Some pretty blunt assessments from Jim Mora

[noeynox]

He had no business telling recruits we were going to the ACC or Big 12.

How do you know this?

 

[jostar1]

How do you know this?

That is my opinion. He should not have been telling recruits that we were going to a conference until the invite was signed and formally announced. Otherwise, he was promising them something he couldn't deliver.

 

[kemba]

It was always going to be a challenge and he’s not wrong that he has an uphill battle to fight.

But comments like this when he has already made his fair share of mistakes as a coach (picking the wrong DC, picking the wrong OC, picking the wrong QB1 this year) just seem like a lame excuse.

This team has the pieces it needs to be much better than 1-5, as currently constructed.

I don’t think this is fair, he takes accountability after every loss they have had. Last year we over achieved this year we are underachieving. Splitting the difference and going 5-7 is not where we want to be either. Talking about what we need to get beyond that isn’t a bad thing.

These comments did seem negative but not much really new. He spoke towards the end of last year about needing additional investment in the program. Coaches road show this summer and the season ticket holder event at the rent before the season he talked a lot about nil and needing more money to get guys.

 

[oldanintheway]

You do realize James Madison plays a weak schedule? They play one P5 school, 1-5 Virginia who just got beat handily by FCS William & Mary.

Mora is speaking the truth. If you want to play P5 teams and win, give the team the resources.

Pardon me, correction: UVA beat W & M at home 27-13 last Saturday, First win of the year. At least we beat a true D-1 team on the road.

 

[RSTuthill]

If you haven't listened to the Coach's show this week then you might check it out. It's in the third segment after a pretty cool part on the virtues of our Gordon "Gordie" Sammis,

So Mike Crispino asks this softball question about how it was so great because we schedule Duke 4 times and we have Wake and UAB and other schools on the schedule.

I am pretty sure Crispino expects the stock "Yeah AD Dave is doing a great job bla bla bla".

Instead, Mora goes off on a semi-rant. Paraphrasing: , "Recruits don't care about that, they don't care who we play, they don't care about facilities, they do care about conferences, which is the other thing that is killing us at the moment. What recruits care about is money. What we need is money."

So then genius Crispino says "You mean NIL money?" As if there is another kind of money that Coach could possibly talking about.

Mora says yeah NIL Money. And if we don't get that going then we won't get better players and you can see some tough days ahead.

And then he caps it off with "It works the same way in basketball"

I think it's interesting because the people here on the BY have always held these unfounded beliefs that scheduling "name" opponents helps us recruit (when it clearly does not). And while we may have above par on campus facilities that really doesn't count for much.

Mora of course has no filter. But he is not wrong.

Disagree on the filter part. He wanted some people to hear that the world has changed and if UConn does not change with it, there is no hope.

 

[kemba]

I am at the point that I think if DB hasn’t explored a football only invite to a non p5 conference he should be doing that. There very well may not be any decent options, I certainly wouldn’t expect the mac to take us. But if we’re not at least trying we should be.

As sad is it would be to look at a schedule before the season and not see one opponent we care about, I’d rather do that and play competitive games with a conference championship to play for than what we’re doing now

 

[ZooCougar]

I believe Xi Jinping would donate generously in exchange for a listening post...

Sell the program to the Saudis.

 

[ZooCougar]

Disagree on the filter part. He wanted some people to hear that the world has changed and if UConn does not change with it, there is no hope.

You disagree that he has no filter?


That’s a take.

 

[Skiblets]

It’s pretty simple. All eggs went into the Big 12 basket and the Big 10 came in and screwed everything up. We had no back up plan

Then SMU buys their way into the ACC and we’re left yet again in no man’s land.

The only way to get out of this hole is to buy the talent to get out of this hole. Conference revenues won’t do it. Only NIL and big bags of cash will. Perhaps a creative way to charge more fees from students to fund the big bag needed to buy the talent will. It’s a world of unlimited free agency right now. Want to win? Give ‘em a bag

John Silver posted about this a few weeks ago and was spot on. It’s pervasive in lower level D1 hoops and 100x moreso for serious football programs.

