The college football door is ajar in the northeast....

[uconndogs]

.... and UCONN is in a position to march through.

Conference reallignment still looms over the Big East and UCONN, but there is much disarray with northeastern programs and UCONN shows more stability than most. Winning and winning consistently over the next 2-3 years could put UCONN well ahead of this pack.

Penn State - Is still the marque program even given the awful events that have taken place there. It surprises me that recruits still seem willing to head there given the uncertainty that lies ahead. Make no doubt about it, much uncertainty remains and I have to believe that PSU's football program will take some steps backwards on the field as a new administration watches every move that program makes. I have to believe that recruiting has already suffered to some extent and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

BC - Complete and utter disarray. No school dedicated to athletic excellence would tolerate an AD who did what GDF did to BC's football, men's basketball and women's basketball coaches and programs over such a short period of time. Is the ACC a more stable conference than the Big East right now? Sure. But, when your pitch to recruits is "come to BC and get your ass kicked in the ACC", I doubt it is going to do you much good.

Syracuse - When UCONN first joined the Big East it was this fanbase more than any other that reminded us on a regular basis how long it would take UCONN to become competitive in major college football. Since then we have enjoyed two conference championships, a BCS bowl and its been over half a decade since the Orange beat our Huskies. For whatever reason, the Orange are not getting and developing football talent - especially on their lines. That is no small problem.

Rutgers - There is no doubt in my mind that when Schiano left they decided to use that as an opportunity to save money. That tells me this is an athletic department unable to set priorities and execute. Given the enormous amounts of money invested in the program over the years, to skimp on its leadership is at best short sighted. Rutgers might very well be turning back into Rutgers.

Temple - Is clearly making some noise and has to be considered as a potential Big East invite depending how the cards unfold. I do question how much they take advantage of the PQ opening. But, make no doubt about it, UCONN needs to get back on the winning track against these guys right away.

UMASS - The only thing I know to expect from UMASS is that they will come into the Rent to start next season jacked to the gills. Win that one and they carry some serious momentum into their entry into big-time college football. If I were PP I would have my troops more than ready and if the opportunity presents itself to bury these guys I would do it.

PP has a unique opportunity to place a lasting mark on UCONN football over the next several years. I truly see some very unique opportunities to establish UCONN Football as the prgram in the Northeast.

 

[JaYnYcE]

What uncertainty lies ahead for Penn State? At the end of the day they have a tremendous presence in college football and will always be Penn State.

There are a ton of Families living in PA who still stand behind Joe, who knows how many of those families are alums who might encourage their future D1 son to play there?


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[FDNY99]

I can't see PSU on the decline. Too many PA kids grow up dreaming of playing in Happy Valley. Urban Meyer and OSU may take some kids from PA BUT make no mistake Billy O'Brien's decision to keep LJ Sr and Van Der Linden was HUGE! As for the rest of them...it will be interesting to see how much longer DeFilippo hangs on. This may determine how long BC is down. If P can win here it will be tough for us not to surpass them. Rutgers...we have to see what happens with Flood and who he loses and hires from his staff. He has momentum on his side right now. If he slips up and Pasqualoni hires another Asst to recruit NJ well...they may be in trouble...I can see guys like Meyer and Golden among others cherry picking top recruits out of NJ year after year. Morrone is doing better...Robinson DESTROYED that program in such a short time. Cuse is a wild card. Temple will go as Addazio goes...if they get into the BE they could be a real pain in our a** recruiting wise...especially if P doesn't make any staff changes. It will be interesting to see UMass make the jump to the MAC. They could challange us for some CT and Mass recruits.
Here comes my broken record statement about UConn...P needs to make some staff changes and bring in his own guys if we are going to make that next step up.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

At the end of the day, PSU still plays in the B1G, has a 110K stadium, and sits in fertile recruiting grounds.

Bottom line for UConn is we need the conference crap straightened out. Winning solves a lot of problems.

