Probably a crazy question...

[weyuo]

Yes. I can see that in the future. Not 2014 or 15 but in the future for sure. I also see a UConn football program following in the footsteps of the basketball program. Perennially ranked, flirting with a national championship run every once in a while led by a hall of fame coach(not necessarily the one we have now but who knows). The problem a lot of people in CT have is they are just too cynical for their own good. I can see teams like Syracuse and Pitt begging back into the Big East, not us begging into what will soon be the 6th or 7th rated football conference, the ACC.

 

[06029]

People have been put in place that can make the Big East the only national conference. A unique, cutting edge, outside of the box concept.
I'll take the Big East any day.

Take a step back from being a Uconn fan and ask yourself how this outside the box, cutting edge concept appears to others. Is it really cutting edge to be a national conference? C-USA has been around for many years with the same concept and their best teams always leave for greener pastures. Is it outside the box to have a schedule with away games in all 4 time zones? When RU is playing SDSU with an 11 pm east coast start, are you staying up to watch it as a fan of the BE? How man RU fans are staying up to watch the entire Uconn-SDSU?

Say it was Uconn going to the ACC instead of Cuse, what would you say about the BE? You would look at it, shrug your shoulders, say good luck and enjoy the FB road trips. And remind them that on the positive side you still get to play Gtown and Nova in MSG doing the BET.

The bottom line is the quality of the games and the matchups. Boise is a huge leg-up for the BE there. But after that, there is no perennial power or top 10 team or team that has a history of drawing eyeballs to TV sets from anywhere in the country for FB.

Uconn and Uconn fans need to make the best of the situation and need to play the BE as the cutting edge out of the box new super conference. I can even smile with confidence when I say it to my SEC-centric and B1G centric clients. But, sometimes, even Febreeze can not cover up reality.

 

[Rondogg]

They Hate us and we Hate Them? Who are US and Them - Boneyarders and Eagleoutsiders? So do you think 40,000 fans in the Rent or Alumni hate each other? I bet the NORMAL fan of both schools do not - just us obsessed internet posters.

The only game that needs to be on Rivalry Week is BC/UConn, the Battle for New England. The one and only time they came to the Rent people threw bottles at their buses. We despised the way they turned their noses at us when we joined the league. They are hated them for leaving the BE and then black balling us from the ACC. They were the only team during the initial raid that just didn't make sense, almost like they were trying to kill a BE where they were a founding member...they WERE trying to kill us. Then they vowed to never play us again in CF and Calhoun vowed to never play them again in BB. They hate our BB team more than they hate our FB team.

Rutgers is a manufactured rivalry. The BC rivalry is f'real. Better happen in my lifetime.

 

[clmssun]

It is great to read about the UConn-BC rivalry here. Substitute USF (we've never accomplished anything, but we've been anointed and promoted; "____" is not our rival) for BC and substitute UCF (bigger school; for no real justifiable reason, "left behind" in realignment until now; reviles "____" who arrogantly denies rivalry of any kind) for UConn, and you will witness a great rivalry in the NNBE...

 

[SectionKK]

I’m a BC fan, but I promise I’m legitimately not trying to troll here. I’ve lived in CT since I graduated in 2005. I’m not sure how I came across this board, but I’ve found it fascinating (and occasionally enraging) to see what some UConn fans think of conference realignment. I won’t go into all of my opinions on that here, but I’ll just say that I’m very happy with BC’s current home in the ACC.

One question have for you all is where the perception of BC football as a perennial doormat in the ACC comes from. For example, a poster above refers to BC as “everyone’s scrimmage team.” I will be the first to admit our team last year was terrible, and we will probably be bad against this year. I am not a fan of Spaz or GDF. But to say that BC has not fared well since moving to the ACC or that the football team has suffered from a competitive standpoint is just wrong.

2005 Atlantic Coast Conference 9–3 5–3
2006 Atlantic Coast Conference 10–3 5–3
2007 Atlantic Coast Conference 11–3 6–2 #
2008 Atlantic Coast Conference 9–5 5–3 #
2009 Atlantic Coast Conference 8–5 5–3
2010 Atlantic Coast Conference 7–6 4–4
2011 Atlantic Coast Conference 4–8 3–5


Overall record is 58-33 and 33-23 in conference. Conference championship games in 2007 and 2008. I won’t get into too many other numbers, but I feel like the perception among UConn fans is based on one season, namely last season. Can someone explain this to me?

