HuskyJohn
Popular poster
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2012
- Messages
- 44
- Reaction Score
- 52
The move from CPTV to SNY may mark a turning point. What are our wishes for the future of the UConn program and women’s basketball in general? I’m not sure but do believe that, as the saying goes, we “should be careful what we wish for.”
I like many became a Huskie fan starting with the phenomenal 1995 team that put women’s college basketball on the national stage. Since that day to this mark the team’s connection of CPTV, I will miss it while recognizing that the partnership may no longer be viable. As many have noted, changing finances and the need for greater exposure seemed to make the breakup inevitable.
It is difficult to avoid comparisons with men’s basketball when considering possible future paths. While some have suggested the great success of the UConn program is bad for women’s basketball as a whole, Geno has countered by saying that he only wishes there were more high quality teams and competition. Financial issues also seem to play a major role in the instability of the Big East and most likely other conferences as well. Geno has pointed on more than one occasion to Notre Dame football is the “elephant in the room” or perhaps “the tail that wags the dog.” If the women’s game did come closer to parity in media coverage and finance success with the men’s game, would we consider that an unqualified success? I think that “success” of that kind might be a very mixed blessing under today’s conditions. Consider that several on the roster of the UConn men’s 2004 NCAA championship team, headed by Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon, did not use up their years of eligibility. This year’s Kentucky NCAA championship team had all five starters, three freshman and two sophomores, enter the draft this spring. How would we feel if our elite players left early for the WNBA while accepting multimillion dollar contracts? How would we feel if Tina and/or Maya had left early after winning a national championship? Would a 2013 NCAA UConn championship be at all tainted if the path passed through a Griner-less Baylor because she had already entered the WNBA? My guess is that while we might begrudgingly agree that it makes financial sense for the players involved, it would be hard for us Huskie fans to take. If changes like this were to happen, something important might have been lost along the way.
I like many became a Huskie fan starting with the phenomenal 1995 team that put women’s college basketball on the national stage. Since that day to this mark the team’s connection of CPTV, I will miss it while recognizing that the partnership may no longer be viable. As many have noted, changing finances and the need for greater exposure seemed to make the breakup inevitable.
It is difficult to avoid comparisons with men’s basketball when considering possible future paths. While some have suggested the great success of the UConn program is bad for women’s basketball as a whole, Geno has countered by saying that he only wishes there were more high quality teams and competition. Financial issues also seem to play a major role in the instability of the Big East and most likely other conferences as well. Geno has pointed on more than one occasion to Notre Dame football is the “elephant in the room” or perhaps “the tail that wags the dog.” If the women’s game did come closer to parity in media coverage and finance success with the men’s game, would we consider that an unqualified success? I think that “success” of that kind might be a very mixed blessing under today’s conditions. Consider that several on the roster of the UConn men’s 2004 NCAA championship team, headed by Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon, did not use up their years of eligibility. This year’s Kentucky NCAA championship team had all five starters, three freshman and two sophomores, enter the draft this spring. How would we feel if our elite players left early for the WNBA while accepting multimillion dollar contracts? How would we feel if Tina and/or Maya had left early after winning a national championship? Would a 2013 NCAA UConn championship be at all tainted if the path passed through a Griner-less Baylor because she had already entered the WNBA? My guess is that while we might begrudgingly agree that it makes financial sense for the players involved, it would be hard for us Huskie fans to take. If changes like this were to happen, something important might have been lost along the way.
