The Athletic Group of 5 Mailbag Question: Will UConn's turnaround under Jim Mora get them in a conference? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

The Athletic Group of 5 Mailbag Question: Will UConn's turnaround under Jim Mora get them in a conference?

nycscooby said:
So long as we can schedule decently with 4-5 P5 games each season then I like indy status. Just keep winning and the rest will take care of itself.
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I'd prefer 6 but I'd take 4-5.
 
ZooCougar said:
Except why would we even consider the Mountain West?
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Because we would only play 4 games out west a year and it will likely a) be #6 league perception-wise going forward (big for CFP) and b) if they require basketball games in return, the top of their league is respectable (SDSU, UNLV, New Mexico, etc.).
 
shizzle787 said:
Because we would only play 4 games out west a year and it will likely a) be #6 league perception-wise going forward (big for CFP) and b) if they require basketball games in return, the top of their league is respectable (SDSU, UNLV, New Mexico, etc.).
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Until the PAC takes 1 or 2 as expected. It’s a terrible idea.
 
ZooCougar said:
Until the PAC takes 1 or 2 as expected. It’s a terrible idea.
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I agree. That's why you wait to see what happens with the Pac-12. Either way, I don't think we move football-only to the MW.
 
MKH2317 said:
Even if we’re winning 10-12 games per season and fighting for the G5 crown, I still don’t think we’d get people at the rent against any C-USA or MAC team the way we would against just about any P5 opponent. I think it’s P5 or independence no matter what. The game against Michigan is potentially what it would look like if we were in a P5 conference
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I’m not sure that The Michigan game is likely to repeat very often regardless of conference. When you look at other P5 leagues, you tealize that for every Michigan there are a couple of Purdues and Indianas and Illinois and Rutgers. You look at BC and see that their attendance isn’t overwhelming when they play Virginia and Georgia Tech. Rutgers rarely sells out. BC rarely sells out (Close for Clemson. Will for Notre Dame)
 



-> The new-look Conference USA will shift its entire slate of October football games to midweek evenings starting with the 2023 season. CUSA, which will add five new members for the 2023-24 academic year, will play most of its October league games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with a handful of games also planned for Thursday and Friday nights.

The deal is viewed as an upgrade for the conference, given that many of its games air on Stadium and NFL Network, so midweek games on ESPN and CBS SN will put C-USA football on channels people actually get and on nights when they aren't overshadowed by the Power 5.

So that's what C-USA gets. What's in this deal for ESPN and CBS. It's basically free content.

SBJ reports each school will earn "in the neighborhood of $750,000 per year" from this contract, which is below what MAC and Sun Belt schools earn and roughly $100 million per year below what Big Ten schools will earn by the end of their deals. <-
 
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huskymedic said:



-> The new-look Conference USA will shift its entire slate of October football games to midweek evenings starting with the 2023 season. CUSA, which will add five new members for the 2023-24 academic year, will play most of its October league games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with a handful of games also planned for Thursday and Friday nights.

The deal is viewed as an upgrade for the conference, given that many of its games air on Stadium and NFL Network, so midweek games on ESPN and CBS SN will put C-USA football on channels people actually get and on nights when they aren't overshadowed by the Power 5.

So that's what C-USA gets. What's in this deal for ESPN and CBS. It's basically free content.

SBJ reports each school will earn "in the neighborhood of $750,000 per year" from this contract, which is below what MAC and Sun Belt schools earn and roughly $100 million per year below what Big Ten schools will earn by the end of their deals. <-
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Ew.
 
huskymedic said:



-> The new-look Conference USA will shift its entire slate of October football games to midweek evenings starting with the 2023 season. CUSA, which will add five new members for the 2023-24 academic year, will play most of its October league games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with a handful of games also planned for Thursday and Friday nights.

The deal is viewed as an upgrade for the conference, given that many of its games air on Stadium and NFL Network, so midweek games on ESPN and CBS SN will put C-USA football on channels people actually get and on nights when they aren't overshadowed by the Power 5.

So that's what C-USA gets. What's in this deal for ESPN and CBS. It's basically free content.

SBJ reports each school will earn "in the neighborhood of $750,000 per year" from this contract, which is below what MAC and Sun Belt schools earn and roughly $100 million per year below what Big Ten schools will earn by the end of their deals. <-
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I mean yeah. If the only benefit of this conference is a possible conference championship and a NY6 bowl game then no worth it. We are practically getting paid that amount now and we had a product that was worse than ever.
 
