In what way was the AAC a disaster for UConn? It seems to me that you guys didn't hang around the conference long enough for it to have any impact on you, one way or another. And, if it was a disaster for UConn, then why was it beneficial for the other members that moved up to P4?
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- Thread starter The Viking
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The AAC as a conference was an upgrade for every school except UConn (and I guess USF). The conference tanked fan engagement because no one cared at all about the other teams in the conference. We had just lost Power conference standing to be with a bunch of CUSA schools. We lost local rivalries to be a major geographic outlier. On the basketball side at least, multiple recruits said they were interested in playing in the Big East once we made the move back. Hurley was obviously a better coach, but the AAC was still handcuffing recruiting. Recruits didn't want to go to a school that was a geographic outlier in a subpar conference.
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In every way.
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Conference realignment noobs arent even worth engaging with. The amount of misinformation and lack of novel thought is exhausting.
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It was a basketball disaster in that our opponents de energized the fanbase.
Football is 100% on UConn. That was a missed opportunity that we botched.
The Big East has been a boon for UConn for both the fans and in recruiting.
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nelsonmuntz
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We were the northern outpost in a southern mid-major league. We had no rivals, travel for non-football was brutal, and the fanbase did not know or care about UConn's opponents. UConn got cut off from NY/NJ for basketball recruiting. It was a horror show. The program did a 180 as soon as it announced it was joining the Big East. Also, Auriemma HATED the AAC.
It would have been a lot easier to be a football independent 12 years ago than it is now, and we could have used that window to manage the football program more effectively to improve its media presence in the northeast.
At this point, I assume anyone that says the AAC was not a catastrophe for UConn athletics is just trolling.
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Thats a chicken or egg
College football pretty much started in New England and Ct with a then population of 1million built the biggest stadium in the world because of the interest .
Those banner carrying schools left the sport and the fans were orphaned . Connecticut has among the most passionate sports fans in the world maybe a bit too extreme at times If there was a successful big time football team in the state that myth will fall by the wayside
You need a reason to create interest . I remember a time when the experts said a professional football team won’t survive in New England.
This is what scares me if we joined the big 12
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Unlike the AAC, I believe there are more teams in the Big 12 that UConn fans would love to see come to Connecticut. Such as Kansas, Arizona, West Virgina, Cincinnati, Arizona State, and Houston. Were there that many in the AAC that interested the fans? I know people are going to say they don't like losing playing at MSG, but would a move say to the Big 12 hurt basketball and just help football? Just asking for a friend!
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His take is UConn needs to win more. Absolutely brilliant.
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It has much more to do with the Ivy League “de-emphasizing “ football in the 1950s. The major public universities did not feel they could play major football when the Ivies did not. Only the 2 Catholics schools, BC and Holy Cross, tried to play at the University Division as it was then called. Though the lines were much less clear in those days. Many thought had the Yankee Conference pursued major football it had potential to be at least a MAC and likely better. UMass, UConn and New Hampshire were all considered schools with upside potential.
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I think we had coaching issues when we needed to be stable. Ollie was hot, then tailed off horribly. Roster was a joke. Decent recruiting but weak team construction.
Then we had Diaco and HCRE which killed football. UConn was also doing everything on the cheap.
Had Memphis and UConn pulled their weight in BB the league could have been decent.
Not saying UConn’s time in AAC was successful but suggesting the issues were AAC and not UConn is a lie.
Waquoit
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That's a lie.
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So you think Ollies struggles were because of AAC.
You think it was AAC that hindered RE?
Ok…
"The ACC has vetted: Utah, Oregon St, Washington St, UCONN, San Diego St, and USF. One important topic besides TV $$ is how possible future expansion will affect the the relationship moving forward. ESPN is giving ACC very direct guidance (rubric like) thus allowing the ACC to keep Academics as one of their important metrics while being able to ensure that ESPN will fund the addition."
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Luke Fletcher is a Georgia Tech fan..twitterati...don't know if he has sources...but those programs are mentioned on various boards.
We all know what Utah has publicly said, about the ACC rumor, so I count them as probably out.
"We are proud to be entering into membership in the Big 12 Conference in the coming months and excited to join our new colleagues and member institutions," Utah said, via college football reporter Brett McMurphy.
Utah added: "A report over the weekend that suggested otherwise is completely fabricated and irresponsible."
We all know what Utah has publicly said, about the ACC rumor, so I count them as probably out.
"We are proud to be entering into membership in the Big 12 Conference in the coming months and excited to join our new colleagues and member institutions," Utah said, via college football reporter Brett McMurphy.
Utah added: "A report over the weekend that suggested otherwise is completely fabricated and irresponsible."
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If focus remains on academics and athletics: Tulane, UConn, OSU and WSU to start.
I think you have to have FL so USF and probably SDSU round out likely candidates.
I like Memphis to go with Louisville but it comes with academic questions compared to rest of conference and candidates.
I think you have to have FL so USF and probably SDSU round out likely candidates.
I like Memphis to go with Louisville but it comes with academic questions compared to rest of conference and candidates.
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also in that post from Big Ten information:
"USF is a good option to add to the ACC. They are an AAU school, they are building a new football stadium on campus that will be better than most existing ACC football stadiums, they have a larger enrollment than your average ACC member, their football program is one of the youngest in FBS"
The ACC soiled its academic shorts when it admitted Louisville, and OSU and WSU are hardly better.
First leapfrogged by UCF ... now USF is possibly a more viable option for the ACC of all places. Who would have ever imagined USF and SMU in the ACC over a program like UConn years ago. I could see a scenario where ACC goes for USF and then goes for San Diego State, Washington State, and Oregon State to round out Cal, Standford, and SMU for the West Coast region of the conference. It sometimes feels as if every perfect scenario that could happen to keep UConn out of a power conference some how finds a way.
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No idea who Luke Fletcher is, but Big Ten Information has never been accurate. Try Greg Flugar for more accurate information. He does not always get it right, but he has a great track record and then that’s when he gets something wrong.
So we have to find a way to change the narrative. This season is huge. Needs to be alot of wining, dining and winning going on with State level Political leaders, Money folks, Board of Trustees and big boosters. Take a crew to the Maryland game to show them Big 10 FB, have the same group back for the home game against Wake Forest on a beautiful sunny day, with our Huskies pulling another upset(Oh, did I mention we beat MD?). Maybe that Hurley guy takes the trip to College Park. Get that seed planted for CL82's 10 year plan(is that ok CL82, I nominated you as chairman of the planning committee).
Or, just talk about how Rentschler sucks and we can never build an on campus stadium, and 8-4 is the best we can hope for. We nearly converted on our first shot at Realignment, don't know if this represents a real second chance, but boy we have to treat it as such.
Go Huskies #W's, #P4(or 3 or 2)
