Podcast with John Silver of The UConn Daily

[LoyalFanCT]

I would just add that the prior UConn Board of Trustees, the then-governor and legislative leaders should have insisted all UConn administrators take the ACC invite seriously. If it flopped, they would be fired -- kind of seriousness. In retrospect, ACC membership would have sent UConn's reputation much higher nationally, both in terms of academics and athletics. I still think an ACC invite is possible for UConn if men's basketball, football and some other sports can once again be elite status. Our fan base demographics --and what it can provide the ACC -- is a major plus.

 

[noeynox]

UConn got outmaneuvered, plain and simple. We had it in the bag. Tobacco Road was on our side and all we had to do was act serious about football and schmooze FSU and Clemson. Instead we hired a retread in Pasqualoni, let our sports clueless president do all the talking (embarrassing) and waited patiently. Jurich got out there, showed that UL was financially and culturally committed to athletics and lobbied the northern schools to push against UConn because it was best for them while lobbying the southern schools not to give Tobacco Road another vote.

It wasn’t that hard a sell for Jurich but it should have never happened. We should have hired a name coach after the Fiesta Bowl and taken our AD to a whole new level. It was clearly our fault sitting on our hands while Jurich was out lobbying. It’s been published a million times, he worked the phones, he visited ACC schools. He did it all, not just for UL but for himself. He was aggressive about achieving excellence in athletics AT UL. We seem to hire people looking to make the jump to the very highest tier of academics or athletics. Career administrators. We have long needed to hire people with a deep passion for winning AT UConn. I want people with a love for the school and an internal fire to win for our school and state. Do you see Danny Hurley’s passion and pride from admiring UConn from afar for years? He loves the passion in the state, he pounds the logo at center court the other day as a signal of unbridled passion. This guy has the determination that Jurich had at UL. A charismatic and powerful motor to get things done.

I think an empowered Dave Benedict could have gotten us into the ACC. I blame this on Susan Herbst, the best president in UConn history was weak on sports. Just the way it was.

Thank you.

 

[Exit 4]

I just think that deep inside the dark halls of ESPN they didn’t like the numbers UConn would bring in and so they help tip the scales to another choice another choice that would potentially bring in more revenue in the short term and in the long term.

We had tacit support from tobacco Road but that was it.

I think if it wasn’t Louisville another wrench would’ve been thrown into the mix. they wanted a new state to spread the footprint.

By "they" I mean ESPN, "they" have the money "they" were paying "they" would be the final decision maker

 

[Exit 4]

UConn got outmaneuvered, plain and simple. We had it in the bag. Tobacco Road was on our side and all we had to do was act serious about football and schmooze FSU and Clemson. Instead we hired a retread in Pasqualoni, let our sports clueless president do all the talking (embarrassing) and waited patiently. Jurich got out there, showed that UL was financially and culturally committed to athletics and lobbied the northern schools to push against UConn because it was best for them while lobbying the southern schools not to give Tobacco Road another vote.

It wasn’t that hard a sell for Jurich but it should have never happened. We should have hired a name coach after the Fiesta Bowl and taken our AD to a whole new level. It was clearly our fault sitting on our hands while Jurich was out lobbying. It’s been published a million times, he worked the phones, he visited ACC schools. He did it all, not just for UL but for himself. He was aggressive about achieving excellence in athletics AT UL. We seem to hire people looking to make the jump to the very highest tier of academics or athletics. Career administrators. We have long needed to hire people with a deep passion for winning AT UConn. I want people with a love for the school and an internal fire to win for our school and state. Do you see Danny Hurley’s passion and pride from admiring UConn from afar for years? He loves the passion in the state, he pounds the logo at center court the other day as a signal of unbridled passion. This guy has the determination that Jurich had at UL. A charismatic and powerful motor to get things done.

I think an empowered Dave Benedict could have gotten us into the ACC. I blame this on Susan Herbst, the best president in UConn history was weak on sports. Just the way it was.

This is a fine narrative. I just simply put more weight in the notion that media ran with the idea that UConn had the invite in the bag, but inside the ACC and the bean counters at ESPN that was far from the case. They wanted a larger state, with good potential for long run growth (demographically) and that wasn’t already covered by the existing footprint.

Don’t get me wrong, UConn has plenty of merits to get that last ACC slot, I just think that the truth of the matter is that it came down to a nudge from ESPN and the southern schools wanting a football add.

I think it’s possible if it wasn’t Louisville they might have delayed the decision another month to ponder some other ideas like Cincy.

I’m not looking to be disagreeable or persuade others, just sharing my view of what really went down. I’m not a believer that an all world campaign by Herbst and Warde would have ever changed the football problem and the ESPN bean counter argument.

 

[uconnric]

I think Louisville garnered support from Florida State and other southern schools concerned mostly about football. Our support was probably from the northern and Carolina schools. Warde probably could've done more, but in the end football drove the bus.

 

[buddy]

The trip to the Bahamas at that time was not a good look. I don't know anything else, but it always has been on my mind, whether right or wrong. Thank you hoophound for that excellent summary.

 

[Hoophound]

This is a fine narrative. I just simply put more weight in the notion that media ran with the idea that UConn had the invite in the bag, but inside the ACC and the bean counters at ESPN that was far from the case. They wanted a larger state, with good potential for long run growth (demographically) and that wasn’t already covered by the existing footprint.

