Those of you want big time football at UCONN - help me understand why

[John]

You're the one that made the inference that publicly-funded universities don't get decent endowments compared to private colleges. I simply listed comparable public universities to UConn that have double the endowments or more - and mostly with fewer alumni.

I don't know about you, but I take that as Exhibit A that UConn alumni don't give much of a rat's ass for big time football. If they did, there would be checks in the mail. If that's the point you were trying to make, then simply say that.

So extrapolated, alumni don't care for big time basketball either.

 

[storrsroars]

So extrapolated, alumni don't care for big time basketball either.

You could infer that, just like you could infer there was never support for the level of research required for B1G entry.

I read it more coldly and analytical like, "We have X dollars and we're in New England. Where can we most efficiently and effectively spend that to win championships."

And that became the brand, for better or worse. Hurley and a dozen schollies is more cost-effective for retaining a national image than building an FBS powerhouse.

It's a solid rationalization.

 

[Block C]

You could infer that, just like you could infer there was never support for the level of research required for B1G entry.

I read it more coldly and analytical like, "We have X dollars and we're in New England. Where can we most efficiently and effectively spend that to win championships."

And that became the brand, for better or worse. Hurley and a dozen schollies is more cost-effective for retaining a national image than building an FBS powerhouse.

It's a solid rationalization.

I know what you are saying. We aren’t trying to build a FBS powerhouse. We are trying to make our FBS Independent football team more reliable and better. We won’t ever be a powerhouse but I would like to think we can get back to 6-6 or 8-4 one day. Why can’t the football team do that. With the right hire they will. Look at basketball the right hire was made and it’s back to where it was. Why can’t people let football do the same? I’m sorry but a lot of you saying FBS football should be dropped to FCS. UConn football is getting paid to play from big schools. Let football build because I’m sorry football does bring in some top dollar. I want to see football be great again at UConn.

 

[storrsroars]

I know what you are saying. We aren’t trying to build a FBS powerhouse. We are trying to make our FBS Independent football team more reliable and better. We won’t ever be a powerhouse but I would like to think we can get back to 6-6 or 8-4 one day. Why can’t the football team do that. With the right hire they will. Look at basketball the right hire was made and it’s back to where it was. Why can’t people let football do the same? I’m sorry but a lot of you saying FBS football should be dropped to FCS. UConn football is getting paid to play from big schools. Let football build because I’m sorry football does bring in some top dollar. I want to see football be great again at UConn.

For the record, I've never said I'd want them to drop to FCS. However, I am calling out people who think there's a snowball''s chance in hell of UConn ever getting back into a P4 delusional.

Just enjoy what you have. Personally, I'll be looking forward to seeing who's on the schedule each year, and I'll be happy to not see ECU or Tulane as mainstays.

 

[Block C]

For the record, I've never said I'd want them to drop to FCS. However, I am calling out people who think there's a snowball''s chance in hell of UConn ever getting back into a P4 delusional.

Just enjoy what you have. Personally, I'll be looking forward to seeing who's on the schedule each year, and I'll be happy to not see ECU or Tulane as mainstays.

I never said you wanted football back in FCS I’m just saying in general with what I’m hearing people are saying that. I want relevance back just as much as you do. But to be a powerhouse that takes time. Football is a sport where you hire bad hires it’s sets you back years.

 

[lgt2019]

let me pose you to question succinctly that nobody else holding your kinda elusive position maintains? If it was purely a Cost and Operating Statement type thing ... why has ONLY Idaho ever dropped to FCS from FBS ... and 30 Universities have advanced from FCS to FBS?

It is clearly far more than purely your view? Universities - as led by Presidents, BOT, Boosters - know that the monetary and intangible benefits far outweigh your concerns of costs.

Some of it is like hosting the Olympics - foolish pride. Also, Idaho is not the only school to drop, they are the only school to drop since the 80s - the Ivy League, Southern Conference, and Southland Conference all briefly were in IA before dropping to IAA. I understand that the situation for UConn football making a decision to drop down is complex.

 

[lgt2019]

I know what you are saying. We aren’t trying to build a FBS powerhouse. We are trying to make our FBS Independent football team more reliable and better. We won’t ever be a powerhouse but I would like to think we can get back to 6-6 or 8-4 one day. Why can’t the football team do that. With the right hire they will. Look at basketball the right hire was made and it’s back to where it was. Why can’t people let football do the same? I’m sorry but a lot of you saying FBS football should be dropped to FCS. UConn football is getting paid to play from big schools. Let football build because I’m sorry football does bring in some top dollar. I want to see football be great again at UConn.

It is getting hard and harder to compete with the most prestigious football schools - the NCAA rules are moving to a lot less parity.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Nope. The Big East is better cause we get to ball in Madison Square Garden which is like the pinnacle of ballin…and UConn doesn’t fit with teams like Houston, Memphis, and Cincy… it fits with Providence, Creighton and DePaul .. cause that’s the way it used to be… well not really exactly but… the Big East is a beast…well it’s the best non-power conference league by a slight margin over the AAC…all that doesn’t matter it’s about the saving on travel costs once we pay the $17M to change conference …plus we get $4M instead of $6M because the $6M was crap.

