The school that realignment left behind: Inside UConn football's collapse - Adelson @ ESPN

[ShakyTheMohel]

That may well be true but what is also true is your assessment of the article. ESPN has been holding onto this in a tickler file for a couple of months, waiting for our announcement of a new head coaching hire so they could throw cold water on our news.

Why? Why would ESPN care enough about UConn to do this?

ESPN cares about one thing....making money. How does attacking UConn help them make money?

 

[Waquoit]

Why? Why would ESPN care enough about UConn to do this?

ESPN cares about one thing....making money. How does attacking UConn help them make money?

I maybe agree that this story has been in the file for awhile, but even so you either run it now or kill it before it becomes even more stale. And since content is content, why would you kill it?

 

[JohnFSilver]

Why? Why would ESPN care enough about UConn to do this?

ESPN cares about one thing....making money. How does attacking UConn help them make money?

I used to sit in on these meetings and think the world of the editors there. This was a good story. There is no “espn” hates UConn. The story is timely. I don’t know if this story was scheduled to run when it did, or if they moved it up because mora hired.

They may have had it in the que to go at the end of the season. But, Mora hire blew the timing. So that cut their losses and put it out there.

 

[zls44]

The article’s intention was entirely to limit public enthusiasm towards the Mora hire and take a few swipes (framed to appear as compliments) at us in the process. I personally like that they feel the need to do this and will explain why.

I assure you nobody in Bristol is roaming the halls wondering how to downplay the coach hire by the worst program in America.

 

[CL82]

I love Calhoun, but that was totally a factor. Heard it way back when that “basketball coach is a problem.”

From whom did you hear that?

 

[CL82]

Why? Why would ESPN care enough about UConn to do this?

ESPN cares about one thing....making money. How does attacking UConn help them make money?

Because you can lift the American largely due to the horrific deal that conference got from ESPN? Think they wouldn’t hold a grudge? Remember what happened to the Big East after it turned down a lowball deal from ESPN? The bank rolled that conference’s evisceration.

 

[Waquoit]

I assure you nobody in Bristol is roaming the halls wondering how to downplay the coach hire by the worst program in America.

I submit the Mora hire gets us out of the cellar.

 

[JohnFSilver]

From whom did you hear that?

I would say about half dozen different people.

It was. “The football is just OK. We got the media market, and the basketball coach is a issue.”

They just didn’t like them.

From people inside AD department at UConn and also from ACC media/people. It was an issue. Deciding factor? No. But no one in the conference was dying to see Calhoun in the conference. Why didn’t Boeheim and Syracuse advocate for UConn?

Why has no one who has partnered with UConn ever spoke up on the schools behalf?

Remember, Nate Miles was a live issue when those discussions started. UConn was under fire for APR issues (ultimately banned), and you know what? They didn’t really like him. Personally (probably because he kicked their ass).

Not sure the acc wanted to deal with what UConn brings as far as personality, media, fan base. People making decisions just generally did not like the university as partners. Herbst and Manuel had to navigate that. Just not enough time.

Herbst and Manuel tried to change that narrative, but I always got the feeling that UConn was difficult to deal with behind the scenes for so long it hurt their relationships.

Louisville, on the other hand, had Pitino, Bridgewater, and Tom Jurich called in favors and had Mitch McConnell help him out.

Louisville became a nice option without the baggage. Lol. The entire regime was corrupt, but oh well.

Why do you guys think Kevin Ollie’s contract was so attuned to violations and APR?

 

[CL82]

Why didn’t Boeheim and Syracuse advocate for UConn?

My guess is because not having Connecticut in conference gave him a competitive advantage. Supposedly he’s friends with Calhoun.

Interesting though. I appreciate the detail.

 

[Slick]

Well..it was his failures in those areas that led to losing games. He doesn't have to get into specifics...we all know what goes into winning.

I have said this before...the one thing I always thought was a core Edsall strength was integrity. Wow was I wrong.

Diaco is proving to be a much more genuine person than Edsall. And 5 years ago I would have thought you were nuts if you said that.

Nothing but kudos to Diaco for being forthright. Maybe in time Edsall will be more honest about what happened.

