Marketing the Brand

[UConnDan97]

I was just surfing on Google, and I stumbled upon this website from Boise State, which is touting the new Big East Conference in 2013 and all the things that is has (or may have) going for it:

http://www.boisestatefootball.com/big-east-2013

It got me to think about all of the negative press that others have hit us with, and to some degree, that we have hit ourselves with. I think that supporters of the programs in the Big East should begin to start pushing some positive press about the new league. I guess that this post is me trying to do my part. I'm rooting for every team on this list to win every one of their out-of-conference games...

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The problem - as it's always been - is that ESPN controls and shapes what 99% of the sports fans think.

There is absolutely no incentive for ESPN to promote the Big East.

Just hope Coach P can win and do the best for UConn.

Trying to prop up the Big East is just a losing game.

 

[whaler11]

I love how they talk about being able to do tripleheaders. Everyone can do tripleheaders. BFD. The WAC could do quadrupal headers, that is a vibrant thriving league.

 

[gars44]

The Big East is now CUSA. An unfortunate but not necessarily "unfair" outcome given the constituency. I mean, everyone who had even a glimmer of football legacy has been relocated from the Big East (when they find a place for Syracuse and Pitt, you know this is about legacy and not present day prowess). So we are now left in the position of, guess who: Boise State, Houston, Cincinnati, Louisville - teams that committed to battling their way out of the morass, but who haven't quite made it yet for one reason or another. Can't say we don't belong right where we are. Unfortunate, but not undeserved. With potential and promise, that's all you can ask for.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

The Big East is now CUSA. An unfortunate but not necessarily "unfair" outcome given the constituency. I mean, everyone who had even a glimmer of football legacy has been relocated from the Big East (when they find a place for Syracuse and Pitt, you know this is about legacy and not present day prowess). So we are now left in the position of, guess who: Boise State, Houston, Cincinnati, Louisville - teams that committed to battling their way out of the morass, but who haven't quite made it yet for one reason or another. Can't say we don't belong right where we are. Unfortunate, but not undeserved. With potential and promise, that's all you can ask for.

1. If the Big East is C-USA, why are C-USA's better teams leaving for the Big East?
2. What exactly have we done to denigrate the accomplishments of Boise State, Houston, Cincy, or Louisville, exactly?

 

[Drumguy]

1. If the Big East is C-USA, why are C-USA's better teams leaving for the Big East?
2. What exactly have we done to denigrate the accomplishments of Boise State, Houston, Cincy, or Louisville, exactly?

Not to mention it seems like the NBE has ore teams on the rise and less on the downslope. In the end we have to play where we are and we'll make the best of any place we end up. Comes down to one thing - win baby win.

 

[UConnDan97]

1. If the Big East is C-USA, why are C-USA's better teams leaving for the Big East?
2. What exactly have we done to denigrate the accomplishments of Boise State, Houston, Cincy, or Louisville, exactly?

This is what I mean. What you have said is 100% true. The problem is that many of our fans don't believe it (and some of them chose to post their misery on this thread, in direct opposition of the message). I just don't understand that attitude, really. Are we the SEC? No. Were we one year ago? No. What has changed? We actually have a top 10 team in our league now, and that team is trying their best to promote OUR LEAGUE!!

Oddly enough, whenever I'm looking for a Big East pep talk, I visit Boise's and SDSU's websites. Sad, but true.

 

[whaler11]

This is what I mean. What you have said is 100% true. The problem is that many of our fans don't believe it (and some of them chose to post their misery on this thread, in direct opposition of the message). I just don't understand that attitude, really. Are we the SEC? No. Were we one year ago? No. What has changed? We actually have a top 10 team in our league now, and that team is trying their best to promote OUR LEAGUE!!

Oddly enough, whenever I'm looking for a Big East pep talk, I visit Boise's and SDSU's websites. Sad, but true.

Well what had changed is that the top 4 leagues have further consolidated their power, damaging both the Big East's long term health as well as the league we would have liked a chance to jump at.

