No Temple - We need out of this Conf

[ConnHuskBask]

Nelson has NEVER one time put together a proposed Independent football which was his solution for years.

Now he is proposing to drop football all together to join the BE.

The only way to save us long term is football and that's only going to be done in the AAC.

 

[itgoeslike]

Larry Brown talking about Temple, UConn and Tulsa:

"I was hoping they would recognize our conference. Those three teams deserve to be in," SMU coach Larry Brown said. "We have to do a better job of figuring out who sits on that board. I guess they look at our league like it's not very good."

I think Temple deserved to be in. UCLA was terrible this year. The committee clearly threw a bone to the PAC, which as a conference, is just bad. Unfortunately it's a rigged game and there is bias. The AAC needs to be 10%-15% better on paper to compete for the same spot.

Cincy needs to upset Kentucky (which has been on the ropes by worse teams), and SMU needs to find a way into the final four to help build some credibility. A good performance in the NIT by Temple, Tulsa and UConn would also help.

 

[tzznandrew]

The AAC got 2 bids when it deserved 4. You really showed me.

The AAC got 2 and deserved 3. Last year it got 4 and deserved 5...although I thought last year's snub was more egregious.

Tulsa has little to complain about. Beat someone out of conference.

They got beat by 19 by Oklahoma
By 15 by Oklahoma State
By 20 by Wichita State
By 20 by a 15-20 Auburn team
By 9 by ORAL ROBERTS
and by a DII team

That's horrid, and not a team worthy of the NCAAs. They played some 3 good OOC teams and got killed by all 3. And then got beat by some bad ones too.

Temple I'm more sympathetic to, especially since they were missing key players. They also played some teams: Kansas, Duke, Villanova. But the rest of their OOC was pretty weak, and while they beat Kansas, Duke (by 20) and Villanova (by 23) blew their doors off. And they lost to a terrible St. Joe's team and a bad UNLV team.

This conference doesn't have to win all it's OOC games. But it's best teams have to win the games they should, and show in the games they probably shouldn't.

 

[CallMeBruce]

So what are our football aspirations? To be as marginal as a Rutgers in the hopes that the B1G may some day take us? Seems like a huge waste of time and money plus if CT residents want our football fix we all just follow a real team like the Patriots. Football at UConn seems like a fools errand to me. We have a better chance at getting on ESPN and increasing UConn's exposure by scrapping football and starting a D1 Lacrosse program.

Definitely on-board for the lacrosse team going back to D1.

 

[tzznandrew]

Definitely on-board for the lacrosse team going back to D1.

Get the programs the B1G runs and get them D1. No team will ever be a full B1G member because of lacrosse. But it's a popular sport in the northeast, and it is growing. It couldn't hurt.

Just like hockey doesn't hurt.

Just like our basketball helps and is the only reason we are in the discussion tangentially.

Just like our academic growth and national profile makes us more palatable to the AAU.

If we get our football back to where it was in the late 2000s, and with our location (straddling NYC with Rutgers in a populous region), we have a real shot.

But we need football to have some years. This conference isn't good. And we've had some very good years in a much better conference. So it is certainly possible.

The other things just make us look better.

 

[itgoeslike]

The AAC certainly put themselves at risk over the course the season with bad losses and missed opportunities, which is dangerous when you consider the bias involved in the process and the metrics. Having said that, the top 6 AAC teams unfairly get very little respect.

If you're a fan of RPI consider this. The top 6 of 11 teams in the AAC have, proportionally, a better baseline than the PAC and SEC. For instance, the 6th best team in the PAC comes in at (95) and the 7th best team at (102), while Memphis comes in at (83). Even the eighth best team in the Big Ten (Illinois at 73) is only somewhat better than Memphis. AAC victories among the top 55% in the AAC are not viewed the same way as they are in a P5 conferences. What contributes to this marginalization is the really bad RPI of the bottom 5 teams. The RPI's of the top 6 teams are further diluted by playing against 10 games against 200+ RPI teams (and the associated risk of a bad loss). The irony, is that playing bad teams doesn't necessarily make you any worse, even it says so on paper. The good news, the bottom 5 teams will improve in the next 2-3 years. The bad news, we have to stick around for 2-3 more years to reap any benefit.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

The AAC got 2 bids when it deserved 4. You really showed me.

