Thamel : Big East Could Grow To 14 Team Fb And 18 Team Bb

[gars44]

I'd rather see our kids playing in Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Boulder, etc than playing in Syracuse, Morgantown, Blacksburg, etc. I'm with you Chin!!

Truth be told, even though Memphis as a city to live in is horrible and the schools academics are a joke, it's a great place to visit for a weekend and it's easily accessible from anywhere in the country. Never been there. What makes it a great place to visit?

And even though Boise is located in the middle of no where, they have been very good for a decade and there are a dozen really good schools in abysmally small media markets. Please translate: What are you talking about "dozen really good schools?"

The prospect of Uconn being in a conference with geographically aligned schools isn't happening any time soon. I don't see how having a conference with a national profile is small-minded. Yep.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Really nutmeg you're in the UConn admin? We disagree fine. This proposed conference won't make me travel to most of the away games that's for sure.

Nobody will travel to see any of those schools. Other than BYU they have zero name recognition. That conference will be a complete disaster.

 

[gars44]

And your point is what exactly? That we should close up shop? **** happens, and it has. We need to buck up and make the best out of a bad situation. A strong UConn in the revamped Big East makes us more attractive in future expansion, not less.

Exactly. Additionally, you tend to get what you deserve in life. What have we ever done, in football terms, to deserve more than CUSA status? We were given a huge gift by the BE football conference, just letting us in for the reasons it did. I mean, letting us in at the time would be viewed as letting UMass, or URI, or Maine, in to the current Big East. They don't "deserve" to be let in based on football, and neither did we. Now we are going to have to get out there and make it the old fashioned way: earn it.

 

[MattMang23]

I mean, letting us in at the time would be viewed as letting UMass, or URI, or Maine, in to the current Big East.

It wouldn't be like that at all. We had been a loyal Big East partner in all other sports for 20 prior years. One of the reasons we were allowed to join the Big East for football was because we were already in the Big East.

The correct comparison would be us to Villanova or Georgetown's 1-AA football teams.

 

[gars44]

Really nutmeg you're in the UConn admin? We disagree fine. This proposed conference won't make me travel to most of the away games that's for sure.

I don't go to very many away games to begin with. I'd rather go to an away game in San Diego, Nevada, etc., than to anywhere in the North Carolina triangle (which I have been to), Charlottesville (which I went to - never again), Blacksburg, Morgantown, Syracuse. Have you ever seen Dallas? Unbelievable city. Provo, Utah: no place more beautiful. Air Force Academy?

Look, some people dream about what Uconn could have been had we entered the forum of major college football back in the 40's. We could have been a Michigan, etc. We didn't. We aren't. We don't travel very well. Destinations in this new conference are head and shoulders above what we have now.

 

[gars44]

It wouldn't be like that at all. We had been a loyal Big East partner in all other sports for 20 prior years. One of the reasons we were allowed to join the Big East for football was because we were already in the Big East.

The correct comparison would be us to Villanova or Georgetown's 1-AA football teams.

Ok. I stand corrected. Thank you. However, if you are ever in need of a good example of a "distinction without a difference," you can refer back to this post.

 

[gars44]

Nobody will travel to see any of those schools. Other than BYU they have zero name recognition. That conference will be a complete disaster.

How bout the Fiesta Bowl. Oklahoma was the opponent. We didn't travel there. I know. I went. Scottsdale, Arizona is beautiful. We are a complete disaster now. The destinations being discussed are a huge improvement over Syracuse, Pittsburg, and Morgantown, WV. I mean, would you really travel to Morgantown, WV? For anything? And I love West Virginia. I'm going to root for them in the 12. But go there to watch Uconn play football????????? uh uh.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Nutmeg show me where this new conference has been promised its AQ status. I think an indy UConn could negotiate some bowl tie-ins. Obviously not bcd bowls but the goal would be to increase exposure and growth of the UConn fb brand to get invited that much sooner. All I'm saying is that Indy may b a viable option given for UConn.

It isn't a viable option. If you hate this league so much, go root for someone else. That is your prerogative as a fan. Why not just root for Alabama. Then you can see a power team crush other power teams. It is that easy.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Gars- Benefits of Memphis is Beale St. One of the great entertainment stips in the country. Great live music, food and street performers, roads are closed to cars and you can take your drink from bar to bar in Solo cups. For a weekend trip you can stay at the Peabody hotel or any one of the chain hotels.

As far as small market good teams, look at Alabama, Auburn, VT, WVU and Texas Tech are all in much smaller TV markets. Teams like FSU, Nebraska, Clemson or South Carolina are in smaller markets. But, all of them have multiple generations of football fans built in to the fan base and the areas/states damn near shut down for their games.

A winning tradition can overcome a lot of other shortfalls.

Again, I'm not happy that we are in the position we are in and it's by no means my preferred position, but given our situation I can handle adding all the good schools west of the Mississippi and add a few good ones east of the Mississippi. We can't sell a vision of history and tradition. We have to go all in on growth and future markets. Shitttty, but reality.

 

[gars44]

Gars- Benefits of Memphis is Beale St. One of the great entertainment stips in the country. Great live music, food and street performers, roads are closed to cars and you can take your drink from bar to bar in Solo cups. For a weekend trip you can stay at the Peabody hotel or any one of the chain hotels.

As far as small market good teams, look at Alabama, Auburn, VT, WVU and Texas Tech are all in much smaller TV markets. Teams like FSU, Nebraska, Clemson or South Carolina are in smaller markets. But, all of them have multiple generations of football fans built in to the fan base and the areas/states damn near shut down for their games.

A winning tradition can overcome a lot of other shortfalls.

