The One good thing about UConn de-emphasizing football | The Boneyard

The One good thing about UConn de-emphasizing football

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I don’t waste time watching any other college football games, and I get all my yard work done. Plus, when I watch the UConn games now I don’t take it so seriously. No stress.
Time is easy...only need to watch the first 10 min then game over.
 
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It’s possible that we aren’t deemphasizing football. The powers that be may have just recognized, by talking to and surveying the fan base, that we just don’t care about the AAC. So...why play in it?

Yes, it may present more challenges Being Indy, but the AAC just wasn’t providing us anything. No money, no prestige and no fan interest. It just wasn’t worth it. put the excitement back in the basketball arena, get a better coach and see who we can schedule. If we can get an exciting football schedule as alluded to, we’ll be fine. Our fan base doesn’t want to play AAC schools with the exception of Cincy and Temple. Never have, never will. If we were winning, we still wouldn’t want to.
 

UConnDan97

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There is no upside to de-emphasizing football. It would be good for our entire fanbase to remember that. If all boats are lifted with the rising tide, then all boats are also lowered by the ebbing tide. When the UConn brand is strong in any given area nationally, it is strong in most other areas nationally (and vice versa).

If the Big East can strengthen our brand, then maybe football will rise with it. That's the gamble we are undertaking with the Big East move. Rising basketball will lead to a rise everywhere else, like it did in the beginning. I just hope the gamble pays off...
 
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Let's be honest. We would all care about the AAC if we were winning it.

And that includes the basketball fans. If we were winning the league and getting into the tourney, they all would have been fine with it.

I disagree. I’m embarrassed to watch UConn basketball games in front of friends and family because AAC arenas are empty. Us winning wouldn’t fix the opponents. I hate the AAC. Hate it.

Yes, if we were winning in football, it would be better but I don’t think we’d be all that impressed. We’d have to win the conference regularly to excite our football fans and even then we’d still be missing the power conference days.
 
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There is no upside to de-emphasizing football. It would be good for our entire fanbase to remember that. If all boats are lifted with the rising tide, then all boats are also lowered by the ebbing tide. When the UConn brand is strong in any given area nationally, it is strong in most other areas nationally (and vice versa).

If the Big East can strengthen our brand, then maybe football will rise with it. That's the gamble we are undertaking with the Big East move. Rising basketball will lead to a rise everywhere else, like it did in the beginning. I just hope the gamble pays off...
I like your optimism Dan.
 

Purple Stein

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UConn is not the one de-emphasizing football. Perhaps you are? Holy cow.

I mean, we have four full games scheduled for next season. Name one school that’s emphasizing football more than that?
 

uconnbill

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I don’t waste time watching any other college football games, and I get all my yard work done. Plus, when I watch the UConn games now I don’t take it so seriously. No stress.


Not happening but I can lessen your stress. Don't watch UConn football and stick to basketball as football is not for you.

Listen I am not happy, but you don't trash it because of this as I can remember teams like Temple, Iowa St, Northwestern, and Kansas St to name a few who have had a number of losing seasons and yet have done well lately.
 
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Not happening but I can lessen your stress. Don't watch UConn football and stick to basketball as football is not for you.

Listen I am not happy, but you don't trash it because of this as I can remember teams like Temple, Iowa St, Northwestern, and Kansas St to name a few who have had a number of losing seasons and yet have done well lately.

Iowa State, Northwestern, and Kansas State are irrelevant to the point you're trying to make. It doesn’t really matter if they win or not. The big 12 and big 10 checks still cash.
 
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I mean, we have four full games scheduled for next season. Name one school that’s emphasizing football more than that?
Seems some forgot the AD still spoke of a schedule that our warm weather fans would appreciate more.
 
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Let's be honest. We would all care about the AAC if we were winning it.

And that includes the basketball fans. If we were winning the league and getting into the tourney, they all would have been fine with it.
To be honest, and sorry if it seems like I am being difficult, but I don't think so. The AAC just does not seem stable to me. I think if Memphis or Houston could bolt for the Big 12, Cincy for the B10, Temple for the ACC and UCF or USF for the ACC or B12, etc. they would in a heartbeat and I am absolutely not convinced that these schools are not trying already or at least putting out some feelers and trying to get an idea for what they need to do when the next round of realignment comes. For sure not all of what I mentioned is truly realistic, at least it does not seem that way (as of now) but I am not convinced that the majority of the teams don't want out.

I don't see a day where the AAC will ever be good enough to the point where all the current members (minus Uconn) will just want to stay in the AAC. I also don't want to be left in an AAC conference where Cincy and Houston are taken by a P5, what a bitter pill that would have been in some alternate universe...

Yes, I guess ECU, Tulsa or Tulane are just happy being there but I don't want to be in a conference where those are, realistically, the only teams truly happy to be there. It is a hodge podge conference where most of the members are actively looking for a way out. Is the Big east the best possible scenario? If things had been handled better in the past, and they should have been, then no way, but it beats staying in the aac to see what happens there and is possibly the best thing Uconn could have done considering the past mistakes and the fact that it is 2019 now.
 
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Leaving the 6th best FB Conference and having no conference affiliation for a better basketball schedule is definitely de-emphasizing football.

EDIT: What's the debate? Get better and play Bama and Clemson or: https://dailycampus.com/stories/2019/10/9/pointcounterpoint-should-uconn-move-to-the-fcsnbsp
AAC has 3 teams in the top 25 and a few more on the edge. The conference is quickly moving light years ahead of the G5 and is a very good football conference. So, yeah, we MSU have screwed the pooch for the orange bouncing ball. Of course, genius Aresco sold the farm for a song which put us in a tough position.
 
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Of course, genius Aresco sold the farm for a song which put us in a tough position.

This... I don't think the schools that remain in the AAC have realized that if they were confident in the growth in value of the conference, just how bad that deal is long term. Let's pretend for a second the AAC really made it as a P6 and was given it's own access bowl. They've inked a deal that makes sure they will make 3-5 times less than any other conference they'd consider at their peer (P6) level for more than a decade. Good luck with that.
 
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There is no upside to de-emphasizing football. It would be good for our entire fanbase to remember that. If all boats are lifted with the rising tide, then all boats are also lowered by the ebbing tide. When the UConn brand is strong in any given area nationally, it is strong in most other areas nationally (and vice versa).

If the Big East can strengthen our brand, then maybe football will rise with it. That's the gamble we are undertaking with the Big East move. Rising basketball will lead to a rise everywhere else, like it did in the beginning. I just hope the gamble pays off...

The focus is chasing glory in a league that doesn’t look remotely the same. An embarrassing short sighted move that will sink UCONN athletics further into the abyss.

Just shut the football program down if this is the support the administration is going to provide. Go all in or end it. Choice has already been made.
 

UConnDan97

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The focus is chasing glory in a league that doesn’t look remotely the same. An embarrassing short sighted move that will sink UCONN athletics further into the abyss.

Just shut the football program down if this is the support the administration is going to provide. Go all in or end it. Choice has already been made.

While I'm nervous about the prospect of independence for football, the new AAC tv contract was a killer for multiple sports including football. A move needed to be done and we didn't have many moves we could make. There's a way this can actually be better for football.

But to be better for football, the university will have to increase their investment and work harder than they ever have for the program. That's the problem, because I've lost my trust that they will do either one...
 

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