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

[huskymedic]

What is puzzling is the way he left. In the middle of the night without even having a team meeting with the players? Supposedly Mora was a players coach but does not say goodbye in person to the players?

Aren’t the players scattered back home for Thanksgiving?

 

[UConnDan97]

Well first he can actually play for a conference championship and has a legitimate way to make CFP as G6 conference champ. Those things matter to recruits. Hence makes it easier to recruit players.

There's a problem with your argument. They only take the top 5 Conference Champs, as I understand it. That means that he's not only got to win his conference, but finish higher in the rankings than the champ of the AAC, MWC, MAC, and Sunbelt too.

He had a better chance of accomplishing that at Stanford in the ACC than Colorado State in the new Pac 12. Sell me a different story, please...

 

[JMick]

There are about 12 threads currently going, all of which point out the fact that he's headed back west because he never established here (he was renting his place for years, for Pete's sake!).

If anyone can make a credible argument to me that being with a middle-of-the-road team in the "new Pac12" G5 conference is so much better than our current situation, I'd love to hear it. Even Nick Saban would love to hear it, apparently.

Make sure to bring data though, and not nonsense anecdotes...

A lot of wealthy people rent now. That's not some gotcha

The reality is that not being in a conference is something he's mentioned before and otherwise it's been pretty quiet. Sure maybe he also wants to be out west but that's just another reason. We won't get an actual statement from anyone, so it doesn't matter, but your attitude about it is laughable

 

[maple]

There's a problem with your argument. They only take the top 5 Conference Champs, as I understand it. That means that he's not only got to win his conference, but finish higher in the rankings than the champ of the AAC, MWC, MAC, and Sunbelt too.

He had a better chance of accomplishing that at Stanford in the ACC than Colorado State in the new Pac 12. Sell me a different story, please...

Yeah, I don’t buy into the conference/CFP narrative at all. The CFP is still a very long shot for a place like CSU. Let’s be serious. It’s not like he took an HC job at a middling SEC program.

 

[UCTitleTown]

There's a problem with your argument. They only take the top 5 Conference Champs, as I understand it. That means that he's not only got to win his conference, but finish higher in the rankings than the champ of the AAC, MWC, MAC, and Sunbelt too.

He had a better chance of accomplishing that at Stanford in the ACC than Colorado State in the new Pac 12. Sell me a different story, please...

Cal or Stanford would take him back to his home state and where his 90 year-old Dad lives. Colorado isn't exactly close to CA, sure a lot closer than CT is, but not close. If he wanted to be home, he wouldn't have chosen Colorado State.

People in Colorado are nicer than people in CT and the traffic there is a lot better. I blame this. It's the only logical answer. 😉

 

[JwittersPAC]

Aren’t the players scattered back home for Thanksgiving?

How about a team conference call?

 

[jostar1]

If 2030 is the next window for a P4 all-sports invite, DB should still be looking for a conference for football only in the interim. There may not be good options out there ( MAC & CUSA aren’t good options), but I don’t think you wait if if a good option presents itself because it’s too important for football.

What conference would that be? You said that MAC and CUSA aren't good options. We turned down the PAC12 last year and it doesn't look like they are looking for a football-only member now. We left the AAC and it doesn't seem like they want us as football only. So?

 

[uconnyankee]

If you think that he left for the chance to play against Utah State, I have some land to sell you in the Everglades...

Look, we can debate all night. Neither of us knows exactly the reason until we hear from Mora.
If you ask me why he left, it was location and being in a better conference situation. I don’t know the money piece but I’m guessing UConn could have, or actually did match Col States offer.
That means it was something else.
What?
location is probably a big factor. But downplaying the conference piece is wrong. Mora himself stated he wanted to be in a conference.
Do I think Mora left specifically for Pac 12? No. But it’s interesting he supposedly interviewed at OSU and then Col State. Both being members of ? Yep. Same conference as Utah State! So, maybe he does want to play them?

haha! You can keep your bridge.
🙂

 

[JwittersPAC]