 

[Husky68]

I’m a BC fan, but I promise I’m legitimately not trying to troll here. I’ve lived in CT since I graduated in 2005. I’m not sure how I came across this board, but I’ve found it fascinating (and occasionally enraging) to see what some UConn fans think of conference realignment. I won’t go into all of my opinions on that here, but I’ll just say that I’m very happy with BC’s current home in the ACC.

One question have for you all is where the perception of BC football as a perennial doormat in the ACC comes from. For example, a poster above refers to BC as “everyone’s scrimmage team.” I will be the first to admit our team last year was terrible, and we will probably be bad against this year. I am not a fan of Spaz or GDF. But to say that BC has not fared well since moving to the ACC or that the football team has suffered from a competitive standpoint is just wrong.

2005 Atlantic Coast Conference 9–3 5–3
2006 Atlantic Coast Conference 10–3 5–3
2007 Atlantic Coast Conference 11–3 6–2 #
2008 Atlantic Coast Conference 9–5 5–3 #
2009 Atlantic Coast Conference 8–5 5–3
2010 Atlantic Coast Conference 7–6 4–4
2011 Atlantic Coast Conference 4–8 3–5


Overall record is 58-33 and 33-23 in conference. Conference championship games in 2007 and 2008. I won’t get into too many other numbers, but I feel like the perception among UConn fans is based on one season, namely last season. Can someone explain this to me?

The whole ACC is viewed as a dormat (your term, i'd use sucks) not just BCU. Last years BE winner who was 5-2 in league, tied with 2 other teams and lost to both of the 1 win BE teams kills the ACC champ who goes 7-1 in league and you wonder why BCU and the rest of the ACC is held in such low regards (doesn't help that all the Puke and Fruit higher ups at ESPN are having the ESPN talking heads pimping for ACC, power 5 this ). BCU is just a below the median ACC team (not average as ACC has some real stinkers that it's hard to be worst than). From 2008 to 2011 a majority of ACC teams were "about one game from .500" with a couple of really bad teams to give the other teams some victories (like Ol Miss, Miss State, Vandy, Tenn and Kentucky in the SEC where they were 7-33 in league last year - wonder why so many SEC teams have double digit wins).

ACC:
2008 10 teams were either 4-4 or 5-3 in league; 1 team at 1-7. Someone had to represent the Atlantic division this year.
2009 6 teams were from 3-5 to 5-3 in league; 1 team at 1-7 and 2 at 2-6.
2010 7 teams were either 4-4 or 5-3 in league: 3 teams at 1-7.
2011 8 teams were from 3-5 to 5-3 in league; 2 teams at 1-7.

You should be happy about the ACC for a home as it has helped BCU from a competitive standpoint in football and basketball. Now that you get Pitt and Fruit you may have enough 1-7 teams to get more than just one or two ACC teams with double digit wins like the SEC (as long as you don't play too many CAA teams).

 

[uconnbaseball]

I’m a BC fan, but I promise I’m legitimately not trying to troll here. I’ve lived in CT since I graduated in 2005. I’m not sure how I came across this board, but I’ve found it fascinating (and occasionally enraging) to see what some UConn fans think of conference realignment. I won’t go into all of my opinions on that here, but I’ll just say that I’m very happy with BC’s current home in the ACC.

One question have for you all is where the perception of BC football as a perennial doormat in the ACC comes from. For example, a poster above refers to BC as “everyone’s scrimmage team.” I will be the first to admit our team last year was terrible, and we will probably be bad against this year. I am not a fan of Spaz or GDF. But to say that BC has not fared well since moving to the ACC or that the football team has suffered from a competitive standpoint is just wrong.

