Mike Anthony: As the divorce proceedings continue, UConn and AAC looking to move on with their new respective lives

[huskyrob1]

It. Was. A. Joke.

I’m begrudgingly happy we’re moving to the NBE. I’m just not optimistic about the football schedule and exposure, their corresponding impact on recruiting, and the overall impact on how competitive of a team we can field.

But the decision has been made so there’s little point in debating the move for me.

Why not optimistic about an independent football schedule and it's impact on recruiting vs staying in the AAC for all sports to the detriment of basketball too? I'll go one further and say that Uconn's value in all sports to the AAC was huge, and I wonder how long that the AAC will last now that UConn is gone.

 

[DefCONNOne]

You should call up Benedict, Herbst, several reporters who cover UConn football and saw positives in the move, the whole BOT, and tell them all that it's a bad move, doesn't match reality, and they're all stupid people. Going independent will immediately improve scheduling and recruiting, rather than zig-zagging all over the country to play Tulane, ECU, Tulsa, and Navy, which is insane.

I bet that Kool-Aid tastes gooooooooood!

 

[DefCONNOne]

Why not optimistic about an independent football schedule and it's impact on recruiting vs staying in the AAC for all sports to the detriment of basketball too? I'll go one further and say that Uconn's value in all sports to the AAC was huge, and I wonder how long that the AAC will last now that UConn is gone.

A lot longer than UCONN football as an Independent.

But the Kool-Aid man! Just keep drinking it.

 

[BlueMAB]

Why not optimistic about an independent football schedule and it's impact on recruiting vs staying in the AAC for all sports to the detriment of basketball too? I'll go one further and say that Uconn's value in all sports to the AAC was huge, and I wonder how long that the AAC will last now that UConn is gone.

Reasons for skepticism? Loss of home conference games. Little to no leverage when it coLes to scheduling games. Lots of 2 for 1s on deck. No bowl games ever, absent a historical season by UConn standards. Will we be on SNY? Maybe. But how many screens does that put us on? And where? Outside of NY, CT, and NJ, who gets SNY? Honest question. I’m in CT and I don’t get it.

Your opinion of UConn’s value runs contrary to everything that has happened in conference realignment, but sure, push that narrative. There’s no evidence to support your opinion, and plenty to contradict it, but have fun with that.

The AAC falling apart without UConn is based on what exactly? We were the outlier. Is Tulsa going to do better? Where is Tulane going to go to do better? Who is taking ECU?

 

[hardcorehusky]

The key to making the UConn football future work is controlling the factors around UConn and football. A local schedule, some buy games- a winning record. There will be bowl games in the future- SNY will at the very least produce the football games- so kids locally will be on TV. This plan is for viability and survival- it is about getting ahead of the trends, it is about turning this program around and getting people into the Rent. It is about increasing donations. It is about controlling the eyeballs and not being behind a paywall.

It is not about winning a conference that would net the university overall a crap sandwich from ESPN. It is not about jetting to Tulsa or ECU. It is not about ceding all control to a conference that we don't fit into. And most of all, it isn't about drinking the cool aid. This is forward thinking, this is about UConn Nation(the fans), driving people to the games and rebuilding the lost feeling of excitement. Apathy had set in and rigor mortis wasn't too far behind.

 

[huskyrob1]

The AAC falling apart without UConn is based on what exactly? We were the outlier. Is Tulsa going to do better? Where is Tulane going to go to do better? Who is taking ECU?

The question is not where Tulsa, Tulane, or ECU might end up, the question is who wants play them? Especially on the road. The answer is no one in basketball or football. A major reason why UConn is leaving the AAC. Like I said Uconn leaving is just the beginning. With UConn gone, don't be surprised if Wichita State leaves too and joins the MAC, MWC, Conference USA. When they joined two years ago they came right out and said that the reason they joined the AAC was to play UCONN. Lol

 

[BlueMAB]

The question is not where Tulsa, Tulane, or ECU might end up, the question is who wants play them? Especially on the road. The answer is no one in basketball or football. A major reason why UConn is leaving the AAC. Like I said Uconn leaving is just the beginning. With UConn gone, don't be surprised if Wichita State leaves too and joins the MAC, MWC, Conference USA. When they joined two years ago they came right out and said that the reason they joined the AAC was to play UCONN. Lol

Yeah, it wasn’t the money. They uprooted an entire athletic department just to play UConn in basketball.

