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

[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).

 

[Oracle9]

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).

That's conjecture and was never tested, so it's neither here nor there - a program with such a rich history can be righted. There have been top programs with way more than Uconn that have fallen lost a lot of their luster and are still chugging along. UCONN football has what it needs as far as cache - but needs better leadership from top bottom, better marketing, better operational management. Better decision making is missing- no dedication to consistency. If those issues are fixed there's a lot there.

 

[DAC17]

Oracle9: You're asking for a lot of difficult things to go right all at once. Unfortunately and sadly, not likely.

 

[Oracle9]

Oracle9: You're asking for a lot of difficult things to go right all at once. Unfortunately and sadly, not likely.

As the old adage goes "Rome wasn't built in a day"

 

[DAC17]

As the old adage goes "Rome wasn't built in a day"

But it was destroyed overnight in 2011!

 

[Puppy Love]

Randy’s first go round was like catching lightning in a bottle. A lot of things went very right and not much went wrong. RE was close in time to the Coughlin years at Syracuse and BC and all those connections were very fresh. As a coach, he was on an upward trajectory. Rentschler was new and added to the excitement around the program. Orlovsky decided to stay home and play at UConn when he could have gone a lot of other places. Winning leads to more winning and helps with recruiting. I point this out to say that it will be a lot harder to rebuild than it was to do it the first time. I think the right head coach would help, but it wouldn’t be a quick turnaround. As to whether it would be worth the effort, maybe. I was lucky enough to have a friend back in the day that had some fabulous seats on the 50 yard line. Went to some games. It was a crazy lot of fun. I just wouldn’t want to stay FBS to be permanently mired at the bottom. That would be worse than dropping out.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

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.

Agree..I want UConn to be great and if Dave B. brings in a top assistant coach from a P5 school who'll be here for a while, we might be great...and who knows, maybe you'll see UConn ranked in the top 25 someday. It was done before.

I was upset when I saw Holy Cross beat us. We should NEVER be beaten by a FCS team. I was mad when Fresno beat us, but now I saw an article about coaches on the Hot Seat, and they said that we should go to FCS, because no one would want to coach here. I say the writer is an idiot, because at least if they beat lower tier P5 teams (and upset top tier P5 teams (tOSU Buckeyes )) we will be happy.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

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.

And some of the high school stadiums in Florida seats 30k. They would put D2 stadiums in the Northeast to shame. Of course, academics sucks here!!

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Randy’s first go round was like catching lightning in a bottle. A lot of things went very right and not much went wrong. RE was close in time to the Coughlin years at Syracuse and BC and all those connections were very fresh. As a coach, he was on an upward trajectory. Rentschler was new and added to the excitement around the program. Orlovsky decided to stay home and play at UConn when he could have gone a lot of other places. Winning leads to more winning and helps with recruiting. I point this out to say that it will be a lot harder to rebuild than it was to do it the first time. I think the right head coach would help, but it wouldn’t be a quick turnaround. As to whether it would be worth the effort, maybe. I was lucky enough to have a friend back in the day that had some fabulous seats on the 50 yard line. Went to some games. It was a crazy lot of fun. I just wouldn’t want to stay FBS to be permanently mired at the bottom. That would be worse than dropping out.

But, think the players would want to see 200 fans in a 40k stadium playing CCSU? Just like when the Whalers left, the Wolfpack didn't get the fans.
Dropping down to FCS is not an option, we want a top 50 team...(I'm not greedy!)

 

[Doug98]

Hasn't everything been tried over the last decade? Exactly what is the goal now that we appear to have reached the bottom of the barrel.
Why not have a discussion on moving down and joining teams like Holy Cross in the Patriot League. Bring the excitement back to UCONN for the fans. We all know what's going on don't we? The program now is designed to generate big money by being a sacrificial lamb to top national programs. The absolute best season for UCONN is to beat a few teams we can beat and get battered by others we never had a chance to beat going in. It's embarrassing and not in the spirit of college athletics.
This weekend there could be a game that UCONN would play against some of our old New England rivals that we could win and that fans would want to go to. Instead we have a game we were never intended to be competitive in where we are over matched with a interim coach and a new young quarterback hoping no one gets really hurt.
Time to get real UCONN nation and say no to being a perpetual sacrificial lamb in football.

