Non-Key Tweets

[Dooley]

I really hope that one day, years from, when we are tucked snuggly in our B1G beds, that we will learn that it was common knowledge industry-wide that we had been ticketed for the B1G for years...hence the ACC and B12 not wanting to upset Jim Delany by impeding on his turf.

 

[pj]

I really hope that one day, years from, when we are tucked snuggly in our B1G beds, that we will learn that it was common knowledge industry-wide that we had been ticketed for the B1G for years...hence the ACC and B12 not wanting to upset Jim Delany by impeding on his turf.

My guess is that UConn was headed to the ACC, the B1G intervened, and the ACC rushed to Louisville instead -- maybe too quickly, but they didn't want to look weak by letting it be known in public that they preferred UConn and couldn't get us. If they had had their GoR in place at the time, maybe they would have tried to win us over. I wonder if the B1G gave strong assurances, or if it was just UConn asking for more time and the ACC thinking Louisville was nearly as good and not wanting to wait.

 

[CallMeBruce]

My guess is that UConn was headed to the ACC, the B1G intervened, and the ACC rushed to Louisville instead -- maybe too quickly, but they didn't want to look weak by letting it be known in public that they preferred UConn and couldn't get us. If they had had their GoR in place at the time, maybe they would have tried to win us over. I wonder if the B1G gave strong assurances, or if it was just UConn asking for more time and the ACC thinking Louisville was nearly as good and not wanting to wait.

Is this a real guess? Because this is definitely not what happened.

 

[jfuchs91]

My guess is that UConn was headed to the ACC, the B1G intervened, and the ACC rushed to Louisville instead -- maybe too quickly, but they didn't want to look weak by letting it be known in public that they preferred UConn and couldn't get us. If they had had their GoR in place at the time, maybe they would have tried to win us over. I wonder if the B1G gave strong assurances, or if it was just UConn asking for more time and the ACC thinking Louisville was nearly as good and not wanting to wait.

I have it on good authority that this simply wasn't the case. Someone I know and trust had consistent contact with both Herbst and Manuel at the time the ACC took Louisville, and he was adamant that they very much wanted to get into the ACC. I even ran some of the Boneyard's crackpot realignment theories by him (including what you mentioned), and he dismissed them pretty quickly.

Now granted, it's been a few years since then, and perhaps the B1G could have contacted us since then. But believing that UConn passed on the ACC in 2012 because of some pre-arranged agreement with the B1G is just hogwash.

 

[pj]

Yes, it's a guess. I guess I have to believe you guys that it was a wrong guess. But if so, neither the B1G nor the ACC were thinking as strategically as they should have been.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Yes, it's a guess. I guess I have to believe you guys that it was a wrong guess. But if so, neither the B1G nor the ACC were thinking as strategically as they should have been.

It's obviously a wrong guess, because if we could have been in the ACC for the last two seasons, we would have. Anyone who thinks that UConn turned down an ACC bid is kidding themselves. Would they turn down a B12 bid? Maybe, but only if they're certain that they're already in another league, in which case you'd be hearing about it soon.

 

[pj]

It's obviously a wrong guess, because if we could have been in the ACC for the last two seasons, we would have. Anyone who thinks that UConn turned down an ACC bid is kidding themselves. Would they turn down a B12 bid? Maybe, but only if they're certain that they're already in another league, in which case you'd be hearing about it soon.

It doesn't have to work that way (offer, turned down), and I never said it did. If you have two candidates rated equally (Louisville and UConn), one candidate is dragging their feet (I need to do due diligence, give me more details, give me time to think it over) and the other is eager (I'll commit today), you may go with the eager candidate -- especially if you fear a snowballing loss of confidence among members leading to a Florida State/Clemson exit with any public sign of weakness.

And any B1G overture would lead UConn to explore its options and take time for a detailed comparison of financials.

 

[CallMeBruce]

It doesn't have to work that way (offer, turned down), and I never said it did. If you have two candidates rated equally (Louisville and UConn), one candidate is dragging their feet (I need to do due diligence, give me more details, give me time to think it over) and the other is eager (I'll commit today), you may go with the eager candidate -- especially if you fear a snowballing loss of confidence among members leading to a Florida State/Clemson exit with any public sign of weakness.

And any B1G overture would lead UConn to explore its options and take time for a detailed comparison of financials.

Louisville was invited because there were enough ACC members who were willing to vote them in. UConn wasn't because there wasn't. This was pretty well-documented at the time.

