Still Silence In Storrs

[zls44]

USF has put out a statement.
Cincinnati has put out a statement.
Tom Jurich essentially declared war on Pittsburgh.

Storrs? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

If you want to know why UConn is in the position, while Pitt and SU are safe, there you go. Talk is cheap, and UConn can't even afford that. Only standstill & incompetence in spades.

 

[Vuce]

Or maybe Uconn is intentionally not saying anything because they have something brewing. A guy on the Cuse board says he heard that Uconn has a conditional offer from the ACC. Maybe that conditional offer is if Texas declines or if FSU and/or Clemson leaves for SEC they will get the next nod. Who knows.

 

[LRock34]

Or maybe Uconn is intentionally not saying anything because they have something brewing. A guy on the Cuse board says he heard that Uconn has a conditional offer from the ACC. Maybe that conditional offer is if Texas declines or if FSU and/or Clemson leaves for SEC they will get the next nod. Who knows.

Probably not a coincidence that there is also silence from RU and WVU. Hoping this isn't over.

 

[JcHusky95]

My take:

UT will not join the ACC due to several factors, including the Texas Tech baggage and the Long Horn Network. UCONN will end up in the ACC back with Cuse, Pitt and other old Big East teams. Hopefully Rutgers will also join the ACC in this scenario. This would make sense geographically and TV mkt wise and good for us fans. I'd like to be able to goto away games once in a while (i'm in north jersey).

Anyways UCONN athletics has way too much to offer to be left out.

 

[jpm25]

USF has put out a statement.
Cincinnati has put out a statement.
Tom Jurich essentially declared war on Pittsburgh.

Storrs? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

If you want to know why UConn is in the position, while Pitt and SU are safe, there you go. Talk is cheap, and UConn can't even afford that. Only standstill & incompetence in spades.

Putting out a statement here is a sign of ultimate weakness. I would be more concerned if UConn did.

 

[uc1974]

Would you feel better if Herbst came out and played a kazoo? She's a Duke grad and tuned in, I'm sure. Patience.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Probably not a coincidence that there is also silence from RU and WVU. Hoping this isn't over.

Agreed. I have a strong feeling that we will be in the ACC when it's all said and done.

 

[noeynox]

Putting out a statement here is a sign of ultimate weakness. I would be more concerned if UConn did.

Agree with this, hopefully the silence will be deafening when the dust settles.

 

[cohenzone]

I would also think (hope?) that if all of these changes are for real, our governor and other key CT pols will be doing some stuff, too. This is the state school (as are most of the other schools in all of this shuffling) with a significant state investment in the Rent and other athletic endeavors, all of which also impact lots of other situations at the school, including acadamics and research funding, like it or not. BTW, UConn has a publication out now that states that 1/3 of the student body is from out of state. That was both surprising to me and I think not a great situation for state students or taxpayers. Maybe the university is doing what schools like Michigan do, and use out of staters to subsidize state kids by limiting aid to the out of staters. Then maybe the ration can be justified.

Personally, I loath this conference realignment situation. It's more than ever only about the money. Natural rivalries - the lifeblood of sport and real fan interest - are not part of any consideration in this scramble. It is becoming harder than ever to capture the feeling we (us elderly) felt about UConn's rivalries with schools like UMass and URI. Yes, the talent is all generally lots better and winning in "big time" sports is fun, but more and more I believe the bullet needs to be bitten and just legally professionalize the major sports franchises at the schools. If the athletes qualify for the school academically and want to go, great, but not necessary. If the schools can get fans in the seats and TV to show their incorporated teams, more power to them. No more NCAA, no more pretense about eligibility.

