Next Year's Schedule

[BleedHuskyBlu]

I suspect only Tulane will be 200+ next year. The bottom of the conference is coming up.

I don't disagree w/ your overall point, but the bottom of the AAC is set to be much better next year. Probably only Tulane will be below 200.

Isnt Tulsa going to be awful next year? Supposedly losing 9 seniors that doesnt bode well for their rpi

 

[gwhuskyfan]

Love beefing up the schedule, but don't see a need to play 3 Ivy schools. I'd say pick one of the 3, but no need to play all of the ones you listed. Like the suggestion to play a team like Wichita. Rather than an Ivy wouldn't mind a solid A10 school like St. Joes/VCU/GW/Dayton. Could be a good fit

 

[Chief00]

They better have a better OOC home schedule for season ticket holders. They need to work on that big time.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Jeez I know it's a message board and all but Ohio State was not "monumentally awful." They were a borderline bubble team. They just weren't up to their usual standards. Even Georgetown was capable of beating most teams (including us) on a given day.

Fair enough on OSU, shouldn't have grouped them with GTown. But the Hoyas were indeed monumentally awful by their standards, 15-18 RPI 106? OSU wasn't much better at 74. Can't fault KO for scheduling either of them, I was just highlighting that we happened to catch both in down years by their standards, GT in a particularly bad down year.

Re: New England tour - it depends who. UNH, Maine, CCSU, Sacred Heart, absolutely not. UVM, URI, Northeastern, BU, Harvard, Yale - sounds a lot better. We really need to cut back on those ultra-cupcakes. We had four RPI 250+ games this year, three the year before (plus two more from USF ), and another the year before. Many of those were 300+ and most were Maine and CCSU. These games need to stop, replace them with generally 150-200 RPI teams and it's still an easily winnable game, better competition for the team, and won't kill our SOS. Especially when we're already playing six RPI 200+ conference games this year and nine in 14-15.

 

[BUConn10]

I hope the recent unexpected change in AD doesn't slow these scheduling talks down, leaving us with a weak SOS on the season.

 

[Eskapeesto]

FYI, I posted this elsewhere, if folks want to go to the G-Town game, which I believe is Jan 21, 2017, in DC, and need a hotel room, do it now. The Presidential Inauguration is scheduled for the day before, Friday, 20, 2017.

Surely DC and most of the Eastern seaboard will be aflame, no?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Surely DC and most of the Eastern seaboard will be aflame, no?

If Trump becomes President, I'm going to the game and then grabbing out of Dulles right after, Canadian passport in hand.

 

[KemBuckets21]

What we know:
18 games vs the AAC.
@Ohio State
@Georgetown
3 games in Maui, with a field of: Oregon, UNC, Georgetown, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Chaminade.

Speculated:
Series vs Cuse. UConn was in discussion with Syracuse revolving around H/H/MSG series.
Baylor/UConn men's/women's double-header at MSG.
Possible Villanova series.

Did I miss anything? Any teams you would like to see on the schedule next season?

I'm a Northeastern Alum and would like to see a game with them. They weren't great last year but they don't tank the ol' RPI like CCSU.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I'm a Northeastern Alum and would like to see a game with them. They weren't great last year but they don't tank the ol' RPI like CCSU.

Agreed, some CAA and A10 schools in November and December would serve as good competition and at least some more intriguing home games for the fans. I don't know they expect fans to continue shelling out money to see us pound Maine and Coppin State into the ground on a Tuesday in December.

 

[6thBoroBro]

I'd like to see a PAC-12 game on the OOC schedule outside of possible draws in Maui, they would not be used to our defense and could provide a good win. Maybe at MSG with a team like Cal or Arizona to give them the incentive of east coast exposure.

 

[Stainmaster]

They better have a better OOC home schedule for season ticket holders. They need to work on that big time.

