if alumni cares - and trying to make the case to people outside of UConn just makes you look crazy.

It's like listening to Diaco try and tell you everything is great.

 

[UConnDan97]

Yes for people like you it's something to hang your hat on. Just no one outside of a small percentage if alumni cares - and trying to make the case to people outside of UConn just makes you look crazy.

It's like listening to Diaco try and tell you everything is great.

Well it's not just me. There's a Capital One Cup for a reason. Men's soccer regularly draws numbers over a thousand. And so on.

I'm not arguing with you that the two big money makers are in rough shape right now. They are. No way to sugar coat it. So let's just say that. Because the rest of the AD is doing well.


And Diaco is awesome...

 

[Pudge]

Dan you can't separate the two. If football is on life support and basketball is at a 30+ low point the rest is pointless.

That's crazy - a "30+ low point"?

WTF are you thinking. And do you have any capacity to look at players and recognize skillsets? Nuts. I would line every player up versus a 2012 or a 2002 or a 1997 or a 1989 and you simply are wrong. I get it ... you want Great every year. We won 4 National Championships and we re-loaded with new kids. That is College Athletics.

 

[Carl Spackler]

That's crazy - a "30+ low point"?

WTF are you thinking. And do you have any capacity to look at players and recognize skillsets? Nuts. I would line every player up versus a 2012 or a 2002 or a 1997 or a 1989 and you simply are wrong. I get it ... you want Great every year. We won 4 National Championships and we re-loaded with new kids. That is College Athletics.

If Diaco is the head coach next season, say good bye to the chance of having a decent football program for the next 3 years bare minimum and embrace the reality that our university administrstion has no idea how to run an effective division 1A FBS athletic department, and will be treated as such and disrespected as such by groups of institutions that do, and that includes our own current conference.

 

[UConnDan97]

That's crazy - a "30+ low point"?

WTF are you thinking. And do you have any capacity to look at players and recognize skillsets? Nuts. I would line every player up versus a 2012 or a 2002 or a 1997 or a 1989 and you simply are wrong. I get it ... you want Great every year. We won 4 National Championships and we re-loaded with new kids. That is College Athletics.

Wait, did you just say 2002? A team with Butler, Gordon, Okafor, and Taliek? This team would get killed right now. Sorry. Even Johnnie Selvie would be having a field day.

This team is young and inexperienced. Given some time, I think they are going to be great. But let's not compare them to a team with three known NBA players...

 

[whaler11]

Well it's not just me. There's a Capital One Cup for a reason. Men's soccer regularly draws numbers over a thousand. And so on.

I'm not arguing with you that the two big money makers are in rough shape right now. They are. No way to sugar coat it. So let's just say that. Because the rest of the AD is doing well.


And Diaco is awesome...

Yes if there is anything people care about it's the Capital One Cup. Swimming and

That's crazy - a "30+ low point"?

WTF are you thinking. And do you have any capacity to look at players and recognize skillsets? Nuts. I would line every player up versus a 2012 or a 2002 or a 1997 or a 1989 and you simply are wrong. I get it ... you want Great every year. We won 4 National Championships and we re-loaded with new kids. That is College Athletics.

I'm sorry 28 year low point?

Line up whoever you like. This team has been abysmal.

 

[Pudge]

If Diaco is the head coach next season, say good bye to the chance of having a decent football program for the next 3 years bare minimum and embrace the reality that our university administrstion has no idea how to run an effective division 1A FBS athletic department, and will be treated as such and disrespected as such by groups of institutions that do, and that includes our own current conference.

You get a "like"

Post about Basketball and you go off on a tangent. I like that. The mistake was the "extension". And since zero of you guys are writing a check and this New England state is specifically curmudgeon based, I see a very low probability of Diaco being gone by 1/10/2017. If that gets us to our lowest point - ignoring the DOMINANT name in Women's sport (with the most notable coach) plus huge Brand, a upscale Hockey gateway, many successes across other sports, and a Kevin Ollie Program that I disagree with the negativity - fine.

 

[Pudge]

Wait, did you just say 2002? A team with Butler, Gordon, Okafor, and Taliek? This team would get killed right now. Sorry. Even Johnnie Selvie would be having a field day.

