National sentiment

[upstater]

You aren't getting it because, true to form, you are choosing not to get it. Look at Temple's roster. The majority of it is from Greater Philadelphia, NJ, and MD. That never changed. They still recruit the same kids they always did. UConn tried recruiting the same kids and lost them to other schools with the new narrative. Thus, the AAC hurt UConn more than it did Temple.

You're missing the obvious. They have more talent (look at their NFL base now opposed to several years ago), and they have better coaching. The admin hired the right people and they were able to compete in the AAC. These things should not have been out of UConn's orbit. In fact, they recruited the same areas, NJ, Pa, Md. That's where UConn players came from. Temple picked up better players than before, and our coaching fiascos weren't able to recruit those areas because of the losing.

Put it this way: there are 23 Temple players in the NFL right now. One of them happens to be Tyler Matakevich. From St. Joe's.

 

[BY06518]

UConn was always at the bottom of recruiting in the BE. I'm also not sure how something that hurt UConn recruiting helped Temple recruiting, since Temple was already back in the BE prior to the AAC.

Not for basketball thats the craziest statement I have ever heard.

 

[upstater]

Not for basketball thats the craziest statement I have ever heard.

Please follow along.

We are discussing football.

Your first clue to this should have been the statement that Temple was in the BE.

 

[HuskyHawk]

As you mention the "Notre Dame model"...it illuminates the value of football.

Notre Dame is in the ACC for all but football (where they play five games a year).

Notre Dame brings a national audience, good basketball....soccer, and other non revenue sports for the network...but gets paid $7.9 million for that.

Yes, and I’d argue that UConn’s Olympics are clearly more valuable than Note Dame’s. I think $2-3m+ of that is for those five football games plus the commitment to going all in if they ever choose to. I always said the ACC should give UConn $6m for the same deal. Our football worth less obviously, hoops, baseball worth more. They’d be at 16 for Olympics, with a clear path to 16 all in when ND caves. Meanwhile, that association would help UConn recruit and improve football, plus home attendance would go way up.

 

[browndog319]

Well if it passes the 14 year old girl test, I'm all in.

It was just the excitement. There was something to be excited about. There was nostalgia for that game.
Nothing since then.
We can get that excitement again. Every year.

 

[Zissou]

Yeah...maybe a Kansas without the paycheck.

But...maybe you don't want to be exactly Kansas with one NC in the last 30 years..

And FSU has ZERO, as in never.

 

[mauconnfan]

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.

Since you brought up the "whipping post" great lead in - one of the greatest tunes:

 

[Northbound]

That was about the worst comparison that could be made. Kinda funny actually it's so bad - UConn w/o Football = Wash U. That's about as odd as you can get!

You missed the point and i didn't make the comparison, Butch did. Of course its wacky and everyone knows it. That you thought Butch or I thought it was a real comparative is what’s is odd.

But it does stand that UConn would love Wash U’s 8 bm endowment since the school cant currently fund major college athletics in the manor that they need to be funded to be viable and successful.

 

[Towney007]

I’ve received more unsolicited, excited messages from friends today than I did even when we won our titles. It’s obviously been the answer since the TV deal broke, so here we are.

There’s a hunk of fans who drank every drop of the football kool aid that’ll have a rough come down from that, but ultimately I couldn’t be happier. Feels the school’s been saved from itself.

 

[Jaker]

The American conference is the abyss for coaches and programs.

 

[mdkhusky]

Ask her if she can lobby for us to join the UAA. Screw the Big East.

You’re such a cry baby. Leave the board if you hate UConn now

 

[Drumguy]

You missed the point and i didn't make the comparison, Butch did. Of course its wacky and everyone knows it. That you thought Butch or I thought it was a real comparative is what’s is odd.

But it does stand that UConn would love Wash U’s 8 bm endowment since the school cant currently fund major college athletics in the manor that they need to be funded to be viable and successful.

I did get that you didn't post it, I was just agreeing with you. I do have a degree from UConn so I can figure out threads work.

 

[billybud]

And FSU has ZERO, as in never.

Yep...but three football NC's. No, FSU ain't a great basketball school.

Kansas is thought of as a premier basketball program...I was just pointing out that UConn probably is shooting for more than Kansas' 1 NC in 30 years. I believe most will agree on that.

FSU plays servicable basketball without the big stars out of high school. They recruit length, develop defense and can hope to make the tournament every so often.

Basketball is still a developing sport of sorts in the deeper south past Tobacco Road....south of North Carolina.

No team from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisianna, Tennessee has won an NC...only Billy Donovan's two with a great squad from U of F has broken that mold.

 

[TheChamps990411]

We were chosen for the ACC ahead of Louisville and I believe Pitt but BC blocked us

Yes. BC still had a soar rear end about the lawsuit and JC saying they'd never play BC again and they wanted to be the only north east school going to the ACC and they suggested Pitt was a better choice than Uconn. This move by BC wouldn't of had a chance in heck of working if Uconns football program had had a history of success and bowl game appearances. But as it was we didn't and BC was able to screw us out which is a total joke! But its cool ill take the 4 chips and 5 Final 4s.