Don’t get me wrong, UConn has plenty of merits to get that last ACC slot, I just think that the truth of the matter is that it came down to a nudge from ESPN and the southern schools wanting a football add.

I think it’s possible if it wasn’t Louisville they might have delayed the decision another month to ponder some other ideas like Cincy.

I’m not looking to be disagreeable or persuade others, just sharing my view of what really went down. I’m not a believer that an all world campaign by Herbst and Warde would have ever changed the football problem and the ESPN bean counter argument.

They didn’t get a better market.

 

[Exit 4]

They didn’t get a better market.

Its been debated ad nauseam here. What no one here really knows and even the best business analysts at ESPN probably still guess at is the marginal benefit question of UConn vs Louisville. We all can pretend we know here, but I doubt anyone that participates on this board is that deeply knowledgeable about the cable box/cable ad/marginal gain metrics that drive these decisions. Its never been clear that adding UConn would add cable boxes to the ACC platform in a meaningful way given the proximity of BC and Syracuse that largely have the market covered (pains me to say!). Meanwhile Louisville has the potential to add southern Indiana, southern OH and all of Kentucky; three markets that are clearly new to the ACC platform with no internal contenders.

Yes, I know we can squawk all about Syracuse being a private school with limited in roads to NYC or that BC as a private catholic school will never have the full support of New England that a public school like UConn would be able to muster. However, those two points are moot for both of those schools are in the club and therefore the die is cast. The burden of proof is on us, not them.

Our best bet is that we will continue to see far flung conferences stressed by fan disinterest (ie like the AAC). If far flung conferences become out of vogue, the business analysts driving the financial decisions might see more value in regional sports again and thus make us a bit more attractive.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Louisville had the jump on UConn re sports infrastructure. We had a high school baseball field, they had a nice stadium. Papa Johns was big and growing , we had the Rent which was fine. Louisville was pouring money into athletics, UConn was not. Bottom line, FSU Clemson cabal got their way to rest power from the basketball centric conference.

 

[TheDoggPound]

I don't buy we ever had a chance at the ACC based on what we offered in terms of infrastructure.. the XL Center, Gampel, The Rent and the facilities for Olympic sports 10 years ago were not enticing and still aren't - at least the first 3. Meanwhile, Louisville renovated their football stadium and built the KFC Yum! Center, we looked and still look small time in comparison to our peers in these areas. It's 2020 now and Gampel just got wifi, the XL Center is still a political landmine with no end in sight and The Rent will need an infusion of funds soon to stay ahead of the curve. Why would the ACC want to marry into that? Look at the hockey arena for instance. We can't even build that in a timely fashion. I doubt Hockey East is thrilled with our ineffectiveness on that front the past few years and has been a headache for them

 

[TheDoggPound]

Louisville had the jump on UConn re sports infrastructure. We had a high school baseball field, they had a nice stadium. Papa Johns was big and growing , we had the Rent which was fine. Louisville was pouring money into athletics, UConn was not. Bottom line, FSU Clemson cabal got their way to rest power from the basketball centric conference.

I swear when I was typing up my thoughts I didn't see your post. You put it much more succintly than me, though.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

I don't buy we ever had a chance at the ACC based on what we offered in terms of infrastructure.. the XL Center, Gampel, The Rent and the facilities for Olympic sports 10 years ago were not enticing and still aren't - at least the first 3. Meanwhile, Louisville renovated their football stadium and built the KFC Yum! Center, we looked and still look small time in comparison to our peers in these areas. It's 2020 now and Gampel just got wifi, the XL Center is still a political landmine with no end in sight and The Rent will need an infusion of funds soon to stay ahead of the curve. Why would the ACC want to marry into that? Look at the hockey arena for instance. We can't even build that in a timely fashion. I doubt Hockey East is thrilled with our ineffectiveness on that front the past few years and has been a headache for them

If we had gotten into ACC state likely would have expanded the Rent and renovated XL Center.

 

[hardcorehusky]

If we had gotten into ACC state likely would have expanded the Rent and renovated XL Center.

It's the State of Connecticut you are talking about. Nothing different would have occurred!

 

[Waquoit]

When do we admit FBS FB was a mistake? Perkins said without FBS FB our BB would suffer. Just the opposite happened. And UConn's broke.

 

[Waquoit]

Auriemma and Calhoun had such outsized personalities and i always got the sense from other administrators that the institution was difficult to work with. It was never anything specific.

I think it's because people that work at UConn have always been so arrogant. I've always felt that and it was confirmed by Herbst in her first op-ed as UConn president. One of her bullet points was "UConn is not arrogant."

I happened to be standing by myself at a pre-road game alumni reception when this huge guy appeared, stuck out his big mitt and said, "Hello Waquoit (nametags), I'm Lew Perkins!" I stick out my hand and before I say a word or shake, he was gone! So I'm standing by myself in the middle of the room with my hand out, hoping no one noticed and hear my brother say, "Lucky you, you got better-dealed by Lew Perkins!"

Litlle thing, I know. But I think it's example of the way they did business when things were flying high. And when things went south, there was no one to lend a hand. Or even think about lending a hand. Hell, you had chump schools like UHar piling on.