So how did UConn do against Temple and Tulane this past season? Everyone keeps saying how weak the AAC is, but UConn can't seem to beat these teams.90% of what BD is saying is spot on. He did a good job of taking accountability for why the fans aren't showing up.
I think the flaw in his argument about the non-conference schedule is that conference games in the AAC are weak. If you are at Iowa in the Big 10, it's okay to schedule cupcakes out of conference when you know you are going to play Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin within the conference. But when your conference includes Temple and Tulane...you need to play strong out of conference schools to give the fans a good home schedule to watch and to build your bowl profile.
I don't think he's saying their weak. I think he's saying that there's no interest in playing them. Even when we were pre-Big East and played Temple there was no interest. The point he was making was that the Iowas and Wisconsins of the world schedule cupcakes because their home slates for conference games include power programs that people have interest in watching. We could schedule UMass, URI, Buffalo, and a directional Michigan school every year if we're playing a B1G or even an ACC schedule for the rest of the year. Playing Temple, Tulsa, Tulane, etc....not really drawing the casual fans interest, let alone the die hard fan.So how did UConn do against Temple and Tulane this past season? Everyone keeps saying how weak the AAC is, but UConn can't seem to beat these teams.
So the key to turning the program around is playing cupcakes.
Too much is made of what the matchup is? Yeah we are sheep who'd rather watch a win against Norfolk State than a competitive game in either direction against a legitimate opponent.
I know when we were good you could barely tell the difference between Murray State, Virginia, Pittsburgh and Lehigh. I treasure the win against Rhode Island - that was sweet.
I don't think he's saying their weak. I think he's saying that there's no interest in playing them. Even when we were pre-Big East and played Temple there was no interest. The point he was making was that the Iowas and Wisconsins of the world schedule cupcakes because their home slates for conference games include power programs that people have interest in watching. We could schedule UMass, URI, Buffalo, and a directional Michigan school every year if we're playing a B1G or even an ACC schedule for the rest of the year. Playing Temple, Tulsa, Tulane, etc....not really drawing the casual fans interest, let alone the die hard fan.
I don't think anyone is arguing that being on National TV is a bad thing. The simple point is that scheduling cupcakes works when your fans, both casual and die hard, care about who you play in conference. Right now, we don't have that so scheduling cupcakes or non-regional teams is hurting us. I understand that no regional teams outside UMass will schedule us because they are a bunch of c%^kblockers but it's still the reality UConn must face and fix to get fans into the stadium.I agree but remember, the whole point of the AAC TV deal with games on Fridays is to gain exposure for the conference so the AAC games develop more interest. What hurts the process is when the fans see empty stadiums. As it has been written this is a growing problem everywhere but definitely has to be addressed. On that note, I believe UCONN should be selling tickets for $5.00 just to get fans in the seats.
The exposure for the conference on the Friday night and weekday games is very helpful for brand development.
Here are some stats from the Nielsen ratings:
Friday, August 29
0.7 1.08M 7:00 PM BYU/UConn ESPN
0.7 955K 10:30 PM UNLV/Arizona ESPN
0.4 592K 9:00 PM Colorado St./Colorado FS1
0.1 221K 9:00 PM UTSA/Houston ESPNU
Over one million viewer saw UCONN play BYU
Friday, September 19
1.0 1.36M 8:00 PM UConn/USF ESPN
1.36 Million watched the nightmare in Tampa last year
Saturday, September 27
0.1 109K 4:00 PM Temple/UConn ESPNEWS (YOU ARE RIGHT NO INTEREST)
0.2 309K 3:30 PM Wake Forest/Louisville ESPNU
Then again only 109,000 tuned in on Saturday to watch UCONN Temple. Louisville Wake Forest didn't do much better with 309,000. This shows the value of exposure from the Friday night games for UCONN and the American
Thursday, October 23
0.8 1.22M 7:30 PM Miami/Virginia Tech ESPN
0.3 395K 7:00 PM UConn/ECU ESPNU
UCONN ECU drew almost 400,000 fans up against Miami-VA Tech which isn't too bad considering they were going head to head.
My point in posting this is Mike Aresco is correct in his strategy that although somewhat inconvenient the Week day games are excellent exposure for the growth of the American.
Whaler you missed the point and are focusing on the cupcakes rather than the Marketing strategy. Yes-Marketing. College Football is a business and the subject is getting cheeks in the seats. What Diaco is saying is regardless of who you play (within reason), a 4-0 start gets the fan base buzzing and creates tremendous momentum. Conversely an 0-4 start dissipates fan interest and kills the season. Early on, it takes time (kind of like pre season) for the team to jell and gain confidence. It would be great if every win came against top 25 and P5 teams but that is not reality. Further a loss to a Towson State or a Villanova can put an even bigger dent in the image than a loss to Missouri. For UCONN, Villanova and Army are must wins next year and at the same time could easily be losses.
Although the emphasis of the P5 is strength of schedule for playoff purposes, I did a little checking for next year and Florida State plays Texas State, TN Chattanooga. Clemson plays Wofford and Appalachian State (MI losing to them was a disaster for their program) Alabama plays LA Monroe, Middle TN and Charleston Southern.
I agree, with Diaco, too much is made of matchups. Not saying you play all FCS teams but we have to WIN. If UCONN starts winning and going to bowl games the fans will come in spite of the increased competition everywhere for the entertainment dollar. Beating Missouri and or BYU would be huge for UCONN. In case you haven't noticed the American provides some pretty formidable competition. Winning a championship in this league is no small task by any means.
I didn't miss it. I disagree. Schedule matters with respect to attendance.
People were somewhat excited about BYU and Boise. Nobody was excited about Stony Brook.
People are planning trips to Missouri. People went to Michigan.
Kalamazoo not so much.
Yes, schedules definitely matter when it comes to attendance. We added 2000 temporary seats for the Michigan game so no argument here. The subject is creating a long term winning atmosphere again at UCONN. So in that regard having a few less intense games helps us get there quicker. Folks at Alabama don't get as excited for Charleston Southern as they do for LSU anymore than UCONN women fans get excited for College of Charleston as compared to Notre Dame. No question who we play matters but we are in the early critical stages of a program rebuild and ending the losing streak and going bowling needs to be a top priority.
If it's a short term strategy to get some wins it makes some sense.
But the idea they can use Wisconsin's strategy is silly. They have a strong conference schedule. UConn does not.
He isn't even really right about those teams anyway. Unless Wisconsin scheduling teams like Alabama OOC is similar. Kansas State only has 3 OOC games - they are known for scheduling nothing OOC and had Auburn this year.
Sorry, but I don't think UCONN's American conference schedule is weak.
I didn't finish the post. See above post.I know I'm worried for you.
I didn't finish the post. See above post.
noeynox said:This program is so low at the moment, that I actually agree with him in this. Priority number one has to be to get back to winning. As far as marquee opponents, the likes of Illinois and Indiana are going to be the highlights of our schedule at home as we go forward. I'm okay with that. Win some games and score touchdowns and that will bring people back.
just can't believe that we are worse now than when we moved to 1A.
It doesn't make me any less worried for your mental faculties.