That’s all tongue in cheek for the tonally challenged. I love UConn basketball and the school owes its rise to it. But, I love all UConn sports more than it’s basketball program. The NBE decision will prove to be a regression and very bad decision that pulls down everything.

Playing football in an AAC less Cincinnati, Houston and UCF seems like a better place, you're right.

Oh, and every game is behind a paywall.

 

[Block C]

It is getting hard and harder to compete with the most prestigious football schools - the NCAA rules are moving to a lot less parity.

It doesn’t matter just have a team on the field that can compete and ready to succeed. Rules and all the bullshit can come later.

 

[Bongo Fury]

I know what you are saying. We aren’t trying to build a FBS powerhouse. We are trying to make our FBS Independent football team more reliable and better. We won’t ever be a powerhouse but I would like to think we can get back to 6-6 or 8-4 one day. Why can’t the football team do that. With the right hire they will. Look at basketball the right hire was made and it’s back to where it was. Why can’t people let football do the same? I’m sorry but a lot of you saying FBS football should be dropped to FCS. UConn football is getting paid to play from big schools. Let football build because I’m sorry football does bring in some top dollar. I want to see football be great again at UConn.

Not sure BB is back to where it was. Hurley has brought excitement excitement but they need shooters

 

[Block C]

Not sure BB is back to where it was. Hurley has brought excitement excitement but they need shooters

Well BB went back to the tourney and top recruiting classes your crazy for saying BB isn’t back. Trust me they are.

 

[SU1968]

There are something like 46 public universities (mostly state schools) that have endowments >$1 billion.

Some of our old BE/AAC friends are on that list:
Pittsburgh - $4.17 billion (just last week got a $20 million gift from a 1997 grad)
Houston - $1.01 billion
Rutgers - $1.48 billion
Cincinnati - $1.4 billion

On the private side, "elite academic" institutions like BC, SMU, Tulsa, Tulane and Syracuse also comfortably top a billion.

Duke - $8.5 billion

 

[Bongo Fury]

Well BB went back to the tourney and top recruiting classes your crazy for saying BB isn’t back. Trust me they are.

Go Huskies!!

 

[Block C]

Go Huskies!!

Go Huskies!!

 

[HuskyDogArt]

I think it is time to bury football. Lacrosse will be the sport and we are in the area where lacrosse is the strongest. We should close down football and upgrade lacrosse. Florida's high schools are jumping on the lax bandwagon... In football we don't have the tradition of big time FB...We can be a winner in lax...

Sorry, I know that I want UConn football to succeed, but will someone from the south or west (which is where Football is a religion) going to come here where - and I'm not wrong - football is an afterthought. I mean, do we talk college football or do we talk Patriots, Giants and Jets football? Maybe if we can get a young 'Nick Saban, Urban Meyers type' coach, maybe we can hear about UConn football instead of the Jets, Giants or Pats...I want that...

 

[Palatine]

There is nothing more fun that a college football Saturday.

 

[hank970]

BYU has an international following with the Mormon religion.

BYU also built their success as a WAC institution, and later the MWC. Their indy experiement represented a very minute (mostly unsuccessful) window in their history.

Now they are P5. The goal for them was always to get into a P5 conference.

This week BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston get their golden tickets.

How do you monetize an international following? Do you think LDS folks in France (or wherever) are tuning in to BYU football games?

 

[hank970]

Until the last couple of decades UConn didn't need an endowment as the state covered their costs. UConn only recently began to build their endowment.

So virtually almost private school has a larger endowment because they started long ago (and compound interest). And state schools in less prosperous state (pre Lowell Weicker), needed help and took their endowments seriously while UConn didn't need to or care to.

That's the attitude! Just extend that to football and you've summarized the problem. Let other less prosperous schools worry about building a good football program. UConn doesn't need one and couldn't care less about it.

 

[Oracle9]

UConn's problem is that we have ~20 years of success in basketball and football (well, maybe not football...). These SEC, ACC, and Big 10 schools have 50-100 years. Thats multiple generations of legacy alumni. They also have decades of heated rivalries, basically like UConn v Syracuse in basketball but turned up 10x to the max. Our biggest "rival" left the trophy on the sidelines after destroying us lmao

If UConn can sustain any sort of success and build themselves into a BYU indy, the money will be pouring in in 10-20 years.

I agree that the big time programs have established tradition in rivalries and fan base. I think UCONN football has a unique position like Syracuse football albeit in the Northeast. I think a coach with rebuilding/development skills is needed (e.g. Chris Petersen type) could put UCONN back on track. Also along with different marketing- the program has a rich history afterall they started in 1896 - have won 25 conference titles, is a pioneer of the early days of football. If these are used they can galvanize support not from just alumni but fans of football legacy. One thing we know Americans love football in all its forms - old and new.
Just to illustrate how attractive UCONN football was (can still be) I found this nugget- In 2012, Bill Belichick stated in an interview on WEEI that in 1983 he applied for the Huskies' head coaching position but was eventually turned down in favor of an internal hire, Tom Jackson.