 

[TheChamps990411]

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

BC was the main culprit in why we didnt get in. Syracuse and Uconn were the ACCs top choices to join the conference.

 

[Sky ball]

The football model was the right move to start with. The future was football. CT just effed it up starting with a stadium in East Hartford, Blumental lawsuit and very piss poor HC hires. Big Time ambitions with small time actions.

 

[BY06518]

Here’s why it’s a great move:
My daughter (14) got home from a graduation party last night. I told her we were going back to the Big East.
She went crazy.
She was at the 5 OT game against Louisville when she was 9. She went crazy for Kemba. She wants to go to UConn and I’ve tried to keep her into hoops but it’s been tough. We haven’t had the energy or excitement of games like those.
That’s how I knew it was right. We need that energy back. It will fuel recruiting for students and athletes alike. It will make the Big East Tourney the legend it was again...
If we build it, they will come.

I don't remember UConn ever playing 5 OTs vs Louisville. I remember Syracuse in 2009 and 6 OTs

 

[GHSWolverines]

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.

It is a much bigger hill to climb to become respectable in college football. We got screwed over in the past from P5 conferences and I don't see anything changing in the future. I am a basketball and football fan. I am not a donor but try to go to a few basketball and football games each year. What is depressing to me is all the empty seats at the RENT. Many of the students take a bus to get there and just get #$%@faced in the parking lot and then go back to campus without even stepping foot into the stadium. That is sad.
I don't want football to go away but to operate and compete at the FBS level is difficult and expensive.

 

[Lynyrd]

I don't remember UConn ever playing 5 OTs vs Louisville. I remember Syracuse in 2009 and 6 OTs

Forget it, he’s rolling ...

 

[GHSWolverines]

I have an idea that might just work. Lamount should install tolls on 84 and 384 near east hartford/Manchester with all the revenue going to the football program.
I wonder if any of our politicians read the BY? They might take this idea and introduce it into legislation.

 

[pj]

Kind of.

I think that Connecticut and UConn's financial situation sort of boxed in the administration.

Football is expensive and UConn, no matter what, was going to find it difficult to be in the top third of the AAC.

I think that the move was a solid, but forced choice.

I also think that it squarely moves UConn away from Cincinnati, UCF, USF, Memphis, Houston....and into the basketball school realms of Villanova, Gonzaga, etc.

"Hurt" is a term that depends on the outcome that you desire.

It will not hurt the basketball program and should be an assist. It may hurt future chances to move into P5s if they do expand...

While a reasonable perspective, UConn football will be better funded after the move than it would have been in the AAC. And it will win a lot more games, as the competition level goes down while the funding goes up.

UConn will get more from broadcasting its football games on SNY than it got from the whole AAC. With NBE revenue, UConn will be far better funded than the AAC schools.

UConn is not comparable to Villanova, which is FCS in football. UConn will remain FBS and will continue to have FBS level (indeed, lower P5 level) football facilities. UConn has a much larger football fan base than Villanova.

UConn is much more similar to BYU than to those other schools. Like BYU, UConn is trying to navigate its way with an inferior position to the P5 schools, but a much stronger market and assets than the generality of G5 schools.

As long as football continues to drive the bus in realignment due to its impact on marginal revenue, it's fair to say that UCF and USF may have better prospects of moving to the P5 given their status as state schools in football hotbeds. But UConn will out-earn them for the next ten years. It will be interesting to see how realignment conversations evolve. But I think UConn has improved its chances. Staying in the AAC wasn't going to take away the UCF/USF football advantage.

 

[Engineer90]

It’s not going to work out. Everyone except our frontrunning basketball fanboys sees that. Shortsighted dumb move. But it’s par for the course.

 

[djct1999]

Yes. BC still had a soar rear end about the lawsuit and JC saying they'd never play BC again and they wanted to be the only north east school going to the ACC and they suggested Pitt was a better choice than Uconn. This move by BC wouldn't of had a chance in heck of working if Uconns football program had had a history of success and bowl game appearances. But as it was we didn't and BC was able to screw us out which is a total joke! But its cool ill take the 4 chips and 5 Final 4s.

I still dream of that chance we get to block BC from rejoining the Big East when the P5 contracts and they are left being a member of the A-10.

 

[skies88]

In other words, UConn fans.

*UConn men’s basketball fans, you’re not a UConn fan if you actively want to torpedo the football program to get what you want. Big problem with this fanbase

 

[AntG168]

*UConn men’s basketball fans, you’re not a UConn fan if you actively want to torpedo the football program to get what you want. Big problem with this fanbase

You’re not a UConn fan if you want to see our historically great basketball program which is the pride of our university die at the expense of a dead football program