Of course Boise and SDSU are excited to be in the Big East. They were in leagues with Idaho, New Mexico State, New Mexico and UNLV. They can't plausibly dream of running with the big dogs. They are just happy to not have to be associated with Louisiana Tech.

And yes I know that Boise can play with anyone right now, but they know the Pac 12 is not calling in 10000 years.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Well what had changed is that the top 4 leagues have further consolidated their power, damaging both the Big East's long term health as well as the league we would have liked a chance to jump at.

Of course Boise and SDSU are excited to be in the Big East. They were in leagues with Idaho, New Mexico State, New Mexico and UNLV. They can't plausibly dream of running with the big dogs. They are just happy to not have to be associated with Louisiana Tech.

And yes I know that Boise can play with anyone right now, but they know the Pac 12 is not calling in 10000 years.

Things never develop as linearly as that. The top 4 leagues are, as of now, are only 48 schools. Throw the ACC in, and its 62. There are a lot of fans out there that care a whole lot more about their local school than they do for Tennessee/Kentucky Tier 2 games. Sports has proven over and over that fan interest does not extend nationally very well, even at the pro level. If it did, there would only be a handful of franchises in each sport.

I also think the playoff is going to level the playing field quite a bit, especially when it expands to 8 or 16.

 

[whaler11]

Things never develop as linearly as that. The top 4 leagues are, as of now, are only 48 schools. Throw the ACC in, and its 62. There are a lot of fans out there that care a whole lot more about their local school than they do for Tennessee/Kentucky Tier 2 games. Sports has proven over and over that fan interest does not extend nationally very well, even at the pro level. If it did, there would only be a handful of franchises in each sport.

I also think the playoff is going to level the playing field quite a bit, especially when it expands to 8 or 16.

It's still changed. The haves are aggressively trying to kill off the have nots. The Big East and ACC are have nots - so even if the league is marginally better with the teams that joined over the teams that left; it's still bleaker now than it was before.

Some sports have shown they don't have national appeal - baseball and hockey certainly fall in that bucket. The NFL clearly does have national appeal and the NBA does to a degree.

What population centers have the Big 4 leagues left out? New England, North Carolina, Washington/Northern VA, New Jersey to a degree.... that's about it. The only bigger fan bases on the outside looking in are Florida State, Clemson and maybe Virginia Tech.

The Big East and ACC are certainly viable leagues, but the gap between the Big 4 and those two leagues will continue to spread if things continue to move in the same direction. They will be the 5th and 6th best leagues in some order... but the gap will be closer to what CUSA and the MWC have experienced in the recent past, not where the ACC and Big East have been. Even if it's for no other reason than they won't be able to pay coaches what the other leagues can pay - and that's really enough to keep them down. If someone will throw money at Randy Edsall... what does Horgelsen get if it turns out he can coach? What does Charlie Strong get? What does Steve Adazzio get? You can have a good program if you have a professional like a P or a Tom O'Brien or a Greg Schiano... but there will always be a ceiling you can't crash through.

 

[UConnDan97]

The haves are aggressively trying to kill off the have nots...

...The Big East and ACC are certainly viable leagues...

So then, why are you helping them kill us off? That was the point of this whole thread; to attempt to stop die-hard UConn fans from constantly crapping on our conference. As you admitted to later in your post, we are certainly a viable league, and I agree with your statement 100%. So why doesn't our fanbase act like it is?

By the way, if you think that the gap between the BE and the MW is closer now than when the MW had Boise St. and TCU, then you are smoking ganja. There is literally nobody left of any significance in that league at all, and the gap has never been wider (we stayed about the same, and they got much worse).

As a side-note, Holgerson was the hottest coaching commodity available at the time that WVU picked him up (enough so that they ousted Stewart, who was practically a folk hero for them), but keep in mind that UConn pays Pasqualoni slightly more than Holgerson. And he has already proven that he can coach (ask Clemson), so it's not a valid argument.

 

[whaler11]

So then, why are you helping them kill us off? That was the point of this whole thread; to attempt to stop die-hard UConn fans from constantly crapping on our conference. As you admitted to later in your post, we are certainly a viable league, and I agree with your statement 100%. So why doesn't our fanbase act like it is?

