The basketball team should play in Boston every year.

[Duncan Idaho]

Had to be another one or I'm wrong. I am sure of BC and UConn/URI because they played the first night. Forgot who BC played. They handed out winter knit hats with CUERVO GOLD on them. Long time ago Duncan, I could have things mixed up no doubt.

Yeah, it was LOL

 

[Sky ball]

How about a 4 team tournament at The Bawsten Gawden? UConn, PC, UMASS and Harvard? The 4 best BBall teams in N.ENG

 

[CallMeBruce]

If we're gonna play in Boston, let's play a big-time school. I'd want to play PC at Gampel or their place if we were gonna do that. No use making the drive to Boston unless it's a marquee program.

So an intra-squad game, then?

 

[MexicoHusky]

I thought there was talk of a BC/UCONN series after we played them a couple years back. I guess BC has tanked since then so maybe the interest isn't there on our part.

 

[Waquoit]

UConn had Hanson, BC Ernie Cobb, URI Sly and PC Soup.

All Connecticut guys

 

[Deepster]

We recruit heavily there. It's a natural market to extent our fan base. It's an easy road trip for our fans. It extends our area of dominant influence.

As I thought starter, a neutral court game at the Garden between Providence and UConn would be a natural. That would fill the place pretty easily. Both teams have a reason to want to outshine BCU in this market. It would be a money maker. Or, perhaps, while there is no reason to ever go to Amherst, playing UMass in the Garden could happen in the years that we don't play PC. I would even consider playing BCU if it was at the Garden.

Playing at the Garden would be an event. An easy way to expand our media footprint. It gives us another thing to sell to P5 conference -access to the Boston market. Yes, I know P5 membership is football driven. They will start playing there next year. Not the Garden, Foxboro.

As far as basketball is concerned, there is no downside playing a little basketball and raising our profile in a top ten market.

So wait. One game in Boston each year is going to expand our media footprint, attract a P5 conference and help us get recruits we would have otherwise missed out on? And this is an annual game against PC, who went like 20 years without an NCAA win?

 

[Matrim55]

So wait. One game in Boston each year is going to expand our media footprint, attract a P5 conference and help us get recruits we would have otherwise missed out on? And this is an annual game against PC, who went like 20 years without an NCAA win?

No, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to lay down a marker in Boston, would it?

People on here acting like it's a zero sum game - either this one trip fixes everything or it's not worth doing. That's nuts.

A trip to Boston is easy, we have a million graduates there, we're recruiting the duck* out of the area - which, by the way, is producing better players than New York at the moment - and it's a reminder to the rest of New England who's got the biggest d*** in the region. Who cares if it doesn't turn into a home run of an event? It'll still be great.

 

[polycom]

How about a 4 team tournament at The Bawsten Gawden? UConn, PC, UMASS and Harvard? The 4 best BBall teams in N.ENG

Basketball version of The Beanpot tourney.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Why not play Notre Dame? They like the Eastern exposure and would be more than willing to play the game and usually have quality teams.

 

[Palatine]

So wait. One game in Boston each year is going to expand our media footprint, attract a P5 conference and help us get recruits we would have otherwise missed out on? And this is an annual game against PC, who went like 20 years without an NCAA win?

Not even close to what I said. Which was..

"We recruit heavily there. It's a natural market to extent our fan base. It's an easy road trip for our fans. It extends our area of dominant influence....
An easy way to expand our media footprint. It gives us another thing to sell to P5 conference -access to the Boston market. Yes, I know P5 membership is football driven. They will start playing there next year. Not the Garden, Foxboro....As far as basketball is concerned, there is no downside playing a little basketball and raising our profile in a top ten market."

It will absolutely extend our media footprint, just with coverage in the Boston Papers alone. I didn't say it would attract p5, I said we could use it as another thing to sell p5, which we could. I said we already recruit heavily there, which we do, so it makes a nice home game for JA. And PC has lots of fans and alums in Boston which helps see tickets for such a game, that is absolutely true as well.

So what's your point? Playing in Boston is a negative? Do you have a point? My point is summed up as follows " there is no downside playing a little basketball and raising our profile in a top ten market."

 

[PRHusky]

We can't continue giving up home games in exchange for neutral-site games unless said games are played in NYC, preferably at MSG, although Barclay's is also a good option.

I would not mind a one-time event, like when we played Gonzaga in 2007 in Boston, but nothing permanent. Nobody cares about college sports in Boston.

 

[Matrim55]

We can't continue giving up home games in exchange for neutral-site games unless said games are played in NYC, preferably at MSG, although Barclay's is also a good option.

