Playoff going to 12 in 2026 | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Playoff going to 12 in 2026

HUH?

I didn't see anything different in Rufus's posted article than stuff posted here a dozen times...

Yeah...the Big Ten will get paid gazillions.....Yes, the SEC will too,

And yes...other programs are, and will be, financially, circling in the outer ring of the solar system far from the warmth of the sun.
 
Rufus said:
UConn and UMass need to join CUSA in football only. I think that is the only conference where an invite might be possible.

The MAC would make sense, but they kicked out UMass a few years back for not joining in all sports.

AAC would make sense, but how likely would they want UConn back for football only?

MW is too far away and revenues wouldn’t make the extra travel costs worth it.

SBC would be interesting, but I don’t see them wanting to go to the northeast.
Expand ...
Sunbelt would be fun for UCONN and UMass, football only. ODU just knocked of VPI and the conference is already reaching up through Virginia and WV.

1662477012664.png
 
Kolumbo said:
Sunbelt would be fun for UCONN and UMass, football only. ODU just knocked of VPI and the conference is already reaching up through Virginia and WV.

View attachment 78845
Expand ...


It would be a fun conference for football, but the majority of the board prefers that we play a meaningless rag-tag schedule while we bide our time in G5 purgatory.

The people who claim they prefer an independent schedule with a pittance of P-5 games mixed in better show up at the Rent on Saturday. Talk is cheap.
 
Last edited:
1) Is there any conference that would add us as a football only?

2) Would that be worth jeopardizing our BE membership?

Note - when we rejoined the BE we agreed to not join a conference for football. I imagine joining the Sun Belt or CUSA would at a minimum kick in some financial penalty. The MAC is a non-starter as they require full membership.
 
.-.
Zissou said:
This year’s Indy schedule is way better than a Sun Belt conference schedule.
Expand ...

Says the Nova fan.

Did you notice that Sun Belt school GA State opened the season against South Carolina and plays North Carolina this week? They get a pittance of P5 games too before playing a meaningful conference schedule. Starting in 2026 they even get a shot at a playoff bid.
 
FfldCntyFan said:
1) Is there any conference that would add us as a football only?

2) Would that be worth jeopardizing our BE membership?

Note - when we rejoined the BE we agreed to not join a conference for football. I imagine joining the Sun Belt or CUSA would at a minimum kick in some financial penalty. The MAC is a non-starter as they require full membership.
Expand ...

That’s not exactly true…

1662483958984.png

… taking all sports and exiting the Big East altogether has exit fees attached (page 3 of agreement in hyperlink).
 
huskymedic said:
That’s not exactly true…

View attachment 78853
… taking all sports and exiting the Big East altogether has exit fees attached (page 3 of agreement in hyperlink).
Expand ...
So is Jim Mora considered "the University" and are his words in any way shape or form taking action to facilitate or encouraging any inquiries or the making of any proposal?

“My goal is that we’re a Power Five team,” Mora said.
 
Kolumbo said:
So is Jim Mora considered "the University" and are his words in any way shape or form taking action to facilitate or encouraging any inquiries or the making of any proposal?

“My goal is that we’re a Power Five team,” Mora said.
Expand ...
? Read the first sentence of (b).
 
Rankings are adjusted to the desired outcome not the other way around.

The top 6 conference champions will be the current P5 plus 1 current G5. The rest of the field will be filled with 2nd teams from the B1G and SEC, sometimes a third, ND unless they suck plus the next best from the other P5 leagues.

Unleas of course we get 5 SEC teams because SEC.
 
.-.
metsfan2323 said:
Says the Nova fan.

Did you notice that Sun Belt school GA State opened the season against South Carolina and plays North Carolina this week? They get a pittance of P5 games too before playing a meaningful conference schedule. Starting in 2026 they even get a shot at a playoff bid.
Expand ...
Ahhh, no. Take a look at the rest of their schedule and let us know specifically how it is better than ours (i.e. average SOS, top-20/25 opponents, regional rivals, etc).
 
FfldCntyFan said:
Note - when we rejoined the BE we agreed to not join a conference for football.
Expand ...
Sort of. We agreed not to pursue football membership until we had officially joined the Big East. There’s no prohibition against Connecticut being in a football only conference while it is a member of the Big East. Even that limitation only applied to P5 conferences, IIRC.
 
CTFAN4LIFE said:
Ahhh, no. Take a look at the rest of their schedule and let us know specifically how it is better than ours (i.e. average SOS, top-20/25 opponents, regional rivals, etc).
Expand ...
If we were in a G5 league with 8 conference games what would be stopping us from scheduling 4 P6 games?
 
