The AAC moving forward

[masshusk77]

With a decent start for the AAC as a whole, what do all of the BY'ers think of the conference moving forward? I think its obvious that most would like to see UConn play an ACC like schedule but I think the AAC is going to continue to develop and here's why.

8 of the 11 schools have over 20,000 students and only 1 has less than 10,000. Big universities create atmospheres where successful athletic programs can flourish both financially and with fan support.

8 of the 11 schools are public universities. The economic challenges the U.S has faced have pushed many college aged kids to Public schools where they'll be paying much less than private schools. More students=More Funding=Better Athletic Resources=Better Team's.

Continued development across the board in girls youth basketball. The sport and especially the talent of coaches and players has grown immensely over the years which means their is much more depth in the game. The more players that are good, the more parity their is across the board in WCBB.

Playing in the same conference as the best college program in the history of the sport makes kids want to see how they stack up against the best.

I'm looking forward to hearing if any of you have some thoughts on the subject.

 

[vtcwbuff]

My thoughts are that the AAC has made little progress, at least statistically. Take UConn out of the equation and the conference is playing .500 ball. Both Sagarin and Massey have the conference ranked below the Big East. Less UConn, the AAC has a crappy 1-10 record against top 50 teams. There are no AAC teams ranked in the AP/Coaches polls.

 

[tomcat]

Even if the AAC is doing better this year -- and I will concede it has the potential to continue to improve for the next several years -- the reality is that UConn would be far better off somewhere else, but is not likely to get there any time soon.

 

[UcMiami]

vtcwbuff - I agree that the wins/losses are not significantly different this year to last, but based on the scores, it appears even the bottom of the league is playing mostly competitive games which was not true last year. It takes time for recruiting and excitement to build for a program, and it is a more competitive sport than it was 30 years ago when Geno parachuted into Storrs and had almost immediate success.

The top end of the league will fluctuate quite a bit early in the year - USF had a WTF loss to St. John's after playing Baylor tough on the road so they dropped - but I think STJ is going to be a surprising team this year, and I expect USF to be back in the polls soon. ECU, Tulane, SMU, and even Houston have played top 25 teams down to the last few possessions. That is the improvement I am seeing. I don't realistically expect them in the top ten for a number of years and they shouldn't be competitive with Uconn when Uconn is blowing out teams like OSU by 40.

 

[buddy]

Even if the AAC is doing better this year -- and I will concede it has the potential to continue to improve for the next several years -- the reality is that UConn would be far better off somewhere else, but is not likely to get there any time soon.

Sadly that is probably the case. The longer UConn remains outside of the P5, the less likely it will be able to compete in the next couple of years.

 

[Boreifs]

With a decent start for the AAC as a whole, what do all of the BY'ers think of the conference moving forward? I think its obvious that most would like to see UConn play an ACC like schedule but I think the AAC is going to continue to develop and here's why.

8 of the 11 schools have over 20,000 students and only 1 has less than 10,000. Big universities create atmospheres where successful athletic programs can flourish both financially and with fan support.

8 of the 11 schools are public universities. The economic challenges the U.S has faced have pushed many college aged kids to Public schools where they'll be paying much less than private schools. More students=More Funding=Better Athletic Resources=Better Team's.

Continued development across the board in girls youth basketball. The sport and especially the talent of coaches and players has grown immensely over the years which means their is much more depth in the game. The more players that are good, the more parity their is across the board in WCBB.

Playing in the same conference as the best college program in the history of the sport makes kids want to see how they stack up against the best.

I'm looking forward to hearing if any of you have some thoughts on the subject.

All the points you made are well taken, especially regarding the size and public nature of the schools in the conference. However, in collegiate sports, tradition is still a major factor in recruiting student athletes. The women's programs very often (not always, of course) strive to develop from the success of the men, but the AAC has very few members who have had a lot of success with men's basketball. Excluding UConn, the most successful men's programs are probably Cincinnati and Houston; they are currently among the weakest women's teams in the conference. As a result, the women's programs are left with having to develop their own legacies; it is incredibly difficult to build a program from the bottom up, and even more difficult to sustain it.

 

[4evercard]

All the points you made are well taken, especially regarding the size and public nature of the schools in the conference. However, in collegiate sports, tradition is still a major factor in recruiting student athletes. The women's programs very often (not always, of course) strive to develop from the success of the men, but the AAC has very few members who have had a lot of success with men's basketball. Excluding UConn, the most successful men's programs are probably Cincinnati and Houston; they are currently among the weakest women's teams in the conference. As a result, the women's programs are left with having to develop their own legacies; it is incredibly difficult to build a program from the bottom up, and even more difficult to sustain it.

UConn has basketball success far exceeding 90% of any program in the P5 conferences. Yet, anytime this subject comes up it belongs on the football forum. UConn had many advantages over Louisville to get the offer we got, but they fell short on the one and only reason parting us and the reason the P5 exist--football. Though we were both hardly national names in the game of football Louisville came closer to being such. That alone, plus a bit of help from Florida State, proved to be the reason UConn was kept out. I don't see UConn getting in a P5 until they start making some noise on the football field. That's a real shame because your overall athletic program, aside from football, far exceeds that of a large number of P5 schools.

 

[Kibitzer]

Yes, football is the dominant factor for P5 admission, so the biggest challenges facing UConn are (1) winning games (especially vs. quality opponents) and (2) drawing crowds.

Should UConn achieve both of these goals, that will generate TV interest. Once UConn becomes a big draw in the New England market, an invitation will land on Warde Manual's desk.

It's a big challenge but Bob Diaco just might be the guy to pull it off. Let's watch how he recruits, how his teams perform, and how many fannies fill seats at the Rent.

 

[HuskyNan]

UConn has basketball success far exceeding 90% of any program in the P5 conferences. Yet, anytime this subject comes up it belongs on the football forum. UConn had many advantages over Louisville to get the offer we got, but they fell short on the one and only reason parting us and the reason the P5 exist--football. Though we were both hardly national names in the game of football Louisville came closer to being such. That alone, plus a bit of help from Florida State, proved to be the reason UConn was kept out. I don't see UConn getting in a P5 until they start making some noise on the football field. That's a real shame because your overall athletic program, aside from football, far exceeds that of a large number of P5 schools.

There were two reasons, the second being the nimrod at Boston College blackballed UConn. Nothing like some middle school reasoning to make a business decision.

 

[Jim]

There are no AAC teams ranked in the AP/Coaches polls.

South Florida isn't in the AAC anymore?

 

[vtcwbuff]

South Florida isn't in the AAC anymore?

My bad. I should have checked the polls. I was looking at Sagarin and Massey where USF is the top ranked AAC team outside of UConn. Sagarin has them at #36 and Massey ranks them 31st.