Make the Same Deal as ND

[UConnRock]

Don't see why UConn wouldn't look for the same deal with the ACC that ND just negotiated. Move hoops and the Olympic sports and take the independent gamble with football. Get 4 football games with the ACC, 3 MAC, 1 or 2 Academies and then fill the schedule with other conferences and an FCS game. Bowl chances would be diminished, but it would offer hoops and other sports decent stability. The BE dying on the vine and it is time to make a daring move

 

[The Viking]

Without hearing the negatives of such a move, sounds like a good plan to me.

(of course I'm sure there are negatives I'm not thinking of which others will point out soon)

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

I wouldn't even offer up football. jsut go independent and get hoops and olympics in the ACC

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Going Independent for football is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard presented here on the BY. The program would die. Literally die.

 

[Excalibur]

Going Independent for football is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard presented here on the BY. The program would die. Literally die.

I may not agree with it, but it's a valid suggestion, particularly for one who is a not a football fan. Kill (or maim) one program to ensure the survival of the other, vs. chopping a leg and arm off of both and being happy that they're still alive.

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

Going Independent for football is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard presented here on the BY. The program would die. Literally die.

based on attendance and play on the field, its headed that way anyways. Being attached to the ACC in any way is only hope for survival of the athletic department. Basketball will become irrelvent very quickly when most games are not on national TV and are against Houston, SMU and Navy.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

based on attendance and play on the field, its headed that way anyways. Being attached to the ACC in any way is only hope for survival of the athletic department. Basketball will become irrelvent very quickly when most games are not on national TV and are against Houston, SMU and Navy.

All good. UConn will never see another dime from me if they do this.

 

[PAGS]

And where would the money come from to support the program??? We're not ND or Michigan who get millions upon millions of dollars in donations a year!

 

[huskyjawz]

based on attendance and play on the field, its headed that way anyways. Being attached to the ACC in any way is only hope for survival of the athletic department. Basketball will become irrelvent very quickly when most games are not on national TV and are against Houston, SMU and Navy.

They don't play Navy in basketball.

 

[upstater]

Does the school have $25 million a year to lose on independent football?

 

[Point6]

Do it -- and remain a "FB only" in the BE

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Does the school have $25 million a year to lose on independent football?

This. They would shut down the program before going independent.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Do it -- and remain a "FB only" in the BE

LOL. Yes, the other BE schools would sign on for this.

I mean seriously people......

 

[Rondogg]

We were 9-3 when we were independant in football.

No bowl chose us.

 

[NHUConnfan]

All good. UConn will never see another dime from me if they do this.

Good. We don't need pessimists like you dragging down the morale of the program.

 

[Husky25]

Don't see why UConn wouldn't look for the same deal with the ACC that ND just negotiated. Move hoops and the Olympic sports and take the independent gamble with football. Get 4 football games with the ACC, 3 MAC, 1 or 2 Academies and then fill the schedule with other conferences and an FCS game. Bowl chances would be diminished, but it would offer hoops and other sports decent stability. The BE dying on the vine and it is time to make a daring move

This is off the top of my head:
1. Notre Dame football has been around longer than than the conference system and has more credibility (rightly or not) than the next 27 schools combined to the point where it can, and will continue to, write its own ticket. UConn has been a BCS school for 11 years and has only recently become (arguably) relevent.
2. As socially progressive as colleges and universities are, they are fiscally risk adverse. No school administrator in the country would attempt this move and still expect to keep their job. The only ones making money consistently in the gambling industry are the bookies and this is one heck of a long shot. A program with the stature and tradition of UConn would be committing Athletic Dept. suicide, especially if they went independent and played 3 MAC schools (which they can do now and still keep their conference affiliation).
3. Most conferences force bowl $$ to be combined and divvied up. ND doesn't have to do that.
4. Most importantly, BCS Bowl = Exposure = Recruits = Wins = BCS Tournement = happy alumni = $$$ = Funding for non-football and basketball sports. Rinse. Repeat.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Good. We don't need pessimists like you dragging down the morale of the program.

Hey, reality sucks.

This is a dark day for UConn athletics. There is no other way to spin it. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just fooling themselves.

