The pros and cons of joining the Pac-12 for football only

[Kowalski]

I'm not saying the 2025 home schedule is great; 2026 is though. And to justify playing almost all of your road games 3,000 miles away (it's really difficult to travel that far and win), you'd better have really appealing home games. The Pac is not our future; if it was we'd already have said yes.

Didn’t the Pac recently change exit fees to give a P4 free pass. If true, it removes a big obstacle for Uconn & creates an opportunity to compete for a playoff spot. They have no chance as an independent but the PAC winner would have a legit shot. I think contending for that would help fire up fans & attract recruits.

 

[Kolumbo]

Sure.

I wasn’t sure if you were stupid or ignorant.

I thought ignorant was more offensive - being ignorant is a choice whereas stupid just happens.

So I decided that you were stupid, basically, because I was trying to be kind.

you are ignorant. stupid is much more offensive than ignorant. ignorant means uneducated perhaps on a particular subject. you can't fix stupid.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Didn’t the Pac recently change exit fees to give a P4 free pass. If true, it removes a big obstacle for Uconn & creates an opportunity to compete for a playoff spot. They have no chance as an independent but the PAC winner would have a legit shot. I think contending for that would help fire up fans & attract recruits.

I think tying the arguement to go to the Pac to being able to make the CFP is a fool's errand. We'd have to go 12-0 and with half the games 3,000 miles away it'd be damn near impossible to attain.

 

[CL82]

I think tying the arguement to go to the Pac to being able to make the CFP is a fool's errand. We'd have to go 12-0 and with half the games 3,000 miles away it'd be damn near impossible to attain.

I'm not sure that travel distances have as much impact on football, playing a single game a week as they do on basketball.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I'm not sure that travel distances have as much impact on football, playing a single game a week as they do on basketball.

It's not the frequency that's the issue but rather time zone changes, altitude differences, etc.

 

[Kowalski]

It's not the frequency that's the issue but rather time zone changes, altitude differences, etc.

Uconn’s certainly had a lot of BB tournament success out west over the years.

 

[uconnbill]

I am all for anything that helps UConn football out.

 

[Zerostatic]

If the Pac 12 added some eastern teams to create an eastern division, I would be perfectly happy to join the Pac 12 for football only and keep all other sports in the Big East as long as there is a minimal or no buyout in the case of a P4 offer.

If that happened, I'd feel like I could finally relax and stop following all the Big 12 drama or hope for an ACC exodus that would open up a spot for us.

I would be even fine with this as a long term solution because it has some nice pros. I love the Big East for our other sports. It's one of the last vestiges of the Good Ole Days left in sports. Regional Rivalries, schools that have shared history.

Football finally has a home and it's better than the hopes of a football only offer from the other G5 conferences that many were hoping for.

Dream Pac 12 East scenario... Memphis, Tulane, South Florida, Temple and East Carolina. We could play each of them once a year and then play the West division for 3 or 4 other conference games. It also gives the Pac12 4 members on the East Coast in 4 unique and important markets (NYC, Philly, North Carolina and Florida) as well as 2 central time zone teams in major cities on the Mississippi With Memphis and Tulane (New Orleans).

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Uconn’s certainly had a lot of BB tournament success out west over the years.

Well, yeah, but not relevant to this subject.... here's some actual football data:

UConn home and away from 2000-present: 119-183 for a winning percentage of .394

For games travelling ~ 3k miles: 0-2 (obviously a small dataset) for a winning percentage of .000

For games travelling ~ 2k miles: 8-19 for a winning percentage of .296

Total of all those games is 8-21 for a winning percentage of .275, which is almost a full 25% worse than the overall record.

Even the NFL where every franchise is used to long distance travel as a norm, the team travelling long distance has a 5% worse losing record as opposed to short distance road games.

Distance matters in general and it would for UConn travelling 4 or 5 times out to the far west. Odds are on average, we'd win 1 or 2 long distance games per year. That means we'd have at best 2 road losses out west and little to no shot at even a 16-team CFP.

The idea that going to the new Pac (a G5 conference) would be an easy/easier glide path to the CFP just doesn't add up. The new Pac winner would have to be 12-0 with a shiny P* win or two just to be in the conversation for the last slot.

