Report: UConn Going To Big East For 2020-2021 Season

[Rico444]

Well there are some who root against the football program and are gleeful about what this could mean for the football program, and any bad news that happens to them. And while that might be a minority, its still a noticeable number of people

You're right, and as a basketball fan it makes me cringe to see those people purposefully dancing on football's grave. But there are plenty of football-only people that detest the basketball teams too and hate that the university makes decisions in its best interest. Of course the university is going to do that when the football team 1) hasn't been remotely good in almost a decade, 2)doesn't have the history to justify holding on and bleeding money any longer, and 3) doesn't have a realistic path to becoming a great program, or in lieu of that, one good enough to make us attractive to a P5 conference and the cash cow of major college football.

The men's basketball team was a national powerhouse for a decade and already had a national championship before the football team even went D-I. The idea that it's selfish for the university to protect their strongest brands at the expense of a program that's been around for less than 20 years really isn't that surprising. And honestly, I would argue it's a no-brainer.

 

[upstater]

Perhaps UConn can be the start of the trend to decouple football and Olympic sports. Why not?

I always thought that football should be treated like College Hockey when it comes to conferences. You can make the football conferences with a bigger geographic footprint while leaving everything else on a regional conference.

I guess I can dream...

If you like basketball, that is a horrible trend.

Because the P5 schools are saying, "By all means, decouple it."

 

[upstater]

Totally. If more fans showed up last year, no way do we go 1-11. I totally blame the losses to UCF and Cincy on this fanbase. What else could it be?

While I agree, surely you can make an argument that the lack of support resulted in a $1 million salary coach like Edsall, which just piled onto the trouble.

 

[Adios]

Butch it’s totally your choice if you want to keep believing in Santa Claus but it’s seems like you are just taking it way too personal that the vast majority of us KNOW that it was our parents leaving those presents under the tree for us.

Of course it hurts. What can I say? It's all good. And it's not make believe. We screwed up in football over the past almost 10 years. Had we not...

Since we got a bunch of Drake fans here, it's God's plan.

I am sure it will work out in the long run. But we sure made it might possibly take longer now.

 

[Danzz]

Dear Basketball-Only Fans,

The football team averaged an attendance of about 21,000 last year. For an abysmal team. After years of toiling away.

These people Bleed Blue. They are loyal to UConn. They are alumni, they are Connecticut residents, they are boosters, they are fans.

They want what is best for UConn. For football and almost certainly for basketball as well. I don't know any football fans who don't also root for the basketball team.

For us, it's tough, because it feels like this is probably the death of the program. A program that beat WVU on a cold November night in overtime. The team that went to Notre Dame and beat them. The team that beat Pitt on a rocking night by going for it on a 4th down knowing they'd get those few yards. The team that beat South Carolina in a bowl game.

Those memories are precious to us, and it hurts to realize that there probably won't be any new memories like that.

We hoped that the AAC would not kill the basketball program. Memphis was there. Cincinnati. Houston. Wichita State came in. We didn't want the basketball team to suffer, of course. But the hope was that, if the football team could become respectable again, then maybe, just maybe, in the next wave of P5 realignment, we might be considered. It was probably never going to happen. But at least we had a tiny shred of hope.

But those dreams now seem dead. And for thousands and thousands of UConn football fans, that hurts.

And you're dancing on their graves? Calling yourself a UConn fan?

I think this was probably the right move. Maybe the only move. I don't know. It seems as if there are no options left.

But if you're a real UConn fan, then perhaps you shouldn't take such glee from the death of a program followed by thousands of your fellow UConn fans and alumni. Perhaps your constant denigration of the football team doesn't make you a better UConn fan. Maybe it just means you a jerk.

Anyway. I've made a ton of great memories following the football team, tailgating with friends, screaming U-C-O-N-N after touchdowns. Enjoying beautiful afternoons with the Hartford cityscape in the background. And I'm sad that the program seems in a death spiral.

I'm happy for the basketball programs. Cause I'm a real UConn fan.

If you're celebrating the slow death of UConn Football, are you?

It is unfortunate that UConn football couldn't take the next step after the first Edsall era. We couldn't recruit enough good players to be competitive. We needed a JC and got coach P and there is plenty of blame to go around. We didn't get a P-5 invite and there is none in the near future. An Edsall retread wasn't the answer and his recruiting has been a disaster.
There is nothing to celebrate here. UConn football had a chance to to be something other than what it has become. UConn football fans supported the team during the worst of times and deserved a better program to root for.
We were stuck in a conference because of our football commitment that never made any sense for UConn. It became time to cut our losses and move to the BE where at least we have some regional rivalries. I have mixed feelings: excitement over playing a BE basketball schedule and disappointment over the football situation.

 

[husky429]

Dear Basketball-Only Fans,

The football team averaged an attendance of about 21,000 last year. For an abysmal team. After years of toiling away.

These people Bleed Blue. They are loyal to UConn. They are alumni, they are Connecticut residents, they are boosters, they are fans.