Rufus said:
UConn and UMass need to join CUSA in football only. I think that is the only conference where an invite might be possible.

The MAC would make sense, but they kicked out UMass a few years back for not joining in all sports.

AAC would make sense, but how likely would they want UConn back for football only?

MW is too far away and revenues wouldn’t make the extra travel costs worth it.

SBC would be interesting, but I don’t see them wanting to go to the northeast.
Expand ...
I would just as soon stay Indy. I just don’t see the money in joining a league. At least now UConn has control of this schedule.
 
.-.
metsfan2323 said:
If we were in a G5 league with 8 conference games what would be stopping us from scheduling 4 P6 games?
Expand ...
Nothing... but at least being independent lets us schedule twice as many far more interesting games for our fanbase as opposed to the likes of those southeastern and southwestern teams that no one up here would get excited about. I'd say on this year's UConn schedule, the fan base is excited by 6 or 7 opponents whereas GA State's schedule has 3 or 4 opponents that would excite the fanbase... part of the reason why we left the AAC was because fans couldn't identify with almost all of the conference opponents (and while our team was pitiful, the opponents created no excitement for our fans either).
 
CTFAN4LIFE said:
Nothing... but at least being independent lets us schedule twice as many far more interesting games for our fanbase as opposed to the likes of those southeastern and southwestern teams that no one up here would get excited about. I'd say on this year's UConn schedule, the fan base is excited by 6 or 7 opponents whereas GA State's schedule has 3 or 4 opponents that would excite the fanbase... part of the reason why we left the AAC was because fans couldn't identify with almost all of the conference opponents (and while our team was pitiful, the opponents created no excitement for our fans either).
Expand ...

We didn't leave the AAC for football as much as we were kicked out after we decided to move all of our other sports. We wanted to stay for football and the AAC said no.

BTW it wasn't the AAC schedule that drove fans away as much as it was pitiful coaching hires producing pitiful football. Take a look at what UCF and Cincy accomplished with their AAC schedule. Most northeast fans only show up if the teams are putting a good product on the field.

I'll post the below schedule again. The laughable thing about the below opponents is that we have Boneyarders singing the praises of these independent home games when they are announced but God forbid we join a conference with teams like this. IMO these games would be far more interesting if they were conference games.

Here are our currently scheduled October and November home games after this year:

USF
Sacred Heart
Temple
Georgia State
FIU
UAB
UMASS
James Madison
Syracuse (the one outlier)
Army
Rice
Army.
 
Last edited:
metsfan2323 said:
We didn't leave the AAC for football as much as we were kicked out after we decided to move all of our other sports. We wanted to stay for football and the AAC said no.

BTW it wasn't the AAC schedule that drove fans away as much as it was pitiful coaching hires producing pitiful football. Take a look at what UCF and Cincy accomplished with their AAC schedule. Most northeast fans only show up if the teams are putting a good product on the field.

I'll post the below schedule again. The laughable thing about the below opponents is that we have Boneyarders singing the praises of these independent home games when they are announced but God forbid we join a conference with teams like this. IMO these games would be far more interesting if they were conference games.

Here are our currently scheduled October and November home games after this year:

USF
Sacred Heart
Temple
Georgia State
FIU
UAB
UMASS
James Madison
Syracuse (the one outlier)
Army
Rice
Army.
Expand ...
Our 2027 home slate:
Ole Miss
UNC
Syracuse
Temple
Army
Old Dominion
 
shizzle787 said:
Our 2027 home slate:
Ole Miss
UNC
Syracuse
Temple
Army
Old Dominion
Expand ...

That is impressive, but is not the norm. In theory we would be able to keep 2 of those 3 P6 home games even if we joined a conference.

Also as we have seen in the past, 2027 is long ways away, let's hope those P6 games stay on the schedule.

Have you taken a look at the current 2024 and 2025 home schedules? Yikes. Hopefully Benedict can pull a rabbit out of his hat to salvage those years.
 
Last edited:
metsfan2323 said:
That is impressive, but is not the norm. In theory we would be able to keep 2 of those 3 P6 home games even if we joined a conference.

Also as we have seen in the past, 2027 is long ways away, let's hope those P6 games stay on the schedule.