I would not mind a one-time event, like when we played Gonzaga in 2007 in Boston, but nothing permanent. Nobody cares about college sports in Boston.

UConn grads in Boston care about UConn. And if we fill the Garden against PC, BC, UMass, Notre Dame or Harvard, the Globe - biggest paper in New England - will cover it. They might do a story on UConn's Boston lineage, going from Jalen to Shabazz to Oriakhi all the way back to Calhoun (that's what I'd pitch if I was UConn's SID). The local TV networks will show the game. Get ESPN or FS1 to come up there and build a night around it - "Hoops in New England."

Will it change everything? Of course not. But it doesn't have to - it just has to help solidify our brand and recruiting footprint in the giant city & producer of top high school talent just up the road.

I'd punt a home game vs. Sacred Heart for that every. single. year.

 

[Palatine]

We can't continue giving up home games in exchange for neutral-site games unless said games are played in NYC, preferably at MSG, although Barclay's is also a good option.

I would not mind a one-time event, like when we played Gonzaga in 2007 in Boston, but nothing permanent. Nobody cares about college sports in Boston.

It's true that Boston is a pro town. But pretty much all their college stuff is 2nd rate. But they have TV sets there. Lots of them. And that is not an inconsequential consideration.

 

[intlzncster]

I think if you did a 1 ticket double header with BC, PC, and Harvard and rotated the match ups that would be a good draw and a nice way to ditch a 300+ rpi team.

No BC. They don't deserve it. Besides BC only has a couple of fans anyway. And whose to say those 2 guys won't have a schedule conflict?

 

[OkaForPrez]

No BC. They don't deserve it. Besides BC only has a couple of fans anyway. And whose to say those 2 guys won't have a schedule conflict?

They are fun to hate. I don't care what they deserve or can support, there's no other team in the area I'd want to beat more.

 

[pepband99]

UConn grads in Boston care about UConn. And if we fill the Garden against PC, BC, UMass, Notre Dame or Harvard, the Globe - biggest paper in New England - will cover it. They might do a story on UConn's Boston lineage, going from Jalen to Shabazz to Oriakhi all the way back to Calhoun (that's what I'd pitch if I was UConn's SID). The local TV networks will show the game. Get ESPN or FS1 to come up there and build a night around it - "Hoops in New England."

Will it change everything? Of course not. But it doesn't have to - it just has to help solidify our brand and recruiting footprint in the giant city & producer of top high school talent just up the road.

I'd punt a home game vs. Sacred Heart for that every. single. year.

My main fear is that a less than stellar showing will feed the unreasonable perception machine (e.g. the Fiesta Bowl that keeps getting harped on).

If you can make this a knockout - by all means, go for it. But, I fear they play with fire otherwise.

 

[UConnJim]

I would like to see UConn play Kentucky, Kansas, or Big 10 teams like Ohio St., Michigan, or Michigan St. in Boston. These games would sell out. If we play BC, I would prefer the game at Conte Forum so the UConn fans can take over their home court just like the the Big East days.

 

[Deepster]

So what's your point? Playing in Boston is a negative? Do you have a point? My point is summed up as follows " there is no downside playing a little basketball and raising our profile in a top ten market."

So, it is another thing to sell to a P5? Hey, we play one game a year against Providence in Boston? In a state neither university is from.

Yes. It's a negative. It's probably more cost than it's worth. There's no national TV (ESPN, CBS) interest. It takes a home game away from Gampel/XL. And I'm not sure what you mean by "media footprint" in regards to the Boston papers. College athletics, outside of the Beanpot, are pretty much middle of the sports section material. A big pro sports town? They could care less about two out of state colleges playing a meaningless game. I've been in NYC for the Big East tourney, a few blocks from MSG and had people not have a clue that it was going on an earshot away from where we were. I was in NYC last year when the NBA All Star game was going on the same weekend as the SNL reunion show that had every star in the world in attendance. Big cities have real events going on in them all the time.

 

[Jerry1714]

So, it is another thing to sell to a P5? Hey, we play one game a year against Providence in Boston? In a state neither university is from.

Yes. It's a negative. It's probably more cost than it's worth. There's no national TV (ESPN, CBS) interest. It takes a home game away from Gampel/XL. And I'm not sure what you mean by "media footprint" in regards to the Boston papers. College athletics, outside of the Beanpot, are pretty much middle of the sports section material. A big pro sports town? They could care less about two out of state colleges playing a meaningless game. I've been in NYC for the Big East tourney, a few blocks from MSG and had people not have a clue that it was going on an earshot away from where we were. I was in NYC last year when the NBA All Star game was going on the same weekend as the SNL reunion show that had every star in the world in attendance. Big cities have real events going on in them all the time.