This team is young and inexperienced. Given some time, I think they are going to be great. But let's not compare them to a team with three known NBA players...

Killed?

They were Freshmen? Did you see them play or are you just thinking of them as 25 year olds.

I think some of you want more Shonn Millers, Lasan Kromah, Sterling Gibbs. I understand. I believe that Ollie has chosen with this class to go in another direction. Simply that he wants to see full development.

 

[Carl Spackler]

You get a "like"

Post about Basketball and you go off on a tangent. I like that. The mistake was the "extension". And since zero of you guys are writing a check and this New England state is specifically curmudgeon based, I see a very low probability of Diaco being gone by 1/10/2017. If that gets us to our lowest point - ignoring the DOMINANT name in Women's sport (with the most notable coach) plus huge Brand, a upscale Hockey gateway, many successes across other sports, and a Kevin Ollie Program that I disagree with the negativity - fine.

If I could, I would written the check on Saturday night. The buyout amount and contractual terms were a mistake, in contract writing, that Benedict - if smart - will never make again. Nothing can be done about it.

But the athletic department has a $72million budget. Have you looked at the athletic dept staff directory alone? $5mill is a drop in the bucket. The cost of firing him is far outweighed by the risk assessment cost of keeping him.

And I will cross over to basketball. We have basketball alumni worth dozens of millions. Between them a $5mill check is easy. If the culture and understanding was there. Jim Calhoun was many things, good and bad. His worst legacy is his 'not a dime back' attitude and not fostering that giving back attitude to the school all along. Between NBA and NFL alum, this could be done quick.

I'm a small potatoes contributor for a long time,but its added up over the years and I started in earnest 15 years ago when the school made the commitment to football.

My little contribution won't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but I won't be donating my discretionary money anymore to the school if they demonstrate no ability to get budgets squared away and priorities straight.

Why the hell should I?

I could buy tickets individually and sit anywhere.

 

[UConnDan97]

Killed?

They were Freshmen? Did you see them play or are you just thinking of them as 25 year olds.

I think some of you want more Shonn Millers, Lasan Kromah, Sterling Gibbs. I understand. I believe that Ollie has chosen with this class to go in another direction. Simply that he wants to see full development.

Butler was a sophomore, averaging 20 points a game. Okafor as a freshman was averaging 8 and 9 boards. Gordon as a freshman was averaging 12.

Who on this team would get a rebound against them? Seriously, who? Between Selvie, Caron, and Okafor, we would get out rebounded by at least 12. Brimah would have 2 fouls in the first 5 minutes and then would be out of the game with 10 minutes left to go.

The problem with the current team is that we get no offensive production from our bigs. That 2002 team would eat us up. This team had a lot of upside, but let's not get crazy...

 

[Pudge]

We don't have anyone to write that check. It's not coming from the State or University.

Firing Staff? That's your solution to Diaco? Or cutting Sports?

You can't take a moment in time. The 2016-2017 had plenty of talent. All down the roster. Part of the joy of college sports is development: this is a "Development" year.

 

[Carl Spackler]

We don't have anyone to write that check. It's not coming from the State or University.

Firing Staff? That's your solution to Diaco? Or cutting Sports?

You can't take a moment in time. The 2016-2017 had plenty of talent. All down the roster. Part of the joy of college sports is development: this is a "Development" year.

I guarantee there is enough bloat and fat in that budget to come up with $5mill and not blink an eye.

 

[whaler11]

Yes I see a lot ot great joy when losing to Wagner and Northeastern before squeezing by a D-II team. I'm sure joy will be the emotion expressed at XL and Gampel when they get back.

Ollie looks like he is having a lot of fun out there. Great joy for him.

 

[Adios]

I'm not so sure that you are wrong about this Butchy.

I wish I was. These athletes take their talent for granted and don't seem to care too much about character.

 

[Pudge]

Of course. You have factored in that three players look to be out for the year on Ollies team.

What if Ben Gordon & Emeka Okafor were lost in 2002 after 4 games?

The 8 kids we've seen ( the 2016 five person class + Adams/Enoch/Larrier) are a terrific group. If you're debating that, you're wrong. There's not a Michael LeBlanc or Scott Hazelton or Antric Klaiber amongst them. We develop in cycles. That's my point. And Ollie definitively chose not to bring in a 5th year GR transfer.