Oh so you are the only one saying the AAC is a terrible conference for UConn to be affiliated with? That's new. Haven't heard anyone state that yet. Incredible insight.

What you do not seem to understand is that the athletic program is dead whether we are in the Big East or the AAC. Our only ticket out is football. It's P5 or bust. Can you name the only P5 school without a football program?

 

[junglehusky]

That money is gone. We could invest another $200 million and the ACC and Big 10 are not going to take us as long as we are irrelevant in this spithole of a league. This league is a long term loser. I don't know how much more evidence you need of that. Do I need to dig up the thread from last year where 2/3's of this board tried to argue the American was just as good a league as the Big East for UConn?

The only way the Big 10 or ACC take us is if we remain a top tier hoops program. So we need to do whatever we have to in order to make that happen, or just pack it in now and find a northern league we can join to cut travel costs.

Then we need to do whatever we have to in order to make that happen. I think it is doable. If the AAC is a two bid league we have to be one of those two to make it. The schedule is right. The roster is not. That has to be fixed by getting people on staff who can recruit. It is a fixable problem. There's no difference between packing it in now, or packing it in 10 years from now, so why not give it 10 years before ragequitting?

 

[tzznandrew]

Then we need to do whatever we have to in order to make that happen. I think it is doable. If the AAC is a two bid league we have to be one of those two to make it. The schedule is right. The roster is not. That has to be fixed by getting people on staff who can recruit. It is a fixable problem. There's no difference between packing it in now, or packing it in 10 years from now, so why not give it 10 years before ragequitting?

I think the conference will consistently be a 4-5 bid conference, provided the bottom teams stop sucking.

That's not old Big East, but it is on par or better than the PAC, SEC, BE most years.

 

[3rdbass]

The PAC12 only got 2 bids in 2012 so it isn't totally all doom and gloom. Hopefully the bottom feeders start improving their schedules so the conference as a whole has more respect from the NCAA selection committee.

 

[Jimdish255]

I agree the AAC needs to do better OOC and schedule better. But you have to conclude an obvious bias when UCLA and Indiana get in while Temple and CSU are left out. Obviously they were concerned given the AAC's lack of impact on the tourney last year. It's hard to question their competence because they know exactly what they're doing twisting the criteria to suit their financial interests. The only factor left is a question of integrity but the media isn't in a position to ask tough questions so the kids just have to take the hit.

 

[dtrumpet]

The PAC12 only got 2 bids in 2012 so it isn't totally all doom and gloom. Hopefully the bottom feeders start improving their schedules so the conference as a whole has more respect from the NCAA selection committee.

yes, and that's where Aresco has to step in with those schools and make it happen. This is something the conference can control now, and needs to do. The bottom of the conference has to get closer to the top.

 

[Jimdish255]

yes, and that's where Aresco has to step in with those schools and make it happen. This is something the conference can control now, and needs to do. The bottom of the conference has to get closer to the top.

Problem is Temple and CSU had solid RPI's and Temples worst losses were with a shorthanded roster. There really isn't that scheduling excuse for the NCAA to fall back on. Most of their losses were to high quality teams otherwise.

 

[Kitaman]

Colorado State 27-6 Undefeated in Conference Play, beat SDSU and Boise State.

Wow, what did they do wrong? More importantly why does UCLA deserve to bump them? Only 6 losses and UCLA had more than twice that @ 17 losses.

Makes our case look horridly insufficient.

I know we are not used to being on the outside looking in, but I now have compassion to the kids who get screwed 'royally'. I am SMU's biggest fan right now.

 

[Lefty2one]

I think the conference will consistently be a 4-5 bid conference, provided the bottom teams stop sucking.

That's not old Big East, but it is on par or better than the PAC, SEC, BE most years.

I'm worried long term about programs like SMU. We need them to be good and once Larry Brown retires (which can't be that far down the line) it's almost guaranteed that they're going to slide deep back into irrelevancy.

 

[Jimdish255]

Plus UCLA went 16-1 at home against a lot of poor competition and were terrible on the road. Didn't that used to be a factor?

