Moving UConn Football Forward - A Message from Athletic Director David Benedict. | Page 7 | The Boneyard

Moving UConn Football Forward - A Message from Athletic Director David Benedict.

What makes anyone think Orlovsky would be a good head coach? When was the last time he was on the sidelines of a football game not acting in capacity at ESPN.

We cant throw a literal noob into the fire when the school is trying to build on what Mora did
This could be a complete misinterpretation on my part by my my thought on DO's intention with that tweet was to use him for advice in the hiring process.
 
Another long tweet from Marc. A couple strange takes. The ACC would be the obvious answer and most likely of the P4. The Big Ten is not happening. I've accepted that an on-campus stadium is not in our future even though I think that is one of our biggest criticisms. Maybe if the Big Ten offered and requested one, then of course, but that's not happening. I'm sure Marc has a much better handle on the program than I do so I am not sure what to think.

 
Another long tweet from Marc. A couple strange takes. The ACC would be the obvious answer and most likely of the P4. The Big Ten is not happening. I've accepted that an on-campus stadium is not in our future even though I think that is one of our biggest criticisms. Maybe if the Big Ten offered and requested one, then of course, but that's not happening. I'm sure Marc has a much better handle on the program than I do so I am not sure what to think.


Big 10 is our dream of marrying a supermodel. The ACC is the girl we might have a chance with if we hit the gym hard and turn on the charm.
 
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Why no heat on the AD?? He's had one top priority the past several years - get us into a Power Conference. And, he has failed. Period.

He is very fortunate that Danny is staying for now by taking a below market deal and we were able to win 2 chips.
 
Why no heat on the AD?? He's had one top priority the past several years - get us into a Power Conference. And, he has failed. Period.

He is very fortunate that Danny is staying for now by taking a below market deal and we were able to win 2 chips.
Ludicrous. AD David Benedict has recruited amazing coaches including Dan Hurley and JM. The proof is in the results. Somethings don’t go your way despite the best efforts.
 
Another long tweet from Marc. A couple strange takes. The ACC would be the obvious answer and most likely of the P4. The Big Ten is not happening. I've accepted that an on-campus stadium is not in our future even though I think that is one of our biggest criticisms. Maybe if the Big Ten offered and requested one, then of course, but that's not happening. I'm sure Marc has a much better handle on the program than I do so I am not sure what to think.


Very strange indeed. Hopefully he doesn’t get to talk to the Governor on CRA.
 
I think Mora knew this wasn’t going to be his forever job, knew he had reached his peak value, and decided it was a good time to cash in. At 64, P4 teams were hesitant because of his age. He has a guy in the HEISMAN conversation at UConn! While that is pie in the sky, he has a BILETNIKOFF FINALIST at wide receiver! Oh by the way, the guy he gave a shot at being OC for the first time has been a Broyles nominee both years.
He develops the athletes AND the coaches.

CSU, while on the surface feels like a slap in the face, is a place where he won’t have to sing for his supper quite so much. Theyre willing to take a 64 year old coach. The recruiting will be just a little easier with a conference. He’ll be coaching football games in places where he has family. The stakes for CSU are lower. In a place where he probably thinks he can retire.

There’s a serious chance we don’t get to play P4 football until 2030 (if ever), and he’d be almost 70 by then.

I’m disappointed, but I don’t blame him.
 


Is Marc correct that UConn football NIL was only around $1 million for 2025? This amount would make more sense since we struck out on the defensive side of the ball this year obtaining players in the portal and lost two of our best defensive linemen to the portal.
 
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That's his estimate. But that's way lower than I read elsewhere.
But Marc’s number makes more sense to me why our defense was so bad this year. We could have easily blown $1 million of NIL on the offensive players and had no money for Dline and for other good defensive players. We lost two good DLine ones to the portal last off season.
 
But Marc’s number makes more sense to me why our defense was so bad this year. We could have easily blown $1 million of NIL on the offensive players and had no money for Dline and for other good defensive players. We lost two good DLine ones to the portal last off season.
Cost and performance aren't the same.

For instance, take a look at the $4 million dollar per year Duke QB when he played against that very same defense that you're making fun of...
 
But Marc’s number makes more sense to me why our defense was so bad this year. We could have easily blown $1 million of NIL on the offensive players and had no money for Dline and for other good defensive players. We lost two good DLine ones to the portal last off season.
His numbers are wrong. We whiffed on defense. How do you explain signing the AAC DPOY and he doesn't perform? I'm assuming we outbid people for his services. Trent Jones missed most of the year with injury.
 