Again, I'm not happy that we are in the position we are in and it's by no means my preferred position, but given our situation I can handle adding all the good schools west of the Mississippi and add a few good ones east of the Mississippi. We can't sell a vision of history and tradition. We have to go all in on growth and future markets. Shitttty, but reality.

Hey thanks for the splainin. Always enjoy your comments. Hope to see you when you are back in state. We should get together.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Hey thanks for the splainin. Always enjoy your comments. Hope to see you when you are back in state. We should get together.

Thanks.

Absolutely would enjoy catching up and throwing down a few. Unfortunately I don't know if I'll make it any where near CT in 2012.

 

[tzznandrew]

No, independence would look like

@Boston College
Georgia Tech
@Buffalo
Ohio
Ball State
@Miami
Temple
@Vanderbilt
Florida Atlantic
Kent State
@Navy
@Iowa State

If that looks familiar, it's UConn's 2002 schedule.

@Miami, @BC were contractual games--the cost of UConn moving into the BE.
GTech, ISU, and Vandy were games also scheduled because of the fact that UConn was joining the BE.

Of the relevant teams on that list (BC, GT, UM, Temple [?], Vandy, Navy ISU) we may be able to schedule a couple, but not enough to fill in a whole schedule. More likely, there'd be a couple of that quality, and many more of the Buffalo/Kent quality.

 

[MattMang23]

I don't advocate independence and I realize BC and Miami were obligations to meet in order to join the league. Should have made myself more clear. I would not be

 

[MattMang23]

funny. my phone sent my reply without me hitting the post button... anyway, I wouldn't be excited for a home slate w Ohio, ball St Kent St and the like.

 

[Mots010]

5 star recruits will be lining up to play in this conference once Calhoun is gone. Please just get us in the ACC somehow...

 

[Stinger92860]

Based on what?
I don't see how any of these schools are better at football than WV and Pitt.

Check the rankings and come back with facts.

 

[Hoophound]

5 star recruits will be lining up to play in this conference once Calhoun is gone. Please just get us in the ACC somehow...

Lol. The bigger issue for basketball recruiting will be JC's scheduling preferences. We will need to beef up the OOC slate so kids know they will be playing the best and JC isn't big on that.

 

[upstater]

Check the rankings and come back with facts.

OK, Butler into the BE, Louisville out.
I consulted the rankings. Words to live by, thnx.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

If we were to go independent we could have the strongest road schedule of any school in the country (which may be the only means of having a top schedule and being able to lure some better recruits) but I doubt we could get anyone decent to consider anything remotely close to an even home and home arrangement. Would four home games a year (almost always against MAC level competition) be acceptable to our fan base? I don't see how it could be considering many griped about the idea of playing home games against ND in NFL venues.

 

[whaler11]

If we were to go independent we could have the strongest road schedule of any school in the country (which may be the only means of having a top schedule and being able to lure some better recruits) but I doubt we could get anyone decent to consider anything remotely close to an even home and home arrangement. Would four home games a year (almost always against MAC level competition) be acceptable to our fan base? I don't see how it could be considering many griped about the idea of playing home games against ND in NFL venues.

Independence would kill the program immediately. It a total and complete non-starter. It can't be done here.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Independence would kill the program immediately. It a total and complete non-starter. It can't be done here.

No kidding. If this were 1975 (and there were a dozen of decent to good indies around to schedule games with) we may have had a shot but that ship went the way of pet rocks and mood rings.

 

[Stinger92860]

You are too easily impressed by a school that plays flotsam in a very very very weak conference. Boise St., like all the other similar schools that have gone before it, experiences no headwind during the season, and gets some notoriety later on.

Look at how Utah is doing in the Pac-10. They are roadkill. Utah was Boise St. before Boise St. Now their program is in tatters.

This is what happens when teams have to bring it each and every week.

Don't be so easily impressed by BSU.

BSU 43 Oklahoma 42 Jan 2 2007....I am impressed

 

[upstater]

BSU 43 Oklahoma 42 Jan 2 2007....I am impressed

This is too easy.

2006: Sugar Bowl: (11) West Virginia 38, (7) Georgia 35
2008: Fiesta Bowl: (9) West Virginia 48, (4) Oklahoma 28

 

[NutmegState]

WVU is gone upstater. Out of the realistic options for the Big East, who do you think we should add to try to replace WVU as the best team in our conference?

 

[upstater]

WVU is gone upstater. Out of the realistic options for the Big East, who do you think we should add to try to replace WVU as the best team in our conference?

Are you following the thread? The argument is that the BE is going to improve as a football league. I'm not against adding Boise, not at all. I'm against the idea that they are better at football than WV.

 

[whaler11]

Are you following the thread? The argument is that the BE is going to improve as a football league. I'm not against adding Boise, not at all. I'm against the idea that they are better at football than WV.

Well right this second of course they are.

 

[upstater]

Well right this second of course they are.

Well, right at this second, Houston is better than Florida, but you have plenty of people who would dispute the idea they are a better candidate for the BE.

 

[whaler11]

Well, right at this second, Houston is better than Florida, but you have plenty of people who would dispute the idea they are a better candidate for the BE.

But West Virginia isn't a Big East candidate so I'm not sure what your point is? Would I rather have West Virginia than Boise? Of course. But that isn't a choice I or anyone else gets to make.

 

[NutmegState]

But West Virginia isn't a Big East candidate so I'm not sure what your point is? Would I rather have West Virginia than Boise? Of course. But that isn't a choice I or anyone else gets to make.

Thank you Whaler, that was what I was getting at.

 

[upstater]

But West Virginia isn't a Big East candidate so I'm not sure what your point is? Would I rather have West Virginia than Boise? Of course. But that isn't a choice I or anyone else gets to make.

Sigh. You have to follow the thread rather than going over this again. People are making the case that BE football is going to improve by losing WV and adding Boise. But I already wrote that in my response to your post.