CSU: http://www.csurams.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/csu-m-baskbl-sched.html

 

[Kitaman]

Plus UCLA went 16-1 at home against a lot of poor competition and were terrible on the road. Didn't that used to be a factor?

CSU: http://www.csurams.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/csu-m-baskbl-sched.html

That is a great graphic. All but one losses were away games (and all in conference). The other loss was in the Championship Game. All those teams are good (at least not bad) teams.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Oh so you are the only one saying the AAC is a terrible conference for UConn to be affiliated with? That's new. Haven't heard anyone state that yet. Incredible insight.

What you do not seem to understand is that the athletic program is dead whether we are in the Big East or the AAC. Our only ticket out is football. It's P5 or bust. Can you name the only P5 school without a football program?

One of the many things you don't understand is that your way is guaranteed failure. It will not work, yet you insist it is the only solution. Temple had a much strong resume and was a flat out better team than about 6 of the at-large teams, and they didn't get in BECAUSE they are from the AAC. The football league is terrible, and the basketball is sliding. Look at recruiting. There has not been a single data point along the way to indicate that your way might work. Not one. Yet you insist on arguing that the AAC is the best solution for UConn.

 

[CallMeBruce]

One of the many things you don't understand is that your way is guaranteed failure. It will not work, yet you insist it is the only solution. Temple had a much strong resume and was a flat out better team than about 6 of the at-large teams, and they didn't get in BECAUSE they are from the AAC. The football league is terrible, and the basketball is sliding. Look at recruiting. There has not been a single data point along the way to indicate that your way might work. Not one. Yet you insist on arguing that the AAC is the best solution for UConn.

This guy is a maniac, but it's tough to argue that this league isn't clearly terrible for our basketball program.

 

[MattMang23]

This guy is a maniac, but it's tough to argue that this league isn't clearly terrible for our basketball program.

Isn't that obvious?

It's the solution part that's tricky.

 

[tzznandrew]

Isn't that obvious?

It's the solution part that's tricky.

Right. The conference is terrible for basketball. But we need to keep it there and pray for football success. The end.

And, the bottom of the conference invested in basketball. Antigua and Sampson can win games.

Next year Tulsa returns everyone. SMU will be good if Brown is there. Cincy will be good. Memphis will be improved. Temple will take a step back, but Dunphy can coach. I think UConn will be better. ECU and Houston seemed to get a little better as the year went on.

I think the league can be better overall than the PAC, SEC, and BE many years. Or at least be in conversation with them. This was a down year due to early season injuries and suspensions, and some schools just being terrible.

 

[The Funster]

Right but staying in AAC and hoping for a P5 invite is more realistic than scrapping FB and rejoining the NBE.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Isn't that obvious?

It's the solution part that's tricky.

I posted this somewhere else (and can't find it now), but I'm not clear why moving back to the Big East and parking our football team in the MAC (like UMass has done) isn't an option. I'll admit, I don't know the intricacies of it, but the MAC is relatively local (especially if UMass is there), and is probably a good fit for us, in terms of what we'll be able to produce, talent-wise.

 

[tzznandrew]

I posted this somewhere else (and can't find it now), but I'm not clear why moving back to the Big East and parking our football team in the MAC (like UMass has done) isn't an option. I'll admit, I don't know the intricacies of it, but the MAC is relatively local (especially if UMass is there), and is probably a good fit for us, in terms of what we'll be able to produce, talent-wise.

UMass was kicked out of the MAC.

Conferences want all the sports they can get in their conference, or you don't add much.

 

[MattMang23]

I posted this somewhere else (and can't find it now), but I'm not clear why moving back to the Big East and parking our football team in the MAC (like UMass has done) isn't an option. I'll admit, I don't know the intricacies of it, but the MAC is relatively local (especially if UMass is there), and is probably a good fit for us, in terms of what we'll be able to produce, talent-wise.

Because playing UCF, Houston, Navy and East Carolina in football > Kent St., Akron, Eastern Michigan, and Bowling Green. It raises our profile just that much more.

UConn fans are going to have to get used to playing basketball in a more football centric conference.