 

[freescooter]

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,

Honestly you are right. I live near a NESCAC and I’ve seen a number of great games. But guess what? It applies to all sports. Probably the best basketball game I’ve ever seen in person was a few years ago when an underdog Wesleyan team upset Amherst in 3ots on a shot from half court. Why do we keep pursuing big time basketball? The players might not be quite as good, but they would play as hard, and they’d be around for 4 years so you could watch a kid develop. Or now hockey? I’ve seen some excellent competitive games in all sports really. Baseball, too. And NESCAC teams go south for a week on spring break. They cover the cost with a combination of fund raising donations and an add on to their bill. They don’t fly to Texas and Florida every weekend. The rest of the season are bus trips. Why do we play D1 baseball, especially now that we play in a league that would probably struggle in top d iii ones?

Yeah, we had a great run in basketball, but Jim Calhoun ain’t walking in the door any time soon, and despite its pretensions, the NEWBIE ain’t even close to the original Big East. And if the alliance gets going, our lot will be worse. How many first round losses before the bloom is off the Rose?

 

[Adios]

I am going to agree with freescooter. We need to go D3 so our fans can blissfully stop living with an inferiority complex. And take over other D3 boards and brag.

 

[Oracle9]

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.

Ditto

 

[CL82]

Hasn't everything been tried over the last decade?

Well everything except hiring decent head coaches and paying the staff a decent salary. Maybe we give that a shot before we throw in the towel?

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Bring the excitement back to UConn. Join The Patriot League.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

HC1987 would not be coming over here this often if we were not an FBS program.

 

[ZooCougar]

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,

Because I don’t like basketball as much as football.

Because I went to a D3 school and no it’s nowhere near as good.

 

[ZooCougar]

Hasn't everything been tried over the last decade? Exactly what is the goal now that we appear to have reached the bottom of the barrel.
Why not have a discussion on moving down and joining teams like Holy Cross in the Patriot League. Bring the excitement back to UCONN for the fans. We all know what's going on don't we? The program now is designed to generate big money by being a sacrificial lamb to top national programs. The absolute best season for UCONN is to beat a few teams we can beat and get battered by others we never had a chance to beat going in. It's embarrassing and not in the spirit of college athletics.
This weekend there could be a game that UCONN would play against some of our old New England rivals that we could win and that fans would want to go to. Instead we have a game we were never intended to be competitive in where we are over matched with a interim coach and a new young quarterback hoping no one gets really hurt.
Time to get real UCONN nation and say no to being a perpetual sacrificial lamb in football.

A decade isn’t very long.

Nobody is holding you back from being a Western CT fan.

 

[jonsmith]

Bring the excitement back to UConn. Join The Patriot League.

I have been wondering if the AAC falls apart if there could be a movement to 'revive' Big East football. With schools like UConn, UMass, Temple, Buffalo, Army, Navy, maybe Liberty, etc. The southern AAC schools could join with CUSA or Sunbelt.

 

[amishboy]

I just wouldn’t want to stay FBS to be permanently mired at the bottom. That would be worse than dropping out.

Yeah, this is exactly what the pessimist in me sees ahead!

I just don't have the optimism needed to dream of a dynamic coaching hire, who can concoct brilliant offensive schemes and creative defenses, and/or recruit well enough to uncover the necessary number of underrated players to raise UConn significantly above the bottom.

We had a lot of luck when we were BE co-champions and played in the Fiesta Bowl; maybe we reached our peak then, never to be repeated or topped.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I have been wondering if the AAC falls apart if there could be a movement to 'revive' Big East football. With schools like UConn, UMass, Temple, Buffalo, Army, Navy, maybe Liberty, etc. The southern AAC schools could join with CUSA or Sunbelt.

Certainly would like to play some schools that are driveable. Have family in Annapolis.