National sentiment

[Adios]

That dream is forever shattered.

Naaaaa. Conference realignment might just move slower than we'd like. We screwed up with timing, of the upgrade of UConn football and facilities such as the soccer and baseball stadiums. We'd have been in the ACC if we had upgraded earlier.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Serious question, how is it a bold, strong move?

I think that's the crux of the divide between the fanbase right now. How are we better for this move?

There are several divisions in the fan base but I think the biggest is basketball v football.

 

[ThetaZoo]

Because our football team is worthless. If we had a solid football program instead of the dumpster fire that it is we`dve been in a P5 conference a long time ago.

Do you mean that BC, Syracuse, Pitt and others would have advocated for our membership in the ACC if our football was good?

 

[Rico444]

Serious question, how is it a bold, strong move?

I think that's the crux of the divide between the fanbase right now. How are we better for this move?

Because we're accepting our fate. Our chance at a P5 invite in the future was probably ~5% before this move. Even if we hit on that 5% shot, it would've been a 4 or 5 years of bleeding more money before that invite came. And that's just for a small chance. Our athletic department just ran a $40 million defecit. In a state that has so many financial problems, do you think it's prudent to keep wasting all that money in hopes that we hit on that 5ish percent chance of an invite? It's like those people that don't save for retirement but drop a bunch of money on lottery tickets every week. Conference realignment has turned into a lottery ticket.

 

[Bonehead]

It's like the world is right again. Thank God for the administration finally realizing our future is basketball not a one-win football program. I will tap dancing on the football programs grave all night long.

Break a leg.

 

[BY06518]

Break a leg.

I take it you're a Football fan who probably invested money in tickets. I'll give you a hint StubHub would have paid you to take the tickets off their hands.

 

[Bonehead]

I take it you're a Football fan who probably invested money in tickets. I'll give you a hint StubHub would have paid you to take the tickets off their hands.

I am a Uconn Athletics supporter who has invested time and money on all sports and you are a basketball fan.

I take it you dont donate and just watch bb games. To each their own.

 

[BY06518]

I am a Uconn Athletics supporter who has invested time and money on all sports and you are a basketball fan.

I take it you dont donate and just watch bb games. To each their own.

I go to all the UConn Men's games so I have invested my own money in the basketball program.

 

[Bonehead]

I go to all the UConn Men's games so I have invested my own money in the basketball program.

Shortsighted. The program is bigger than one sport. You can stay home - you are not really needed. You are a fanatic.

 

[BY06518]

Shortsighted. The program is bigger than one sport. You can stay home - you are not really needed. You are a fanatic.

UConn Basketball National Championships 4
UConn Football Bowl wins 3.

Just for clarification Championships are harder to win than bowl games, I thought I would throw you a bone since the numbers were a little closer.

 

[Bonehead]

UConn Basketball National Championships 4
UConn Football Bowl wins 3.

Just for clarification Championships are harder to win than bowl games, I thought I would throw you a bone since the numbers were a little closer.

Fanatic. Not supporter. I heard you the first time.

 

[BY06518]

Fanatic. Not supporter. I heard you the first time.

Here you go all programs better than our crappy football team.
Men's cross country/track and field
Head Coach: Greg Roy
American Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships: (1) 2014
American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships: (1)
2015Penn Relays Championship of America Titles: (1) 2000
Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships: (9) 1987, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013
Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships: (4) 1982, 2002, 2011, 2013
Big East Relay Championships: 2
All-Americans: 32
Women's cross country/track and field
Head Coach: JJ ClarkOlympians: 1 (in women's bobsled)Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships: (2) 2008, 2009Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships: (1) 1995NCAA All-Americans: 9

Field hockey
Playing facility: George J. Sherman Sports Complex
Head Coach: Nancy Stevens
Most victories: 23 in 1999, 23 in 2017.
NCAA Tournament appearances: 26
NCAA National Championships: (5) 1981, 1985, 2013, 2014, 2017NCAA
Runner-Up: (2) 1982, 1983
Final Fours: (15) 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Big East Regular Season Championships: (15) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Big East Tournament Championships: (15) 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
All-Americans: 46
Olympians: 2

Men's golf
Head Coach: Dave PezzinoNCAA appearances: (1) 1980
Big East Championships: (1) 1994

Men's ice hockey

On June 21, 2012 Connecticut announced the program would join Hockey East as the conference's 12th member beginning in the 2014-15 season. As part of the move from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East, the university added 18 scholarships for the men's ice hockey team and additional scholarships to existing women's sports programs to meet Title IX gender equity requirements. The university was also investigating options to build a new, larger ice arena on-campus as its then-current venue, the Freitas Ice Forum, has a seating capacity of only 2,000 and was too small for the jump up to Hockey East. Since then, UConn has used the XL Center, a former NHL venue in downtown Hartford, as its primary men's home. While the arena has a hockey capacity of 15,635, UConn has capped ticket sales at 8,089. Select home games have also been played at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. The Freitas Ice Forum now hosts games only for the women's hockey team.