His numbers are wrong. We whiffed on defense. How do you explain signing the AAC DPOY and he doesn't perform? I'm assuming we outbid people for his services. Trent Jones missed most of the year with injury.
I am finding it hard to believe we spent $3.5 million (number I have heard on BY) last year. Skylar would have been expensive to keep, but I do not think JF was that expensive to keep since no one had any idea he would perform at the level he performed this year. We lost out two best DLine to the portal. I would trust Marc’s number over anybody on here since he was part of the infrastructure that gave NIL to the football players - $1 million. This would also make sense why Mora bailed thinking he could not restock offensive and defensive teams for around $1 million in NIL for next season - would need significantly more than that particularly given the increase difficulty of the schedule.
 
I am finding it hard to believe we spent $3.5 million (number I have heard on BY) last year. Skylar would have been expensive to keep, but I do not think JF was that expensive to keep since no one had any idea he would perform at the level he performed this year. We lost out two best DLine to the portal. I would trust Marc’s number over anybody on here since he was part of the infrastructure that gave NIL to the football players - $1 million. This would also make sense why Mora bailed thinking he could not restock offensive and defensive teams for around $1 million in NIL for next season - would need significantly more than that particularly given the increase difficulty of the schedule.
Going with your feelings... cooool. At this point, I'm gonna just assume you're trolling the board...
 
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It seems the AAC would be a good fit for football. But we would have to give them something in return. How about football and women basketball go to AAC only. Everything else stays Big East.
I wonder if AAC would go for it. Our woman’s basketball program is # 1. And a good asset
Geno would quit immediately. The AAC almost killed his program.
 
Going with your feelings... cooool. At this point, I'm gonna just assume you're trolling the board...
I am just reporting what Marc stated on X. If Marc who I thought was part of the leadership team on raising NIL knows less than you then cool.
 
Are you serious??

I hate dealing with low-IQ people, but I'll make an exception. What is your current alternative to the Big East + Independent football?? Is it the AAC? Because we saw how that went and it destroyed most of our revenue sports. So what's your solution, champ?


I read your post and we can agree on one thing - we do all care about UConn athletics. It has been part of my life for decades and I am sure that you have been a fan for decades. However, I am unwilling to to yield to "sound and fury signifying nothing", so I will engage.

As far as where we are now, we have done as well as we can given the circumstances. Benedict has been a very effective AD. The propblem is that the upside is at best limited and may in fact be at risk. The "bitter pill" proposal is the only way I see out of this current conference situation so football can thrive in an appropriate conference. The "bitter pill" means we will probably have to buy in to a conference and it will be expensive and humilitating. Can you imagine writing checks to a conference so a BC or a Syracuse can get full payouts?

As far as conference being important in football, don't believe me - look at the facts. Only one D1 team has made it work as an independent - ND. NBC pays them about $50mm for football only and the ACC pays them about $17 mm for their Olympic sports and a football scheduiling agreement. Further, ND doesn't have to play in a conference championship or even play a difficult schedule to be favored for a CFP spot. Nobody else will get that deal and ND may not keep it the long run. In the Courant article, even Dan Hurley mentioned "conference" among the considerations in Mora's decision.

I hated the AAC experience as much as anyone. (especially the Diaco Civil War dream with UCF) I wouldn't go back there at the point of a gun. At the time we wanted out, the BE was the only realistic option that made sense. But times have changed and the BE is losing the arms race even in basketball. Consider, that 22 of the top 25 teams in the ESPN poll are from P4 conferences. More worrisome, I believe whats coming down the road is a CFP style attempted take over of basketball. The NCAA desparately wants to hold on to March Madness because it alone provides about 80% of their annual revenues. The P4 conferences like the money CFP provides and I believe would like to replicate it (or more) in basketball.

For schools like UConn with no big conference money to spread around, you must hit up donors and the state government. As an example, the ACC full payout last year was about $45mm. Big donors at UConn cross the $100k threshold and are treated like royalty as they should be. To match the ACC payout minus the BE payout you need about 350-400 of them. Thankfully, at the state level, we have Ned Lamont and Matt Ritter as friends. But, that won't last forever.

So what can done? Standing pat is not an option IMO. Because ultimately I think the P4 will prevail.

So pardon me for looking down the road, but we need to stay active conference wise. The BE has provided us with a stage to get our BB feet back on the ground, but now we need help in other ways it simply can't provide.
 
I am just reporting what Marc stated on X. If Marc who I thought was part of the leadership team on raising NIL knows less than you then cool.
It's an easy Google search to find out that we've at least doubled that amount. I don't mind if Marc doesn't do the Google search, but I mind if you don't and then continue to blabber on about it...
 
I am just reporting what Marc stated on X. If Marc who I thought was part of the leadership team on raising NIL knows less than you then cool.
Let's just say there are people closer to the situation than him who have said differently. He went with his "estimation". Others are not "estimating".
 
