BlueandOG
We are not amused.
- Joined
- May 5, 2015
- Messages
- 1,498
- Reaction Score
- 7,484
In the end, the move to the NBE will be good for UCONN football. Here's why:
1). The AAC is a dead conference. Very few traditional rivalries, lots of travel, no real interest in the fan bases to see inter-conference games. Couple that with the emergence of legit football powers in UCF, Houston, USF, and Cinci. Other conferences are taking note of these schools for their own futures. Major conference realignment will happen again, and when it does, those schools will be poached. P6 will not happen, but P4 with uber-conferences may. The AAC is at it's crest and will crash within 10 years.
2). The AAC has damaged UCONN's crown jewels: women's and men's hoops. The main reason UCONN is not Buffalo is hoops (no disrespect to soccer or field hockey, which are awesome but not major fan draws). The NBE will immediately improve our hoops' present and future. This will improve UCONN's overall image, which will benefit all sports and academics.
3). UCONN football needs help. We cannot draw fan interest, recruit, or compete in the AAC and our program is historically bad. We recognize power football is important for UCONN, so we do not want to go FCS. Therefore, we need radical change. The best radical change would be an offer from a P5 conference. That is not going to happen in the near term. Therefore, the next best option is to be independent in football. We can get SNY or Fox to broadcast our games. We have a number of good teams scheduled over the next few years, including some P5 schools. We will be able to fill the upcoming schedules. Fans are more likely to attend a game against Duke or BC than Memphis or Tulane. Same goes for our recruiting pitch. Better to play non-conference P5 and G5 schools, other independents, and an FCS team to two rather than a non-inspiring AAC slate. If the program improves, we either make it work as an independent or make ourselves more attractive to the ACC or B10.
The future is brighter today than it was last week. People do not fear change, they fear loss. We have nothing to lose through this move. U!C!O!N!N! UCONN! UCONN! UCONN!
1). The AAC is a dead conference. Very few traditional rivalries, lots of travel, no real interest in the fan bases to see inter-conference games. Couple that with the emergence of legit football powers in UCF, Houston, USF, and Cinci. Other conferences are taking note of these schools for their own futures. Major conference realignment will happen again, and when it does, those schools will be poached. P6 will not happen, but P4 with uber-conferences may. The AAC is at it's crest and will crash within 10 years.
2). The AAC has damaged UCONN's crown jewels: women's and men's hoops. The main reason UCONN is not Buffalo is hoops (no disrespect to soccer or field hockey, which are awesome but not major fan draws). The NBE will immediately improve our hoops' present and future. This will improve UCONN's overall image, which will benefit all sports and academics.
3). UCONN football needs help. We cannot draw fan interest, recruit, or compete in the AAC and our program is historically bad. We recognize power football is important for UCONN, so we do not want to go FCS. Therefore, we need radical change. The best radical change would be an offer from a P5 conference. That is not going to happen in the near term. Therefore, the next best option is to be independent in football. We can get SNY or Fox to broadcast our games. We have a number of good teams scheduled over the next few years, including some P5 schools. We will be able to fill the upcoming schedules. Fans are more likely to attend a game against Duke or BC than Memphis or Tulane. Same goes for our recruiting pitch. Better to play non-conference P5 and G5 schools, other independents, and an FCS team to two rather than a non-inspiring AAC slate. If the program improves, we either make it work as an independent or make ourselves more attractive to the ACC or B10.
The future is brighter today than it was last week. People do not fear change, they fear loss. We have nothing to lose through this move. U!C!O!N!N! UCONN! UCONN! UCONN!