Seth Davis tweet: ND in early but signIficant talks with ACC

[buckley503]

If it is a football based decision and I just threw up in my mouth writing this but I think RU beats us out for a final spot based on support from both school and fans. Not saying that the support from school is misguided (bankrupting the school) but they do a good job of promoting and filling the stands and having close ties to NJ the Rutgers brand is growing even amongst the casual fans.

 

[geordi]

Whether you want to believe it or not, athletic success is not solely the determining factor. We've been extremely successful in basketball (men's and women's), soccer, field hockey, baseball lately, and yes, even football to a lesser degree. That should have considerable impact. Location should have impact as well, or else we might be talking about TCU or Boise State for the ACC. But academics is the cultural fit they are looking for and talking about. That serves us well, especially looking at the recent movement to top 20 state schools, $1B research partnership, etc. All in all, athletics is a win over Rutgers as an ACC candidate, location is a win for Rutgers, academics is probably more of a wash with a slight edge to us. All of this, though, is speculation...board talk. The reality is we just have to suck it up and wait to see what they are going to do. If ND goes, the 16 team could be us, Rutgers, or someone else no one has yet thought of, Temple, Delaware, (horrors) UMess, or just stay at 15.

 

[Revrat]

You need crappy teams too. Nobody wants to be in a league where you don't stand a chance unless you are a school that is willing to be a Duke, Vandy or Northwestern. But you do need some good teams or you may never get to a BCS game because your SOS is too low. Thats what FSU is worried about. they see football getting too watered down. The ACC is set up to be the weakest league they will do whast best to improve football. Unfortunatley that probably means RU. Best thing for UConn is for the RU to B12 to come true

 

[CTpessimist]

If this is true, B1G needs to act by Friday (to pick up UConn & Rutgers) or they give up NYC.

This has to be done by FRIDAY!!

(I'm busy Saturday)

How cool would it be if Saturday afternoon right after kick off, DJ Joey started playing who let the dogs out as the jumbo tron reads UConn is leaving the big east and accepted by the (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, etc...)

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

Let's take our blinders off! I get it, UConn FB is a young program with some successes. And the FB program plays like a young program.......it is not very good.......it is not a very exciting brand of football. Nobody in other BCS regions of the country will forgo an ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, PAC 10 FB game to tune to watch UConn play someone in a "head to head" time slot competition.

As much as I have supported UConn FB the past 40 years, I understand fans in other conferences being reluctant to adding UConn FB to their programs. Just review performance of the team this past Saturday. I'd gladly take any of Tom Jackson's or Skip Holtz's 1-aa teams from 1985 to the start of the 1-a era over this team. At least those players could run, throw, catch and tackle with consistency. And they were exciting to watch.

UConn FB is its own worst enemy right now.

Totally agree. Well, if Uconn is not picked to go alongside ND to the ACC if such a thing were to ever happen, you can certainly thank Mr. Hathaway for the completely uninspired hire of PP. Its hard to sell yourself to a potential conference when a fanbase is so apathetic that only hundreds of fans are left in the 4th quarter of a conference game and the "new" coach is 61 years old, is not good in front of the camera, and offers little hope for the future. If Uconn had hired RichRod or Addazio or Golden or someone who might have been able to sell hope of the future, it might completely change the perception of the Uconn football program. Do you ever hear an announcer say or read a columnist say "yes, Uconn is down this year, but PP has them moving in the right direction. Recruiting is picking up, etc.?" No, you don't. Generally, his hire was mocked nationally. There isn't anyone outside of Storrs or the remainder of the shrinking fanbase who thinks Uconn football isn't going to be a bottom dweller for the foreseeable future. Hopefully he can recruit some good players and the local QB can win the job and gets fans excited again. I just hope its not too late for the program and the athletic department.

It isn't going to be pretty when they announce season ticket sales are down to 15,000 next year. I couldn't give away my 12 tickets this year, and my buddies whom I share tickets with are doubtful to re-up next year despite having kids who they bring to the games. And if there is no invite to the ACC or Big 12 or Big 10, they might have to make a decision if they want to invest in a football program to compete at a FBS level. It just sucks

 

[Ts5034]

If Rich Rod even wanted the Uconn job last year which i dont think he had any interest, he would have bailed out to a better job just like Kelly and Edsall the last two yrs.

 

[SubbaBub]

If RU is picked over Uconn, it will be because NJ has 11m TV sets and CT has 4m. There is no other reason.

 

[metsfan2323]

If RU is picked over Uconn, it will be because NJ has 11m TV sets and CT has 4m. There is no other reason.

Thank you. The notion that we would have P and Hathaway to blame is absurd.

 

[jpm25]

For what its worth I play golf regularly with someone from middle management at the SEC office (below comm. but above schedule maker) He has made comments several times about the fact that some in college sports see Uconn as a high maintenance, beautiful, girl friend. Marrying her needs to be considered carefully. The two most prominent people on the Uconn athletic side, JC & GA, to not get along and there has never been anyone nominally higher up who was strong enough to matter. This makes some AD's who have their own primadonas, (Saban, etc.) unconfortable.

don't see how that is a conference issue.

Dear any AD in the country: you can have only one of the following two things: men's andomen's head coaches that like each other, or men's and women's head coaches that win at least 3 national championships each. Which will it be? You have 10 days to decide.

What's that? You have decided already? What? I'm the idiot?