Look, we can debate all night. Neither of us knows exactly the reason until we hear from Mora.
If you ask me why he left, it was location and being in a better conference situation. I don’t know the money piece but I’m guessing UConn could have, or actually did match Col States offer.
That means it was something else.
What?
location is probably a big factor. But downplaying the conference piece is wrong. Mora himself stated he wanted to be in a conference.
Do I think Mora left specifically for Pac 12? No. But it’s interesting he supposedly interviewed at OSU and then Col State. Both being members of ? Yep. Same conference as Utah State! So, maybe he does want to play them?

haha! You can keep your bridge.
🙂

Also allegedly interviewed at Washington State last year. I now believe that is true.

 

[Nameless]

What is puzzling is the way he left. In the middle of the night without even having a team meeting with the players? Supposedly Mora was a players coach but does not say goodbye in person to the players? If it was just to head west (home) it seems this could have been handled much better instead of now people wondering what the reason for the departure. There has been nothing from Jim Mora except talking how great it is to be at Colorado State. What is strange there is no comment from him about his time at UConn.

I was thinking about this to, something just didn't add up to me. But the more I thought about it, I realized he may have been planning this for a month or so now (remember his press conference where he gave really short answers and seemed disinterested?) and he may have had a meeting with the players after the FAU game, letting them know he was likely gone if an opportunity out west came along. I haven't seen anything from players calling him a hypocrite or anything, so I'm assuming he let them know in some way, shape or form before the announcement.

At the same time, I'm with you in thinking something still feels off about the whole situation. It may just be that this feels like a lateral move at best, and Colorado isn't exactly a short drive to California where his dad is. So it gives the feeling of desperately wanting out or something. Idk

 

[superjohn]

Let’s be clear. For BB, Big East is on par with the P4 media deals.
Problem is, it doesn’t pay for football and UConn just so happens to field a team to compete at the highest level.
The situation currently works for BB as long as BE stays at the current level. But, there are some cracks with some members. Are they all willing to invest? Are they able to invest?
UConn has that to worry about PLUS they have to self fund FB.
That is a massive obstacle. That plus they don’t have a conference in FB so they are on an island.

What DB and Mora have done these past several years is simply amazing. And now we want DB to do it again.

I just hope DB doesn’t leave. He’s been a miracle worker. That guy will be difficult to replace.

All the Big East schools are heavily invested in men's basketball with the new revenue share model. It doesn't exactly help UConn because we're the only ones who have to come up with a ton of money for football.

 

[superjohn]

There are about 12 threads currently going, all of which point out the fact that he's headed back west because he never established here (he was renting his place for years, for Pete's sake!).

If anyone can make a credible argument to me that being with a middle-of-the-road team in the "new Pac12" G5 conference is so much better than our current situation, I'd love to hear it. Even Nick Saban would love to hear it, apparently.

Make sure to bring data though, and not nonsense anecdotes...

I agree it was about geography but some people prefer renting. A house is a money suck and he wasn't planting roots and starting a family in his 60s.

 

[UConnDan97]

I agree it was about geography but some people prefer renting. A house is a money suck and he wasn't planting roots and starting a family in his 60s.

Correct, some people prefer renting. The point is that almost every other coach at UConn has a permanent residence, and he chose to not have one over the last half decade. Most of us assumed well before this announcement that he still pined for the West, and today it came to fruition at an institution that most would classify as "lateral" at best. Pretty telling...

 

[Patman]

I agree it was about geography but some people prefer renting. A house is a money suck and he wasn't planting roots and starting a family in his 60s.

I mean if you're a football coach who doesn't know what their future is like

 

[superjohn]

Correct, some people prefer renting. The point is that almost every other coach at UConn has a permanent residence, and he chose to not have one over the last half decade. Most of us assumed well before this announcement that he still pined for the West, and today it came to fruition at an institution that most would classify as "lateral" at best. Pretty telling...