 

[Platt81]

Well, yeah, but not relevant to this subject.... here's some actual football data:

UConn home and away from 2000-present: 119-183 for a winning percentage of .394

For games travelling ~ 3k miles: 0-2 (obviously a small dataset) for a winning percentage of .000

For games travelling ~ 2k miles: 8-19 for a winning percentage of .296

Total of all those games is 8-21 for a winning percentage of .275, which is almost a full 25% worse than the overall record.

Even the NFL where every franchise is used to long distance travel as a norm, the team travelling long distance has a 5% worse losing record as opposed to short distance road games.

Distance matters in general and it would for UConn travelling 4 or 5 times out to the far west. Odds are on average, we'd win 1 or 2 long distance games per year. That means we'd have at best 2 road losses out west and little to no shot at even a 16-team CFP.

The idea that going to the new Pac (a G5 conference) would be an easy/easier glide path to the CFP just doesn't add up. The new Pac winner would have to be 12-0 with a shiny P* win or two just to be in the conversation for the last slot.

What is UConn’s road record overall in that span? I would argue without seeing the stats that their overall road record isn’t much higher than .275 which would make the distance argument pointless.

 

[ScottVib]

I think tying the arguement to go to the Pac to being able to make the CFP is a fool's errand. We'd have to go 12-0 and with half the games 3,000 miles away it'd be damn near impossible to attain.

The argument is that 7 times (or more) out of 10 the Pac champ will be the highest ranked G5 champion and hold the autobid to the playoff.

The argument that the travel/altitude would make the games more difficult than they look on paper is the fair one

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

What is UConn’s road record overall in that span? I would argue without seeing the stats that their overall road record isn’t much higher than .275 which would make the distance argument pointless.

I haven't tallied that but whether a bit above or a bit below, the ten years before Mora being such a dumpster fire that'd be about 50 games that wouldn't have mattered whether played on Mars or in Mansfield.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

The argument is that 7 times (or more) out of 10 the Pac champ will be the highest ranked G5 champion and hold the autobid to the playoff.

The argument that the travel/altitude would make the games more difficult than they look on paper is the fair one

I'm not sure that's a safe assumption as the best G5 could certainly come from Boise State/Mountain West, the AAC, or the Sunbelt as much as it would out of the new/G5 Pac.

 

[huskymedic]

I'm not sure that's a safe assumption as the best G5 could certainly come from Boise State/Mountain West, the AAC, or the Sunbelt as much as it would out of the new/G5 Pac.

Boise State is headed to the PAC in 2026…

 

[Kolumbo]

Well, yeah, but not relevant to this subject.... here's some actual football data:

UConn home and away from 2000-present: 119-183 for a winning percentage of .394

For games travelling ~ 3k miles: 0-2 (obviously a small dataset) for a winning percentage of .000

For games travelling ~ 2k miles: 8-19 for a winning percentage of .296

Total of all those games is 8-21 for a winning percentage of .275, which is almost a full 25% worse than the overall record.

Even the NFL where every franchise is used to long distance travel as a norm, the team travelling long distance has a 5% worse losing record as opposed to short distance road games.

Distance matters in general and it would for UConn travelling 4 or 5 times out to the far west. Odds are on average, we'd win 1 or 2 long distance games per year. That means we'd have at best 2 road losses out west and little to no shot at even a 16-team CFP.

The idea that going to the new Pac (a G5 conference) would be an easy/easier glide path to the CFP just doesn't add up. The new Pac winner would have to be 12-0 with a shiny P* win or two just to be in the conversation for the last slot.

UConn has had a lousy winning percentage no matter how you slice it, so I'm not worried about distance. But the PAC would be wise to create an eastern division and get to about 16 football teams anyway which would help UConn

And with that said, your argument may hold water:
08/28/2021 - 45-0 Fresno State over UConn at Fresno State
10/01/2022 - 19-14 UConn over Fresno State at UConn

 

[Kowalski]

UConn has had a lousy winning percentage no matter how you slice it, so I'm not worried about distance. But the PAC would be wise to create an eastern division and get to about 16 football teams anyway which would help UConn

And with that said, your argument may hold water:
08/28/2021 - 45-0 Fresno State over UConn at Fresno State
10/01/2022 - 19-14 UConn over Fresno State at UConn

Maybe it holds water but didn’t the 2021 team won 1 game and the 22 team win 6 games & go to a bowl? Besides, if true, wouldn’t it then also give us a huge home advantage against the PAC teams?

But I guess if the theory’s true, we should abandon any future discussions with the B12 too - just tell Yormark we’re happy with the status quo. I guess we have to settle for independence or hope for an invite to join UMass in the lowly MAC.