 

[Pudge]

It doesn't have to work that way (offer, turned down), and I never said it did. If you have two candidates rated equally (Louisville and UConn), one candidate is dragging their feet (I need to do due diligence, give me more details, give me time to think it over) and the other is eager (I'll commit today), you may go with the eager candidate -- especially if you fear a snowballing loss of confidence among members leading to a Florida State/Clemson exit with any public sign of weakness.

And any B1G overture would lead UConn to explore its options and take time for a detailed comparison of financials.

Yeah ... this is the wrong spin.

UConn was NOT near Louisville's equal in football. And, we are worth ZERO to the B12 who would possibly take Louisville in 2012. That's the two punches in the face that led to the ACC going to Louisville. And YES ... Blumenthal and UConn's perception with the lawsuit lingered. I am all for B1G. We belong ... and we have a President that has spent the last few years shining up our GREAT University for that.

 

[pj]

Louisville was invited because there were enough ACC members who were willing to vote them in. UConn wasn't because there wasn't. This was pretty well-documented at the time.

Which doesn't explain why more ACC members were willing to vote Louisville in than UConn. What valuation metrics was that preference based on?

UConn was NOT near Louisville's equal in football. And, we are worth ZERO to the B12 who would possibly take Louisville in 2012. That's the two punches in the face that led to the ACC going to Louisville. And YES ... Blumenthal and UConn's perception with the lawsuit lingered. I am all for B1G. We belong ... and we have a President that has spent the last few years shining up our GREAT University for that.

Which doesn't explain why football performance was the dominant factor, as opposed to cable market opportunity ... We've seen many news stories and university officials saying that conference networks are crucial to the success of the ACC and B12. With even a modicum of foresight, both leagues could see in 2012 that UConn was far more valuable than alternatives to any cable network. We are not and never were worth zero to the B12, especially not if they want a network.

 

[whaler11]

Yes, it's a guess. I guess I have to believe you guys that it was a wrong guess. But if so, neither the B1G nor the ACC were thinking as strategically as they should have been.

Really? Because they can't add UConn anytime they feel the need or desire?

You are trying to create an alternate CR universe that has no basis in reality.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Yes, it's a guess. I guess I have to believe you guys that it was a wrong guess. But if so, neither the B1G nor the ACC were thinking as strategically as they should have been.

The ACC watched as the old Big e exploded and while it was not the primary cause of its demise, ND was the one waving around a lit match. So, the ACC takes on ND under yet another 'special' deal. Adding ND in the short-term may have saved the conference; but the addition of ND could cause the destruction of the ACC in the long-term, too.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

It doesn't have to work that way (offer, turned down), and I never said it did. If you have two candidates rated equally (Louisville and UConn), one candidate is dragging their feet (I need to do due diligence, give me more details, give me time to think it over) and the other is eager (I'll commit today), you may go with the eager candidate -- especially if you fear a snowballing loss of confidence among members leading to a Florida State/Clemson exit with any public sign of weakness.

And any B1G overture would lead UConn to explore its options and take time for a detailed comparison of financials.

If there was a deal between the B1G And UConn and if UConn was going to join for the next TV Contract (2017?), word would have gotten out by now, especially on the football side of things. Rutgers' relatively successful first season in the B1G (8-5 overall, 3 wins in conference play, bowl win over UNC) was in part due to the 'leak' to recruits about the pending jump before it happened. Saying you, a prospective, 3/4 star recruit, can play in B1G football, even if their facilities are lacking, is huge. If UConn was jumping up in 2017, the recruiting would have to pick-up this year at the latest for UConn to have a chance at being competitive in football as football is not basketball where just 1 or 2 marquee recruits and turn a team around.

 

[pj]

Really? Because they can't add UConn anytime they feel the need or desire?

You are trying to create an alternate CR universe that has no basis in reality.

Just a few days ago on the Car Wash thread the putative Wake insider said that the ACC wanted UConn, but couldn't get us because we were ticketed to the B1G.

No, it's very possible that the ACC can't add UConn anytime they feel the desire.

We shall see what the reality is in time. But I've been around the business world long enough to see that things that make sense, generally take place.

