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Message: [QUOTE="DarthGrumpy, post: 1598739, member: 2141"] Am I and most of the board here a fan of UConn? Yes. Do most UConn fans have major issues with BC with respect to how DeFilippo & co. treated your conference partner of 20 some odd years? Yes. Does that make us act as 'homers,' which from you is the the pot calling the kettle black, yes and proud of it. That said, at UConn fans will at least consider some of the facts unlike BC fans who still plant their flag on Doug Flutie's in 1984 and BC's two losses in the ACC championship championship game in '07 & '08 as somehow equaling football 'greatness' while UConn's loss in the BCS First Bowl in '11 as meaningless. Now, for some of your points... Flagship - I have said it before, Flagship is huge when it comes to potential sports and academic revenue and the B1G's moves have clearly highlighted this fact especially on today's TV network environment. It was not an issue when the B1G first formed in 1896, which is when Northwestern and Purdue helped create the conference. Michigan St joined much later in 1950, back when there were only 3 TV networks; but, I think most can agree that they are as close to being flagship status as one can get similar to Texas A&M, Florida St, and UCLA (Cal is actually the California flagship). Since adding Michigan State in 1950, the next 4 schools added to the B1G have all been flagships - Penn St in '90, Nebraska in '11, and Maryland and Rutgers in '14. And as noted before, the B1G is seen as a lock to be a P4 conference, the ACC and its two flagships are not. Market - I'll give you that BC has a strong presence in RI, NH and ME, somewhat even stronger that within I-495 itself because of the number of transplants Boston draws in. So, that gives BC control of the 52nd largest market in Providence, 77th largest market in Portland ME, and 93rd in Burlington VT while Manchester NH is part of the Boston market. UConn owns the Hartford/New Haven market, which is the 30th largest in the US. Oh, by the way, BC does not own all of Mass. Western Mass has UMass and UConn also has a strong presence due to the natural link between Springfield and Hartford. As for NYC, Long Island, downstate NY (Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, etc. counties), Fairfield County, NYC proper and North Jersey each have about 20% of the TV market. Rutgers is the lead team in North Jersey and that is it. That is why if the B1G or any other conference wants to control NYC, it will need more than 1 team. And UConn has a presence there, just watch clips from UConn's run in the NCAA games at MSG in '14. Also, if UConn has no presence in NYC and Boston, then how come they are usually included in the local 6 PM news broadcast in both cities as I saw them last night on ABC 7 last night and few weeks back, a friend who lives along I-495 noted that they were on ABC 5 in Boston? Lastly, I agree that ND si a sepertae animal. Success - See above, UConn owns basketball while we can debate as noted above if UConn's BCS game has equal or less wight that Doug Flutie and BC's two ACC championship games until the end of time. Facilities - UConn has a basketball and indoor football practice facilities. BC has [U]proposed[/U] an indoor football practice facility. There is a big difference between having an existing facility than proposing a facility that does not have funding nor has it been approved by the powers that be in Boston and Newton yet (good luck with that by the way). Oh, UConn did not seem to have a problem drawing in Michigan alumni for their home game at the Rent a few years back while BC had to play an away game at Fenway against ND. Clear advantage - UConn. Finally, Boston is a great college city, much better than Storrs; but, that does mean that BC has to share the spotlight with the Red Sox, Pats, Celtics, Bruins, etc. BC is also a very good university and has a national brand, just like UConn does. But, does BC fit with the B1G? Note sure. For example, every B1G member has a medical school (Indiana/Purdue own a joint school whereas Michigan St just opened one a few years back) and BC does not. Also, many of the B1G schools are solid in engineering, i.e. the 'E' in STEM. BC does not and in fact resemble more of an elite liberal arts school. That's a big issue when it comes to research dollars, something that the B1G cares about. [/QUOTE]

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