Some thoughts on the MWC news

[whaler11]

Spoken like every Jock guy you can talk to in any Sports Bar across America.

We are coming out of pocket for WBB. That simply is not the case. We have a Net Income from it; you can look it up. We also pay our HC a gob of money ... you can look that up ... and we still are taking home shekels. We are one of only a few that can say this in this sport.

I could care less whether some WBB fan things every sport should be 30-0 every year or win by 50. I don't think it has diddly effect on any other component of UConn sports. I do think we (WE) the UConn fanbase underestimated how difficult FBS/BCS level football is & we have not worked hard enough to make all components work. But ... I don't think that comes from WBB. There is ONLY so many dollars that a Market can spend on entertaiment. I wonder if someone says ... I spent X on WBB & I don't have it for Football or MBB or other things. I'd say on whole ... I don't think so.

And what does the PERCEPTION of the National audience think of UConn being the DOMINANT PLAYER (really only a few close) in WBB. This is an evolving viewpoint for me (as I have changed over time); I think it is important. It says this little bitty school (where the MBB also builds champion caliber) can really bring it. WBB is WAY beyond Track or Volleyball or Softball or Wrestling. It is the top Women's sport. And, definitely adds to our Brand.

It is beyond a "cute" thing. And, I bet is far more important to Presidents of Universities than the Average guy in the Bar.

Great arguments against points that weren't made. One to hang on your fridge.

If you don't think there are UConn fans who aren't clouded by their results I'd suggest you read through the women's basketball board at this very site.

Also, yes I'm telling you what the average sports fan at a bar thinks like - you may have noticed it's that mentality that forced the ACC to add Louisville over UConn.

If you don't think people make choices between spending money on football, mens baskeball or women's basketball... Well that's contrary to many people who say that they do and contrary to simple logic. There is a limit to the amount of money companies and people are willing to spend - given more options the money is obviously diluted.

Are you really going to take the position that the football and basketball programs don't compete for some of the same dollars? Just think for two seconds before replying in broken capitalization.

As for the perception of the NATIONAL audience - they don't give a fuck about who wins college women's basketball championships. It ranks around who won the Champions Tour or the Baltimore F-1 race.

 

[businesslawyer]

If I say "WBB is not about the money" would people get it? We produce revenue from something almost no one else does. Has it been important in the last rounds of expansion? Obviously not. But there is no way you can turn something that makes money into a negative in the current environment. Eventually, someone will start looking at revenue streams beyond just football. (The only real question is will some other conference get there in time).

 

[chrisn671]

I'm not really sure how anyone would perceive having the top WBB program as a knock during realignment. WBB may be one of the toughest sports to follow for your "everyday" sports fan. It is not an eye popping sport. Football on the other hand is, and is one of the easiest sports to follow for the "everyday" fan. If people want to say that UConn doesn't have the following for big boy football, all they need to do is look toward WBB to see the potential for growth in fan base. That is one of the reasons some might call UConn a "sleeping giant."

 

[Dann]

@nelsonmuntz

this is ot to this thread sorta. i was wondering if u ever read the tosu guy "nevada"? i only have been when i see him talked about but i guess he has been on this train of b10 going big for a long time and he seems to think #20 slot in time will come down to kansas vs uconn. he thinks kansas gts the nod but its a question of how far uconn can come by that time with all the metrics needed. it really makes me wonder if we can make the right things happen in time. aau seems to be happening but we need to flip our fball program and other things quickly. kansas just flipped its fball program and its bball is one of very few that cancel our bball advantage out fwiw in the grand scheme. that scares me. i like our market and our reach to other cities but kansas fits the b10 culture and also is big in a few cities also. if this nevada guy is right then i think this is susans race to win. i just don't like how confident he is in the next couple moves(unc/uva/duke/gt then nd and kansas or uconn).
i would love nothing more than for uconn/uva/unc/kan/nd/gtech. thats a top fball conf and a bball conf that will go down in the history on mankind.

 

[businesslawyer]

@nelsonmuntz

this is ot to this thread sorta. i was wondering if u ever read the tosu guy "nevada"? i only have been when i see him talked about but i guess he has been on this train of b10 going big for a long time and he seems to think #20 slot in time will come down to kansas vs uconn. he thinks kansas gts the nod but its a question of how far uconn can come by that time with all the metrics needed. it really makes me wonder if we can make the right things happen in time. aau seems to be happening but we need to flip our fball program and other things quickly. kansas just flipped its fball program and its bball is one of very few that cancel our bball advantage out fwiw in the grand scheme. that scares me. i like our market and our reach to other cities but kansas fits the b10 culture and also is big in a few cities also. if this nevada guy is right then i think this is susans race to win. i just don't like how confident he is in the next couple moves(unc/uva/duke/gt then nd and kansas or uconn).
i would love nothing more than for uconn/uva/unc/kan/nd/gtech. thats a top fball conf and a bball conf that will go down in the history on mankind.