That's enough on this.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Conference realignment is the cancer that is destroying UConn football and men's basketball. In time it will suck the life out of all sports that are important to the P5 conferences. Even women's bb will feel it, post Geno. It won't be overnight but it will happen.

Conference realignment is doing what business schools tells students that oligopolies do . . . a few big market participants eventually snuff out those competitors on the outside. For college sports the two most important variables are recruiting and TV relevance.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Conference realignment is the cancer that is destroying UConn football and men's basketball. In time it will suck the life out of all sports that are important to the P5 conferences. Even women's bb will feel it, post Geno. It won't be overnight but it will happen.

Conference realignment is doing what business schools tells students that oligopolies do . . . a few big market participants eventually snuff out those competitors on the outside. For college sports the two most important variables are recruiting and TV relevance.

Conference realignment will eventually kill UConn athletics if they never get out.

This season and the past 5? The only people UConn have to blame is themselves and their on field performance.

AAC eventually kills us from a revenue standpoint but as of right now our teams in recent years have been decidedly mediocre or downright horrible.

 

[zls44]

I guarantee there is enough bloat and fat in that budget to come up with $5mill and not blink an eye.

This is such a garbage argument.

"I haven't seen any of the bookkeeping, I just know!"

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Conference realignment will eventually kill UConn athletics if they never get out.

This season and the past 5? The only people UConn have to blame is themselves and their on field performance.

AAC eventually kills us from a revenue standpoint but as of right now our teams in recent years have been decidedly mediocre or downright horrible.

Agreed. But what has really hurt UConn in the "pools" in which UConn is recruiting. Not beating P5 schools out for signing day. Now, all too often, it's Stony Brook, Sacred Heart and Rhode Island or Maine for recruits.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The decision to join a southern mid major conference is looking brilliant.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Whether we stay in the AAC or kill football to "save hoops" and move back to the "Big East", UConn athletics is done. Finished. Both scenarios are death knells for the whole department.

P5 is the only way out and that lifeboat just left port and won't be back for another 5-10 years. By that time the budget will be shrunk, Ollie will have been fired, and we will go through 3 more football coaches.

People need to stop touting the Olympic sports because nobody cares.

 

[UCFBfan]

If you don't think UConn is close to being irrelevant on a national scene you're being willingly obtuse.

The saddest thing about this comment is that if it wasn't for the women's basketball team and Geno being Geno, UConn would be no different then any other G5 school in terms of relevance. Of all the sports that we have been known for, it's Women's basketball that's keeping us in the conversation......

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Whether we stay in the AAC or kill football to "save hoops" and move back to the "Big East", UConn athletics is done. Finished. Both scenarios are death knells for the whole department.

P5 is the only way out and that lifeboat just left port and won't be back for another 5-10 years. By that time the budget will be shrunk, Ollie will have been fired, and we will go through 3 more football coaches.

People need to stop touting the Olympic sports because nobody cares.

We know that staying in the AAC is a death knell (wasn't there a poster telling us that for the last 3 years?).

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

We know that staying in the AAC is a death knell (wasn't there a poster telling us that for the last 3 years?).

Your solution of dropping football and moving to the Big East is also a death knell.

It's just that your option also eliminates us from P5 consideration.

 

[Ldandy]

The decision to join a southern mid major conference is looking brilliant.

3 things:

1)Uconn didn't join anything. They remained in the conference that they were already a part of and added new members. The Catholic Basketball Schools decided to leave.

2)Going independent in football is nearly impossible. Even ND had to agree to 5 "conference" games in order to fill out a reasonable schedule. Otherwise they would have next to no one to play when everyone else was playing their conference slates. A few years of New Mexico State, Umass, and Army at home in October and November and their fans would have been begging to join any conference. Who would Uconn Schedule? More important, what media outlet is showing these games?

3)There are no guarantees that joining The Big East would be a long term solution. The plan is to do this to save basketball correct? What happens if the day comes where the current P5 gets fed up with The NCAA controlling the lion's share of the basketball tournament money? What if they break away and decide to stage their own tournament with the ability to control the media rights? Will The Big East be invited to compete in that scenario, or will it be with lumped in with all the rest of the current G5 Schools playing in a secondary tournament akin to the current FCS Football Playoff?

