Non-Key Tweets

[dayooper]

I know I always get my realignment news from a slutty Star Wars moniker

Hey, slutty Stars Wars monikers need lovin' . . . I mean attention too.

 

[TruDomGopher]

Well...Louisville just finished Top 25 in the Football AP again and Top 10 in the Coaches Basketball Poll.....there are worse things than wanting to have two good programs.

Geography aside, Louisville is consistently in the Top 25 and is decent in basketball as well,

Okay, got some sleep--let's see if my brain functions. I meant no disrespect to anyone. I think Jurich is the single best athletic director in America and Louisville has an athletic program to emulate.

However it's a different breed of school from a B1G school. And, in many ways, it was TV that made Louisville. It wasn't the quality of athletics alone; it was the willingness to take those mid-week night timeslots that brought the exposure that ultimately paid off for them and got them where they are.

But, in the land of my admiration, the number one school to emulate, in my opinion, is Stanford. Even with their admission and academic standards, they manage to somehow have a great athletic department, great research--heck, they have it all.

When Rutgers joined, there was talk that in twenty years they'd be the east coast Stanford. I'm thinking that twenty years from now, Rutgers will be...well, Rutgers--especially without Pernetti. (Huge loss, and he was crucial in guiding Rutgers through the obstacles to B1G membership.) If Pernetti were still at Rutgers, I'd say UConn's hopes for a B1G might be fading.

But the more Rutgers stumbles around, the better it is for UConn.

 

[CL82]

I have a question: Do you want UConn to be a Big Ten school or Louisville, East? This is getting too weird for me--I'm on a UConn board arguing that UConn is B1G material and being told, "No, we're really more a Louisville wannabe. . ."

I'm going to bed. I just use Louisville and wannabe in the same sentence.

Uh, who said anything like that?

Did someone hack your account? You've been a little off lately.

 

[TruDomGopher]

Uh, who said anything like that?

Did someone hack your account? You've been a little off lately.

Said indirectly via context. No, and yes, I am a little off a lot lately. Or a lot off a little lately. Or something.

 

[pj]

When Rutgers joined, there was talk that in twenty years they'd be the east coast Stanford. I'm thinking that twenty years from now, Rutgers will be...well, Rutgers--especially without Pernetti. (Huge loss, and he was crucial in guiding Rutgers through the obstacles to B1G membership.) If Pernetti were still at Rutgers, I'd say UConn's hopes for a B1G might be fading.

But the more Rutgers stumbles around, the better it is for UConn.

In 20 years, Rutgers could be the New Jersey Penn State, or the New Jersey U of Maryland.

But, I gotta disagree with you about Rutgers success being detrimental to UConn's chances of joining the B1G. There still remains 35 million people in New England and New York, whose college athletic loyalties are up for grabs, and UConn remains the only public flagship university in the region ... UConn would be strategically important to the B1G whatever Rutgers did. Arguably success by Rutgers would demonstrate the merits of further expansion, by showing that B1G membership increases the value of a university so much as to make the addition clearly rewarding.

 

[TruDomGopher]

There's a subject that I want to add to the mix--how to weight things in realignment. Frank the Tank (blogger, not bb player) did some interesting posts on how he weights things, but I realize I approach things somewhat differently and why I place more emphasis on some factors.

Research funding flows through power centers and the primary power centers are NY and DC/Northern Va and a primary focus is keeping that money flowing to B1G schools. The B1G wants to become water cooler conversation in the power centers and that limits the candidate pool.

In realignment talk, the phrase "athletics is the front porch of the university" pops up a lot. What does it mean?

I think it means this: UVa is the #1 B1G target. Simple geography, as in, "Hey, Michigan's playing Saturday. Would the appropriations committee care to join us at the game?" (UVa is 3x more valuable than VT on geography alone.)

NYC is different nut: w/o the clarity of a NY flagship, the trifecta of Rutgers/UConn/Syracuse is how the B1G would have to approach the market. Eliminate the weakest candidate but the B1G needs the other two.

In other words: the B1G is a massive lobbying organization focused on power centers. I tend to discount a lot of B1G rumors on the assumption the B1G will stay focused by the research money and geography. My list of candidates is actually pretty short: UConn and UVa or VTech.

Which reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask: Any news on road improvements to UConn's campus?

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Which reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask: Any news on road improvements to UConn's campus?

I don't have an update on UCONN's roads, but from what I've seen every road in the state needs help. Frost heaves created previously non-existent bumps, there are pot holes aplenty and cracks that are crumbling. UCONN's roads are going to have to wait.
Are you referring to a widening of the road leading into the campus or the idea of a new express path from the highway? How sweet that would be.

 

[Seaa Blue]

I think it means this: UVa is the #1 B1G target. Simple geography, as in, "Hey, Michigan's playing Saturday. Would the appropriations committee care to join us at the game?" (UVa is 3x more valuable than VT on geography alone.)