 

[pj]

If there was a deal between the B1G And UConn and if UConn was going to join for the next TV Contract (2017?), word would have gotten out by now, especially on the football side of things. Rutgers' relatively successful first season in the B1G (8-5 overall, 3 wins in conference play, bowl win over UNC) was in part due to the 'leak' to recruits about the pending jump before it happened. Saying you, a prospective, 3/4 star recruit, can play in B1G football, even if their facilities are lacking, is huge. If UConn was jumping up in 2017, the recruiting would have to pick-up this year at the latest for UConn to have a chance at being competitive in football as football is not basketball where just 1 or 2 marquee recruits and turn a team around.

I don't think anything is settled. Realignment is interacting with the TV contract. Until a deal closes, you don't talk about it. We may hear a few weeks in advance of the public announcement.

And football recruiting is of minor importance compared to the B1G deal. You don't jeopardize a deal of that magnitude for a small advantage in recruiting.

 

[whaler11]

Just a few days ago on the Car Wash thread the putative Wake insider said that the ACC wanted UConn, but couldn't get us because we were ticketed to the B1G.

No, it's very possible that the ACC can't add UConn anytime they feel the desire.

We shall see what the reality is in time. But I've been around the business world long enough to see that things that make sense, generally take place.

Here is some inside scoop: The Wake Forest car wash guy doesn't have any inside information.

Neither does GS, The Dood, MH or any of our Gopher friends.

There are probably 1,000 rumors that have been posted on this board and not a single one has come to fruition.

If you don't think the ACC can add UConn tomorrow it really isn't worth discussing. The evidence that UConn is a candidate for the Big Ten is.... that there is no evidence UConn is a candidate for the Big Ten. It's something people on a message board have talked each other into.

One would think the UConn turned down the ACC nonsense would have died with HFD, but I guess he lives on in spirit.

 

[lne001]

The thing is, Rutgers has always had a big market and has always been located in an area of high school sports talent - in just about every sport imaginable. Yet they never win anything. They still go crazy over that epic third-place finish in 2006. Why? Because they have nothing else - literally nothing else since the Ford Administration - to brag about.

Yet changing their conference label to B1G is going to turn them from losers into winners? Overnight? Really?

Up until the early 70's Rutgers was a male only school, with some 4,000+ students, who played Ivy League schools, Yankee Conference schools, Lehigh, Laffayette and Bucknell. Sports were an extracurricular activity at best, but they were competitive at that level.

In the early 80's they decided to go bigger time in football and basketball, but with absolutely no financial support. This resulted in absolute failure, as would be expected. It was over 20 years later before they finally starting making any real efforts with the hiring of Schiano, but financials were still a burden.

Today it is a school with 42,000 students and an administration which finally thinks sports might be worth something. Membership in the B1G will rectify the financials shortly. Will they became a sports factory overnight? Of course not. Could they become one eventually? Who knows.

 

[Hoophound]

Here is some inside scoop: The Wake Forest car wash guy doesn't have any inside information. Neither does GS, The Dood, MH or any of our Gopher friends. There are probably 1,000 rumors that have been posted on this board and not a single one has come to fruition. If you don't think the ACC can add UConn tomorrow it really isn't worth discussing. The evidence that UConn is a candidate for the Big Ten is.... that there is no evidence UConn is a candidate for the Big Ten. It's something people on a message board have talked each other into. One would think the UConn turned down the ACC nonsense would have died with HFD, but I guess he lives on in spirit.

True. However, I don't think there will be any evidence we are being invited anywhere until we are invited. Gossip, rumors and reading of the tea leaves seems acceptable under those circumstances.

I remember thinking it was crazy to believe that RU coaches were telling recruits they were joining the Big Ten. I thought, "No way they'd do that and risk pissing off the Big Ten".

 

[lne001]

Right now you fall into that category of the RU fan chest thumping about being in the B1G. ...how bad your athletic facilities are. Pernetti helped you guys get into the B1G more than you will EVER know.

Chest thumping! Really. Which of my actual words is chest thumping?

Their athletic facilities are lousy, so why would you not want her to pressure for better? The exception is the football stadium seating 53,000 on campus (a facility that UConn would give its right nut for). A stadium, by the way, whose expansion the Rutgers Athletic Department is paying off as part of its budget.

Finally Pernetti's predecessor, Robert Mulcahy, was the one who did most of the heavy lifting. He, Pernetti and Herrman were all trashed by the Newark Star Ledger, a Jersey newspaper which launched a crusade against Rutgers athletics which makes the Courant look like UConn's biggest booster. The result was the firing of the first two. I expect Julie to do fine, as she trained under Tom Jurich, the guy who ate UConn's lunch.

