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

[huskymedic]

Dear UConn Nation,

With Jim Mora's acceptance of the head coaching job at Colorado State, we are squarely focused on maintaining the upward trajectory of our football program. We appreciate Coach Mora's contributions to our many achievements on the gridiron, including 27 wins and bowl game eligibility in three of the last four years, along with back-to-back nine win seasons for the first time ever.

The accomplishments reflect the strength of our UConn brand, and a confidence that this program can continue to be a source of great pride for the citizens of our state and Husky fans everywhere. Offensive Coordinator Gordie Sammis will lead the team in the interim, and we will immediately begin a national search for our next head coach.

The 2025 season has been historic in many ways. Joe Fagnano ranks third nationally in passing yards and touchdowns. Skyler Bell has set school records for receptions and touchdown catches in one season. With an undefeated record at home, our team has shown great strength, resilience and determination. On December 7, we will learn the bowl game in which our team will compete and our Huskies will be seeking their 10th win of the season.

As we all know, change is inevitable. During this time of transition, we remain steadfastly committed to supporting our football student-athletes. Further, we pledge to our dedicated donors, football alumni and everyone who cheers for the white and blue that we will seek and identify an outstanding leader that will build upon the current foundation of excellence and continue moving our program forward.

Sincerely,

David Benedict
Director of Athletics

 

[BugsyCT]

Based on where we are now, we absolutely can't afford to not get this next hire right. Next year's schedule and the loss of the big three could make for a rough season, and we can't afford to slip off a cliff again into the abyss.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Unfortunately, I see us going back to where we were pre-Mora. I'm starting to regret my recent social media tweaking of UMass. Schadenfreude.

 

[uconnyankee]

DB is saying what needs to be said.
I think anyone that roots for UConn Football (clearly there are those BB only fans here) is a bit apprehensive about Moras departure and what it might mean for his replacement.

Did Mora leave because of the conference situation? Money? Location? Dislike of New England?
Lack of support from from UConn? Was it Benedict?

I think Mora is a classy guy. I suspect it was location and conference, things that UConn can’t solve immediately or at all.
I don’t think if it was anything else, he’s going to burn any bridges.

I would have liked him to stay for the bowl. He did that for his players, and I think it would be great for him to finish with these guys. I get there are reasons why he won’t, so it is what it is.

The biggest thing though is, whether it’s said or not, how does this impact the next coach. Is the Indy label really a problem? Does UConn need to push for ST solution if this is causing instability at the leadership level. Is it institutional support? I thought UConn really turned on the faucet for that, but maybe not enough. Is it the coaching staff and ability to retain coaches? I thought we turned a corner there.

This next hire is incredibly important and likely sends a big message where UConn thinks its program is heading. It won’t happen (I hope not at least) but imagine RE 3.0 and the message it sends. On the flip, a Chip Kelley or Chesney would be solid.

It’s literally groundhogs day here. Is it 3 more years of winter again, or do we have an early spring. Let’s hope for the latter

 

[Forte]

Not going to speculate what UConn actually has for NIL and financial support since I have no idea. But that said the numbers I am starting to see in such a short period of time that other schools have reported to be increasing NIL going forward along with new stadium and facility upgrades etc is going to be very hard to keep up with for programs with out direct ties to deep pockets. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone?

It does not help that our own press puts in little or often no effort or resources into football. Name any reason the fact stands UConn football from a media perspective takes a far back seat. Not a good look if we are looking to move forward it has to some how be addressed even if we outsource/fund it to third party media parties. Perception matters.

 

[Travelman6]

Try to get the JMU coach, give him more money than mora or a little more than he would have gotten in 2026. Jmu coach can bring his players.

 

[UCFBfan]

Outside of losing transfers and needing nail this hire. I’d be curious how the donor situation turns out. Will they help fund a new hire? Will they still donate as much if, hopefully not when, this program craters and reaches its previous lows? I think some of the names listed here like Chesney are pipe dreams but we do need a big name with previous success.

 

[RitzLuce1]

Would be nice to hear from Dave today. In an interview.

 

[RioDog]

Outside of losing transfers and needing nail this hire. I’d be curious how the donor situation turns out. Will they help fund a new hire? Will they still donate as much if, hopefully not when, this program craters and reaches its previous lows? I think some of the names listed here like Chesney are pipe dreams but we do need a big name with previous success.

^^^^^THIS

Continued robust money flow to NIL is the key to program stability and sustained performance.

 

[Glastonhusky]

Try to get the JMU coach, give him more money than mora or a little more than he would have gotten in 2026. Jmu coach can bring his players.

I would love to hire the JMU coach, but I think he may be looking for a bigger opportunity. A young up and coming offensive minded coach would be nice, but at this point in our development I think we need a big name. Part of the attraction of UConn to kids was the Mora name and his NFL connections.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Would be nice to hear from Dave today. In an interview.

I for one hope he's too busy for interviews

 

[CCSUblue]

I for one hope he's too busy for interviews

I want someone to leak names lol

 

[Jaydumo20]

Coach Mora was the best thing to happen to Uconn football. Thanks for putting us on the map.
AD Dave is the best AD in UConn history. He'll figure it out.
It's an exciting time to be a Husky.

Thanks again, JMJ

 

[rich1122]

Not getting into a conference. He can’t take us much further than where we are.

Good luck and thank you Jim.

 

[FightOnCT]

Unfortunately, I see us going back to where we were pre-Mora. I'm starting to regret my recent social media tweaking of UMass. Schadenfreude.