Have you taken a look at the current 2024 and 2025 home schedules? Yikes. Hopefully Benedict can pull a rabbit out of his hat to salvage those years.
Expand ...
2024-25 are the weakest schedules we have mustered. However, 21-22 and 26-28 are much better so I don't think that is a pattern. There is a rumor btw that an ACC P5 series will fit somewhere in that time frame.
 
.-.
metsfan2323 said:
Says the Nova fan.

Did you notice that Sun Belt school GA State opened the season against South Carolina and plays North Carolina this week? They get a pittance of P5 games too before playing a meaningful conference schedule. Starting in 2026 they even get a shot at a playoff bid.
Expand ...
I’m a UConn fan and I agree with him. Brands matter to this base. Stay in the Big East with indy football until the ACC or BIG come calling.
 
History Geek said:
I’m a UConn fan and I agree with him. Brands matter to this base. Stay in the Big East with indy football until the ACC or BIG come calling.
Expand ...

Fine, but lets be clear, indy is not P6, it is G5 without conference mates and it also means we have no shot at the G5 bowl bid starting in 2026. There is a crazy notion among some that independence puts us somewhere between the P5 and the G5, that is a delusional fantasy.

Keep going as an independent so we can get wasted on the road by Tennessee and Michigan instead of playing competitive games against Liberty, Western Kentucky. Have at it. It's delusion at its best.
 
Last edited:
I don't mind staying Indie short term but UCONN has a long road back. We have to hope that 1. Coach Mora can do a miraculous job getting UCONN back to winning and 2. It somehow gets an invite to the ACC. No other P2/P3 conference is an option. Joining a G5 conference at least gives the program a realistic goal: Winning a conference championship in the not too distant future. Not likely but a goal nevertheless.

What number are people comfortable with:. "If UCONN does not join a G5 conference, it will be Indie for a minimum of X years"
 
metsfan2323 said:
Fine, but lets be clear, indy is not P6, it is G5 without conference mates and it also means we have no shot at the G5 bowl bid starting in 2026. There is a crazy notion among some that independence puts us somewhere between the P5 and the G5, that is a delusional fantasy.

Keep going as an independent so we can get wasted on the road by Tennessee and Michigan instead of playing competitive games against Liberty, Western Kentucky. Have at it. It's delusion at its best.
Expand ...
Independent football at UConn will not be forever. It is a strategic decision to go this route as a potential bridge to getting into the ACC or the like. Leaving the AAC was the correct move for the AD as a whole. It has brought more fan interest, attendance, donations, and hope for a better future. Yes, a new football coaching staff was needed to bring us back up the football power standings - no matter what conference we were in or not. The upside with leaving the AAC is that (presumably) once football shows improvement, it positions us to make the jump to the ACC or its equal. If football doesn't improve enough/fast enough, then it leaves us having to stay independent or move into a G5 league for football.

Bowls are not once what they used to be. Pretty much becoming insignificant. Our chances of becoming top 12 to qualify for the CFP are likely 5 percent or less - even if we win 10 games. So, that shouldn't drive our decisions.

Being a glass is half full person, I am betting on football improvement and with the changing conference landscape a better conference situation.
 
CTFAN4LIFE said:
Independent football at UConn will not be forever. It is a strategic decision to go this route as a potential bridge to getting into the ACC or the like. Leaving the AAC was the correct move for the AD as a whole. It has brought more fan interest, attendance, donations, and hope for a better future. Yes, a new football coaching staff was needed to bring us back up the football power standings - no matter what conference we were in or not. The upside with leaving the AAC is that (presumably) once football shows improvement, it positions us to make the jump to the ACC or its equal. If football doesn't improve enough/fast enough, then it leaves us having to stay independent or move into a G5 league for football.

Bowls are not once what they used to be. Pretty much becoming insignificant. Our chances of becoming top 12 to qualify for the CFP are likely 5 percent or less - even if we win 10 games. So, that shouldn't drive our decisions.

Being a glass is half full person, I am betting on football improvement and with the changing conference landscape a better conference situation.
Expand ...
Those are all solid points. I could see kids wanting to play for Coach Mora because he really brings the energy and the experience. But outside of that, what is the big draw for a recruit in the short term? A chance to get pummeled by Michigan? Run out of Knoxville? A contributor to bringing some life back into a program so it may have a future? I think a kid needs some concrete goals and playing in a conference, any conference, adds that. I don't think any G5 conference will say sure, come play here until you get that ACC invite so it's probably a moot point, but you never know. The MAC seems perfectly content to be what it is but bringing in UCONN would add a little - something.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,359
Messages
4,567,643
Members
10,469
Latest member
xxBlueChips


Top Bottom