The list should read like this...
1. Jeff Hathaway - UCONN's former AD who sat on his hands and did absolutely nothing to advance an athletic department that had, in his tenure, national championship caliber basketball programs (men's and women's) AND the fastest rising D-1 football program in the country. His uninspired hiring of Paul Pasqualoni delivered a clear message to the rest of the "Power" conferences that UCONN was not committed to building upon the success that the football program enjoyed while under Randy Edsall. The hiring of Pasqualoni not only set UCONN's football program in the predictable downward spiral that the majority of UCONN fans knew it would, but it also alienated UCONN from its biggest donor(s) and its fanbase (see in the dwindling attendance figures reported during Pasqualoni's tenure). As if that wasn't enough, also on his watch, UCONN's crown jewel program: men's basketball, did not meet minimum APR standards and was given a postseason ban in the very year that Louisville won a national championship. Jeff Hathaway deserves a HUGE "Thank You" card from Louisville fans.
2. Paul Pasqualoni - UCONN's former football head coach was every bit the failure that UCONN fans expected on the day of Jeff Hathaway's announcement that he would replace Randy Edsall. Amongst Pasqualoni's many poor decisions was the stubborn hiring (and subsequent retaining) of former Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach/Associate Head Coach George DeLeone. UCONN's bread and butter style: strong OL play and running game became a non-factor under DeLeone's tutelage and predictable play-calling. Losses against the likes of Temple, Buffalo, Western Michigan (twice), Syracuse, USF, and TOWSON highlight the ineptitude of the former coach. Even when former Huskies have gone on to be drafted in the NFL and have carved out successful careers as professionals, UCONN could still only manage 5, 5, and 0 wins under Pasqualoni before he was FINALLY replaced after an embarrassing blowout loss at Buffalo. A nice guy? Sure. But in this case, nice guys do finish last (or at least behind Louisville in ACC expansion).
3. Boston College - How this school carries so much weight in the ACC while being a mostly dead-weight to the conference is mind boggling. Their crown jewel program: hockey, isn't even a member of the ACC. But for whatever reason(s), the seeds of doubt that they have planted about UCONN's ACC resume have sprouted and spread like a bed of weeds throughout the conference. Had UCONN been invited into the ACC with Syracuse in 2011, as originally desired, then Louisville would have had to present their case for ACC inclusion against Pitt. While Pitt's athletic department has had its fair share of mishaps over the years, namely with finding a football coach for a tenure longer than 2 days/2 years, it's football program was in a better position in 2013 than UCONN's. Plus, Pitt could have argued its case more favorably amongst the ACC's "football schools" that adding Pitt would also add fertile PA football recruiting grounds. But that's not how the 2011 ACC expansion happened, as we all know. Boston College's successful smear campaign against a UCONN invitation led to the conference adding Pitt (under direction from ESPiN) and, because of #s 1 and 2 above, the timing tilted in Louisville's favor as Pasqualoni went to UCONN and Charlie Strong went to Louisville. In a dog eat dog world, it was these two "bird" schools that soared ahead.
4. Tom Jurich
5. Charlie Strong
6. Rick Pitino