From the article:

"SBJ reports each school will earn "in the neighborhood of $750,000 per year" from this contract, which is below what MAC and Sun Belt schools earn and roughly $100 million per year below what Big Ten schools will earn by the end of their deals."

Ouch. Definitely want nothing to do with that league.
 
Leagues that are still up:
Big East (7/1/25)
Pac-12 (finishing up soon)
MW (7/1/26)
Notre Dame
Am I missing any?
 
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huskymedic said:
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CONN78SEJ said:
I think they already are especially if Clemson and UNC leave. I’m sure they’re also aware they’d be getting two of the best basketball programs in the country, and one of the best baseball programs too, and Mora’s football team of course.
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The should throw out BCU now and add UConn in its place.
 
FCF is exactly right today. There is no reason to do this today, and there is no reason to think we couldn’t join the MAC for CUSA for football whenever we wanted to.

I’m more fearful for the future of independence in football than FCF and many others here are, but if Independence becomes impossible I’m not concerned that we can’t make the move when and if we have to.
 
Kolumbo said:
Liberty is ranked with only Tulane as a non P5 ranked higher. This year Liberty scheduled Arkansas, BYU, Wake, VPI, UCONN. Next year it is going to C-USA with Bowling Green, Buffalo, ODU, and UMass on its schedule. Oooph.
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and yet they accepted the offer to join CUSA.

BTW if they go undefeated next year they might end their season in a major bowl, so maybe it's not so bad. They will be selling their recruits that realistic dream.

What kind of record do you think Mora might lead us to next year if we played Liberty's 2023 schedule? and do you think that record might assist our goal of getting a P5 upgrade?
 
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huskymedic said:
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To be fair, if they marketed this properly, it could become a thing. NFL has Mondays and some Thursdays. This gives guys a reason to get together on an otherwise feel-less day. And it has no competition from the crowded Saturday time slots.

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UConn shouldn’t be thinking of a minor conference. Independence is far more interesting for the fan base which needs to continue growing. The ACC is currently a prisoner of their grant of rights deal until 2036 (in hindsight a very bad deal by Commissioner John Swofford) Any TV revenue a school is due from the ACC’s contract with ESPN is conference property regardless of whether the school remains an ACC member or leaves for another conference.
But things change.,They always can. People can change, ESPN can change,
I was told by a BC poobah that if there were ever ACC defections (via tough litigation) UConn is now a coveted entity—especially and (cruelly) ironically by BC.
Our goals and David Benedict’s mantra should be Keep building, Keep winning, Keep Mora!
 
AzHusky said:
I found this in a google search:
The bottom line
An extremely approximated breakdown of what to expect over the next few years, both in a Big East reality and a hypothetical situation where UConn stayed in the AAC. This does not take into account a potential bump in attendance:

Big East:
Value of Big East deal with FOX: $4.2 million per year, per team
Value of current deal with SNY: About $1 million per year
Expected value of football deal with SNY: About $1 million per year
Potential football buy game: $1 million per year
Bowl game payout: $310,000, based on 2019
Men’s Basketball Fund: $1.6 million
AAC exit fee: $1 million per year, after 2020
TOTAL: $8.1 million

AAC:
Value of new AAC deal: About $7 million per year, per team
Bowl Game Payout: $2.05 million per team in 2019
Men’s Basketball Fund: $725,000
ESPN+ Production costs: About $1 million per year
Additional travel: About $2 million per year
TOTAL: $6.75 million
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Forget the AAC, it’s a money pit for UConn athletics and recruiting successes would drop to near zero.
 
Nostical said:
Independence is far more interesting for the fan base
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Myth vs Reality:

The Michigan game was major disappointment and generated no buzz at all. The Boneyard was dead all week of that game. Same for the NC State game.

We are far more fired up about the games against UMASS, Liberty and Army. Even the FIU game generated more excitement. The reality is wins generate buzz, and it hardly matter who we are playing.

Myth:

The AAC buried UCONN football.

Reality:

Lousy coaching and constant losing buried UCONN football.
 
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metsfan2323 said:
Myth vs Reality:

The Michigan game was major disappointment and generated no buzz at all. The Boneyard was dead all week of that game. Same for the NC State game.