 

[UCFBfan]

All of what the initial post said is nice and all but the reality is that UConn is constantly out-recruited by all of those programs minus Temple and UMass. Who did UConn lose Golden to? Penn St. Who did UConn lose Morgan to? Syracuse. Who did UConn lose that O-Line man to? Rutgers. Time and time again UConn is losing out to these programs. Even after we went to a BCS game we didn't see a bump in recruiting (yes Edsall left and that has an effect).

I know it sounds great and all to think we have a shot but I just don't see it yet. I think it boils down to tradition and right now UConn is too young of a program to have it. There's no other way to explain how Syracuse still gets top talent after being horrific for most of the 2000's. Rutger's gained talent by keeping in-state players, in-state. BC gets talent because it has the tradition. So as long as UConn can keep the ball rolling in the right direction, tradition will come. For now, we need to accept that we are still 4th or 5th in line in the Northeast.

One last thing, a move to the ACC would be a boast for this program as it provides a solid conference and future and opens recruiting up in the South as players would be playing a lot of games closer to home.

 

[auggie22]

All of what the initial post said is nice and all but the reality is that UConn is constantly out-recruited by all of those programs minus Temple and UMass. Who did UConn lose Golden to? Penn St. Who did UConn lose Morgan to? Syracuse. Who did UConn lose that O-Line man to? Rutgers. Time and time again UConn is losing out to these programs. Even after we went to a BCS game we didn't see a bump in recruiting (yes Edsall left and that has an effect).

I know it sounds great and all to think we have a shot but I just don't see it yet. I think it boils down to tradition and right now UConn is too young of a program to have it. There's no other way to explain how Syracuse still gets top talent after being horrific for most of the 2000's. Rutger's gained talent by keeping in-state players, in-state. BC gets talent because it has the tradition. So as long as UConn can keep the ball rolling in the right direction, tradition will come. For now, we need to accept that we are still 4th or 5th in line in the Northeast.

One last thing, a move to the ACC would be a boast for this program as it provides a solid conference and future and opens recruiting up in the South as players would be playing a lot of games closer to home.

i don't recall us losing many recruits to syracuse. and their recruiting has been a train wreck for the past ten years. Our recruiting downfall in that time period has been losing New England kids to BC, and Jersey kids to BC and Rutgers.

 

[uconndogs]

PSU is monstrous, no doubt about it. But, I think folks are down playing recent events because they are not presently foremost in the media. The mess that is FS and his handling by PSU is not going away anytime soon. Investigations will be going on for years. Many in that community are divided on the handling of this issue and the termination of JoePa. PSU has a major chink in its armour and it will provide for some opportunity.

 

[Adios]

I know it sounds great and all to think we have a shot but I just don't see it yet. I think it boils down to tradition and right now UConn is too young of a program to have it.

We've been playing football since 1896. We were at mid-major level until D1 was split into A and AA. That's about 75 years of Division "1A" football.

 

[UCFBfan]

i don't recall us losing many recruits to syracuse. and their recruiting has been a train wreck for the past ten years. Our recruiting downfall in that time period has been losing New England kids to BC, and Jersey kids to BC and Rutgers.

We may not have lost many recruits to Syracuse but they still out-recruit us....period. Morgan was rated their second best recruit on many sites and he was almost a Husky. My point is that we haven't surpassed Syracuse in the pecking order in the Northeast, even with Syracuse's putrid performance for most of the past decade.

 

[UCFBfan]

We've been playing football since 1896.

And Rutgers has been playing football since it started....would you say they have a proud tradition of excellence? We haven't been playing major college football since 1896....there's no tradition there. No high school kid cares what this program did at the D-1AA level. It's all about continuous excellence...we are building it, just need more time

 

[Adios]

And Rutgers has been playing football since it started....would you say they have a proud tradition of excellence? We haven't been playing major college football since 1896....there's no tradition there. No high school kid cares what this program did at the D-1AA level. It's all about continuous excellence...we are building it, just need more time

You are so incorrect. Do you realize the present logo of our program comes from an undefeated squad from 1924? The New York Times considered us one of the best teams in the country that year.