What happened is he really sucked.

 

[Hoophound]

I would say about half dozen different people.

It was. “The football is just OK. We got the media market, and the basketball coach is a issue.”

They just didn’t like them.

From people inside AD department at UConn and also from ACC media/people. It was an issue. Deciding factor? No. But no one in the conference was dying to see Calhoun in the conference. Why didn’t Boeheim and Syracuse advocate for UConn?

Why has no one who has partnered with UConn ever spoke up on the schools behalf?

Remember, Nate Miles was a live issue when those discussions started. UConn was under fire for APR issues (ultimately banned), and you know what? They didn’t really like him. Personally (probably because he kicked their ass).

Not sure the acc wanted to deal with what UConn brings as far as personality, media, fan base. People making decisions just generally did not like the university as partners. Herbst and Manuel had to navigate that. Just not enough time.

Herbst and Manuel tried to change that narrative, but I always got the feeling that UConn was difficult to deal with behind the scenes for so long it hurt their relationships.

Louisville, on the other hand, had Pitino, Bridgewater, and Tom Jurich called in favors and had Mitch McConnell help him out.

Louisville became a nice option without the baggage. Lol. The entire regime was corrupt, but oh well.

Why do you guys think Kevin Ollie’s contract was so attuned to violations and APR?

If it weren’t for your line of work, I’d say you’re crazy. but I trust you are correct to some degree. However, I think a lot of the Calhoun dislike was actually just Cuse and BC planted bs playing off the violations to help vilify him and keep him out of the ACC. Tobacco Road was openly in favor of us so I really think it was northern, unproven football and BC/Cuse lobbying that killed us.

JC and Boeheim were very good friends and golf buddies. JC openly praised Boeheim in the press and spoke of their close bond. When Boeheim got the chance to put JC in his rear view as a competitor, he flushed the friendship. He was even open about it. Does anyone remember the time he was interviewed and when asked about us, instead of answering the question he said, “We’re in a better conference than them, that’s what I think”?

That whole process was a disgrace.

 

[jdb50]

I would say about half dozen different people.

It was. “The football is just OK. We got the media market, and the basketball coach is a issue.”

They just didn’t like them.

From people inside AD department at UConn and also from ACC media/people. It was an issue. Deciding factor? No. But no one in the conference was dying to see Calhoun in the conference. Why didn’t Boeheim and Syracuse advocate for UConn?

Why has no one who has partnered with UConn ever spoke up on the schools behalf?

Remember, Nate Miles was a live issue when those discussions started. UConn was under fire for APR issues (ultimately banned), and you know what? They didn’t really like him. Personally (probably because he kicked their ass).

Not sure the acc wanted to deal with what UConn brings as far as personality, media, fan base. People making decisions just generally did not like the university as partners. Herbst and Manuel had to navigate that. Just not enough time.

Herbst and Manuel tried to change that narrative, but I always got the feeling that UConn was difficult to deal with behind the scenes for so long it hurt their relationships.

Louisville, on the other hand, had Pitino, Bridgewater, and Tom Jurich called in favors and had Mitch McConnell help him out.

Louisville became a nice option without the baggage. Lol. The entire regime was corrupt, but oh well.

Why do you guys think Kevin Ollie’s contract was so attuned to violations and APR?

Remember we beat Louisville in football on their field prior to the decision to take them not us IIRC. We were not worthy though.

 

[UConnJim]

If it weren’t for your line of work, I’d say you’re crazy. but I trust you are correct to some degree. However, I think a lot of the Calhoun dislike was actually just Cuse and BC planted bs playing off the violations to help vilify him and keep him out of the ACC. Tobacco Road was openly in favor of us so I really think it was northern, unproven football and BC/Cuse lobbying that killed us.

JC and Boeheim were very good friends and golf buddies. JC openly praised Boeheim in the press and spoke of their close bond. When Boeheim got the chance to put JC in his rear view as a competitor, he flushed the friendship. He was even open about it. Does anyone remember the time he was interviewed and when asked about us, instead of answering the question he said, “We’re in a better conference than them, that’s what I think”?