They want what is best for UConn. For football and almost certainly for basketball as well. I don't know any football fans who don't also root for the basketball team.

For us, it's tough, because it feels like this is probably the death of the program. A program that beat WVU on a cold November night in overtime. The team that went to Notre Dame and beat them. The team that beat Pitt on a rocking night by going for it on a 4th down knowing they'd get those few yards. The team that beat South Carolina in a bowl game.

Those memories are precious to us, and it hurts to realize that there probably won't be any new memories like that.

We hoped that the AAC would not kill the basketball program. Memphis was there. Cincinnati. Houston. Wichita State came in. We didn't want the basketball team to suffer, of course. But the hope was that, if the football team could become respectable again, then maybe, just maybe, in the next wave of P5 realignment, we might be considered. It was probably never going to happen. But at least we had a tiny shred of hope.

But those dreams now seem dead. And for thousands and thousands of UConn football fans, that hurts.

And you're dancing on their graves? Calling yourself a UConn fan?

I think this was probably the right move. Maybe the only move. I don't know. It seems as if there are no options left.

But if you're a real UConn fan, then perhaps you shouldn't take such glee from the death of a program followed by thousands of your fellow UConn fans and alumni. Perhaps your constant denigration of the football team doesn't make you a better UConn fan. Maybe it just means you a jerk.

Anyway. I've made a ton of great memories following the football team, tailgating with friends, screaming U-C-O-N-N after touchdowns. Enjoying beautiful afternoons with the Hartford cityscape in the background. And I'm sad that the program seems in a death spiral.

I'm happy for the basketball programs. Cause I'm a real UConn fan.

If you're celebrating the slow death of UConn Football, are you?

The only thing I've learned from this is that football fans are pretty dramatic.

 

[Rico444]

Of course it hurts. What can I say? It's all good. And it's not make believe. We screwed up in football over the past almost 10 years. Had we not...

I don't think anybody disagrees with you that had they hired a better coach after Edsall left, they'd be in a much better spot now, maybe even P5, but at the very least well positioned for an invite. The problem is we can't go back in time, and right now we aren't anywhere remotely close.

 

[djct1999]

While I agree, surely you can make an argument that the lack of support resulted in a $1 million salary coach like Edsall, which just piled onto the trouble.

Of course. This was the perfect storm of bad and fingers can be pointed in many directions. The fans, though, are the least to blame.

 

[kemba]

You're right, and as a basketball fan it makes me cringe to see those people purposefully dancing on football's grave. But there are plenty of football-only people that detest the basketball teams too and hate that the university makes decisions in its best interest.

Yea that's fair. I don't see it from football people nearly as much, but it's stupid from any group of fans.

I don't think everyone needs to care about every sport, its supposed to be entertainment, like what you like. But its mind boggling the number of people who flat out hate certain UConn teams but are fans of others.

 

[Waquoit]

Agreed. I just hate this idea that the “basketball fans” don’t want a successful football program to root for.

I can't agree more. No one has attended more Rent FB games than me. I'm still going to go. But FB and the AAC was like a huge drowning guy pulling everyone around him down. We had to cut loose. I especially hate the "well you had a Top 25 recruiting class". Talk about disrespect. That a 4-time champion should be content with a Top 25 class.

 

[Waquoit]

While I agree, surely you can make an argument that the lack of support resulted in a $1 million salary coach like Edsall, which just piled onto the trouble.

The overwhelming majority of Yard fans rejoiced when that hire was made. To use it as you do here is dishonest.

 

[UconnU]

Best part about this move is it basically means the only place Hurley will bounce to is the NBA. UConn in the Big East is as close as you can get to the mountain top in NCAAB. There's now a 0% chance we would ever need to worry about a move to Seton Hall since they will be in our conference

Yep. Only place he would realistically leave for is like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, etc and the only way he is offered one of those jobs is if we completely dominated the big east, competed for national titles.

 

[upstater]

The overwhelming majority of Yard fans rejoiced when that hire was made. To use it as you do here is dishonest.

You're living on another planet this morning.

The facts: UConn went cheap because it couldn't afford to do better. It has now admitted it does not care about a future in football.

I mean, it went cheap, it got cheap, and it went cheap because the fanbase had withered.

 

[kemba]

The overwhelming majority of Yard fans rejoiced when that hire was made. To use it as you do here is dishonest.

1. It was more mixed than you say
2. Most of the approval was in the context of our financial situation and that this was the best we could really do, not "OMG the legend RE is back."

 

[Towney007]

Whoever said this might be a trend setter might be onto something.

But in the very least, I think UConn is the kind of situation that's kind of it's own animal - and this whole thing might work out for everyone. I'm fine with them moving on from football, but what I would say is - in a weird way, Independence might work out for UConn. Or at least work out a little better.

If they can put together a home schedule people actually want to see - and they very well might - it might actually end up being a net positive for the institution. It's going to take a lot of doing, but at this point they can only go up. I hope they do, too.

But the school needed to leverage its strengths. This had to be done.

