ND to the ACC

[RS9999X]

But what information, other then the present arrangement, do you have that would say it would be better with them? (which clearly wasn't all that great based on all the bitching about how our bowl tie ins and money suck) It's a non-comparible situation that you can pump your chest up and say see I told you so when in reality you only have half of the equation so it's impossible to make a fair comparison.

It was well reported that the Gator Bowl arrangement with ND and the BE favored the BE contractually. Otherwise they'd book the SEC #4 team and not look back.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

It appears that BYU is the only remaining variable.

 

[emshorts]

the way the football landscape has been shifting i guess we all knew that someday
ND was gonna stab us in the back. info will come out how this all went down. i'll enjoy the next 2 yrs trying to get to a BCS bowl & root our team on. this doesn't change my passion for uconn athletics. i'll wait to hear what aresco, manuel & herbst have to say.

 

[noeynox]

Do you think UConn would show such loyalty if not forced to do so? UConn would have done the same thing if Gene DeFilippo wasn't such a sniveling child or "retired" 12 months earlier. As it is, he succeeded in his ultimate goal, which is now his swan song, in keeping UConn out of the ACC.

Forget what UConn would do. UConn and ND are not equal. ND could choose to join the BE for football tomorrow and ALL of the Big East's troubles would end. The Big East was always loyal to ND, ND slapped the Big East around like a battered wife, then dumped her for the chick with the nice breast implants.

ND has no worries about their FB program getting marginalized, the rest of the Big East does. ND also didn't have to worry about their olympic sports in the big east. They simply the big east. Don't allow yourself to believe otherwise.

 

[Husky25]

Forget what UConn would do. UConn and ND are not equal. ND could choose to join the BE for football tomorrow and ALL of the Big East's troubles would end. The Big East was always loyal to ND, ND slapped the Big East around like a battered wife, then dumped her for the chick with the nice breast implants.

If given the invite, UConn would jump ship like an Italian cruise liner captain.

 

[CL82]

This is pretty bad news for UConn and the Big East. There is a risk that NBC may scrap the whole college sports project rather than sign the Big East.

Zero chance. They got too much invested in it already.

 

[Jerry27]

It was well reported that the Gator Bowl arrangement with ND and the BE favored the BE contractually. Otherwise they'd book the SEC #4 team and not look back.

you mean the Gator Bowl that we lost as a tie in while they were still a member right? Glad to see that favored us!

 

[upstater]

Do you think UConn would show such loyalty if not forced to do so? UConn would have done the same thing if Gene DeFilippo wasn't such a sniveling child or "retired" 12 months earlier. As it is, he succeeded in his ultimate goal, which is now his swan song, in keeping UConn out of the ACC.

I think the point is that ND had the key vote that prevented the league from consolidating back in 2004. It sux they had that vote that essentially created the hodge-podge conference. Without that vote, the football members might be together today.

They are like BC that connived with the ACC while leading the BE's reorganization.
They are like the Catholic schools that blocked the addition of Kansas and now find themselves saddled with UCF and Memphis.
They are like Pitt that rejected the TV deal than cried about the lack thereof.
Now we have ND that subverted the football schools in 2004, and left UConn and Rutgers high and dry.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I am not certain this situation can be properly evaluated right now. It is clear, however, that the move and the timing of the move was, once again, orchestrated by ESPN/Disney behind the scenes and appears on its face to be the worst possible scenario for UConn, both for conference and contract $$. I do hope that something favorable happens in the next few months else I may end up with the same feelings about college sports that I have about pro hockey. Hockey machinations drove me to total disinterest and I doubt I could tell you more than five players now. Herbst and Manuel are good competent management and I remain hopeful something good can happen soon, both for the university's sake and the fans (me included) too.

Incredibly well put sir.

 

[ASweet3781]

I keep hearing all the time that ESPN/Disney is behind all of these moves.

If that's the case, why hasn't every UConn fan in the state marched onto Bristol and made life for them a living hell until UConn was included? I mean people keep saying they are behind this, well make them pay for screwing us over.

 

[IMind]

They are like the Catholic schools that blocked the addition of Kansas and now find themselves saddled with UCF and Memphis.

This one just kills me. It makes me want to drive to Providence and punch a random administrator in the nose.

 

[Husky25]

I think the point is that ND had the key vote that prevented the league from consolidating back in 2004. It sux they had that vote that essentially created the hodge-podge conference. Without that vote, the football members might be together today.