Women's ice hockey
Playing facility: Mark Edward Freitas Ice ForumHead Coach: Christopher MacKenzie
Most wins: 22 in 2007–08

Women's lacrosse
Playing facility: Sherman Sports ComplexHead Coach: Katie WoodsMost wins: 13 in 2013NCAA Tournament appearances: (1) 2013ECAC Championships: (1) 2006All-Americans: 2

Women's rowing
Home surface: Coventry Lake
Head Coach: Jennifer Sanford

Men's soccer
In addition to its basketball success, UConn is known for its championship soccer teams. The men's team has won two NCAA national championships, in 1981 and 2000, and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America named the undefeated 1948 team the national champion. The 2000 team was known for its stellar depth on the bench including the likes of Garrett Grinsfelder, Michael Rueda, and Ryan Brown, who exuded the team's "never say die" attitude. The men's team won back to back Big East championships in (2004 and 2005). As of 2011 UConn led the nation in total attendance in eight of the preceding 12 seasons. No program can match it for having drawn better on-campus support for more than 30 years. In the early 1980s, before the NCAA kept soccer attendance records and before Morrone Stadium was downsized, the Huskies drew huge crowds. Total attendance in 1983 was 64,535—a record that held until 2010.

Women's soccer
Playing facility: Morrone StadiumHead Coach: Len TsantirisMost victories: 23 in 1997
NCAA Tournament appearances: 28
Last NCAA appearance: 2010
NCAA Championship Game appearances: (4) 1984, 1990, 1997, 2003College Cups: (7) 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1994, 1997, 2003All-Americans: 26 Players Awarded 44 Times
Big East Regular Season Championships: (8) 1995,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
Big East Tournament Championships: (2) 2002, 2004
All-Big East Selections: 81

Softball

Playing facility: Connecticut Softball StadiumHead Coach: Jennifer McIntyreMost victories: 45 in 1993
Women's College World Series appearances: (1) 1993
Big East Regular Season Championships: (6) 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
Big East Tournament Championships: (7) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2001All-Americans: 47

Men's and women's swimming & diving
Playing facility: Wolf-Zackin NatatoriumHead Coaches: Swimming – Chris Maiello[16] | Diving – John BransfieldBig East Champions: 5Olympians: 1

Men's tennis
Playing facility: UConn Tennis CourtsHead Coach: Glenn MarshallMost victories: 20 in 2000

Women's tennis
Playing facility: UConn Tennis CourtsHead Coach: Glenn MarshallMost victories: 14 in 2002
Women's volleyball
Playing facility: Gampel PavilionHead Coach: Kristopher GrunwaldMost victories: 35 in 1979Big East Regular Season Championships: 2 1994 & 1998

 

[UConn76]

It's like the world is right again. Thank God for the administration finally realizing our future is basketball not a one-win football program. I will tap dancing on the football programs grave all night long.

Certainly hoped it would never have come to an ‘either or’ decision because football could have been a great window into the University for students/alums. Certainly hasn’t worked
out that way after we got left at the altar in conf realignment.

 

[Bonehead]

Here you go all programs better than our crappy football team.
Men's cross country/track and field
Head Coach: Greg Roy
American Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships: (1) 2014
American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships: (1)
2015Penn Relays Championship of America Titles: (1) 2000
Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships: (9) 1987, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013
Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships: (4) 1982, 2002, 2011, 2013
Big East Relay Championships: 2
All-Americans: 32
Women's cross country/track and field
Head Coach: JJ ClarkOlympians: 1 (in women's bobsled)Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships: (2) 2008, 2009Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships: (1) 1995NCAA All-Americans: 9

Field hockey
Playing facility: George J. Sherman Sports Complex
Head Coach: Nancy Stevens
Most victories: 23 in 1999, 23 in 2017.
NCAA Tournament appearances: 26
NCAA National Championships: (5) 1981, 1985, 2013, 2014, 2017NCAA
Runner-Up: (2) 1982, 1983
Final Fours: (15) 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Big East Regular Season Championships: (15) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Big East Tournament Championships: (15) 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
All-Americans: 46
Olympians: 2