 

[upstater]

I would also think (hope?) that if all of these changes are for real, our governor and other key CT pols will be doing some stuff, too. This is the state school (as are most of the other schools in all of this shuffling) with a significant state investment in the Rent and other athletic endeavors, all of which also impact lots of other situations at the school, including acadamics and research funding, like it or not. BTW, UConn has a publication out now that states that 1/3 of the student body is from out of state. That was both surprising to me and I think not a great situation for state students or taxpayers. Maybe the university is doing what schools like Michigan do, and use out of staters to subsidize state kids by limiting aid to the out of staters. Then maybe the ration can be justified.

Personally, I loath this conference realignment situation. It's more than ever only about the money. Natural rivalries - the lifeblood of sport and real fan interest - are not part of any consideration in this scramble. It is becoming harder than ever to capture the feeling we (us elderly) felt about UConn's rivalries with schools like UMass and URI. Yes, the talent is all generally lots better and winning in "big time" sports is fun, but more and more I believe the bullet needs to be bitten and just legally professionalize the major sports franchises at the schools. If the athletes qualify for the school academically and want to go, great, but not necessary. If the schools can get fans in the seats and TV to show their incorporated teams, more power to them. No more NCAA, no more pretense about eligibility.

That could crater the whole enterprise. Not sure that fans really want to see semi-pro ball at that level.

 

[Brian2001]

Malloy is a BC grad, so he should be trying to get some goodwill going with them to help us out. Hopefully BC is over this issue with the university/state considering the politicos and UConn Prez/AD are different people now. Prez is a Duke grad, so she should have some insight. I am hoping we pull this move to the ACC.

 

[huskypantz]

Putting out a statement here is a sign of ultimate weakness. I would be more concerned if UConn did.

There's a reason we're not hearing anything out of Storrs right now. They should save the time they'd spend on statements and put that time into communications with their ACC contacts.

 

[gars44]

That could crater the whole enterprise. Not sure that fans really want to see semi-pro ball at that level.

Better yet, just let kids go pro whenever they want. Let them go right to the NFL. Stop the pretense with the college thing.

 

[cohenzone]

"]That could crater the whole enterprise. Not sure that fans really want to see semi-pro ball at that level."

I think that they are already streaming to see semi-pro ball. If that's not what has happened to the "major" sports in college, I don't know what else to call it. But I know what you mean, and you know what, maybe cratering the whole thing wouldn't be the worst thing to happen in college sports. U of Chicago seems to have gotten along fine after it left the Big 10 decades ago. As I said, when I was at UConn, we knew we weren't Duke or UCLA, but the fieldhouse sold out every game and we had a ball, not to mention the best seats.

 

[huskymedic]

Malloy is a BC grad, so he should be trying to get some goodwill going with them to help us out. Hopefully BC is over this issue with the university/state considering the politicos and UConn Prez/AD are different people now. Prez is a Duke grad, so she should have some insight. I am hoping we pull this move to the ACC.

"Prez is a Duke grad, so she should have some insight"...

President Herbst was Vice Chancellor @ Georgia and on faculty @ Georgia Tech and a political science guru - she knows the game and how it works. Give the lady a chance!

 

[upstater]

Better yet, just let kids go pro whenever they want. Let them go right to the NFL. Stop the pretense with the college thing.

I think if college sports ever failed, the NBA would be alright. They'd still have their pipeline. But unless the NFL massively committed huge dough to a new league, it would hurt pro football badly. So much money is spent on coaches, facilities, trainers, travel, that the NFL might not want to fund all of it. I doubt they'd get many fans.

 

[upstater]

"]That could crater the whole enterprise. Not sure that fans really want to see semi-pro ball at that level."

I think that they are already streaming to see semi-pro ball. If that's not what has happened to the "major" sports in college, I don't know what else to call it. But I know what you mean, and you know what, maybe cratering the whole thing wouldn't be the worst thing to happen in college sports. U of Chicago seems to have gotten along fine after it left the Big 10 decades ago. As I said, when I was at UConn, we knew we weren't Duke or UCLA, but the fieldhouse sold out every game and we had a ball, not to mention the best seats.