They are like BC that connived with the ACC while leading the BE's reorganization.
They are like the Catholic schools that blocked the addition of Kansas and now find themselves saddled with UCF and Memphis.
They are like Pitt that rejected the TV deal than cried about the lack thereof.
Now we have ND that subverted the football schools in 2004, and left UConn and Rutgers high and dry.

I understand what you're saying but my response was to noeynox, who said, "...Shiv the Big East in the back the minute it became clear that doing so would be in their best interest..."

My point is that each school in the country would be remiss to not look after their own best interest, especially when it is clear that loyalty has been tossed out the window at least 8 years ago (See: Boise State playing the MWC and WAC against each other). All those things you mentioned may have been in ND's best interest at the time. To that end, I would expect, not blame UConn if they jumped to greener pastures provided the opportunity to do so.

 

[upstater]

I understand what you're saying but my response was to noeynox, who said, "...Shiv the Big East in the back the minute it became clear that doing so would be in their best interest..."

My point is that each school in the country would be remiss to not look after their own best interest, especially when it is clear that loyalty has been tossed out the window at least 8 years ago (See: Boise State playing the MWC and WAC against each other). All those things you mentioned may have been in ND's best interest at the time. To that end, I would expect, not blame UConn if they jumped to greener pastures provided the opportunity to do so.

The problem was not whether these things were in ND's best interests. It's that ND did not have a real stake in the matter. And it voted against the football schools. ND could have maintained it's relationship with them and still kept its Olympic Sports against Pitt, UConn, Rutgers, Syracuse, Louisville, Cincy, West Va. and USF. The ND vote was a nasty piece of work.

 

[uconNYC]

So ACC is now a hybrid conference.

 

[zls44]

This one just kills me. It makes me want to drive to Providence and punch a random administrator in the nose.

Why random? I can think in specifics.

 

[CL82]

Swofford said in the press conference, ND will have to be within 1 win of another team for ND to be picked ahead of said team

and you are seriously defending ND getting to bump at team with a better record? Didn't every ACC fan mock the Big East, justifiably, for the making the exact same deal?

 

[Pudge]

I keep hearing all the time that ESPN/Disney is behind all of these moves.

If that's the case, why hasn't every UConn fan in the state marched onto Bristol and made life for them a living hell until UConn was included? I mean people keep saying they are behind this, well make them pay for screwing us over.

And the Connecticut Governor - BC grad - Dannel Malloy is giving out lollypops in Bristol.

GET THIS ... it is obvious, the ABC/ESPN folks play a really dirty rotten game. And, they do it with smiley John Swofford. No UConn fan ... nor longtime viewer of the BE ... should be fooled. ESPN? Behind most all of this.

 

[IMind]

and you are seriously defending ND getting to bump at team with a better record? Didn't every ACC fan mock the Big East, justifiably, for the making the exact same deal?

Actually it's worse than the deal the Big East had. The only deals that had a contractual tie-in with Notre Dame were the Gator/Champs Bowl and the Sun Bowl deals... the Pinstripe deal with Notre Dame is for the Big 12 slot not the Big East slot. All other bowls had nothing to do with Notre Dame.

 

[businesslawyer]

And the Connecticut Governor - BC grad - Dannel Malloy is giving out lollypops in Bristol.

GET THIS ... it is obvious, the ABC/ESPN folks play a really dirty rotten game. And, they do it with smiley John Swofford. No UConn fan ... nor longtime viewer of the BE ... should be fooled. ESPN? Behind most all of this.

I made this point in another thread, but let's talk about Malloy.

He was blindsided early in his term for signing a corporate welfare deal with ESPN and then watching it help the ACC screw UConn by taking Syracuse and Pitt. Fine, he was caught by surprise and it was early in his term. But I assumed/hoped that he marched to Bristol and told the suits that ESPN would not help any conference screw the University of Connecticut again without there being hell to pay.

So, give this a little time to see what happens. But if, in the near future, we don't hear either that UConn is having something good happening to it or that ESPN will not receive another dime of my money as a Connecticut taxpayer, then Malloy is an incompetent buffoon and can't be removed from office quickly enough for me. As a Democrat who voted for him.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Wow, did UConn piss off the gods of College Sports in the Temple of Television Networks.

