UConn is a Northeastern school that recruits Northeastern kids. And those kids didn't see the rivalries (East Carolina, Tulsa, SMU, Tulane) as exciting. Plus their parents couldn't drive to see those games.
We struggled to recruit out of the AAC. Put the Big East label on our back again...and the players were magnetically drawn back.
It's true that other schools (Houston, notably) did recruit well, but it was in their backyard. As the NE outpost, the AAC just wasn't a fit. Our only true close geographical rivals were Cincinnati and Temple, and those did nothing to inspire.
It may not be the answer that people like, but it's the truth/fact.