 

[Luna]

I am at the point that I think if DB hasn’t explored a football only invite to a non p5 conference he should be doing that. There very well may not be any decent options, I certainly wouldn’t expect the mac to take us. But if we’re not at least trying we should be.

As sad is it would be to look at a schedule before the season and not see one opponent we care about, I’d rather do that and play competitive games with a conference championship to play for than what we’re doing now

I think the mac would take us..we would be the biggest name in the mac..teaming us with umass and the mac would be firmer implanted in the northeast.. with a big rivalry game .. uconn and umass… and if we both got good which I think we would that would mean more money for the mac

 

[Kolumbo]

It’s pretty simple. All eggs went into the Big 12 basket and the Big 10 came in and screwed everything up. We had no back up plan

Then SMU buys their way into the ACC and we’re left yet again in no man’s land.

The only way to get out of this hole is to buy the talent to get out of this hole. Conference revenues won’t do it. Only NIL and big bags of cash will. Perhaps a creative way to charge more fees from students to fund the big bag needed to buy the talent will. It’s a world of unlimited free agency right now. Want to win? Give ‘em a bag

John Silver posted about this a few weeks ago and was spot on. It’s pervasive in lower level D1 hoops and 100x moreso for serious football programs.

This is all true but the Big 12 was the only basket available. We had no back up plan because the only back up plan available was status quo. The Big 10 surely did screw it all up though.

I think the mac would take us..we would be the biggest name in the mac..teaming us with umass and the mac would be firmer implanted in the northeast.. with a big rivalry game .. uconn and umass… and if we both got good which I think we would that would mean more money for the mac

The MAC would be a decent affiliation but the MAC doesn't want UConn for football only. The only shot might be C-USA but UConn doesn't want it. As others have mentioned, some sort of new Eastern G5 football conference made up of current indies and the better programs from other G5. But that is not a possibility either I don't think because of all those pesky conference regs.

 

[Skiblets]

This is all true but the Big 12 was the only basket available. We had no back up plan because the only back up plan available was status quo. The Big 10 surely did screw it all up though.


The MAC would be a decent affiliation but the MAC doesn't want UConn for football only. The only shot might be C-USA but UConn doesn't want it. As others have mentioned, some sort of new Eastern G5 football conference made up of current indies and the better programs from other G5. But that is not a possibility either I don't think because of all those pesky conference regs.

This is all true but the Big 12 was the only basket available. We had no back up plan because the only back up plan available was status quo. The Big 10 surely did screw it all up though.


The MAC would be a decent affiliation but the MAC doesn't want UConn for football only. The only shot might be C-USA but UConn doesn't want it. As others have mentioned, some sort of new Eastern G5 football conference made up of current indies and the better programs from other G5. But that is not a possibility either I don't think because of all those pesky conference regs.

The MAC is the least inspiring option. Dare to dream!!

 

[buddy]

Tax ESPN and channel the money to UConn football. They could have gotten UConn into any conference and they did not. Time to pay.

 

[Greg]

If you haven't listened to the Coach's show this week then you might check it out. It's in the third segment after a pretty cool part on the virtues of our Gordon "Gordie" Sammis,

So Mike Crispino asks this softball question about how it was so great because we schedule Duke 4 times and we have Wake and UAB and other schools on the schedule.

I am pretty sure Crispino expects the stock "Yeah AD Dave is doing a great job bla bla bla".

Instead, Mora goes off on a semi-rant. Paraphrasing: , "Recruits don't care about that, they don't care who we play, they don't care about facilities, they do care about conferences, which is the other thing that is killing us at the moment. What recruits care about is money. What we need is money."

So then genius Crispino says "You mean NIL money?" As if there is another kind of money that Coach could possibly talking about.

Mora says yeah NIL Money. And if we don't get that going then we won't get better players and you can see some tough days ahead.

And then he caps it off with "It works the same way in basketball"

I think it's interesting because the people here on the BY have always held these unfounded beliefs that scheduling "name" opponents helps us recruit (when it clearly does not). And while we may have above par on campus facilities that really doesn't count for much.

Mora of course has no filter. But he is not wrong.

And that is why college sports are in real trouble. Jim is correct. NIL is a very real behemoth that will step on and crush the have not. All of them.