They all signed on to coach here with longterm plans of staying here and raising their families here. Calhoun, Geno, Ollie Hurley, Edsall, Diaco, Pasqualoni is from here.

 

[huskymedic]

How about a team conference call?

Sure… but you said you wanted him to say goodbye to the players in person. Would that have been optimum - sure, but coaching changes based on the NCAA calendar get wonky this time of year.

 

[JwittersPAC]

Sure… but you said in person.

Sorry what I meant was there should have been some form of communication to his players. Jim has also said nothing publicly about UConn. More will come out over time.

 

[UConnDan97]

They all signed on to coach here with longterm plans of staying here and raising their families here. Calhoun, Geno, Ollie Hurley, Edsall, Diaco, Pasqualoni is from here.

Mike Cavanaugh came here at like age 45, etc. But I'll grant your point about most, and still say that it has been talked about ad nauseum that he was a west coast guy and this brings him a short flight closer to his home in Idaho...

 

[Bongo Fury]

I disagree. We will look for a conference AFTER the great 2030 realignment should it failed to get us a desirable seat.

In the meantime we have an incredible schedule. And so far its not melting away as predicted. We can schedule 4 to 5 reach games and the balance are regional rivalries and winnable games. Its our independent schedule that got us 9 wins the past two seasons.

I feel anyone on the staff that talks about the challenges of the independent schedule for recruiting/etc is speaking some truth, but mostly using the "independence" word as code for UConn being G5 vs P4.

If they can support and wait. Going to a G6 for even for football only seems a little futile. So you’re saying there’s a chance?Just wish it was sooner than 2030

 

[jdb50]

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.

I believe Franklin at Va Tech is getting $7 million for his staff. This was a big part of attracting him. Shows us fans where we stand money wise.

 

[Sea Goat]

Dan Hurley makes almost $8 million per year, and we were able to keep him from going to the Lakers.

I'll say it again so that the folks in the back can hear clearly: CONFERENCE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MORA GOING TO COLORADO STATE...

Caps don't mean anything - get real. Your caps are the written equivalent of "sound and fury".

Simply put, we are in a dead end conference if you want football to be meaningful. If you don't, fine. But let's not operate under some delusional construct that the BE will be conducive to the health and prosperity of our football program.

 

[UConnDan97]

Caps don't mean anything - get real. Your caps are the written equivalent of "sound and fury".

Simply put, we are in a dead end conference if you want football to be meaningful. If you don't, fine. But let's not operate under some delusional construct that the BE will be conducive to the health and prosperity of our football program.

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?

 

[GG]

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?

You’re both correct. Our current situation is great for basketball, but not for football. Our current situation is not sustainable if we want football to flourish. I would argue staying in the big east long-term is not a viable option regardless, especially as the top conferences (B10 & SEC) start to consolidate their power.

 

[ZooCougar]

You’re both correct. Our current situation is great for basketball, but not for football. Our current situation is not sustainable if we want football to flourish. I would argue staying in the big east long-term is not a viable option regardless, especially as the top conferences (B10 & SEC) start to consolidate their power.

Our current situation is the best possible situation that we have control of. Are there some really short sighted people still out there that think we should stay in the Big East at all costs? You betcha.

If you want to keep being able to get Dan Hurley the resources to keep him here and keep competing for championships for the long term then getting to one of the four is imperative.

For football, Indy is better than being in any G6 conference, unless you enjoy watching every game on ESPN+ and getting almost no exposure.

At least in the Big East, we get as much money as we would if all the sports were still in the AAC.

 

[UConnDan97]

You’re both correct. Our current situation is great for basketball, but not for football. Our current situation is not sustainable if we want football to flourish. I would argue staying in the big east long-term is not a viable option regardless, especially as the top conferences (B10 & SEC) start to consolidate their power.

Everyone knows that being in the P4 is better. Who would deny that? But that's not a plan. That's not a path to get into the P4. We've already seen that the Big East + Independent football is better than the AAC. The data is there.

Would we accept an invite to the Big 12? Of course! But we've gotta get an invite first in order to accept it...