2005 Atlantic Coast Conference 9–3 5–3
2006 Atlantic Coast Conference 10–3 5–3
2007 Atlantic Coast Conference 11–3 6–2 #
2008 Atlantic Coast Conference 9–5 5–3 #
2009 Atlantic Coast Conference 8–5 5–3
2010 Atlantic Coast Conference 7–6 4–4
2011 Atlantic Coast Conference 4–8 3–5


Overall record is 58-33 and 33-23 in conference. Conference championship games in 2007 and 2008. I won’t get into too many other numbers, but I feel like the perception among UConn fans is based on one season, namely last season. Can someone explain this to me?

Probably from Gene Defilippo's incompetent regime. I don't "like" BC, but can certainly respect your program's success under Jags and Tom O'Brien. It appears that GDF has screwed all of that up.

Your struggles clearly have nothing to do with entering the ACC. UConn fans that argue that point, yet still insist that the ACC sucks, are obviously making a contradiction. I would be very interested in seeing the state of mind from UConn fans if the ACC invites us and Rutgers to crush the Big East's chance of getting a decent contract (the odds of this are extremely unlikely, of course). I wonder how quickly the anti-ACC propaganda on this board will disappear.

With that said, I don't feel there's that big a gap on the field between the two conferences, and have facts & statistics on my side. The ACC no longer has the edge at commissioner either.

 

[uconnbaseball]

For the record, we don't mind BC posters like you. We do mind trolls/aliasses like observer who are not even bold enough to admit who their favorite team is.

 

[weyuo]

06029 wrote: "Take a step back from being a Uconn fan"
Why do I need to take a step back from being a UConn fan? I think the Big East is going to come out of this smelling like a rose and we'd be fools to leave now. Why is it that so many of you want into the ACC so bad? THEY DON'T WANT US OR WE WOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN INVITED!! How hard is that to understand? Get off your knees guys and quit grovelling to them. It's embarrassing.

"C-USA has been around for many years with the same concept"
C-USA is basically a middle America conference, not a coast to coast conference like the Big East seems to be turning into. With weekend games on from noon till the wee hours what more could a college football fan ask for? No one else will be able to boast that What happens if 2 more schools from the west join up..say BYU & Air Force to really shore up that western side of the conference. With an enticing TV deal I could see them jumping in. I could see a 16 team league. 8 in the west and 8 in the east with the Mississippi as the dividing line.

I seriously doubt we will see a Rutgers/SDSU game starting at 11pm est. Give the schedulers a little more credit than that man.

"The bottom line is the quality of the games and the matchups. Boise is a huge leg-up for the BE there. But after that, there is no perennial power or top 10 team or team that has a history of drawing eyeballs to TV sets from anywhere in the country for FB."
And who is running to their TV sets to watch BC vs Duke? At least in the Big East you have teams on their way up. Boise still has things to prove. SDSU has tasted success so you know their fans are hungry. SMU at one time was a top 5 team. Now everyone knows how they fell from grace but give them time and that rabid fan base they once had will be back with a vengeance. Side note: The first game SMU played post Death Penalty was against.... yes you guessed it, UConn. So we owe them one and I'm sure the next time down there will be pretty interesting. I can see a future Memphis/ Louisville rivalry in basketball and football. When those teams beat some quality out of conference foes and get ranked that could turn into a must see game. Temple has a good coach, a pro stadium down the street and all of Eastern PA to themselves as potential viewers/ticket buyers. Give them a few years and that band wagon will fill up fast.

Now eye balls to TV sets from anywhere in the country.....as of 2012, your right. Give teams like UConn a few more years to grow their football programs and this league could be loaded. But whether we are here or in the ACC, national eye balls won't be watching UConn football till we start taking down the big boys. So why can't we do that in a conference where we are wanted, instead of begging to be included where we are not?

 

[Marty Jackson]

Take a step back from being a Uconn fan and ask yourself how this outside the box, cutting edge concept appears to others. Is it really cutting edge to be a national conference? C-USA has been around for many years with the same concept and their best teams always leave for greener pastures. Is it outside the box to have a schedule with away games in all 4 time zones? When RU is playing SDSU with an 11 pm east coast start, are you staying up to watch it as a fan of the BE? How man RU fans are staying up to watch the entire Uconn-SDSU?