O.K., what have I missed the last month while I've been paying little attention. How did we go in the HFD analysis from likely to be led into the Big Ten to battling for a 20th spot?

 

[noeynox]

USS Connecticut hit an iceberg. Currently it is taking on a lot of water and sending out SOS signals.

 

[Dann]

O.K., what have I missed the last month while I've been paying little attention. How did we go in the HFD analysis from likely to be led into the Big Ten to battling for a 20th spot?

the trend seems to be that the b10 has now made it well clear and known that they are going beyond the 14/16 that ppl orginally thought was the end game. but that trend can't just be a 1 conf deal, it sneeds to be matched by others otherwise that big conf has a huge advantage in $ and inventory among other things. so the trend is the sec seems to be rushing its network so that they can then rush a 2nd network to match the b10 in time and also go big. the 2 of them will wreck the acc becuase they don't want the b12 to survive and has access to any teams on the east coast. the b12 in any way access wise hurts the sec/big. so thet will do the wrecking and together work with the pac to destroy the b10 by a vote of majority leaving kill the gor type deal. the sec would never allow a texas or ok to have conf games vs fsu in its back yard. that type of stuff will be prevented. the adds to 20 are about home turf, inventory, new markets, great fball schools/fanbases and several other things. networks need fanbases that watch, not just great nearby untouched markets. gtech may be a double take in the atl, but they have a big fanbase that can help the sec get cable boxes on. thats the end game and the day a state in the south will prevent one of its publics from reaching the top let me know. as much as a fl or uga can bitch, lets be real about it. its a great thing for the state to have both in and not out.

espn tried to save the acc and now knows its done, but what espn is now trying to do is . they are going to try to keep the acc alive by doing the c7 type thing with leftover fball schools. aka the big east idea. but clearly not being a big 4 it may work out different.

important things
1) md buyout....low low low....
2) whats majorit vote on b12? is it 75%? if so thats 8 out of 10 teams must vote to blow it up. in order for that then the pac/b1g/sec must have 8 teams in mind to help each other make the blow up happen. who gets then?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Dan, you may need to give your liver a break while you still have some active brain cells.

The B1G won't do any trending. They will be deliberate and thorough before any move. It has been their MO from before they invited Ohio State.

While we may have been surprised by the additions of Maryland and Rutgers, it is pretty safe to say that these moves were a few years in the making. Their next moves may not happen for a few more years (which while it may not make us happy at the moment, the further out those moves are, the better it is for us).

I doubt that the B1G gets to 20 in my lifetime and I will wager heavily that they won't jump from 14 to 20. That is now how they operate.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I kinda left this thread for a few days.

I think UConn has as good a shot as any school for one of the next two slots in the B1G, if the B1G decides to expand.

I simply do not believe Georgia Tech will get added. It will always be a distant second in Georgia, and when the SEC rolls out a network, it will be very difficult for the BTN to get full freight charges on local cable anywhere in the South. Georgia Tech will not move that needle more than a nickel or so per subscriber.

Texas may be slowly strangling the Big 12 with its opposition to the expansion. There is no way the Big 12 will remain a player at 10 schools with Texas as its only major market.

The MWC has almost no chance of emerging as the winner relative to the Big East, unless the Big East does something colossally stupid like refuse to add western schools as all sports member. Given the Big East's track record of decision making, the MWC's chances improve to 50/50.

Time is UConn's enemy. The longer UConn stays in the NNBE, the worse it is for UConn.

 

[Pudge]

I never read the Women's Basketball Board.

And to Nelson Muntz, I have watched the Syracuse Board pine to be out of the Big East since 2003. I don't expect UConn to go to the ACC or the B1G soon. So, I'm hoping our fans don't get discouraged & just love the games.

A conference schedule of Temple, USF, UCF, Navy, Cincinnati, ECU, SMU, San Diego St. Add some good OOC.

Just take good news - Kevin Ollie - and build.

 

[noeynox]

It is going to be difficult for UConn football to recruit in the northeast with all of our local rivals playing in the acc and big ten. Getting passed over for Louisville was a tremendous body blow.

If we stay in the this conference for considerable time we have to be able to get more jucos accepted to stay competitive. We are currently struggling with this.