The football coach from that season was also the head coach of our basketball program. Coaches used to coach more than one sport back then. Even John Heisman.

 

[JaYnYcE]

We've been playing football since 1896. We were at mid-major level until D1 was split into A and AA. That's about 75 years of Division "1A" football.

Spin it


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[uconndogs]

We may not have lost many recruits to Syracuse but they still out-recruit us....period. Morgan was rated their second best recruit on many sites and he was almost a Husky. My point is that we haven't surpassed Syracuse in the pecking order in the Northeast, even with Syracuse's putrid performance for most of the past decade.

You can harp on Morgan all you want, but there are two indesputable facts:
1) we regularly beat out Cuse for recruits now; and
2) we consistently kick their ass

Focus on these recruiting sites all you want, but the fact of the matter is we have much better football players at UCONN than they do at Syracuse.

 

[Adios]

Spin it


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Did you know UMass used to be called the Aggies, too?

 

[Adios]

And Rutgers has been playing football since it started....would you say they have a proud tradition of excellence? We haven't been playing major college football since 1896....there's no tradition there. No high school kid cares what this program did at the D-1AA level. It's all about continuous excellence...we are building it, just need more time

Did you even know that the Michigan Wolverines got their helmet design from Princeton? The NFL Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers) copied Princeton before Michigan did. If I am correct, the Steelers had 8 winning seasons in about 40 seasons before the AFL-NFL merger. Let us win and draw some bandwagon fans!

 

[Adios]

A little more history:

"Wesleyan is one of the 39 founding members of the NCAA (other founding institutions include Amherst, Dartmouth, University of North Carolina, Penn, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, and Williams). Wesleyan's football field, Andrus Field, is notable for being the oldest college football field in the nation (in all NCAA divisions)."

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/NCAANewsArc...rs+hold+true+to+ncaa+educational+mission.html

We played Wesleyan first in 1916. Wesleyan was playing against Ivy League schools until the 40s. After 1925, we played Wesleyan almost every year until a little after Wesleyan stopped playing Ivy League schools, with our last game being in 1947.

http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/football/all-time-records/index.html

Anyone who acts like we were nothing until the "FBS" upgrade can't acknowledge some REAL history.

 

[JaYnYcE]

That's all well and good. I can't speak for anyone else, but football tradition for me starts with the amount of championships, bowl appearances, top 10 rankings, 1st round draft picks, first team all americans, individual post season awards and success in the NFL.

Once this program can start accomplishing stuff like these on a more consistent basis this will create a more contemporary tradition that I think recruits can relate to. Not that we were one of the best teams in the nation one time in the 1920's.


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[Adios]

Eventually, the program will get there. Back in the 1920s at least, elite college coached frowned upon college football players going professional. Cultures change.

We do have Super Bowl champions now.

 

[Adios]

We played Wesleyan first in 1905.

Had to correct my error. We actually did play Wesleyan frequently after that 1905 game going into the 40s. We tied Boston College twice in 1910. Lost to BC in 1909. And 1912...and 1913...and 1915 (7-6). Bottom line, we've been playing with the big boys for years. Overall, we might even have a better history than Rutgers based on conference championships. We lost to Columbia in 1915 by the score of 17-6. Columbia played Stanford in the 1934 Rose Bowl and won, 7-0.

I am content with thinking we have a tradition that goes back to 1896. All those years get included in our program's winning percentage. I don't need the "FBS" label to think we're big time. We've been big time.

 

[UCFBfan]

That's all well and good. I can't speak for anyone else, but football tradition for me starts with the amount of championships, bowl appearances, top 10 rankings, 1st round draft picks, first team all americans, individual post season awards and success in the NFL.