 

[Pudge]

Some of it is like hosting the Olympics - foolish pride. Also, Idaho is not the only school to drop, they are the only school to drop since the 80s - the Ivy League, Southern Conference, and Southland Conference all briefly were in IA before dropping to IAA. I understand that the situation for UConn football making a decision to drop down is complex.

ain't the same thing. I don't know how old you are ... but 1980 football was a flat competitive environment. IA and IAA was virtually indistinguishable and evolving. Syracuse was above us for a long time ... and then they slid and then Pasqualoni. Yale regularly kicked our butt and then ... we were winning 42-10. You don't build a Rentschler + Schenkman/Burton to drop. WE have far better Capital Assets than all the MAC. Buffalo? Have you gone to a game there? In the last decades, we saw Buffalo ... Army ... Duke ... Temple drop to hideous levels. FCS is not an option for certain schools ... including UCONN. If you want to believe this National Power in sports like MBB & WBB & Baseball & Soccer & others ... is the same as the Citadel, I can't help you

 

[DAC17]

You guys are all kidding yourselves. UConn was a decent Yankee Conference team for many, many years before RE 1. From 2004 to 2010, they were very good and a lot of fun to watch. Since then, they have been basically a mediocre D2 team. What makes you think a new, credible coach is going to want to take over this dumpster fire, especially in the Northeast? There are no long-term credible football programs in the NE, and not much chance that good talent is going to want to come here.

 

[Redding Husky]

I have been to many DIV III games between top teams in that division. I find them just as exciting as any other game.
Many of the best Div III schools are also ranked among the top academic colleges.
That's just me. Help me understand why you want UCONN to keep pursuing the big time.

Thanks,

The goal is to be academically and athletically ranked like Michigan, Virginia, and possibly Cal.

We’ve made huge strides since I was a student in the early/mid 1980’s. We seem to have plateaued a bit lately.

 

[Tank]

Because we lived it for a few years. Attending big time FB games is a blast. Attending games with only with friends and family against teams you never heard of is not a good use of time. If you are only in it for the tailgating, you should just do it in your backyard.

I don't attend HS games either.

In the South, for instance, Friday night is reserved by all to attend the local HS football game. It’s an event, built into the culture of the people. And it produces big time FB players because of that culture.

That will always be a problem for the N.E., because football is not as important in the N.E. States, and fewer D1 players are produced. Say what you will, but regions like the S.W., S, M.W. and even far West all place a much bigger emphasis on high school football. Of the few D1 kids in UCONN’s footprint, after PSU, BC, Rutgers and Syr pick through the meager options, not enough is left to build a truly competitive program.

I’ve lived in the SE now for over 20 years. Friday nights in the fall are all about the HS football games…….it’s a way of life. And it translates to their Universities where they build stadiums that seat 70-100,000 fans and they pack the seats full. They’ve been doing it for close to 100 years and they understand it all starts at the HS level.

 

[Yup!]

In the South, for instance, Friday night is reserved by all to attend the local HS football game. It’s an event, built into the culture of the people. And it produces big time FB players because of that culture.

That will always be a problem for the N.E., because football is not as important in the N.E. States, and fewer D1 players are produced. Say what you will, but regions like the S.W., S, M.W. and even far West all place a much bigger emphasis on high school football. Of the few D1 kids in UCONN’s footprint, after PSU, BC, Rutgers and Syr pick through the meager options, not enough is left to build a truly competitive program.

I’ve lived in the SE now for over 20 years. Friday nights in the fall are all about the HS football games…….it’s a way of life. And it translates to their Universities where they build stadiums that seat 70-100,000 fans and they pack the seats full. They’ve been doing it for close to 100 years and they understand it all starts at the HS level.

I lived down south too and it’s completely different for sure.

 

[amishboy]

I agree that the big time programs have established tradition in rivalries and fan base. I think UCONN football has a unique position like Syracuse football albeit in the Northeast. I think a coach with rebuilding/development skills is needed (e.g. Chris Petersen type) could put UCONN back on track. Also along with different marketing- the program has a rich history afterall they started in 1896 - have won 25 conference titles, is a pioneer of the early days of football. If these are used they can galvanize support not from just alumni but fans of football legacy. One thing we know Americans love football in all its forms - old and new.
Just to illustrate how attractive UCONN football was (can still be) I found this nugget- In 2012, Bill Belichick stated in an interview on WEEI that in 1983 he applied for the Huskies' head coaching position but was eventually turned down in favor of an internal hire, Tom Jackson.

Sure, but that was 40 years ago! And he wasn’t BILL BELICHICK then, but just some obscure linebackers coach on a bad Giants team (under Ray Perkins).