 

[Dann]

@noeynox-exactly to the point juco wise. ppl here lay the to good for us grades side of the convo but dont realize what im talking about. we can't be the need good grades school right now. we need to survive then when we get a call to the b10 we can play the great grades school. i think ppl have no clue here what has to be actually done. they just want ships and the acc like idiots. in order for uconn to live in fball we need to land the kids temple was years ago and not bitch about grades. its really that simple. its not going to hurt our usnews numbers at all so pipe down all u elite bull shiters. if we get th b10 u can all suck nutz and enjoy the cic which u wouldnt have gotten otherwise clownasses.

@ffldcntyfan-lol i know the b10 doesn't do things on "trend". come on now. read your response to me again. what im saying is months to 2 years ago very few insiders or just ppl interested in CR on the message board world were talking about 18 or 20 team confs. i can count names on one hand. one of them was the nevada guy who is a tosu insider and has been for a while. one of his buddys stoped by here recently and has been very pro uconn fwiw also which is interesting. now with a flurry a moves, all the fun to follow clowns and everyone wvu and so on is talking big 20 team leagues. that was my refrence to trends being talked about. before these moves there was only 1 person here talking about monster leagues, do u remember who? he used to get torn apart and laughed at for making whild stuff up. anyway now its the cute thing, but 2 of the important ppl i have quietly followed over a long time(not wvu insiders) have both been beating the drum for a long time and both have stuck to orginal info as md/ruty fit right into it. one has uconn simply on the list but the other sees uconn as struggling for a spot with kansas. so i wonder how much he knows about how uconn is going 100% aftyer the aau in a hurry right now and w/e else vs his news from the past 2 years not being totaly full of uconn updates. maybe susan has uconn truly in a good spot with her aau push(#B1GHARDER) or maybe kansas is a lock add eventually and were battling for something we can't win?

 

[noeynox]

You'd really have to have your head in the sand to not understand just how drastic our situation is as far as football conference affiliation goes. This isn't as simple as pining for an invite somewhere else as Pudge says SU Fans did for 8 years. At least SU had us, Pitt, RU, WVU, with them in the same conference. All close teams they had some history against. All teams they recruited against for players. We are the only one from that group left behind, recruiting head to head against them is going to be wickedly difficult the longer we are in what will be inferior conference from an access perception standpoint. Expecting our already declining attendance to be helped by playing the likes of Tulane and ECU instead of teams we've established some short history with is wishful thinking as far as I'm concerned.

Our only solution is going to be to win big enough to raise eyebrows. The next coach should be someone who could successfully recruit the JUCO ranks for kids that can play and handle the schoolwork. Consult with Bill Snyder if you have to. KSU should be the blueprint if were going to be here long term.

 

[Marty Jackson]

I think that for one reason or another, people sink their identity into "which program" they support. In other words, it's not enough for some people to be a UConn fan. They have to be a UConn women's basketball fan, or a men's basketball fan, or a football fan. I never understood that, but you're right that it exists. However, I'll say that the number of people who are exclusively women's bball fans is much smaller than the othnt ynner two. It really shouldn't become a factor in defining our psyche. I would buy more of the argument that the men's bball fans make us look like a bball school vs. a football school much more so than the women's fans...

i get this all the time... i think it has to do with age... the more you remember uconn as a growing hoops power, the more resistant you are to accepting fb. for my age bracket, there arent many pure uconn fans. most are uconn bb. fb will take a generation to really catch hold.

many who follow fb already followed a regional or national program (ie bc or nd)...

 

[pj]

If Kansas is seriously on the B1G's radar then they made a huge mistake not taking Missouri when they had they chance. Kansas and Missouri belong together, they are historic rivals, and Missouri's market is twice as big as Kansas's.

Without Missouri, I just don't see Kansas over UConn. Kansas and Connecticut are the same size but Kansas is shared with K State and UConn brings inroads into NYC and southern New England. UConn has a regional rivalry with Rutgers, Kansas would be rejoining Nebraska but would lack other rivals like K State, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma. There really isn't any measure by which Kansas brings more to the B1G than UConn.

 

[Dann]

the market mizzu has is covered by the b10 already as several teams out west have large amounts of fans/alums already in place. st loiue is as much mizzu as it is illinois so tvs are already covered. kc is as much mizzu as it is kansas so the b10 can get it with kansas if it doesn't already have it just with other b10 population in the city. springfield and columbia are not big enough gains. the b10 had the chance and passed, they must be able to cover mizzu as a state without them. sucks when your 2 big cities are on the borders with other big time schoold close by.

dont get me wrong i would foam at the mouth for the b10 to add kan/mizzu/unc/uva/uconn all together but i doubt it.