Men's golf
Head Coach: Dave PezzinoNCAA appearances: (1) 1980
Big East Championships: (1) 1994

Men's ice hockey

On June 21, 2012 Connecticut announced the program would join Hockey East as the conference's 12th member beginning in the 2014-15 season. As part of the move from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East, the university added 18 scholarships for the men's ice hockey team and additional scholarships to existing women's sports programs to meet Title IX gender equity requirements. The university was also investigating options to build a new, larger ice arena on-campus as its then-current venue, the Freitas Ice Forum, has a seating capacity of only 2,000 and was too small for the jump up to Hockey East. Since then, UConn has used the XL Center, a former NHL venue in downtown Hartford, as its primary men's home. While the arena has a hockey capacity of 15,635, UConn has capped ticket sales at 8,089. Select home games have also been played at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. The Freitas Ice Forum now hosts games only for the women's hockey team.

Women's ice hockey
Playing facility: Mark Edward Freitas Ice ForumHead Coach: Christopher MacKenzie
Most wins: 22 in 2007–08

Women's lacrosse
Playing facility: Sherman Sports ComplexHead Coach: Katie WoodsMost wins: 13 in 2013NCAA Tournament appearances: (1) 2013ECAC Championships: (1) 2006All-Americans: 2

Women's rowing
Home surface: Coventry Lake
Head Coach: Jennifer Sanford

Men's soccer
In addition to its basketball success, UConn is known for its championship soccer teams. The men's team has won two NCAA national championships, in 1981 and 2000, and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America named the undefeated 1948 team the national champion. The 2000 team was known for its stellar depth on the bench including the likes of Garrett Grinsfelder, Michael Rueda, and Ryan Brown, who exuded the team's "never say die" attitude. The men's team won back to back Big East championships in (2004 and 2005). As of 2011 UConn led the nation in total attendance in eight of the preceding 12 seasons. No program can match it for having drawn better on-campus support for more than 30 years. In the early 1980s, before the NCAA kept soccer attendance records and before Morrone Stadium was downsized, the Huskies drew huge crowds. Total attendance in 1983 was 64,535—a record that held until 2010.

Women's soccer
Playing facility: Morrone StadiumHead Coach: Len TsantirisMost victories: 23 in 1997
NCAA Tournament appearances: 28
Last NCAA appearance: 2010
NCAA Championship Game appearances: (4) 1984, 1990, 1997, 2003College Cups: (7) 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1994, 1997, 2003All-Americans: 26 Players Awarded 44 Times
Big East Regular Season Championships: (8) 1995,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
Big East Tournament Championships: (2) 2002, 2004
All-Big East Selections: 81

Softball

Playing facility: Connecticut Softball StadiumHead Coach: Jennifer McIntyreMost victories: 45 in 1993
Women's College World Series appearances: (1) 1993
Big East Regular Season Championships: (6) 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
Big East Tournament Championships: (7) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2001All-Americans: 47

Men's and women's swimming & diving
Playing facility: Wolf-Zackin NatatoriumHead Coaches: Swimming – Chris Maiello[16] | Diving – John BransfieldBig East Champions: 5Olympians: 1

Men's tennis
Playing facility: UConn Tennis CourtsHead Coach: Glenn MarshallMost victories: 20 in 2000

Women's tennis
Playing facility: UConn Tennis CourtsHead Coach: Glenn MarshallMost victories: 14 in 2002
Women's volleyball
Playing facility: Gampel PavilionHead Coach: Kristopher GrunwaldMost victories: 35 in 1979Big East Regular Season Championships: 2 1994 & 1998

But you dont support those teams only mens basketball. You are missing out on alot just being a basketball fanatic.

 

[billybud]

UConn can become a Villanova...

They can not become a Virginia or Duke.

Or Michigan State or other all sports program.

Basketball may prosper in the BE...and fans will squint and, through misty eyes, see Marquette, St. Johns, Seton Hall, et al as the beloved old home place.

There is something to be said for being a Villanova....but still a different world from Duke or Michigan State.

And, someday, it may be Memphis, UCF, or Houston moving into that different world.

 

[BY06518]

But you dont support those teams only mens basketball. You are missing out on alot just being a basketball fanatic.

I support them all by rooting for them. Just not Football who put us in this conference.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I think it sends a different message. That for once we're not going to be tied to the whipping post. It's a bold, strong move. Whether it works out is a different question.