That whole process was a disgrace.

I believe this is closer to the truth. Gene DeFillipo was strongly against UConn joining the ACC and I believe the noise around Calhoun was just to help justify the position. Gene is a vindictive man and it ultimately cost him his job at BC.

That wasn’t the only reason why Louisville got the invite over UConn as the football schools believed Louisville was a stronger football program, they were pouring money into athletic facilities, and the administration was laser focused on not getting the ACC invite after missing on the Big 12.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

If it weren’t for your line of work, I’d say you’re crazy. but I trust you are correct to some degree. However, I think a lot of the Calhoun dislike was actually just Cuse and BC planted bs playing off the violations to help vilify him and keep him out of the ACC. Tobacco Road was openly in favor of us so I really think it was northern, unproven football and BC/Cuse lobbying that killed us.

JC and Boeheim were very good friends and golf buddies. JC openly praised Boeheim in the press and spoke of their close bond. When Boeheim got the chance to put JC in his rear view as a competitor, he flushed the friendship. He was even open about it. Does anyone remember the time he was interviewed and when asked about us, instead of answering the question he said, “We’re in a better conference than them, that’s what I think”?

That whole process was a disgrace.

I think a lot of UConn fans see Calhoun through husky colored glasses. I once had someone ask me if I liked Bobby Knight..I said "not really"....they said..."why? He's just like Calhoun".

 

[Travelman6]

I think a lot of UConn fans see Calhoun through husky colored glasses. I once had someone ask me if I liked Bobby Knight..I said "not really"....they said..."why? He's just like Calhoun".

Ya, except Calhoun didn't throw chairs, assault cops, and hit and choke players.

 

[BPT2Storrs]

Can someone please explain why Calhoun was disliked? Guy was tough as nails, won at the highest level and got a lot out of his players both on and off the court.

Maybe I’m naive but what are the issues people had with him? The APR issues? Every D1 school athletic department deals with those issues, let stop with UConn being the only one.

 

[Hoophound]

I think a lot of UConn fans see Calhoun through husky colored glasses. I once had someone ask me if I liked Bobby Knight..I said "not really"....they said..."why? He's just like Calhoun".

That’s definitely a perception some have, mostly because of ESPN replaying two sound bites from press conferences thousands of times. They were “not a dime back” and the “I up” Gomes quotes. Both of which were prompted by our annoying press that prefers to antagonize our coaches rather than build them up, unlike in normal markets where the media helps the local teams prosper.

 

[LBird33]

Can someone please explain why Calhoun was disliked? Guy was tough as nails, won at the highest level and got a lot out of his players both on and off the court.

Maybe I’m naive but what are the issues people had with him? The APR issues? Every D1 school athletic department deals with those issues, let stop with UConn being the only one.

Some people like to be jealous of winners. There are also unrealistic expectations that the individual is perfect in all aspects, which is a fallacy. For some anything less than perfect is bad. Just general human nature

 

[ScottVib]

Take with a grain of salt as it's purely based on my conversations with fans of other teams while I lived in the DC area...

The speed of the UConn program's rise under Calhoun lead to a lot of jealousy and suspicion that there must be something dirty going on to facilitate it among fans of the old blue-bloods. The Nate Miles/APR situation finally gave them validation that it was happening and of course it was fresh with the investigation going on through the final rounds of ACC expansion. Especially when the investigation timeframe corresponded with UConn's best/most sustained run of tournament success (the first three national titles along with another semifinal appearance and the year they should've gone if not for George Mason).

Ultimately the bigger issue was UConn was perceived as a basketball school first. They were still new to football and didn't follow up successfully on the Fiesta Bowl trip. If Pasqualoni had followed up with bowl trips (and he had the talent to where that should've been an easy proposition) UConn might just have had enough to get everyone on board ahead of Louisville... even with BC's attempt to block.

In 2011 UConn lost three games they shouldn't have (@Vandy, vs. Iowa St, vs. WMU) and dropped a 7 point game at home with 'Cuse
In 2012 They dropped a 3 point game to NC State, lost @WMU, as well as close ones @Temple (OT) and @USF (and of course were non-competitive in a loss to Towson to open the year). As everyone remembers.. the announcement came just as UConn beat Louisville.