 

[UConnDan97]

i get this all the time... i think it has to do with age... the more you remember uconn as a growing hoops power, the more resistant you are to accepting fb. for my age bracket, there arent many pure uconn fans. most are uconn bb. fb will take a generation to really catch hold.

many who follow fb already followed a regional or national program (ie bc or nd)...

Age might be part of it (I understand the idea that some people haven't been invested in the 1-A version of our football team as long as they may have been with the bball), but I also think that there is a serious divide between people who went to UConn versus the non-attending UConn fan. I think that the person who went to UConn (quite like myself) is much more likely to be a fan of all the sports, whereas the non-attending fan likely got hooked on one of the teams from whatever sport they most enjoy...

 

[Marty Jackson]

Age might be part of it (I understand the idea that some people haven't been invested in the 1-A version of our football team as long as they may have been with the bball), but I also think that there is a serious divide between people who went to UConn versus the non-attending UConn fan. I think that the person who went to UConn (quite like myself) is much more likely to be a fan of all the sports, whereas the non-attending fan likely got hooked on one of the teams from whatever sport they most enjoy...

For those that didn't attend Uconn, I think it depends on whether they developed any loyalty for other fb programs. growing up in ct and following the huskies bb program, I didn't really have any interest in college fb until uconn moved up to 1A.

Many friends of mine are big husky fans for bb, but follow ND for FB (none attended Uconn)... Interestingly, one if very outspoken about uconn dropping the fb program because it can't compete and is ruining the bb program...

He's one of those idiot lawers that doesn't know anything though.

 

[businesslawyer]

He's one of those idiot lawers that doesn't know anything though.

You know another kind?

 

[ffg53]

For those that didn't attend Uconn, I think it depends on whether they developed any loyalty for other fb programs. growing up in ct and following the huskies bb program, I didn't really have any interest in college fb until uconn moved up to 1A.

Many friends of mine are big husky fans for bb, but follow ND for FB (none attended Uconn)... Interestingly, one if very outspoken about uconn dropping the fb program because it can't compete and is ruining the bb program...

He's one of those idiot lawers that doesn't know anything though.

I can only speak to my experience, but since UConn went 1-A I have been all in, and like you I was never really a college football fan unless Syracuse made a bowl game. Which means basically a couple years in my lifetime, because this predates the current era where you get to go bowling for being merely mediocre. Now I follow CFB because of UConn's upgrade.

I went to Temple, but because I went to the art school which was on its own campus never really felt a "Temple connection." So coming to CT and being immediately immersed in UConn fever was great, and it obviously transcends being a student or alumni. Within 4 yeas of my moving here men's BB won an NT, the women won an NT and men's soccer won an NT. So once the football team upgraded it was just a natural progression to follow them. I'm sure there's the older WBB set that doesn't--and never will--follow the football team. Hell, most of them don't follow the men's BB team. But for most of the population UConn is our de-facto TEAM, regardless of sport. Or maybe I'm must naive.

 

[Marty Jackson]

You know another kind?

i don't, but im sure there is one smart lawyer somewhere...

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

but the number of seniors who only roll with women's basketball I think outnumber the men's fans who dislike the football program.

The women's basketball program has a unique demographic in sports. They are really one-of-a-kind, a fact they themselves don't even understand. They are the oldest fanbase in any sport, can anyone think of any sport where you see more senior citizens? What happens in ten years after half of them have died?

Women's college basketball simply doesn't exist elsewhere. Oh sure, they field teams and keep scores, but UConn is the only university in the nation that thinks of it as prestigious.

In the context of realignment, women's college basketball and indeed all other sports besides football are completely irrelevant. All factors have been irrelevant except the subjective potential to draw eyeballs from a national perspective. UConn scores low on that front from a football perspective.

 

[huskymedic]

Women's college basketball simply doesn't exist elsewhere. Oh sure, they field teams and keep scores, but UConn is the only university in the nation that thinks of it as prestigious.

I fully agree in the context of conference relaignment but I would argue that Stanford, Baylor and Tennessee (if they get relevant again) may disagree with your assertion that WBB isn't prestigious.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I fully agree in the context of conference relaignment but I would argue that Stanford, Baylor and Tennessee (if they get relevant again) may disagree with your assertion that WBB isn't prestigious.

Next to football, the idea of calling women's basketball prestigious is laughable, even at those schools. Not at UConn though.