Wichita doesn’t play football. Why would the MAC take them.

This place only gets weirder.

 

[huskyrob1]

Wichita doesn’t play football. Why would the MAC take them.

Why not? The football genius Aresco and his AAC took them. Lol

 

[CTHUSKY74]

This idea that the UConn football program is somehow going to be liberated by this move just doesn't match reality. UConn was in a division with two Florida schools, an Ohio school, a North Carolina school, and a Philly school. Boston College is in a division with one Florida school, three Carolina schools, one Kentucky school, and a central New York school. The travel is damn near identical save for traveling to Texas once every other year.

In 2016 they traveled to Annapolis, Houston, Tampa, North Carolina, and Chestnut Hill for football games. The next year they went to Virginia, Dallas, Philly, Orlando, and Cincinnati. That's pretty standard for any big time college football program.

The basketball program will save on travel in the new conference, sure. So will all the other programs. Everyone knows it was insane to fly the UConn women's team to Oklahoma to have them win by 60.

The UConn football program has been bad because the UConn football program has been bad. You don't need to search for any other reason. If leaving the AAC to go independent causes a rise in attendance, then the only thing it proves is that people are stupid.

I found the bolded part of the post interesting. I hadn't thought about the positive effect for the AAC of not having to travel to CT for so many sports. It might increase our leverage to leave early and not pay a huge penalty if the conference does not take a huge hit in it's TV revenue package and the overall travel costs for the remaining members goes down substantially a result of us leaving. It's at least a valid negotiating point for our side.

 

[Chief00]

This idea that the UConn football program is somehow going to be liberated by this move just doesn't match reality. UConn was in a division with two Florida schools, an Ohio school, a North Carolina school, and a Philly school. Boston College is in a division with one Florida school, three Carolina schools, one Kentucky school, and a central New York school. The travel is damn near identical save for traveling to Texas once every other year.

In 2016 they traveled to Annapolis, Houston, Tampa, North Carolina, and Chestnut Hill for football games. The next year they went to Virginia, Dallas, Philly, Orlando, and Cincinnati. That's pretty standard for any big time college football program.

The basketball program will save on travel in the new conference, sure. So will all the other programs. Everyone knows it was insane to fly the UConn women's team to Oklahoma to have them win by 60.

The UConn football program has been bad because the UConn football program has been bad. You don't need to search for any other reason. If leaving the AAC to go independent causes a rise in attendance, then the only thing it proves is that people are stupid.

Agree, travel is a lame excuse.

 

[jwawker]

The question is not where Tulsa, Tulane, or ECU might end up, the question is who wants play them? Especially on the road. The answer is no one in basketball or football. A major reason why UConn is leaving the AAC. Like I said Uconn leaving is just the beginning. With UConn gone, don't be surprised if Wichita State leaves too and joins the MAC, MWC, Conference USA. When they joined two years ago they came right out and said that the reason they joined the AAC was to play UCONN. Lol

Wichita State is ecstatic to be in the AAC. They jumped at the chance to leave the Missouri Valley Conference, and the departure of UConn doesn't change anything.

 

[06029]

I just didn't mention Navy and you know that. I used Navy as one end of a huge region of the country. I also mentioned Tulsa, Tulane, and ECU, all schools of questionable value in flying thousands of miles to play them. Now if they were Notre Dame or Boise State, Auburn, Texas, BYU, and Arizona it might be doable and definitely help in recruiting, but flying all those miles to play Tulsa, ECU, or Tulane is insane when as an independent we can schedule games with Syracuse, Pitt, BC, or Rutgers right in our backyard.

People can have an opinion this is bad for football. It’s allowed.

Let me know when all those backyard games get scheduled after the current contracts end. Until then, they are the fantasy schedule. Keep asking yourself why any of those teams should schedule independent Uconn for one of their 4 OOC games. What benefit is it for them? BC already has UMass. Cuse, maybe but not sure how it benefits them. . Rutgers, not a chance when until they get better. Pitt, they already have northeast games. Not a single good reason for them to schedule Uconn. No upside, only downside if they lose.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I'm wondering if you missed the sarcasm. I had hoped the "cross country to play Navy" part would make it more obvious. Another sarcasm clue. Navy is like 35 miles from Georgetown, not exactly "much closer".