Say it was Uconn going to the ACC instead of Cuse, what would you say about the BE? You would look at it, shrug your shoulders, say good luck and enjoy the FB road trips. And remind them that on the positive side you still get to play Gtown and Nova in MSG doing the BET.

The bottom line is the quality of the games and the matchups. Boise is a huge leg-up for the BE there. But after that, there is no perennial power or top 10 team or team that has a history of drawing eyeballs to TV sets from anywhere in the country for FB.

Uconn and Uconn fans need to make the best of the situation and need to play the BE as the cutting edge out of the box new super conference. I can even smile with confidence when I say it to my SEC-centric and B1G centric clients. But, sometimes, even Febreeze can not cover up reality.

Totally get what you're saying...
When Uconn is faced with decsion, many would suggest the ACC is the best spot. But, it appears that if Uconn were to go to the ACC, it wouldn't be the ACC that we know today. And, there is the contract that is a significant variable in the decision as well.

Here's the deal. When Syr, Pitt, and WVU left, with UofL teetering, I was dead set on Uconn leaving the BE. The new additions are interesting because there is potential. And over the last couple weeks there is a positive feel coming from the conference. I don't think its as much a foregone conclusion that leaving the BE is the best for Uconn.

 

[junglehusky]

I've said it before, I'll said it again. When/if UConn joins the ACC, it won't be because of TV contracts or football or basketball. It will be because of regional ties (pretty much the whole OBE is now in the ACC) and because of ACC academics. Note I'm not saying that all of the ACC schools are awesome, but they are elite eastern public research U's (plus Duke). UConn wants not only eyeballs for sports revenue but they want to attract the best HS kids to improve academics and by associating with the UNC's, UVA's and yes even Maryland and Duke, UConn's admissions will benefit long term. I love Cincy, USF and Louisville, they're improving academically, but they're not where UConn wants to be in the future. And the NNBE additions are not any better, and/or are in different time zones. UConn wants to admit East Coast kids who also applied to the ACC schools I cited above. I would wager there would be barely a handful of kids who want to go to SMU or SDSU, who see us play them and then decide to attend UConn instead. But that might happen for students from the mid-atlantic or the carolinas who grow up watching UNC playing UConn on the gridiron and on the hardwood.

The ACC could lose FSU, Clemson and whoever else, get dumped by the Orange Bowl, ESPN could annul the contract for a discount, and UConn would still say yes the instant the ACC calls. Well, maybe not that instant if the NBC contract is extra juicy, but they'll definitely take the call at least.

 

[whaler11]

I've said it before, I'll said it again. When/if UConn joins the ACC, it won't be because of TV contracts or football or basketball. It will be because of regional ties (pretty much the whole OBE is now in the ACC) and because of ACC academics. Note I'm not saying that all of the ACC schools are awesome, but they are elite eastern public research U's (plus Duke). UConn wants not only eyeballs for sports revenue but they want to attract the best HS kids to improve academics and by associating with the UNC's, UVA's and yes even Maryland and Duke, UConn's admissions will benefit long term. I love Cincy, USF and Louisville, they're improving academically, but they're not where UConn wants to be in the future. And the NNBE additions are not any better, and/or are in different time zones. UConn wants to admit East Coast kids who also applied to the ACC schools I cited above. I would wager there would be barely a handful of kids who want to go to SMU or SDSU, who see us play them and then decide to attend UConn instead. But that might happen for students from the mid-atlantic or the carolinas who grow up watching UNC playing UConn on the gridiron and on the hardwood.

The ACC could lose FSU, Clemson and whoever else, get dumped by the Orange Bowl, ESPN could annul the contract for a discount, and UConn would still say yes the instant the ACC calls. Well, maybe not that instant if the NBC contract is extra juicy, but they'll definitely take the call at least.

I think you can even throw out academics. Schools would rather play geographic rivals. San Diego State might sound great in a television fantasy land that doesn't actually exist. The lifeblood of college sports is rivalries and most are built because of fans living in close quarters.

 

[Adios]

I think it's possible we are going to land a crazy contract, remain and help other schools develop for a while. SMU and Rutgers are also top notch, academically. Then move onto more traditional pastures.

 

[Waquoit]

But to say that BC has not fared well since moving to the ACC or that the football team has suffered from a competitive standpoint is just wrong.