Google says that VT is 4H 20M from DC while UVA is 2H 26M. Both numbers are more than I would have guessed (being geographically challenged in that area).

Given that B1G now has Maryland in the fold at 32 minutes from DC, I'm not sure that the 3x multiplier of UVA over VT holds true. With that line of thought, Maryland's advantage over UVA would have to mucg more than a 3X.

So, in my mind, VT, being an engineering/research school, would be slightly more likely to get the nod over UVA. And when you consider that UVA has strong historical ties to UNC I think B1G would have to look at offering both UNC and UVA, but I don't see how that combination could be orchestrated at this point.

 

[CL82]

There's a subject that I want to add to the mix--how to weight things in realignment. Frank the Tank (blogger, not bb player) did some interesting posts on how he weights things, but I realize I approach things somewhat differently and why I place more emphasis on some factors.

Research funding flows through power centers and the primary power centers are NY and DC/Northern Va and a primary focus is keeping that money flowing to B1G schools. The B1G wants to become water cooler conversation in the power centers and that limits the candidate pool.

In realignment talk, the phrase "athletics is the front porch of the university" pops up a lot. What does it mean?

I think it means this: UVa is the #1 B1G target. Simple geography, as in, "Hey, Michigan's playing Saturday. Would the appropriations committee care to join us at the game?" (UVa is 3x more valuable than VT on geography alone.)

NYC is different nut: w/o the clarity of a NY flagship, the trifecta of Rutgers/UConn/Syracuse is how the B1G would have to approach the market. Eliminate the weakest candidate but the B1G needs the other two.

In other words: the B1G is a massive lobbying organization focused on power centers. I tend to discount a lot of B1G rumors on the assumption the B1G will stay focused by the research money and geography. My list of candidates is actually pretty short: UConn and UVa or VTech.

Which reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask: Any news on road improvements to UConn's campus?

I think that you are over thinking it a bit. Research matters because B1G conference presidents want to be associated with like minded institutions (rather than the Louisville's of the world) and ultimately they are the best straw poll of which new member is acceptable to a majority of conference members.

Just curious, why do you want to know road improvements?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I don't have an update on UCONN's roads, but from what I've seen every road in the state needs help. Frost heaves created previously non-existent bumps, there are pot holes aplenty and cracks that are crumbling. UCONN's roads are going to have to wait.
Are you referring to a widening of the road leading into the campus or the idea of a new express path from the highway? How sweet that would be.

I believe that a new, wider road will be built through the Tech Park connecting campus to US 44 and bypassing Route 195; but a highway connecting Storrs is a pipe dream at this point just on money alone. The next big CT highway project after the Q Bridge work in New Haven is done is replacing the I-85 viaduct between West Hartford and downtown Hartford. The 5 mile project alone si going to cost north of $5 billion it seems.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hartford-malloy-i-84-0407-20150406-story.html

After that, I expect I-84 in Waterbury (the Mixmaster) and hopefully an attempt to widen I-84 from 2 to 3 lanes between Waterbruy and Danbury will be in the works.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

[QUOTE="he next big CT highway project after the Q Bridge work in New Haven is done is replacing the I-85 viaduct between West Hartford and downtown Hartford. The 5 mile project alone si going to cost north of $5 billion it seems.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hartford-malloy-i-84-0407-20150406-story.html[/QUOTE]
I read the article and noted one comment.

"Several cities across the country are doing away with elevated interstates built through metropolitan centers between the Eisenhower and Nixon eras, when highway planners valued traffic-moving efficiency above virtually all else."

I value traffic moving efficiently. Isn't that the goal of any transportation system?
Thanks for the link.

 

[TruDomGopher]

cl82, I overthink everything. A working brain. No work.

Regarding the road improvements: Heard a rumor that the B1G analysis of UConn indicated the transportation infrastructure could be improved.

Not being familiar with the lay of the land, so to speak, specifics mean nothing to me, but if road improvements around the campus and venues suddenly become a priority, I would take it as one more positive sign. That's all.

 

[pj]

cl82, I overthink everything. A working brain. No work.

Regarding the road improvements: Heard a rumor that the B1G analysis of UConn indicated the transportation infrastructure could be improved.

Not being familiar with the lay of the land, so to speak, specifics mean nothing to me, but if road improvements around the campus and venues suddenly become a priority, I would take it as one more positive sign. That's all.

Absolutely, the transportation infrastructure can be improved -- in fact, if they want an on-campus football stadium, it needs to be.

But, the state has been anti-highway and NIMBY for fifty-plus years and the transportation infrastructure needs improvement statewide. This is one thing that has kept Connecticut's population to one-third New Jersey's.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Absolutely, the transportation infrastructure can be improved -- in fact, if they want an on-campus football stadium, it needs to be.

But, the state has been anti-highway and NIMBY for fifty-plus years and the transportation infrastructure needs improvement statewide. This is one thing that has kept Connecticut's population to one-third New Jersey's.