Bold maybe. But it is the exact opposite of a strong mood

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

UConn can become a Villanova...

They can not become a Virginia or Duke.

Or Michigan State or other all sports program.

Basketball may prosper in the BE...and fans will squint and, through misty eyes, see Marquette, St. Johns, Seton Hall, et al as the beloved old home place.

There is something to be said for being a Villanova....but still a different world from Duke or Michigan State.

And, someday, it may be Memphis, UCF, or Houston moving into that different world.

We can “become Villanova.” Go condescend somewhere else.

 

[Zissou]

UConn can become a Villanova...

They can not become a Virginia or Duke.

Or Michigan State or other all sports program.

Basketball may prosper in the BE...and fans will squint and, through misty eyes, see Marquette, St. Johns, Seton Hall, et al as the beloved old home place.

There is something to be said for being a Villanova....but still a different world from Duke or Michigan State.

And, someday, it may be Memphis, UCF, or Houston moving into that different world.

Bud, I thought Nova was a sinking program in a sinking conference?

Your FSU bluster means nothing, you have been proven wrong about UConn and the Big East, and UConn football isn’t dead.

A thriving basketball program in the Big East helps UConn’s future. Football-Only in the AAC, or independent football, doesn’t hurt UConn’s future P5 prospects. UConn is only better positioned today.

If the P5 comes calling UConn will take the cash. If not the Big East is a great home where fans don’t have to want to jump ship each time the schedule comes out.

Bud, your program is a has been in football and a never were in basketball. Go fix your own problems.

UConn fans - welcome back home!

 

[billybud]

We can “become Villanova.” Go condescend somewhere else.

That is not condescending. It is a truth.

UConn can be a national champion basketball team in the BE like Nova.

But won't play in a bowl game again.

I guess a P5 can come calling for Villanova or UConn...but I still see a Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, UCF as more likely.

 

[djct1999]

The P5 invite is a pipe dream. That fantasy died years ago.

That is a such a loser mentality. It only died by our own doing. A winner would have forged their way in and Louisville gave us a million chances to prove they were the wrong choice. Not once were we able to do that. Instead, we became an embarrassment.

 

[djct1999]

Contracts.
They are leaving because of the money. 2024.

If the landscape stays the same, neither are leaving. My guess is by 2024 the entire landscape may change and none of this will matter anyway.

 

[Zissou]

That is not condescending. It is a truth.

UConn can be a national champion basketball team in the BE like Nova.

But won't play in a bowl game again.

I guess a P5 can come calling for Villanova or UConn...but I still see a Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, UCF as more likely.

Bud, you are foolish and wrong. Again.

 

[billybud]

Football, and it driving 80% of media dollars, has been the great game changer.

Until that dynamic changes...good basketball programs not in a P5 with football, will not have the media dollars available that mediocre basketball programs in a P5 have.

As long as basketball is primarily a one month season

Bud, you are foolish and wrong. Again.

My opinion may be wrong...foolish? That's mainly smack talk.

 

[djct1999]

I’ve been thinking about this. My feelings are mixed. Ultimately I think we had to break the cycle. The AAC contract made no consideration at all for what UConn valued. None. It forced our hand.

So what does this move do? It sends a message about our brand. Even if football is Independent, we control it. If we can land an SNY TV deal, that’s a message again. The Big East will reduce travel costs across Olympic sports, and with UConn in the fold, may return 6 teams in the NCAA earning credits. I’m still looking for details on T3 rights for the Big East. It’s all streamed, but does that foreclose us selling SNY women’s hoop? If so, package that with football.

The future is about streaming and schools potentially returning to selling their own content, or keeping more of it. Branding is king. This will help our brand.

Regardless of how you feel about the health of UConn athletics moving forward, you have to LOVE the gigantic the school showed the AAC and ESPN. That alone sure feels good. Other than that, huge short term uptick for hoops. Longterm, is tbd. I still think that if the P5 contracts to the P4 that the NBE is still more viable than the AAC and because of tradition and branding and large tv markets, I can see a scenario that they are included in some basketball only relationship. This is the beginning of the end for football. One of the hardest things in life is to make that very difficult decision to realize a loss. UConn essentially did that yesterday. If you dig deeper, this also shows that they must have good intel that the P5 is never again expanding. Its over. UConn for once was proactive. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the response yesterday by the rest of the AAC. Their delusion was hilarious. Then I was reminded that 24 hours earlier, we were part of that delusion.