By the way, if you think that the gap between the BE and the MW is closer now than when the MW had Boise St. and TCU, then you are smoking ganja. There is literally nobody left of any significance in that league at all, and the gap has never been wider (we stayed about the same, and they got much worse).

As a side-note, Holgerson was the hottest coaching commodity available at the time that WVU picked him up (enough so that they ousted Stewart, who was practically a folk hero for them), but keep in mind that UConn pays Pasqualoni slightly more than Holgerson. And he has already proven that he can coach (ask Clemson), so it's not a valid argument.

You guys think these message boards are a bit more powerful then they are. I choose to deal in reality, others in a slash filled fantasy world. When the best thing you can say about a league is that it's viable.... It's still a mismash of geographic misfits who share nothing but the fact they aren't attractive enough to sit with the cool kids at lunch. They can make Big East fans eat &:$), I'm not going to pretend it tastes good.

You missed my point about the gaps. The BE and ACC going forward will see a gap to the Big 4 similar to the gap the last few years that the MWC and CUSA have seen between themselves and the Big 4. The gap will grow too between the BE and ACC and the lesser leagues, really is the Sun Belt worse than CUSA at this point? So the Big East and ACC will be 5th and 6th, but they will be further from fourth than they were prior, but they will be further ahead from 7th if that matters.

A good amount of the WVU fanbase hated Stewart Beating a fading Clemson team really didn't mean much, but if it turns out DH is a big time coach they now have access to the money and postseason to keep him.

Let's see Louisville keep Charlie Strong if they win the league back to back and they are still stranded in the Big East.

 

[UConnDan97]

You guys think these message boards are a bit more powerful then they are. I choose to deal in reality, others in a slash filled fantasy world.

No, you are actually not dealing in reality. You say that the league is viable in multiple posts, and then continue to crap on it. Also, the boards are indeed powerful, since they reflect the perceptions of the most important demographic; the paying fans! You don't think that people from tv and / or other conferences and / or recruits might peek in once in a while on fan sites? We know that they do!

And again, the point of this particular thread was to avoid that crap posting. You have at least 50 other threads to spout your crap on, Whaler, but you couldn't help yourself, could you? You jumped right in on this one...

 

[whaler11]

No, you are actually not dealing in reality. You say that the league is viable in multiple posts, and then continue to crap on it. Also, the boards are indeed powerful, since they reflect the perceptions of the most important demographic; the paying fans! You don't think that people from tv and / or other conferences and / or recruits might peek in once in a while on fan sites? We know that they do!

And again, the point of this particular thread was to avoid that crap posting. You have at least 50 other threads to spout your crap on, Whaler, but you couldn't help yourself, could you? You jumped right in on this one...

Viable does not mean healthy. Viable does not mean strong. Viable means there will be a schedule to play every fall and a way to watch the games on TV.

These boards are not powerful. No one nationally is going to change their mind about the quality of the Big East if the fans ignore the problems.

I know there seems to be a perception on message boards that brands are just marketing and by pretending something is valuable makes it valuable. It's not the reality - the national discourse is in one direction - all the pathetic press releases on Boise's site doesn't change the fact that everyone knows the legitimate Big East schools and their fan bases would set themselves on fire to even get in the ACC.

But i'll do my best to ignore the threads that want to ignore reality. Go Memphis!

 

[UConnDan97]

Viable does not mean healthy. Viable does not mean strong. Viable means there will be a schedule to play every fall and a way to watch the games on TV.

So you basically typed that the BE is a viable league twice on this thread, apparently so that everyone was aware that we would have a full schedule in the fall? Thanks!!! Holy cow, I wasn't sure it was going to happen for us this year, but there really is a Santa Claus!!

By your definition, every league is viable, including some 1-AA teams, as well as any independent team. Your insights are mind-boggling. And yes, indeed, Go Memphis! (so long as the Huskies go further).

 

[UConnDan97]

In keeping with the thread theme, more good news for the Big East. This is on the academic front, which is always good to see (and UConn is represented by a few teams):

http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/4...ed-with-ncaa-apr-public-recognition-awar.aspx