No, it's not. The football team has sucked for three straight years. They will suck this year. When is the last time they have sucked for four straight years? The basketball team used to be good. Now they are a national joke. The only program with a drop juice in Chestnut Hill is not affiliated with the ACC. Down is up and up is down in BCU world.

 

[Srqhusky]

8-4 is suck?

Remind me what was your record when you got curb stomped in the Fiesta Bowl?

I am pretty sure he was referring to your 4-8 last year record and getting curb stomped by a nbe member

 

[SAMCRO]

Remember when BC got curb stomped in their BCS bowl? I can't either.

 

[Waquoit]

UConn didn't get curb stomped in that game. And it would have been closer if we didn't have an ACC guy coaching.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

They've sucked in basketball for the most part, that's a fact. Football has, on the whole, stayed the same middle of the road program as it always was.

Where they've REALLY sucked is from a fan support/TV/market perspective. There's the unofficial "BC Bowl Selection" rule, the fact that attendance and TV numbers for both ACCCG games BC was a part of were utterly abysmal, and that they've not brought in the ratings or consistent media attention for the Boston TV market. In fairness, their "dream season" in '07 probably would've garnered more attention around here than it did had it not been at the exact same time that the Red Sox won the world series, which dwarfed it in terms of coverage.

 

[DobbsRover2]

They've sucked in basketball for the most part, that's a fact. Football has, on the whole, stayed the same middle of the road program as it always was.

Where they've REALLY sucked is from a fan support/TV/market perspective. There's the unofficial "BC Bowl Selection" rule, the fact that attendance and TV numbers for both ACCCG games BC was a part of were utterly abysmal, and that they've not brought in the ratings or consistent media attention for the Boston TV market. In fairness, their "dream season" in '07 probably would've garnered more attention around here than it did had it not been at the exact same time that the Red Sox won the world series, which dwarfed it in terms of coverage.

Actually, BC moved up one place in the college rankings for home attendance last year. Problem is, they dropped about 3,000 fans per game, and capacity is down to 80%. So there does appear to be a sucking sound being emitted. Now UConn attendance totals aren't much better, but it did pass BC last year into 63rd with BC at 64th, though the attendance for the Huskies also dropped 1600 and capacity was down to 91%. Obviously some games might have discouraged high attendance, though that could be true for both teams. UConn doesn't have to deal with CCGs, but BC's freezer affect is pretty clear within its conference.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I think you can even throw out academics. Schools would rather play geographic rivals. San Diego State might sound great in a television fantasy land that doesn't actually exist. The lifeblood of college sports is rivalries and most are built because of fans living in close quarters.

Nope. If rivalries mattered so much, Nebraska would still be playing Oklahoma.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

If UConn and Rutgers were to be the 15th and 16th members of the ACC, I would say leave in a heartbeat. But I don't see UConn ever being invited to join the ACC unless the ACC has been raided itself, at which point the decision is not clear cut.

 

[Hoophound]

If UConn and Rutgers were to be the 15th and 16th members of the ACC, I would say leave in a heartbeat. But I don't see UConn ever being invited to join the ACC unless the ACC has been raided itself, at which point the decision is not clear cut.

I find it hard to believe that the acc isn't talking about expanding ahead of NBE tv negotiations. Last chance to cripple the NBE before there is no going back.

 

[UConnDan97]

I find it hard to believe that the acc isn't talking about expanding ahead of NBE tv negotiations. Last chance to cripple the NBE before there is no going back.

It's like a runner's kick in a marathon: they don't have to do that until about 45 days are gone in the 60 day negotiation window with ESPN (who will clearly lowball us). At that point, the talk will begin, about 2 weeks in front of any NBC / FOX negotiations...

 

[pj]

At some point ESPN has to ask if crippling the NBE isn't more expensive than buying it.

To get Syracuse and Pitt into the ACC, they had to not only add $17 mn each to Cuse and Pitt, but raise the other 12 ACC teams. They don't get any additional properties for the money they pay to bribe ACC teams.

If they bought the NBE rights, they at least get all the additional property.