Or maybe the season ticket holders could not be such prima donnas and be grateful that they can afford to see UConn play in person so many times.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Agreed, some CAA and A10 schools in November and December would serve as good competition and at least some more intriguing home games for the fans. I don't know they expect fans to continue shelling out money to see us pound Maine and Coppin State into the ground on a Tuesday in December.

Well said.

 

[Chief00]

Or maybe the season ticket holders could not be such prima donnas and be grateful that they can afford to see UConn play in person so many times.

Season ticket holders are their customers and at least should be listen to. Since our TV revenue is poor in the AAC ticket revenue is paramount. Many season ticket holders also make donations - another source of revenue.

Better home games also draw other fans - attendance at XL can range from 8k to 15k - the difference is $175k a game at $25 per ticket.

Another angle is RPI - the 300 seeding games hurt our seeding this year despite playing some good neutral court and away games.

Rather it be the economy or multiple entertainment options today - the product and competition is important. More so than 10, 20 or 30 years ago when people filled the XL no matter what.

I hope this helps your understanding. Thanks.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I don't disagree w/ your overall point, but the bottom of the AAC is set to be much better next year. Probably only Tulane will be below 200.

That may be true, but I still don't think we should count on the conference schedule to boost our SOS and schedule multiple putrid 250-300+ games OOC.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Or maybe the season ticket holders could not be such prima donnas and be grateful that they can afford to see UConn play in person so many times.

While this is a fair point, at the same time the program has to understand that repeatedly asking people to pay up to come to a home schedule of Maine, UNH, Furman, Sacred Heart, Central, and Lowell is ridiculous. That's 35% of the home schedule against brutally bad programs, not one of whom has made an NCAA tournament either ever or in over a decade. There's only so many times you can expect people to keep paying to show up for nonsense games like this.

 

[champs99and04]

You're not going to simply be able to schedule top-tier A-10 teams like Dayton, Rhode Island, VCU, etc. You're going to have to go there. Those aren't buy games.

I don't have a problem with trying to game the RPI a little bit more, but at the same time I think it's impact is overstated by this board. We would have been in line for a top three seed this season if we had beaten the teams we were supposed to beat.

 

[tzznandrew]

You're not going to simply be able to schedule top-tier A-10 teams like Dayton, Rhode Island, VCU, etc. You're going to have to go there. Those aren't buy games.

I don't have a problem with trying to game the RPI a little bit more, but at the same time I think it's impact is overstated by this board. We would have been in line for a top three seed this season if we had beaten the teams we were supposed to beat.

That's the thing: beat Temple (Home), Houston, Syracuse, and Cincy at home. Those were all winnable games. Even say they lose to A&M then, instead of Gonzaga.

In that scenario they were 28-6 (14-4) with an RPI of 13. That's a protected seed. Win the Temple road game they were up big in addition? 29-5 (15-3) RPI 8.

While the CCSU game, or Maine game, or Lowell game, didn't help, the real anchors were the stupid losses.

 

[Inyatkin]

That's the thing: beat Temple (Home), Houston, Syracuse, and Cincy at home. Those were all winnable games. Even say they lose to A&M then, instead of Gonzaga.

In that scenario they were 28-6 (14-4) with an RPI of 13. That's a protected seed. Win the Temple road game they were up big in addition? 29-5 (15-3) RPI 8.

While the CCSU game, or Maine game, or Lowell game, didn't help, the real anchors were the stupid losses.

Add it up and we were really close to having a team that would likely still be playing. I guess all our luck averaged out in Jalen's shot?

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

That's the thing: beat Temple (Home), Houston, Syracuse, and Cincy at home. Those were all winnable games. Even say they lose to A&M then, instead of Gonzaga.

In that scenario they were 28-6 (14-4) with an RPI of 13. That's a protected seed. Win the Temple road game they were up big in addition? 29-5 (15-3) RPI 8.

While the CCSU game, or Maine game, or Lowell game, didn't help, the real anchors were the stupid losses.