 

[upstater]

Whoever said this might be a trend setter might be onto something.

But in the very least, I think UConn is the kind of situation that's kind of it's own animal - and this whole thing might work out for everyone. I'm fine with them moving on from football, but what I would say is - in a weird way, Independence might work out for UConn. Or at least work out a little better.

If they can put together a home schedule people actually want to see - and they very well might - it might actually end up being a net positive for the institution. It's going to take a lot of doing, but at this point they can only go up. I hope they do, too.

But the school needed to leverage its strengths. This had to be done.

A strong argument can be made that this will be a trendsetter, but remember what happened at UAB. People were fired for devaluing football.

This won't be a trend down south, but it may resonate in the MAC and at UMass...

 

[aburks41]

Yep. Only place he would realistically leave for is like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, etc and the only way he is offered one of those jobs is if we completely dominated the big east, competed for national titles.

Calipari is never leaving UK with his new 'lifetime' contract, Self is probably a lifer at KU, and I don't think Duke will ever be in the cards for Danny. Maybe for Bobby, but Danny has no personal tie to Duke. And you're right, if he was ever #1 on the list for any of the schools, that means hes probably won at least 2 more titles here, and at that point, would those schools really be an upgrade over 6x national champs UConn? I say no.

 

[Waquoit]

1. It was more mixed than you say
2. Most of the approval was in the context of our financial situation and that this was the best we could really do, not "OMG the legend RE is back."

Not true at all, you and upstater only say that now because he has been a dud. Anyone that wasn't on-board then was steamrolled by the apologistas. By the way, has anyone heard from sportsart lately?

 

[Waquoit]

A strong argument can be made that this will be a trendsetter, but remember what happened at UAB. People were fired for devaluing football.

You do know what the "A" in UAB stands for, don't you?

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

As bad as we are in football lately this league is insane if they think they are better off adding North Texas or Georgia State as a full member than letting our football hang around.

UConn is still very much a name in college athletics. You can still use our image in marketing. You can still hang our flags in your arenas. You can claim our national championships.

I think the best move for everyone is a Wichita State type deal for VCU and us staying in football.

Travel is once every other year so it’s basically a non-factor.

We’ll see what happens to their $1B media deal with us gone.

Seems like a no-brainer to me but hey.
If they don’t want us, I have some hope that there is something in the works that keeps football afloat or even improving our status.

 

[outlaw]

can we please knock off the football people vs basketball people mantra? Huskies are Huskies.

 

[Towney007]

A strong argument can be made that this will be a trendsetter, but remember what happened at UAB. People were fired for devaluing football.

This won't be a trend down south, but it may resonate in the MAC and at UMass...

I guess what i've really learned in this is that part of what has made this whole process so awful for all of us is that we are just a really weird outlier - and answers aren't really cut and dry for us like they would be for someone else.

We are a school who's entire brand was built around basketball - but is a large state university that had SO MUCH success in those areas that it had the budget to add football. It made the football move and truth be told - it was a pretty good gamble. Sure, hoops would have to push a little harder to get recruits, but whatever. Sure, travel was nuts, but whatever. If the football team could be good - we'll still get good $$, P5 will be on the table until we're in and all's good.

Then the football program literally caved in. Coaching messes, bad recruiting, all of it. Hoops then totally imploded under a checked out head coach. Conference wasn't interesting enough in either sport to sustain attendance and live gates took a huge hit. It was kind of one of those - perfect storm/everything that could possibly go wrong DID go wrong situations.

Football hurt hoops, hoops hurt football. Hoops couldn't be good enough to buy football more time. Football's existence put us in a conference that basically made every hoops misstep hurt us times 1000.

Now everything is crap, so basically - they've gotta get out while they can. Protect your strengths (hoops) and hope that independence in football can hopefully lead to a decent home schedule people want to see. They go to games, maybe the team can get to .500.. Hoops looks primed for a big bouceback... then who knows - in a few years maybe a conference says 'man, UConn looks ok enough to bring in' and they do something with it. If they fail, then we're going to fill in a monster hole in the budget. From the athletics dept standpoint - it's the best overall play, I think.

But we're just such a weird situation - i'm not sure there's a good comp.

 

[upstater]

You do know what the "A" in UAB stands for, don't you?

I wrote about the south, did I not?

You think it would be any different at Southern Mississippi? I don't.

Hell, Georgia State just started.

 

[upstater]

Not true at all, you and upstater only say that now because he has been a dud. Anyone that wasn't on-board then was steamrolled by the apologistas. By the way, has anyone heard from sportsart lately?

To be honest, I haven't really followed football during Randy's 2nd time. I checked out mid-Diaco.

All I stated was a fact: they cheaped out on a coaching hire.

 

[CL82]

I don't think anybody disagrees with you that had they hired a better coach after Edsall left, they'd be in a much better spot now, maybe even P5, but at the very least well positioned for an invite.

I do. The fix for the Pasqualoni and Diaco was never going to be that simple.