I doubt that. I think the school and state have opened their eyes about our situation and the current landscape, and it’s now established that UConn can succeed in football in the modern era (the biggest factor). That combined with revenue sharing and extra donors should place our floor well above pre-Mora at minimum.

 

[Kembafan]

Not getting into a conference. He can’t take us much further than where we are.

Good luck and thank you Jim.

Yeah, IMO conference is probably the biggest factor. The best case scenario is a ACC or Big12 invite but not for several years. Mora doesn't have that time. I'm super bummed but it's hard to blame the guy.

All that said, I choose to be optimistic. Benedict is no fool. Some will say he hired Edsall 2.0 -- which turned out to be a disaster -- but that was when the university gave him nothing. "Go get a coach for free," they said. "We're losing money and we don't care about football." And yeah, he got Edsall 2.0 but he also got Rhett Lashlee. Lashlee didn't stay but he did spend a year here -- and did wonders for the offense -- but the point is that Benedict made a great move. Then he got Mora out of nowhere. Also a great move.

Both times, Bendict had to maneuver out of the muck to make those moves. This is the first time he will be hiring a coach while the program is actually in a good place. So I do have faith in him. We're not going backward. We're going upward.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Good job by DB to get out in front of this and show the football fans that the school is committed to football success.

I would love to hear Mora tell us directly why he is making this move, but we will probably never hear the real story…so in the meantime we have to speculate.

This isn’t about his career…he is too old to use CSU as a stepping stone. This isn’t about money…he has money and he isn’t wired that way.

I think the biggest clue we have, was how upset he was during Duke week. I think he has a lot of pride and a healthy ego…and he felt he was not getting the respect that he felt he deserved. He had revived a program that was on life support, and to him it seemed like nobody noticed or cared. I think he feels like he did everything he could do here and that next year the team will probably take a step back.

So….he figured at his age he had one move left…so he decided to go to a place where football is a priority…closer to his home…and where he doesn’t have ACC refs doing his games…lol.

He was great for the program…and UConn was great for him. I wish him well with his new school. I also feel pretty good about DB’s ability to hire the right coach.

 

[Hamms30]

While we were all gobsmacked hearing the news this morning, I can't believe that this would have caught DB and the athletic department off-guard or that there weren't discussions or hints in the last few weeks. This doesn't feel the same as Edsall watching his team fly off on a different plane while he boards a Maryland flight.

Will be interesting to hear the reasons for Mora leaving, but wishing him the best and grateful for what he's done for the program since joining us. Program is in such a better spot than it was 4 years ago.

Starting to make sense why Lane Kiffin hasn't announced anything yet 😀

 

[Chin Diesel]

A$2.5M base salary with reasonable incentive getting coach to $3.5M is more than enough. $600k-$700k for coordinators.
$3M-$3.5M in NIL plus full revenue sharing makes UConn very attractive amongst G5 coaches.

 

[Jetskies]

we need to hire a security team to form a perimeter around AD Dave 24/7 right now. can't afford to lose him too.
If we lose him, I will throw my boneyard in the trash.

 

[ATLDYKA]

I may be way off track here but I believe all of this to be calculated. I don't think this caught DB by surprise at all. Jim Mora is getting late in his career, I believe he is moving to CSU for retirement purposes. It's not like he's not going to have the same issues recruiting players to CSU as he would at UConn. I think he pulled the football team out of the abyss and has put us in a position to go get an up and coming younger coach and I really do believe he is making this move caring about the future of the program. We are in the best position we have been in for a long time, it's up to AD DB to just make the right hire.

 

[Derucky]

Based on where we are now, we absolutely can't afford to not get this next hire right. Next year's schedule and the loss of the big three could make for a rough season, and we can't afford to slip off a cliff again into the abyss.

Mora made a Faustian deal. Period.

 

[ScottVib]

NIL plus full revenue sharing makes UConn very attractive amongst G5 coaches.

Is UConn committed to funding football at the same level of other schools with that full revenue sharing? Or is the percentage carved off to sustain the basketball success going to lower the salary cap at UConn relative to other schools who commit to full revenue sharing?

While we understand why the revenue share might be different for UConn... a football coach is going to care about the what/how much of the resourcing, not the why... if we don't align with others on football funding the attractiveness will go down, to what extent? Who knows, each coach will have a different idea.

 

[CL82]

I want someone to leak names lol

Zanetto!​

 

[superjohn]

Good job by DB to get out in front of this and show the football fans that the school is committed to football success.

I would love to hear Mora tell us directly why he is making this move, but we will probably never hear the real story…so in the meantime we have to speculate.

This isn’t about his career…he is too old to use CSU as a stepping stone. This isn’t about money…he has money and he isn’t wired that way.

I think the biggest clue we have, was how upset he was during Duke week. I think he has a lot of pride and a healthy ego…and he felt he was not getting the respect that he felt he deserved. He had revived a program that was on life support, and to him it seemed like nobody noticed or cared. I think he feels like he did everything he could do here and that next year the team will probably take a step back.

So….he figured at his age he had one move left…so he decided to go to a place where football is a priority…closer to his home…and where he doesn’t have ACC refs doing his games…lol.

He was great for the program…and UConn was great for him. I wish him well with his new school. I also feel pretty good about DB’s ability to hire the right coach.

Where is this nobody cared about the Duke win and Mora resented it coming from? People were going crazy on social media and regular media about that win and the job Mora has done. To the point of going overboard, he beat Duke not Georgia.