We are far more fired up about the games against UMASS, Liberty and Army. Even the FIU game generated more excitement. The reality is wins generate buzz, and it hardly matter who we are playing.

Myth:

The AAC buried UCONN football.

Reality:

Lousy coaching and constant losing buried UCONN football.
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I think my assumption is that we would be a competitive team in the scenarios being talked about, a lot more so than now. If that's the case then the narrative changes and stomping UMass or Toledo draws a lot less attention of the boneyard and from the fans while being in a potentially competitive game with Michigan draws a lot more. This year after the cuse game everyone knew it was going to be a curb stomping in Anne arbor and that we could compete well with UMass, thus the difference in excitement.
 
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That reporter is clueless. He said teams need a league for rivalries and league titles, yet I'm sure he couldn't name a potentially interesting rival for UConn in CUSA or the MAC. If you aren't interested in the teams you are playing then winning a title over them is also not particularly exciting.

I expect Navy will return to independent status in the next 5 years. Their rivals aren't in the AAC and their championship is the Commander in Chief Trophy, not the AAC title. The rest of their programs are well placed in the Patriot League. What does the AAC do for their football?

Navy actually invented the independent scheduling model that has worked well for Army in recent years. They had ND every year and would add 2-4 other G5 level (including BE schools such as Rutgers and Pitt before the league broke up) with many being mid-to-low tier schools in their conferences that Navy might beat in a good season. Add to that the CiC games to make a relatively attractive 1/2 schedule. The rest was made up of directional schools and mid-majors that they would almost always beat to ensure bowl eligibility. It was extremely successful in rebuilding the program. As a military academy they had no problem finding a bowl to play in as long as they qualified.

Temple would be the next possible football independent. I can't imagine they are thrilled to be in a conference where the nearest full member is ECU. Establishing a "quasi-conference" of northeastern independents (Army, Navy, Temple, UMass and UConn) would ensure being able to book October and November opponents when most teams have turned toward their league games. Of course, that grouping would be a lot more attractive if UConn can build a consistent winner to provide a significant rival and attendance draw on the back half of the home schedule.
 
Is it just me, or is it cool being able to custom design schedules and not have to worry about playing required conference games? It would be different if as an independent we were struggling to set up compelling matchups - we’re not.

But instead we play great schedule and only thing we miss out on is some bowl structure that no one understands and it becoming less relevant as time goes on.

In reality, the ACC is logical choice and we should settle for no less.
 
metsfan2323 said:
and yet they accepted the offer to join CUSA.

BTW if they go undefeated next year they might end their season in a major bowl, so maybe it's not so bad. They will be selling their recruits that realistic dream.

What kind of record do you think Mora might lead us to next year if we played Liberty's 2023 schedule? and do you think that record might assist our goal of getting a P5 upgrade?
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They accepted, because:

1) They are actually a geographical fit. We are not.
2) Ex football, their sports are a better fit than their current home (ASUN). We wouldn't move our other sports anywhere.
3) They need to grab their only brass ring, before either the NCAA comes calling (likely), or Freeze bolts (also likely)

Any UConn fan equating us with Liberty on any plane should submit their fandom permanently.
 
pepband99 said:
They accepted, because:

1) They are actually a geographical fit. We are not.
2) Ex football, their sports are a better fit than their current home (ASUN). We wouldn't move our other sports anywhere.
3) They need to grab their only brass ring, before either the NCAA comes calling (likely), or Freeze bolts (also likely)

Any UConn fan equating us with Liberty on any plane should submit their fandom permanently.
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Dagnabbit. We missed our shot to play Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State on weeknights in October!
 
metsfan2323 said:
Myth vs Reality:

The Michigan game was major disappointment and generated no buzz at all. The Boneyard was dead all week of that game. Same for the NC State game.

We are far more fired up about the games against UMASS, Liberty and Army. Even the FIU game generated more excitement. The reality is wins generate buzz, and it hardly matter who we are playing.

Myth:

The AAC buried UCONN football.

Reality:

Lousy coaching and constant losing buried UCONN football.
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I don’t disagree that winning generates interest and buzz. But I do believe that if we were 5-2 and NOW playing games against Michigan, NC State and Syracuse, the fan base would be going nuts. The lack of interest at the time was that we had sucked for 7 years and no one cared about anything
 
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