 

[uconnfan68]

Whether you want to believe it or not, athletic success is not solely the determining factor. We've been extremely successful in basketball (men's and women's), soccer, field hockey, baseball lately, and yes, even football to a lesser degree. That should have considerable impact. Location should have impact as well, or else we might be talking about TCU or Boise State for the ACC. But academics is the cultural fit they are looking for and talking about. That serves us well, especially looking at the recent movement to top 20 state schools, $1B research partnership, etc. All in all, athletics is a win over Rutgers as an ACC candidate, location is a win for Rutgers, academics is probably more of a wash with a slight edge to us. All of this, though, is speculation...board talk. The reality is we just have to suck it up and wait to see what they are going to do. If ND goes, the 16 team could be us, Rutgers, or someone else no one has yet thought of, Temple, Delaware, (horrors) UMess, or just stay at 15.

RU is an AAU school. That trumps UConn.

 

[upstater]

RU is an AAU school. That trumps UConn.

An AAU school cutting programs like mad while their rep drops like a rock.

 

[flyonthewall]

I Know football drives the but how much recent success have pitt and Syracuse had?

Recent success is not the only thing that matters. Whether a school is a 'brand' also does and Pitt and SU are still more of a brand in FB than UConn.

Think back to the games earlier this year when Pitt and Syracuse were on ESPN. The announcers went over the history of the schools, guys like Tony Dorsett, Dan marino, Bill Fralic, Mark May, Mike Ditka, etc. and national championships and the Heisman trophy for Pitt. For SU it was guys like Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Floyd Little, Al Davis, etc. plus a national championship and Heisman trophy. Like it or not that kind of history makes a school a 'brand' and a brand can withstand a few down years.

Putting it another way, if Pitt, SU and UConn were all playing the same team in a televised game people with no particular affinity for any of those three schools are more likely to watch the games involving Pitt and SU and the other team than they are as far as a game with UConn simply because they know much more about the 'name' or 'brand' of Pitt and SU than they do about UConn.

Basketball UConn is a top brand, for FB something less and right now as far as conference expansion FB is what matters.

 

[Adios]

If ND is not going to join in football full-time, Rutgers and UConn will probably both get invites. Personally, I'd rather go to the B1G...

 

[upstater]

Recent success is not the only thing that matters. Whether a school is a 'brand' also does and Pitt and SU are still more of a brand in FB than UConn.

Think back to the games earlier this year when Pitt and Syracuse were on ESPN. The announcers went over the history of the schools, guys like Tony Dorsett, Dan marino, Bill Fralic, Mark May, Mike Ditka, etc. and national championships and the Heisman trophy for Pitt. For SU it was guys like Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Floyd Little, Al Davis, etc. plus a national championship and Heisman trophy. Like it or not that kind of history makes a school a 'brand' and a brand can withstand a few down years.

Putting it another way, if Pitt, SU and UConn were all playing the same team in a televised game people with no particular affinity for any of those three schools are more likely to watch the games involving Pitt and SU and the other team than they are as far as a game with UConn simply because they know much more about the 'name' or 'brand' of Pitt and SU than they do about UConn.

Basketball UConn is a top brand, for FB something less and right now as far as conference expansion FB is what matters.

I just took a cursory look at the rankings during Syracuse's heyday. Cuse was ranked 6 times that decade, but check this out:

1960:
Navy, Yale, New Mexico St. ranked ahead of it.

1961:
Utah St., Rutgers, Rice, Duke in top 20

1962:
Duke, Northwestern

1963:
Navy #2, Memphis St.

1964:
Princeton, New Mexico, Tulsa

1965:
Tulsa

1966:
Wyoming, Houston

1967:
Wyoming #4, Houston

Houston finished ranked 5 times that decade.

It was a different time. The luster for Cuse is gone. Look at Pitt's record since the early 1980s. It's been 30 years of mediocrity and worse.

 

[uconnfan68]

An AAU school cutting programs like mad while their rep drops like a rock.

Thanks for the update. ;^) I "think" UConn is going in the right direction academically, sort of nice to know RU may not be. Just being selfish there though. I just can't see us being left behind, but it's getting to that point.

 

[Danzz]

I've lived in Carolina and Virginia, the center of the ACC. We did play rebels versus traitors as kids. Be that as it may, I read Yunte Wang's article in the NYT about Alabama's new immigration law this weekend. I mean, there ARE cultural differences.

I went to college in the South in the 60's and there are HUGE cultural differences.For one thing, the town where I went to school was segregated in every way. It was culture shock for a kid from the north end of Hartford.
They don't really like Yankees but as they get to know you that changes for the most part. Everyone is nice and polite and you get the feeling everyone likes you even though some hate your guts umlike the the Northeast where nobody bothers to try to fool you.
I don't know how and if this plays into reallignment but I'll bet it is a factor.

 

[ZooCougar]

don't see how that is a conference issue.

Dear any AD in the country: you can have only one of the following two things: men's andomen's head coaches that like each other, or men's and women's head coaches that win at least 3 national championships each. Which will it be? You have 10 days to decide.

What's that? You have decided already? What? I'm the idiot?

Too true. Being middle management in the SEC Front Office is a bit like being an clerk's errand boy in terms of influence and awareness.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

UConn, red headed stepchild? It's amazing that as successful as UConn's athletics programs have been over the last two decades, the university is seemingly universally shunned in the realignment game.[/quote
No kidding. What is the matter with these people. The ACC took BCU and now they aren't interested in UConn. Must been their desire to expand their Southern Fried Conference into the hockey business, since that's all the the Eagles offer.

 

[scdono]

Based on the announcement by Notre Dame today, apparently an ACC talking piece like Seth was apparently misinformed. Do you think we can get a retraction?