Navy is closer than most of the Big East schools. I just found it ironic that the poster I responded to would use Navy and "cross country" travel in the same sentence to try make a point.

Sorry I blew it on your double meta-crypto nonjoke

 

[weyuo]

“We just can’t,” Aresco said(referring to UConn football staying in the AAC), shaking his head. “We just felt it was something we could not do. It sends the wrong signal for our conference.”

I just don't understand how he can say that when Navy is a limited sport member and so is Wichita St.

 

[AndOne]

Going independent will immediately improve scheduling and recruiting, rather than zig-zagging all over the country to play Tulane, ECU, Tulsa, and Navy, which is insane.

Why would scheduling and recruiting immediately improve? The only scheduling related announcement was games with CCSU and Lafayette. The four recruits since the news broke has a combined three G5 offers (Temple, UMass, BG). Where is this optimism coming from?

 

[06029]

Why would scheduling and recruiting immediately improve? The only scheduling related announcement was games with CCSU and Lafayette. The four recruits since the news broke has a combined three G5 offers (Temple, UMass, BG). Where is this optimism coming from?

Huskyrob = RutgersAl.

 

[06029]

“We just can’t,” Aresco said(referring to UConn football staying in the AAC), shaking his head. “We just felt it was something we could not do. It sends the wrong signal for our conference.”

I just don't understand how he can say that when Navy is a limited sport member and so is Wichita St.

They were invited that way. Uconn was a founding, all sports member of the AAC.

That and Uconn FB < Navy FB. I’m sur he would keep only Uconn BB if that was an option.

 

[BlueMAB]

Why not? The football genius Aresco and his AAC took them. Lol

Your assertion that the league will fall apart was boiled down to “why not” in about 3 posts. Well done.

 

[BlueMAB]

Sorry I blew it on your double meta-crypto nonjoke

Apology accepted.

 

[billybud]

“We just can’t,” Aresco said(referring to UConn football staying in the AAC), shaking his head. “We just felt it was something we could not do. It sends the wrong signal for our conference.”

I just don't understand how he can say that when Navy is a limited sport member and so is Wichita St.

They both came to he AAC...bringing maybe their best sport.

UConn is a different case leaving and taking their best sports...and Aresco does not want to make it easy...a deterrent of sorts for anyone else.

It would not surprise me to see a reluctance to schedule Uconn in the future from Aresco's brood.

 

[DefCONNOne]

The key to making the UConn football future work is controlling the factors around UConn and football. A local schedule, some buy games- a winning record. There will be bowl games in the future- SNY will at the very least produce the football games- so kids locally will be on TV. This plan is for viability and survival- it is about getting ahead of the trends, it is about turning this program around and getting people into the Rent. It is about increasing donations. It is about controlling the eyeballs and not being behind a paywall.

It is not about winning a conference that would net the university overall a crap sandwich from ESPN. It is not about jetting to Tulsa or ECU. It is not about ceding all control to a conference that we don't fit into. And most of all, it isn't about drinking the cool aid. This is forward thinking, this is about UConn Nation(the fans), driving people to the games and rebuilding the lost feeling of excitement. Apathy had set in and rigor mortis wasn't too far behind.

Compelling tale. Too bad winning football games destroys that narrative.

 

[Husky68]

Reasons for skepticism? Loss of home conference games. Little to no leverage when it coLes to scheduling games. Lots of 2 for 1s on deck. No bowl games ever, absent a historical season by UConn standards. Will we be on SNY? Maybe. But how many screens does that put us on? And where? Outside of NY, CT, and NJ, who gets SNY? Honest question. I’m in CT and I don’t get it.

Your opinion of UConn’s value runs contrary to everything that has happened in conference realignment, but sure, push that narrative. There’s no evidence to support your opinion, and plenty to contradict it, but have fun with that.

The AAC falling apart without UConn is based on what exactly? We were the outlier. Is Tulsa going to do better? Where is Tulane going to go to do better? Who is taking ECU?

Value and performance are two different things. The years Notre Dame had that high school coach leading them were pretty poor but ND was and is ND. UConn in my opinion (worth what you have to pay me for it) makes the AAC a "national" player, east coast people at least look at it enough to say "boy UConn really sucks in football, what happened, that Suzy chick really knows how to run an athletic department into the ground". ESPN+ would have got lot more takers with UConn still in it. So yeah, UConn had value to AAC.
If I were the AAC, I'd consider keeping UConn for football only. Why have Navy as football only?
Value to AAC is different than value to B10 or ACC, those conferences would have been better to not have brought in last group of teams, maybe B10 got enough tv viewers but ACC didn't get much with Fruit and Pitt.