This is true, but our SOS would remain the same.

 

[John]

Or maybe the season ticket holders could not be such prima donnas and be grateful that they can afford to see UConn play in person so many times.

you need to walk a mile in season ticket holder's shoes before making statements.

 

[tzznandrew]

This is true, but our SOS would remain the same.

Our SOS was 48. Not that bad, honestly. NCSOS was 115. Not great, but not that bad, either. And, actually, it would change a bit because you replace Gonzaga with A&M.

 

[mjmoney23]

Or maybe the season ticket holders could not be such prima donnas and be grateful that they can afford to see UConn play in person so many times.

If I'm spending over 500 a year on tickets, you damn well better believe I want a few big games on the schedule. If I have to pay full price for every game (including the exhibition), there needs to be something to look forward to on the schedule.

 

[Stainmaster]

you need to walk a mile in season ticket holder's shoes before making statements.

No, I don't. For what it's worth, my family had season tickets for over 25 years dating back to the Dee Rowe era. We were giving money to athletics while half of the board was was too young to care about UConn basketball. So if you agree with the ridiculous notion that discussing these issues is for the current member of the good old boys club only, think again.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

No, I don't. For what it's worth, my family had season tickets for over 25 years dating back to the Dee Rowe era. We were giving money to athletics while half of the board was was too young to care about UConn basketball. So if you agree with the ridiculous notion that discussing these issues is for the current member of the good old boys club only, think again.

Cool, my family has been UConn Club members/Season ticket holders for over 50 years. We all complain that the home schedule has been getting progressively worse for years, to the point that it's not appealing for my brother and I to travel home to go to a game with my dad except for one or two options per year, if that. My dad gave up his tickets after we moved away partially because we weren't there anymore, but also because we had no interest in driving home on a weekend to go see Maine, Central, and Sacred Heart. The argument is still quite valid.

 

[Chief00]

No, I don't. For what it's worth, my family had season tickets for over 25 years dating back to the Dee Rowe era. We were giving money to athletics while half of the board was was too young to care about UConn basketball. So if you agree with the ridiculous notion that discussing these issues is for the current member of the good old boys club only, think again.

This class warfare stuff is a turnoff and unnecessary. We just want to see a few good competitive games for our enjoyment - there has been a growing trend that the best games are neutral court games. The current conference by itself doesn't generate enough of good home games by itself. Looking at the strength of the home game schedule needs to be one of the lenses that the schedule makers need to view the schedule - it doesn't seem they give that view enough of respect.
I am not spoiled new money as you suggest - I have been a season ticket holder and donor for 26 years. Both Gampel and XL. Before that I attended games regularly too.

 

[gampelcrazies]

My family has had season tickets for 35 years and would like to see better games at home. But we will always renew no matter the schedule and donate the same amount. Same goes with football.

To get others interested again and buying season tickets they have to schedule better teams and have better home and homes. On top of scheduling home and homes with Arizona and OSU they should try to get a team like Kentucky or UNC. That would help them sell mini-plans/season tickets. When UConn football played Michigan in football, they sold tons of season tickets because people wanted the one game.

 

[John]

No, I don't. For what it's worth, my family had season tickets for over 25 years dating back to the Dee Rowe era. We were giving money to athletics while half of the board was was too young to care about UConn basketball. So if you agree with the ridiculous notion that discussing these issues is for the current member of the good old boys club only, think again.

I'm a consumer of sports, and the product gets worse and worse every passing year with this godawful conference slate mixed with these dreg OOC games (albeit with some tasty OOC games mixed in). It's my dollars, therefore my right to demand something better. And I bleed blue and have been going to these games since the Field House days, and I'm an alumni to boot. And as far as being "grateful to afford" these tickets, these tickets are NOT cheap. It's not like they are $10 tickets my friend. I don't make all kinds of dough, so this budget line-item (along with football) is a big deal in my house.