1. First it beat Duke a couple of times in men's hoops (finals '99 and semi's '04) to spoil their national championship acendency to the thrown.
2. It surpassed Tennessee and Pat Summit in the women's game (if you can't beat them all the time . . . drop 'em from the schedule), drawing the Queen's rebuke for a potential recruiting impropriety in landing Maya Moore (the SEC. . .talk about the kettle calling the pot black)
3. It actually called College Football's bluff and gear up enough to join a BCS conference and then showed up in a teeny, tiny, little off campus stadium (this just isn't right claim the old guard at Augusta National. This isn't how it's suppose to be done. Their making a mockery of big time football).
4. Then they rightfully (but unsuccessfully) sue the Benedict Arnolds for bolting from the Big East. Apparently even the judges were displeased with this bunch of upstart, BCS wanna be's (shouldn't you guys be playing in the Yankee Conference anyway?).
5. The little program then quickly dominated over Broadcast U (formerly known years ago as the school where #44 meant something and the football program actually was good). Oh no, not in football too. Bad enough in Basketball).
6. It completely exhausted WVU (who were readily allowed to score all those TDs) in their blowout in Morgantown to the point they had nothing left against Pitt resulting in UConn tying for the conference championship.
7. Then they beat out some big time programs for Jordan Todman (foul, that was one of their players, bad enough they lose recruits to each other, but to CONNECTICUT?)
8. Then they go out to Notre Dame and beat them in front of Touchdown Jesus, thereby solidifying the Gippers irrelevance as a football power. Keeping in mind how hard the referees tried to keep that from happening (TD, Flag, no TD. . . . TD, flag, no TD).
9. Then perhaps the biggest faux paux of all, UConn totally embarrasses Steve Superior's SEC Gamecocks smack dab in the heart of Dixie. Ouch, that one had to hurt . . . the SEC baby!
10. What next? Oh yeah, they somehow win the BE again and end up in the Fiesta Bowl. Yeah, the Tostitos Gang drew the short straw and had to waste and perfectly good Oklahoma team in a match against ????? Who again??? And of course, then the "we didn't really want to invite you's)can't even score (save for a pick six and kick off return). Told you they were "Not ready for prime timers)
11. Now throw in the fact that men's hoop beat Calipari and Kentucky not once but twice before winning an ugly national championship against Butler. The rap on that one? No offense to speak of, just a boring defensive fizzle. Personally, I loved it, but TV was not thrilled. And apparantly not the NCAA either since the punishments levied on the basketball program for mid-level-serious violations exceed everyone else's (Auburn,USC,UNC) save for Penn State. Plus the madder Jim Calhoun got, the more piling on they did.
12. Oh and don't forget baseball beating Clim-son in the NCAA's in '11. How embarrassing for any self respecting southern program. And it spoiled an in-state USC-Climson Regional Party.

Talk about a squeeze play. Talk about discrimination. But that's what happens when you venture into a neighbor hood where "your kind" in not wanted. UConn has become big time college sports (at least the men's version) "lipsticked" pig. Still apparently a pig.

 

[Excalibur]

Hey, fair enough. I think Silver's take on this whole thing is about right though. Not a good day for UConn athletics.

A body blow? More like this.

 

[huskymedic]

And the Connecticut Governor - BC grad - Dannel Malloy is giving out lollypops in Bristol.

GET THIS ... it is obvious, the ABC/ESPN folks play a really dirty rotten game. And, they do it with smiley John Swofford. No UConn fan ... nor longtime viewer of the BE ... should be fooled. ESPN? Behind most all of this.

This realignment crap sucks, drains the life out of college sports (especially football), and impacts UConn in a significant way - but is it a "really dirty rotten game" or brillant cut-throat business strategy. I''m not defending it, just characterizing it.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Wow, did UConn piss off the gods of College Sports in the Temple of Television Networks or what?​

​

1. First it beat Duke a couple of times in men's hoops (finals '99 and semi's '04) to spoil their national championship acendency to the thrown.​

2. It surpassed Tennessee and Pat Summit in the women's game (if you can't beat them all the time . . . drop 'em from the schedule), drawing the Queen's rebuke for a potential recruiting impropriety in landing Maya Moore (the SEC. . .talk about the kettle calling the pot black).​

3. It actually called College Football's bluff and gear up enough to join a BCS conference and then showed up in a teeny, tiny, little off campus stadium (this just isn't right claim the old guard at Augusta National. This just isn't right, they drawled. Their making a mockery of big time football).​

4. Then they rightfully (but unsuccessfully) sue the Benedict Arnolds for bolting from the Big East. Apparently even the judges were displeased with this bunch of upstart, BCS wanna be's (shouldn't you guys be playing in the Yankee Conference anyway?).​