Anti-highway? We must live in two different states...that we are this densely populated with this bad of public transportation is boggling. If anything, we have been too focused on the highway for 50 years.

And NJ actually disproves your point. NJ is densely populated due to mass transit (PATH, NJT and Amtrack) more than highways.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Absolutely, the transportation infrastructure can be improved -- in fact, if they want an on-campus football stadium, it needs to be.

But, the state has been anti-highway and NIMBY for fifty-plus years and the transportation infrastructure needs improvement statewide. This is one thing that has kept Connecticut's population to one-third New Jersey's.

If only the original I-84 route was followed through on running it from Hartford to Willimantic via I-384 and then to Providence. If that was in place, then we would just need a 7 mile spur from Willimantic.

 

[pj]

Anti-highway? We must live in two different states...that we are this densely populated with this bad of public transportation is boggling. If anything, we have been too focused on the highway for 50 years.

And NJ actually disproves your point. NJ is densely populated due to mass transit (PATH, NJT and Amtrack) more than highways.

Connecticut doesn't have the population density to support mass transit. New Jersey's population density came before its mass transit. New Jersey's population in 1930 exceeded Connecticut's today.

 

[Fishy]

The roads into and out of the UConn campus are of no interest to anyone who is not at this moment driving into and out of the UConn campus.

 

[Seaa Blue]

The roads into and out of the UConn campus are of no interest to anyone who is not at this moment driving into and out of the UConn campus.

I've heard stories about East Coast drivers ...

 

[SAMCRO]

We desperately need a non-key tweet.

 

[buddy]

cl82, I overthink everything. A working brain. No work.

Regarding the road improvements: Heard a rumor that the B1G analysis of UConn indicated the transportation infrastructure could be improved.

Not being familiar with the lay of the land, so to speak, specifics mean nothing to me, but if road improvements around the campus and venues suddenly become a priority, I would take it as one more positive sign. That's all.

cl82, I overthink everything. A working brain. No work.

Regarding the road improvements: Heard a rumor that the B1G analysis of UConn indicated the transportation infrastructure could be improved.

Not being familiar with the lay of the land, so to speak, specifics mean nothing to me, but if road improvements around the campus and venues suddenly become a priority, I would take it as one more positive sign. That's all.

First championships now road improvements make a difference. I suggest that you try to drive from New York to Rutgers in rush hour on a weekday. A twenty five mile drive could take 2 hours if you are lucky enough not to wreck your car in a massive pot hole. How's that for transportation infrastructure. Did the B1G ever analyze how many people use the PATH system to get to RU? Not many, I would guess, but I don't have facts on this. Rumors are fun, but rumors about transportation infrastructure are just silly.

 

[Stinger92860]

First championships now road improvements make a difference. I suggest that you try to drive from New York to Rutgers in rush hour on a weekday. A twenty five mile drive could take 2 hours if you are lucky enough not to wreck your car in a massive pot hole. How's that for transportation infrastructure. Did the B1G ever analyze how many people use the PATH system to get to RU? Not many, I would guess, but I don't have facts on this. Rumors are fun, but rumors about transportation infrastructure are just silly.

The PATH does not go to Rutgers. So the answer is 0.

 

[UConn9604]

Connecticut doesn't have the population density to support mass transit. New Jersey's population density came before its mass transit. New Jersey's population in 1930 exceeded Connecticut's today.

Not only that, but New Jersey Transit and Amtrak were founded in the 1970s. From 1930 to 1970, New Jersey's population growth mirrored the nation's (the U.S. population grew by 65%, New Jersey's grew by 77%). From 1970 to today, however, New Jersey's population growth has fallen far short of the nation's (the U.S. has grown by 52% since 1970, New Jersey by only 22% since 1970).

New Jersey's population did not grow because of its mass transit; New Jersey's mass transit grew because of its population.

 

[TruDomGopher]

First championships now road improvements make a difference. I suggest that you try to drive from New York to Rutgers in rush hour on a weekday. A twenty five mile drive could take 2 hours if you are lucky enough not to wreck your car in a massive pot hole. How's that for transportation infrastructure. Did the B1G ever analyze how many people use the PATH system to get to RU? Not many, I would guess, but I don't have facts on this. Rumors are fun, but rumors about transportation infrastructure are just silly.

I understand, given the circumstances, that discouragement or even despair are to be expected.

Nihilism is silly.

 

[sportsart]

I heard they are going to get that fast track route to go from the Rent right up to the dorms on campus. Part of the B1G expansion plans. Need to get more students to the game when we go to 55K seats.

Screw Rutgers and NJ. Until they get one of these, they ain't nothin'.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I heard they are going to get that fast track route to go from the Rent right up to the dorms on campus. Part of the B1G expansion plans. Need to get more students to the game when we go to 55K seats.

Screw Rutgers and NJ. Until they get one of these, they ain't nothin'.

That looks hideous. What the heck is that?