Several posts above I wished UConn well in getting into the B1G. Please worry about your own house, Rutgers will worry about its.

 

[noeynox]

These are tweets right? I just searched '@MH3' and that twitter handle was for some Malaysian guy or something. Just wondering where this MH3 is spewing his b.s. from

Everyone knows Malaysia is where the true insiders reside.

 

[UConn9604]

Chest thumping! Really. Which of my actual words is chest thumping?

Their athletic facilities are lousy, so why would you not want her to pressure for better? The exception is the football stadium seating 53,000 on campus (a facility that UConn would give its right nut for). A stadium, by the way, whose expansion the Rutgers Athletic Department is paying off as part of its budget.

Finally Pernetti's predecessor, Robert Mulcahy, was the one who did most of the heavy lifting. He, Pernetti and Herrman were all trashed by the Newark Star Ledger, a Jersey newspaper which launched a crusade against Rutgers athletics which makes the Courant look like UConn's biggest booster. The result was the firing of the first two. I expect Julie to do fine, as she trained under Tom Jurich, the guy who ate UConn's lunch.

Several posts above I wished UConn well in getting into the B1G. Please worry about your own house, Rutgers will worry about its.

The only thing I'd want (and would not forego a testicle for) is an on-campus stadium. I've been to Rutgers Stadium (most recently in 2008, not since any recent expansion), and let's just say that I'd much, much rather have The Rent. It's not close, either.

 

[whaler11]

True. However, I don't think there will be any evidence we are being invited anywhere until we are invited. Gossip, rumors and reading of the tea leaves seems acceptable under those circumstances.

I remember thinking it was crazy to believe that RU coaches were telling recruits they were joining the Big Ten. I thought, "No way they'd do that and risk pissing off the Big Ten".

Sure, UConn could end up in the Big Ten. I still think UConn will end up in the ACC.

That's different than it's in the works or a foregone conclusion.

 

[whaler11]

True. However, I don't think there will be any evidence we are being invited anywhere until we are invited. Gossip, rumors and reading of the tea leaves seems acceptable under those circumstances.

I remember thinking it was crazy to believe that RU coaches were telling recruits they were joining the Big Ten. I thought, "No way they'd do that and risk pissing off the Big Ten".

Sure, UConn could end up in the Big Ten. I still think UConn will end up in the ACC.

That's different than it's in the works or a foregone conclusion.

 

[TruDomGopher]

Here is some inside scoop: The Wake Forest car wash guy doesn't have any inside information.

Neither does GS, The Dood, MH or any of our Gopher friends.

There are probably 1,000 rumors that have been posted on this board and not a single one has come to fruition.

If you don't think the ACC can add UConn tomorrow it really isn't worth discussing. The evidence that UConn is a candidate for the Big Ten is.... that there is no evidence UConn is a candidate for the Big Ten. It's something people on a message board have talked each other into.

One would think the UConn turned down the ACC nonsense would have died with HFD, but I guess he lives on in spirit.

True--and false. Yeah, I don't know anything but I do know that the persistent Notre Dame rumors I heard ultimately proved true. Yeah, I didn't know Rutgers was in the B1G until it was announced but there had been persistent rumors in B1G country. Yeah, I heard rumors about Maryland, too, and totally discounted them because I never thought that would happen. (Maryland really caught me by surprise even though I had heard it in the rumor mill.)

Yeah, I don't have know anything but there have been persistent rumors coming in from unlikely directions about UConn and not just message boards.

You can't live on hope forever but the rumor only has to come to fruition once. Meantime, the talk goes on...

 

[whaler11]

Chest thumping! Really. Which of my actual words is chest thumping?

Their athletic facilities are lousy, so why would you not want her to pressure for better? The exception is the football stadium seating 53,000 on campus (a facility that UConn would give its right nut for). A stadium, by the way, whose expansion the Rutgers Athletic Department is paying off as part of its budget.

Finally Pernetti's predecessor, Robert Mulcahy, was the one who did most of the heavy lifting. He, Pernetti and Herrman were all trashed by the Newark Star Ledger, a Jersey newspaper which launched a crusade against Rutgers athletics which makes the Courant look like UConn's biggest booster. The result was the firing of the first two. I expect Julie to do fine, as she trained under Tom Jurich, the guy who ate UConn's lunch.

Several posts above I wished UConn well in getting into the B1G. Please worry about your own house, Rutgers will worry about its.

You know where it's a great place to worry about Rutgers' house? Anywhere else in the world but here.