 

[UC1995]

Navy doesn’t play D1 basketball and Witchita doesn’t play DI football. That’s why it works

 

[UCONNJACK]

Navy doesn’t play D1 basketball and Witchita doesn’t play DI football. That’s why it works

The Patriot League isn’t D1 since when?

 

[GridironGR8]

The Patriot League isn’t D1 since when?

The Patriot League is D1, but the key here is that it plays D1 FCS football. Navy, like Army and the AirForce Academy aspires to play winning football against the Big Boys. Can't do that in the Patriot League.

 

[MustangMan]

Value and performance are two different things. The years Notre Dame had that high school coach leading them were pretty poor but ND was and is ND. UConn in my opinion (worth what you have to pay me for it) makes the AAC a "national" player, east coast people at least look at it enough to say "boy UConn really sucks in football, what happened, that Suzy chick really knows how to run an athletic department into the ground". ESPN+ would have got lot more takers with UConn still in it. So yeah, UConn had value to AAC.
If I were the AAC, I'd consider keeping UConn for football only. Why have Navy as football only?
Value to AAC is different than value to B10 or ACC, those conferences would have been better to not have brought in last group of teams, maybe B10 got enough tv viewers but ACC didn't get much with Fruit and Pitt.

Due to the number of Navy veterans in most cities, Navy is a great team to have visit your stadium. Ex: my brother-in-law always takes his sons plus 2-3 friends when Navy comes to town. Week in week out, probably “travel” better than any team in the AAC. For the same reason, they are a better TV draw than all but the best AAC teams.

There is a reason that some of the bowls are tied directly to the service academies.

 

[Pudge]

Due to the number of Navy veterans in most cities, Navy is a great team to have visit your stadium. Ex: my brother-in-law always takes his sons plus 2-3 friends when Navy comes to town. Week in week out, probably “travel” better than any team in the AAC. For the same reason, they are a better TV draw than all but the best AAC teams.

There is a reason that some of the bowls are tied directly to the service academies.

it could be the nicest day in Highland Park … and the SMU stadium wouldn't have a buzz. Just is not a priority in the SMSA nor for the student bodies.

 

[UC1995]

The Patriot League isn’t D1 since when?

Point taken but their basket ball isn’t set up for big time basketball and never aspired to be. Football has been national for ever. We asked Navy to come back. They didn’t ask us.

 

[UConnNick]

Point taken but their basket ball isn’t set up for big time basketball and never aspired to be. Football has been national for ever. We asked Navy to come back. They didn’t ask us.

Ask Billy Self what he thinks of Patriot League BB. Bucknell knocked his Jayhawks out of the NCAAs one year, along with a couple other teams. Patriot League teams have either pulled upsets or come pretty damn close many times. American had Villanova down by 14 points midway through the second half in a first round game played in Philly. Play that game anywhere but at home and Nova loses.

 

[BlueMAB]

Value and performance are two different things. The years Notre Dame had that high school coach leading them were pretty poor but ND was and is ND. UConn in my opinion (worth what you have to pay me for it) makes the AAC a "national" player, east coast people at least look at it enough to say "boy UConn really sucks in football, what happened, that Suzy chick really knows how to run an athletic department into the ground". ESPN+ would have got lot more takers with UConn still in it. So yeah, UConn had value to AAC.
If I were the AAC, I'd consider keeping UConn for football only. Why have Navy as football only?
Value to AAC is different than value to B10 or ACC, those conferences would have been better to not have brought in last group of teams, maybe B10 got enough tv viewers but ACC didn't get much with Fruit and Pitt.

If UConn was valuable enough to cause the AAC to fold just by leaving, then UConn was valuable enough to get an invite to the ACC regardless of BCU’s objections.

Notre Dame and UConn don’t belong in the same breath when discussing conference realignment. It’s silly to even bring them up. Of course UConn has value to the AAC. So what? I didn’t say otherwise. You might want to read the posts I’m responding to because you’re taking the side of someone who argues the MAC will take Witchita St because “why not?”.