The tension in the ACC shows that Fla State, Clemson, and probably others don't want more northern bball-rich fball-poor (as they believe) schools joining the ACC. I think they will veto expansion. The ACC will not cross Fla State and Clemson now, football holds all the cards.

Fla State and Clemson could be bribed, but that would be prohibitively expensive to ESPN.

I think the only conference with a major motive to expand is the Big 12, which wants 12 for a conference championship game. After that the next motive will be when the Big Ten TV contract comes up and they decide if they want to chase northeast media markets after a hard look at how much money it adds.

 

[freescooter]

If the ACC called, my only question would be "when do you want us? "

 

[zls44]

At some point ESPN has to ask if crippling the NBE isn't more expensive than buying it.

I ask again: what is your proof, other than a flippant statement by a BC AD, that they are actively conspiring to devalue a property they actively have rights to?

Proof. Actual, credible, proof. Not Clay Travis or Mean Gene. People who have a clue.

 

[pj]

I ask again: what is your proof, other than a flippant statement by a BC AD, that they are actively conspiring to devalue a property they actively have rights to?

Proof. Actual, credible, proof. Not Clay Travis or Mean Gene. People who have a clue.

Sensitive, aren't we?

Means: As the party controlling the vast majority of sports TV dollars, ESPN had the ability to bring the parties together on a deal. All of these football deals and conference realignments are TV driven, every conference exec has said so. It's not just Flipper, although he provides evidence that that's exactly what happened in this case.

Motive: They have ACC rights for 15 years, BE for 9 months. Increasing the value of the ACC and decreasing the value of the BE improves their position.

Opportunity: The ACC had a submarket contract which it wanted to renegotiate, and BE teams were looking to jump. This created the opportunity to broker a deal.

"Proof" doesn't exist, but a rational person doesn't need to wait for facts that only insiders have before forming a plausible speculation.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Yes, I take the ACC, gets us back with our BE friends and allows us to play BB vs UNC, Duke, Pitt and Syr every year. It also gets us back to our true main rival BC. Even if VT and FSU left, we would be in a better position.

Absolutely. The ACC would be UConn's best bet. . .period. For Football, for Basketball, for Soccer, for Baseball. A conference with North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, NC State, Miami, Syracuse, BC, Duke et al would be terrific.

In the unlikely event that teams jump ship and the ACC crumbles - and the BE would be in a position to add 3 teams . . . UNC, NC State or Virginia and Maryland. Syracuse, BC and Miami can join Conference USA.

 

[IMind]

I ask again: what is your proof, other than a flippant statement by a BC AD, that they are actively conspiring to devalue a property they actively have rights to?

Proof. Actual, credible, proof. Not Clay Travis or Mean Gene. People who have a clue.

I'm not arguing with you. You have a reasonable position... I, for one, think DeFilippo let the cat out of the bag... but I don't think there's definite proof... but just out of curiosity here's a question for you...

Hypothetically: If shortly after ESPNs exclusive negotiating period with the Big East ends... and we don't have a contract with ESPN. If when the Big East is on the cusp of getting a NBC deal the ACC suddenly offers one or two Big East teams conference membership... would that in your mind be proof that ESPN is manipulating the ACC, or just another coincidence?

 

[UConnDan97]

I'm not arguing with you. You have a reasonable position... I, for one, think DeFilippo let the cat out of the bag... but I don't think there's definite proof... but just out of curiosity here's a question for you...

Hypothetically: If shortly after ESPNs exclusive negotiating period with the Big East ends... and we don't have a contract with ESPN. If when the Big East is on the cusp of getting a NBC deal the ACC suddenly offers one or two Big East teams conference membership... would that in your mind be proof that ESPN is manipulating the ACC, or just another coincidence?

The documents that are out there and have been copied onto the Boneyard (by me on multiple occasions, along with others), not just pertaining to DeFillippo, but also to Nordenberg (Pitt), are more than enough to say that ESPN took on more than an advisory role in the situation. If ZLS doesn't want to buy that statement, and if he requires fingerprints and DNA evidence, so be it. But I highly doubt that ZLS will cave in, even if your scenario plays out (I should let him answer that for himself, I suppose, but that is my guess).