The reality is that The AAC didn't destroy Uconn's Football Program. Bad coaches did. Losing and playing a brand of football that is painful to watch is what's keeping the fans away. Honestly if Uconn were in The ACC right now, but saddled with the same group of coaches, how much better would your attendance be? You played two ACC Schools at home this year, were they sell outs? Sure maybe a Clemson, Miami, or FSU might put 10,000 more buts in the seats, but the majority of its current members wouldn't mean squat.

What the school needs to do is can Diaco's sorry ass. If Uconn can hire a coach that doesn't speak in riddles and knows that the object of the game is to score touchdowns not gain experience they will be halfway back to relevance. You can be a good program and compete for New Years Day Bowl Games in The AAC. Houston has proven that. The main difference is that the margin of error is far less than at other places. Still it can be done. Step one starts the minute Fish Cakes is handed his pink slip.

 

[UConnDan97]

Whether we stay in the AAC or kill football to "save hoops" and move back to the "Big East", UConn athletics is done. Finished. Both scenarios are death knells for the whole department.

P5 is the only way out and that lifeboat just left port and won't be back for another 5-10 years. By that time the budget will be shrunk, Ollie will have been fired, and we will go through 3 more football coaches.

People need to stop touting the Olympic sports because nobody cares.

I wish you would tell us how you really feel, Jimmy.

The current money model is unsustainable over the long term. The difference between the P5 and everyone else is too big. We need some of the moving parts to break in our favor. If not a P5 invite, at least a much better AAC contract or better yet, a way to monetize our rights separately from the AAC since we are their most valuable property.

As for the doom and gloom of the men's basketball team, I can't take it anymore. Yes, horrible start and a bunch of injuries, but it doesn't change the fact that we got a top 10 recruiting class after 5 years in the AAC. It doesn't change the fact that we have already landed top 150 recruits for next year as well. And football is one right coaching hire away from 40,000 in the stadium again.

My God, with this 'we're dead' talk...

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I used to believe that all of the premature tossing of dirt on our graves was initiated by outsiders (pundits, fans of opponents on message boards) and that those who believed it either resented our success or were overreacting fans. I still remember the supposed abyss we had fallen into during the 2009-2010 season and how we were then dead as a program.

Is there a chance that we won't run our streak of above .500 seasons to thirty? Yes and personally I think it sucks. I can only think of two schools (Arizona & Kansas) that have longer streaks and I could be wrong on either. That said, if there is one sport where I doubt we will ever be too far in the dumps to ever being able to return to the elite it is men's hoops (keep in mind we have no idea how things will evolve once Geno is retired and many other schools throw money into women's hoops).

This men's basketball season is looking like it will be an enormous disappointment; many of us saw the possibility of a deep tournament run this year, now making the tournament looks like a pipedream. That does not mean the program is dead.

 

[Adios]

Bigger government is the future. UConn will be fine, it is going nowhere. However, on some squads other than those under Geno, Nancy Stevens, and maybe Jim Penders, our athletes could use an attitude adjustment and actually appreciate what they are getting. Rather than be mentally weak.

Sacred Heart's hockey coach amazes me. He gets his teams to always compete. Pretty cohesively and coherently, too.

 

[whaler11]

I wish you would tell us how you really feel, Jimmy.

The current money model is unsustainable over the long term. The difference between the P5 and everyone else is too big. We need some of the moving parts to break in our favor. If not a P5 invite, at least a much better AAC contract or better yet, a way to monetize our rights separately from the AAC since we are their most valuable property.

As for the doom and gloom of the men's basketball team, I can't take it anymore. Yes, horrible start and a bunch of injuries, but it doesn't change the fact that we got a top 10 recruiting class after 5 years in the AAC. It doesn't change the fact that we have already landed top 150 recruits for next year as well. And football is one right coaching hire away from 40,000 in the stadium again.

My God, with this 'we're dead' talk...

The injuries might be an excuse going forward. They don't explain Wagner and Northeastern.

Ollie has shown he can recruit. Post Shabazz he hasn't shown anything else. You can assume he'll develop and everything will be fine - but you are probably looking at the longest 11 months in UConn history. If he doesn't get that program fixed by next November then what?