But I’m not buying it. If Uconn joined the PAC for football only, I think the FB programs would have a legit shot to win that conference. Which would translate to a legit shot at the CFB playoff, & they wouldn’t have to be undefeated (Boise wasn’t from the MWC this year & that had to be a blast for their fans). Something we don’t have now. I think would be great to have an exciting & realistic goal like that for UConn’s players & fans.

 

[Platt81]

I haven't tallied that but whether a bit above or a bit below, the ten years before Mora being such a dumpster fire that'd be about 50 games that wouldn't have mattered whether played on Mars or in Mansfield.

But these games that don’t matter occurred in the exact time in which you used your stats for your argument. So are you saying what you said doesn’t matter too?

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Uconn’s certainly had a lot of BB tournament success out west over the years.

Don't they stay out there? Do they fly back or the second week of the tourney?

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

But these games that don’t matter occurred in the exact time in which you used your stats for your argument. So are you saying what you said doesn’t matter too?

Just trying to be funny about being so damn awful during that 10 year stretch.

 

[shizzle787]

I'm not sure that's a safe assumption as the best G5 could certainly come from Boise State/Mountain West, the AAC, or the Sunbelt as much as it would out of the new/G5 Pac.

The Sun Belt has never had a playoff appearance or NY6 bowl appearance. They are a paper tiger with 3-4 decent mid-major names who will bolt to the American if given the chance.

 

[Kolumbo]

The Sun Belt has never had a playoff appearance or NY6 bowl appearance. They are a paper tiger with 3-4 decent mid-major names who will bolt to the American if given the chance.

Not arguing that the Sun Belt is better than it is, but it is now fairly solid with 14 programs and sure, they would jump if given a chance. To say the Sun Belt has never had an appearance seems misleading because how many current G5 programs have made the CFP? The AAC, Sun Belt, and MAC finished fairly close in that order followed by the MWC and CUSA.

I would expect the PAC to be the best of the G5 but I think it will still be very close to the AAC and Sun Belt.

Colley's Bias Free College Football Rankings

www.colleyrankings.com

 

[Stray_Dog]

What was our combined points loss total to the mighty P4 we played? And what happens if you schedule premier cupcakes who turn out to be something other than that??? You think losing to P4 will suffer the fan base. Well losing to g5 teams will be far worse and I will add as a fan I root for my team ALWAYS win or lose. Sure I get disappointed or annoyed when we lose but I always buy next years season tickets... so ummm.... I care that as a fan I can control my attendance and I don't want my team trying to draw their fan base to come to games by winning a cupcake schedule. Simply play teams we want to play against or happen to fit our schedule - If they are a big enough draw then play an off-site if allowed or even an away game for them. But under no circumstances assume fans will only go to games when they are assured a "W". That is IMO of $0.02 just dumb!

 

[Jetskies]

i think a lot of us fans are asking for too much of a pac-12 deal, which UConn itself may be asking for as well, which maybe is why the pac-12 thing fell apart this past year.

I see boneyard folks asking for

• full share of revenue
• more home games than away games, to lessen our travel
• no buyout fee
• no commitment from UConn to play bball games against pac-12 schools, unless it's gonzaga.

while we give:
- a rising, but still mediocre football team 3000 miles away from them, and no other sports.


all benefit, no risk. why would any conference agree to that deal?
If anything, i take it that this demand list just shows how little uconn FB fans want to go to the pac-12.
so we're all good, i guess. : /

 

[UConnTrumbull]

i think a lot of us fans are asking for too much of a pac-12 deal, which UConn itself may be asking for as well, which maybe is why the pac-12 thing fell apart this past year.

I see boneyard folks asking for

• full share of revenue
• more home games than away games, to lessen our travel
• no buyout fee
• no commitment from UConn to play bball games against pac-12 schools, unless it's gonzaga.

while we give:
- a mediocre at best (currently) football team 3000 miles away from them, and no other sports.


all benefit, no risk. why would any conference agree to that deal?
If anything, i take it that this demand list just shows how little uconn FB fans want to go to the pac-12.
so we're all good, i guess. : /

1. Gonzaga is basketball-only
2. Do they want an east coast presence or not?
3. We don’t actually NEED the Pac12

 

[GoConn]

Not that anyone cares but I had a dream last night that we joined the PAC-12 in all sports