 

[Greg]

The MAC is the least inspiring option. Dare to dream!!

Hang in there. The ACC will need to add in the future, but I feel it will not be the equal of the BIG and the SEC.

 

[ZooCougar]

And that is why college sports are in real trouble. Jim is correct. NIL is a very real behemoth that will step on and crush the have not. All of them.

It’s not in trouble.

It’s booming. Unless you don’t have NIL.

 

[superjohn]

It’s not in trouble.

It’s booming. Unless you don’t have NIL.

Are you contending UConn doesn't have NIL?

 

[GoConn]

Hang in there. The ACC will need to add in the future, but I feel it will not be the equal of the BIG and the SEC.

ACC is NEVER adding us....idk how people still hold out hope for that.

 

[RSTuthill]

Disagree on the filter part. He wanted some people to hear that the world has changed and if UConn does not change with it, there is no hope.

Let me amplify this point. It seems entirely possible that UConn overplays their hand when presented with potential opportunities. What Mora seems to be saying, if that is true, is that UConn must accept a less attractive initial period deal if they want to join a P4 so that the long term is assured. What I wonder is does this add granularity and color to the recent past experiences?

At the end of a game of musical chairs, the price of a chair skyrockets.

 

[Slick]

Pretty much us and umass left as independents… I think its time to join the MAC with umass… we would be able to compete with those schools and play for something…Mora sounds pretty frustrated

Mora sounds extremely frustrated. Not sure if makes much sense for him to stay. If we join the MAC I don’t think there is a huge payout for us. If you’re not in a P 5 you’re screwed. We are not getting into Big 10, we’re not getting into SEC, we’re not getting into Big 12, and ACC has made it clear that we’re not getting in no matter who they lose. So basically where does that leave us ?? I don’t think the big East basketball tv contract even pays Danny Hurley contract! Have no clue how the school should approach it .

 

[jdb50]

Does anyone here remember when Warde left how he made a point to say that UConn deserved to be in a top conference? Jim Mora is trying to recruit players to elevate the program. The Big 12 was a real possibility. And now we have the ACC taking SMU as we sit there. As an athletic department we can compete with P5 conferences in every sport but we are always excluded. Sure football has been poor for a decade but many other P5 programs are poor. Something else is going on. SMU to the ACC?

 

[giddyup]

We have the Hartford, Travelers, Cigna, Pfizer, Electric Boat, Gengras, Stanley, UTC, Eversource, Aetna, Gartner, Priceline and half a dozen hedge funds all capable of ponying up some Nil commitments. This is just AD Dave having no ability to organize and to think even inside the box. I suspect he largely reserved any of his efforts for basketball. You stack money for a few key impact players and build from there. They should be able to raise a few million in their sleep.

 

[pj]

ACC is NEVER adding us....idk how people still hold out hope for that.

The scheduling arrangements with ACC schools indicate the ACC is building the foundation for an invite.

I think it may be tied to the freeing up of basketball tourney revenue and/or the shift in cable to streaming, but changes in the landscape are turning in UConn’s favor.

 

[UConnJim]

Some of you think playing the likes of Akron, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois,... will help make UConn more competitive in football, attract fan interest, and drive NIL? You guys are crazy. I'm sure all of you will show up for MACtion Tuesday at the Rent against Buffalo in November.

Right now, the only option for UConn football is to play the independent schedule with 4 or 5 P5 games per year. Win those games, and you will get noticed. But how do you win those games in today's environment? UConn football needs more money for coaching salaries and NIL if we are going to compete against P5 schools. The question we need to answer is where is that money coming from?

 

[KryHavok]

The scheduling arrangements with ACC schools indicate the ACC is building the foundation for an invite.

The pessimist in me says that's not what's going on. The ACC teams are scheduling UConn cuz they think they can beat UConn to further prove that UConn doesn't belong in the ACC. Besides which, how many games did SMU have with the ACC before their invite?

No, there is no silver lining here, that conference has been emphatic in their singular objective to exclude and ostracize UConn. It's not just BC, or Clemson, or FSU, NONE of them want us. As much as we direly need their TV money to survive, I hate that whole motherducking conference and hope it suffers a worse fate than the PAC.