 

[upstater]

This is off the top of my head:
1. Notre Dame football has been around longer than than the conference system and has more credibility (rightly or not) than the next 27 schools combined to the point where it can, and will continue to, write its own ticket. UConn has been a BCS school for 11 years and has only recently become (arguably) relevent.
2. As socially progressive as colleges and universities are, they are fiscally risk adverse. No school administrator in the country would attempt this move and still expect to keep their job. The only ones making money consistently in the gambling industry are the bookies and this is one heck of a long shot. A program with the stature and tradition of UConn would be committing Athletic Dept. suicide, especially if they went independent and played 3 MAC schools (which they can do now and still keep their conference affiliation).
3. Most conferences force bowl $$ to be combined and divvied up. ND doesn't have to do that.
4. Most importantly, BCS Bowl = Exposure = Recruits = Wins = BCS Tournement = happy alumni = $$$ = Funding for non-football and basketball sports. Rinse. Repeat.

My answer is pretty simple. UConn needs to keep football alive long enough to seem like a viable expansion candidate for the ACC in the event ND joins fully.

Eventually, football will die whether it's independent or in CUSA 2.0. But as an Indy or in the MAC, it will die sooner.

The point now is to win BE football and make yourself attractive until that point when you're regularly blowing open $25m+ holes in the budget.

 

[Excalibur]

My answer is pretty simple. UConn needs to keep football alive long enough to seem like a viable expansion candidate for the ACC in the event ND joins fully.

Eventually, football will die whether it's independent or in CUSA 2.0. But as an Indy or in the MAC, it will die sooner.

The point now is to win BE football and make yourself attractive until that point when you're regularly blowing open $25m+ holes in the budget.

I agree with this 100%.

 

[HeGotGame]

The only people more delusional then the posters suggesting going independent in football is the posters who actually think this is beneficial to the school.

We are basically a mid-major when it comes to football, we would lose MILLIONS of dollars by leaving a conference. Our bowl bids come from being in the BE, what major bowling is dieing to get UConn? None. We need the BE bowl money.

What schools are lining up to come play in our 40k stadium? Umass? What schools think playing us at home is going to be a huge draw? We can schedule the like of BYU, Army, and a bunch of MAC and Sun Belt schools. What kind of TV money would we get for this?

 

[ruskin]

If ACC says we'll take you in everything but football - and the D.C. media is already pushing Georgetown for that spot, btw - I think you have to take that offer as distasteful and pride-swallowing as it is. That means you accept football scheduling arrangements many on this board have opposed, starting with the ND deal where our 'home' games would have been at Meadowlands/Gillette. 2-for-1s that kind of thing. False pride is what will kill UConn athletics, not John Swofford and his henchmen. The attendance debacle last Saturday was not helpful to our cause. The "come to the Rent or else we won't play you" philosophy is what died, or should have died, today.

 

[pj]

Two points:

The only football independents are 4 programs with national followings: ND, BYU, Army, Navy. And Navy is joining a conference, BYU is deep in discussions to do so, Army might go FCS, and ND is forming tie-ins with the ACC scheduling them 5 games a year. The movement is all away from being independent. UConn couldn't get a $10-20 mn football contract as an independent. It might as a conference member.

And UConn's basketball etc would be under-compensated as an ACC member. ACC has sold all rights including Tier 3 rights. UConn would be compensated no higher than Florida State or Georgia Tech or Wake or NC State or Va Tech for its basketball.

So we would lose basketball revenue, lose football revenue, and have severe football scheduling problems.

We go ACC or B1G in all sorts, or we go NBE. There is really no alternative. I would push the B1G to take Rutgers and UConn for the New York/NJ/CT markets. They are losing ground as a football conference but can really make up for it by dominating major markets. Otherwise they risk ceding the northeast to the ACC.

 

[businesslawyer]

What makes anyone think the ACC wants us as a basketball only? That just destabilizes the ACC if we get a football offer one day. If they add Georgetown or Nova, they have them forever.

 

[upstater]

What makes anyone think the ACC wants us as a basketball only? That just destabilizes the ACC if we get a football offer one day. If they add Georgetown or Nova, they have them forever.

Fans/eyeballs.

The chances of UConn getting a B10 offer are minimal. It wouldn't be much of a risk.

My question is: why would the ACC add UConn as a bb only or non-football?

 

[sportsart]

I just called the suicide hotline in CT and got a busy signal. Could some of you guys hang up so others can get through?