Narrative that UConn Football is Hindrance to P5 Invite is Dead Wrong

[Ldandy]

There's a difference between Big Ten alumni and fanbases. The alumni of various schools want UConn. Fan who never went to any of the schools are obviously confused and short-sighted.

Their presidents and commissioner know of us very well by now.

Its not so much alumni vs non affiliated fans. It is more school specific than anything else IMO. A lot of Rutgers Fans, much like BC before them, see conference affiliation as their only advantage over a school like UCONN. The Huskies have proven that even with a competitive disadvantage they can get results. What would happen if suddenly the playing field was leveled?

Now for UMD Fans, all I can gather is that UCONN with stronger basketball is viewed as a threat to their future conference success. A UCONN Membership in The B1G would immediately steal some shine from their own inclusion in the conference. I think a lot of UMD Fans who felt minimized by Duke and UNC in The ACC, look at The B1G as a fresh start. UCONN Membership pushes them further down in the conference's pecking order. A tough pill to swallow for Terp Fans.

 

[SouthronCross]

Its not so much alumni vs non affiliated fans. It is more school specific than anything else IMO. A lot of Rutgers Fans, much like BC before them, see conference affiliation as their only advantage over a school like UCONN. The Huskies have proven that even with a competitive disadvantage they can get results. What would happen if suddenly the playing field was leveled?

Now for UMD Fans, all I can gather is that UCONN with stronger basketball is viewed as a threat to their future conference success. A UCONN Membership in The B1G would immediately steal some shine from their own inclusion in the conference. I think a lot of UMD Fans who felt minimized by Duke and UNC in The ACC, look at The B1G as a fresh start. UCONN Membership pushes them further down in the conference's pecking order. A tough pill to swallow for Terp Fans.

You hit the nail on the head. Plus, the fact that nobody in the ACC, even the original ACC, saw them as their biggest rival.

There are those of us within ACC fanbases, particularly Carolina and Duke, who'd see UConn as nothing but an upside for the league. How Swofford was unable to sell that vision to the rest is disappointing.

Hopefully, you sou will still get the chaqnce to join.

 

[Pat125]

Now for UMD Fans, all I can gather is that UCONN with stronger basketball is viewed as a threat to their future conference success. A UCONN Membership in The B1G would immediately steal some shine from their own inclusion in the conference. I think a lot of UMD Fans who felt minimized by Duke and UNC in The ACC, look at The B1G as a fresh start. UCONN Membership pushes them further down in the conference's pecking order. A tough pill to swallow for Terp Fans.

I get that while Maryland was in the ACC, they did not have any primary rivals, but they did have some secondary rivals. And this seemed to work okay enough when there were just seven or eight teams in the ACC. Even when Florida St. joined, and they were getting pasted in football, they held their own in other sports. But things starting changing in the latest rounds of expansions. What secondary rivalries they did have seemed to diminish. There were certainly financial issues, and the Big Ten was apparently interested, and, in my opinion, Maryland is more like the current institutions in the Big Ten than the current ACC. It seemed the right time for a change.

This didn't mean that Maryland gained any primary rivalries. Maybe they will with Rutgers in the future. Frankly, I would like UConn in the Big Ten, because I think that could develop into an excellent rivalry. Even though UConn's WBB would dominate, I would enjoy the challenge it brings. I don't know how most other Maryland fans view UConn, nor the AD and administration, as a potential conference mate. I can't imagine Maryland opposing UConn admission if the other schools support admission. If so, it would be a mistake to let a new member dictate conference membership. I still cannot believe the ACC apparently let BC do just that.