5. The little program then quickly dominated over Broadcast U (formerly known years ago as the school where #44 meant something and the football program actually was good). Oh no, not in football too. Bad enough in Basketball).​

6. It completely exhausted WVU (who were readily allowed to score all those TDs) in their blowout in Morgantown to the point they had nothing left against Pitt resulting in UConn tying for the conference championship.​

7. Then they beat out some big time programs for Jordan Todman (foul, that was one of their players, bad enough they lose recruits to each other, but to CONNECTICUT?)​

8. Then they go out to Notre Dame and beat them in front of Touchdown Jesus, thereby solidifying the Gippers irrelevance as a football power. Keeping in mind how hard the referees tried to keep that from happening (TD, Flag, no TD. . . . TD, flag, no TD).​

9. Then perhaps the biggest faux paux of all, UConn totally embarrasses Steve Superior's SEC Gamecocks smack dab in the heart of Dixie. Ouch, that one had to hurt . . . whippin up on the SEC baby. Just ain't right.​

10. What next? Oh yeah, they somehow win the BE again and end up in the Fiesta Bowl. Yeah, the Tostitos Gang drew the short straw and had to waste and perfectly good Oklahoma team in a match against ????? Who again??? And of course, then the "we didn't really want to invite you's)can't even score (save for a pick six and kick off return). Told you they were "Not ready for prime timers)​

11. Now throw in the fact that men's hoop beat Calipari and Kentucky not once but twice before winning an ugly national championship against Butler. The rap on that one? No offense to speak of, just a boring defensive fizzle. Personally, I loved it, but TV was not thrilled. And apparantly not the NCAA either since the punishments levied on the basketball program for mid-level-serious violations exceed everyone else's (Auburn,USC,UNC) save for Penn State. Plus the madder Jim Calhoun got, the more piling on they did.​

12. Oh and don't forget baseball beating Clim-son in the NCAA's in '11. How embarrassing for any self respecting southern program. And it spoiled an in-state USC-Climson Regional Party.​

​

Talk about a squeeze play. Talk about discrimination. But that's what happens when you venture into a neighbor hood where "your kind" in not wanted. UConn has become big time college sports (at least the men's version) version of the proverbial "lipsticked" pig. Still just a pig.​

 

[Justauconnfan]

I just can't bring myself to care about this crap any longer. I like to watch my team....I have season tickets....I tailgate with friends and have a good time. Maybe we never get a football team that goes for a national championship as a result of all this. Honestly as long as the guys we put out on the field are giving their everything....that's all I ask.

All these conference changes are going to have ramifications eventually. I don't have any idea what they are....but it's gonna happen. When you start getting conferences that are this big....eventually it gets to a "what's the point/who cares level".

There are any number of triggers that could cause a snap back against the current "bigger is better" scenario.

At what point does a team that's finished at the bottom of a conference for 30 straight years and can't draw fans anymore decide to leave a conference? At what point do the consistently good teams decide that they deserve a "better" deal than the other teams? Do the remaining "have not" schools decide to build their own championship and say goodbye to a structure that certainly hasn't done them any favors? Are there 100's of other scenarios that could bring downfall to the current set-up?

I think we've seen that anything can happen.

All I know.....there will be unintended consequences at some point. History is rife with examples whether it be in war, economics, science etc.

It may not be this week, this year or even this decade......but it's going to happen.

Sit back....have a beer....and enjoy watching the game....on the field and off.

 

[uconnell]

I just can't bring myself to care about this crap any longer. I like to watch my team....I have season tickets....I tailgate with friends and have a good time. Maybe we never get a football team that goes for a national championship as a result of all this. Honestly as long as the guys we put out on the field are giving their everything....that's all I ask.

All these conference changes are going to have ramifications eventually. I don't have any idea what they are....but it's gonna happen. When you start getting conferences that are this big....eventually it gets to a "what's the point/who cares level".

There are any number of triggers that could cause a snap back against the current "bigger is better" scenario.

At what point does a team that's finished at the bottom of a conference for 30 straight years and can't draw fans anymore decide to leave a conference? At what point do the consistently good teams decide that they deserve a "better" deal than the other teams? Do the remaining "have not" schools decide to build their own championship and say goodbye to a structure that certainly hasn't done them any favors? Are there 100's of other scenarios that could bring downfall to the current set-up?

I think we've seen that anything can happen.

All I know.....there will be unintended consequences at some point. History is rife with examples whether it be in war, economics, science etc.

It may not be this week, this year or even this decade......but it's going to happen.

Sit back....have a beer....and enjoy watching the game....on the field and off.