The AAC has an opportunity to make a statement in the coming weeks

[champs99and04]

As soon as one of our conference mates starts winning football games, even if they have nothing else to offer a P5 conference (ex - Memphis), they seem to leapfrog us in CR. We used to have a few Memphis fans come over to our board with the lame "excited to be in the AAC with you guys" posts. Now, we get them to come over to post CR rumors about how they're up next. So you'll forgive me if I don't get too excited to see any of our conference mates win a game.

The AAC is very much a waiting list conference. Every single member in it would spit in each other's faces to get out of it and into a P5 conference. I am only concerned with how we do and how we play and how we position ourselves for a potential B1G/ACC invite. I'll become a full-fledged conference flag bearer, like I used to be in the Big East, once we are in a P5.

I don't blame any UConn fan for being paranoid given how brutal our luck in CR is, and you're certainly more informed on the subject than me, but I think a strong AAC gives us a much better chance to position ourselves for a P5 offer. Who knows what would have happened had Louisville football not had a resurgence under Strong, but you have to think that our play on the field at that time was what did us in. I'm not saying that that was the right way for the AAC to approach it (it wasn't), just that it was another instance of wrong place, wrong time (Syracuse and Pitt getting invited the year following our Fiesta bowl appearance seems to undermine that point, but stick with me).

To me, all playing in a strong football conference does is give us a chance to enhance our football product. It makes recruiting easier when you can sell playing ranked conference opponents in addition to ranked OOC opponents. It expands our exposure to play teams that are nationally relevant.

For as bad as our CR luck has been, I cannot imagine schools like Memphis, UCF and USF are ahead of us on the waiting list. They might be on the B12's list, but that is simply a geographical limitation that will always be there.

UConn checks a lot of the boxes that conferences look for when they are expanding. If and when the ACC and Big Ten expand again, the only thing that will keep us on the outside looking in is fear that we will water down their football product. Even if we finish second or third in the AAC, it's hard to see the ACC or Big Ten opting for Florida directional schools or academically inferior institutions like Memphis.

And, perhaps most importantly, what, above all else, is going to get us a ticket out of the G5? Fan support. Cable boxes. Ticket sales. Playing in a strong conference undoubtedly creates more excitement around the program. Do we have a better shot of selling out on a Friday night against East Carolina if they are in the top 25? Of course. And it is a lot easier to make the pitch to a power conference when the fan support is there even under less than ideal circumstances - "Hey, we sold out against Temple last year, imagine how many we would draw against Ohio State or Michigan." In that scenario, an expanded Rent becomes far more viable.

 

[Gll8889]

I got no problem rooting for my AAC bros. We're all stuck in this ship together. Maybe we "deserve" more, but I find that's rather silly thinking. Right here, right now, we're in AAC, and every time one of our AAC bros takes down a more prestigious program, it raises the profile of the conference, and therefore, us. If you have an interest in UConn's rise as a program, then, for now, at least, you have every reason to root for the AAC as well.

I agree 100%. The conference is what it is and we ought to make the best of it. Although it might not seem like it we really aren't that far removed from playing in the Fiesta Bowl and I know many things have changed but we know there is potential. Having other AAC teams perform well is good for the league - a rising tide lifts all boats.

 

[Confident Carl]

Phew. Better off than UMass.

Alot better off than UMASS!

 

[Oregon Owl]

A stronger conference is good for all. I think the schools really want one of two things, getting a P5 invite, or getting P5 money and respect right within the American.