 

[whaler11]

The women's basketball program has a unique demographic in sports. They are really one-of-a-kind, a fact they themselves don't even understand. They are the oldest fanbase in any sport, can anyone think of any sport where you see more senior citizens? What happens in ten years after half of them have died?

Women's college basketball simply doesn't exist elsewhere. Oh sure, they field teams and keep scores, but UConn is the only university in the nation that thinks of it as prestigious.

In the context of realignment, women's college basketball and indeed all other sports besides football are completely irrelevant. All factors have been irrelevant except the subjective potential to draw eyeballs from a national perspective. UConn scores low on that front from a football perspective.

Well one thing we aren't running out of soon is senior citizens. The amount of people turning 65 every day is mind boggling.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Well one thing we aren't running out of soon is senior citizens. The amount of people turning 65 every day is mind boggling.

Do you suddenly become a fan when you turn 65? Count me among those who think it's a generational fad...

 

[whaler11]

Do you suddenly become a fan when you turn 65? Count me among those who think it's a generational fad...

I don't disagree. At some point I expect people to get bored by 90-25 games and realize how silly it all is. It won't be a lack of old people that kills it though.

 

[Gurleyman]

Reading this board, you could now easily come to the conclusion that going to a BCS game was bad, and having the top WBB basketball program in the country is bad.

Bullshit. The idea is to win. At everything. As much as possible. Florida once fired its softball coach for losing a home regional to Bethune-Cookman. It doesn't mean they stopped caring about football - it means they want to win. At softball. Same as everything else. In fact, when the SEC programs all added softball in the Title IX boom of the mid-90's, they all built multi-million dollar stadiums and hired the best coaches to try to win right away. Florida started women's lacrosse two years ago and was ranked #1 in the nation this year before being upset in the semis. This notion that you can't spend money on more than one thing would be silly to the folks down in SEC country. They don't compete half-assed in anything.

So why does our fanbase turn our successes into negatives? It was not a negative that we made a BCS bowl in our sixth or seventh year in I-A. It was awesome. And OU did not embarrass us - it was 34-20 in the fourth quarter and we had the ball in their territory. Pitt fared much worse against Utah a year or two prior. It is not a negative that we have the flagship program in any sport, much less one that brings in good ratings for ESPN in March.

 

[TexanMark]

As a guy who lives in upstate NY ... the thing to remember is the bizarre contrast between the Townie fans from Central NY & the uppercrust elitist kids that attend the University (and then run out of the 315 as fast as possible). I don't think it is a large fanbase (despite the basketball attendance). It does not extend to Albany nor Buffalo. (small percentages) And ... for most of the last 20 years, major Institutional investors would not put their money in Central New York property; so, the Corporate pockets aren't deep. It has strong civic mindedness ... but that doesn't overcome a simply stagnant local economy. (and why you find Syracuse businessmen all over the rest of the Northeast)

I don't think they have the prospects that UConn has in the long run. I don't think their brand is near as good as ours. (btw ... whaler ... that's just bizarre that you ding the WBB so much. Give it a rest) We have something that can really be built much greater. I am of mixed heart. Warde Manual ... thus far ... gets a No Confidence vote from me. And I do like Susan Herbst.

O ... and the MWC? I don't see how the MWC can win. (but I am wrong repeatedly lately) They cannot grab the Mark to Market TV rights pricing that Aresco can get. And we have a clear $17m win on the BCS in the next cycle. I understand Boise is using the leverage they have. But, I bet Aresco (former CBS exec) knows something about what can be put on the table. We can have a good 2013 schedule and beyond. And, I am NOT pining for the ACC or the B1G for 8 years like our Cuse fans.

Lots of wrong here concerning Cuse and MWC. Pudge you better be pining unless you are comfortable playing in the Big East-USA. Personally I think the BE needs to consider retracting into a east of the Mississippi Conference. I guess having a few teams in TX would work too. A few candidates not considered before with good future prospects: USM, MTSU, UTSA and ODU.

 

[upstater]

Lots of wrong here concerning Cuse and MWC. Pudge you better be pining unless you are comfortable playing in the Big East-USA. Personally I think the BE needs to consider retracting into a east of the Mississippi Conference. I guess having a few teams in TX would work too. A few candidates not considered before with good future prospects: USM, MTSU, UTSA and ODU.

Where do you live? Texas? I've lived upstate for many years now (Albany, Troy, Rochester, Buffalo). Pudge is right on. I hear literally nothing about Syracuse up here. And then your feelings get hurt and so you write inane stuff. This is the second totally bizarre post of yours in the last week. You are really losing it.