Flip two of those in each season (eminently doable) and UConn is coming off six-straight bowl games with two conference titles and a BCS appearance in that stretch.... Louisville would've been only coming off three-straight bowl games, but would've had the edge of back-to-back conference championships.

Arguably you would've only need to flip 2011 since the decision was made in the middle of 2012 to make UConn's resume look better... but dropping a game where the Huskies weren't particularly competitive to Towson, certainly was the wrong result, at the wrong time...

 

[Waquoit]

PP not getting to a bowl game when he had the talent is what sent us into the tailspin.

 

[Jimdish255]

We start winning again in FB and Hoops and everything changes. Well everything but the narrow minds in our own fanbase that feel threatened by football success.

 

[UCONNRPh]

I believe it was a whole mix that added up to plenty.

What about Blumenthal suing BC/Miami? ACC ??? (maybe I missed teams)

Didn't that put a black X on UCONN, also??

 

[SU1968]

I would say about half dozen different people.

It was. “The football is just OK. We got the media market, and the basketball coach is a issue.”

They just didn’t like them.

From people inside AD department at UConn and also from ACC media/people. It was an issue. Deciding factor? No. But no one in the conference was dying to see Calhoun in the conference. Why didn’t Boeheim and Syracuse advocate for UConn?

Why has no one who has partnered with UConn ever spoke up on the schools behalf?

Remember, Nate Miles was a live issue when those discussions started. UConn was under fire for APR issues (ultimately banned), and you know what? They didn’t really like him. Personally (probably because he kicked their ass).

Not sure the acc wanted to deal with what UConn brings as far as personality, media, fan base. People making decisions just generally did not like the university as partners. Herbst and Manuel had to navigate that. Just not enough time.

Herbst and Manuel tried to change that narrative, but I always got the feeling that UConn was difficult to deal with behind the scenes for so long it hurt their relationships.

Louisville, on the other hand, had Pitino, Bridgewater, and Tom Jurich called in favors and had Mitch McConnell help him out.

Louisville became a nice option without the baggage. Lol. The entire regime was corrupt, but oh well.

Why do you guys think Kevin Ollie’s contract was so attuned to violations and APR?

Interesting narrative; however, SU and Pitt had no vote on the UConn vs. Louisville consideration for ACC membership. Boeheim would have advocated for Calhoun. They are good friends and play golf together.

SU and Pitt were selected for membership in 2011 with an effective date of July 1, 2013, In that interim, they had no vote in ACC matters. Louisville was selected for membership on November 28, 2012 without SU/Pitt votes.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

There are a couple of things that haven't been addressed and there needs to be clarification that the ACC's addition of Louisville was a distinct and later transaction than their addition of Cuse & Pitt.

I was told nearly 2 1/2 years prior (spring 2009 vs September 2011) that the ACC had their eyes on adding us and Syracuse somewhere down the road (I can get into the details later) and that Hathaway was the source this person heard it from. There were a couple unfortunate (for us) circumstances (including having JH in charge of the athletic department) with the timing and manner in which the ACC expanded. BC was on the three school committee to determine whether to add schools earlier than initially planned and the determination was to complete the process prior to going public with the plan. We were blindsided by the set of events in part because the one person who could have ensured that we would always be part of any conversation spent most of his time on the job with his thumb up his backside.

At the time the B1G announced Rutgers and Maryland, the B12 offered Clemson and FSU (at the time by far the most significant football properties in the ACC). While tobacco road (who had always run the conference in the past) had basically assured Susan Herbst that we would replace Maryland, Clemson and FSU (along with a few other schools) demanded Louisville and threatened to listen to what the B12 had to offer.

 

[d1reality]

Some people like to be jealous of winners. There are also unrealistic expectations that the individual is perfect in all aspects, which is a fallacy. For some anything less than perfect is bad. Just general human nature

The article does not say Calhoun was disliked, it said the ACC was concerned about his trouble with the NCAA