We played Gonzaga in Boston in front of 18k fans and was televised on CBS. But sure a game against Cuse, Nova, or PC will be dead and not on national TV.

 

[Husky25]

I do not know where this people won't go to a UConn game in Boston idea comes from, because it is simply not true. UConn/Gonzaga game in Boston drew 18,007 (capacity is 18,624). That same year we played Memphis at MSG in front of 9,000. UConn/MSU EE game had 19,000.

Play a game in Boston and the place will be filed, especially if you played school like PC where they will bring a good number of fans.

Not that I don't agree that UConn fans wouldn't fill up the joint, UConn/Zags was the first of a two-game, single-admission event (Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase). The other was BC vs. PC. UConn/Gonzaga game was certainly the less lopsided matchup, but Boston College wasn't awful yet and they were the local school. So in fairness, who knows who the draw was? Plus, BC was playing in the ACC Championship football game that same day and there were more than a few people at the bar I was in, watching BC lose before they went over to The Garden?

 

[Palatine]

It's probably more cost than it's worth.

I agree that is the question. That question should be looked at and answered. If we can make money doing it, there are even more good reasons to do it.

And as I said in the title, I would do it every year. So that it builds over time. So we become part of the landscape. And if something else is going on, so what, we'll still be the biggest college basketball event.

 

[HooperScooper]

I live in the Boston area and there are a lot of UConn fans around here. I'd support this wholeheartedly. I don't know if we could fill the place. Some mentioned playing ND here. That is a great idea. ND has recruited this area (Pat Connaghton, Zach Auguste, Bonzie Colson - just to name a few recent ones) and there are a lot of ND fans around here. I bet ND would go for it.

I went when UConn played Gonzaga in the Garden. But as someone pointed out that was a doubleheader. Don't think UConn playing Gonzaga would have filled the place.

 

[tzznandrew]

I live in the Boston area and there are a lot of UConn fans around here. I'd support this wholeheartedly. I don't know if we could fill the place. Some mentioned playing ND here. That is a great idea. ND has recruited this area (Pat Connaghton, Zach Auguste, Bonzie Colson - just to name a few recent ones) and there are a lot of ND fans around here. I bet ND would go for it.

I went when UConn played Gonzaga in the Garden. But as someone pointed out that was a doubleheader. Don't think UConn playing Gonzaga would have filled the place.

Seriously. There isn't a clear #1 here, but UConn is near the top of the list. And BC is neither easy to get to nor good at basketball, so it drives down attendance. Doing it at the Garden, getting a national team to come in, would bring people for sure, especially us UConn fans in the area that can't regularly make it to Hartford or Storrs.

The Bean Pot thing could be fun, but I'm not sure there is a local team on our level.

 

[ucp990411]

How about a 2 day New England tournament with us, BC, PC and UMASS or URI?

 

[mauconnfan]

How about a 2 day New England tournament with us, BC, PC and UMASS or URI?

Not bad - URI is better than UMass now. It is fairly obvious UMass needs to cut ties with a local kid at the helm whether they like it or not, he's not cutting it. I mean another ex-Calimari guy who can't win like Barbee.

 

[Matrim55]

Not bad - URI is better than UMass now. It is fairly obvious UMass needs to cut ties with a local kid at the helm whether they like it or not, he's not cutting it. I mean another ex-Calimari guy who can't win like Barbee.

They have their best recruiting class in ages coming in this year and won 20+ games in each of the previous 3 seasons, including last year's trip to the tourney.

He's not a great coach, but I think you're overstating things here.

 

[Chief00]

You claim it was a better time for attendance, but as I cited we had 15k for attendance for a home SMU game last year. Attendance is down for games against the dregs, not against good teams.

The PC point was simple, they are close and will bring a large number of fans.

I agree - in the 1990's and early 2000's we had a higher season ticket base and less entertainment options for people. The ticket buyer is more discriminate today, hence UConn needs a new model especially in the AAC. The cupcake games are some of our conference games now when we have a good team. We really need to work on our home schedule and I would include neutral court games in Boston or NY in that category.

 

[auggie22]

Until there is usable mass transit from anywhere in CT to Boston, we'll never outdraw MSG, and frankly, never come close.

There is no way a sizeable portion of our fickle fanbase will drive to Boston, park in Boston, and probably shell out a higher ticket price.

Look at all the whining we had about the Meadowlands last year - and that was with playing DOOK.

There are literally thousands of UCONN fans living in the metro area. Between us and casual observers, I think the floor starts at 7000. You don't need to import 20000 people to make this game happen.