Once this program can start accomplishing stuff like these on a more consistent basis this will create a more contemporary tradition that I think recruits can relate to. Not that we were one of the best teams in the nation one time in the 1920's.

I guess I should have been more clear in my response about tradition. This above quote is what I was thinking as well. Whatever we did in 1924 is great but I don't see how that has helped us with anything in 2012. No one is going around flaunting that history fact. Heck, is there even any mention of it at The Rent? What there is mention of are bowl appearances and Big East Championships. When we start getting better bowl appearances and more championships, then we'll start building more "modern" tradition. Maybe that's how I should have addressed it.

 

[Adios]

We still have a tradition, nonetheless. Would be wise to embrace it all, rather than be a bandwagoner who hopped on when we became an FBS school. Some recruits (especially intelligent ones, which seems to be who we chase after) ARE football historians. When I was went to UConn, we were 1-AA. Did I read about the football team in the school newspaper? You bet I did.

The basketball program embraces it's whole body of work. Not just the Jim Calhoun era.

 

[UCFBfan]

We still have a tradition, nonetheless. Would be wise to embrace it all, rather than be a bandwagoner who hopped on when we became an FBS school. Some recruits (especially intelligent ones, which seems to be who we chase after) ARE football historians. When I was went to UConn, we were 1-AA. Did I read about the football team in the school newspaper? You bet I did.

The basketball program embraces it's whole body of work. Not just the Jim Calhoun era.

I went to UConn when we were still 1AA as well....but don't worry, keep thinking I'm a bandwagon fan. I don't even know how someone could be called a bandwagon fan of UConn football....never the less, for the type of recruits that people want to see come to this program, the "what have you done for me now" thought process is more prevalent. Not saying those are the best recruits for UConn, just saying that's more common amongst top tier recruits.

 

[PolisHusky]

You know, I saw thing on the Pitt board that was pinned (first thing you see). I think it said, "To all visitors of this board." I think it just outlines the rules on their board, but what if we take another approach, one that showcases our program and the creativity of the fanbase. Tell me if this idea is half-baked, but why don't we create a history and tradition overview of our beloved football team. I have really enjoyed the info you guys have shared about the great uconn players/teams/coaches of the past and I think we can all collaborate on this.

I don't know how much/many recruits frequent the sites, but I heard that some look at what people are saying (positive and negative). What if we blow them out of the water with a concise history and links to our media guide, news, and some of santini's or the promo videos. If we don't attract the recruits, maybe we can attract and entertain new fans and teach them something.

As our image and program goes forward, so can this history/tradition overview.

Another thing, CPTV did a historical documentary of Connecticut Basketball in 1998. I thought it was excellent (for public television) and I learned so much which made me an even bigger fan. I don't think anyone on this board has the time or resources for this venture, but maybe we can lobby for something like that. I see a lot of those returning football alumni and I think what have those eyes seen both on and off the field? What made them great during and beyond their four years. It would be a great testament for those guys who paved the way to share their perspective of football, then and now, and make us all fans of the flagship university. Just like world war veterans, these guys won't be around forever and they are a wealth of knowledge for a documentary. Idk if it is even feasible, but I'm sure our passion for the team can be felt by many more if the stories are shared.

I'm willing to help/lead the effort, but I will need some more ideas and i will also need to brush up on my history. I think we can do something great and make the most of the offseason.

 

[Dann]

i like it. i would say that maybe the best thing to do would be to have the home page as the page with all the juice instead of just another forums page, do the history of all uconn sports on that page with some pics/links/vids. have a bball section for both the men and ladies and a fball section. keep all the cool stuff on there and have something that users can update from time to time to keep it fresh. i think that would be real cool.

 

[Adios]

I don't even know how someone could be called a bandwagon fan of UConn football....

Us going FBS got some people to start to caring about the program, I guess. Like I said, before we went 1AA, the Yankee Conference (and I believe New England Conference before that) was similar to what the MAC is now.