I read your post and we can agree on one thing - we do all care about UConn athletics. It has been part of my life for decades and I am sure that you have been a fan for decades. However, I am unwilling to to yield to "sound and fury signifying nothing", so I will engage.

As far as where we are now, we have done as well as we can given the circumstances. Benedict has been a very effective AD. The propblem is that the upside is at best limited and may in fact be at risk. The "bitter pill" proposal is the only way I see out of this current conference situation so football can thrive in an appropriate conference. The "bitter pill" means we will probably have to buy in to a conference and it will be expensive and humilitating. Can you imagine writing checks to a conference so a BC or a Syracuse can get full payouts?

As far as conference being important in football, don't believe me - look at the facts. Only one D1 team has made it work as an independent - ND. NBC pays them about $50mm for football only and the ACC pays them about $17 mm for their Olympic sports and a football scheduiling agreement. Further, ND doesn't have to play in a conference championship or even play a difficult schedule to be favored for a CFP spot. Nobody else will get that deal and ND may not keep it the long run. In the Courant article, even Dan Hurley mentioned "conference" among the considerations in Mora's decision.

I hated the AAC experience as much as anyone. (especially the Diaco Civil War dream with UCF) I wouldn't go back there at the point of a gun. At the time we wanted out, the BE was the only realistic option that made sense. But times have changed and the BE is losing the arms race even in basketball. Consider, that 22 of the top 25 teams in the ESPN poll are from P4 conferences. More worrisome, I believe whats coming down the road is a CFP style attempted take over of basketball. The NCAA desparately wants to hold on to March Madness because it alone provides about 80% of their annual revenues. The P4 conferences like the money CFP provides and I believe would like to replicate it (or more) in basketball.

For schools like UConn with no big conference money to spread around, you must hit up donors and the state government. As an example, the ACC full payout last year was about $45mm. Big donors at UConn cross the $100k threshold and are treated like royalty as they should be. To match the ACC payout minus the BE payout you need about 350-400 of them. Thankfully, at the state level, we have Ned Lamont and Matt Ritter as friends. But, that won't last forever.

So what can done? Standing pat is not an option IMO. Because ultimately I think the P4 will prevail.

So pardon me for looking down the road, but we need to stay active conference wise. The BE has provided us with a stage to get our BB feet back on the ground, but now we need help in other ways it simply can't provide.
I will keep it civil in the same spirit that you've chosen to in this recent post.

Of course we'd be better served having a conference where both money and scheduling are guaranteed. But I'm going to "pressure test" your suggestion of paying a conference to get in.

Which conference are you suggesting we pay to get into?? And how much would the payment need to be? I'm going to ask you to at least provide a semblance of data that the payment and conference that you suggest would go successfully. In other words, don't suggest to me "ACC, let's offer them the deal that SMU offered them". Because even if we offered to forego 9 years of tv money at 24 million each, you've gotta demonstrate that we'd get the votes to get in, which we already know we don't have...
 
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Basically, if we had more NIL for this season, we could've spent more on defense, not gone 0-3 in OT games and been in consideration for the college football playoffs. We were so one-sided on NIL on the offensive side. It was glaring what happened. To succeed, you need enough NIL resources to support a balanced roster on both sides of the ball. Mora had to have realized that too.
 
It's an easy Google search to find out that we've at least doubled that amount. I don't mind if Marc doesn't do the Google search, but I mind if you don't and then continue to blabber on about it...
Marc should pipe down. If you don't know, your "estimations" do more harm than good.

Also his UCLA claims are absurd. We know they paid handsomely for their QB to come from Tennessee but aside from that they have less money than the 1 million UConn had for the whole team.

You don't have to be Matt Patricia to see how easily his claims fall apart.
 
It seems the AAC would be a good fit for football. But we would have to give them something in return. How about football and women basketball go to AAC only. Everything else stays Big East.
I wonder if AAC would go for it. Our woman’s basketball program is # 1. And a good asset

tha GIF
 
Basically, if we had more NIL for this season, we could've spent more on defense, not gone 0-3 in OT games and been in consideration for the college football playoffs. We were so one-sided on NIL on the offensive side. It was glaring what happened. To succeed, you need enough NIL resources to support a balanced roster on both sides of the ball. Mora had to have realized that too.

Well considering he was the decision maker on NIL then he only has himself to blame.

I mean we are probably still paying Nick Evers. Come on.
 
What makes anyone think Orlovsky would be a good head coach? When was the last time he was on the sidelines of a football game not acting in capacity at ESPN.

We cant throw a literal noob into the fire when the school is trying to build on what Mora did

I could see him as a GM like Andrew Luck.
 
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