I know it's an illusion that these are student athletes at a great many schools, but I hope the schools I root for are still sending these kids to class. I saw D1 sports up close in terms of kids taking classes/going to study hall/getting tutoring, and I never thought it was a sham in the places I've seen it work, but I also know there are certainly big problems. I bet a lot of people are like me and would stop watching if there weren't at least some effort to get these kids to class.

 

[Mr.Phat]

Putting out a statement here is a sign of ultimate weakness. I would be more concerned if UConn did.

Not if it said UConn was joining the Big 1o. Marionette's statement in reaction to the Syrapitt move that the BE is still a viable conference or whatever flatulence he released is the sign of ultimate weakness.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

"]As I said, when I was at UConn, we knew we weren't Duke or UCLA, but the fieldhouse sold out every game and we had a ball, not to mention the best seats.

It's nice you had a ball, quaint, but it's no longer 1959.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

With regard to BC trying to block an invitation to us, first, it's well known that BC has not been the most successful member of the ACC in terms of adding monetary value. Second, it's been rumored around here a bit that their president may be on his way out, he's been around for a very long time. Third, Flipper has proven to be one of the most incoherent and incapable AD's in recent BCS history with his handling of the football program. Read the BC board, they've been calling for his firing for years. I'm not sure the ACC brass in North Carolina, who don't forget are lead by a lot of basketball-minded people, are going to pass on us because of BC. The reasons they would pass on us would be deals with Texas/ND.

With respect to no statement, I agree it's not a coincidence that there is no statement from us, WVU, and RU, who are players in potential moves, while there are strong statements from UL, Cincy, and USF, who don't appear to be players in potential moves right now. If UConn is indeed in discussions with someone, they can't release a generic "we're looking to keep our program in a good place blah blah blah" statement because if it doesn't say something to the effect of "we're committed to the Big East" it's a blatant sign that you're looking elsewhere. If you do make the committed to the Big East statement, it undercuts the negotiations with another conference. No statement is 100% the correct move here.

 

[cohenzone]

"It's nice you had a ball, quaint, but it's no longer 1959."
Actually. it isn't quaint. There are still hundreds of schools not in D1 where the game is played for the school and not for TV. For that matter, there are plenty of D1 schools in that boat, like Quin, CCSU etc. BTW, it was 1967, so you are a decade or so too early.

 

[zls44]

"It's nice you had a ball, quaint, but it's no longer 1959."
Actually. it isn't quaint. There are still hundreds of schools not in D1 where the game is played for the school and not for TV. For that matter, there are plenty of D1 schools in that boat, like Quin, CCSU etc.

And none of them matter at all.

 

[cohenzone]

"I know it's an illusion that these are student athletes at a great many schools, but I hope the schools I root for are still sending these kids to class. I saw D1 sports up close in terms of kids taking classes/going to study hall/getting tutoring, and I never thought it was a sham in the places I've seen it work, but I also know there are certainly big problems. I bet a lot of people are like me and would stop watching if there weren't at least some effort to get these kids to class."

I would hope that so long as the kids are on a school scholarship that they are going to class. But, there is no rule I know of that says Podunk Communnity College or Backwater JC can't have the best team in the land either. I know it is ancient history, but I went to a really good basketball high school and there were some players who either could not get into any university at all or who could not get into a better university. That pretty much isn't so today. The quality of hoops may be better, or at least more athletic today because of the way athletes are admitted, but if that were not the case, no one would know any better. I have seasons tickets to UConn football and share them to men's hoops, and certainly have fun at the games, but the attitude of the fans toward winning and losing is far more demanding than ever.

 

[cohenzone]

"And none of them matter at all."

Do you have children? Wonderful point of view. ETA - And who said nobody would pay to watch semi-pros. You seem to think that winning an NC is the only thing of value in college sports.

 

[willie99]

I'm giving her the benefit of a doubt. I'm certain she's working on this 24/7, given how pro-active she was with respect to JH

The silence probably means there's some sort of ongoing discussions